Rush (4)
Legend Frontier, unlike other AOS games with fixed skill sets, let players choose three general skills and one ultimate—four in total—for combat.
For example, if your class was swordsman, you'd pick four from the swordsman category. Mages would select from mage skills, and so on.
But that didn't mean you could just grab any skills from your class's subcategory willy-nilly.
...No such thing as a free lunch in this world.
Skills in Legend Frontier had unlock conditions, aptly named unlock requirements.
Strength stat below 15. Unable to unlockRage Axe Swing.
—Huh...?
And those conditions? None other than the player's own stat values.
Some skills unlocked only at 20+ strength. Others needed 30+ defense.
But with the initial 120 stats spread evenly across six attributes, most players could unlock nearly everything. So no one really complained.
Everyone dismissed it as a superficial barrier to keep things from feeling too casual.
Defense stat below 5. Unable to unlockPlasma Shield.
—Sigh...
...Except for one person. Me.
My stats—the stats of SION, built solely for running—were a freakish all-in on agility.
No balanced, textbook hexagon like everyone else's. Nothing ordinary.
Everything but agility was below average—bare minimum, really. So the skills I could unlock were severely limited.
Point Break
Unlock Condition: None
—This one works...
So I spent several times longer than other players scouting unlockable skills and piecing together the most efficient combos.
4-Skill Ultimate: Hermes' Prank
Condition: Agility stat 30+
—...!!
And in that mess, stumbling on the ultimate Hermes' Prank was like rain in a drought.
Hermes' Prank.
The ultimate for speed freaks who'd dumped 30+ into agility—more love for speed than most.
Simple. Powerful.
On activation: 5 seconds of invincibility.
Movement speed +15%.
—This is it...!!
The moment I saw it, I knew: the perfect ultimate for a Speed Swordsman.
Not only did it patch the Speed Swordsman's fragile defense and HP—wiping out from one mage skill hit—but it maxed out mobility too.
Arguably the S-tier survival ultimate with the best efficiency in Legend Frontier.
If you asked for Speed Swordsman perks, I'd proudly say acing Hermes' Prank was one.
Five seconds of invincibility in a do-or-die crisis.
Enough to save your skin. Flip the fight. And the look on the enemy's panicked face? Pure gold.
...Like right now.
"Hermes' Prank... "
"Correct... "
Metia of Galaxy Express stared at me—bullet lodged dead-center in my skull, yet unscathed. Priceless expression.
Even a Speed Swordsman slows thrusting a rapier. Metia wouldn't miss that gap.
His "Special Express" nickname came from ghostly sniper skills. Headshot on a paused foe? Easy as pie.
So I'd popped Hermes' Prank to dodge a sniper one-shot. Smart move.
"...My turn now. "
You get hit, you hit back harder. Manners.
Bullet to the forehead? Can't just sit pretty—that'd disrespect my gift-giver, Metia.
Pretty sure we covered that in elementary morals class. Bullets repaid with blades.
Yeah. Probably.
"Hup...!! "
I crouch, coil power, then explode forward, kicking off the ground.
Target: Metia, hunkered by the defense turret.
Three seconds of invincibility left. Buffs stacking my agility to the heavens. Plenty of time to kill and retreat.
"Damn... "
Metia realizes he's prey, peppers suppressive fire while retreating. Too slow to shake me.
His musketeer-sniper build? No survival or escape tools, far as I knew.
Dead man walking.
"...... "
I weave his shots like a dancer, then dive the turret.
"Gah! "
"...... "
Smooth as silk, rapier through his throat. Slip out casual as you please.
"Gale...!! "
Metia vanishes in light particles, his furious growl echoing. The battlefield booms with the familiar chipper female announcer.
Moment of Brilliance!
#Metia has been slain by SION!
SION is on a killing spree!
Five kills in a row, plus a turret dive. The announcements dragged on gloriously.
"...Nice. "
I savor the alerts with a faint smile, utterly satisfied.
How long was that turret dive? Felt under two seconds. If real, my personal record for fastest dive kill.
