[Author: Dongtanmisicham Education]
[Title: Are You Serious? My Next Opponent is Gawol with a Muse Class?]
Will we see some intense submissions from these two as they clash?
Finally, am I about to achieve enlightenment?
This is it.
This is how a tournament should be.
[Comments]
– Why has this guy fallen apart so much since he stopped broadcasting?
– What does that have to do with your enlightenment?
– Turn your broadcast back on, you lunatic.
[Author: Anonymous (478.417)]
[Title: But I Do Have High Hopes for Muse vs. Gawol]
Muse matches are always visually appealing.
Both Gawol and Muse excel in martial arts, don’t they?
I can’t wait for this battle—it’s going to be absolutely thrilling!
[Comments]
– Savage.
*
[Infinity Arena Main Tournament Round of 8 – Match 1]
[Battlefield: Pilgrim’s Desert]
[Verse: Latin V7 Muse (Muse Class)]
Today, the battlefield luck was once again against me.
Throughout this arena, it feels like I haven’t encountered a single battlefield that favors me.
Even when the Shadow Arena appeared, the lighting only hindered me further.
And now, we’re practically on the opponent’s home turf.
At this point, it almost feels like the universe is conspiring against me.
The Pilgrim’s Desert. And a Muse.
A class that uses wind as its primary weapon clashing with a sandy storm field.
With reduced visibility already being a staple of the Muse’s attacks, things are about to get even harder here.
“Hmph…”
This is frustrating.
The ground sinks under my feet, making it feel like I’m walking through a swamp.
The blazing sun is something unpleasant company for an assassin, and the desert offers embarrassingly scarce cover.
And it’s getting hot.
At least in a field of lava, I could have invested points into fire resistance and been okay.
Unfortunately, for a playable character like a superhuman, this level of heat is merely ‘tolerable.’
Even if I were to suffer from heatstroke by bad luck, enduring it would still be the better option.
[Exposed to intense sunlight.]
[Caution: Continued exposure may lead to heatstroke.]
However, for me with my high sensory synchronization, the story is somewhat different.
The desert dust makes my mouth feel coarse, and constant movement results in sticky, sweat-soaked skin—an unpleasant sensation.
There’s no in-game advantage to all this, yet here they are, making me suffer unnecessarily.
At least there’s some relief in finding the opponent early.
In the middle of the desert, a bronze-skinned woman appeared.
True to the Muse class, her attire scarcely covers her chest, adorned with dangling chains.
Translucent chiffon fabric reveals her curvaceous figure, while she holds a curved blade in one hand and a fan in the other.
“The blade feels heavier than I thought. But it might hinder thrusting…”
While making a quick appraisal, I swiftly closed the distance.
Using sand dunes as obstacles, I circled her once, then used stealth to position myself behind her.
The first ambush is an assassin’s privilege.
My dagger slashed at the Muse’s Achilles tendon.
Despite her ankle chain being severed as well, the cut missed its mark slightly.
Her reaction was faster than I expected.
“Drat. I was aiming to sever the whole ankle.”
Guessing that much is too ambitious in broad daylight.
Tying down her mobility would have made this match significantly easier, but the plan faltered from the start.
Now that my first move is over, it’s her turn. The graceful blade of the Muse came straight at me, cutting through the air.
Stepping back to avoid it, the Muse’s follow-up kick is aimed somewhere between my head and neck.
…But from this angle, it shouldn’t reach me.
My perception isn’t wrong.
Nor would such a basic mistake be made by someone who’s reached this stage.
A person with that lack of spatial awareness wouldn’t even be standing before me now.
Maybe her injured leg affected her stance.
Realizing this, I decided to adjust my movement slightly.
The breeze that passed left a small scratch on my cheek.
The drop of red blood that followed splattered just under my eye, faintly carrying the smell of iron.
Had I not anticipated this, I would have lost my vision momentarily.
“Hmph. I knew this would happen.”
“Nice move. So you really did beat the Reaper fair and square?”
“Don’t judge me from above. You’re arrogant.”
“My goodness.”
Although I’ve always been short statured,
It irks me when someone I meet for the first time looks down on me and evaluates me.
You little brat. If I were in perfect condition, I’d—
There’s no point in thinking about what could’ve been.
