39. A Dancer Wielding a Greatsword
39. A Dancer Wielding a Greatsword
***
A new cluster of light formed inside the Colosseum, and I looked across at the opponent taking position on the other side.
"...?"
The moment I saw who it was, I let out a reflexive laugh.
The user I'd been matched against was, hilariously enough, wielding the same weapon as me—a greatsword.
That absurdly massive black blade looked exactly like what anyone would call a greatsword. On top of that, they wore heavy-looking black armor and a helm. They looked like a medieval knight straight out of a novel.
"...Shit."
They must have recognized me too. Beneath the helm, their expression looked startled. And the way it twisted into a slight frown—they probably knew who I was.
And before the duel even began, they already looked like they'd sensed their own defeat.
I hadn't done anything wrong, but I felt a little sorry for them. Still, they were a good opponent for the moment. I'd been trying to get used to the greatsword, and if my opponent was also a greatsword user, they were perfect for getting a feel for it.
"Hey, why are you cursing the moment we meet?"
Since I was streaming, I spoke to them more gently.
"Ah, sorry. Um... Rin? Please go a little easy on me. I'd at least like to trade a few blows."
"Sure. Got it."
As expected, they knew me.
Still, unlike that toxic player I'd met before, they weren't asking me to throw the match. A request like that was cute enough to grant.
Honestly, at this score range, every user just looked like a newbie to me anyway.
—The duel will begin shortly.
The familiar message appeared, and soon the system forcibly widened the distance between me and my opponent.
Before the countdown began, I checked the chat window I'd set up at the edge of my vision.
[lolololololololololol]
[Even the first matchup is against a greatsword Knight lololol]
[lololol]
[And the opponent's using a buster sword type too lololol]
[Greatsword vs greatsword, my heart is swelling lol]
[Fake greatsword dancer vs real greatsword knight lololol]
[Claymore vs buster sword]
[This is my favorite matchup lolol]
Reading the chat, the phrase "fake greatsword dancer" made me laugh in disbelief.
"...Pfft."
Well, the opponent looked every bit the knight and had a greatsword to match. Even the weapon itself was pure fantasy—a massive buster-sword type.
Meanwhile, I was a Dancer wielding a much thinner claymore by comparison.
'Well, they're not wrong.'
I was the fake.
Thinking that, I realized streaming and gaming at the same time was more fun than I'd expected.
—3... 2....
As the countdown began, I shifted the greatsword from both hands to one and raised it with effort.
I raised it horizontally and aimed it at my opponent.
A kind of performance.
Streaming seemed to work like magic, pushing me to do things I'd normally never dare.
—1.
The moment the countdown ended, I gave the greatsword a small flick.
"Come on."
I taunted my opponent, staring them down from an arrogant stance.
If I really swung with intent, I could probably end this in one blow.
But that would disappoint the viewers. And since this was my first ranked match, I figured I'd take it easy and warm up.
Clank.
With the sound of heavy iron boots kicking hard against the ground, the opposing user immediately began charging toward me.
Clank... clank... clankclankclank!
The knight accelerated gradually, as if building up a running start.
They came rushing at me with that massive black greatsword held in both hands, thrust out in front of them as far as it would go.
'Too obvious.'
Watching them, I could already predict what kind of technique their next attack would be.
Actually, before turning on the stream, I'd learned a few greatsword techniques and read through explanations of the main ones.
So I knew what technique they were about to use.
Knowing exactly when my opponent would attack meant it would be easy for me to parry.
'A plain parry feels kind of boring, though.'
With that thought, I stepped to the side and widened my stance. Then I gripped the claymore with both hands again, angling the blade toward the ground instead of at my opponent.
I had no intention of using any greatsword techniques in this duel. I just wanted to get a feel for the weapon.
Clank! Boom!
The opposing user finally finished their last running step and kicked off the ground, launching their heavy body into the air.
They really managed to get airborne while holding that absurdly huge greatsword—I thought that, but I didn't take my eyes off them.
It was impressive that my opponent had gotten airborne with a black greatsword the size of a house, but I could clearly see they were drunk on the fantasy of it.
FWOOSH—!
A chilling sound, like the air itself was being torn apart.
They slashed fiercely through the air with the massive black greatsword and brought it down with savage force, as if to crush me. The entire greatsword was wreathed in a black glow—I wondered if the glow color just varied based on personal settings.
Even while having such idle thoughts, I slowly tightened my grip on the claymore.
The name of the technique they'd unleashed was—
—Overwhelming Pressure (暴壓).
A simple technique that used the massive greatsword's weight to slam down and crush the opponent. Simple as it was, it hit hard.
The technique was certainly powerful, but it was the kind of thing you should only use if you were confident you wouldn't get parried. It was clearly high-risk... and yet my opponent had actually pulled it out after recognizing me.
Swish.
At the same time, I stepped forward and swung up in a wide, clean semicircle, putting strength into meeting their blow head-on.
Serin's concise movement, drawing a clean crescent from below to above, captivated the viewers as if she'd used some new technique.
And then, the very next moment—
CLANG!!