"...Yippee. "
Quiet cheer. Breaking my own records—especially speed ones—never got old.
"...... "
The stream chat in the corner explodes again.
Game's not over, though. Donations later. Eyes front.
"Help! Let's push the coast now! "
"Got it! "
"Roger!! "
Clay soldier wave incoming. Enemy coast wiped. No one to stop us.
Three of us on our coast. Push right, we could hit their final line.
Can't miss this window.
Enemy turret falls!
"...... "
We bulldoze their coast like a highway, smashing turrets.
"Copy. "
Bear Jelly reports a stalemate with their jungler in the flats via voice chat.
Clash of the failed builds from each side. A true battle for biggest loser.
'Alicia... '
Enemy jungler in flats means Alicia—the flats owner—is heading coast.
Flats, jungle, coast—all ours. Desperate final stand with her best growth leading.
Bang!
"Eek. "
Respawned Metia rushes, sniping desperately. Thief appears behind.
One turret to their fortress.
No Alicia yet.
Of course not.
She's stealthed, probably right on us.
Chilling thought: scythe raised, closing in now.
'If I were Alicia... '
First target: me. SION. Seize control of the teamfight.
Harsh truth: all five ally kills were mine.
roooobot and Fen Chok not grown enough. Kill me, they flip the game fast.
Alicia's style: Shadow Vanish to my back, then—
"......one-shot to the neck. "
Air twists behind. I whip rapier back instantly.
"Guh...?!! "
Clang!!
Metal screeches. Her scythe stops an inch from my neck. Prediction shot lands.
"What?! H-how...? "
Her eyes flash beyond surprise. I meet her gaze, deadpan.
"...Close one. "
...Perks of being a famous streamer fan.
I'd watched Alicia's streams religiously. Knew she always struck necks from behind in stealth kills.
"roooobot! Ultimate! "
"On it! "
Stealth assassin's huge upside if it hits. Massive downside if it misses: death.
Plasma Chain
Target paralyzed!
"Guh?!! "
roooobot unleashes her hacker ultimate: Plasma Chain, the brutal CC that locks down a target. Alicia freezes mid-swing.
"...Point Break. "
"Sh-shit, this is bullshit!! "
Rapier pierces her throat again. Instant death.
Paralyzed by the ult, no defense. One final screech, then off to respawn.
Alicia In Wonderland has been slain by SION!
SION is rampaging!
"Ahh...... "
Metia, sniping from the turret, goes slack-jawed at Alicia's death ping.
No front line. Outnumbered. Turtle by turret? My job—Legend Frontier's most broken OP Speed Swordsman—dove turrets effortlessly. Despair city for him.
Heh heh...
"...Pushing. "
Two kills on rank 1 Alicia. Time to end it.
Hermes' Prank off cooldown. Dive his turret—their final defense.
Bear Jelly has been slain by Nergi Geum Mwo Ha Ni!
"...Sigh. "
Meanwhile, flats loser battle: our Bear Jelly loses. Game's biggest trash—ally laner.
Ally fortress destroyed!
"Eh...? "
Rank 1 Alicia In Wonderland stares blankly at the red hologram.
"I... lost...? "
Ranked defeat screen. Familiar, but this hit different. Mental nuke.
"No way... "
Lost to that gale, SION—the one she'd mocked endlessly. Gave her two kills, even.
"No, no way...... "
No excuses. Bad team comp? Her squad had coast god, rank 4 Metia.
Jungler subpar? Theirs too. Even.
Last second, enemy laner lost to her jungler. SION won despite a bigger liability.
"What was so... fast...... "
Alicia's eyes replay SION zipping map-wide, gale-force rapier to her throat.
Was Speed Swordsman this fast?
This utility?
MVP: SION (Jungle) 6/0/2
Defeat Team MVP: Alicia In Wonderland (Lanes) 1/2/0
"Ha. "
Defeat MVP, but curses spill from Alicia's lips.
"Fuck, what the...... "
First taste of humiliation. Defeat. Awe. All blooming deep inside.