Chapter 73

CHAPTER 73

Chapter 73

High speed was an enormous advantage.

Dodging the enemy’s attacks, deflecting them, blocking them, landing your own strikes, twisting trajectories, concealing movements—

Every single action became more advantageous the faster you were.

But in games, if you gained something, you always lost something else in return.

‘Compared to that speed, the damage is definitely weak.’

The enemy’s follow-up attack was a thrust.

The moment he retrieved his sword, he pivoted, stabilized his balance, and stepped forward to aim for Seo-jun’s chest.

The entire sequence flowed naturally like water.

And natural attacks were often the most dangerous.

Instead of fully dodging, Seo-jun slightly twisted his body and received the strike on his right shoulder.

His health didn’t decrease much.

But simply taking hits didn’t suit Seo-jun’s style.

The moment he accepted the enemy’s attack, Seo-jun seized the advantageous position.

Before the opponent realized it, Seo-jun’s blade was already hanging in front of his throat.

The enemy’s pupils widened instantly.

He hurriedly used light-footwork to retreat upward while shifting his center of gravity—

But it was too late.

He couldn’t avoid the sword already there.

Slash!

The blade cut across his neck.

The attack hadn’t carried full force, but it was more than enough for Seo-jun to recover all the health he had lost.

-That counterattack was insane
-He literally shoved his neck into the sword
-This… this is what swordsmanship looks like
-Was the tension for nothing? lol

GraceOfTheUnorthodox leaped backward and finally realized something.

His weakness had been exposed too clearly.

‘You let me take the initiative first. This time, I’ll take it.’

Seo-jun wasn’t the type to leisurely give away opportunities.

He advanced.

The opponent tried retreating to recover his posture, but the map was too small.

The current stage was all cliffs and narrow pathways.

Below them flowed raging water, and the distant crashing of waterfalls faintly grated on the ears.

It was obvious falling below wasn’t an option.

Especially because behind GraceOfTheUnorthodox stood a semi-transparent wall that blocked retreat.

Seo-jun released sword energy.

The opponent spotted the effect wrapping around the blade and instantly focused.

Fwoooosh.

Seo-jun drew back his sword and swung broadly.

A faint heaviness entered the strike.

A heavy attack.

Just like the opponent earlier.

GraceOfTheUnorthodox raised his sword to block the incoming sword-energy attack.

No matter how fast someone was, they couldn’t accelerate their thoughts and perception at the same speed.

That was why turning speed alone into overwhelming dominance wasn’t easy.

Of course, the Assassin Sect wasn’t fast enough to distort perception itself, but properly utilizing that speed still required immense mastery.

And GraceOfTheUnorthodox was a player who possessed exactly that level of mastery.

The opponent quickly regained composure and stared fixedly at the sword tip, preparing to parry.

Then, at the very last moment—

He smiled.

Seeing that, Seo-jun scoffed internally.

Cute.

Clang!

“Huh?”

As the opponent froze in confusion after failing the parry, Seo-jun kindly explained it for him.

“You know, speed isn’t the only thing that lets you alter the trajectory at the last second.”

In the end, every action meant to deceive the enemy by changing an attack’s flow was a battle of timing.

Seo-jun understood that fact very well.

And he also knew exactly how to do it himself.

Sure, incredible speed made controlling timing easier.

But even without that speed, it was still possible.

Difficult—but possible.

Seo-jun retrieved his sword and prepared another thrust.

This time, the exact opposite of the earlier exchange unfolded.

Lowering his stance, he stepped outside the enemy’s flank and thrust his sword forward.

Even if the opponent tried aiming for his throat now, it would be impossible.

Because Seo-jun was targeting the heart precisely.

Realizing what was happening, the enemy’s eyes widened.

But in that instant, he couldn’t decide whether he should attack or evade.

Normally, dodging would have been the obvious choice.

But the memory of just moments ago—when he himself had landed a similar attack—caused hesitation.

That hesitation led directly to the worst possible outcome:

A sword piercing his heart.

His health rapidly plummeted.

Partly because Seo-jun’s sword carried sword energy.

