KYB Ch 35

“Kisekki-nim. We’re… um, on the same team.”

Ye Woo-won felt like he might laugh, but if he laughed now, Kisekki would probably run away. He swallowed the laugh quietly.

“This time it’s a real match, unlike earlier. Are we not going to make a plan?”

—“…”

“Or at least a briefing…” Ye Woo-won spoke while cautiously watching for Kisekki’s reaction, but he got none.

‘Is he just annoyed?’

Still, as a newbie, Ye Woo-won needed Kisekki’s briefing. After a moment of thought, he lightly cleared his throat and spoke in a lowered tone.

“Is it really hard for you?”

Then, sighing, he continued in a voice full of worry.

“This is only my second Territory War… and like you said, I’m not very good yet… I don’t know the map very well either…”

He could see it.

“I don’t want to hold you back, Sekki-nim.”

Kisekki’s eyebrows pulled together in irritation.

But apparently still not enough, Kisekki didn’t speak. Ye Woo-won subtly moved Yewoo Beomjeol to face him and spoke again.

“At this rate, I think we’re going to lose again….”

His voice, small and lacking confidence, was the decisive touch. And yet, if one listened closely, there was a strangely calm undertone for someone speaking so timidly.

Naturally so. Ye Woo-won wasn’t intimidated at all. Win or lose—who cared? If he lacked something, he’d improve it, review, and do better next match. That was the nature of games. But wasn’t he curious?

—“Ha. Lose?”

About Kisekki’s briefing.

The moment Ye Woo-won said “lose,” Kisekki immediately jumped in. That unusually low, sunken voice, one he could never quite get used to, opened to speak in a tone that sounded faintly annoyed, and Ye Woo-won’s eyes curved silently in response.

—“You’re thinking of losing to those scrubs? You?”

As expected.

Ye Woo-won tried to answer, but the alert window popped up first. Time must have run out; the countdown began.

As soon as the countdown ended, the base gate opened.

A vast forest spread across the middle of a lush grassland, so vibrant it felt like you could smell fresh grass. The map was unfamiliar since it was his first time seeing it, but he would adapt once he played, like the snowfield map earlier.

“I might not have much skill, but I’m good at following orders.”

As Ye Woo-won left the base, he spoke to the Necromancer beside him.

“Please curse me a lot.”

—…“Huh?”

Kisekki’s curses were feedback to Ye Woo-won. With that in mind, he said it casually, but Kisekki, who had been about to run ahead, stumbled for a moment, as if misunderstanding the intention.

Of course, as if nothing happened, the Necromancer quickly took off running. Ye Woo-won followed, but Kisekki suddenly stopped.

—“You…”

Is something ahead?

Ye Woo-won wondered why he suddenly stopped—

—“You’re not… that bad.”

Ye Woo-won stared blankly for a moment, then silently smiled when he realized what Kisekki meant.

—“You’re moderately bad, so you’ll have to start doing things properly from now on.”

Ye Woo-won barely suppressed a laugh. That was exactly why he was never afraid of Kisekki. Even without meaning to, he sometimes showed a soft side.

But if he laughed out loud here, Kisekki might never acknowledge him again. Ye Woo-won forced down the rising corners of his mouth.

“Thank you.”

Even if he tried his hardest, he couldn’t stop that soft laugh from slipping through the mic. And Ye Woo-won had no idea that his own low, vibrating laugh was making the other person feel even more ticklish.

“I’ll be in your care.”

—“…”

Of course, no reply came.

With such a lack of communication, someone might think this was just like their first Territory War, but Ye Woo-won didn’t mind one bit.

‘He’s matching my pace.’

Just look at the moment. Despite being a fast-moving Necromancer, Kisekki was weaving slightly in zigzags to match the Dragon Knight’s notoriously slow speed.

Watching that made Ye Woo-won’s chest feel strangely fluttery.

‘It’s the forest.’

Before long, they reached the woods in the middle of the grassland.

— “In the center of this map’s forest, there’s a swamp. If you mess around and fall, you die like an idiot. Just think of it as an instant fall-death.”

Ye Woo-won watched Kisekki’s character with mild surprise.

