I Can Do This (2)

The sharp chime rang out.

Beyond the message floating before my eyes, a knight clad in red armor assumed a mid-level stance. Beside him, a blue-scaled fishman stood shoulder to shoulder, drawing out a long spear and leveling it at me. The strangely harmonious color combination stirred an oddly nostalgic feeling, leaving me with mixed emotions.

Should I strike first?

There were two opponents. And not just any run-of-the-mill foes—these were captain-level figures qualified to represent their respective coordinates. The silver lining was that the pair still knew nothing about each other’s abilities, making it impossible for them to coordinate a joint technique just yet.

That meant…

Counter-first strike.

It seemed wiser to observe their movements and subdue them one by one. Neither of them appeared interested in working together. At the same time, they wouldn’t throw everything they had at me from the start either. After all, once I was defeated, they would have to turn their blades on each other. Knowing this, both would try to conserve their strength—and the most rational move was to exploit that very hesitation.

Shhhk.

Landon raised his sword and brought it in front of his chest. This was a sword technique ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I hadn’t seen from him during his solo match as the Knight of Frost. Aside from Murim sword arts, I had rarely witnessed the blade work of true masters. He slowly drew his foot back, steadying his balance atop the rippling water. His sword hand twisted past his waist and extended behind him, the tip aimed straight at me as he lowered his stance. The posture radiated explosive potential, as if he might leap forward at any second.

The moment he thrust his sword, I clearly saw the savage red energy hurtling toward me.

Kwaaaaaah!

It was an attack resembling the fourth form of the Moonlight Sword Art—Half Moon Slash. A massive crimson sword wave surged across the water like a crashing wave. I swung my own blade forward, forcefully twisting the incoming energy’s trajectory.

Chaaaaak!

The redirected sword wave carved a long scar across the once-calm lake surface. As the distance grew, Landon’s attack rapidly dissipated. From that single exchange, I became certain of my earlier assessment.

As I thought.

Landon hadn’t gone all out. Still, it was too early to let my guard down. Just as I had been gauging his strength, he might have simply tossed out a light probe to measure mine.

Right after Landon’s strike, as if they had been waiting for the cue, Cheongrin dove into the water. The most critical factor here was that we weren’t fighting on land, but on water. And fishmen were a race that moved far faster in water than on solid ground.

Swoooosh!

A powerful churning sound erupted from beneath my feet. The lake surface, already disturbed by Landon’s attack, began to undulate and form small whirlpools. Moments later, a dark shadow emerged from the center of one vortex, steadily growing larger.

I had seen many sword techniques in Murim, but attacks that rose from beneath the ground were rare. This one felt particularly unfamiliar. I raised my sword and brought it down sharply toward the heart of the shadow, where a murderous aura seemed ready to tear into my throat.

Moonlight Sword Art, First Form.

The first stance of the Moonlight Sword Art collided with the shadow beneath the surface, creating a small storm. But the important thing was that I wasn’t engaged in a one-on-one duel right now.

Piiiing—!

A sharp whistling sound came from directly ahead. Landon’s figure was charging straight at me. The man who I thought would avoid close-quarters combat had drawn his sword. I lifted the blade I had just slammed downward and swung it forward.

“You lack experience…!”

Landon, who had been rushing toward me, wore a strange smile. The distance was awkwardly just out of reach. From his perspective, my defensive swing must have looked like a fatal mistake made by an overeager novice.

But.

“You’re arrogant.”

I possessed the fraudulent passive skill called Quick Comprehension. Not only did I never panic in battle, I wouldn’t waver even if I suffered a fatal wound. Would someone like me really swing wildly out of panic?

“You need to develop the habit of watching your opponent’s sword until the very end—”

Landon’s mouth snapped shut mid-sentence, his face turning pale. He seemed to have realized his own blunder. Tiny fragments of ice began gathering in front of me.

The distance between Landon and me was barely ten steps. For a superhuman, that was close enough to cover in a single leap.

Shweeeek!

A long ice spear formed right before my eyes and hurtled toward the red knight, scattering frigid air. There was no way to dodge. Blocking it would be difficult too—the mana infused within was heavier than expected.

But at that moment—

Chaaaaak!

