The greatsword wielded by the hero is slightly longer than the user's height.
The grip is large enough to comfortably hold with both hands fully extended, and the blade's length and weight fit the name 'greatsword' perfectly.
The armor is a full plate, a proper symbol of a knight class.
On the outside, she looks like a female knight clad in grayscale armor.
At first glance, the impression she gives is one of elegance and formality.
If I had to find a flaw... perhaps her build is a little smaller than typical knights?
Even with her skill, she's still a bit smaller than Ga-wol, her body size just slightly larger.
Thanks to her youthful appearance, her face looks as if she could be a pretty young girl.
Now, she's recognized as a veteran pro gamer by everyone, but at least on the outside, that's what it appeared to be.
Because of this, people unfamiliar with Inblâs esports often picked the "most different player from their first impression" and pointed to Hero.
The last match in the World Championship quarterfinals.
It was the first set between W Titans and Falcon.
The greatsword, which doesn't reflect light, collided with the katana.
[Passive: Martial Soul]
[The amount of damage that can be countered with parrying is increased. For physical attacks, beneficial effects are added to the judgment...]
[Target: Falcon Insane]
The clash between the slender katana and the heavy greatsword.
As expected, Insane's weapon was effortlessly deflected.
His arm, unable to withstand the shock, was forcefully pushed back, leaving his defense wide open.
Hero grinned, revealing her teeth.
With her armored right foot, she kicked Insane's torso, pushing him away.
The swordsmanâs body flew several meters and crashed onto the ground.
In the World Championship quarterfinals, there are no players who show mercy to the enemy.
Even if youâre sent flying and rolling, if you canât prepare a defense, death will come.
Insane vomited blood from his mouth.
As soon as he knelt down to regain his defense posture, the next attack came crashing in.
âYouâre better than I heard!â
âUgh...â
Wherever Hero's sword goes, thereâs always wind that follows.
The overwhelming force and might. The air displaced by the huge greatsword returns to its original place.
So, when facing that beast-like female knight and her sword, it feels like both sword and storm are rushing toward you.
The swordplay is as rough as it gets.
Her supernatural strength creates an impossible speed and change of direction.
It didnât feel like I was facing a well-trained swordswoman, but more like a ferocious wild beast.
Insane gritted his teeth, barely managing to retreat.
Neither his attack nor defense was properly executed.
What should I say... fighting Hero felt like a whole different genre altogether.
Itâs not just about the sword, though.
Almost all martial arts are like playing chess with your body.
The higher the level, the more intense the psychological warfare and strategic battles in this game.
Especially, battles between swordsmen could truly be called art.
The position and angle of the blade, the direction and weight of the force, posture, and speed.
There are countless elements that need to harmonize to reveal the aesthetics of the sword.
I canât know what others think, but at least Insane thought so.
âBut... that foolish woman!â
At first, I thought maybe I made a mistake.
But no matter how I think about it, there was no problem with the position or timing of the sword's collision.
Since the greatsword is a heavy weapon, I made sure to adjust the trajectory to deflect it.@@novelbin@@
This was a technique Ga-wolâs swordsman often used.
With Insaneâs capabilities, performing such a fine-tuned technique like Ga-wol was impossible.
Nevertheless, Iâm sure of it; that attack should have been blocked properly.
It was because the swordplay Ga-wol drew and mine were perfectly identical.
I had a perfect mental image of Ga-wolâs swordplay from the arena.
I couldnât recreate it exactly, but I could at least compare it.
When artificial intelligence first defeated humans in Go,
itâs said that a strange wind blew through the Go world.
Even if they didnât understand the principles, just copying the AIâs moves would shift the balance in their favor.
Understanding the meaning can come later.
For now, I just need to mimic Ga-wol's sword as closely as possible.
By slightly modifying it depending on the situation, I could see a noticeable improvement in my win rate.
But still, if it doesnât work, it means only one thing.
No matter how artistic the technique, it means nothing in the face of that crazy woman's strength!
A simple, brute-force strike shattered the aesthetics of the sword.
