Why Are You Looking at Me Like That?
Why are you looking at me like that?
It was true that the Berserker was originally a class designed for stat-checking and raw power struggles.
They lacked game-changing active skills or reliable crowd control to lock down enemies.
Because they couldn't create unexpected variables, Berserkers had to excel in pure, head-on combat.
So, Nachal had expected her strikes to be quite powerful.
Moreover, Yu Nabi was famous for being a "full-strength Berserker."
With the community buzzing about her, there was no way Nachal didn't know.
However, the gap between knowing it in theory and actually getting hit by it was far too wide.
"No. What? No. Wow. No. Seriously, does this even make sense?"
A destructive power that forced out three consecutive "no's"!
From the very first clash, Nachal was completely tilted.
He was seeing it with his own eyes, yet he couldn't believe it.
It was the kind of damage you would only expect to see from a Sword Master with their aura blade active.
No matter how he thought about it, this wasn't the kind of damage a mere bruiser should be able to output.
He didn't even want to imagine what kind of nightmare would unfold if she activated her Frenzy on top of this.
The force behind her weapon was so immense that its trajectory didn't waver in the slightest.
Since he couldn't block that monstrous axe with his body, he was forced to dodge.
Yet she wasn't sluggish either, making it incredibly difficult to get ahead of her tempo.
This was no joke.
If he didn't focus, he would actually lose.
He needed to find the right opportunity to counterattack.
Nachal bent his waist backward, dodging the axe.
Transitioning into a bridge, he planted his hands on the ground and launched an overhead kick.
It was a sharp counter, fitting for an active pro gamer, but it didn't yield much.
Yu Nabi had pulled her head back to avoid it, as if she had been waiting for it.
Rather than moving to dodge, it was closer to a brief pause—a minimal waste of time.
Naturally, Nachal lacked the time to prepare for her next attack.
Creates an unbreakable wall in the air. It can never be destroyed, but Mana consumption increases significantly in proportion to its duration.
Caster: SnowWitch Nachal (Monk)
Since he was losing in pure combat, his only remaining option was active skills.
A translucent magic circle blocked the path between Nachal and the axe.
In Infinity Realm, the phrase "never destroyed" carried a hidden meaning.
While a standard indestructible option meant infinite durability, an absolute indestructible option meant it didn't take damage at all.
In other words, it didn't absorb any impact.
It meant the impact would be reflected back in its entirety.
A strong attack is met with a strong recoil.
Once a strike was fully committed, it was difficult to stop or change its direction mid-swing.
The moment Yu Nabi's axe struck the Diamond Barrier, Nachal was already launching his counterattack.
There was no rule saying a wall created in midair could only be used as a shield.
The existence of physical collision meant it could also be used as a support or a foothold.
Grabbing the magic circle, Nachal twisted his body in midair and aimed for Yu Nabi's head.
A golden energy surged around his incoming leg.
The energy soon took the shape of a dragon, radiating a ferocious aura.
That skill was the very reason why the Monk was considered a high-tier, high-performance class.
It was a sudden, decisive trump card.
All passive skills are disabled for 8 seconds. The damage of the next attack is increased by 80%, and an additional 15% Armor Penetration is applied.
[Additional Effect: If this skill reduces the target's maximum HP by 20% or more, stuns the target for 1.65 seconds.]
Caster: SnowWitch Nachal (Monk)
Reduces incoming damage by 50% for 1.5 seconds.
Caster: SnowWitch Nabi (Berserker)
Failed to trigger the additional effect of 'Secret Art - Arhat Strike'.
There is a common saying.
The moment an enemy is most vulnerable is when they are executing a powerful attack.
Also, the sharpest opportunity presents itself when the enemy is in their most advantageous position.
If so... the moment they mistakenly believe they have seized the chance to counterattack.
Wouldn't that be the perfect time to completely suppress them?
After all, there was no rule saying a counterattack could only happen once.
It was when I dodged Nachal's overhead kick.
A perfect opportunity to attack unfolded right before my eyes.
It was a gap so tempting and sweet that missing it would make one unworthy of being a pro.
The moment my attack connected, the fight would essentially be over.
A clean critical hit would completely shatter the flow of the battle.
Naturally, a single thought crossed my mind.
