“Where did the priest run off to? If we catch them here for sure, the game will definitely turn in our favor!”
“Should we use tracking magic or something?”
“No way, there’s no time for that. They can’t have gone far; there are lots of dead ends around here.”
“Ah… Huh? Behind, behind! Behind!”
The scream that burst out instinctively sent a warning, but the priest’s sword came down even faster.
The blue blade surged toward the waist of the knight at the back.
Even though another knight with a shield immediately jumped in to protect him, it was too late; Na-me’s sword had already delivered a fatal blow.
The blade, charged with the essence of the full moon, dripped crimson blood everywhere, splattering across the academy hallway.
Those who witnessed their comrade’s death didn’t just stand by.
The shield knight shot his straight sword toward Na-me’s waist.
Clang!
It wasn’t the dull thud of armor being struck, but rather a lively sound of swords clashing that resonated through the air.
Though it was a blow that was easily blocked, the knight unfazed retrieved his sword and raised the shield. For now, stalling for time was paramount.
Despite not having any specific signal, the wizard turned around again, regrouped, and prepared for casting. He silently expressed his gratitude to the shield knight, who bought enough time.
“The enemy’s mana is at 0! I’ll keep pressing forward, so just watch my back!”
The knight, gathering his breath, shouted loudly.
Inches away from each other, they both drew their swords.
The opponent in front seemed in no mood to flee. Did they seriously intend to face off against two?
The shadows of the two overlapped.
Utilizing his aura to reach peak speed, the knight relentlessly pressed forward, but each time, Na-me’s counterattacks were precise and fierce.
To create opportunities, the occasional feints only brought them closer, while a strike aimed at a vital spot was met by the Skiabona opening its jaws to block.
Grrr…!
Bodies were pressed closely together. It was clear that if either paused their attack or withdrew even once, they would lose their lives.
With stamina waning, it was left to fate to decide who would drop first.
However, despite their solid resolve, the blade that Na-me had left as an afterimage struck a painful hit to the knight’s side.
The knight instinctively stepped back, scowling.
Seeing this, Na-me swiftly pushed in to unbalance him.
In a one-on-one melee, the knight couldn’t afford to fall first, so he gripped the shield tightly, bracing against the incoming shock.
Cunningly, Na-me shifted to the opposite side, leaving irreversible wounds on the knight’s leg.
The shield knight swung wildly, but Na-me narrowly dodged, only to counterattack at his vital point again.
SWISH—
Just barely recovering his shield from the ground, he managed to keep his life hanging by a thread, the unpleasant noise of metal echoing around.
Having lost his rhythm just once, he couldn’t catch up.
The knight suppressed a groan from cumulative damage, while the wizard called out a voice of salvation.
“I’ll cast the spell soon!”
“I don’t care if I die, just fire together!”
This could turn into an opportunity.
Their swords crossed, the knight aimed for the priest, but this was part of the knight’s plan.
In a standoff where neither could fully exert their strength, the immense flow of mana became palpable.
Though the priest was surely still on cooldown for Blink, the knight had his other hand pinned down, preventing him from pulling out a scroll.
Smiling at the brilliant strategy born from the unexpected confrontation, the knight felt triumphant.
Zwooping—
“Huh?”
If the priest pulled away now, it would be advantageous for the knight.
There should still be time before the magic activated.
Seeing that the opponent must have miscalculated, the knight stood on the cold hallway floor and swiftly pursued the priest.
If one more person fell here, it wouldn’t greatly affect the tide unless the wizard remained alive.
The knight boldly dashed forward, closing the distance, swinging his sword with all his might.
WHOOSH—
The powerful blow that crushed all the air in front ultimately ended up cleaving through empty space.
[Twilight Clone: When health falls below 15%, a clone is created for 10 seconds.]
“This was the clone…!”
AAAHHH!
With a flickering vision, he turned around.
In an instant, the priest, having blinked, reached the wizard and assuredly took her heart with a short sword.
Crimson blood splattered across the white wallpaper.
At the same time, Na-me pulled out her blood-soaked blade, gripping it in the middle like she was throwing a spear at the knight.
THWACK—
With the startled knight raising his shield just in time to deflect the blade, he momentarily questioned her absurd action.
“Great, you deflected it well.”
