章 18: Meeting The Genius
Yuuno, the Magician of Burning Will.
One of the few Footsoldier Pro players, Yuuno was the only one who played the spear Variant. An incredibly skilled player, but all long standing Pros are. Nimin recalled some of the matches he had with Yuuno, and realized the the score was currently even. The Phaseblade was often put in an awkward spot when going against the spear Variant. Due to the Footsoldier's stabs with the spear.
They weren't on friendly terms, but weren't enemies either. More like a general acquaintance. Nimin understood though, despite being the number one spear Variant player Yuuno still had to live in the Sword Saint's shadow.
Entering through a pair of large doors Nimin spotted Yuuno sitting on a couch casually chatting with someone. The door creaked and caught the attention of Yuuno, making the two's eyes meet. Yuuno rose his eyebrows, "You look really familiar."
"I don't doubt that."
"Do I know you?"
"Not me specifically."
"That so?"
Yuuno eyed Nimin while getting up from the seat, "I hope you aren't too out of it for a quick match?"
"I might misplay a bit."
"That's fine! I have to go tomorrow so I couldn't wait much longer. I am glad you came here as soon as possible. You got your account stick?"
Nimin flashed the account stick in his palm, showing off the second generation design. Yuuno nodded and gestured towards a pair of computers, "Then let's see, since I'll be watching you play I have someone for you to face."
The one Yuuno was speaking with stood up from the couch and extended a hand, "I'm Ryan. I play Footsoldier, Spear Variant."
Nimin shook the hand while glancing at Yuuno. It seems he's getting close to that age, to be personally training a successor. A bittersweet feeling. Nimin wasn't able to train his own before retiring. Perhaps that was why his team tried to convince him otherwise.
"Cole, I play Gunner, currently still working on the build."
"I've heard, to think you have a Unique Skill at that level."
"It was thanks to the account I was given."
"Shall we play?"
Nimin turned towards the computers and spoke, "I'm not facing against a Max Footsoldier am I?"
"Only if you want to!", Ryan laughed.
"I'm not trying to die within seconds thank you."
Sitting down at the computer Nimin plugged in his account stick. Pressing a few keys to warm up, he then adjusted the position of the keyboard, "Okay what room?"
Ryan informed him of the details and Nimin controlled Critical Shot to enter the room. Eyeing the faint reflection of Yuuno and Steven he stared at their expressions. They were a distance away to not disturb Nimin, but close enough to scrutinize how he played.
Truth be told Nimin doesn't know the limits he's capable of currently. His newfound youth was sudden, and startling. It allowed him to move quickly, react quicker, but he truly wasn't sure just how quick he could move. Without usage of many Skills, and the Gunner being inherently a ranged class, his reflexes weren't put to their limit.
Thankfully he was given an invite to this camp. With it he would have access to the resources to truly find his limit. To push himself beyond those, and reach a point to take on the Pros.
Loading into the match Nimin didn't hesitate. Critical Shot equipped the handguns and fired rapidly forward. Ryan was stunned by the sudden ferocity, but rapidly adjusted. Predicting the pathing of some of the bullets by studying the handguns, Ryan was able to minimize the damage taken.
Switching the weapons each time he reloaded Nimin was able to reduce the time there wasn't bullets in the air. Regardless Ryan was able to close a decent amount of distance and leapt forward. Nimin clicked his tongue as he redirected his handgun, several bullets landing on his opponent's head.
Yuuno made a look of being impressed, but remained silent to not distract the current players. Ryan landed on his feet and quickly stabbed towards Nimin, but the spear pierced nothing but air. A last second Snap dodge to create an opening, a standard in the Pro scene.
Yet downplaying the feat as 'standard' was far from the truth! While common in the Pro scene, a large majority of the playerbase aren't used to going against it! This included the training camp! They can learn the theory behind it, but putting it into practice took a vast amount of experience. Something younger players should lack, but Nimin had an abundance of!
Ryan was startled and too flustered to react fast enough. Sweeping him off his feet Critical Shot released a flurry of bullets into the head of his airborne opponent. The spear flickered forward to stab him, but Critical Shot was already stepping to the side.
