Chapter 58

A narrow alley tightly surrounded by a complicated city like a spider’s web.

The width is barely enough for one person to pass through.

A sturdy male clad in full plate armor sticks to the wall, raising both hands and awkwardly maneuvering to get past.

At the end of the road, on the rooftop, he checks for any ambush that might come flying in from anywhere, readying himself for an attack.

Just when he was about to let out a sigh of relief, a shadow of a person suddenly sprang out from the gap between buildings on the opposite side.

The warrior swallowed a dry laugh while watching the shield knight blocking the way to Wigrasil.

Of all people, it’s a shield knight—

The shield knight belonged to the sword knight class but was the traditional counter to warriors, committing all his defensive skills, health, and shield techniques to survival in story mode.

The man had devised a sharp strategy targeting the enemy’s base while everyone’s attention was focused on the battle on Apia Avenue, but even that was read by the opponent.

Had they met in the plains, it would have been a matchup worth trying for the warrior, but in a space where horizontal movement is restricted, things change.

There was no option left for the warrior.

Time was not on the warrior’s side.

Above all, he wanted to contort the relaxed face of the enemy.

He would break through.

Determined, he quickly put his plan into action.

He drew his greatsword back dramatically and charged forward with full force toward the shield adorned with a cross design.

Aura charging, and a strong attack.

He adopted the motion for a vertical strike (Scheitelhauw).

While running, he gauged the shield knight’s reaction.

Motionless.

He stubbornly refused to give up his geographical advantage. It was a textbook response.

But this was something both the greatsword warrior and the shield knight were well aware of.

The first to change his movement was the warrior.

He chose to cancel the skill casting, even at the cost of the energy he had already consumed.

The shield knight still did not change his defense. Calmness could be seen even beyond the shield. It seemed he intended to watch to the very end before blocking.

It was an unfair chicken game.

The warrior took a gamble.

A rising slice (Unterhauw).

The knight’s shield trembled.

This meant he would use a technique typically employed to deflect large attacks from a distance against a shield.

Perhaps because it was an unexpected technique, the shield knight’s response was slow.

A clean strike starting from Naventhoot, passing through Hengen, and ending at Ainhon. The action assist was applied perfectly.

Smash—

As expected, the attack was blocked by the solid shield.

However, the shield knight did not know that Unterhauw could also be used to put pressure on the opponent.

The curse of proficiency.

Since mastering all occupations is impossible for a person, it was a technique developed from that limitation.

As the shield was about to bounce upwards from the impact, the knight instinctively drew it back with his body.

A faint smile crept onto the warrior’s lips.

When the Unterhauw was executed to the end, the tip of the sword angled upward.

The warrior activated the skill.

Prior to the Fury Slash (Zornhauw), he cast the skill ‘Lightweight.’

The warrior’s body, encased in heavy armor, lifted about a meter off the ground.

At the moment the sword’s position rose above the alley’s walls, it finally regained horizontal freedom.

He dramatically tilted the sword behind his back while bending his back leg.

A diagonal downward slash.

For someone ignorant of swordsmanship, swinging a sword would instinctively be amateurish, yet it boasted a powerful force strong enough to break other strikes with the tip of the blade.

The shield knight was caught off guard by the maneuver.

The outcome was predictable.

Bam—

The shield was instantly knocked away by a powerful blow.

The fact that the shield knight no longer had a shield was akin to stripping a turtle of its shell.

He could not afford to stop now.

At the moment the enemy was most vulnerable, the warrior executed the fastest attack he could muster once again.

A frame’s skill that wouldn’t have been considered had the knight still possessed a shield.

It was time to rectify the shield knights’ devious mindset of intending to block only strong attacks.

Clang—

Crash—

Could a one-handed sword even parry a heavy greatsword?

The warrior was already convinced of victory from that moment.

The enemy had succumbed to mental fatigue.

With the repetitive attacks, the knight’s body swayed considerably. But the warrior remained strong.

“Should I attempt to parry with my life on the line? Or should I get greedy and try a long-casting skill?”

Neither was the right answer.

