I am Smart

---

Effort is only enough for reaching Master level, right?
Honestly, even being a Master isn’t that impressive.

Here we go again, rolling out that stupid bait on a weekday afternoon, you bunch of morons.

Please, those who have lower tiers than Garbage Fighter One-Champ, just quit already.

Isn’t it obvious that reaching Diamond is not talent?

―――

In the peaceful Fiore Minor Gallery, the bait of the early afternoon was ‘The Theory of Talent,’ and the cause was Moon Si-hyun.

Within two months of starting the game, she had achieved Master level 342 points. Is this even possible? This was an exceedingly rare occurrence, even among professionals.

The mention of her ‘Fighter 1 vs 4 Super Play’ ignited the hearts of the Fiore players once again.

Analyses and praises of Moon Si-hyun’s gameplay came pouring in.

But this is DC, the home ground for bullfrogs and twisted folks.
―――

To begin with, One-Champ itself is such a nuisance.

Those broth-loving idiots are losing their minds again, haha.

Rolling out that fighter bait again… I’ll check back later.
―――

In this world, there are people who dislike others simply for being fond of something.

In just a few dozen minutes, that hatred bait will quickly fizzle out. There’s really no reason to dislike Moon Si-hyun herself.
―――

Wakitete| Ah, that wannabe is licking her boots like crazy, haha.
Wakitete| But is she really a woman? haha.
Wakitete| So what if she’s a woman? Wanna join in the fun? haha.
Wakitete| Can’t the broth idiots hold hands and just play separately?
Wakitete| What I hate the most about those One-Champ fans is… for real.
Wakitete| A woman playing Fiore = total trash = official.
―――

But there was one guy who kept fueling the bait.

San-deng, Cactus, and others. He absolutely loathed those who made money from Fiore. No reason was necessary for that.

That’s why he really disliked the recent rising star Moon Si-hyun, who debuted in broadcasting.

He wrote another post.
―――

– Even an idiot can climb to the 300 point range.
Above that is talent, and yeah, even that idiot’s limit ends there.
―――

His usual theme that he pushes the hardest in the Fiore gallery is ‘Effort is Useless Theory.’

No matter how hard you try, a person can’t surpass a certain score.

Most people fit into that and he points out the score range that doesn’t apply to him.

That was his way of maintaining himself. Moon Si-hyun was also one of those targets.
―――

– She’s at 342 points now, you idiot haha.
―――

‘What?’

When he searched previously, she was clearly in the low 200s.

Flustered, he searched Moon Si-hyun’s stats.

It truly was 342 points.

‘…How did she get there already?’
―――

[So what? You idiot broth girl, haha. I saw the play, but anyway, she can’t reach Grandmaster.]

Of course he had never seen Moon Si-hyun’s play. There was no reason to watch a ‘wannabe.’

He mumbled something and exited.

But his discomfort didn’t fade. It was because her score had inflated too much.

Even if he fell on purpose, he couldn’t tolerate being below her.

So he sought out Moon Si-hyun’s broadcast.

Searching for posts about Moon Si-hyun, he looked for a weak point to attack.

At a moment when it would be hard to kick her, he typed in the chat.
―――

Isn’t saying you’re going to work a lie? Aren’t you really going to get pounded by your boyfriend there? (I really don’t know.)
―――

As soon as he hit Enter, the screen went black in an instant.

[You have been forcibly kicked from the room.]

That message appeared in the middle of the black screen.

Clearly, there was no manager. How did he get forcibly ejected during the game?

He logged back into her broadcast with another account.
―――

Wow, she’s really beating them up like crazy.

Hahaha.

Why the heck are you even a fighter, you idiot? haha.
―――

As if no one was reading, the chat window remained peaceful. Moon Si-hyun was brutally assaulting her opponent.

Crack. The man’s teeth slightly chipped.