But mostly because the raw attack power difference was enormous.

“Tsk. Your health won’t recover anymore. That’s unfortunate. Truly unfortunate.”

Seo-jun clicked his tongue while smiling.

“If only I had a long beard, I could stroke it dramatically.”

Then he looked down at his opponent.

“Well then. Try running away now.”

Seo-jun immediately realized the opponent had changed strategies.

The difference between Seo-jun’s nearly full health bar and Rank 5’s health, now reduced by half, stood out starkly.

“Everyone! Rank 5! Rank 5 is in the game!”

Bangju had been slightly worried after seeing such a dangerous matchup appear from the second game onward, but he immediately launched into commentary.

-This is insane lololol
-He’s about to get publicly executed
-True veterans really are on another level
-Holy crap
-The other stream’s prediction poll was literally 50/50. Possible vs impossible lololol

“GraceOfTheUnorthodox’s sect is the Assassin Sect. As mentioned earlier, their strength is speed. In 1v1s, they’re considered Tier 1.”

“Tiers” were gaming slang used to indicate levels or rankings.

Tier 1 meant top-class.

In other words, the Assassin Sect was among the strongest.

Of course, sects that were so overwhelmingly powerful they practically had no weaknesses were labeled OP—overpowered—and the Assassin Sect wasn’t quite at that level.

“They’re highly popular in faction wars too because of their speed, but the downside is that they’re difficult to control and each individual hit deals relatively low damage.”

Bangju rapidly explained the fundamentals as the battle continued.

“Meanwhile, as everyone already knows, Seo-jun’s Absorption Technique has explosive attack power, but comes with the risk that he needs to finish fights quickly!”

The duel resumed.

“Alright, Seo-jun starts off casually provoking him again. The Heavenly Demon villain is back! Earlier he used polite speech against normal users, but now this is classic bullying-the-weak-respecting-the-strong behavior!”

-Maybe he’s actually nice?
-He only acts toxic toward strong players
-Nope. This guy even bullies NPCs lol
-The trash talk from the start is brutal
-The psychological warfare is crazy
-He talks well though
-Worm battle lol

“GraceOfTheUnorthodox attacks first! A heavy strike! Seo-jun blocks it easily! But—he failed to parry! GraceOfTheUnorthodox stabilizes after landing and follows with a thrust! But! Ah! Seo-jun’s sword is suddenly already at his throat! How did he move like that?!”

As the fight intensified, Bangju’s commentary accelerated like rapid-fire bullets.

-Damn, they’re both really good
-Only a few seconds in and it’s already terrifying lol

The two exchanged several moves before GraceOfTheUnorthodox panicked and retreated backward.

Bangju immediately jumped in with an explanation.

“To explain quickly here: Seo-jun tried to deflect GraceOfTheUnorthodox’s sword. And right there, we saw a signature Assassin Sect technique! Twisting the blade trajectory right before contact. It’s almost like a Brazilian Kick feint, though the motion itself is much smaller. The goal is to bait out a failed parry against a heavy attack and immediately land a follow-up strike on the confused opponent!”

It was actually a fairly famous technique, though plenty of people still didn’t know about it.

The reason was simple:

Most players couldn’t even parry properly in the first place.

There weren’t many opportunities to encounter techniques like that.

-There’s a technique like that? Holy crap
-As expected of an experienced commentator
-He recognized it from the very first exchange
-Are you really allowed to expose industry secrets like this lololol
-Everyone who matters already knows about it. What “secret”?
-Bangju’s Unorthodox faction anyway. It’s fine.
-Proud Orthodox faction member here!

“Now GraceOfTheUnorthodox retreats, and Seo-jun immediately follows up. Since Absorption Technique is generally considered an all-in build, he’s clearly showing he doesn’t intend to give the opponent any breathing room.”

There hadn’t been much to commentate during the first game.

It had been too one-sided.

The opponent got crushed and rage quit.

“And—huh?”

Seo-jun’s sword suddenly swung again.

As Bangju watched the blade slice through the air and approach the opponent’s weapon, he suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

This…?

