Black Tiger's Humiliation

The primary weapon of a close-range dealer is the dagger. They either strike and retreat or unleash their firepower in a brief burst.

Depending on the opponent's combat style, the response strategy will differ.

"Well, there's one thing they all have in common."

What would that be?

"Their defense is weak."

After that short reply, I circulated my inner energy. Just as I was about to snatch the close-range dealer with the first form of the Blood Claw Technique, his body slid backward across the ice as if skating.

"Hmph. Even if you've hidden an unexpected move, who said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd just stand there and take it…"

"You talk too much."

I kicked off the ground and charged forward with Fierce Rush. In an instant I closed the distance the close-range dealer had created by retreating with Attack Sliding.

His mouth hung open in surprise. I answered with a punch. With a loud crash, he was sent flying more than ten meters. Thanks to him voluntarily widening the gap with Attack Sliding, the 200% bonus damage and stun effect landed cleanly.

The green light swirling over his armor vanished in a single blow. Without the supporter's buffs, Fierce Rush alone would have dealt fatal damage.

If I hit him one more time, I could completely neutralize him in this sparring match.

"Eat this!"

Seo Jeongmin unleashed the mana he had finished rearranging.

A pair of spiraling ice arrows flew toward me at twice the speed of a normal spell.

Blocking them with my carapace would be difficult. I immediately channeled inner energy into my legs. The essence of Cloud Flow Steps is never losing balance no matter the situation. I accelerated my steps, adjusted my direction mid-movement, and slipped past the arrows by a hair's breadth.

"He dodged my magic!"

Seo Jeongmin ground his teeth. Even as he displayed his rage, he continued moving his mana.

Frost spread across the ground, followed by a spell that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reduced friction to zero. He was making good use of Ultra-High-Speed Calculation. I immediately halted Cloud Flow Steps and stopped in place. Even martial arts aren't completely immune to magic effects. If my mastery of Cloud Flow Steps were higher it might be different, but at only one star it was difficult to maintain balance against the dual spells.

"Hraaagh!"

The tanker, having pulled his feet free from the mud, charged straight at me. At the same time the supporter deployed a healing spell and restored the close-range dealer's health.

Their teamwork was quite good.

You seem to need the Blessing of Greed.

"Yeah. No thanks."

I still had several skills I hadn't used yet. Why ask for help already? This fight was too fun to end so soon. I poured the Blessing of Greed onto the ice and shattered the balance between the two crossed spells.

Crackle!

Ice Coating and Grease repelled each other, sending sparks flying. If they had been cast sequentially they wouldn't have clashed, but trying to amplify the magic with Ultra-High-Speed Calculation while binding incompatible mana types had been a mistake.

"Ghh… Icicle Shower!"

Dozens of small icicles flew toward me. The attack carried cold that would slow movement on contact. Dodging would be better than blocking, but I chose to charge instead.

The darkness that materialized from my crown split into several strands and deflected the icicle barrage. The Black Tiger team's greatest firepower was Seo Jeongmin. To eliminate variables in this sparring match, I had to take him out of the fight first. Fortunately, he was currently exposed and defenseless. Time to raise the tempo of my offense!

"Your opponent is me."

When the distance between Seo Jeongmin and me had narrowed to about five meters, a flash of light obstructed my vision. After clearing the afterimage with Polar Night, the tanker holding a shield stood right in front of me.

"Eunho, nice assist."

"Team leader, just trust me."

Oh? Talking among themselves right in front of me. Castling, huh. An Unranked player shouldn't have obtained a three-star skill on his own. Looks like the Black Tiger team received support from the guild or LS Group headquarters to form their squad.

"You won't get past me."

The tanker spoke with confidence, as if saving Seo Jeongmin had boosted his morale. A shimmering aura surrounded his shield. It was the tanking skill Force Shield, which designates a target and prevents them from moving more than three meters away.

The Blood Claw Technique would have trouble piercing that thick shield. In that case, I'd have to use another method. I clenched my fist tightly.

Superhuman Strength deals +330% damage based on the user's Strength stat. Crack! Part of the shield's surface crumpled under the reinforced force.

"Kuh!"

The tanker groaned and was flung backward. Oh? At the moment of impact he twisted the shield slightly to divert some of the force. He had good technique. But he seemed to have forgotten that Force Shield was still active. Whoosh! While being repelled by his own skill, he was pulled back toward me. It was like kids jumping on a trampoline. Just as I was about to land a follow-up strike, a milky-white barrier enveloped the tanker's entire body. Mana Barrier. A defensive spell deployed by the supporter. While my fist destroyed the barrier, the tanker regained his senses, deactivated the skill, and corrected his stance.

"Take this!"

While I was held by Force Shield, the close-range dealer slipped into my blind spot and swung his dagger. I had already sensed the killing intent with my sixth sense, so dodging should have been…

The sensation of being stabbed from multiple directions at once made it impossible to respond by feel alone. Oh, not bad. I gave up on dodging and covered my entire body with Thorn Carapace. The dagger aimed for my abdomen. Clang! The moment the carapace and blade collided, friction heat and sparks flew in all directions. About 20% of the durability was consumed. That much I could handle. The dagger's embedded skill activated.

An unprecedented force surged from the blade that had struck the carapace. A shockwave that pushed the opponent away. Instead of resisting the force, I maintained my center of gravity so my posture wouldn't break. "Use this opening to reorganize." The Black Tiger team reset their formation. Right. It wouldn't be fun if the sparring ended too easily. I adjusted my stance.

