"Good work, everyone."
Three hours of scrims.
We played two matches on every map, thirty minutes each. In those scrims, our team's results were, honestly speaking, terrible. No, it wasn't just that.
We were dead last every single game. Every time we ran into another team, we got wiped. There were matches where I grew a lot individually, but in those games the other team members got caught out, so we couldn't avoid a full squad wipe.
After dying over and over like that, our team never once escaped fourth place throughout the entire three hours of scrims.
Normally, in this kind of situation, people lose motivation. But we didn't.
"So, what do you think after trying it?"
"I think it's pretty good."
"I definitely saw hope."
As soon as the last scrim ended, the coach asked us. And all of our answers were similar. It felt possible.
If you only looked at the scrim results, you wouldn't understand what exactly seemed possible. But since we had talked about it in advance yesterday, we had our own thoughts about it.
What are these guys even saying?
They got fourth in every scrim and they're talking about hope?
Fourth place confirmed
lolololololololololol
Just laying down and letting others step on them, damn
Viewers I hadn't seen before were coming in and voluntarily choosing exile. I gladly swung the ban hammer at the ones throwing insults.
After roughly sorting out the chat, we immediately moved into feedback. I stepped a little away from the feedback session and focused on training the Esper dagger skill.
Feedback is the most important part of scrims, but for me right now, the most important thing was being able to properly use this high-difficulty Esper dagger skill.
So while everyone else was doing feedback, I kept training.
Does hyung not need feedback?
They're doing feedback and not a single thing about him?
Isn't this discrimination?
Is it because he's a game newbie so they're not even giving him proper feedback?
I heard Fisher was known for having a good personality, but seeing this makes me reconsider
Seeing me training alone while the others were in feedback, viewers started getting strange ideas.
If they didn't know about yesterday's discussion and the strategy, it was only natural they'd think that way. But I couldn't just go around explaining our strategy either.
"Everyone, you're free to think what you want, but it's not discrimination, so there's no need to worry."
In other words, stop trash-talking the coach and the other team members. That's what I was indirectly saying.
Got it
If there's a plan behind it, nothing to complain about
OK
But what kind of strategy means no feedback?
Maybe they're just doing his personal feedback later?
That's definitely possible
After I said that, people started speculating in a different direction.
Once the group feedback ended, it was finally my turn. Of course, I didn't receive feedback about the match itself. The feedback I got was about weapon usage.
"First of all, your close combat is flawless."
"Ah, thank you."
"So I don't think you need feedback on close combat. I'll give you some feedback on skill usage instead."
After that, the coach gave feedback on the Esper dagger skill. But I wasn't satisfied with it.
It feels like something's missing.
I definitely learned a lot about the skill's mechanics. Knowing the mechanics would expand what I could do. But something still felt lacking.
And that thought was clearly showing on my face.
Looks like he's not fully satisfied
The breakdown of the skill mechanics was clean, what more does he want?
Greedy much
lol
Aren't these the same guys who were trashing Fisher for not giving feedback? That stance switch speed is insane
The viewers who had just been attacking Fisher now turned their blades on me. Their bandwagoning skills were top-tier.
I ignored that chat entirely and tried to figure out what exactly I felt was missing. That was when the coach gathered us together.
"As a coach, I think I've given all the overall feedback. From here on, you need to raise your individual skill levels."
"So the team leader and I have brought in four coaches for you!"
With that, four people appeared on the server.
A half-moon bear, an otter(?), someone with pink hair, and a middle-aged man. The coaches who entered our waiting room each introduced themselves.
"Hello. I'm Heukgompah."
"Hello. I'm Gohaedal."
The two using animal avatars introduced themselves first. When I heard that, I looked slightly surprised.
"Hyung Heukgompah?"
"Wow. It's been a while, Gong!"
When I asked in surprise, the half-moon bear came over and hugged me tightly. Heukgompah hyung was an even more seasoned streaming veteran than I was.
He was also one of the first to switch to capsule streaming when the capsules were released. So it had been almost five years since we'd really talked.
The otter next to him was Heukgompah hyung's wife and a streamer as well.
"Sister-in-law, how have you been?"
"Pilgong, it's really been a long time."
After catching up briefly with the two of them, the remaining coaches began introducing themselves.
"I'm Yoo Jina, joining as a coach this time."
"I'm Kang Chan. I look forward to working with you."
I didn't know the other two, but since the team leader and coach had recruited them, they were probably highly skilled. With four coaches now present, each of us was assigned one.
The last to introduce himself, Kang Chan, became my personal coach.
Wow, they got him?
That's like giving wings to a monster
If he learns properly, he could hit GOAT with the dagger
Didn't expect them to recruit him
Damn
As soon as Kang Chan introduced himself, the viewers exploded in excitement. I quietly asked the chat,
"What does Kang Chan do?"
