Natural Enemy

The match started with Daiki getting the first blood. The skinny man laughed in satisfaction, watching Haruki grit his teeth as his character died within 10 seconds.

"You said you gonna beat me, huh? So why did you die first?"

"Shut up! The game just started!"

Akira didn't comment and just watched the match. He knew this would happen. In pro-level matches, players always take every opportunity that comes up. Daiki was a veteran, and he knew how to exploit even the smallest chance, especially when facing an amateur.

But Daiki had more surprises up his sleeve.

As soon as the respawn delay ended, Haruki's character reappeared in the arena. But just a few seconds after emerging, missiles started raining down on him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His shield dropped to zero. Then, smoke bombs rained down on his character, followed by a barrage of bullets. Haruki didn't even have time to move his character before it was killed again.

Daiki scored another 10 points.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Haruki shouted.

"Hah? Cheating? Don't make an excuse. This is tactics. Stop complaining and play the game!"

What Daiki said wasn't entirely true. He was spawn killing, which is highly dishonorable.

As the name suggests, spawn kill is killing another player right after their character spawns. It's considered taboo in shooter games because players can't react or move before their character dies or takes significant damage.

Even the RRO community considers spawn killing to be griefing. Most players who do it usually try to annoy or even intentionally abuse other players.

"Stop spawn killing, Daiki. I know you just want to annoy him, but you're a pro," Akira reprimanded.

"Okay, okay. I just wanna teach him a lesson."

Akira wasn't defending Haruki; he just didn't like unsportsmanlike behavior. Even if he were in a situation where he had to spawnkill to win a tournament, he wouldn't do it.

Besides, anyone who spawn kills, especially in a tournament, would get scorned and hated by the community.

Haruki could breathe a little easier after Daiki stopped spawn killing. When his character returned to the arena, he quickly launched a smoke bomb. White smoke spread in all directions, giving Haruki time to find another cover spot.

"You wanna hide, huh? Want to play hide and seek?"

Daiki's character was on a floating piece of a shattered moon, allowing him to shoot freely without putting himself in danger.

Pressing the "Q" key, Daiki activated Striker's first ability, launching random rockets from his character. He wasn't targeting Akira but instead aiming at some of the arena's structures. In RRO, all objects in the arena can be destroyed, and the resulting debris can cause damage.

Daiki hoped some of the debris would hit Haruki, even just a little. Any damage dealt would show a damage indicator, giving Daiki a clue about Haruki's location. And his strategy worked.

[12 Damage]

A damage indicator appeared on the screen, and Daiki quickly fired random shots into the smoke.

[156 Damage]

[512 Damage]

[122 Damage]

[241 Damage]

Some of his shots hit Haruki. However, it only lasted a moment. Daiki lost track of him. He wanted to fire rockets again, but they were still on cooldown. Besides, he was running low on MP.

"Damn. I spammed too many active abilities. If only I had enough MP, I could use my ultimate ability. That kid wouldn't stand a chance."

Striker is an offensive armor kit. Its two abilities don't complement each other, but both are good for close to mid-range combat. The first active ability, Smoke Launcher, is great for ambushing enemies or escaping, while the second ability, Rocket Launcher, can deal massive burst damage.

If Akira hadn't equipped the armor kit with a non-attribute reactor, the Rocket Launcher might have caused extra damage and effects based on the reactor's attribute. For example, if Striker had an ice reactor, the rocket explosions could freeze characters or mobs.

Of course, there's a reason why Akira chose the non-attribute reactor.

"Where are you hiding, kid? Are you scared to fight me, huh?"

Daiki tried to provoke Haruki, but the kid didn't take the bait. While searching for Haruki from the high-ground position, his character suddenly took damage.

[10 Damage]

It was small, but it still made Daiki panic. The damage came from Striker's first ability, Smoke Launcher.

"Shit!"

As Daiki spotted a small iron ball, it exploded into a cloud of smoke, obscuring his vision. Daiki couldn't see anything but white. The best decision in this situation was to move his character somewhere else quickly.

"Damn it! My high-ground!"

However, Daiki reacted too late. Before he could leave the broken moonpiece, Haruki suddenly appeared before him. Naturally, Daiki reflex moved the mouse, making his character aim at Haruki, but the kid was quicker. He triggered the Rocket Launcher first.

"No!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

All the rockets hit Daiki perfectly, causing massive damage within point-blank range.

[150291 Damage]

Daiki's character was still alive, but its shield depleted to zero, and his HP was cut in half. On top of that, it plummeted to the ground.

Bam!

[999999 Damage]

Fall damage killed Daiki. At the same time, the score on the scoreboard changed.

[lowfie6666 (Haruki) VS Ganbate-ne (Daiki)]

[10 - 20]

"Wooohoo!"

Haruki cheered, celebrating his first kill. On the other hand, Daiki hissed in frustration as he realized his mistake.

"Can't believe I got killed by that kid."

Hearing Daiki grumble, Akira chuckled. He didn't expect this to happen either. Who would have thought a pro player with thousands of tournament hours could be outplayed by a Silver-ranked player?

"Well, I guess I chose the right build."

Akira knew each of their playstyles.

On one hand, Daiki was a veteran player who mastered every armor kit in the game. This guy knew exactly how to make the most of each ability from the armor kits and maps in the game. He tended to play it safe and keep his distance. As a result, he often struggled when faced with unexpected situations.

On the other hand, Haruki was a sweaty PvP maniac. His playstyle was like that of most hardcore FPS players, relying on reflexes and always taking high risks. People like Haruki often played at a fast pace and frequently surprised their opponents. At the same time, his playstyle often led him to make careless mistakes.

These two opposing traits and playstyles were what led Akira to pit them against each other. Their opponents were their own fatal weaknesses. In other words, Haruki and Daiki were natural enemies.

Akira was curious about the outcome.

"You little brat! How dare you cheat!"

As Akira was lost in his thoughts, Daiki suddenly shouted and started throwing a tantrum. Meanwhile, Haruki laughed hysterically, slapping the table. Of course, their argument made Akira curious.

"Look, Akira! This little shit is cheating! He's breaking the rules!" Daiki complained.

"Shut up! You did it first! Now we're even!"

When Akira looked at the scoreboard, he couldn't help but shake his head.

[lowfie6666 (Haruki) VS Ganbate-ne (Daiki)]

[20 - 20]

It turned out Haruki had evened the score by spawn-killing Daiki.

"Looks like this test is going to be a real hassle."