Chapter 45: A very angry opponent

[3,000 games… doesn’t that make me a legendary hermit or something?]

[The SB is shrinking like crazy.]

[I’ve seen records of thousands of games, but 30,000 games? I wanna see how a life is lived with that many.]

[Sensei, aren’t you getting totally humiliated?]

[What a total fossil… drool]

I could already foresee my defeat.

Well, 30,000 games isn’t a record that can be easily dismissed.

Just seeing it was enough to make my nose wrinkle, like the stench of rotten food filling the room.

I thought about leaving the room, but quickly changed my mind.

There were two reasons.

First, having a high record doesn’t necessarily mean they’re good.

If the number of games was proportional to skill, there would be plenty of pro-level players by now.

No matter how many games you’ve played, bad players will remain bad, and those who are destined to drop tiers will always drop.

Second, the opponent was probably a washed-up veteran entering their twilight years.

This is an extension of the previous point, but at first glance, the sheer number of games might intimidate someone.

However, on the flip side, it also means they’ve been playing this game for a long time.

Considering when the “Stellar Craft – Species Reproduction” expansion came out and the age of those who played it, they’ve probably crossed their forties by now.

‘Can someone in their forties still maintain the minimum physical skills required for a game like this?’

Even with all that experience, there must be a limit to their reflexes.

On the other hand, I’m a sprightly 22-year-old with excellent control—basically, a hero-class spec.

A cheat code in the gaming world, if you will.

‘Unless the build is wildly imbalanced, I should have the upper hand.’

***

[Room Moderator] yaSergei: Are you a pro?

[Guest] Friede777: Hehe

The opponent’s race is the Zerg, and I’m the Protoss.

‘Race matchups?’ Honestly, few games have such a delicate balance between races, so arguing about that is mostly a waste of breath.

“11 o’clock, huh?”

Twin Flame is a 4-player map.

Starting positions are 1 o’clock, 5 o’clock, 7 o’clock, and 11 o’clock.

If the opponent is Zerg, I actually prefer it when they spawn diagonally.

It makes it easier to safely take my natural expansion early.

yaSergei: Wanna test me?

The game had barely started, and the opponent was already chatty.

Still, I figured they were a talkative type, so I decided to indulge my curiosity and responded.

Friede777: How long have you been playing Stellar?

yaSergei: 36 years.

[SB 36 years, haha]

[They’ve been playing Stellar since before I was born.]

[Somehow… I feel the weight of history, Deathwing…]

I was momentarily speechless, but quickly gathered myself.

36 years of experience means they’ve been playing this game nonstop since its release—an obsession at this point.

‘Was this a 4-drone build?’

The game was still early, so nothing too major happened yet.

My worker was scouting the map early.

I sent a scout worker diagonally, but it was a bust.

It had to be either horizontal or vertical, so I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

I summoned a photon cannon at my natural and built a gateway and forge.

Just then, their worker arrived at my main base.

In response, my scout came in a bit late, so I went for a last-minute search.

The location was 7 o’clock.

A vertical position.

When my worker reached their base, I saw…

“Oh, it’s a 9 drone.”

Six zerglings were already heading toward my base.

My gateway was finished, but based on the build timing, I should send out a couple of zealots to defend before the drones arrived.

It would be better to sacrifice a few workers than allow a zergling rush into my base.

As the zerglings tried to push in, I sent out my seven workers and one zealot to defend.

Even though I blocked the entrance with buildings, there were still two potential paths for the zerglings to enter.

I focused on the side where the workers and zealot were, ignoring the other path.

Using my 0.5-range zealot, I was on high alert, controlling my workers to keep trading positions and retreating those with low health.

The zerglings struggled in the narrow path, with three of them being taken down before retreating.

It was a clean tactical victory, a satisfying defense.

The build timing was sharp, but somehow I felt their zergling control was lacking.

At this point, I was pretty sure my guess was correct.

The opponent’s brainpower was solid, but their physical skills just weren’t there.

[Room Moderator] yaSergei: Your worker control is impressive.

[Room Moderator] yaSergei: You’re good at managing the health of your workers.

[Room Moderator] yaSergei: But your skill still seems like garbage…

[Room Moderator] yaSergei: Just micro-control is probably your strength.

It seemed like an attempt to be little me after I had easily countered their early attack.

It was a childish move, so I decided to respond in kind.

Friede777: Well, at least I’m good at micro-control…

Friede777: You don’t seem to have anything going for you.

Friede777: Is this what 30,000 games gets you?

yaSergei: ???

yaSergei: Alright, that’s it.

yaSergei: I’m gonna crush you.

[Big insult incoming.]

[Opponent’s ego is exploding, what a pompous old man.]

[The frustration is palpable.]

This guy was clearly losing his mind.

“I guess I’ll have to teach this guy a lesson. Alright, folks, what’s the best way to punish him? Oh right, I’ll just spam cruisers and make him waste all his resources on them.”

I’d make him produce nothing but cruisers with all the resources he’s hoarded.

[With a Corsair? Lol]

[Just go for the marauder, Sensei]

“Everyone doesn’t know how strong Corsairs are. Let me show you.”

As I boasted, everyone seemed skeptical, but then the mission popped up.

“ChiliKongKane’s mission!

1,000 won per Overlord! No limit on the number!”

[Big one came!!!]

[Mission Kit! Wwww]

[Wow, unlimited funds mission]

How kind of the game to motivate me like this.

This round… might need to be a bit more intense.