ãInsane player is suffering accumulated damage!ã
ãHehehe... You really do make me laugh every time I see you, donât you?ã
ãEven though that was a successful parry, he was still pushed back, huh?ã
ãThe swordsman receives a large bonus for parrying, but the power was too strong to cover completely.ã
ãIt would have been dangerous if he had taken a direct hit.ã
Inblâs parrying is never invincible.
Even if a player with inhuman reflexes shows up one day, parrying alone cannot lead to domination.
There are attacks where parrying is impossible without the "owner of the sword," and if the force is too strong, you still take damage even if the parry succeeds.
While the opponent freely swings that crazy power, I canât even get my sword to meet theirs.
Even if I manage to parry with difficulty, I canât fully block the damage.
And I donât have the speed to outmatch them either.
I know.
That kind of power doesnât come for free.
Yet, it feels unreasonable.
With two supporters, Hero herself is the vanguard and the main force.
In close combat, she has almost no match in the world.
Even if it shifts to ranged combat, W Titansâ sniper "Recoil" is notorious.
No matter how I advance or retreat, thereâs no solution.
With a feeling of helplessness, Falcon experienced a crushing defeat.
[Author: Peropero]
[Title: Falcon Insane Post-match Interview]
Q. It was a highly anticipated season, but your journey ends here.
A. I believe I was lacking in preparation and skill. Iâll work harder next season.
Q. It was your first encounter with Hero. If you had to pinpoint the reason for your defeat?
A. I donât want to make excuses for my loss. I felt the match-up was quite bad... but there must have been another way. I humbly accept my defeat.
â¦â¦
Q. In the next semifinals, Hero and Ga-wolâs swordsmen will face off.
A. Honestly, even Ga-wol would have a hard time. Iâm not trying to undermine her skill. But I donât think anyone can block Heroâs sword. Maybe Iâll approach it in a different way.
What the hell is this pathetic guy saying?
Heâs blaming the match-up when itâs his fault he got destroyed, right?
From what I see, you just werenât good enough.
I thought Hero and Insaneâs match would be useful data for me.
But then I saw it, and what a mess.
Insaneâs swordplay was so strange it didnât even help me.
Who the hell taught him to fight like that?
The technique itself was decent, but the way he used it was odd.
If he has a teacher, I really want to see his face.
Did they have a bad relationship?
It felt like they intentionally taught him poorly.
I was curious and watched on the way to the arena,
but it seems I made a mistake.
âDaeun, you should start waking up now... Youâve been awake?â
âHuh? Oh, I didnât sleep for that long.â
âYou looked tired. Anyway, letâs go. A quick briefing and weâll head up.â
âIâm fine. Just took a short nap.â
âReally? Then, Iâm glad.â
A week passed by like a bullet.
We reinforced the weakened team synergy and made preparations for the enemy.
Even when we tried our best, it always felt like time wasnât enough.
The voices of the excited commentators reached us.
The foreign language from far away was hard to understand,
but I could clearly distinguish the Korean commentary.
ãFinally, today has arrived!ã
ãWorld Championship Semifinals! Sigma eSports vs. W Titans.ã
ãIKLâs hopes face North Americaâs giants. Only the true strongest teams remain.ã
ãBut thereâs no need to be intimidated. Sigmaâs performance so far definitely deserves to be here.ã
By the time we reached the semifinals, you could tell they were putting more effort into the match.
Some procedures had been added before the game,
like analyzing championship stats and identifying key points to watch for.
Thanks to that, we had more time to prepare.
I finished final adjustments with the team and gathered my thoughts calmly.
ã...Ga-wol and Heroâs upcoming showdown is also drawing a lot of attention.ã
ãGa-wol is considered the best in 1v1, but Hero becomes even stronger with support.ã
ãWeâll have to see how it plays out when they face each other at full strength.ã
ãAt this point, itâs a battle between the swordsman who represents power and the one who represents technique.ã
ãThe prediction at the analysis desk is 5-5. Expecting a fierce battle of blades.ã
I can do it. I can win.
I wonât show weakness.
Iâm no longer a child clinging to others.
Itâs time to graduate.