Contrary to the expectation that he would cut straight through the forest and launch an attack, he really seemed to have come just to help Ye Woo-won practice; he made a wide loop around the forest, helped Ye Woo-won get the map into his eyes, and even gave him a briefing.

—“But what are you going to do when your eyes are basically attached to your feet? You’re going to fall in every time you look. I’m telling you in advance—I’m not saving you.”

Of course, the sharpness was the same as always. But something like that didn’t deal even the slightest damage to Ye Woo-won. If anything, it could even be interpreted in Kisekki-language. In other words, what he meant was—

‘So that was him telling me to be careful.’

He was worried.

Kisekki failed to consider one thing: trying to hurt Ye Woo-won with words was like trying to pluck stars from the sky. He translated everything positively.

Ye Woo-won smiled softly at what he interpreted as concern.

“Thank you for worrying about me.”

—“Worry? Me?”

Kisekki scoffed.

—“Well, your level is so low that I had to say it. I was talking because you might trip somewhere and die. Worry, you say? As if.”

“Mm, that’s called worrying, tho.”

Whatever Kisekki said to him, Ye Woo-won stayed calm. Watching Ye Woo-won interpret his sarcasm as genuine concern about the swamp, Kisekki finally seemed a bit irritated and fired off his words in a rapid burst.

—“I’m— damn it— you’re just unbelievably bad…!”

‘But hadn’t he said I’m “moderately bad” earlier?’ Listening to his flustered speech, Ye Woo-won let out a quiet laugh.

–“…”

And then Kisekki abruptly stopped talking.

Ssshhhhh— No one spoke. The sound that had been loud just moments ago fell silent in an instant. In their ears, only the faint rustling of leaves brushing against each other remained.
One.

But even that silence didn’t last.

Because beneath the sound of the leaves, there was a set of shallow but unmistakable footsteps.

—“Above.”

SLASH!! At the same moment as the briefing, the sound of something cutting through the wind shot downward with ferocity. Yewoo Beomjeol immediately moved to dodge.

—“Watch the golem.”

A massive giant hiding on top of a tree near the entrance had been waiting to ambush them.

‘Sound play.^[1]’

Kisekki suddenly went silent so he could properly hear the enemy’s footsteps.

‘His hearing is incredible.’

Even with a headset, Ye Woo-won missed it because he was talking.

Admiring Kisekki’s quick instincts, Ye Woo-won breathed out when he saw the large indentation where he had stood moments ago.

‘That would be instant-death.’

The golem’s damage was stronger than he expected.

As he processed the shock, the golem reached toward him. One hit from that massive fist would certainly kill him.

BOOM!!

Yewoo Beomjeol acted even faster. The Dragon Knight deployed the AoE shield in an instant, a huge magic circle forming under their feet. A golden guard rose and blocked the golem.

“The shield will be expiring soon.”

Ye Woo-won briefed the remaining time of the shield.

“Two seconds… one second…”

2.00, 1.57, 1.30… watching the rapidly draining timer, Ye Woo-won sensed the limit.

“Please, move.”

From the moment Ye Woo-won’s initial briefing began, Kisekki had already finished preparing to dodge. He had only been holding his breath, so the golem’s aggro wouldn’t jump to him and disrupt his movements.

THUD! The golem now stood exactly where they had been moments earlier.

‘Damage strong enough to break terrain…’

If they’d been underneath, neither would’ve survived. But they couldn’t focus solely on the golem. That gaze he’d sensed earlier—

‘Found you.’

Following the tail of that presence, Ye Woo-won spoke at once, “Right side sniper. Marked the coordinates.”

Ye Woo-won had found the sniper aiming for their heads amid the commotion.

—“I found the Alchemist too.”

Kisekki also marked the coordinates of the hidden Alchemist.

—“I’ll lure him out and kill him.”

“Our heads are completely exposed. I think killing the sniper first is better.”

—“Confirmed.”

Both reacted quickly to each other and were skilled at switching roles based on the situation.

With tanky Ye Woo-won blocking the golem, Kisekki dashed toward the hidden sniper while protected by the shield.

“Golem cooldown is over. I’ll move to the Alchemist.”