The World Didn’t Collapse When I Returned -51- (Paid content starts here) ＞
051.
“I’ll provide some commentary for a moment.”
Anatole didn’t feel the need to add that it would end soon.
Even without saying it, it happened as he expected.
Whish-
Beyond’s suppressive chain attack, swiftly followed by a double strike thrust.
It was a moment that showcased Beyond’s advantage in Zodiac, forcing a three-point stance attack beyond the usual two-point stance.
But that was when the opponent was ready to fight back.
Thunk!
It was undoubtedly Lee Dohyuk, who used to aggressively dive at opponents when facing Hoken or Volfgang.
He was known for his aggressive playstyle without a doubt.
But now, it’s different.
Thwat!
Dohyuk’s sword dancer, Chesare, creating distance with a Hundred-Dash.
True to the name, it was a swift movement.
Due to this, Beyond’s suppressive attack cut through empty air.
The subsequent double strike was no different.
A momentary stiffness ensued.
Whoosh-!
Seizing that gap, a lightning-fast thrust was aimed.
Beyond quickly raised his guard.
Fortunately, he wasn’t too late to react.
However, in that moment, the trajectory of the sword shifted.
Swoosh-!
Dohyuk’s sword tip pierced straight into Beyond’s defense.
[Beyond]
■ ■ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Normally, that is, if Anatole understood Dohyuk correctly up to now, Dohyuk would have aimed for a follow-up strike targeting the opponent’s vulnerability.
He would have tried to close the distance even further, attempting close combat with the mindset of dodging your attacks and landing only mine.
Thwack!
However, this time, Idohyuk struck just once like a prankster and slipped back.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-At this rate, I might just die from frustration.
-ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋI’m getting really pissed off.
“······”
Anatole’s expression changed once again.
As he looked closer, a thought came to mind.
The playstyle that could provoke such irritation to the extent of eliciting the current audience’s reaction.
‘Where have I seen this before..?’
For Anatole, it felt quite familiar.
It wasn’t the playstyle the Dark Girl, who almost defeated Anatole in the World Championships quarterfinals, brought back then.
The Dark Girl from back then, who was called ‘that pest’ instead of the Dark Girl, practiced a kind of sorcery.
‘Could it be..’
Anatole, with a fleeting thought, immediately opened the friend list to check Idohyuk’s match history.
And as always, the hunch was right.
[Hm, Did I Win] (Win) vs. (Lose) [Dark Girl]
He wondered why he suddenly brought out Chesaray, which he hadn’t used before.
Did you also get ‘Beyonded’, Dark Girl…
Anatole closed his eyes for a moment.
A brief moment of silence.
And how much time had passed.
Shoo Shoo Shoo-
Shoo- Shoo Shoo-!
Along with the continuous stabbing sound.
[Hm, Did I Win]
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □
[Beyond]
■ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
The match was now heading towards its climax.
Beyond was on the verge of being knocked out if he allowed just one more hit.
To prevent that, he needed a decisive blow to turn the situation around.
-ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-There’s no opening to approach.
-What’s with the sword skills, so proficient?
Instead of inserting counterattacks and finishers, Beyond was on the receiving end of them.
Surely, Beyond must have had a similar idea to Anatole.
That’s probably why he brought Zodiac.
“Um··· Uh.. Well..”
Anatole opened his mouth to speak, then closed it repeatedly.
How should I express the current situation?
“Tears are falling.”
At that moment, a phrase came to mind.
-LOL
-??? : Hyung.. Save me without crying..
-Save yourself LOL
That’s how it was.
It feels like tears are about to fall in the current situation.
-You’re crying LOL, how did Beyond end up being a variety character like this LOL
-Ah.. just act tough..
-LOL
Anatol looked at the chat window.
Beyond’s situation seemed so pitiful that tears might fall, but Anatol didn’t mean it in that sense.
“Hmm.”
‘Don’t cry because of that.’
It’s my turn next, and tears are welling up.
Once again, Anatol forced himself to swallow those words.
**
[Victory!]
[Hmm, that’s interesting.]
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □
[Beyond]
□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □
-But at least we avoided defeat, let’s have a drink
-For real LOL
-Do Hyuk-sensei is quite pitiful too LOL
-Ah LOL, even ‘that pitiful’ learned from Geumhee
-Info) Even with that pitiful move, Geumdo Girl barely scratched Do Hyuk-sensei’s HP..
[“Just one step left now.”]
The sound coming through Do Hyuk’s broadcast, which was still on.
