126. G1 vs Rin - Defensive Stance (3)
126. G1 vs Rin - Defensive Stance (3)
***
Step.
Step.
Watching the player slowly descending from the stands, I gradually let the blade of the Crescent-Moon Weight slip from my hand.
Slither.
As the Crescent-Moon Weight dropped and the cord connected to it pulled taut, I instantly controlled the cord with my left hand, letting the weight hang suspended in the air.
There was no need to grip the blade of the Crescent-Moon Weight anymore. I was shifting my stance.
When I faced Minha again later, I had no intention of gripping the blade against her either.
I didn't think the same tactic would work twice on a top-tier pro player, and I had no desire to try it again anyway.
From the start, that approach had been nothing more than an experiment—a combat method I'd simulated specifically for her after researching Minha.
Knowing she would open with a snipe, I'd parry and push forward quickly, then instead of relying on attacks with the Crescent-Moon Weight, I'd close the distance by parrying or deflecting her continuous sniping, and at the end of it all, settle the match in one decisive exchange.
Honestly, I'd intended to parry every single shot, but aside from the first one, I'd only managed to deflect them. That bothered me a little.
Before long, Jinhyeok entered the Colosseum and sent Serin a duel request, which she accepted without hesitation.
"Rin, let's take it easy, yeah?"
Jinhyeok grinned as he spoke, and Serin smiled back faintly.
"It's a scrim. How do you take it easy?"
The opponent now before me.
A Warrior Class holding a one-handed sword of modest length and an enormous greatshield.
Player name: Jinhyeok.
From what I'd gathered while researching him, he was an extreme balance-type fighter. In every match, he was the kind of player who consistently put in solid performances—and also the kind who acted as a sort of lubricant, keeping matches flowing smoothly.
It was hard to point to one standout strength in him as a player.
But compared to Minha, whom I'd faced first, his defining trait, if he had one, was that he had no real weaknesses either.
In a sense, he was a player without flaws. But by the same token, he was also rather unremarkable.
And if the skill gap wasn't significant, he was actually one of the most troublesome types of opponents to face.
"Ah, well~ let's just feel each other out a bit. That's what I'm saying."
As he took his stance with feigned composure, I readied myself as well.
Letting the Crescent-Moon Weight hang low while gripping the cord connected to it with my other hand.
It was a stance from which I could execute any technique—and at the same time, a distinctive stance from which I could defend against any attack the opponent threw at me.
—The duel will begin shortly.
Along with the familiar duel-start message,
—10. 9.
The countdown began.
Like the first match, we stood at opposite ends of the arena.
But since both of us were melee-range classes, it was natural to expect a match flow quite different from the first one.
—1.
The moment the countdown ended, I kicked off the ground, launched myself into the air, and leaped forward in a wide arc.
Thud!
As I hung in the air, I fixed my gaze on my opponent.
I could see him moving forward slowly, at a leisurely pace.
Even so, the way he subtly raised his shield-bearing left hand forward was striking.
He carried himself with the composure of someone ready to respond to any variable. There was no obvious opening to speak of.
At that thought, a laugh escaped me before I knew it.
"...Fun."
Facing pros was, in itself, endlessly entertaining for me.
Another World pro players were fundamentally different from the opponents I'd faced in the world of Black Ark.
In a way, they all moved like they were in real combat. But strangely, their movements didn't carry the same desperation or urgency I'd felt from the many opponents I'd met in the actual Black Ark.
The players had a seasoned composure, whether they realized it or not, that let them respond to situations while still performing at their best.
Minha in the first match had been the same, if you thought about it.
I'd completely nullified her damage by deflecting every snipe, and against a typical ranged-class opponent, I'd often seen them fall into despair at that exact moment.
Because they knew there was no hope left at the end.
But Minha could have panicked and given up. Instead, even at the very end, after using Single Kick, even in the instant I surged toward her—
She'd fired a point-blank shot and fought back to the bitter end.
Honestly, people who counterattack even in the moment of their own death were exceedingly rare.
Life was precious to everyone, and death was always equal to all.
But with Another World pro players, that one crucial point was completely different.
They always gave it everything they had.
Because they had no fear of death, they could fully display the skills each of them possessed.
Rather than the seasoned composure born of real combat experience, the pro players in this virtual reality game pressed their attacks without hesitation.
I liked that—and I was enjoying myself quite a bit.