A torrent of water exploded upward from beneath my feet and engulfed the ice spear. The water froze instantly, naturally halting the spear’s advance. While the high mana made it powerful, that same power caused the blocking water to freeze solid in an instant. The spear stopped mid-flight, and the frozen mist of snowflakes created a spectacular sight. It was as if the entire world had been frozen in place.

Landon, now standing before the massive clump of ice, spun once in the air and kicked off the frozen mass with all his strength.

Thud!

“Wait, why are you two coordinating?!”

The red knight’s figure flashed under the brilliant sunlight as he swung his sword down at me. A vertical strike from above. As the crimson energy surged in his attack, I gathered inner force at the tip of my blade and unleashed it skyward.

Dozens of razor-sharp beams of sword light split apart and shot toward the lone red knight.

This is dangerous…!

Dodging looked awkward. Countering would require time to gather inner force. What should I—

Crack.

“Huh?”

A familiar cracking sound came from beneath my feet. The sound of ice splitting. Because I had drawn mana too hastily, the platform I was standing on had begun to melt.

Splash!

The ice couldn’t withstand the recoil of the sword light I had fired upward. It shattered, sending me straight into the water. But this was an opportunity. Landon’s sword, which had been aimed at a target he expected to stay still, lost its timing. I seized the opening and concentrated inner force into my feet.

The Sichuan Tang Family’s footwork technique—ideal for delivering poison up close and hidden weapons from afar. In other words, Thunder-Chasing Footwork was originally created as an escape art.

Boooom—!!!

The inner force in my feet violently pushed the water aside, propelling my body backward. The moment I saw the red sword wave slicing through the spot I had just occupied, I spun my feet rapidly and launched myself out of the water.

Splaaash!

“Cough! Cough!”

Water must have entered my lungs during the sudden chaos. Violent coughing erupted from my throat. In a life-or-death situation, I had dodged Landon’s attack by sheer luck. The thought that I would have died if the ice hadn’t broken sent chills down my spine.

Yet.

“…Damn it. He’s far more of a monster than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I expected.”

“This fight is going to be tough…”

Landon and Cheongrin were now staring at me with far deeper wariness than before the battle began. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Moreover—

“Whoa… that was straight-up art…”

“Is that even possible? You’re telling me that’s the movement of someone on the same level as us?”

“…Wait, is he standing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the water right now? How?”

Players from Earth’s coordinate and the other coordinates were exchanging comments about my recent movements.

It actually worked.

Water Striding. I was now naturally standing atop the water instead of ice. This was the advanced footwork technique of stepping on lotus leaves to walk across water—Leaf Skating—and the foundation for Void Step, which allowed one to run across the sky as if treading on air. It was the pinnacle realm that Dang Huiso had mentioned when teaching me Thunder-Chasing Footwork back on the second floor’s Murim.

“……”

I kept my mouth shut. The previous situation had simply been good luck, but the two of them had begun to misunderstand my true capabilities. And because of that, their conversation was flowing in a direction that favored me.

“We can’t drag this battle out…”

“I agree.”

“Then…”

The two began exchanging brief words. They were probably discussing the need to stop holding back and suppress me with full force.

Is this actually fortunate?

It wouldn’t benefit me if they remained too cautious. No matter how strong each of them was individually, this was ultimately a two-on-one fight. If we traded blows for too long, the one to exhaust first would likely be me, not them. But because they had overestimated my strength, the battle might end more quickly than expected.

Whoosh, whoosh!

I shook my head vigorously to fling off the water. The two were clearly aiming to finish the fight as fast as possible. The attacks coming from now on would likely be their true full power. Which meant I had to give everything I had if I wanted to survive.

I recalled the two treasures stored in my inventory.

These two items had shown incredible effects, but when used with insufficient stats, they caused mental side effects. My mind would deteriorate. It would become consumed by nothing but greed for the treasures, and my destructive instincts would be pushed to the extreme.

But now—

My stats had skyrocketed thanks to the flag’s effect and the treasures. It felt possible now.

The harmony of fire and ice.

In the distance, I saw Landon and Cheongrin adjusting their weapons. They were gathering mana, preparing for some powerful technique. I raised my sword and quietly sensed the surging energy.

An overwhelming power to subdue both of them in a single moment. I would only have one chance.