As soon as I asked, a donation message came in.
Donation from "ExplanationAddict" - 1,000 won!
He's famous as an Esper dagger master. He even reached Challenger using only the Esper dagger.
"Wow."
Hearing that, I understood why the viewers were making such a fuss. An Esper dagger master had joined as a coach specifically for me.
From the viewers' perspective, that had to be exciting.
After we were assigned our coaches, we split up for individual training.
"I suppose it's only polite to introduce myself again. I'm Kang Chan, and I'll be in charge of coaching Pilgong."
"Ah, I'm Pilgong."
We shook hands. When we did, Kang Chan's face seemed to brighten. Probably just my imagination.
After greeting each other, Kang Chan spoke toward my camera.
"It's been a while since I've greeted everyone on stream. I'll do my best as a coach."
We're the ones grateful
Please turn our hyung into a superhuman
Looking forward to it
Why haven't you been streaming lately, Kang Chan?
It's already been three months since his last stream
"Haha. It's hard to balance parenting and streaming. My wife just gave birth, so I need to wait until I can turn the stream on again. Honestly, I accepted the coaching offer partly to catch my breath from childcare."
After joking like that, Kang Chan entered the game. There was no need to linger in the lobby after introductions.
Once in the game, the coach and I immediately headed to the training grounds.
"First, I need to gauge your understanding of the Esper dagger. Let's do a one-on-one."
"You can just think of me as a complete newbie."
"I want to see your physical mechanics and other fundamentals, so let's just try. First round without skills. From the second round, we'll use only three skills."
And just like that, my one-on-one with Kang Chan was set. Of course, the viewers wouldn't miss this opportunity.
Donation from "Yuseongseongseong" - 1,000 won!
Mission: Win at least one round in a one-on-one against Kang Chan - 10,000 won.
"Thank you for the mission."
Winning the second round would be impossible, so the only way to get that reward was to win this first round.
Without skills, it became a pure physical mechanics battle. There might be a difference in weapon proficiency, but I didn't think the gap would be that big.
I think I can win with pure mechanics alone.
Since I didn't know Kang Chan's true skill level, the only thing I could trust was myself.
We widened the distance between us and stood apart. Then the countdown began.
3, 2, 1, START!
The moment the countdown ended, we both dashed toward each other without hesitation. As soon as we got within range, our daggers clashed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The daggers collided in an instant. And I was the first to step back.
The recoil's stronger than I expected.
I was gripping my dagger normally, while the coach was holding his in a reverse grip. I had once heard that holding a dagger in reverse grip reduces recoil and is the intended method.
I immediately changed my grip.
"Doesn't suddenly changing your grip make it harder to use?"
When I switched, the coach questioned me. I gave him only one reply.
"Focus."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Our daggers collided again. This time, it was the coach who stepped back first.
The recoil's definitely less than before, and the power doesn't seem bad.
When I was younger, I used to hold sticks like this because it looked cool. Now that I was gripping a real dagger this way, I could understand why it was done.
While I was evaluating the reverse grip, the coach seized the opening and rushed in.
Clang!
"Wow. That actually surprised me."
"I don't think that's something the person who blocked it should say."
I really was surprised. I hadn't expected such a fast ambush. After blocking his surprise attack, I immediately swung my dagger as if it were my turn.
Clang! Clang! Clang! …Clang!
The assault didn't stop. If I stopped even once, the momentum would shift to him. So I kept moving my arm without pause.
At times, he tried to retreat to escape the relentless offense, but I didn't let him go. I kept swinging my dagger and chased him down.
That's insane
How is he swinging that fast nonstop?
I definitely can't
That's something only pro gamers should do, why is a streamer doing it lol
His mechanics are crazy, how is he pulling that off?
As the exchange continued, I could tell the coach was starting to get impatient.
Looks like his stamina's running low.
It seemed he didn't have enough stamina to keep this up much longer. So I kept swinging and kindly asked,
"Wouldn't it be better to surrender soon?"
"Haha. As a coach, I have my pride."
"You still have to do another round using skills after this. Are you sure your stamina's okay?"
"..."
I smiled brightly as I asked. Of course, even while being so considerate, I didn't stop moving my arm.
Eventually, Kang Chan raised the white flag first.
"Wow. I must've used up all my stamina on childcare. I can't hold out."
With a hollow laugh, he immediately started the next match. I asked if he wanted to rest a bit, but he said it was better to finish quickly.
3, 2, 1, START!
The moment the second one-on-one began, a new message appeared.
ICELIVER killed Pilgong_
"Whoa, that's dizzying."
I was taken out instantly. I couldn't even process what had happened. In that brief moment, my one-on-one with Coach Kang Chan came to an end.
And one viewer was crying.
Donation from "Yuseongseongseong" - 10,000 won!
Wait, why did you win?!
Ten thousand won tastes good.