It's a line you hear at least once while battling someone in a game.
Usually, you only catch it when you're beating the other guy, so even if it's an insult, it doesn't really sting.
And for me, it's even less of a big deal.
"Is being good at games your life's greatest achievement?"
'Hell yeah, it is.'
World Rebuild. A game where you raise a single character in a ruined world, build a nation with them, and conquer the globe.
These days it's lost a lot of its shine over time, but it was once a masterpiece that peaked at a million simultaneous users worldwide.
Especially famous for how the early-game difficulty was a brutal nightmare of foresight battles, with rankings shuffling every month.
In a game like that, holding the number one spot for six straight years with an overwhelming score? That's a life achievement right there.
'Not that it feels like much of a brag anymore.'
That million concurrent peak was five years ago.
Constant early-game difficulty hikes and updates have turned it into a half-dead game now.
Probably fewer than twenty thousand active players left.
Narrow it to Korean servers? Maybe a thousand, tops.
A pitiful fall from grace—but put another way, only the true veterans remain.
And among those vets, I'm rank one.
That alone made it a proud life achievement for me.
Until exactly one week ago.
"Please, just match already. Please...!"
I muttered at my monitor like I was begging.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ▶ Searching for opponent. Please wait a moment... [1 hour 17 minutes]
One glance at the time, and a sigh escaped me.
Over an hour already, and still no match.
Yesterday it took fifty minutes at least—now it's even worse.
Just staring at that spinning circle makes me break out in a cold sweat.
'Who would've thought my win points were too high to find a match.'
Every competitive game has a win points system.
Everyone starts at the same score, but wins boost it, losses drop it.
Matches pair you with similar points—keeps noobs from getting farmed by pros.
My problem? My points are absurdly high.
'Third place is 17,690, second is 17,730... and I'm at 20,780.'
An overwhelming gap. Too many wins without a single loss bloated it.
A week ago, I wasn't worried.
After fifteen minutes, it'd force the closest match.
But the top players, sick of getting wrecked by me, complained.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "We've heard your feedback and removed the forced opponent assignment after 15 minutes. From now on, longer load times will expand the matchmaking point range."
In short: want to fight lower points? Wait longer.
Great for the rankers. Hell for me.
Even matching second place takes forever now.
Glancing at the still-loading screen, my teeth ground together.
'Thirty more minutes. If nothing, I'll quit and do something else.'
Irritated promise, but deep down I knew.
Even after thirty, I'd keep waiting—sunk cost and all.
Sighing again, I started to stand—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "Opponent found. Generating world. Entering new world." "[Resonance Trap]'s opponent is [I'll Sell Tax-Free]."
"...!"
Finally! I lightning-zipped back to my chair.
The endless load ended, my character appeared.
I moved to dive in—then all-chat from the opponent.
💬 All Chat — I'll Sell Tax-Free Resonance Trap? The real deal? — I'll Sell Tax-Free Wait, why's rank one here? — I'll Sell Tax-Free Matching must be bugged.
"No!"
A cry burst from my lips. Yesterday, I barely matched three people, but they all bailed at my name.
Four hours wasted, zero games.
'Can't let this one go too!'
Desperate, my brain raced.
They'd quit if I didn't hook them fast.
Begging for a game? Nah, highlights my skill too much.
I needed provocation.
— Resonance Trap Yeah, matching system's weird. — Resonance Trap Checked—you're rank 42. Not worth my time. — Resonance Trap Stop lurking up top. Stay down below.
Provoke complete. Heart pounding, I waited.
Please bite. Hell, add a 'trash talk controversy' page to my wiki if you want—just play.
— I'll Sell Tax-Free ??? This asshole talks like shit. — I'll Sell Tax-Free Total dogshit. — I'll Sell Tax-Free Let's see if your mouth matches your skill.
"...!"
Perfect response. Fists clenched in excitement.
First real game in two days.
But I wasn't here to enjoy it.
'Play it close, lose at the end. Need to drop points soon or I can't play at all.'
Untouchable rank one? Proud achievement?
Only worth bragging if I can actually play.
Better ditch the achievement than quit my favorite game cold.
Resolved, I gripped my mouse.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The game went smoothly. Opponent was no big deal.
Strategy predictable. Dozens of win paths in my head.
But this was a planned loss from the start.
'Keep it casual. If I throw too obviously, they'll bail. Make it look like their skill barely edged me out.'
Fooling them into thinking we're even? Easy.
Their plays were transparent.
Dodge their attacks just barely—win some, lose some narrowly.