A harsh grinding noise far beyond a simple clash of iron rang through the air.
Her ears were ringing so badly that even the burst of light barely registered.
The recoil made the hands gripping the greatsword tremble.
Even as she registered it, Serin let out a dazed laugh.
"...Now that's a greatsword."
It was truly heavy.
Parrying was close to universally effective, but it couldn't completely erase the sheer weight of the opposing greatsword when the weapons met.
No matter how prepared I was, no matter how hard I gripped the claymore, the moment it met that massive black greatsword I nearly stumbled backward.
BOOM!
The opponent went flying through the air and slammed into the ground. If this weren't a game, it would've been a gruesome sight—crushed to death by that very weight.
And the reason they'd flown like that.
A successful midair parry gives you no recoil.
But if you're the one who gets parried while airborne?
The result was right in front of me: a player sent flying through the air and slammed into the ground. Instead of recovering their stance, they'd been bounced away mid-flight and hit with a kind of penalty.
That was probably why they'd lost their grip on their greatsword. Still, seeing them drop their weapon was a little disappointing.
If they'd held onto their greatsword... it would've felt somewhat respectable. But to drop their weapon from the recoil of being parried—that was a letdown. If you choose the greatsword, you should hold onto it with sheer grit and stubbornness.
It hit me anew that ranked matchmaking was still in newbie territory.
I gave up on using this match to get a feel for the greatsword.
Dragging things out would just feel like bullying a newbie, so it was better to end this quickly.
I put strength into both hands gripping the greatsword and raised it up in front of me.
At the same time, I took a thrusting stance and kicked off the ground without hesitation.
Tap!
A Dancer using the Crescent-Moon Weight had a movement skill called "Bloodstained Step."
A Dancer using a greatsword had a different one: "Leap."
Some techniques were standard for a given class-and-weapon combination, while particular combinations also produced unique techniques.
Leap was one of the techniques unique to the Greatsword + Dancer combination.
—Leap.
The moment my body, gripping the greatsword, kicked off the ground, I shot forward through the air as if floating.
Unlike other classes, Dancers had a passive called "Glide."
It let them make additional movements in midair depending on their posture, but only after reaching a certain height. Getting that high came with so many restrictions that even Serin rarely used it.
But now, thanks to Leap, I'd surpassed that threshold in the air, so I could use additional movement.
—Wind Kick.
I spun quickly and kicked hard through the air.
Bang!
A burst went off at the tip of my foot, propelling my body forward even faster.
My opponent was there, just starting to get back up.
"W-wait a second!"
They belatedly raised their hand and shouted desperately. But I had no intention of stopping.
Besides, back when they'd been bounced through the air by my parry—
Hadn't they let go of their weapon then?
Still gripping the claymore, I thrust forward with force, as if stabbing, and pierced through my opponent's hand.
Shunk!
A clean strike that pierced through the hand flailing in the air—deprived of its weapon—and went straight through to their head.
The gruesome—no, outright cruel—scene never actually unfolded. The moment the blade pierced their hand, it was covered by mosaic censorship, and as soon as the sword touched their head, they turned into light and vanished.
—Victory!
A fanfare-like celebratory sound and the victory message appeared. With that win, my score rose by 30 points to 2,760.
I turned my claymore—now without a target to pierce—and brought it down toward the floor as if stabbing it into the ground.
Thud!
The claymore struck the floor with its distinctive sound. I was getting a little more used to it now, but the weight still bothered me, and I didn't want to keep holding the sword.
"Fun."
I muttered that and idly manipulated the hologram.
How had I looked just now?
I was fairly satisfied by my own standards, but I was curious what the viewers thought.
Normally, this would have been nothing more than a single win. But streaming made me look forward to seeing how the viewers reacted.
"How did I look to you all?"
I deliberately said that as I opened the chat window.
[Wow...]
[Is twisting your body in midair and shooting forward a Dancer technique?]
[No but from the parry to that final thrust, what is this, a movie?]
[Did you mean to pierce the hand and then the head??]
[lol I was watching and minimized the window without even realizing it]
[No but why are you so good with a greatsword?]
[Rin!! I'm dying!! No seriously why is every single movement so pretty!?]
[lolololololol this is crazier than NewTube videos]
[Are you originally a greatsword user?]
Just looking at the chat reactions made me feel pleased for no reason.
The chat messages were nothing special, but they felt like acknowledgment, and it lifted my mood.
"It's not my first time picking up a greatsword. I said it on yesterday's stream too, didn't I? That I know how to use other weapons. I guess a lot of you are watching my stream for the first time today."
I tried to sound nonchalant, but I wanted the viewers to praise me even more.
As I did, my eyes flicked to the viewer count.
—16,290 viewers.
'...Is that viewer count even possible?'
I doubted my own eyes for a moment. I mean, it was only my second day streaming.
This many people were watching my stream?
Ding-a-ling!!
『BrokenIce donated 50,000 won!』
<Greatsword dancer is insane!!>
I thanked the donor while still wondering about the viewer count.
"BrokenIce, thank you for the 50,000 won donation! But viewers, what's the occasion today? My viewer count seems way too high right now..."