I Regressed but the World Didn’t Fall Apart

Transcendent Hunter’s Streaming -36-

036.

“···Huh.”

Anatole paused for a moment and let out a dry laugh.

The opponent, who seemed to be challenging him with a smirk, gestured with his hand.

‘Provocation with provocation… is that it?’

The feeling was quite refreshing.

A while ago, when faced with an unknown opponent.

Anatole didn’t feel a hint of tension.

There was no reason to.

In the world of Ultimate Fighter, he was always the best, and he would continue to be so in the future.

Just an opponent in a ranked game.

Although he was known as a mysterious expert with a somewhat recognizable name, that was all.

He thought there was no reason to be nervous.

However…

-?

-Whoa

-Is Anatole falling behind?

-What a provocation, damn

The recent confrontation.

A moment of passing eerie feeling.

Was it a misunderstanding?

“That’s true.”

Anatole’s lower body bent.

Was it really a misunderstanding?

“You’re… quite good, aren’t you?”

It was time to find out.

Bam!

Anatole’s leg hit the ground.

Utilizing his charge skill, he swiftly closed the distance.

Anatole’s body shot out like a bullet.

Hoken vs. Hoken mirror match.

In this situation, the opponent usually has two choices.

To step back or to face head-on with a charge skill.

Thud-!

The opponent chose the latter.

Anatole closing the gap in an instant, just like that.

Thunk!

Then, Anatole’s swift hundred-yard dash followed!

Boom!

The opponent’s lost leg struck the air.

Anatole aimed for that exact moment.

Thunk!

Where Anatole aimed was the opponent’s temple.

Just taking hits doesn’t suit his temperament.

Crack!

Anatole’s leg struck where it intended.

“Responding to this..?”

But Anatole’s expression was not satisfied.

The hit was shallow.

Right before landing properly, the opponent’s arm blocked Anatole’s leg first, lessening the impact.

Thunk!

Then swiftly, the opponent’s leg extended and swept Anatole’s abdomen.

His face twisted.

Just as Anatole blocked the opponent’s attack right before getting hit, it was the same for him.

But he didn’t block it properly.

The heaviness lingered in his raised arm.

He was the one who suffered damage.

“Phew.”

Anatole pulled back his body.

In the previous confrontation, underestimating the opponent had caused quite a large loss.

And now, he was at a loss again.

While Anatole’s HP had already decreased by a third, the opponent’s HP was barely scratched.

– Whoa

– Seriously, is he a hidden master?

– Is it because it’s been a year since he played? Seeing Anatole getting pushed back like this is a rare sight;;

The chat box was in complete chaos.

It was expected.

Who is Anatole?

He was even one of the characters Hoken mainly dealt with.

There was a time when Anatole had won tournaments only using Hoken throughout.

Rumors of ‘Hoken fraud’ had even circulated at that time.

In other words, Anatole was a master who never lagged behind in terms of proficiency with Hoken.

But to overwhelm Anatole, the Hoken expert, like this.

– Who is that guy?

– hahahaha, catching a Black Year didn’t surprise you?

– Nah, probably just the first round, right? It’s been a while since I played, so the feel isn’t there.

– Oh, I see.

– Probably just being careless, hahahaha.

But to some extent, I could understand.

Just a while ago, reminiscing about Iron Fist Tournament broadcasts, now it’s Ultimate Fighter just switched on.

It wasn’t a warm-up in practice mode; it was a straight into a ranked game.

Moreover, according to Anatol, it was the first time in a year he’s turned on Ultimate Fighter.

“Can’t get the feel?”

Anatol let out a faint chuckle.

Playing Ultimate Fighter after a year and not getting the feel?

And Anatol, of all people?

Moreover, what, being careless?

Anatol knew very well that the current setback wasn’t because of that.

The scouting match that happened earlier.

With just that brief exchange of blows, Anatol could gauge the opponent’s level.

Not just an ordinary amateur gamer, probably more than that.

Might not be just an average pro player.

Maybe one of the few competitors who once threatened his position.

“…Thought it would be a piece of cake.”

But that wasn’t it either.

The opponent, whom Anatol had encountered so far, possessed something he hadn’t felt from them, something indescribable.

It wasn’t just about skills.

