The Quiet Grind
Could this be...?
(Attached Photo: A photo of the meetup attendees, excluding Yu Nabi)
We all gathered and ate meat!
We hung out a bit more nearby and dispersed before it got too late. We didn't drink because there was someone whose alcohol tolerance was a complete mystery.
It was even more fun to gather like this after winning the championship.
……
And our Nabi-nim really shocked me.
Actually, I do have a photo I took with Nabi-nim, you know?
I wanted to brag so badly that I debated a thousand times whether to post it or not.
Sigh. I can't do it.
For now, we'll keep it to ourselves.
Feel free to be as jealous as you want.
I know you guys will call me a hype beast or say I'm gatekeeping again!
But eventually, everyone will understand how I feel.
I hope people remember this post when Nabi-nim finally reveals her face.
Anyway, our Nabi is seriously pretty.
I rarely say things like this, but out of everyone I've ever seen, Nabi is the prettiest.
You know how they say when someone is too outstanding, you don't feel jealous, just in awe?
I felt that. When someone is truly that beautiful, you don't even feel jealousy.
I just want to keep her in my house like a doll forever.
And most of all... actually, never mind.
Even if I said it, you wouldn't believe me.
She was amazing in so many ways. Truly.
I'm going to go tease Hanul now.
I think the person who should feel the most cheated today is definitely Hanul.
Classic Na-hype again lol
If you're going to say that, post the photo!
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Seriously, how long is Hanul going to suffer lmao
Rank Game: 7204 (Master)
Battleground: Corridor of Duel
Rules: Duel
Geas: -
DoNotTalkToMe (Berserker) vs. Because (Valkyrie)
Even after winning the Challengers Cup and going to the meetup after many twists and turns, my daily routine didn't change.
Unless something special came up, I spent the entire day grinding rank games.
In terms of the intensity of the practice itself, it felt even tighter now than before the tournament.
After all, I had learned a bitter lesson in my last match against Havoc.
That I was still lacking.
Whether in skill or experience, nothing was complete.
Defeating Havoc was purely a stroke of luck.
If we had played more matches, my win rate would have been much lower.
Pro gaming is a career famous for its short lifespan.
But it is also a career where one spends an incredibly dense year.
In the esports scenes I've watched, players who enjoyed long runs never got drunk on a temporary victory.
Look at the long term.
Only by constantly refining yourself can you succeed.
You might be the best right now, but you can't be the best forever.
Fluctuations in performance or a decline in skill come to everyone without warning.
Though the degree varies, there are no exceptions.
The only way to resist this grim reaper is a honestly built foundation.
An amount of practice so familiar it's practically engraved in the body.
Only the details accumulated bit by bit will never betray you.
Not all effort is rewarded, but accumulated effort doesn't disappear either.
So, even if it was simple and brute-force, I had to keep playing the game.
All-Out Strike
[The power of the next attack is greatly increased...]
My axe battered the Valkyrie's shield.
With this, the enemy's remaining guard gauge was around 27.1%.
If I hit it more, a guard break would trigger, and the match would tilt heavily in my favor.
Since it had dropped to a dangerous level, it was about time for the opponent's resistance to grow fierce.
Combat inevitably carries a rough image.
Cold weapons with sharp blades clashing, fists and kicks flying.
Looking from afar, it's hard to erase the wild feeling unique to violence.
So people often misunderstand.
In truth, combat is like chess played with the body.
What I can do, and what the opponent can do.
Available resources, the opponent's movements, gaze, and intentions.
Combat is a complex puzzle where you combine every clue one by one to break down the enemy.
You can never become a strong warrior by just swinging a weapon mindlessly.
'It's coming. Mid-right. Is she aiming for my abdomen?'
Is she trying to cause mana depletion or death by blood loss by attacking my vitals?
The enemy Valkyrie's short spear pulled back slightly, simultaneously harboring a blue aura.
I pushed the spear shaft away with my axe blade and guarded.
After deflecting the attack once, I battered the shield again.