The shield knight’s hand suddenly moved to his waist.

He belatedly realized that he didn’t even need to win.

Having received a message that his team had won the 5v5 at headquarters, the shield knight chose to distance himself from his shield entirely.

He took a step back for now.

Without a shield, he could simply deflect all attacks or avoid being hit hard to not sustain serious injuries.

The shield knight unfurled a scroll, but what he desired did not occur.

The warrior’s glinting eyes flashed as he sneered at him.

When a person is cornered, whether they are bronze or master, they instinctively reach for the ‘Blink’ scroll.

“You’re too scared to parry.”

The warrior had anticipated this moment and countered with the anti-magic field.

And the warrior let out a shout.

“Just break through, and you’ll be a challenger! A challenger!”

The warrior raised his weapon high into the air.

The radiant greatsword absorbed the sunlight, transforming into a guillotine that would take life.

The warrior’s wrist slackened.

The handle rotated slowly, yet the blade at its end howled with a fierce wind.

In the opponent’s eyes, now completely broken, the expression of resignation was unmistakable.

A stream of blood surged across the screen.

* * *

[He did it as a challenger!!!]

Having witnessed an emotional narrative, I turned off the screen and took a break.

“That was fun.”

It was impossible to grasp all the interfaces, player actions, and intentions easily with just one viewing.

However, the intense desire of the man for a challenger tier was fully conveyed to me.

This was somewhat different from the games I had previously imagined.

In multiplayer, magic could not be implemented.

It seemed that the so-called ‘laurel’ magic was limited solely to single-player play.

You couldn’t cast all types of magic even through scrolls.

Within the game, it specified that players could choose from 128 types of magic to take one, but with such a variety, it became difficult to assess the functional effectiveness of magic considering that all twelve players on the side of enemies and allies had ‘Blink’ magic.

“Yum.”

I popped a strawberry that Professor Cheon had personally offered me with a fork into my mouth.

“Is that a game? It looks a bit brutal.”

Indeed, the scenes where limbs were severed and blood gushed out were not fully censored, making it somewhat uncomfortable for the faint-hearted to watch.

It was a simple matter for me to just change the settings when I played.

“It seems those under 15 see it differently. Look at how this bubble is boiling.”

I waved my hands around and wriggled my fingers, trying to recreate the shape of the bubbles.

“Boil boil boil.”

You could make them pop like this, you know?

Instead of blood, cute soap bubbles pop out.

And no limbs get severed, instead exhibiting a ghostly, transparent appearance.

Yet still, Professor Cheon appeared quite uncomfortable.

“If Professor Cheon disapproves, then I won’t do multiplayer.”

I replied in a droopy voice, but Professor Cheon was resolute.

“Still, the story mode is appropriate for all ages, so isn’t it alright? It was fine when I played with Lara.”

Even Seven-year-old Lara had no issues with the game.

And back then, the background was cute, and the difficulty was easy, so I didn’t even think for a moment that it was such a brutal game.

Professor Cheon pointed toward the screen and asked.

“What is this game’s name?”

“It’s World of Arcellia.”

“Ah, I think I’ve heard a lot about it. Isn’t this what middle and high school students are all playing these days?”

As a last resort, I decided to show him a trailer for the all-ages version.

“Originally, it’s a game about exploration. I see that you enroll in the Academy, make friends, go hunting together, and observe stars at the observatory…”

In the video, scenes were shown of an elf protagonist enjoying the constellations painted across the night sky with Academy friends.

It was ironic that the stars couldn’t be seen in the city, yet the game presented such a clear night sky.

“Oooh… the background is indeed beautiful.”

“Right? Right?”

“But what fun is there doing it alone? It seems like it would be more enjoyable with friends.”

“I’m fine playing alone too. So can I just try it simply until before I sleep tonight?”

“Well then, no later than 12 o’clock.”

“Okay, understood.”

Since staying up later would interfere with going to school the next day anyway.

Just as I was moving my body to enter my room, Professor Cheon handed me one more fruit fork.

“Here, have one last strawberry before you play.”

“Om.”