Chapter 3
What happened?
I stood there for a moment, unable to move, my expression blank.
Had something transcendent just occurred that went beyond my understanding?
The fact that it happened to me left my head in a daze.
What snapped me back to reality was Inaring.
“Kim Doljin! What are you doing? Hurry and join us!”
Ah.
I was able to quickly regain my focus thanks to Inaring’s words.
Right, we were in a game, weren’t we?
First, I had to concentrate on the game.
I quickly moved to join my team.
Of course, even though I joined, there wasn’t much I could do.
Before we could devise a strategy, our team was already engaged with the enemy team.
It was a chaotic standoff.
It was a battlefield where the outcome depended on individual judgment and aiming accuracy, not strategy.
In this situation, I could only find cover behind a wall and shoot projectiles.
But then.
‘Huh……?’
Again.
The world slowed down.
My senses expanded, allowing me to see even the most subtle movements of my opponents.
The enemy dealer, a lawbreaker, danced around, sidestepping my projectiles with flashy moves.
Yet, it was all incredibly slow to me.
I could anticipate its movements.
I aimed my crosshairs at its head.
I accurately predicted its trajectory and aimed where its head would be.
Bang—
I pulled the trigger.
The sound that followed was the clear and cheerful notification of a headshot and a kill log.
Ding—
[Charge Knight] > [lllllllllll]
[Foolish Powder] : Oh! Nice, Professor!
[Drink Water] : Wasn’t Charge Knight a paladin one-trick? Why is Charge Knight so good at this?
[MelonMelonMelon] : Wow! Really carrying this round!
“Wow! Nice job, Charge!”
I was still in a daze.
Is this for real?
I felt like I had some grasp of how to use this ability.
I couldn’t explain it with words, but it was a feeling my senses conveyed.
‘What is this? Did becoming a woman increase my reaction speed?’
But is it even possible to explain this phenomenon in terms of reaction speed?
It was like a superpower, as if time was slowing down.
I tried to slow time down again.
More accurately, it felt like my cognitive speed was speeding up.
And once more, inside that slow time.
I aimed precisely at the healer’s head.
One, projectiles have a travel time as an attack method.
Just because I aimed at the healer’s head doesn’t mean I’ll hit the moving healer.
But at that moment, the enemy healer seemed to have stopped moving, perhaps focused on healing.
I fired the projectile.
Ding!
-!?
The healer, hit in the head, only then attempted to move and hide behind the wall.
With one headshot, they were instantly in a critically wounded state.
That was the advantage of projectiles.
Since they are hard to hit, they deal significant damage.
And the healer, with their intricate moves trying to hide behind the wall, appeared to me in slow motion.
As if pretending to go to one side but then swiftly moving to the other and slowly heading toward the wall again.
I predicted that movement and fired another projectile.
And.
[Charge Knight] > [Not a Tool]
[Foolish Powder] : Wow!! Damn!
[Drink Water] : What the hell?
[MelonMelonMelon] : Wow, Charge Knight is on a roll!
“Wow!!!! This is it! This is it!!”
With a character it’s extremely hard to carry, I turned the tide by taking down two opponents with just my aim.
That’s when I finally gained confidence in my abilities.
‘This is real…’
I didn’t know why I suddenly acquired such powers, but with this ability, it would be possible to carry while being a hard character to play.
The moment I became confident in my abilities, my actions grew bolder.
[Charge Knight] : Hey tools. Just heal me.
“Sure!! Brother!! Hey!! Everyone! Just heal Charge Knight!”
[Foolish Powder] : Let’s go
[Drink Water] : Let’s go
[MelonMelonMelon] : Let’s go
It was the start of a comeback.
* * *
One hour later.
Since the first game, we had won every match so far.
Inaring had grown complacent.
“Ah~ This is easy, so easy. Was this game called Time Click this easy? At this rate, I’ll reach the highest rank!”
– The way Inaring is feeling accomplished is adorable.
– I just want to slap her for being overly pleased.
She was picking the easiest healer to play, the Angel, and started sponging like she was trying to hand everything over to me.
She was even resting her hands on the keyboard while only holding the mouse.
Once I realized my abilities, I was actively utilizing them.
For example, instead of a projectile hero, I picked a hitscan sniper and started slaughtering.
And, to boot, I was already getting kill after kill as soon as the game started.
Bang!
One bullet, one kill.
A sniper’s shot can take half health if it hits the body, and one shot if it hits the head, making a skilled sniper the biggest variable and threat on the enemy team.
Just like now.
[Charge Knight] > [ZEXDPP]
“Wow… Charge Knight is breaking the game again. Take it easy, Charge. The enemy team needs to step on the point at least once.”
