Episode 05
Capsule Room – Group Chamber.
Five capsules were lined up side by side.
“Originally, this place runs on reservations and costs extra, but my uncle let us use it for free. He told us to just focus on preparing for the tournament.”
Han Ji-yeon spoke casually.
“Seriously? That’s amazing, thank you.”
“Whoa, Da-Ji-yeon. Legendary.”
“More like Uncle Ji-yeon. I’m subscribing today for sure.”
“You still haven’t subscribed? You ungrateful bastard.”
While the friends bickered noisily, Han Ji-yeon smiled slightly and tapped Si-woo on the shoulder.
“Siu, my uncle said he wanted to see you compete. That’s why he helped. Be grateful.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. Ever since the class match, he keeps asking if you’ve thought about going pro.”
She chuckled.
“I told him you still don’t seem interested, and he looked like his world collapsed.”
“Haha…”
“Ah, I’m not trying to pressure you. Just saying. Anyway, let’s log in. Today we’ll just run some light 5-man ranked.”
5-man ranked.
As long as the tier gap wasn’t too large, they could all queue together. But when all five teammates could communicate perfectly, the system would match them against another coordinated 5-stack.
That’s why people usually avoided it unless they truly trusted their team.
But today was different.
They were preparing for a tournament.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Siu entered the capsule with practiced ease. After completing the connection process, he logged into Overland.
[You have been invited by IfYouFlameMeIDrop]
After a brief wait, Han Ji-yeon’s invite arrived. Si-woo accepted and entered the lobby.
“Damn, 32 games to Diamond? That’s insane.”
“An 87% headshot rate… still legendary.”
“No wonder we got destroyed.”
“He’s at least high Grand Master. Might even reach Challenger.”
The voice chat buzzed with excitement. Siu smirked.
‘This is fun.’
It was noisy, sure—but Siu liked this atmosphere.
It felt like building memories together.
“Alright, queueing up! We’re just syncing today, so don’t try too hard. Let’s enjoy it!”
“Okay.”
“Let’s gooo!”
“With Si-woo on our side, we’re unstoppable!!”
The queue popped.
[Heading to Universal Center!]
But then—
“Wait… something’s weird about the enemy team.”
“Grand Masters… there’s even a Challenger.”
“No—look at their names! They’re pros!”
The opponents were no joke.
[MDR Lee Jung-hyuk] P
[MDR Kim Seong-wook] P
[MDR Yoo In-sung] P
…
“That’s MidRiser. First division team trainees. Probably not even their second squad.”
Han Ji-yeon explained.
“Of all times, we run into pros in our first game?”
“Can’t help it. It’s evening—pros are warming up.”
“…This is kinda rough.”
The previously relaxed atmosphere tightened.
Smiles faded.
Even if they were trainees, they were still part of the professional scene.
“Pros warm up with 5-stacks?”
Si-woo tilted his head.
“Yeah. Before scrims, they run 5-man queues to sync. After that, they go solo practice, so you rarely meet them.”
“Really? Then isn’t this good? It’ll help with practice. Aren’t a lot of trainees entering the Series Cup anyway?”
Even against pros, Siu didn’t seem bothered.
“Look at Siu’s confidence.”
“You need that to win.”
“He’s not wrong.”
The team relaxed again.
They would face trainees in the tournament anyway.
“Let’s go!”
“Let’s do this!”
“Bring it on!”
“What kind of dialect was that?”
Han Ji-yeon giggled.
Others smiled faintly.
[The game has started!]
“Guys, our comp is defense-focused, so let’s push slowly. Smokes—just focus on keeping Siu alive. I’ll prioritize him too.”
“Got it.”
“Trust Siu and move!”
Han Ji-yeon issued rapid-fire commands.
This composition was built around Siu.
[Shield Defender – Rifle Attacker – Sniper – Sniper Healer – Smoke Support]
The defender held the frontline while the healer and support protected the sniper. The rifle attacker filled in damage gaps.
At the center of it all—
Si-woo.
“Starting!”
“Let’s go!”
“Time to wipe these trainees!”
The team secured their position and began defending.
The core of the strategy:
Siu’s picks.
