Clash of the Permafrosts
‘Permafrost?!’
Kate’s first thought upon hearing those words was bluffing.
RaSe was a game where you had to shout skill names to activate them, so bluffing like this was common in PvP.
Pretending to have learned a skill you hadn’t, just acting the part.
When a powerful 8-star skill name popped out of an opponent’s mouth, you flinched reflexively—and in bad cases, it threw off your entire rhythm.
Kate herself had fallen for it and used it plenty back in her mid-to-low level days.
“Cheap trick!”
But that was months ago.
There was no way she, now at the peak of her mastery, would falter to such an obvious ploy…
Permafrost
“What?! No way!”
Kate went beyond flustered to outright shock.
The intense chill radiating through the thick steam.
No mistaking it—this was the familiar aura she couldn’t deny even if she wanted to. Identical to the one from her own skill just moments ago.
As unbelievable as it was, the opponent had truly unleashed Permafrost!
The moment she confirmed it with her own eyes, a thought flashed through Kate’s mind.
A magifist cloaked in a robe.
A player charging into battle without hesitation against a top-10 guild.
And crucially, Permafrost.
Putting it all together, one video surfaced in her memory.
The footage of a man unleashing Permafrost against the Silver Lion!
Kate shouted reflexively.
“Fist Demon!!!”
* * *
The instant Kate activated Permafrost, Carpe countered immediately.
“Invest 50 in Magic Power.”
Your Magic Power stat has increased by 50.
No matter how overwhelmingly superior Carpe’s stats were compared to his level, his opponent was one of the pinnacle players among 500 million users.
Holding back here meant seeing a gray screen from one Permafrost. Carpe dumped his saved stat points into Magic Power and activated his skill right away.
“Permafrost!”
Ice waves spread from Carpe at the center, soon clashing with his opponent’s.
Permafrost
Craaaack!
The collision of two 9-star skills unleashed a ferocious chill, freezing the obstructing steam in an instant and sending it crumbling to the ground.
With visibility restored, a spectacular sight unfolded before them.
—Just this part clipped as a video would rack up 100 million views easy, lol.
As if declaring this is my domain.
Two massive ice waves surged against each other, vying for dominance.
The two Permafrosts gnawed at one another, locked in a battle of raw power.
Craaack! Scraaaape!
But the balance didn’t hold long. One Permafrost began slowly pushing the other back.
“…Tch. Still not quite enough, huh?”
Carpe clicked his tongue briefly.
Kate’s Permafrost was inching toward him, steady and relentless.
—Closer margin than I thought. Well, can’t be helped. The level gap’s huge.
Skill power varied by skill level, caster’s gear, and stats.
Physical skills scaled with Strength, boosted by Agility and Dexterity; magic skills with Magic Power.
Official rank 6, Kate was level 134—over 70 levels above Carpe.
—Level 134 means about 750 bonus stats from pure level-ups.
Unlike Carpe, Kate was a pure DPS mage, so her stats were heavily skewed toward Magic Power.
Probably dumped nearly 500 of those 750 points into it.
Carpe, even including the 50 just invested, had around 250. Nearly double the difference.
Identical skills head-on, with one side’s stats 200+ higher?
No contest. Carpe’s should’ve been obliterated.
But astonishingly, the clash ended with Carpe only slightly pushed back.
The reason was obvious.
Only gear could counter level advantage.
Legendary
Ice-attribute skill damage +20%. Doubles freeze effects. The ultimate ring for ice specialists! (Acquired from defeating Servant Lord's Fragment)
Carpe’s Legendary ring from toppling the Servant Lord's Fragment.
Not just that.
Carpe’s main weapons were also Legendary-grade.
The gauntlets converted part of physical attack to magic attack; the special-slot Enigma boosted magic attack too.
Embarrassing to even compare to Kate’s +9 Unique staff.
On top of that: title effects, Room growth bonuses, ancient nectar buffs.
Minus level and stats, Carpe dominated every other aspect.
Crucially, Kate wasn’t at full strength.
This area is filled with intense heat. Without fire resistance skills, all stats are reduced by 10%.
Carpe had nulled the debuff with Unlock; Kate suffered it fully.
Craaack.
The encroaching Permafrost lost momentum and halted.
The skill duration ended mid-standoff.
“…Unbelievable.”
Kate was too stunned to even be surprised anymore.
The guy being Fist Demon was shocking enough, but a magifist canceling her Permafrost?
Common sense shattered, but she forced herself to calm down.
“Allow me to reintroduce myself. Fist Demon. I’m Kate, vice-master of The Sun. I’ve wanted to meet you—and here we are. Not quite the setup I hoped for, though.”
“Wanted to meet me? Why?”
“Obviously, to recruit you into our guild…”
“Pass.”
“…Figured as much. You seem affiliated already. Cheonma Divine Cult, right?”
Three people make a tiger, as the saying goes.
Carpe had no affiliation, but viewers had spun tales into wild rumors.
“So the rumors of Cheonma Divine Cult plotting to topple the top-10 guilds are true. Impressive. Is that why you’re here?”