With the recent victory, Do Hyuk’s account ranking has changed.
Rank #2
[Hmm, that’s interesting.]
And the current time, as Anatol announced in the notice, is 8 p.m.
[“Oh, Anatol-nim is here? Hello.”]
Looking at the chat window and mentioning oneself is not a coincidence.
[“Then, let’s try the next queue. It’ll be fun to meet Anatol-nim.”]
Click-
[Rank Game]
[Searching for a Match]
Anatole entered the matchmaking page.
He knew exactly what that phrase meant.
It meant to turn the queue, so turn it accordingly.
Fortunately, there seemed to be no other snipers trying to take him down without warning up to this very moment.
Ping-
[MATCH!]
As expected, a match was found in just a few seconds.
Anatole checked his opponent and turned off the broadcast he was watching.
[“Here we go.”]
“I’ve been waiting for you, Anatole.”
The opponent said with a sly smile.
[Hmhm, well, Ido Hyuk.]
There he was, right before Anatole.
“Yes. I’ve been waiting too, Hyuk.”
Anatole also opened his mouth to respond.
His expression wasn’t entirely bright.
It was inevitable.
A mix of emotions—creepiness, trembling, tension, anticipation, competitiveness—rose through his spine.
It truly felt like a long time since he had felt this way.
‘Can I win?’
Honestly, it might not be that difficult.
Perhaps not losing disgracefully could be his best option.
Ping-
With those thoughts in mind, Anatole picked Lancer.
It was at that moment.
“Wow, cool skin, huh?”
He didn’t choose it last time, but this time he picked it without much thought.
The words Ido Hyuk said upon seeing it.
Anatole replied absentmindedly.
“Oh, this? It looks good, right? It’s a custom skin I designed myself.”
“A custom skin?”
“Yes. If you win the world championship···”
Anatole paused.
“I’ll make one for you···.”
Suddenly, Anatole had this thought.
Thinking about the number of skins he had, in other words, the number of world championship trophies he had won, he felt somewhat embarrassed about his current self.
Even just considering the skins for Lancer, there were three world championship skins.
The one that was stuck in Anatole’s mind right now was the first of them.
“hahahaha.”
At that moment, Anatole felt laughter bubbling out of him involuntarily.
It was a chuckle close to a smirk.
How foolish was the thought I just had?
What was it again?
Could I win, wouldn’t it be difficult?
“Huh.”
Another chuckle escapes.
A self-deprecating laugh mixed with self-mockery, just like a little while ago.
It was because he felt pitiful even to himself, too pitiful.
‘Victory?’
Come to think of it, would such a thing even matter?
There’s something more important than that.
[Current viewers: 33,425]
As announced in advance, over 30,000 viewers have already tuned into Anatole’s broadcast.
Among them, a considerable number would be his fans, as well as fans of the game Ultimate Fighter.
And why did they come to see Anatole?
“Now, if I beat you, will I be the top player?”
He is Anatole, undoubtedly the pinnacle of Ultimate Fighter.
“Yes. It seems likely.”
“Hmm. In that case…”
In other words…
The challenger was not himself, but the opponent.
“I’ll block that path.”
-Kyayayayay
-The grand Anatole!!!!
-‘His declaration’ dang dang
A declaration made in front of over 30,000 viewers.
It could be a gamble.
But he won’t lose.
Right now, he feels like he can win the Iron Fist World Championship, wherever, against anyone.
First, erase everything.
Chill, nervousness, tension, anticipation, competitiveness, and more.
Anatole wiped out every emotion that came to mind and focused his concentration to the extreme.
“All paths of the Ultimate Fighter are…”
“…Oh?”
Indicating disbelief in the statement, Lee Dohyuk.
-No way?
-Is that for real?
-ㄷㄱㄷㄱ
The chat window also fluctuated.
“..In the end, it’s through me.”
With those words, Anatole finished his preparations.
[Preparations complete]
Anatole suddenly remembered his first meeting with Ido Hyeok.
Back then, he was just a side character, but now, wouldn’t it be the perfect time to give a proper greeting?
Click-
Anatole adjusted his sword handle and extended his hand towards the other side.
“Please come. Challenger.”
Click-
Anatole gestured to Ido Hyeok while speaking like that.
For one, his mindset was different from back then.
From Noble mtl dot com
There was no hint of emotion on Anatole’s face now.
The air of a master.
As if he had gained some kind of enlightenment.
-This feels right, doesn’t it?
-hahahaha, wow
-Anatole is getting high on victory!
