NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 79 - Cthulhu
Chapter 79 – Cthulhu
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“You’re not human, are you?”
“You hit me so hard as soon as I arrived.”
That statement was very dangerous.
I heard some bizarre words as soon as I came, but what could I do? Originally, people recharge their bravery by relying on the anonymity of an avatar…or rather, that’s not it.
That was an unnecessary thought.
As for the current time…the in-game time has never matched with reality, so there’s no need to explain it. Speaking in terms of real time, it was just past 9 PM. Fortunately, the lecture that had lasted for over three hours ended successfully.
Of course, if I questioned whether it was helpful, I couldn’t be sure. That was the real issue. Anyway, I was getting paid by SSM to coach, so I had to deliver results accordingly.
Thus, since it was the first day, I came to get an evaluation from Dice, who had observed my lecture.
But the first thing I heard upon arrival was…
As I looked with a slightly uneasy expression, the conversation continued.
“…Ah, right… You’re a Manifestor, right?”
“For the second time, that’s a very dangerous statement.”
“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”
Squeeeeeze.
As always, I only punish them physically.
Dice’s cheeks stretched as she let out a groan and buried herself deep into her chair. I watched her with a slightly doubtful look, but…it was hard to say that her behavior was masculine.
It wasn’t that important, so I decided to move on.
Dice was the first to bring up the topic.
“Anyway, thank you for today’s lecture. It was really unique. I think it’s a good outcome that no one doubts Yoo Jin’s skills anymore…”
“If you had to categorize it as good or bad, how would you do so?”
“I found it very good, but I’m not sure about others.”
She seemed to have more to say, so she cleared her throat.
“From my personal perspective…if I were to mention a downside, it would be the sense of disparity that comes from a completely different type of lecture compared to the feedback we’ve received so far.”
“What kind of feedback do the others give?”
“Various kinds. For instance…setting up situations to improve response capability and testing them in scrims or regular ranks. Or asking us to use only specific weapons to come in first place…then giving feedback based on the match results.”
“So, it’s mostly practical. Was it somewhat effective?”
“Well, how should I put it…”
Judging by her reaction, it didn’t seem very promising.
But since I hadn’t received a definite answer, I waited a bit longer, and eventually, she gave me the response I expected.
“…You know? AP soloing has so many variables. Honestly, it’s hard to say it has a significant effect. Even if we practice various situations, there’s no guarantee that the same situation will occur in an actual match.”
“Exactly.”
“In my case, today’s lecture was very helpful. I still don’t quite understand it, but in short, it’s about using any method to gain an advantage or at least equal footing in a battle, right?”
I nodded.
Of course, if you’re in a 1:2 situation, things get a bit complicated. Generally, when you’re in such a situation, it’s better to reflect on why you ended up in that mess rather than focusing on ways to overcome it.
Still, just as you deliberately fall into the water to learn how to swim to survive when you fall into the sea, I… might soon discuss this part.
Anyway, for Dice, the method to generally cope with diverse and unpredictable situations seemed quite appealing.
Even though I found it a bit regrettable that my methods were most effective in 1:1 combat, with a slight twist, they could be reasonably useful in any situation.
I had more lectures to give in the future. Teaching methods to survive encounters with multiple opponents, or the most useful survival tactics for AP soloing….
While I was pondering these various thoughts, the topic returned to the beginning.
“By the way, really…how did you manage not to lose a single 1:1 fight? I get the methodology now, but I’m still curious.”
“I hope you didn’t ask expecting a proper answer.”
“Well, kind of… Oh well, it might be more comforting if you just said you’re incredibly skilled.”
“Haha. Let’s go with that then.”
After saying that, I trailed off as usual.
This was a secret that no one could understand and no one should ever know.
“Anyway, in Dice’s case… you need more precise shooting practice. Also, try throwing grenades in various ways. You can even tie a string to the grenade pin.”
“Tie a string?”
“Yes. That way, you don’t have to take out the grenade, pull the pin, and then throw it. It’s not recommended in the manual though. Just make sure the string has at least a 15cm slack. Without it, the grenade could explode on your vest by mistake.”
It wasn’t a method I used often even when I was there.
It was a crazy trick I picked up because I had to throw grenades so often, but it was a method born from the urgency of needing to save time taking out the grenade and pulling the pin.
It was effective. You just had to throw it directly from the pouch. As you took it out, the pin naturally came off because of the string, and once you threw it, it was done.
The tips for combat continued.
It was still too early to go to bed.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
While the rainy and gloomy sky, with endless pouring rain, replaced the sunny days, the ink on my title of short-term coach at SSM Entertainment was slowly drying.
