47. Skill Seal
47. Skill Seal
***
The nickname "Gosu" was quite famous in Another World.
Even among greatsword users, he was one of the biggest names.
Kang Hyeok had insisted on using only the greatsword from the moment he started Another World, and he stuck to the greatsword even after becoming a pro gamer.
Among the ranged classes that occupied most of the upper ranks of Challenger Tier, he was one of the few "real deal" greatsword users.
As such, Kang Hyeok took considerable pride in the greatsword.
"...How about we face each other using only greatswords, with no skills at all?"
At Serin's deliberately light tone, Kang Hyeok let out a scoff, as if dumbfounded.
Just counting the time he had spent playing the game holding only a greatsword, it was well over two years. While other renowned greatsword users had compromised with performance and switched to other weapons like one-handed swords, spears, sword-and-board, or one-handed axes, he had stuck to the single path of the greatsword.
And now, from the absurd claim that a Dancer Class used a greatsword, to checking the chat messages—even if she had won using a greatsword, it was only in Platinum.
A victory in Platinum, which meant nothing to a Challenger, and now she was acting all high and mighty toward him like this.
—A greatsword dancer is pretty good, why? Want me to show you?
On top of that, there was the one chat message from earlier that had been the final straw.
Kang Hyeok was also streaming, so when he saw the chat from the user named Rin that Plea had emphasized, he felt genuine fury boiling up inside him.
It was completely different from when Plea teased him. The chat from the user named Rin felt like an insult to greatsword users as a whole.
As a "pure" greatsword user, as Kang Hyeok thought of himself, it was a statement he simply could not tolerate.
In Kang Hyeok's view, swinging a sword lightly like Serin did wasn't really using a greatsword.
"Ah. Sure, let's do that then. Rin, you seem to be getting a bit too full of yourself just because you beat Plea. I'll teach you a thing or two about greatswords this time."
She seemed to think that if skills were sealed, she could beat him, or at least put up a real fight.
To Kang Hyeok, that alone made Rin seem almost unbelievably arrogant.
Challenging him to a pure-skill greatsword duel right in front of him—there were limits to showing off in front of an expert.
"Well, then let's seal everything."
As he said that, Kang Hyeok opened his skill window and locked every single skill, one by one. Worried that a skill might go off unconsciously, he was cutting off even the slightest possibility.
Movement skills prohibited, combat skills prohibited, Awakening Skill prohibited, Emergency Evasion prohibited... and so on.
After locking all his skills, Kang Hyeok briefly scanned Serin's appearance from top to bottom.
The appearance that caught his eye was beautiful enough to naturally draw the gaze of even Kang Hyeok, who normally paid no attention to such things, but his main purpose was to check the equipment she was wearing rather than her looks.
And only then did Kang Hyeok feel something was off.
"...Don't tell me, a Rare greatsword?"
He hadn't looked properly because her attitude was so absurd, but the greatsword had a familiar shape.
"Yes. The name was Asvalt... Claymore, was it?"
Asvalt... that was the distinctive name attached to mass-produced Rare items. Kang Hyeok, recalling his now-hazy newbie days, let out a hollow laugh, thinking his pride was taking a real beating today.
And Kang Hyeok immediately searched for "Asvalt" on the Auction House and purchased a Buster Sword-type greatsword.
Because nothing hurt his pride more than winning through gear.
***
'Why does everyone fixate on gear?'
Serin shook her head slightly with that thought.
At first I thought he was only changing his weapon, but then he started swapping out his gear piece by piece right in front of me. At a glance, it looked like he was matching gear around the same grade as mine.
He bought new items without hesitation and swapped them quickly, so it didn't take that long, but it was a little fascinating.
Even at most, the gear difference would only be about 20%, and that wasn't especially significant to me. He wouldn't know that from his side, so I understood why he was doing it, but it still felt strange that everyone fixated so much on gear.
In Another World, which was fundamentally an RPG, gear was definitely part of one's build.
'Is that also a kind of pride?'
Thinking that, I slowly parted my lips.
"You didn't have to go that far."
I deliberately spoke up just when it looked like he had finished changing most of his gear. If he really had that much pride, he probably wouldn't change it back.
Well, if he wanted to weaken himself on his own, I had no reason to stop him.
In the first place, he was a Challenger-ranked player too. I was holding a greatsword instead of my main weapon, the Crescent-Moon Weight, so there was no reason for me to accept an extra handicap from the gear difference.