“…What?”
—Kukuku. This is insane. Oh man, this chick’s a novelist. Right, she’s that type.
Some people are like that.
Sharp as hell usually, but occasionally miss the mark, spin their own fanfic, and cling to it blindly.
Kate was exactly that type.
“Silver Lion, The Sun—next up? Mammonism? Pluto?”
—Haha… dying laughing. Already dead, though.
“You’re misunderstanding. I’m not targeting top-10 guilds. They just happen to be wherever my quests take me. Silver Lion too, and now here.”
“…What quest?”
“No obligation to tell you that.”
“Hmph. Figured.”
“Step aside nicely now, and we skip the fight? Like I said, The Sun isn’t my goal.”
“Sorry, can’t. We have our reasons too!”
Pew!
Kate struck first with a surprise Blizzard Laser.
Lightning-fast, befitting the name—but Carpe, having seen it once, reacted in time.
“Not today!”
Instead of dodging, Carpe unwound the muffler from his neck.
Magic Overlord Armament – Vasilas option triggered.
Anti-Magic Shell activated. Blocks and stores magic 8-star or lower.
Carpe’s second Magic Overlord Armament activated its option for the first time.
Vasilas morphed into a black curtain, sucking in Kate’s laser like a black hole.
Once fully absorbed…
“Returning the favor.”
He fired the stored magic right back at her!
Startled, Kate Blinked desperately to evade.
“Got you! Haste!”
Carpe, anticipating the teleport, reacted instantly.
Spotting her new position, he dashed full-speed with Blue Dragon Step.
“Eek?!”
Blink had a long cooldown as a teleport skill.
No matter her cooldown reduction, she couldn’t use it again for seconds.
Carpe didn’t miss the opening.
“Striking!”
Lightning property on the gauntlets, plus Striking—he swung at her side.
“Chilling Shield!”
An ice wall rose just before his fist connected.
“Ma Sword Penetration Mirror!”
Boom!
Carpe shattered the wall effortlessly. The mirror pierced straight through toward Kate.
Tragically, Blink’s cooldown hadn’t reset.
Thud!
“Kyaaak!”
Struck in the side, Kate flew into the wall.
“Wh-what kind of broken class is this…”
One hit, and her HP dropped below half.
Not at full health, sure—but after matching Permafrost evenly, to excel as a martial artist too?
Overkill. Now reflecting magic? Even a dedicated counter-pick wouldn’t go this far.
Can’t win head-on.
Kate gritted her teeth, steeling herself.
The penalty was massive—she never wanted to use it—but no choice now.
Argh, seriously. If you’d come in with me, this wouldn’t have happened! Just you wait, Gunter!
She pulled a Skill Card from her inventory and tore it.
“Hm?”
Carpe, closing in for the finish, saw it.
What? Did she just learn a new skill?
He reached her but stayed cautious to the end.
Activating Dragon’s Eye again to check her new skill.
Ding.
• ...
• 7-star Holy Sacrifice (NEW!)
• ...
None
“Gah!”
—Kek. Insane! She’s going this far?!
Both men gasped at the skill readout.
Seen once on first login to RaSe, never since—but how could anyone forget?
Holy Sacrifice.
A nuke scaling with max MP, rivaling 9-stars in raw damage—the ultimate one-shot holy grenade!
Cost: permanently burn one skill point. Better to die than use it casually.
“Damn it!”
Chills running down his spine, Carpe swung with full force.
One more hit. Just one to finish her.
But Kate was a fraction faster.
“Double Spell! Chilling Shield!”
Her 8-star Double Spell: cast 6-star or lower skills twice in a row.
Shing! Ching!
Two ice walls between them. Carpe unleashed Ma Sword Penetration Mirror at full power again.
Bang! Boom!
Expending everything—miraculously, it pierced both walls and reached Kate.
Thud!
“Ah.”
But unlike before, the double walls sapped its power.
3%.
Regrettably, Kate survived with 3% HP.
Worse: behind the walls floated a glowing white holy grenade.
Hallelujah~ auto-played in Carpe’s ears.
“You’d know, Fist Demon, but reflection skills don’t work on this.”
“Damn! Mukhyang Reverse—”
Flash!
The holy grenade exploded.
Kaboom!!!
The blast rocked the entire Flame Spirit Haven.
Carpe’s spot reduced to rubble, a massive dust cloud rising.
“D-did I get him? Whoa!”
Kate muttered reflexively, then clapped hands over her mouth in shock.
“…No. Superstitions.”
Death flags, revival chants—jokes, nothing more.
Logically, surviving her Holy Sacrifice? Even Gunter couldn’t.
“Yeah. It’s over.”
Kate muttered firmly to quell her lingering unease.
The Fist Demon was so beyond norms, she was overreacting a bit…
“Cough.”
“…Huh?”
Then it happened.
A man emerged through the dust cloud.
Needless to say: Fist Demon, Carpe.
“Whoa. Lost ten years there. Thought I was done for.”
“Ah…”
Kate collapsed on the spot.
The 10-Star Player’s Lucky Draw