As Long as It's Fun, Right?
The status ailment Confusion is a tricky effect to dispel.
It wasn't that there was no way around it, but it certainly wasn't a weak effect that would vanish with a supporter's basic cleanse spell.
Unless dispelled by a supporter class's highest-tier spell, Confusion remained an incredibly troublesome debuff.
When such Confusion was triggered by a Geas...
Due to the unpredictable nature of its activation, a significant delay before it could be dispelled was inevitable.
This held true even if a high-level supporter had prepared for it in advance.
Unless a miracle occurred through a series of sheer coincidences, every player was bound to fall under the influence of Confusion.
Yet, in this particular battlefield, there was one exception.
"Nabi... she really shows us rare sights on a regular basis," one commentator remarked.
"Actually, that used to be a joke people threw around a long time ago. That a Berserker could ignore Confusion by using True Frenzy."
"Confusion is a difficult debuff to dispel, but the restrictions of True Frenzy are absolutely impossible to remove by any means. However, don't both effects share the same function of blocking friend-or-foe identification?"
"Exactly. Since their functions are identical, the system recognizes them as the same category of effect. But in terms of system priority, True Frenzy—which is absolutely impossible to dispel—is recognized as the higher-tier effect."
"So one ends up overwriting the other. But the question has always been: is this actually viable in a real match?"
"Until now, the experts' answers have all been negative. Because True Frenzy itself is..."
...an even more dreadful effect than Confusion.
What Yu Nabi had just done was the equivalent of jumping into magma to put out a fire on her clothes.
The skill True Frenzy was undoubtedly powerful.
However, it was also a skill that came with an even greater risk.
The inability to distinguish friend from foe. The absolute impossibility of communicating with teammates by any means.
While it didn't accompany the malicious visual distortions of Confusion, it ruthlessly disrupted one's sensory ability to identify targets.
In the pro scene, where precise coordination was paramount, it was a risk that could rarely be tolerated.
Crucially, to accept the risks of True Frenzy, one had to resolve a single contradiction.
The duration of True Frenzy was by no means short.
In the midst of distorted senses, reliable information was limited, and the battlefield shifted second by second.
To accurately target only enemies under these conditions required top-tier deductive reasoning and a calm, analytical grasp of the game's flow.
In short, it demanded a level of battlefield understanding equivalent to that of a team's main shotcaller.
But... if that main shotcaller went wild after casting True Frenzy on themselves, wouldn't that lead to an absolute disaster?
Having someone with that level of capability remain silent was, in itself, a massive loss for the team.
It was a skill that average players couldn't use properly, and capable players lost too much by using.
You can distinguish friend from foe even during Frenzy? Then you might as well play a sniper.
It would be much better for your win rate to build a team of obedient players and lead them directly.
Someone who could read the flow of the battlefield but was incapable of shotcalling.
A mute tactician. A commander who could not give orders.
Unless one was such a person, it was better not to use True Frenzy at all.
But where on earth could one find such a person?
...At this moment, Yu Nabi was the only person perfectly optimized to use True Frenzy.
"There isn't a moment of hesitation from Nabi!"
"Wait, is that even possible? The moment an opening appeared due to the Confusion, she ignored the enemy right in front of her and charged straight into their lines!"
"Eunha Gaming's response isn't slow either. Their main force immediately disengaged calmly, while their side lanes began pursuing Nabi."
"This was a remarkably smooth response. The kind of mechanical, composed reaction you'd only expect from a top-tier Division 1 team."
"But how can calculation beat instinct? In the brief moment required to think and judge, Yu Nabi simply located the enemy by instinct and charged."
It was a slightly unfair commentary for Yu Nabi, but since she had chosen this path herself, she had to bear it.
Given her reputation, and combined with the reaction speed she displayed under True Frenzy, it certainly looked like pure instinct.
Above all, the scene currently projected on the screen was the real issue.
A sight that made the distance between Yu Nabi and the word 'thought' seem infinitely vast.
She charged head-on through the Blizzard that Eunha Gaming had cast to cover their retreat.
Just when everyone wondered how she would shake off the Rampart's pursuit, she threw herself right into the enemy's area-of-effect magic.
Naturally, it was not a wise choice.
In any normal situation, it was something one should absolutely never do.