Skills are skills, but… something beyond that, an unknown sense of unease had been bothering Anatol since earlier.

If he couldn’t figure out what that was, he would end up losing as he was.

Sssk-

Anatol cautiously approached the opponent.

Closing the distance, glancing sideways slightly.

This time, attempting a rush attack but canceling.

Continuously changing postures, directions, joint movements, and eye movements, he pressured the opponent.

However, no matter how many fakes he threw, there was no significant response from the opponent.

Unable to react, or not reacting.

Considering the opponent’s demonstrated skills so far, it would naturally be the latter.

Whoosh!

And just as he decided to truly engage and took a step forward, the opponent’s attack was unleashed.

If he had reacted a bit later, he would have taken a hit to the chin and been left floating in the air.

“…Phew.”

Anatol’s focus heightened to the extreme.

How was the opponent seeing through his movements like that.

I thought I had erased it all, but is it just a lingering habit?

Suddenly such thoughts came to mind, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

Anatol was in a situation where he had suffered a lot of damage to his current HP.

In the end, he was the one who had to bear the risk.

Boom!

Anatol’s fist grazed through the air.

The opponent finally started to move.

An attack that precisely intercepted the timing of retracting the fist.

Thud!

Attacks and defenses, not sparing fists, feet, or elbows, clashed back and forth.

Dodging strikes, parrying, taking hits, then pushing back.

As spectators watched, a high-speed exchange of blows crossed each other at a pace that was impossible to follow without putting on slow motion.

A high-level exchange that involuntarily made one bite their tongue.

-“Wow…”

-“Damn, what’s happening?”

-“Both are insane for real.”

But Anatol’s expression was gradually hardening.

During the clash of blows, Anatol was gradually taking more damage.

Reaching out but not hitting, failing to properly dodge strikes, getting arms grabbed, almost broken.

The accumulating damage was affecting his HP.

-“Anatol’s losing blood?”

-“Oh my…”

-“????”

A familiar situation for seasoned fighting game viewers.

At first glance, it may seem like an equal exchange of blows, but in reality, the damage taken by each side could differ.

Losing blood meant the difference in damage taken accumulating and being reflected in the HP through the game system.

And in the Ultimate Fighter game they had been watching, Anatol was naturally the one causing the blood loss to his opponent.

-“Anatol being pushed back in close combat?”

-“Wow… Is this for real?”

Whoosh!

And then, flames erupting.

“Crimson Flame?”

Anatol’s eyes flickered.

Crimson Flame, one of Hoken’s skills.

Blazing flames rose, obscuring the view.

“Was it a mistake?”

Anatol hastily stepped back.

Crimson Flame was one of the most frequently used skills by Hoken’s users.

However, in a situation like the current exchange of blows, it was not appropriate to use it.

From the mechanism of Crimson Flame to the striking distance, and the delay until it was activated and the hit judgment came out.

Anatole knew it perfectly, without the slightest margin of error.

Thud-

Hence, the perfect timing emerged.

In Ultimate Fighter, it was possible to cancel skills after activation, but there were limits even there.

Each technique had a point where canceling was impossible after a specific move.

In the case of Hongyeomgak, the angle of the knee beyond a certain point was the criterion.

“Now!”

Having seen the opponent’s extended leg, Anatole’s body spun round in a flash.

By moving out of striking range like this, utilizing the rigidity time that Hoken’s Hongyeomgak possessed, inserting a significant move just before the rigidity was released, Anatole could reverse the HP situation so far and secure his victory.

It was that moment.

“Hongyeomgak…”

No, something felt different.

It was a gut feeling.

He shouldn’t have rotated his body like this—

-Thunk!

His thoughts were cut short.

Anatole’s waist snapped like a bamboo shoot.

A precise right kick struck his nape.

He floated slightly in the air.

The opponent didn’t miss that moment.

Being airborne in Ultimate Fighter meant exposing vulnerabilities to the opponent.

Wham!

Followed by a series of strikes.

Anatole’s body lifted into the air once more.

Thud!

Now, the opponent leaped into the air as if to crush the ground outright.

And then, the thoughts that had been abruptly interrupted returned.

“Doing all the moves… by themselves?”

Including Ultimate Fighter, most games had what was called “correction.”

It was only natural.