'Then, wouldn't it be fine even if it's only half-successful?'
If you can decapitate the enemy in one go, they will die instantly.
But what if you only cut halfway through their neck?
...Wouldn't the end result of death still be the same?
There was no need to finish the enemy in a single blow.
As long as I could secure a decisive advantage, they were as good as dead.
If the outcome was the same, there was no harm in taking a bit more time in the process.
Just a little.
It was enough to relax just a tiny bit.
I slightly loosened my grip on the axe.
Doing this would naturally reduce the power of the strike.
If it hit, it would leave the opponent with more HP.
But my advantage wouldn't just vanish.
The small concession I made would eventually come back around to serve as another advantage.
For instance, like when my axe was blocked by the Diamond Barrier.
The reflected impact was far less than expected.
I was able to recover my stance much faster, and my eyes and thoughts were already planning the next move.
I didn't miss a single thing—the enemy's movements, their skill activations, and their target point.
'It's coming. Head. Golden effect. It could be a fake-out with another skill, so I need to watch the shape of the effect until the end... to confirm if it's Arhat Strike. Good. Let's use it.'
Reduces incoming damage by 50% for 1.5 seconds.
Caster: SnowWitch Nabi (Berserker)
Arhat Strike was a skill that multiplied the power of the "next attack."
Dodging was one option, but trying to avoid every single attack during its duration would actually be a loss.
It was better for me to take a mitigated hit and throw a counter.
The head was a critical weak point, but a kick was ultimately just a strike.
Depending on where and how it landed, the impact varied wildly.
Even the psychological shock differed based on whether one anticipated the hit or not.
Moreover, the Berserker was a class inherently specialized in sacrificing HP.
They possessed the most injury-resistant passives in the game.
If the damage was cut in half, it meant taking one hit was perfectly manageable.
Instead of dodging Nachal's kick, I covered it with Baldur's Grace.
Without hesitation, I immediately moved to retaliate.
Returning what I received twofold was the only way to save face as a Berserker.
I grabbed his other ankle, the one keeping his body balanced.
I swung him and slammed him into the ground.
Normally, I would have gone straight for the head, but...
"That's a bad habit. Did you learn that from watching a video somewhere? Don't do it."
"H-How did you know?"
"It's obvious. Anyway, both you and I are short. If you're tall like Havoc, you can grab their ankle and still hit their head. But you can't do that, Nabi, so you end up letting go of the hand you just grabbed. What a waste."
"Then... what should I do?"
"For pure strength builds like us, grabbing the opponent is a massive opportunity. So..."
The start was twisting the ankle.
Feeling the joint twist through my fingertips, I dodged a desperate kick sent in resistance.
Once I secured a hold on one of the enemy's limbs, my absurd strength allowed me to control them to some extent.
After twisting the ankle, next was the knee joint.
For this, I had to wrap my arms around the leg and apply proper force to break it.
Once again, I heard a sickening crack, but he struggled so violently that I ended up losing my grip on his leg.
Well, it was fine.
It wouldn't affect the overall outcome much.
It wasn't like I was going to let him off easy anyway.
The opponent had one ruined leg, while I was completely fine.
Landing one more hit before he could escape would make finishing him off much easier.
With that, my kick landed squarely in Nachal's groin.
His legs curled inward reflexively, looking a bit pitiful.
"...!"
Nachal mouthed something to me.
It looked like he was shouting at the top of his lungs, but I was glad I had muted him beforehand.
I tend to lose my nerve when people yell at me.
I'm sorry.
I'll apologize after the match, so please bear with it.
We're in the middle of a game, after all.
In any case, the final blow seemed to have hit harder than expected.
Nachal offered no further resistance as I brought my axe back down.
SnowWitch Nabi has defeated SnowWitch Nachal.
I had defeated the enemy bruiser without taking any significant losses.
Fortunately, no disasters had occurred in the main group either.
Perhaps due to a clear difference in the weight class of the ranged damage dealers, the situation looked highly favorable at a glance.
With my join-up, we naturally secured the victory.
Since it was an important match, my teammates' expressions were quite bright.
Except for one person.
Our team's support, who was in a position to oversee the battlefield, began to subtly avoid me.
...Why are you looking at me like that?