179. True Ancestor Louise Tepes
179. True Ancestor Louise Tepes
***
The average minimum score cutoff for Another World's seasonal Grandmaster Tier was typically in the 300s.
Compared to the Challenger cutoff, which averaged an enormous 900 points, the Grandmaster Tier cutoff looked relatively low.
But that was only because the Challenger Tier—accessible to just 200 players out of the millions of Another World users—had such a high cutoff. The 300-point cutoff for Grandmaster Tier was by no means low either.
From Master Tier onward, no matter how large the matchmaking score gap, you couldn't gain more than 15 points per game. In practice, the gap was comparable to climbing from Diamond Tier 5 to Master Tier.
In that sense, the user Rin was now facing was one of those fairly well-known users called a so-called named player.
A gothic lolita outfit on a small frame of about 150 centimeters. Cute twin tails in soft pink hair. Her mysterious and beautiful appearance had earned her quite a number of fans even though she'd never intended it.
So much so that she even had nicknames and pet names that most ordinary Another World rankers would never have.
The name of the user Rin was now facing was—
—Louise Tepes.
Among the countless Another World users, she was called an eccentric, to the point that there were rumors she deliberately avoided raising her tier.
The pet name her fans called her was grandiose, even.
Princess of Blood.
......
Step.
The moment Serin felt herself take a step.
Blood burst from beneath her feet as if exploding.
—Bloodstained Step.
Leaving red footprints everywhere as if scattering afterimages, Serin hurled herself forward with erratic movements and pressed the attack without hesitation.
The instant the blood around her legs momentarily faded, the Crescent-Moon Weight that had been weaving through the air was engulfed in brilliant crimson light.
The Crescent-Moon Weight, extending along Serin's arm stretched straight out, shot forward tracing a line like a single beam of light.
WHIIIIIZZ!!
A line of blood shot forward fast enough to pierce a heart at any moment.
"Pretty, as expected."
Tepes merely murmured as if admiring the sight, then curled up the corner of her lips.
Looking as if she found the situation enjoyable, she slowly raised her arm.
Tap.
Then, with a trivial little gesture as if lightly swatting something away, she sent the blood-soaked Crescent-Moon Weight bouncing pathetically into the air.
"...?"
As if unable to comprehend what had just happened, Serin blinked at the sight.
Instinctively pulling her right arm back to retrieve the Crescent-Moon Weight floating in the air, she studied her opponent once more.
'What was that?'
There had been no telltale sign of a skill, no change in her appearance whatsoever.
Even the way she'd blocked the attack wasn't a parry attempt, a block, or a deflection. It looked like she'd simply swatted away something light and insignificant.
It was no different from a normal attack carrying only energy rather than a skill, but the motion had been such a light gesture that Serin couldn't easily guess her opponent's class.
Despite her outwardly small frame, it was a martial arts type.
She guessed it was a class similar to a brawler, but with no outward tell, she couldn't be certain.
"Hey, aren't you going to use skills?"
As Tepes stood in place and beamed, asking why Serin wasn't following up with more attacks, Serin frowned slightly and activated a skill.
—Jeolyeon.
A trajectory of the Crescent-Moon Weight as if swinging upward from below. A red line rose massively along the weapon's path. The enormous line of blood shot forward with a ferocious momentum, as if it would sever space itself.
Giving the opponent what she wanted was clearly a poor move. But there were too few clues. Serin was curious what Tepes would do against the skill.
And at the end of it, Tepes met the line of blood with a hand so pale it was ghostly white.
Crackle!!
A light gesture, as if she'd simply grabbed the line of blood and twisted it apart.
No light gathered around Tepes's hand, nor was there any change in color or appearance.
And unbelievably, that alone was canceling out the skill.
Serin watched the sight with an indifferent gaze, then moved her body again.
Step.
This felt like a class in a completely different category from any she'd encountered before.
Because the method was far too peculiar to be simple martial arts.
In a way, it was a defensive ability close to a cheat key.
'A special ability? Or just a class that's pushed the body to its limits.'
She still didn't know enough about her opponent to classify it as one thing.
And that only made it more interesting.
Crash!
As Jeolyeon shattered and scattered fragments of blood through the air, Serin had already completely closed the distance to Tepes.
"Maybe it's because I gave you the first move—you're really aggressive, aren't you?"
Tepes's gaze tracked Serin as if she wouldn't miss a single movement, and she spoke leisurely. Serin gave no response.
She simply gripped the blade of the Crescent-Moon Weight in her hand and activated a skill with extreme destructive power.
—Heavy Spike.