Characters in games possessed superhuman abilities in speed, strength, and every other aspect.

To handle that, game correction was essential.

Being a pro gamer didn’t mean being superhuman.

It simply meant having slightly faster reflexes than others, good visual and motor skills, exceptional senses, and better adaptation to corrections in various aspects.

Of course, there were differences in levels even among pro gamers.

The ability to adapt to all the corrected moves and perfectly bring out the character’s performance theoretically distinguished top-tier pro gamers from the rest.

Furthermore, it separated the normal from the elite by whether they could deceive opponents by not relying on corrections for some moves and diversifying patterns.

Based on that degree, among those elite gamers, there were distinctions between the top-tier and the absolute top-tier, with Anatole positioned at the pinnacle among those elite gamers.

However, even for someone like Anatole, the current situation was incomprehensible.

The true identity of the discomfort he only realized at the end.

His opponent had never relied on a single adjustment so far.

[K.O.]

“Is that possible?”

Doubt swept through Anatole’s mind.

**

Viewers said that Ultimate Fighter was a game long past its prime.

“Why is that?”

It didn’t make sense to Ido Hyuk.

Why was this mediocre game such a big deal?

Was Iron Fist, which took its place, really that impressive?

Thunk! Pabat!

Was this level of opponent really enough?

Kwaaang!

A missed kick harshly tore through the ground.

Avoid this?

A cloud of dust rose, momentarily obscuring the view.

“Interesting.”

The corner of Ido Hyuk’s mouth lifted slightly.

Without hesitation, he swung his arm.

The opponent’s fist was blocked by his hand.

Not stopping there, Ido Hyuk twisted his arm.

He halted the opponent’s attempt to retract the thrown punch.

At that moment, Ido Hyuk’s other hand whipped out like a whip.

Smack!

A precise hit.

What comes next is…

“Ah.”

[K.O.]

[Victory!]

At that moment, the victory notification appeared.

“It’s over already.”

Ido Hyuk expressed his disappointment.

It was just about to get really fun.

But since a game is a game, when HP runs out, it inevitably ends.

For that reason, despite gearing up, it has already ended disappointingly several times.

“I should start heading out.”

Ido Hyuk checked the time.

[Hmm, it was fun. I’ll be on my way now.]

Chatting, a reply comes immediately.

[Ramen Pulling Contest First Place Winner: Yes, understood. I had fun too.]

He wondered why everyone in Ultimate Fighter had turned off their chat notifications.

It was Lee Dohyuk who realized that it was his own setting after the chat with the opponent earlier, “Did you intentionally turn off the communication function?”

But even after that, he continued to communicate only through chat.

“Did I just come up with a concept for no reason…”

That was the reason he started thinking about taking on the concept of a quiet genius gamer.

Of course, part of the reason was also that he wasn’t broadcasting.

As a novice streamer who had just finished his first broadcast, he didn’t want to risk revealing his identity through his voice, saying goodbye to viewers and then going to play games alone.

And he thought it might be a good idea to become the number one in Ultimate Fighter and reveal that fact during a broadcast.

“There’s not much time left.”

His account, which had originally been 21 wins and 0 losses.

The reward for winning just one game had long been achieved, and now he was on the verge of reaching the highest rank.

[Record: 26 wins, 0 losses]

This was because he had added 5 wins to his record from back then.

Of course, those 5 wins were only obtained from the ＜Ramen Pulling Contest Winner＞.

Through the revenge match system, he could continue to battle, and he kept accepting revenge matches because the opponent he had fought the best among all the opponents he had met in Ultimate Fighter.

“When I reach the highest rank, I’ll meet more interesting opponents, right?”

In the more popular Iron Fist, there would be even more challenging opponents.

Just the thought of it was exciting.

“I hope to meet this person at the top. I should add them as a friend.”

Currently, the only person in his friend list was DarkenGirl.

To her, or maybe to the only friend he could have, he felt sorry, but this side was a much more fun opponent.

It seemed like his skills were improving with each game, more than from the first game.

If the opponent continued to work hard, they might meet at the top.

“I probably boosted my MMR too much…”

Also, to cheer them on.

In the hope that they would work harder.

[Hmm, you’re talented. Since I sent a friend request, let’s play together next time.]

With such chat, Lee Dohyuk ended the game.