A Fair and Square(?) Duel with Kang Manbok
Kang Manbok, the mighty man with an upright(?) sense of fair play. Just like his macho nickname, he was a guy who pursued purely macho playstyles. You could get a sense of his tendencies from choosing Barbarian, a class that shoves all utility to the dogs and goes all-in on raw "strength."
He was confident. No tricks, no penalties—just a fair 1v1 duel where he absolutely wouldn't lose to Seola. The Barbarian was a straightforward, brute-force class, but it wasn't some easy-mode job. Its simplicity demanded precise control to hit peak performance. With its satisfying, heavy-hitting impact, Barbarians made up a solid chunk of the top ranks in Lord of the Warrior. And Kang Manbok was the pinnacle among them, proudly swapping between Rank 1 and 2 in the leaderboards.
No wonder he was so cocky against Seola.
Yeah (ㅇㅎ) donated 10,000 won.
But why does this guy hate Seola so much? Did she screw you over or something?
"It's not just once or twice. Hell, even ignoring the griefing, that bastard just rubs me the wrong way on principle."
From the perspective of a guy who chased clean, straightforward play, Seola was the kind of player he'd gladly chew up and spit out. He was a romantic who sought honorable clashes of pure strength, but Seola was a creative coward who told romance to fuck off. When on the same team, she'd somehow grief everyone except herself into a loss. When on the enemy team, she'd never fight fair if it put her at a disadvantage. No wonder his blood boiled.
Lodewor Addict donated 10,000 won.
Personally, I'd recommend partying up.
"Nah. Thanks for the tip, but I'm going solo. If I party up and gank her, what's the difference between me and that bitch?"
Partying up for a gank? Meaningless. Anything but 1v1 had no point, Kang Manbok thought.
In his view, the matchup between Berserker and Barbarian was dead even.
"It's just whoever controls better wins. And since I control better than that bitch, I'll win obviously."
Trash-talking before the fight wasn't his style. He'd nail it shut so no one could talk shit afterward: between Seola and him, whoever had superior control would win.
But he wasn't careless. Griefer or scum, rankers got there for a reason. It was just a playstyle clash—deep down, he respected her control.
"Send a scout to that bitch's room. Tell 'em Kang Manbok's coming."
CuckooStrikeOut donated 10,000 won.
...ManbokHam's coming?
I knew exactly who "ManbokHam" from the chat was. Nickname's gotta be Kang Manbok. Famous for his fiery playstyle matching the macho name—a named player through and through.
Everyone who'd come at me so far were small fry, so I'd swung my sword without a care. But a top Barbarian ranker? That's different. Mess up and I could lose.
No sooner had I voiced my worry about ManbokHam losing than a hulking, muscle-bound Barbarian appeared before my eyes.
...Muscle mass impossible in the char maker. Means his real body synced, like mine. In reality, he'd probably fold me in half.
Anyway, no buffs up yet—if I clashed now, I'd lose for sure. To buy time, I waved cheerfully.
Whoa. Brain rotted by romance or just dumb? Whatever, works for me.
I quietly raised my blade.
You have received the 'Self-Harm' effect.
HP reduced to 50%.
Attack speed and movement speed increase proportional to lost HP!
[Crunch!]
I jammed the blade into my throat. Flesh yielding to steel with a gruesome sound, sticky blood spurting from my neck.
Self-harm didn't stop there. I stabbed my chest, torso, thighs in sequence.
You have received the 'Self-Harm' effect.
HP reduced to 25%.
Attack speed and movement speed increase proportional to lost HP!
You have received the 'Self-Harm' effect.
HP reduced to 16%.
Attack speed and movement speed increase proportional to lost HP!
You have received the 'Self-Harm' effect.
HP reduced to 10%.
Attack speed and movement speed increase proportional to lost HP!
Endorphins surge. Attack power greatly increased!
Self-buff, yeah. Opponent's a top Barbarian—full HP or 10%, one hit and I'm done either way.
I reached into my bag quietly.
◈ Most recent auction house sale: 1,600 gold
◈ A bomb condensed with immense holy power. Holding it fills you with inexplicable faith.
◈ Effect: Deals massive damage to target.
◈ If target is siege weapon: Siege damage 7,500 × user level
◈ If target is humanoid: Personal damage 1,000 × user level
A bit wasteful on a person, but gotta win somehow. Don't wanna lose XP to death.
With a blank expression, I tossed the Sacred Bomb at Kang Manbok.
"Ah, this fucking..."
So startled by my sudden move he voice-chatted a curse and rolled on the ground quick—but couldn't fully dodge the bomb's wide AoE.
BOOM!
The explosion shook the earth, launching Kang Manbok's body skyward.
Grazed it. Normal player wouldn't react—a ranker for sure. Insane reflexes.
Still, probably shaved off half his HP.
"You... you... you fucking bitch!!!"
What? So? No rule against items in a fight.