[“Speed isn’t the only thing that lets you alter the trajectory at the last second.”]

-LMAOOOO

And then Seo-jun’s following movement triggered the same feeling again.

He lowered his stance.

Raised his sword.

Aimed at the opponent.

Then thrust forward.

-Wait what

Unlike before, the thrust pierced directly into the chest.

-He’s literally copying him lololol is this personality abuse too?
-He’s returning the exact same attack back at him lol
-He’s showing the skill gap perfectly
-This is actually insane

“Everyone, unless I saw wrong, Seo-jun just returned the exact same attack method back at him! Including the trajectory-twisting technique I mentioned earlier!”

-LMAO the last-second twist thing?
-Other players could use that too?
-Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?
-Is that actually possible?

“Honestly, I don’t even know whether non-Assassin Sect players can use it, but judging from what Seo-jun said earlier… I think it actually is possible.”

Judging from both the viewers’ and his own uncertainty, it seemed they’d need to review the replay carefully afterward.

[“Tsk. Your health won’t recover anymore. That’s unfortunate. Truly unfortunate.”]

[“Now then. Try running away.”]

-LMAO his mouth alone is already final boss level
-Look at him acting all wise and superior lololol
-But wait, isn’t Rank 5 getting absolutely destroyed right now?
-The Rank 5 guy is literally running away just like the Heavenly Demon said lolol

“Alright, anyway! GraceOfTheUnorthodox has officially begun avoiding direct combat. Looks like he’s trying to stall for time, but if he wanted to commit to that strategy he should’ve done it from the start! It’s difficult now that half his health is already gone!”

There wasn’t much left to see in Round 1.

Still—

Wasn’t it terrifying that just two clean hits to the neck and chest had erased half of a top ranker’s health?

‘If another ranker used that build instead…’

Bangju withheld judgment for now.

There still wasn’t enough information.

“Alright, it’s over! GG! Now we move into the next round!”

Now came the preparation period, where players could change traits and prepare for the next round from the starting zone.

“Then should we take a look at the replay? Let’s confirm whether that really was the Assassin Sect’s signature technique like I said earlier.”

Bangju quickly rewound the footage while the viewers chatted among themselves.

-Lol no way
-I mean even rankers say it’s hard to pull off consistently?
-Even Assassin Sect players need tons of practice to learn that lol
-Are we sure this caster guy is even really a ranker?
-Still, he won super easily. GraceOfTheUnorthodox isn’t weak either.
-He really was considered a Heavenly Demon candidate lol

Since replay reviews were common whenever something controversial happened, Bangju quickly froze the key moment and put it on-screen.

Crossing his arms, he spoke.

“Alright then. Let’s watch it one more time.”

The replay slowed to 0.25x speed.

Right before the swords collided, the blade subtly tilted at the perfect timing.

The angle was far smaller than usual, but it definitely moved.

-...? Wait it actually did twist?
-LOL
-He’s seriously explaining it step-by-step
-Absolute monster
-That can actually be done?

“As expected! One of the important parts of this technique is making the opponent fail the parry while still allowing them to deflect your blade at the same time. The difficult part is developing the precision to adjust all of those factors perfectly… But if Seo-jun really copied it after seeing it only once today, then that’s genuinely absurd talent!”

Bangju replayed the footage again while reading chat messages.

“You think that can’t be true? Well, we don’t know for sure yet. Hoho. But now I’m curious what kind of choice GraceOfTheUnorthodox will make against Seo-jun. Will he use stealth and speed from the very start to stall for time? Or will he try to fight head-on again with pure skill? Honestly, he’s probably thinking hard about it right now.”

If the opponent fully committed to running and stalling, it could become quite troublesome for Seo-jun.

The map was small, sure—

But combining high speed with stealth traits still created a lot of possibilities.

However—

Bangju suddenly widened his eyes after returning to the live screen.

“Ah! What’s this?! That option… it’s gone?”

Seo-jun was suddenly changing his traits.

-Why would he change them right now lololol
-Wait if the enemy’s trying to stall, doesn’t he just need to stop using Absorption Technique? LOL
-This game is seriously insane lololol