A fierce battle broke out in the middle of the battlefield.
The sword of the swordsman gleamed with a sharp, threatening light. The straight sword strike sliced through my clothes, and Luche dodged the berserker's axe. Behind the shield, the sound of chains rattled from Freil's weapon.
But it wasnât just the two in front of us who were causing trouble. The cultists summoned tentacles that kept interfering, and in response, Hekate and Rika provided covering fire. The barrier blocked the tentacle attacks, and the ranger, jumping, shot green arrows from a distance.
There was no safe place; no matter where I looked, I couldnât find a single spot of safety.
[âDivine Bell of the Spiritâ effect activated.]
[Removes the most recent harmful effect.]
[Caster: Sigma Hekate]
Stay calm. The more complicated the situation, the more we need to solve things one step at a time. Since Camellia began to pressure the Ghost Priest, time was on our side.
Our support from range was advantageous. Given the nature of the enemy's strategy, they were receiving support on both offense and defense. The cultistâs attempts at interference were mostly blocked by Hekate, rendering them ineffective.
The real problem lay in the melee combat, where we were at a disadvantage in terms of stats. I was facing Donghaeâs swordsman.
âAs expected, the feel of his blade is not quite the same.â
If it werenât for the debuff, I would have already left multiple wounds on his vital spots by now. The overwhelming mobility I once had was significantly restricted, and with my stats reduced, the battle of strength wasnât going easily either. Even in the weapon's range, I was at a disadvantage.
In RPGs, specs are a kind of skill too. If the characterâs stats are reduced, the skill gap can be narrowed.
Well, thatâs only true if itâs a gap that can be closed.
Relying solely on physical advantages will never lead to great success. Even at my peak, I fought against opponents who were both stronger and technically superior to me.
As I prepared to attack, I hesitatedâchanging my grip and adjusting my trajectory. My opponent overreacted, leaving a scar on his thigh as if punishing him.
"â¦!"
"Heh, you fell for it, didnât you?"
It wasnât a fatal wound. Though it was a deep cut, it was still on his thigh, so its effectiveness was limited.
However, the feeling of being tricked would stick with him. If he falls for it again, the next time it wonât just be his thigh at risk. His focus would now stay on my daggers and limbs.
He didnât realize he was walking straight into a trap.
Intense focus would prevent him from missing my movements, but it would narrow his field of vision. The real issue was that he couldnât widen his sight. The more focused he was, the worse it would get, and the quicker his mental energy would drain.
"Not that way."
"â¦!"
"Not there either."
Instead of leaving a wound, I focused on unsettling his mind. Starting the attack from the left, I shifted to the right, and as I moved forward, I used my waist to pivot.
The confused blade didnât manage to land a solid strike.
Donghaeâs sword, despite being sharp, was still easy to read. He wasnât a swordsman by nature, and though he adapted well to the characterâs physical abilities, his fundamentals were lacking.
âThatâs why he couldnât learn.â
You canât be distracted by the weapon itself. Right now, itâs not where the blade is, but where itâs going that matters.
Combat sports are like playing chess with your body. If you only look at whatâs visible, youâll almost certainly fall into a trap.
The first place intentions become clear is the eyes. Where did the opponent look? Which muscles contracted and which ones relaxed? The blade is simply the result that follows all those questions.
[âCarcosaâs Fogâ effect activated.]
[Attack speed reduced by 8%, and all defensesâ¦]
[Remaining duration: 3.97 seconds]
I can show you why relying solely on physicality is flawed.
Controlling your speed during an attack isnât an easy technique. It has to be natural enough to deceive the opponent and sudden enough to create a meaningful offbeat.
If itâs not done properly, it will only give the opponent an opportunity to retaliate.
Mastering it, like a reaper, requires substantial practice. Itâs not something you can do on a whim.
If you try to use it without proper power or if your weaponâs trajectory becomes unstable, itâs all for nothing. There are limits to when and how you can use this technique.
But you can alter your attack speed by using the system well.
[âCarcosaâs Fogâ effect removed.]