-I’m a fan of Anatole for this taste
The showdown between Lancer and Sword Dancer.
Due to the unique swift movements of the Sword Dancer, Lancer couldn’t gain a significant advantage in terms of distance compared to Hoken or Wolfgang, but in terms of compatibility, Lancer held a slight upper hand.
In reality, Anatole not only had a winning record against Sword Dancer but even against Harang…
“Nice.”
It was that moment.
[Ready-]
Both were ready, as the notification popped up.
Up to this point, it was a natural procedure, but what he saw in front of him now…
“As a challenger,”
[3]
Changyeong’s eloquent speech.
“I’ll learn a trick or two.”
An elegant Lancer’s basic skin, contrasting Anatole’s flamboyant one.
[2]
“······?”
Anatole’s face contorted upon seeing that.
The air of a master?
-hahahahaha
-Oh, damn, hahahahaha
-Even after seeing that pattern, you still fall for it, Anatole, hahahahaha
Lightning.. They said it was cut…
There was no way such a thing could continue.
“Hey, you…”
With such a tone.
[1… Fight-!]
The match began.
**
‘Interesting.’
Smirk.
Yi Dohyuk’s smile deepened.
‘If you ask me to come, I’ll go.’
No intention to back down.
No sense of arrogance either.
His words seemed right.
After all, in Ultimate Fighter, the challenger was none other than himself.
Hook-!
Yi Dohyuk reached out his arm without mercy.
A spear forming a straight trajectory.
Clang!
The clash of spears rang out.
In the moment Yi Dohyuk tried to continue his attack.
“···?!”
A red energy emanated from the opponent’s spear, blurring his vision.
An unexpected counterattack.
Clang!
Yi Dohyuk swiftly lifted his spear to deflect the opponent’s blade as they lunged.
It must have been an angle where a counterattack was impossible.
Probably a technique utilizing the game system.
Also, something he didn’t use when facing Anatole last time.
Clang! Swish! Swish!
Followed by a series of strikes.
Yi Dohyuk could tell this was the series of strikes Anatole had been honing for the past few days.
-hahahahaha, Anatole also got ‘Beyond’?
-Wow, how do you block that when you see it for the first time?
-Oh, you can see it all?
-The eye of god, damn
-hahahahaha, if Anatole, who was flexing his palm earlier, is taken down, what a joke
Some viewers who caught on quickly began to laugh.
Beyond was the first to fall, and just like when Black Girl fell, they expected Anatole to fall the same way.
“······”
But Ido-hyuk’s thoughts were different.
‘Jokes are..’
Should I be more careful this time?
While there was some playfulness in picking a character, it ends there.
A little while ago, Ido-hyuk clearly felt it.
The sincerity of the one standing at the pinnacle of a game called Anatol.
‘In that case.’
It seems appropriate to approach that with sincerity as well.
A bit different from before.
Each character boasting superhuman specs in Ultimate Fighter.
Utilizing their maximum output.
As if facing a ‘real’ enemy.
Swish!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ido-hyuk’s spear moved swiftly.
The speed increased.
Of course, it didn’t actually get faster.
It just seemed that way from Anatol’s perspective.
“······!”
Anatol’s eyes widened for a moment.
Whoosh!
Following that, a heavy sound exploded right in front of him.
An opponent’s strike barely blocked relying on instinct.
Luck must have played a part.
Even after directly blocking it, an uneasy feeling lingers about how it was blocked.
It wasn’t visible. Why?
Such questions followed.
The opponent’s lancer and one’s own lancer have the same body specs.
Then why wasn’t it visible?
Anatol could guess the reason belatedly.
Swiftly changing movements of the spear.
Anatol knows a move similar to that.
Commonly known as a feint.
No, that’s not it. Is it similar?
Breaking the rhythm, confusing the opponent through erratic movements, capturing their attention with a fake, aiming for an opening, and then striking only with one’s own skill.
Those were the methods Anatol often used to deceive opponents.
But what the opponent is showing now···
Clang! Kwang!
I don’t understand.
It’s just incomprehensible.
At the same time, such thoughts occurred to me.
Perhaps, not only that, but maybe everyone truly didn’t know who Ido Hyeok really was.
A monster-like talent, insane physical abilities, a genius above all geniuses.
Words used on the Elfpa community to praise Ido Hyeok.
But with just those things…
Kwang!
-?
-?
-???
-?
-Huh?
-What’s this?
It didn’t take long for the outcome to be decided.