Before I knew it, the distance between me and my opponent was closing rapidly while I was still airborne, and I immediately deployed a skill.
—Dark Moon Weight.
I swung my arm wide and launched the Crescent-Moon Weight, and mid-flight it suddenly dropped vertically, its angle snapping sharply as it curved—and at the same time,
It shot forward, skimming along the ground.
Since my opponent was holding a greatshield, Serin had decided on her combat approach right away.
Orthodox methods had to be countered with variables, after all.
Boom!
I saw my opponent slam the ground hard with his greatshield, his playfulness gone as he tracked the incoming Crescent-Moon Weight.
Watching that, I smiled faintly and twisted my right arm—connected to the weight—sharply.
Swish-swish-swish!!
The Crescent-Moon Weight, which had been skimming along the ground, suddenly shot upward at a right angle—and at the same time,
It leaped clean over the greatshield planted against the ground.
"...Huh?"
Along with my opponent's dumbfounded voice, the Crescent-Moon Weight soared high.
Skreeeeek!!
Aware of the cord stretched to its limit, Serin deftly twisted her left hand gripping the cord, locking the weight's trajectory in place.
As if the upward surge had reversed, the Crescent-Moon Weight suddenly changed direction and came crashing down.
Whoooosh!!!
It was already astonishing that the weight, which had been skimming the ground, had suddenly shot up and cleared the shield rooted firmly against the floor.
But then, immediately after, the Crescent-Moon Weight's movement as it plunged precisely toward the player positioned behind that shield was displaying something beyond bizarre—something almost magical.
At that, Jinhyeok deployed a skill with an incredulous expression.
—Perfect Shield.
A massive blue light surged up from the greatshield, forming an enormous blue barrier large enough to cover the entire front.
Clang!!!
The Crescent-Moon Weight, rushing in as fast as it had been, slammed hard into the blue barrier and bounced right off.
Whirr.
At the same time, Serin smoothly retrieved the Crescent-Moon Weight, the corner of her lips rising as she immediately kicked off the ground.
Since her opponent was a shield-bearing class, she'd never expected an attack to land cleanly in one go from the start.
It was just to draw out a skill.
She knew Perfect Shield's cooldown was unusually long compared to other skills, so drawing it out alone was already a decent gain.
"...This is brutal."
Jinhyeok laughed in disbelief at Serin's play, then thrust his sword hand forward quickly.
It was obvious his attacks would keep coming.
To prepare for that, she would deploy her skill before he could.
—Moonlight Slash.
As Jinhyeok slashed wide through the air, a massive blue light flared along the sword's trajectory a beat later, like a flash.
A technique commonly called a delayed attack.
It was also perfectly suited for laying down a preemptive defense to block an opponent's attack.
Serin's eyes lit up at the sight, and she laughed as she launched the Crescent-Moon Weight, deploying a skill.
Aware that most of her stamina was draining away.
—Bloodstained Constellation.
Along the trajectory of the Crescent-Moon Weight, which traced a massive crescent arc, countless blood-red points began to embroider the air.
Blood-red stars, glittering in the air as if shining on their own.
Then, in an instant, they began surging forward like a flash, straight ahead.
Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!!
At that, Jinhyeok swiftly raised his shield and used a skill.
—Royal Guard.
A massive golden film bloomed from the shield, brilliantly blocking the front.
Serin charged straight into it.
While the blood-red star-like energies continued firing,
She kicked off the ground and, at the same time, swung her right arm wide, launching the Crescent-Moon Weight at a bizarre angle.
The advantage of the weapon called the Crescent-Moon Weight.
Infinite variation depending on the wielder.
A near-limitless capacity to create variables.
The Crescent-Moon Weight, which had been shooting forward along Serin's outstretched arm, suddenly traced a massive arc and passed beyond the range of the enormous golden shield.
"Where is it...?"
Jinhyeok, who had raised his shield to block the Bloodstained Constellation firing from the front, whipped his head around at that bizarre angle.
Thud!
Serin planted her foot with all her strength to anchor herself, and at the same time, she yanked the cord with her left arm with everything she had, twisting her body sharply.
Skreeeeeeek!!!!
Then the trajectory of the Crescent-Moon Weight, which had been tracing a massive arc, began to bend sharply as if defying all common sense.
The direction in which the Crescent-Moon Weight suddenly turned and shot.
"...!"
It was bearing down on a blind spot Jinhyeok, with his shield raised to the front, could never block.