They would stall—then strike the moment he secured a kill.
“……”
Si-woo climbed to high ground and held his breath.
His gaze sharpened into a single point.
Universal Center.
A map full of tight structures—ideal for defenders.
But those same gaps…
…were perfect for a sniper.
For example—
The exact moment an enemy healer peeked between structures—
Bang—!
[Headshot!]
A perfect shot.
“I got one! Healer!”
“Nice! Push now!”
“They’re panicking—go!”
The enemy formation collapsed instantly.
Losing their healer at that moment was fatal.
As the team advanced, more opportunities opened up.
With pressure on the front, the enemy couldn’t spare attention for Si-woo.
His scope locked onto another head—
[Headshot!]
[Double Kill!]
Two more fell.
“We’ve taken the point!”
“From now on, smokes block entrances. I’ll focus on Si-woo. Defender, just hold your ground.”
The game stabilized—
But then—
An enemy appeared on high ground.
A rifle attacker.
“Enemy attacker on high ground!”
“Is he going for Si-woo?”
“Looks like it…”
A one-on-one.
Normally, a rifle user wouldn’t stand a chance against a sniper.
But stepping up like this meant confidence.
“I’ll take him out.”
Siu raised his scope.
He would turn that confidence into arrogance—and crush it.
* * *
MidRiser Pro Team Facility
MidRiser.
A prestigious Korean team organization, active since the early days.
Even now, they maintained strict divisions between main and secondary squads.
Their trainee pool was vast.
Among them—
The most promising trainees.
Top performers in the academy league.
Yet today—
They had hit a wall.
“What the hell is that guy?! His aim makes no sense!”
In a simple ranked game—
They had encountered a monster.
“The sniper—he sees you, aims, and headshots in one motion. It’s like a machine.”
“That reaction speed is insane.”
“Is he hacking?”
“In a capsule game? If that were possible, someone would already be rich.”
Still—
Something was off.
“He’s on another level.”
“Try to pressure him!”
“We can’t! We die the moment we see him!”
“What do we do then?!”
“Rush them! The rest aren’t that good!”
“How do we rush when their sniper is wrecking everything?!”
Their coordination fell apart.
Morale dropped.
All because of one player.
“…Alright. I’ll take him one-on-one.”
Lee Jung-hyuk stepped forward.
“You sure?”
“That question hurts my pride.”
“Just go for it.”
A top trainee.
Losing to a random ranked player?
Unthinkable.
“Just hold. I’ll kill him and regroup.”
He aimed—
Activated Force—
Dashed forward—
The instant he appeared—
Bang—!
[You have been killed.]
“…!!”
He died instantly.
“Wait, what?”
“He got deleted instantly?”
“Holy shit…”
Even his teammates were stunned.
“…That guy’s insane.”
No explanation made sense.
Reaction, decision-making, aim—
All inhuman.
“Just surrender.”
“This isn’t normal.”
“Is hacking possible now…?”
Votes began to go up.
But—
“Wait. Let me try one more time.”
Jung-hyuk gritted his teeth.
His pride refused to accept it.
But—
Bang—!
[You have been killed.]
Again.
Total defeat.
‘…Is this even possible?’
Staring at the grayscale screen, Jung-hyuk was shaken.
A wall.
Something he had never felt—
Even against pros.
“…Surrender.”
This time—
Everyone agreed.
* * *
The match ended with a surrender.
“We beat a trainee team?!”
“Dae SIU, how far are you gonna go?!”
“That was domination!”
Cheers erupted.
“Guys, their attacker was Lee Jung-hyuk!”
“Wait, seriously? That montage guy?”
“Him?!”
“No way!”
Si-woo blinked.
“Is he good?”
“Yeah! He’s known as a top prospect!”
At that moment—
[MDR Lee Jung-hyuk has sent a friend request.]
“…He just added me.”
“What?”
“Accept it! Let’s see what he says!”
“Maybe he’s asking what team you’re on?”
“Alright.”
Siu accepted.
[MDR Lee Jung-hyuk: Let’s queue again right away.]
[MDR Lee Jung-hyuk: I’ll pick sniper this time.]