Fortunately, due to streaming, it was easy to adjust my schedule, and the work itself wasn’t too difficult. I just had to systematically organize and convey the knowledge I possessed.
Nonetheless, there were quite a few incidents during this period.
Calling them incidents was a bit ambiguous. An incident refers to something special, and what I experienced recently wasn’t particularly special.
Anyway, as I started working in earnest, I had more things to be mindful of.
I had to observe feedback from other coaches and slightly adjust the curriculum for each league. The main players, who had a relatively high chance of participating, received individual lectures. Those with room for improvement focused more on direction rather than individual lessons.
This was a request from SSM.
Additionally, through conversations with Harmony, I finally succeeded in opening the Yourspace channel. Of course, it’s currently just open, and apart from the automatically uploaded broadcast recordings via synchronization, there wasn’t anything special.
Still, seeing the subscriber count slowly rise was quite fascinating.
Since I didn’t think it was time to hire an editor yet, I tried to contact the person with the cleanest and cutest drawing style among those who posted fan art in the personal community to see if they could draw thumbnails.
I hadn’t received a reply yet…but well, someday, I suppose.
Besides that, I continued my usual broadcasts and participated in a scrim once. Speaking of real-life activities… I exercised and occasionally went out to eat….
…Should I join an MCN?
I feel like I’ve met many people here and there, but why does it seem like nothing substantial remains?
Since the preliminary ranks start tomorrow, let’s think about that after the Asian preliminaries. No matter how long it takes, the tournament should be over in about three weeks.
Looking back, it seems like I’ve come a long way. Considering it hasn’t even been a month since I returned, it feels like I’ve done a lot.
What is this? Why isn’t he saying anything? Can he not accept the fact that he has to date the Cthulhu gods?
“…That sounds like a valid reason.”
Ah.
The donation sound pulled me out of my deep thoughts.
Somehow, the screen had changed to resemble a fragment of my past memory — a time when a streamer, whose name I could hardly recall, had displayed both their webcam and game screen simultaneously.
In other words, it was the most standard form of broadcast before the advent of virtual reality.
Anyway, in front of my eyes was…how should I describe it? An awkwardly half-feminized octopus god staring at me from the main screen.
Of course, that wasn’t all.
It had tentacles on its mouth.
Yes, tentacles on its mouth.
“Wow….”
WTF LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
He’s sighing so hard LOL
If the tentacles bother you, how about looking at your tail?
Tails are a turn-on, what nonsense are you talking about?
Still, look at him playing it because it was requested LOL
…What should I even say?
Did Earth’s tastes become a bit weird while I was away? Or is it that human madness can’t be stopped, or something like that?
I was a bit curious.
Contrary to my cold gaze, my fingers clicked the mouse that appeared on the screen. As I created a new save file and started, an icon with two tentacles forming a heart shape appeared.
I was slightly taken aback, but I couldn’t show it openly, so I let out a half-hearted chuckle. Meanwhile, the story continued.
For some reason, the protagonist was a follower of Cthulhu and had somehow obtained something similar to the Necronomicon, summoning an outer space god.
Well, without the summoning, the story wouldn’t progress.
[Oh, one shrouded in darkness, please grant my wish!]
[Surely that wish will be the first thing to be annihilated by me. Is it the desire to seek peaceful rest by avoiding my cataclysm that destroys all life?]
[No, I want to kiss you.]
“Oh, wow….”
LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
No holding back LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
Absolutely possible, no matter what
You opened a door that should not have been opened! You opened a door that should not have been opened!
The protagonist is insane LOL
A kiss…?
Of course, being someone who always respected people’s tastes, I added calmly.
“This person… seems like the type who would eat the mouth first when eating octopus. Is there no profile? I get the feeling it might include something like getting their face stuck in a sea anemone while scuba diving.”
What kind of crazy talk is this LOL LOL LOL LOL
I was perfectly sane.
The one that wasn’t sane was this bizarre game.
Anyway, the slightly less moe-ified Cthulhu shared my sentiment in the next dialogue.
[W-What!?]
[Send me back home.]
“If I turn off the game, can I send you home?”
Why does he hate it so much LOL LOL LOL LOL
No way, right? It’s a recommended game, right? You chose this game, right? You have to endure it with sheer willpower, right?
Poor guy, it’s fun to scare him….
The octopus bastard has an annoyingly good figure LOL
Look at him trying to sneakily turn off the game LOL LOL LOL
…
Naturally, there was no way I could turn off the game.
But as I kept watching, it started to seem a bit better… Anyway, since it was a recommended game, I began to click the mouse button and slowly follow the story.
“Those eyes are surprisingly bright for an outer space god.”
I wasn’t sure what I was saying myself.
And the game content was probably just as confusing.
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