"Ah, I really don’t want to do anything today..."
"You’re not doing anything already."
"I want to do nothing more intensely than this."

SSM Entertainment Headquarters, 37th Floor, Apex Predator pro gamer assigned area.

On the large sofa in the lounge, which looked incredibly comfortable, a few people were staring blankly into space. Among them were trainees, those who had just been promoted to the second division, and even some first-division pros.

It was a unique feature you could only see at SSM, where the mentor-mentee system was especially active among the ten teams. No matter the skill difference, everyone interacted freely. The game world was small, and since most players had been around long enough, it was common to see the same faces again and again unless someone was particularly lacking in skill and dropped out.

Anyway, the weather was perfect. The sky was clear, with no fine dust in sight, and there were no clouds either. Sunlight filtered through the windows, circulating the cool air in the hallway, creating the perfect temperature for a nap.

And that was the result.

Among them, one rather famous person was mixing in.

"Hey, Looming. I heard you won the Spring season recently? At this rate, you’ll be able to earn your Apex Predator mentor certification soon."
"Really? They say all kinds of crazy people join that, how did you win?"
"Just... review what you’ve learned in the lectures, you guys."
"Shut up."

A gruff tone. Looming was lying on the sofa, his face hidden as he turned over quickly, but the redness of his ears made it clear that he was embarrassed.

As expected, he quickly became the target of focus, and within just a few dozen seconds, Looming was bombarded with verbal attacks, forcing his tired body to sit up with difficulty.

The conversation continued.

"So how many people are assigned when you get the certification? Was it five mentees?"
"Yeah, that’s right. If you’re really good, you get one or two more, and if it’s not working, they reduce it to about three. If there are too many, it gets hard with tournament prep... Or I could delay the certification until next year. I want to compete in the Asia qualifiers this year, though."
"With so few TOs, I wonder if it’ll be possible. We’ll have to practice hard."
"TO? Anyway, the Asia qualifiers are a given as long as we’re in the top 20... Ah."

At that moment, a few names flashed through my mind.

In this building alone, there was an insurmountable barrier standing in the way—especially Looming, who had reached KSM last year, knew exactly what I was talking about. Dice from SSM. Gambit from Clear Sky. Mikael from Reaper Infected. Ink from Xi.

To go to this year’s Final Championship, we had to be at least as good as one of them. If Korea couldn’t grab the first place in the Asia qualifiers, these players would fill up the TO for the Final Championship on their own.

That Ouroboros-forged blade—although even its creator couldn't escape its reach.

Looming was suddenly gripped by a suffocating feeling.

"...Can we really win this?"

"Looming, aren’t you Dice’s mentee? Didn’t you hear anything? Like about the competition or some tips for improving your skills?"
"Not really. He’s been practicing like a man on fire, determined to win first place in the Final Championship this year. I don’t know how he does it."

"That’s crazy."

The conversation continued.

The trainees, the second and third divisions, all eavesdropped and gradually approached to listen in on the gossip. The tips and experiences about the competition were the most sought-after content. Even if they weren’t thinking about the Final Championship yet, they had to at least make a showing in the Asia qualifiers, right?

Of everyone here, Looming was the only one who had made it to the top ranks of KSM last year, so naturally, all attention shifted toward him.

"KSM, how was it? Did the others do well?"
"I heard you got a 50-page debriefing PDF from Yujin. Do you still have it? Can you share it?"
"Why are you guys like this? Go away!"

The people who had stuck around were getting obnoxiously close.

But that didn’t change the fact that Looming was aiming for the Asia qualifiers this year. Even if he didn’t think he could surpass Dice, he still hoped to follow in his footsteps—even if he didn’t know if it was possible or not.

He was one of the top players in SSM, known for his relentless practice. Everyone here knew he was one of the future rising stars who might eventually carry on Dice’s legacy.

But strictly speaking, Looming was in a... middle position. He was someone who was expected to do well, but still had a lot of obstacles ahead of him before making it to the top.

‘I think it’ll get better if Yujin-ssi comes again...’

Should I beg Dice to get Yujin to visit? But Dice seemed so busy these days, I wasn’t sure what to do.

Lost in thought, I was still pondering how to deal with the homework that Dice had given me earlier when—

"Long time no see. Have you been doing well?"
"Eh…"

One second, two seconds, then three.

"Whoa!!?"
"That’s not the reaction I expected. I’m impressed."

Why was Yujin here?!

That thought passed through every pro gamer’s mind in the lounge. And, of course, Dice, who I didn’t even know had joined, was sneakily following her. Looming, who had already jumped up like a spring, froze halfway to attention as he took in the sudden visitor.

The Apex Predator of SSM. The natural disaster who landed in the game. The person known by all those ominous nicknames was standing right in front of him. Her snake-like tail swayed lazily, awakening his reason while breaking it at the same time.

Lost in shock, I forgot what to say, and Yujin calmly took control of the space, opening her mouth.

"Since I have some free time, and I’ve earned a little compensation... It’s been a while, but I’ll help you all as much as I can. Is there anyone who can’t receive training right now?"

Naturally, no one in the room raised their hand or said a word, and she added with satisfaction.

"Then let’s go."

Yujin had begun her pied piper routine.

"How’s it feel after going through it once?"
"...Is she really human?"
"She’s human, but even I think she might not be... Ack!?"
"Don’t say weird things while she’s in front of us."

About 30 minutes after I transitioned into my "Pied Piper Yujin" mode, inside the virtual debriefing room—almost twenty users were sprawled out, half-dead from exhaustion. And yes, even Dice was included in that group.