Immediately after, a duel request came in.
I accepted immediately and casually loosened my wrists. It was meaningless, but I just wanted to show that I was warming up.
If he was someone who lived and died by pride, he would care about every little thing like this.
As expected, the user named Gosu could be seen warming up by swinging one arm in circles.
"Pfft..."
Seeing him react exactly as I'd expected, I laughed without meaning to.
—The duel will begin shortly.
"Ah. And... we both know there's no going easy, right?"
I deliberately said it to get under his skin, and the user called Gosu looked absolutely delighted.
He scowled deeply and glared at me as if he wanted to tear me apart with his eyes alone, which sent a chill down my spine.
Just imagining that fierce expression crumpling even further afterward was so enjoyable I could barely contain myself.
"I'll smash you in one hit... so run your mouth while you still can."
"Okay."
—1.
The moment the countdown ended, both of them kicked off the ground at once, neither waiting for the other.
Thud!
Boom!
Perhaps because of the basic class difference, the sounds Serin and Kang Hyeok made when kicking off the ground were different.
But the movements they chose were eerily identical.
Without any technique or evasive movement whatsoever.
Just a straight-line movement, as if charging forward toward the opponent.
As if greatsword users ought to move this way, they looked as if they had coordinated their movements.
Since they had both locked their skills, their movements weren't hard to follow with the eyes, and no light gathered around their blades.
But even so, they charged at each other, and the distance between them closed terrifyingly fast.
Serin moved first, driving the reddish-brown claymore straight ahead in a powerful thrust, its distinctive red blade gleaming.
Half a step later, Kang Hyeok swung his massive greatsword skillfully while simultaneously rotating his body.
——!
Serin's eyes widened briefly at the sight of him suddenly showing his back.
As Kang Hyeok spun, the greatsword slipped out of sight at an unexpected angle before surging upward from below.
Serin stabbing at the opponent's back with her claymore, and the buster sword rising from below as if to crush Serin's entire body.
In a way, it looked like mutual destruction, with both attacking each other.
But in detail, the situation was strictly different.
"...Hup!"
Serin stopped her thrusting greatsword and simultaneously stomped the ground hard, anchoring her body in place.
Thud!
At the same time, she forcibly twisted the trajectory of the claymore gripped in both hands, directing it downward.
Trading a blow against a Buster Sword with a claymore-type greatsword was already a terrible trade for Serin.
A Berserker was clad in heavy armor while a Dancer wore cloth. Even if they traded identical attacks, the Dancer would come off worse—and the difference in greatsword type only widened that gap.
Clang!!
The clash rang out with a boom too huge to sound like mere steel on steel, and Serin naturally gave ground, bleeding off the recoil.
"..."
They had only exchanged a single blow, but a third of her Stamina Gauge had vanished in a chunk.
There was no damage to her HP Gauge right now, but... clashing swords was clearly to her disadvantage.
It was the result of base stats, class differences, the weight of the greatsword, and more all stacking together.
Using the recoil that had knocked her greatsword upward, Serin tightened both hands on the hilt and brought it crashing down.
Whoosh!
In response, Kang Hyeok raised his greatsword to cover his entire body rather than swinging it.
He judged that the weight difference between their greatswords made their swing speeds different, so it was already too late to match blows.
Kang Hyeok's response was textbook defense, the kind that showed real experience.
And then.
Step.
Serin suddenly took a step back and subtly pulled back the hand holding her sword as well.
The claymore, knocked upward by the clash and now coming down on Kang Hyeok, suddenly fell short as Serin shortened its reach.
And that small difference created a strange situation.
Whooosh!!
Serin's greatsword passed right by Kang Hyeok's massive greatsword, which covered his entire body, and chopped downward swiftly.
Just when it seemed like it might strike the floor.
Thunk!
A chilling sound of a blade cutting through flesh rang out.
Kang Hyeok expected to feel the impact through his greatsword. When nothing struck it, he faltered in confusion—then a sudden sensation made him look down at his leg. Blood poured from a deep cut. Realizing too late that he'd been hit, he swung the greatsword shielding his body forward as if to shove Serin away.
Whooosh!
By the time Kang Hyeok's greatsword split the air with a loud whoosh.
Serin had already stepped back two more paces.
"What's the point of defending if you cover your own eyes?"
Serin spoke with a natural smile on her beautiful face, and Kang Hyeok felt as if he had been bewitched by a ghost.