Just This Once!
I glanced at the stream status after giving a simple reply.
New Dimension | 723 viewers | 01:06:20
“I’m fine with anything. Please set it up however is most comfortable for you, Mr. Gaeun….”
The number of viewers kept climbing in real time. 724. 728. 730. 735. 749….
Of course it was a good thing, but honestly the pressure felt a lot stronger.
A ton of weirdos had flooded in too….
“Everyone, I’m going to enable chat restrictions for a moment….”
After I enabled the restrictions, the weird messages thankfully….
Huh?
“Rainel-nim?”
“…I’ll forgive you just this once. I won’t let it slide next time.”
Since this person had been watching since my second stream, I decided to be lenient. If it had been one of the new fans who joined after the Albion raid, I would have given them a temporary ban.
“Hmph.”
I’ve created a room with my nickname. The password has been sent in the MissCode chat.
“Y-yes….”
I left the incomprehensible chat messages behind and entered the PVP room he had created.
“Umm… Mr. Gaeun…?”
[Yes?]
“Um, the viewers in our stream say they want to watch it directly in New Dimension….”
[Ah…. I’m fine with it. Are you okay with that, Lene?]
“Well, I-I think I’ll be okay.”
It would be just a tiny bit burdensome, but it probably wouldn’t affect me that much.
[Then… hmm. Let’s wait about three minutes. I’ll set the maximum spectators to around fifty. I’ll release the password now.]
“Okay….”
The moment that conversation ended, the spectator seats filled up instantly. There was no need to wait three minutes. As expected of a world championship winner. His popularity was insane.
[Then let’s begin.]
When I nodded at his words, the field was chosen at random.
…Should I call this bad luck?
The randomly selected field was the Arena of Judgment, one of the maps martial artists loved most. The distance between us at the start was fairly large, but the arena itself was extremely narrow, making it easy for martial artists to close in. It wasn’t a map I particularly disliked, but if I had to pick the one I liked more, it would definitely be the other side.
Of course, some martial artists occasionally used swords or spears, but the opponent standing in front of me was naturally wearing only knuckle weapons on both hands. Since he used to be a kickboxing athlete, he must have gone with what he was most familiar with.
Are You Ready?
Guuuuung.
The great bell rang out, signaling the start of the PVP.
Fight!
The moment those words appeared, he charged at me.
The characteristics of a weapon called the Warhammer are simple. Its reach is longer than a sword but shorter than a spear—an awkward attacking distance. Excluding a very small number of weapons, there are almost none that can be said to beat it in terms of speed. In exchange, however, it possesses overwhelming one-shot power.
That fact had become a kind of romance for many players… but in the end, it was nothing more than a fantasy.
Against weapons like spears that can attack from farther away, you get one-sidedly beaten. Then can you win against sword-type weapons? No. If you close in, you face the same counterattack problem as with spears, and your speed is far too slow to stop an opponent who is closing the distance. A weapon that hits hard if it can land a blow, but cannot actually land blows. That was the Warhammer.
“Hup!”
The instant the great bell rang, Gaeun leaped toward me to exploit that weakness.
At the same time, a blue light swirled around my jet-black full plate armor. It was proof that I had used my acceleration skill. Normally it only increased speed and had no other effects, so aside from a very small number of players, almost no one favored it. But Gaeun already knew very well that when combined with the Warhammer and my skill level, it displayed absurd power.
If I give her distance, I’ll be the one who suffers. She knows that too. So she’ll probably back off first? To attack one-sidedly, she has to maintain distance….
All I have to do is close in until she has nowhere left to retreat. No matter how much acceleration she uses, she’ll still be slower than me in light armor with knuckles equipped. Therefore, I can pressure her enough by taking advantage of the speed difference. That was what Gaeun thought.
It didn’t take long for him to realize that was a miscalculation.
“…Huh?”
Contrary to his expectation that I would widen the distance, I instead charged straight at him. For a moment his reaction was delayed by the incomprehensible decision, and I wasn’t kind enough to let that opening slip by.
BAAAAAANG!
A perfect strike landed at the exact right timing. The result was an enormous vibration that made his entire body go numb.
“Crazy….”
Gaeun couldn’t help but swear as the impact sent him flying backward. Lene’s action had been completely outside his expectations.
She knew what I was aiming for and still charged in?
If Gaeun had dodged that attack just now, or if he had successfully countered it, Lene would never have been able to shake him off again. No matter how much she used acceleration, that was simply the fate of the Warhammer.
Gaeun, who had been sent flying all the way to the edge of the arena and crashed to the ground, immediately stood back up and checked his condition. Even though he had somehow managed to guard at the last second, his HP had still dropped by nearly ten percent. The damage was so ridiculous that the word “unfair” came to mind. But knowing that was precisely the reason the Warhammer existed, Gaeun said nothing and simply took his stance again.
And Lene remained standing exactly where she had fired off that strike, not moving an inch.
If she had charged in again right away, it would have been my turn this time….
The previous blow had been an unexpected surprise attack, so he had no choice but to take it. However, now that he knew she could fight that way, Gaeun was confident he would never fall for it again.
But in any case, the distance between them had widened once more.
How should I approach this….
With a firm resolve not to let his guard down, Gaeun stepped forward while thinking about his next move.
And then.
Ga-eun ●●○ | ○○○ Inquisitor
After that, Lene couldn’t land a single proper attack. She lost two sets in a row to Gaeun. The final third set was the same. Although she managed to dodge his attacks to some extent, she couldn’t counter, so she took one-sided losses. It was the exact same flow as the previous two sets.
Gaeun’s remaining HP was 98 percent.
Lene’s remaining HP was 14 percent.
It was an overwhelming difference of more than five times. And even this was the result of coincidence. If not for that coincidence, Gaeun’s HP would have been at 100 percent.
Did we… did I overestimate her too much?
Gaeun thought that perhaps he had been blinded by the achievement of successfully defeating Albion.
Well, raids and PVP are fundamentally very different anyway.
In the end, it was just a performance she could show because the opponent was also A-rank. When he thought that, a bitter feeling washed over Gaeun’s heart.
“Huu….”
Not wanting to feel that disappointment any longer, Gaeun decided to end this PVP as quickly as possible.
Whoosh!
Gaeun closed the distance he had created and threw a punch. This attack was a feint. The plan was to use consecutive skills the instant an opening appeared from her blocking or dodging. It was a combo he had never shown to anyone except Jaehun yet.
It was both a final courtesy toward Lene and proof of his apology for having arbitrarily gotten his hopes up and then arbitrarily felt disappointed.
And right before Gaeun’s fist could touch Lene’s shoulder….
His quiet voice echoed in her ear.