Before entering the Arena, I had already faced most of the pros who were active in Korea.
If a player had been in the field and I knew their location, I’d faced them.
The only exception was Luche.
Back then, I hated the pros.
It was a time when my jealousy of what I didn’t have had piled up immensely.
To me back then, Phantom and Hero were rather regrettable prey.
Had I started playing the game just a bit earlier, I might have met them on the field.
Like Haruka, you could cross over to foreign servers through Rank Games, albeit with limitations, but not in the regular field.
Thus, my desire to meet them was genuine.
I had wanted to kill them at least once.
Hero’s great sword swings horizontally.
An unbelievable speed for the trajectory drawn by that massive blade.
It was likely an attempt to knock me away, but the power behind it was undeniable.
“The thing I regret most recently is not participating in the Arena. Who would have thought someone like you would show up, junior?”
“Hmph.”
Not an expected compliment.
Receiving recognition from a pro of that caliber feels special.
Naturally, a smile formed on the corner of my lips.
But… unfortunately, what I had to return was a provocation.
“It’s not because you thought you’d lose to Cerberus, right? I understand, senior. I heard you lost again this time.”
“Again? Let me ask something I’ve been curious about. Where do Korean assassins learn to talk sodamn rudely? Phantom does the same thing and why do you guys always scratch at people’s nerves?”
“Ah? Did it sound like I was ‘lightly’ scratching?”
“You, you and your bad habits towards your senior…”
This person is rather emotional despite their experience.
If you watch Phantom and Hero’s match video clips, Phantom was constantly taunting Hero without pause.
And Hero always took it straight on.
When people get angry, their movements become bigger or more aggressive.
Assassin is a class that must exploit the opponent’s openings.
It’s easier to handle an emotional opponent than a calm one.
Other players seem unable to bother Hero because he’s a senior…
But honestly, I’m not at the stage where I need to care about such things.
Managing my image at this point would be pointless since my history has been quite eventful.
At this point, pretending to be polite would only be revolting anyway.
“Still, this person. Their emotions really show through their sword.”
Hero’s great sword starts targeting me even more aggressively.
The blade filled with magical power stabs straight toward me.
The floor that couldn’t withstand the destructive power crumbles pitifully.
In the place marked with combat traces, a raised terrain remained, resembling a wall.
That’s one of the important characteristics of the great sword.
While it’s difficult to control finely, it affects the surroundings by distorting or breaking the terrain.
If you don’t keep the deformed terrain in mind, you might get cornered.
A situation where there’s nowhere to run from such a brutal great sword?
I don’t even want to imagine it.
Rather than fighting within the range of a great sword, close the distance further.
Surprisingly, such large weapons are mostly useless in ultra-close combat.
Within the range of my daggers, or outside the range of the great sword – these are the two distances I need to maintain.
Hero’s great sword strikes downward toward the floor.
Using the blade as a stepping stone, I rush inward.
Even though I hit them squarely with a knee, there’s no sign of them being startled.
Instead, Hero, as if waiting, lets go of the great sword and tries to embrace my waist.
“If I get caught, I’ll die.”
With Hero’s strength, they could easily destroy my waist with just their arms.
The moment I kick their chest with the opposite foot to escape, Hero slides across the floor and thrusts the great sword.
Of course, there’s no way they’d let me go that easily.
The great sword corrects its trajectory mid-strike.
There’s probably no one in this world who can wield a great sword this freely besides Hero.
At this rate, I’ll be cornered. I need to let go of my greed before it’s too late to recover.
Using shadow movement as an escape skill, I exit the combo.
Though I left a knife embedded in their shoulder as a parting gift, it wasn’t an advantageous trade.
“Senior, you’re dragging things out a bit.”
“It’s because the junior is too lovable!”
“Huh… really?”
“Huh?”
Oops.
I need to stay focused.
I’ve roughly understood it.
Hero shouldn’t be approached as a regular knight.
An opponent whose physical abilities defy logic—treating him like a bear or tiger would be the right approach.
Though gnawing with daggers isn’t bad, it seems like a waste of this opportunity.
I can use that conventional strategy anytime.
Now that I have a rare chance to gather data, I don’t intend to waste it.
“Even if you say that, I won’t show you any.”
I’ve moved to my desired position.
Let’s settle this here.
Unfolding a smoke screen in front of Hero, I rush in again.
Inside the spread smoke.
Hero’s eyes calmly tracked Gawol despite appearing to play the game like a savage.
Though she looks like she’s playing the game without thinking, that’s not the case.
Aggressive gameplay doesn’t equate to being mindless.
If someone played with such flaws, they wouldn’t be recognized as a top-tier player.