I hadn’t touched AP in about four months, but it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. I had expected it. After all, the combat principles I had built up applied no matter where I went. If it hadn’t worked, that would have been a real problem.

Anyway, I realized that if I had known they still had the energy to say something, I would have been more delicate and taken my time when bending Dice’s knee.

But that wasn’t important right now.

"Didn’t Dice come in fourth place last year? It’s like he’s being swept away like a wave."
"Are we supposed to beat him to get first place? This doesn’t seem possible."
"Hey, he’s not participating this year, right?"

They all looked utterly shocked.

And it made sense. Most of the people here, except Looming and Dice, were trainees or second and third divisions who had never fought against me directly. They had mostly faced first division players from the same teams or second division pros from other teams in scrims.

I had wiped them out almost instantly, but rather than letting them keep failing, it seemed more effective to just point out the exposed weaknesses clearly and show them what went wrong.

Well, that’s how it goes, I guess.

"Dice still needs to practice more. He’s not as sharp as before."
"It’s still three months until the qualifiers. I was planning to really push myself and teach them all... Yep, sorry, no more excuses! I won’t do it again, Aaaah!"

Pull.

I knew Dice was focusing on training the next generation, but I couldn’t let him slack off on his own work. I grabbed his ear between two fingers and pulled hard. Dice, in true form, smiled and collapsed on the floor.

However, in my mind, a different set of logic circuits was already running. After all, Dice had a lot of data stored from when I trained him, and it would only take a little review to get him back on track.

Meanwhile, my attention shifted elsewhere.

"Looming. Long time no see since last year, right?"
"Ah, yes..."
"You’ve improved quite a bit, considering I haven’t really trained you much lately."

This was the first time since the Asia qualifiers. After the Final Championship, I hadn’t had the time to focus on those back in Korea. Plus, I had to make sure the duo and squad I competed with in the Final Championship were well-prepared.

Although I had sent Looming a detailed PDF on what needed improvement after KSM, that was about it. I didn’t give him daily feedback or watch him live like I did with Dice.

Still, this level of improvement... it must have meant Looming had been putting in a lot of effort on his own.

In fact, I never even considered Looming as a participant in the second Yujin boot camp. That was something I hadn’t planned.

Anyway, that would have to be postponed for now.

"Now, the following people, please come forward and receive your paper."
"Eh? What’s this?"
"Improvements."

The reason I was here today.

I had already checked their weaknesses while sparring, so now it was time to hand out the improvement points written on papers in real-time. Of course, just giving them papers wouldn’t drastically improve their skills, but it would help them cover their weakest areas.

After all, becoming proficient in combat was about sharpening yourself as finely as possible, almost like a sculpture. The more detailed the instruction, the clearer the areas you needed to sharpen.

"Isaac, come forward."
"Yes, teacher."
"Next, Eva. After that, Ultimate, Seraphim... the order will be on the board, so please check."

The feedback was short and to the point. Most of it could be summarized in one sentence.

Lack of mobility, not hiding sounds when moving, slow terrain analysis preventing self-directed movement, visible gear and weapons while adjusting position... I could list them all, but these were basic things they couldn’t afford to miss.

The feedback was short and to the point. Most of it could be summarized in one sentence.

Lack of mobility, not hiding sounds when moving, slow terrain analysis preventing self-directed movement, visible gear and weapons while adjusting position... I could list them all, but these were basic things they couldn’t afford to miss.

For these players, when they fought against Dice, they must have seen her move as though she was teleporting. She’d suddenly pop up from an unexpected place, throw grenades, and then take the opportunity to land a shot right to the head. But from Dice’s point of view, the enemies seemed to be leaking information everywhere. Footsteps, the noise from gear moving, silhouettes visible from behind cover... In the end, the key to combat is making sure your opponent can’t gather information through sight or sound, moving in as calculated a way as possible. The battle of the mind, on the other hand, was about controlling the terrain and creating opportunities.

However, sadly, the alpha could not exist without first having an omega.

In other words, those who couldn’t make it to the omega level had reasons for it.

"Dice’s curriculum should be checked too. How are you doing with it?"
"The basic ones are still lacking—muscle memory and map reading speed. For those in the top tiers of 1st and 2nd division, I’ve been focusing on the theory side."
"Hmm..."
"Is there something wrong?"

A brief silence.

But after only a few seconds, I gave her a slight smile, and Dice let out a sigh of relief.

"Ah, I really thought I was messing up."
"Impossible. You’re my number one student."
"Hehe."

Looking around, I noticed that everyone was staring blankly, in disbelief at how well Dice was handling things. The trainees couldn’t even fathom how he was managing to act so casually in front of me.

Anyway, to return to the main point, Dice’s curriculum was fine. If I had written it, it probably would have looked exactly the same. The only issue was Dice’s stamina. It wasn’t just him; there were so many people to train, and he couldn’t be everywhere at once.

In the end, what truly matters is creating a system that works even without an exceptional person—unfortunately, I hadn’t reached that point, and neither had Dice. It would be impossible for either of us to do so.

That was my personal opinion.

I secretly sent Dice a private message with some instructions.

"Keep it up, but leave Looming’s curriculum out a little."
"Looming? He’s a rising star, so it might be a bit tough... wait, hold on."

When you can read someone with just a glance, life becomes so much easier.

Our eyes met.

"Don’t tell me..."
"Exactly."

Looming, and then Dice.

The former would be easy to keep in line while streaming, so adding one more person wouldn’t be too hard.

And Dice chuckled briefly.

"Let’s wish Looming good luck."
"Joking."

With the secret message sent, I met Looming’s eyes again.

His fate had just been decided.