The 3-Hit Deal
The pick screen already carried an unusual atmosphere.
But whether she noticed it or not, Ha Yunseo remained perfectly calm.
Was she simply used to it by now?
Just what kind of world did Ruru users live in?
“...Um, the vibe from the pick screen isn’t great. Is this a common scene when you play Ruru?”
“This is pretty much everyday conversation for me.”
“Doesn’t it bother you?”
“Well. Ever since I came back to the game and started playing Ruru from my very first match, it’s always been like this, so I’ve never really thought about it that way.”
The game began like that.
I’d expected a dodge, but it looked like everyone had failed the game of chicken together.
“The opponent is Viking-Harald. How do you usually handle Vikings?”
“Hmm… You want to stack pressure points while taking as little of their health as possible. If they trigger Boiling Rage at low health, sometimes even landing ten stacks of Ruru-style Severed Blood Vessel won’t kill them.
If you leave them at nearly full health and hit them with ten stacks, even if they pop rage the damage reduction is so inefficient they explode in one hit.”
CloudySky deliberately played dumb and asked the master for advice.
“Ohhh… That much damage this early?”
“If you can land ten stacks, you can kill full-health targets at level two.”
“Wow, Ruru really does have insane raw damage. You all heard that, right? If Ruru manages to stack ten, she’s that strong.”
And so the game started.
After buying her starting items, Ruru dashed toward the desolate frontline of the Glen.
Before long she encountered Viking Harald coming from the opposite side.
Right away—
Everyone watching her play could only stare in shock.
CloudySky’s eyes went wide.
“……No way……!! Whoa……”
WheelSlayer (Spearman - Ruru) > HawkeyeHanJunYoung (Viking - Harald)
The game had only been going for one minute and fifty seconds.
It happened at level two.
***
CloudySky had been certain Ruru was going to lose that fight.
And for good reason—Ruru had failed to parry the Viking’s Tomahawk toss, giving up the distance needed to close in.
A Viking who lands a Tomahawk in the early game and instantly closes the gap has combat power on par with the strongest champions in Celt of Heroes. Ruru, on the other hand, was clearly a weak champion in the early phase.
Theoretically Ruru was called the strongest level-two duelist, but that was only theory. Theory and reality were different.
Normally the common sight in Celt of Heroes would have been the Viking carving Ruru apart.
But Ruru did not avoid the frontal fight with the Viking.
Instead she poured on fierce attacks as if she had been waiting for him to come in.
Like an alligator snapping turtle that opens its mouth wide, wiggles the bait inside, then clamps down on its prey and never lets go.
Only then did he realize.
She hadn’t failed to react to the parry.
“Master… did you… intentionally eat that Tomahawk?”
“Yes. I have to take it to kill him. If I dodge it he just runs away and refuses to engage.”
“Then the few autos you ate during the fight were also…”
“I deliberately didn’t parry those either. I figured if I ate a few basic attacks he’d think he could win and stop running, so he’d commit.”
“Once you get a solo kill like that, Viking players get mad and come back for more. They refuse to accept they lost because of a skill gap. All Viking players are like that. I’m counting on it, so this time around levels three and four I’ll eat about… three hits on purpose and kill him again.”
The Viking showed himself in the Glen once more.
For now they only traded psychological pressure while clearing minions for experience.
Ruru was currently level four. The Viking was level three.
The Feather of Morrigan would spawn in the center of the Glen soon.
To recover his deficit the Viking needed to secure that feather without fail.
He had to force a fight and win.
And the situation was smiling at the Viking.
The Viking was a hero who exerted enormous influence in the early game.
Even after losing a solo kill, he still held the favorable matchup.
In the early phase the level difference of one or two was easy to ignore.
Besides, the opponent was Ruru, the weakest champion in Celt of Heroes.
From the Viking’s perspective there was no reason not to fight.
In that situation Ruru wagged her tail in front of him, provoking his temper.
There probably wasn’t a single Viking player who could endure that.
The Viking’s Tomahawk flew immediately.
Whoosh!
Ruru took it on purpose.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
With a furious roar the Viking charged in with a massive movement-speed buff.
His one-handed axe came crashing down.
Clang!
Ruru’s razor-sharp parry.
Then a chaotic brawl followed.
Clang! Clang!
Clang!
Thud!
Clang! Clang!
Thud!
Ruru deliberately took only the weak attacks that carried no stun.
She had allowed only two light hits, yet her health had already dropped to two-thirds.
From the Viking’s perspective, if he could land a single stun he could burst her down in one go.
Even in that state, Ha Yunseo spoke calmly.
“The mistake people make most often when playing Ruru is hoarding passive stacks.”
Ruru’s thrust attack came right away.
The Viking blocked it with a defensive stance.
The tip of the crescent blade sank deep into the round wooden shield.
At the same time the five stacks of Ruru’s passive vanished, leaving six pressure points on the Viking.
“A lot of players try to save their thrust so they can reach six stacks and activate Insolence. But most of the time that’s actually worse. If you can thrust reliably like this, it’s better to use it at five stacks.”
But the Viking succeeded in defending.
The Viking’s counter came immediately—
He twisted the arm holding the shield downward, pinning the spear so it couldn’t be pulled back and completely locking Ruru in place.
Then he brought the Tomahawk straight down on her head.
Crunch!!
The third hit.
Along with massive bleeding, a huge chunk of Ruru’s health vanished.
In an instant only a quarter remained.
At the same time the Viking’s explosive combo began.
He swung his axe fiercely.
Shoving Ruru hard with his shield, he tried to take her life with that terrifying blade.
But—
Clang!
Clang! Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Ruru deflected every strike like a blade.
The Viking had tried to use off-beats to steal her timing, but she read them all.
The Viking’s panic was obvious. Every time his sure-kill blow was blocked, hesitation crept into his attacks.
The corner of Ha Yunseo’s mouth curved up.
Yeah, you’re starting to feel like something’s wrong, aren’t you?
In the blink of an eye Ruru’s passive—Ruru-style Thunder Spear Dance—was back at five stacks.
The Viking’s desperate final assault came—
Too late, he realized his mistake.
But even if he wanted to stop, the attack was already in motion.
Clang!!!
The strike was blocked far too easily.
And then—
Six stacks of Ruru-style Thunder Spear Dance.
Ruru is ignoring you
The moment Insolence activated, Ruru’s thrust followed.
The Viking raised his shield again, taking a defensive posture.
But—
Ruru’s attack wasn’t aimed at the Viking.
She thrust perfectly into the space beside him.
A flawless thrust feint that passed by a hair’s breadth.
The Viking fell for it completely.
Because the attack hadn’t hit his defensive stance, the counter did not trigger.
Ruru immediately flowed into a basic attack that cut through the air.
But the Viking was stuck in the recovery of his defensive stance and couldn’t move.
The thrust landed without resistance.
Ten pressure-point stacks were engraved on the Viking’s body.
The Viking tried to activate Boiling Rage for the damage-reduction buff, but it was already too late.
His health was at ninety percent. The damage reduction that scaled inversely with current health was almost nonexistent.
Immediately after—
The thrust detonated every pressure point.
With Ruru’s battle cry—
Ruru-style Severed Blood Vessel exploded!!!
Crunchcrunchcrunchcrunchcrunch!
WheelSlayer (Spearman - Ruru) > HawkeyeHanJunYoung (Viking - Harald)