Just as important as the timing of a supporterâs buff is the timing to remove debuffs. Whether it makes things faster or slower, itâs all about how you use it. Unlike the âRiteâ skill, which comes with a flashy effect, debuffs just quietly fade with no visual cues.
The moment Iâd been waiting for arrivedâthe debuffâs duration ended.
Iâd grown used to the tempo, and now it had changed.
As the debuff was lifted, my blade gained its full momentum.
Donghaeâs sword tried to defend inward, but my blade was already on its way. I could have taken this moment to gain some advantage, but instead, I paused, waiting for the parry to finish.
I had predicted this moment. He missed the timing, and that opened up a critical weak point.
I stabbed into his side, rupturing his internal organs, then slid my blade up through his forearm.
[âRite: War God Spiritâ effect activated.]
[Attack power and attack speed increasedâ¦]
[âGrasp of the Haunting Spiritâ effect activated.]
[Movement speed increasedâ¦]
Hekateâs attack speed buff, the various stat debuffs from the cultist, and my own misdirection.
These were all the ingredients necessary to make Donghaeâs mind spiral.
After landing the first critical hit, the openings only grew, and now I was dealing one-sided damage.
At last, the berserker on the enemy team attempted to change the flow of the fight.
This was what I had been hoping for.
I dodged the berserkerâs axe and received support from Luche.
âLeft! Right! Left! Right! Bet you thought it was left again? Right!â
âMy mind⦠I think Iâm going insane!â
âFrom Donghaeâs perspective, itâs understandable. But this is too much! There are more feints than actual attacks!â
âBut thatâs the true nature of an assassin, right? They specialize in deceiving their enemies!â
Donghae had surprisingly held out well. It was true he had been humiliated by me in the past, but this time, he had support and debuffs working in his favor.
But deep down, he knew we were already winning.
If things had gone according to plan, he should have killed Luche and disrupted our rear by now.
But instead of pushing forward, Donghae was being pushed back by me.
The pressure was beginning to crack him. He had to confirm something important, but he didnât.
At some point, Donghaeâs movements began to slow down. His strikes started missing more often, and he was taking more fatal injuries.
The reason was simple: the rear of ACL was no longer safe.
âThis is dangerous, ACL! The summoned creatures are being cleaned up!â
âTransferring the warrior to the summoned creature removal team was a great decision. Attacking the Ghost Priestâs neck early in the match was also a big success.â
âThe Ghost Priestâs summoned creatures are quite defensive, but they have no means to deal effective damage to the warrior.â
âBut using other skills is tough due to the neck injury, which slowed down the casting speed.â
âTheyâve already used up too much magic and skills... It looks like their time limit is almost up.â
The cracks were widening.
As my dagger moved sharply, Lucheâs flail left bloodstains on the ground. The berserkerâs axe was struggling to match the power of the chain-linked flail.
No, it wasnât just a simple issue.
The berserker Igor had met Luche before. He had always been a tough opponent. But each time, this steadfast knight kept growing stronger and sought him out.
His playstyle had become more solid, and now, he was equipped with fierce offensive power.
Even his field of vision had broadened.@@novelbin@@
Lucheâs eyes glanced at the shadow of me moving near.
âThe distance is a little too short.â
When facing me, one must be cautious of the shadow.
Iâm sure ACL heard this countless times. Thatâs why Donghae was so cautious to make sure my shadow didnât move beyond him.
But...
Shadows shift depending on the position of the light source.
The moment Luche raised his shield, a bright flash swept across the battlefield.
A brief, momentary visual impairmentâan âeye-blindingâ skill.
It was far too short a time to do anything substantial, but unlike a real flashbang, there were no lasting visual effects.
It was such a brief moment.
As soon as the vision returned, Donghae furrowed his brows.
He couldnât see me where he had just seen meâright in front of him.
âInvisibility? No, I saw him use the Black Moon buff.â
The battle had dragged on, and Donghae was mentally worn out.
Asking him to also be aware of the shadow cast by the flash was too much to ask.
But in the world of competition, itâs all about winning or losing.
The ruthless dagger buried itself into the back of Donghaeâs head, and the pillar of ACL crumbled.