In this cursed mangrove forest, one had to be extremely careful with their health pool.
Furthermore, the Cryomancer's Blizzard was a high-tier spell.
When an ultimate-class skill was deployed, the standard play was to back off for a moment and capitalize while it was on cooldown.
Respecting the enemy brought one closer to victory.
But that insolent Berserker possessed no such virtue.
[Passive: Polar Warrior]
Cold resistance increases. Grants 25% resistance to all frost-based crowd control effects.
Target: SnowWitch Nabi (Berserker)
Just as she always had, Yu Nabi's footsteps showed no sign of stopping.
A blade-like wind whipped against her skin.
Cold snow piled onto her pure white hair, leaving footprints in the snow covering the swamp.
The harsh blizzard erased those footprints in an instant.
Watching her health bar wither away was dizzying.
Her teammates, who were blind to the situation, were one thing, but the fans watching the broadcast were on the edge of their seats.
Even the coaches and director of SnowWitch watched with their mouths agape.
"...Nabi has successfully broken through the Blizzard."
"Her remaining health is currently at approximately 20.7%. The battlefield's healing reduction effect is at 46%."
"Even by generous standards, she is not in good shape. Even considering the Berserker's passive effects, this is extremely dangerous."
"But now, it all comes down to Nabi's raw combat power. Eunha Gaming isn't in a perfect position either!"
"There's still time before the Confusion curse is lifted. Nabi is surrounded by enemies anyway, but Eunha Gaming has to take down that Berserker while still under the effects of Confusion!"
A treasure always awaits at the end of a harsh trial.
Just as Hannibal once crossed the Alps to secure victory, common sense could sometimes hold one back.
A ruthless Berserker had been unleashed among weakened herbivores.
Appearing from a place they felt safe, where they assumed a teammate would be blocking any threats.
Eunha Gaming's misfortune was that they couldn't recognize Yu Nabi due to Confusion.
At a glance, there were six figures.
The exact number of teammates that should have been there.
Thus, they failed to prepare adequately until an axe came crashing down on someone's head.
Death information is distorted by the status ailment Confusion.
'???' has defeated '???'.
The system message popped up out of nowhere.
Needless to say, Eunha Gaming was thrown into chaos, and even the main force of SnowWitch, positioned some distance away, could not hide their bewilderment.
A quick-witted observer split the screen to show the reactions of both teams.
The voice chats, filled with muttered self-talk, tangled together chaotically, but it didn't matter much.
Everyone was equally confused anyway.
"What the hell is that?"
"Who died? Wasn't that one of ours?"
"It's a Berserker. Nobody else would pull this kind of stunt here. It's definitely not one of us."
"Did our Nabi die? That would be bad."
"Yu Nabi probably killed them. Usually, when the game goes weird, she's the reason."
Meanwhile, the commentators, who could view the entire situation objectively, marveled at a different aspect.
It was because Yu Nabi, rampaging through the enemy lines, was exquisitely targeting only their weak points.
"Wow, that's incredible. How is she picking off only the ranged damage dealers in that situation?"
"I know. She must be incredibly tense being deep in enemy territory, and it's really not easy to distinguish targets under Frenzy."
"Is it because she's highly experienced with it?"
"Well, she is definitely the leading authority on Frenzy in Infinity Realm right now. She's the only one who uses it."
"In any case, by taking down the Cryomancer, she has fully reaped the rewards of her gamble. And now, Nabi is going back for interest!"
As expected, this game is fun.
The thrill of defying the opponent's expectations.
And the exhilarating sensation of landing a decisive blow!
This kind of joy is something I could never obtain outside of gaming.
I kicked the fallen corpse aside and searched for my next prey.
No matter how good I am, it's impossible to distinguish every single enemy while in Frenzy.
Anyone I target will be an enemy anyway, but aiming for mages or supporters will yield a higher chance of scoring a kill.
Relying on visual information is out of the question.
In that case, I have to find them by their actions.
The one running away. The one trying to put distance between us first. Someone like that is... over there!
Lock onto the target quickly.
Charge at them even quicker!
In the wild, the weak are always the first to die.
Sadly, my current behavioral pattern was truly no different from that of a beast.
But as long as it's fun, isn't that all that matters?