Before being able to fall down properly Critical Shot leapt forward with a knee, knocking Ryan flying through the air. Half a tumble later Ryan performed a recovery, an amazing feat but nothing a Pro in training can't accomplish. Ryan, however, was stunned to see a grenade falling directly in front of him, "You predicted that?!"
Bang-!
A gunshot rang out and the grenade exploded. Nimin performed the inputs to reload and casually said, "Recovering instantly isn't always the best choice."
Hands glitching Critical Shot held onto an assault rifle and fired rapidly. Ryan recovered and dashed through the flurry to close the distance once more. A majority of fights when dealing with ranged classes consisted of chasing them down. Something that would be frustrating for a lot of players, and even called unfair. However a Pro understood, if you could properly pin down a ranged class it would be game. Many ranged classes don't have the tools to escape close combat.
"Stop closing the range with Leaping Stab.", Nimin spoke just as Ryan began to leap.
A grenade exploded as the spear stabbed through it. Ryan hadn't fully understood why his spear blew through a grenade. This was because Critical Shot had manually lifted it, dropping it the moment the spear made contact, allowing it to explode. Grenades weren't primed until the user let go after all, so a feat like this required an incredible amount of timing.
Steven, although in charge of facilities regarding the camp, wasn't a Pro. He was unable to understand a lot of the small details when players fought. At this moment however, he was able to tell how Nimin played wasn't simple. The way it all looked, it seemed very similar to when a Pro was teaching the younger generation.
Yet. . . this person wasn't a Pro!
Critical Shot was blown back from the explosion, something he instantly recovered. Ryan however did the same, making the distance difference much smaller than planned. The spear stabbed forward, a basic attack! A normal dodge was all it took to avoid this attack, Ryan adjusted his attack but it was too late.
"You're flustered, quickly regain your nerves.", Nimin said while firing several bullets.
Steven leaned towards Yuuno and whispered, "Your thoughts?"
"Match is already over. Ryan lacks experience, he will gain it with time."
"What about Cole? You were worried he might have altered the game right?"
"This isn't something he can alter, it seems Quick Swap has changed somehow. Regardless his skill is the real deal."
"You think he's worth?"
"Worth for what?"
"Investing to be a Pro."
"Definitely."
Yuuno walked up and placed a hand on each player's shoulders, "I've seen enough. Before we end it it's customary to speak your thoughts about the enemy player. Helps create a good environment for growth."
Nimin replied, "How often did they tell you to say that?"
"A lot."
Ryan sighed, "Calm and calculating. I felt my every move was being watched."
Nimin was quite pleased to see Ryan not being hot-blooded when faced with loss. Already he was reflecting on the match even at the premature ending to it. This was an excellent thing, and would create a sturdy foundation for a fantastic Pro player. After all it was the same thing he did before.
Placing a finger on his chin Nimin took a moment before replying, "You ought to stop being a mirror."
Ryan frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"If I were to tell you that would defeat the purpose of me intentionally wording it to be vague."
Yuuno eyed Nimin suspiciously. Experience, emotional control, incredible insight, and a very good eye for the intricacies of Fractured World's combat. Everything screamed of an old veteran, but not only was their age proven, but they looked very young as well.
This was potentially not just a genius. Rather, it was a monster.
"There's a few things I noticed about your playing I'd like to discuss, but you mentioned you were still developing your build?", Yuuno decided to distract
Nimin nodded, "Yeah, I made a document for my future build. I'm currently working on that."
Yuuno pursed his lips, "Okay then, I won't comment until I see you with your finished build. If you have any concerns you can ask some of our coaches. Otherwise I look forward to see what you're capable of. You can spend today getting used to the camp. I'll give you an exception so you can figure out what your plan is."
"I won't waste time then."
Guiding Nimin to leave Yuuno watched as Nimin unplugged his Account stick and waltzed through the room. Leaning towards Steven Yuuno warned, "Keep an eye on him. I have a gut feeling something will happen."
"What kind of thing?"
"Kid might make waves, just call it instinct. Anyways I got a flight to catch, Ryan your stuff good?"
"Yes sir!"
"Let's move then, we got a press conference ahead of us."
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