The opponent's build was a Randgriz Valkyrie using a shield and a short spear.
A round shield guard that has a narrow blocking area but high defense itself.
And the main skill 'Randgriz', a counterattack that comes with high penetration.
This opponent was a counter-type Valkyrie combining the two.
No matter how much of a main skill it was, I wouldn't die from getting hit once.
However, not only would my health be heavily shaved, but even I couldn't pierce that defense in a short time.
Naturally, it would give them time to recover the guard gauge I had painstakingly chipped away.
With terrible bleeding damage coming in, I would slowly wither and die.
If I got hit by the counter, the game would practically be over.
But this game never gives cards to only one side.
If the enemy has a powerful single blow, this side has 'Baldur's Grace', which temporarily reduces damage taken by 50%.
If I safely weathered the enemy's attack, my frenzy would activate, bringing me the victory.
So, in the end, it was a psychological game.
Hanging on whether I could block the opponent's attack at the right time or not.
'But, I've fought Valkyries quite a lot.'
This is a mind game where the opponent holds the initiative.
Because I have to react to a counter that could come at any moment.
Fundamentally, I was bound to be at a disadvantage.
If so, I had to change the battlefield of this mind game.
Not whether I could block it, but whether the opponent would fall for my trick.
As combat experience and data accumulate, various minor tricks are bound to develop.
No matter how good you are at the game, innate reaction speed is hard to overcome.
But it's not like only people with insane physical reflexes exist in the high tiers.
Among pro gamers, there were players who utilized counter-type classes well even with slow reaction speeds.
Then how do these people react to the opponent's skills?
The answer is to perfectly memorize the tells and react to the 'vibe' of the skill being used.
For instance, if an effect or a preparatory stance seems to appear, they respond a step faster.
Although a drop in accuracy is inevitable, it was a method that sometimes yielded better results through preemptive action.
I decided to exploit that blind spot.
The timing when the opponent's counter could come.
At the most dangerous moment, I chose to attack once more.
Oak Splitter
[After a preparatory stance, slams the axe down hard. Damage increases in proportion to charge time.]
Caster: DoNotTalkToMe (Berserker)
Normally, this would be a foolish decision.
My Oak Splitter could never succeed faster than the opponent.
If the enemy's main skill came in now, a fatal wound would be left on my defenseless body.
However, Oak Splitter generates a very brief white effect upon casting.
It's the same color effect as 'Baldur's Grace', which grants damage reduction for 1.5 seconds.
Just as I am conscious of the enemy, the enemy is conscious of me.
The Valkyrie, who had only been thinking about 'Baldur's Grace', reacted instinctively the moment she saw my effect.
The trick worked perfectly.
Ready Stance
[Assumes an additional ready stance for 1.5 seconds. Can be used right before an attack motion, increasing the damage of the next attack.]
Caster: Because (Valkyrie)
As expected, were they trying to twist the timing of the counter?
The cleverness of trying to read one step ahead turned into poison and rebounded.
A psychological trick that worked precisely because the opponent was skilled!
The enemy, who looked momentarily flustered, soon let out a chuckle.
When playing games, there were times when even a defeat felt good.
After going in circles, the initiative of the attack returned to me.
My axe embedded itself directly into the opponent's body, dealing a fatal blow.
On top of that, as their posture collapsed, there was time to land one more hit.
Crunch, squelch!
The tactile sensation of the axe returning with a gruesome sound.
Red blood splattered in all directions, leaving a hot sensation.
At this point, it was safe to say I had completely taken the game.
The opponent seemed to have reached the same conclusion. They decided not to drag out a game that was already over.
To their parting bow, I responded in the same manner.
The enemy has surrendered.
VICTORY
Rank Points: +19
Returning to the personal lobby in 5 seconds... [00:03]
Nice.
A clean win secured.
If I keep this momentum going and build a win streak, I might be able to promote to the next tier within this week.
Without hesitation, let's queue up for the next match right away.
The moment I moved my fingers to do so...
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