―――

Fiore Over Legend Minor Gallery
―――

– What the hell is Wakitete?
(The screen showing Moon Si-hyun and Wakitete caught together.)
Going solo in the gallery while hitting hard, but looks like he came to snipe now.

– What a crazy guy.
– Wow haha.
– Truly a bundle of inferiority complex.
– Wow… Truly the pride of the Fiore Gallery.
– Those broadcasters are really making life hell for him; it’s true.
– Good thing they met as opposing teams.
―――

– When will ‘that habit’ be fixed?
(A capture of a player sniping top-tier broadcast players with malicious chat.)
It’s obvious he’s using a bot, but he’s throwing talent jokes like a crazy piece of trash.
He plays completely seriously against the opposing team and throws the game when he’s on ours.
Shouldn’t he just die? For real?
– Almost no one in the top tier doesn’t know him haha. He’s always acting like that.
– In the opposing team, he’s completely upright whereas in his own, he’s totally thrown… Isn’t that exactly Moon Si-hyun and Cactus?
[Oh my.]
[Oh my haha.]
[Whoops.]
―――

– Compilation of Wakitete mentioning top-tier broadcasters…txt
Cactus
Oh shit. That bastard again. Ah… that fucking piece of trash.
Hey, your bot is so obvious. Don’t you feel ashamed? Even San-deng hates you.
It’s one thing if you’re using a bot, but your words are shit too.
If you spent time sniping broadcasters, you could’ve earned enough to buy a house. No, seriously. It’s just… pathetic.
San-deng
(While playing together, Wakitete kept throwing the game, causing it to sway.)
Wakitete: Let’s just throw it.
Huh. No… Huh…
I usually don’t say stuff like this, but Wakitete? Is that Japanese? This guy is really going too far.
I seriously remember his name. He constantly taunts us in the chat when we’re on the same team while playing seriously against the opposing team.
I usually don’t suspect anyone, but I actually looked up his replies. Turns out he was indeed using a bot.
Hey Wakitete. This isn’t the first time; you just started turning here today. But what are the odds I run into you on that first game?
If you hate broadcasters so much, can’t you just not snipe? Why put yourself through that stress?
Wakitete: Just say one more word, and I’ll throw the game.
Hah… It’s dizzying. Of course he’d be listening. Hmph…
―――

– Wow, San-deng is holding back on the insults till the very end haha.
– Last game, San-deng was about to carry us to victory, but in the end, that dude threw it, haha.
[Wow, what a crazy guy;]
– Cactus had some real embarrassing moments during the last game, but since they were such jerks on the opposing side, no one cared.
[Haha, how can they tolerate calling him a ‘piece of trash’?]
[That’s just a fact.]
―――

– But how does he beat Moon Si-hyun?
Even so, how can a fighter beat a Garbage Fighter One-Champ?
There isn’t much score difference either, right?
– He used to be in the lower end of Grandmaster; was it 650 points?
[Huh? For real??]
[Yeah, he just intentionally dropped to boost his self-esteem before going around sniping broadcasters.]
[With a guy like him using a bot, no wonder the broadcasters can’t win once.]
[He definitely has talent, but even if he’s not a One-Champ, he’s pulled out fighters sometimes just to be a jerk, you know?]
[Seriously, can someone just beat him? He’s so damn annoying.]
– Roughly 400 points apart, but based on scores, there should be a skill gap, right?
– And there’s a huge difference between having traits and not, to be honest.
[That’s just insane that he made it to Master without traits.]
– That idiot would really lose because of the trait difference.