In an instant, intense blood gathered around the blade of the Crescent-Moon Weight.
'Can she take even this with that calm expression?'
As Serin drove the massive blood-wreathed Crescent-Moon Weight straight down—
Tap.
Tepes simply stamped her foot once and spun her body once.
Her spinning motion as the massive blood came crashing down looked defenseless at a glance, but in the fleeting instant when the fluttering frills of her gothic lolita outfit swept through the air, Tepes's lips moved slightly.
"Rampage."
FWOOOOSH!!
A violent storm of blood surged around Tepes's spinning body.
Her pink hair floated in the air, and Tepes's appearance began to change drastically in an instant.
Swish!
Her pupils dyed crimson as if submerged in blood, and red lines of blood began to trace across her body, adorning her pale white skin.
As the transformed Tepes spun and swiftly extended her leg, the blood that formed along her leg condensed, wrapping around it to meet the massive blood-wreathed Crescent-Moon Weight.
BOOOOM!!!!
At the end of that extraordinary sight of blood meeting blood, an enormous explosion rang out.
Clack!
Both Serin and Tepes were thrown back by the blast, widening the distance between them.
"..."
Her hands tingling, Serin stared at her opponent beyond the rising smoke.
The opponent's clearly changed appearance revealed several distinctive features.
'The word "Rampage."'
Given that word, she was certainly a body-enhancement class. But the way she seemed to manipulate blood was far too peculiar.
As the smoke cleared, the blood-dyed pupils and the bloodlines traced across her body were revealed. Every one of them was unusual.
"Can I attack now?"
With the air of someone who'd finished warming up, Tepes smiled faintly and wiggled her arm. Serin simply twisted her lips and nodded.
"Yes. This should be fun."
The moment Serin answered, Tepes's crimson eyes blinked once.
—True Ancestor's Mystic Eyes.
Tepes's blood-dyed eyes emitted a red glow and fixed directly on Serin.
【Trait. 'Indomitable Will' weakens the curse effect.】
— Status effect Confusion applied (1 second)
Immediately after, a hologram seized Serin's vision, and at the same moment her body staggered.
'What the...'
As Serin staggered from the unexpected skill, Tepes kicked off the ground and rushed toward her.
Flash!
Closing the distance in a single step, she spun once more and extended her leg, crimson blood condensing around her pale white leg.
With her vision clearing far too slowly, Serin likewise immediately spun her body and activated a skill.
—Single Kick.
With Confusion affecting her, she couldn't guarantee accuracy with the Crescent-Moon Weight, so it was an unavoidable choice.
And the aftermath was extraordinary.
Thwack!!
***
After finishing her schedule, Sua was comfortably watching Serin's stream.
—Thwack!!
Sua blinked at the sight of Serin taking a hit and being knocked back.
"Does this girl seriously not know what a True Ancestor is?"
It was baffling to watch her trade blows head-on with an opponent she shouldn't be trading blows with.
The opponent matched against Serin with just one win left before her Master promotion.
That opponent was a named user even Sua knew about.
—Louise Tepes.
She was the holder of a hidden class called 'True Ancestor' possessed by only a tiny handful of users, and a user whose skill made it impossible to understand why she was still in Master.
Sua had encountered Tepes early this season and remembered it vividly.
From what she'd gathered, Tepes was a user who didn't play ranked games much due to a busy real life or other unknown reasons.
There were rumors that she was maintaining her Master Tier due to inactivity, but no one could be certain which was true.
However, she was a user who left a huge impact every time she appeared.
Her gothic lolita outfit, seemingly aimed at a specific audience, and the bright voice contrasting with the cynical expression unique to her pink twin-tails style—even that contrast had its own charm.
So much so that there was even a NewTube fan channel dedicated solely to uploading her ranked games.
—Flash!
Tepes launched herself again, and even on screen her speed was exceptional.
Simply watching on screen, it was hard to even follow with the eyes.
But Serin coldly hardened her expression and gripped the Crescent-Moon Weight, refusing to allow any further hits.
—CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!!!
A harsh sound, hard to believe came from a blade striking a body, rang out madly as an unbroken exchange of offense and defense unfolded.
Against Tepes's merciless assault, Serin gripped the blade of the Crescent-Moon Weight and met every attack with acrobatics bordering on divine—the sight itself was astonishing.
"Could this also be... her confidence?"
Sua found herself wondering, almost involuntarily, whether this too was Serin's confidence.
Meeting a True Ancestor Class using Rampage head-on was clearly not a good move, but Serin was meeting it head-on as if proving it was possible—and actually proving it.
So much so that Sua even thought, 'Is this some kind of performance?'