The blade that had flown into the air landed back in Na-me’s hand. How?
It was firmly held in her right hand, the Skiabona.
Stunned, the knight stepped back and tried to regain his stance, but the previous action had shifted too much of his weight to the left side, affecting his speed.
Between life and death, the moment was fleeting.
SWISH—
A long, horizontal swing left its mark on the knight’s neck.
[Critical!]
[Critical Strike: Every time you land a stacked hit, it deals an additional 3% damage.]
[Current: 12 stacks]
The massive damage dealt by the priest was more than enough to conclude the battle against the hulking knight.
*
[2051 Take Back Season 2 Showcase Days 1-5 Results Summary]
[NoName (Priest): 5 Matches, 3 Wins, 2 Losses]
[Combined KDA: 48/0/86]
Comment: ?
-Why did they lose two matches?
However, despite Na-me exceeding the limits of her character, she couldn’t lead her team to victory.
When the combat power was adjusted from 100,000 to 50,000, an unexpected variable appeared that all tournament organizers had failed to foresee.
-Healers became utterly useless in this meta.
In the current pro-game meta, balance patches were calculated based on 100,000 combat power. Still, no one had considered that when all classes were halved in capabilities, the healer role became overwhelmingly diminished.
-If this continues, spending auction points on a healer would just prove you’re a sucker. LOL.
*
News of NoName participating in Take Back spread quickly, rolling down like a snowball.
Various communities already expressed concerns about the tournament’s operation.
However, the opinions were not unified; they were sharp and sometimes chaotically opposing.
[Does it even make sense to enter the top-ranked player in Take Back?]
NoName was already a physically perfected individual.
Her extraordinary swordsmanship displayed in Nightmare had surpassed human limits.
There were concerns that the dramatic story of people with relatively lower tiers excelling through teamwork could be shattered merely by NoName.
[Looking at her record, NoName has only played 5 games. It’s NoName who gets hurt from the overvaluation. She knows nothing about operating strategies.]
Yet there were also those who believed that story mode and multiplayer were entirely different games.
Being an excellent futsal player didn’t guarantee one would become an excellent soccer player.
The exceptional skills honed in futsal could help achieve goals in soccer, but the basic required stats were on a different dimension.
Above all, the only effective spell available in multiplayer was ‘Blink,’ and NoName was close to being a newbie, knowing nothing about the entire system of Wagal.
Those who had only seen her story mode broadcast, those who had only witnessed her placement test, and those who had seen both had started to voice different opinions, leading to growing confusion.
[I’ve never seen NoName’s stream, but if a middle schooler is participating, I think that’s awesome! Gonna upvote! LOL.]
Sometimes, people emphasized external game-related factors like age rather than rational reasons.
Though not entirely reassuring, a boy clicked the ‘like’ button on the post cheering for NoName.
On the other side of the screen, NoName was catching her breath.
The intense combat felt like a scene from a movie.
If only she had won the game, she would have undoubtedly deserved greater acclaim, but unfortunately, more criticism was directed at her teammate, Kariri, than praise for NoName.
[‘HoyaMooYaHo’ donated 1,000 Won!]
– So close but it was awesome…! You’re the best!
“Thank you, HoyaMooYaHo! It’s been a while since you donated!”
The reason humans could get excited about sports was always due to existing restrictions.
If hands could be used in soccer, no one would be enthusiastic about it, and top star players wouldn’t rake in such huge salaries.
Despite the numerous controversies, the reason why games could be called esports was rooted in the shared intense competition under the same limitations.
Sports always had to adhere to rules, paradoxically, the ability to creatively create opportunities within those rules separated skill and popularity.
The closer a player is to the goal, the higher the chance of scoring when shooting from a stable position, but players who opt for long-range shots or acrobatic overhead kicks always received the highest recognition.
In places where competition occurs, scarcity holds value, leading to capital and attention being naturally drawn in.
At least in this battlefield, NoName shone so brightly that her mere existence felt blinding.
[‘HoyaMooYaHo’ donated 1,000 Won!]
– Do you have any plans to collab with Kariri…?
The boy subtly inquired.
“Collab… Hmm…”
She understood why she might not be thrilled.
After all, they had just lost mainly because of Kariri.
“I’ll consider it if we end up on the same team.”
The boy smiled brightly for the first time in a while.