[This time, I’ll really start the lecture. I’ll explain it simply enough for beginners to understand.]
―――

Hey.
Yeah.
Haha.
Can this work? haha.
―――

[First off, to get the Nirvana Object, you need to manage early gameplay. First, Fighters have to fight. How do you fight? Well… it feels just like, when you hit, you win? You gotta do it then.]
―――
?
??
Yeah, it’s a lecture, damn it.
You should be explaining those angles;
―――

[… You’ll figure it out when you see it.]
From the side of the screen, broadcasting flowed out.
“Hah.”
He chuckled in disbelief. She was a ridiculously dumb girl as the rumors in the gallery suggested.
She couldn’t provide proper reasoning for any of her actions and just muddled through.
‘How did she get this far?’
He thought as he wandered into the bushes.
Dealers and supporters can’t always stick together. Eventually, they’ll have to split for the Nirvana Object. When that happens, a 1v1 situation between the support and dealer will occur.
And that timing is right now.
Anticipating the path of the opposing Moon Si-hyun, Wakitete hid within the bushes.
His win rate against broadcasters was nearly 100%.
Of course, his outstanding skills contributed, but his ‘bot’ share was also not small.
He checked the broadcast. As expected, Moon Si-hyun was heading towards him.
Before long, he spotted her. Her character was about to pass right in front of him.
He unleashed a wave to match her running speed.
‘Hit!’
The moment he cast it, he was certain he landed it. And due to the same ‘mirror match’ trait, the one who attacks first usually wins.
The man imagined a chat he’d write for everyone to see.
“Garbage Fighter One-Champ just got wrecked; the talent gap is too huge; let’s just quit Fiore.” and so on.
That wave filled with such hatred surged towards her opponent.
In that instant,
The Fighter’s eyes, while running, suddenly locked onto the wave flying towards them.
Crunch.
She abruptly stopped running. Then took half a step back.
The wave flew right past the Fighter’s nose.
Moon Si-hyun then turned toward the bushes from whence the wave came. Her eyes met his.
In that moment, the man felt a dread he couldn’t explain.
[Oh, that was sharp. It seems you’re a bit skilled this time.]
Her nonchalant voice commenting on him as if she was surprised at all.
―――
?
??
?
What?!
?
What kind of reaction time is that??
?
Wow.
Did she actually dodge that? No way, that’s got to be a coincidence!
―――
[Well… this could also be called brain waves. I predicted it would come from that direction.]
―――
Doesn’t seem like she predicted it at all.
Hmm…
Isn’t that the essence of reaction?
Wow, she managed that;
―――
The plan slightly went awry. Wakitete stepped out of the bushes.
He couldn’t run away. There was no reason to either. Because he was sure he would win.
[A 1v1 standoff; the one who runs away first loses.]
That was rarely a true statement among her lectures. Simultaneously, Moon Si-hyun dashed towards him.
Moon Si-hyun’s fist was flying. Wakitete predicted this and leaned to the side. 1 stack. The minimum conditions for rigidity activated.
The opponent is at 0 stack, I’m at 1 stack. There’s a mental game that can only happen right now.
The man flailed his fist plotting to counter, deliberately missing.
A lure giving room for error.
Moon Si-hyun either got tricked or after evading his punch, went for a kick.
That kick didn’t stop at all. She’d been completely fooled.
Right before her punch connected.
‘Now!’
– Kiying!
He activated parrying.
‘……?’
But rigidity didn’t activate.
Moon Si-hyun’s punch had stopped right in front of him.
– Bang!!
Moon Si-hyun drew back her fist and then unleashed a reinforced attack. The flustered man couldn’t guard. He took a hit straight to the face.
He staggered from the strong impact. Barely managing to regain his posture.
“Damn…..!”
[- If you feign falling for the opponent’s moves like this, they’ll parry. That’s when you go for the hit.]
―――
Wow.
What a mind game.
That strategy would absolutely crush you, damn it!
He might just reach Grandmaster soon at this rate.
Seriously, did she win without even having a trait? haha.
I mean, the opponent did well too, haha. She just mastered the mind games entirely.
Is all this wave and parry just reaction? Just tell me that please!
―――
Wakitete donated 1000 won.
In the face of overwhelming force, strategy is meaningless…
―――
What he had boasted and preached about, ‘the difference in talent’.
This time, he experienced it firsthand.
The man’s insides twisted upside down.