In Infinity Black, there are no brutal depictions of bodily destruction or dismemberment.
However, blood is realistically portrayed.
Like clothes becoming wet with blood and the marks left on the skin.
And the Muse in front of me is exceptionally skilled at leveraging blood and environmental factors.
It’s not just about her alluring appearance and playstyle that draws attention.
As I’ve said, if her skill wasn’t substantial, she wouldn’t have made it this far into the top 8.
A gale from her fan disrupts my posture.
The blowing sand obscures my vision, and before I know it, her blade arcs straight for the top of my head.
I parry the edge of her blade and, while recovering my dagger, manage to nick her finger.
It’s the muscle used when humans bring their thumbs together.
Not a major injury, but it will make it difficult for her to adjust her sword’s trajectory finely.
Was she displeased with the results of the first exchange?
The Muse continued her aggressive barrage of strikes.
“How dare you get upset. You’re cute when you’re angry.”
“Cute… What? Don’t push my buttons…”
An opening.
You mustn’t lose focus, even while speaking.
Bowing my head, I stab at her thigh.
Simultaneously, I adjust my grip on the dagger.
Flipping my body, I swipe at her neck but only manage to cut through the fabric.
Nothing gained so far, but if something’s lacking, I can always create more opportunities.
The fact that she pulled her head back indicates her body leaned forward relatively.
I leave a long gash across her sculpted abs, and with my other hand, I release a throwing star.
It would have been splendid if the throw had gone through.
However, the fan’s wind cleared away all the throwing stars, revealing another curved blade in motion.
‘She’s coming.’
The Muse’s curved blade sends out sharp winds along the blade paths.
The winds coming toward me can only be distinguished by slight distortions in the vision.
In this blazing heat when mirages rise, it’s essentially an impossible feat.
Fortunately, the power of the wind itself isn’t very high.
Designed to be blocked by consuming guard meter, it’s not a technique ideal for an assassin.
Therefore, I need to watch and predict the blade paths, not the winds.
Her graceful movements are a dance-like spectacle.
Every so often, when the blade reflects the sunlight, it sparkles.
If I were just observing, it would’ve been quite the visual treat, but now, if I space out, I might pay with my life.
I moved my dagger according to the memorized blade paths.
The clear metallic sound confirmed the successful parry.
After successfully deflecting a total of eight slashes, the Muse herself targeted the lower area.
“I must admit, your skills are impressive. Too bad your luck’s bad?”
“What do you know about the girl who heard that line from me just the other day?”
“…Hmm?”
“It doesn’t matter that you don’t know. I’ll give you a taste of it.”
It’s no surprise that the desert is advantageous for the Muse.
So, when you say ‘bad luck’ now, it must mean a sandstorm is coming.
The sand between my legs has been irritating, too.
Sure enough, the sands slowly begin to rise.
A yellow storm approaches rapidly from the other side of the map.
For a moment, our clothes and hair flutter in the wind.
With a smirk, the Muse enters the starting position of her sword dance.
Now, it’s time for me to use my precious card.
[Effect of ‘Grace of the Red Moon’ received.]
[All defensive and survival benefits activated.]
[Detection capability…]
Soon, the Muse’s silhouette is swallowed by the storm.
Where I struggle to move properly in this hellish place, she doesn’t.
I can see her.
The silhouette of the woman dancing in the sandstorm.
Her sword dance cuts through like fangs, hiding behind the massive curtain of wind.
It’s not ideal to use such a powerful buff solely for defense.
But to overcome this disadvantageous battlefield, there’s no other way.
The winds emanating from the tip of her blade rake over the sands.
I deflect the slicing sword winds with my dagger.
The broken winds swirl around and softly brush against my collar.
The heavy gust from her fan shatters my guard, leaving a significant impact.
My Health Bar remains relatively intact. Still, I need to avoid such attacks from now on.
‘The sandstorm ends in 17 seconds. The sword dance ends 2 seconds sooner.’
The reason why an assassin is disadvantaged in this desert is the lack of usable shadows.
Blistering sunlight. Sparse cover.
It’s like fighting without any weapons.
However, the story changes when the storm arises.
The dark clouds and dust provide ample shadows to utilize.
As always,
Opportunities come during the most dangerous moments.
While enduring the Muse’s storm of sword cuts— I gradually moved forward.