* * *

Seo Jeongmin could not hide his shock. The Black Tiger team was an elite squad nurtured with support from LS Group headquarters. Hundreds of billions had been invested! They were armed with various elixirs and Unique-grade items and trained by the Baekho Guild's finest players. They had stopped challenging for the 7th floor record, but they were still at a level that overwhelmed even Bronze-grade teams in sparring. Yet…

"Why?!"

Seo Jeongmin shouted with a hoarse voice.

"What?"

"Even if you've gained some fame, you're still just Unranked!"

"Your team is Unranked too, though."

Jinho snorted. Using his Ultra-High-Speed Calculation, the highest-tier mana ability, Seo Jeongmin pushed his magic beyond its limits.

Because he had added homing properties, dodging was impossible. Jinho threw a Fireball a beat late. Cold and flame collided in midair. The three-star skill Glacial Spike didn't stop at erasing the Fireball; it continued chasing Jinho's back.

"Ah, that kind of style?"

Jinho spread his hand once more.

A sinister light rising from the ring wrapped around the cone-shaped ice. The dark-red light broke Seo Jeongmin's rearranged mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠structure and swallowed it whole.

"Why? Looks like things aren't going well for you."

"Even if it's magic absorption, there must be a limit!"

Seo Jeongmin began rearranging his cold mana again. At that moment—

"Spells that take a long time to prepare should only be used when safety is secured."

Jinho kicked off the ground and charged at Seo Jeongmin.

"Castl—"

"Fool me once, shame on you. There won't be a second time."

Polar Night's power surged from Jinho's shadow. Manifesting all twenty points of power, he erected a wall of darkness that blocked the path between the tanker and Seo Jeongmin. He had exploited the weakness that Castling requires nothing between the two targets.

"I won't let you reach the team leader."

The close-range dealer in front swung his dagger.

The skill that disrupted attack direction activated once more. Jinho's eyes moved rapidly.

"Making me say the same thing again."

He struck one of the dozens of dagger afterimages with his fist. Clang! The close-range dealer staggered.

"H-how?"

"I can see it with my eyes."

Instead of continuing to attack the close-range dealer, Jinho targeted Seo Jeongmin. While the supporter bound his feet with a debuff skill, the remaining team members repositioned themselves. Jinho continued his relentless offensive. Meanwhile, despite their numerical advantage, the Black Tiger team was one-sidedly pushed back throughout the entire sparring match. The reporters who had come to cover the event were equally flustered.

"That's supposed to be Unranked?"

"He's at least Iron, maybe even Bronze."

"It's been less than a week since the tutorial record changed, so he's definitely Unranked."

"How many skills is he using? Tank skills, ranged attacks, and even debuffs."

Debuffs like Mud Trap or Roar. Close-range skills like Blood Claw Technique or Superhuman Strength. He was also proficient with ranged magic attacks. And he wielded the mysterious power of Polar Night whose origin was unknown. Jinho was fulfilling the "all-rounder" position he had mentioned before the sparring match.

"How… how are we supposed to write an article about this?"

One reporter muttered anxiously. These were the reporters who had been waiting to highlight Seo Jeongmin and the Black Tiger team's performance. The articles they had prepared in advance were about to go straight into the trash. After more than thirty minutes had passed since the start of the sparring match, Seo Jeongmin shouted in a sunken voice.

"F Formation."

The final letter. Their last resort, squeezing out every ounce of the team's ability.

"Get behind me."

The Black Tiger team clustered around the tanker.

Iron Wall dramatically increased defense in exchange for stopping movement. Attack Absorption redirected all energy entering within a three-meter radius toward himself. Using two tanking skills simultaneously was a technique even Silver-grade tankers found difficult… or so it should have been.

"If you grit your teeth and endure like that, it'll be even easier to break through."

A curse inscription that weakened defense was engraved on the gray barrier. The Mark of Weakening. A curse skill extracted from the essence of the Blue Goblin Shaman. Jinho struck the barrier the tanker had deployed with Superhuman Strength. Both Attack Absorption and Iron Wall shattered without withstanding even a single blow. Although Iron Wall had increased his defense, being unable to move from his spot proved fatal.

"Divert it like before."

"Aaaagh!"

The close-range dealer screamed and charged.

The yellow energy infused in the dagger amplified several times over. A three-star skill that increased blade vibration dozens of times to cut through everything it touched. It also had the effect of pulling opponents within range into the sword's trajectory. Jinho used the fourth form of the Blood Claw Technique.

His arm twisted at a grotesque angle and passed through the yellow energy on the dagger. It was a martial art he had deployed one step ahead of the close-range dealer's trump card. Jinho aimed his outstretched fingertips at the close-range dealer's nape.

"This is going to hurt."

The close-range dealer, who had been swinging his sword, was struck by the Four-Headed Claw and rolled across the floor.

"Kuh, cough cough."

He couldn't breathe properly from the force applied to his throat. The supporter, who had been rearranging mana a beat late, was also easily subdued. Only Seo Jeongmin remained. With a deathly pale face, he opened his mouth.

"S-surrender…"

"The sparring isn't over yet, is it?"

Jinho covered Seo Jeongmin's mouth with his right hand. A chilling smile spread across his lips.