With the quantum cannon already built, the early threat was practically over.

I began preparing my front base activation and placed an air gateway to secure some much-needed scouting.

“Wow, that was close. The enemy is all-in with Hydras.”

It seems like they’re not aiming for a wealthy economy strategy.

Maybe getting older and growing more impatient.

Thanks to noticing their intentions early, countering was easy.

I saw a large Hydra unit coming, so I immediately added several quantum cannon turrets at the entrance.

With that, I only needed to watch out for a 6.9 cm drop.

Everything else was under control.

Soon, I added two air gateways and other tech buildings to start preparing the Corsairs.

Just as expected, the Hydra swarm approached, but I easily held them off with the added turrets and a few Dragoons.

And while the standoff continued at the entrance, I finished my speed upgrades, and soon five Corsairs had gathered.

Time to make a move.

“Corsairs can wipe out small forces easily.”

With their fast attack speed and splash damage, the more Corsairs you have, the stronger they become.

But when there are fewer, their weak attack power makes it hard to execute hit-and-run tactics.

Not to mention, they can’t attack ground units.

On the other hand, with high burst damage and the ability to attack ground units, they were now perfect for a hit-and-run.

And now? It was time for Overlord slaughter.

As the Corsairs reached the enemy’s main base, they launched their assault.

The Overlords popped one by one with a pop sound as they burst like balloons from the missile fire.

A swarm of Hydras came in, but they couldn’t catch up with the mobility of air units.

I kept circling, hitting the main base, the third expansion, and back to the main base, continually hunting Overlords.

“14…15, 16, 17…”

yaSergei: “Fuck”

yaSergei: “How many times do I have to hit it for it to die?”

yaSergei: “It’s not dying… this is fucking OP.”

Friede777: ^^

It was hilarious.

The Corsair was generally considered a useless unit.

But unlike the Marauder, it had 1 more supply, and as a result, it had much more health.

A few Hydras spitting at it wouldn’t just shoot it down easily.

‘A player with 30,000 games should know this, right? Or were they deliberately ignoring reality?’

“Look, when the Overlord spawns from that egg, I’ll strike the moment it hatches!”

As the Overlord group emerged from their eggs, the Corsairs charged in.

With the numbers stacking up, I had one full group of Corsairs.

Even if they set up turrets, the Overlords were one-shot kills, making it a perfect massacre.

[Wow, how many Overlords has he killed so far?]

[Probably about 40 by now]

[Seriously, spending 3 mineral chunks just on Overlords]

[There’s a limit to how much Overlords can keep getting killed, right? If they keep dying like this, they won’t be able to mass units anymore]

[They’ll need about 200 hatcheries, lol]

[The enemy’s going to rage hard, lol]

[Mission goal is a joke, lol]

[But using Corsairs like this is so good]

[Yeah… I thought it was a totally useless unit, but…]

While messing with my opponent, I kept expanding my bases.

The enemy tried to respond with Mutalisks and Corruptors to catch up to the Corsairs’ mobility, but as I kept moving and shooting, I took them out one by one, leading to an overwhelming exchange.

If they had tried to engage me in a full-scale battle, it might have been different, but in smaller skirmishes, I could easily overpower them using micro-control.

Eventually, the enemy, unable to hold on, tried a frontal assault with their remaining forces.

But with the turrets everywhere and additional Zerglings added, they were easily blocked.

***

yaSergei: “You fucking…”

yaSergei: “This is so fun, huh?”

Friede777: “Yeah, it’s really fun, Mr. ^^”

yaSergei: “Such a polite little fucker, huh?”

Friede777: “Lol, too much fun.”

Friede777: “Is this really the fighting power of someone with 30,000 games? What a noob.”

[Ha, humiliation fun]

[Currently, the host has slaughtered 105 Overlords… mission goal tears]

[More victims than the 30,000-game player? Pwoosh, swoosh]

Looking at the chaotic chat, I decided to deliver the final blow.

I sent my Mutalisks and Corsairs on a final tour, completely wiping out the 30,000-game veteran who eventually surrendered.

yaSergei: “Follow me for a rematch.”

yaSergei: “I’m a PC bang league champion.”

yaSergei: “I’ll show you real skill, I’ll wreck you.”

[Here comes the “I’m your master” speech!]

[Sergey, you dirty player]

[PC bang champion, lol]

[Yeah, when was that win?]

[We’re talking about ancient victories now, huh?]

A neighborhood PC bang league…

It reminded me of an older guy I knew who used to boast about winning a PC bang league when we were kids.

I wonder what he’s up to now.

Friede777: “Is the map still ‘Tuhon’?”

yaSergei: “Yeah, hahaha.”

yaSergei: “Room password is 6974, follow me.”

Friede777: “Lol.”

Friede777: “Good luck with the rematch.”

As I kept mocking, the enemy simply admitted defeat without saying much.

yaSergei: “Fucking…”

Friede777: “??”

-yaSergei has left the game.

“Wow.”

[It wasn’t GG, it was ‘Fuck you’]

[Lol, this crazy guy didn’t even leave without a legendary exit.]

[Momentarily, I regretted reading that.]

[Lol, omg.]

Before leaving, the GG declaration was a little tacky.

Well, I guess I’ll accept the re-match request… once.

But then…

“What was the room password again?”

The GG declaration was so memorable that I forgot.

Right when I asked, someone replied in the chat.

[Your mom’s.]

“Why are you using insults? I’ll ban you.”

I don’t tolerate anyone using bad language!