– Is this girl a master? Is this girl a master? Is this girl a master? Is this girl a master? Is this girl a master? Is this girl a master? Is this girl a master?
– Look at the slack in her facial muscles.
“Uh, hold on, I just got a call? Hello? What? You want to recruit me for the Time Click pro team Pandemic?”
– LMAO
– Here we go again.
– LOL
“Aah, even though I look like this, my price is high! Nah, I can’t. I need to stream. Please contact my agency manager regarding that. Bye!”
– LMAO
– She’s at it again.
– LOL
– I can’t believe Inaring is doing this again.
– I shouldn’t say mean things like Inaring eats while Doljin cooks.
– But seriously, what tier is Charge Knight? At this level, they don’t seem to be a master.
“So, what is your main tier, Charge?”
[Charge Knight] : Master
“Come on, don’t lie.”
[Charge Knight] : Master
“Wow, that’s petty. You’re a pro, aren’t you? From my perspective, you seem like a pro who just keeps quiet about it. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.”
– Inaring, pay attention.
– They keep giving hints, but she keeps wanting to know. LOL
– If it’s revealed that you’re a pro, then you’ll have to explain all those snipes up to now, Inaring.
– Just pretend you don’t know.
“Ah? Was I too oblivious? I’m sorry, Brother!”
[Charge Knight] : Now you know, tools. Get to work.
“Yup!”
Of course, even saying that, she kept her hands away from the keyboard and only sipped the drink.
But really, what’s their identity?
Was this person always this good at the game?
For starters, my history with Doljin is longer than I thought.
They’ve been consistently sniping me in Time Click since around five months ago.
‘Thanks to them, I’ve definitely benefited.’
Wasn’t that when the viewer count began to dramatically increase as well?
Every time Doljin sniped, the reactions were so positive that it gained a lot of popularity.
‘Hmm… I’ve really benefitted a lot.’
They are currently trying to raise my score and, above all, Charge Knight is quite popular during the stream.
Since it’s come to this, should I formally propose and invite them to the stream?
Doing a collab titled Charge Knight Interview wouldn’t be a bad idea, would it?
I should ask after the stream ends.
That’s when it happened.
[ZEXDPP] > [Friendly Doyoon]
[Playing Hard to Get] > [The Aesthetics of Heading]
“Ah!”
Our team had become too complacent.
Since Doljin kept getting entry kills, two members of our team were showing off in the enemy spawn area and got killed.
There were only 30 seconds left.
And just like that, all six members of the enemy team began to rush toward the point.
“Ah, seriously! Why did you let your guard down?”
I quickly placed my hands on the keyboard.
The current situation was 6 to 4.
Of course, we were the four.
‘Of all times, the ones who died were the tank and healer.’
The absence of one tank and one healer was too significant.
If the enemy team pushed in with double tanks, it was certain that we would lose the fight.
Moreover, I suspected that all six members of the enemy team had their ultimates, having never used them so far.
‘If that’s the case!’
Right now, it would be best to yield the point a bit and fall back.
During the fallback, if the enemy team were to use their ultimates, even better.
Just as I was about to call for Charge Knight to make a call.
That’s when it happened.
[Charge Knight] > [ZEXDPP]
“…Huh?”
Charge Knight took down an enemy dealer who was recklessly pushing toward the point.
This was familiar.
It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened since we had been playing together.
The issue was the next part.
– Take my sword!!
One player realized it was not the time to hold back on ultimates and used theirs to suppress Charge Knight.
However.
[Charge Knight] > [Auntie the Great]
[Simultaneous Elimination of Two]
Charge Knight landed a close-range headshot on the ninja, who had closed in, taking down another dealer.
At the same time.
[Charge Knight] > [Playing Hard to Get]
[Simultaneous Elimination of Three]
Using the wall as leverage, Charge Knight soared into the air, taking down another healer.
Finally.
Thud— Bang!
[Charge Knight] > [MADMEX]
[Simultaneous Elimination of Four]
Upon landing, Charge Knight pierced through the last remaining healer, who was hiding behind their tank.
In that fleeting moment, Inahi couldn’t help but have her mouth agape in shock.
“Insane.”
– ????
– ?????
– ???
Four out of six members of the enemy team, excluding the two tanks.
Charge Knight single-handedly took them all down.
And all that in just seven seconds.
Naturally, the in-game chat exploded.
[MADMEX] : No way, isn’t that hacking!?
[Playing Hard to Get] : Does that even make sense?
[Auntie the Great] : Wow, look at that reaction speed. I just died up close!
[ZEXDPP] : I don’t even know why I died.
Inahi could only mutter one phrase at the sight of that unbelievable scene.
“Oh my….”
It was a stunned exclamation.