It’s true that I almost lost it earlier due to her provocation.
The few times her blades pierced my body forced my mind to forcibly cool down.
I also somewhat understand why assassins provoke.
“That person… they’re more troublesome than Phantom.”
Faster than Phantom, but more stable.
Rather than recklessly aiming for the big hit, she progressively accumulates advantages.
Now I understand why Cerberus gave this evaluation.
– Surprisingly cautious compared to her might.
– Acting like a fox rather than a lion, I suppose?
Situations where myself or Phantom might have taken greater risks.
Gawol carefully maintained the edge as if she’d been through it hundreds of times.
As a result, scenes of slicing flesh without breaking bones in ‘Flesh Cut Bone Break’ were shown several times.
Firstly, this smoke screen is annoying.
I want to move positions, but I can’t.
If I try to move rashly, Gawol’s daggers inevitably come rushing.
And if I stay still, sharp daggers stab my extremities.
‘Did she invest stats into daggers?’
They have superior piercing power compared to standard daggers.
The passive poison damage is also quite significant.
If I keep getting hit without a strategy, I won’t be able to handle the health loss.
Thankfully, though assassins, especially daggers, aren’t good at reducing guard gauges easily.
That’s why knights have the advantage against assassins.
Cerberos indeed utilized this point well and secured two victories against Gawol.
There’s no need to rush.
The power of the great sword can turn the game around in an instant.
Although Gawol keeps attacking ceaselessly in the smoke, she hasn’t given a fatal injury yet.
‘What’s bothering me is… why isn’t she using the moon buff?’
The buff that’s practically the identity of assassins hasn’t appeared yet.
The highest offensive increase in ‘Whisper of the Black Moon’ buff.
The ‘Grace of the Ashen Moon’ buff that grants absolute stealth.
Since the skills that should have been used earlier haven’t, it leaves a nagging feeling.
But the smoke duration is just about up.
It means whatever Gawol’s decisive move is, it has little time left.
I need to move ahead without much thought.
[Active: Fierce Spirit]
[All stats increased by 8% for 12 seconds, physical penetration increased by 16%…]
Check the direction from where Gawol’s throwing daggers came.
Taking this as a rough estimation, I hit the raised terrain forcefully with the back of my hand.
In ‘Invul’, objects affected by a user’s actions are treated as ‘projectiles.’
Meaning they fully apply the player’s penetration buffs and damage increases.
The rocks shattered by Hero’s hand turned into shot-like fragments.
Bang, boom—!
Each time Hero’s hand destroys a rock, a loud sound echoes.
The sound of tearing wind can be heard, and the rock fragments are embedded deep into the corridor’s wall somewhere.
The smoke on the ground clearing up.
There’s a significant amount of bloodstain.
I hit her.
The place where you were is outside the range of the great sword.
The smoke obstructing vision applies equally to both sides.
‘No matter how high you fly or crawl, you couldn’t have imagined something like this. It’s an old miscellaneous skill I’ve been using for a while.’
And when all the smoke finally clears.
A dark shadow appears behind Hero.
I’ve fought Phantom more than once.
An ordinary knight would have been completely defenseless, but given Hero’s combat experience, there was enough room to react.
[You have received the effect of ‘Assassin’s Mark.’]
[You may become the target of fatal skills.]
It’s too late to swing the great sword.
The moment the twin daggers pierced both necks—Hero’s fist struck Gawol’s abdomen.
“Ahhk…”
As I sensed from the videos, your sensitivity is acute?
With a frail groan, Gawol’s body flies away.
Both sides are fatal wounds, but between the two, a knight’s physical resilience is overwhelmingly better.
Was it out of worry for collision with the terrain that Gawol had to use the survival skill’s cooldown as she flew away?
Now, it’s time to finish this.
But something catches Hero’s foot as they take a step forward.
“Shadow?”
A chilling sensation runs through the body.
Outside where the smoke previously concealed.
Now that the vision extends, there’s an excessive amount of Shadows laid out.
Could it be that the reason Gawol used her survival skill was that she feared she’d die from these shadows?
The fallen assassin, who was sitting and vomiting blood, grinned despite it all.
“It hurts… Senior.”
Blood-smeared fingers twitch.
The surrounding Shadows tighten and begin tearing Hero’s body apart.
[Received the effect of ‘Mocking Silver Moon’]
[Damage dealt with throwing daggers and Shadows significantly increases, and all attack power…]
[Can exclusively activate the active skill ‘Thousand Needles’ or ‘Blood Thread’ once.]
[Active: Blood Thread]
[All installed Shadows contract toward the ‘Assassin’s Mark’ target.]
[Victory!]
[Prepare. The next opponent will be input without a waiting time.]