— I'll Sell Tax-Free Not bad? Mouth's got some backing. — I'll Sell Tax-Free Going all-in. Brace yourself.
'Time to throw.'
I eyed the chat, maneuvering my character.
They won't notice now.
Defeat loomed thicker each turn.
Smooth loss incoming.
— I'll Sell Tax-Free Talk more shit lololol — I'll Sell Tax-Free "Stay down below"? Hilarious lololol
One minor issue: their attitude.
Still salty from my bait, kept mocking me.
Intended loss, so insults didn't faze—but still.
— I'll Sell Tax-Free Recording this, btw? — I'll Sell Tax-Free Boards gonna burn tomorrow lololol — I'll Sell Tax-Free Rank one gets wrecked lololol
"...."
That pissed me off. But fine.
Everyone knows my skill. They'll see the throw in the vid.
Don't react—my loss.
Steeled myself to close chat—
— I'll Sell Tax-Free Be real— you using a proxy, right? — I'll Sell Tax-Free Acting big when you suck. — I'll Sell Tax-Free Poor suckers who think you're good lololol
"This fucker."
That hit a nerve. Eyes rolled back.
Game as good as over. 10-to-1 odds against me.
But I grabbed the mouse again.
Points don't matter—teach this punk a lesson.
"You're done."
My hands flew across the keyboard.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The board flipped in an instant.
Gap closed, then reversed—10-to-1 became 1-to-10.
Chat went silent as parity hit.
Later, they half-quit, barely controlling.
I smashed their idle character without mercy.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "[Resonance Trap] has defeated [I'll Sell Tax-Free]." "[Resonance Trap]'s win points have risen to 20,790." "[I'll Sell Tax-Free] has left the world."
Victory sealed, they bolted.
Felt good... but then I remembered my goal, clutching my head.
"...Shit, not like this."
Points climbed even higher.
Matching times might hit two hours now.
Sighing, I shut down the PC.
'No way around it. Complain to the devs tomorrow.'
Delete and remake? Tempting, but losing "undisputed rank one" hurts.
At least scout options before deleting.
No one else has this problem, though.
Next day, logging into the site for 1:1 support—I froze at the notice.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "Thank you for loving World Rebuild all this time. World Rebuild service ends today. We apologize for the sudden notice and will return soon with a new game."
"...What?"
Unbelievable.
Service end? At least warn a month ahead!
Nothing yesterday, dead today?
"These bastards...!"
Blood pressure spiking, I logged in to rage on the forums.
Boards were chaos already.
📰 Forum Post [No prior warning, just after-the-fact notice? Have you lost your minds?] 📰 Forum Post [This is too much, even for you guys.] 📰 Forum Post [There's a limit to treating users like suckers lololol]
Titles I nodded to a hundred, a thousand times.
Ready to join the fury, I hit compose—then spotted a weird one.
📰 Forum Post [Everyone check your PMs right now] 💬 Comments — Anonymous Checked PMs—got a dev message. Says I'm a beta tester for the new game. To join, shout "Open Dimensional Gate." Thought it was a prank, but a real Dimensional Gate popped up IRL. No joke. Try it. — Reply Crazy bastard, not the time for jokes? — Reply No aggro baiting. — Reply Game dies and all the weirdos crawl out. — Reply Schizo central.
"...What nonsense is this?"
Scammed and still joking?
Eyes narrowed, but scrolling replies felt off.
— Reply ??? Wtf it's real??? — Reply Insane lololol wtf is this lololol — Reply Tried to screenshot proof but no pic! — Reply Too scared to enter—anyone been?
More believers than expected. Upvotes 7-to-3.
Usually these get buried in downvotes.
Just in case, I checked PMs.
A dev message waited.
📩 Private Message [Congratulations. You've been selected as a Beta Tester.] —Thank you, [Resonance Trap], for enjoying World Rebuild. You've been chosen as a beta tester for the upcoming World Rebuild phase starting in three days. To join early, shout "Open Dimensional Gate."
What the hell?
Service ends today, but beta next week?
And shout IRL to join?
Ridiculous—but that post nagged me.
"...Open Dimensional Gate."
Muttered it quietly. Nothing.
Suddenly laughed at my own absurdity.
"Yeah, right. Dimensional Gate my ass..."
-Shrrriiiip
"...!?"
My grumbling eyes bulged.
A moment later, a tearing sound ripped the air.
A bluish oval shimmered into existence mid-air.
Identical to World Rebuild's Dimensional Gate.