On the spectator screen, Camellia's stamina gauge plummeted rapidly.
Despite this, the warrior's relentless barrage of attacks showed no signs of stopping.
She seemed determined to showcase her honed skills, unleashing a storm of blade strikes.
Only a few seconds remained before her stamina would be fully depleted.
After this outburst, she'd likely switch back to defense.
If she prolonged her attacks or made herself too vulnerable to a counterattack, her spear would once again glow with power.
Which meant, her weakest moment was right nowâwhen she believed it was still "her turn."@@novelbin@@
"Look out, look out! The counterattack is coming before the warriorâs stamina runs out!"
As the majestic spear thrust toward the sky, a subtle shadow crept toward Camelliaâs ankle.
The chain scythe used a tree as leverage, silently changing direction to aim at her rear.
But Camellia wasnât one to easily fall for such a trick.
Her body spun half a turn, the spear skillfully switching direction to deflect the scythe.
At least, that was the plan.
However, the chain halted just short of its target.
A mere fingerâs breadth separated the two weapons. With no contact, there was no trigger for a counterattack.
This unexpected situation left Camellia's mind racing.
'Was the chain too short? Normally, this would be a miscalculation. But...'
The memory of her crushing defeat from the last round surfaced.
Was it truly a mistake from an opponent who had shown such skillâor was there something else at play?
To Camellia, the latter seemed far more likely.
Her gaze darted around, finally looking upward in realization.
There, hidden among the branches of the forest, shadowy chains were descending upon her from the blind spots in her vision.
The spot where she had dodged was soon obliterated, leaving a crater in the ground.
That was close.
Had her reaction been even a second slower, this match wouldâve ended right there.
As Camellia caught her breath, Sulbbangâs voice boomed on the stream commentary.
âItâs not over yet! Did you see that? Camellia just narrowly avoided disaster, but now sheâs lost track of Gawolâs position.â
âAnd the warriorâs Sixth Sense passive is gone now, right?â
âExactly. No more relying on skills to detect the ambushes. Itâs all up to her raw abilities now!â
Just as he finished speaking, the chain scythe surged forward again.
Against an ambush from a top-class assassin, no amount of preparation guarantees a flawless defense.
Despite her razor-sharp reflexes, the scythe scraped across her forearm.
It was fine. Just a graze, not a fatal blow.
But before she could even register that thought, the attack hadnât ended.
A skill-powered shadow chain crashed down.
Camellia parried it, but as the chain coiled, the weapon reversed direction.
The scythe she had just dodged came flying back again.
To make matters worse, a horrific system message appeared in the corner of her screen.
[âAncient Demonâs Curseâ is now applied.]
[All stats reduced by 8%, movement speed reduced by 20% for 4 seconds.]
[You will take 2% max HP damage per second.]
There were times when certain weapons had so few users, or their effectiveness was so low, that developers compensated by giving them disproportionately high effects.
The chain scythe was exactly that kind of weapon.
In no corner of the world was it a popular choiceâno, it was barely a choice at all.
Even those who picked it never used it as their main weapon. But because of that, its additional effects were nothing to scoff at.
The result was a powerful curse, dealing sustained damage with heavy debuffs.
Time was no longer on Camelliaâs side.
âThis looks bad for Camellia. The dynamics of the fight have completely shifted,â Sulbbang explained.
âIs it because of the curse?â
âYes, but more specifically, itâs the range of the chain scythe. The curse itself isnât lethal when you account for her defense, but over time, the damage will add up.â
Sulbbang continued calmly.
Normally, this battle would have required Gawol to close the distance.
Spears have a longer reach than daggers, and warriors have excellent long-range control abilities.
When the warriorâs stamina recovers, they can unleash a barrage of long-range attacks.
When stamina runs low, they switch to defense, looking for parries.
Camelliaâs plan was likely to force Gawol into a drawn-out fight where she could capitalize on an overextension.
But the introduction of the chain scythe turned that plan on its head.
Gawol, an assassin, was attacking from a longer range and slowly piling up damage with a curse.
And the unusual nature of the weapon made it difficult to predict where the next attack would come from.
âHow do you even block something like that?â
âThat curse is brutal. Assassins are already so fast, and now, Camelliaâs slowed down. How is she supposed to keep up?â
Camelliaâs stamina had fully recovered by now.
Her reaction time, even by first-tier league standards, was extraordinary.
Using pure instinct and peripheral vision, she had already parried multiple attacks.
But in PVP, reaction speed isnât everything.
When one attack is blocked, the next one will come immediately after.
Parry-based defense has its limits.
If you dodge the chain scythe, the next skill is ready to strike.
Camellia parried the scytheâs redirected blade as it swung around a tree, but now the chain itself wrapped around her arm.
From the shadows, Gawolâor perhaps a shadow cloneâprepared for another ambush.
âWhat was that combo just now?â
âI donât know!â
âPardon?â
âI have no idea! Gawolâs the only one using a chain scythe, so how should I know? It looks like a mix of shadow skills, but I honestly canât tell!â
Camellia was certain she was in a one-on-one duel.
Yet, with the way her spear moved, it felt like she was fighting multiple enemies at once.
Sulbbang just admitted defeat, lol.
So, seriously, whatâs happening?
I play an assassin, but is that even the same class I use?
Chain, clone, dagger, chain, clone, dagger⦠Iâm losing my mind, lolol.
Was this game always this brutal?
Kill... me...
Camelliaâs health bar shrank by the second.
The assassin was dealing blow after blow, while the warrior was barely clinging to life.
Finally, Camellia played her last card.
[Strength to pull mountains, spirit to cover the worldâ]
[Sigmaâs Camellia is now under the effect of âMight that Shakes the Heavens.â]
It was her final stand, burning through the last of her life force.
The spear emitted an ominous aura, scattering all the surrounding shadows.
As the warriorâs vicious spear searched for its next victim,
A silver-haired assassin silently approached from behind.
The battlefield grew still.
A soft palm covered the warriorâs determined eyes, and like water, the dagger sliced her throat.
Red blood flowed, and peace descended upon the arena.
[Post by: KimchiNinja]
[Title: Time to Quit Playing Assassin, lol]
[Likes: 105(68)]
I have no hope of ever pulling that off, lol. Count me out.
[Comments]
Is Gawol really that good?
â I feel like Iâve hit a wall.
[Post by: OriginalCreamUdon]
[Title: Donât Queue Up for PvP Mode Right Now, lol]
[Likes: 185(152)]
(Attached image: 6v6 mode, 8 assassins in the queue.)
Donât do it. The sound of chains is driving me insane.
[Comments]
lololololol.
[Post by: Anonymous (411.40)]
[Title: Tried to Copy Gawolâs Combo]
[Likes: 141(103)]
(Attached video: practicing chain scythe direction change using trees.)
I watched the second round against Camellia and tried to copy the moves.
As you can see, the chain direction changes pretty well.
Seems like the system was designed for this, with some auto-correction.
(Attached video: chaining skills with the scythe direction change.)
But the correction is minimal here, so it takes a ton of practice.
Iâm hitting about a 5% success rate.
And this is the real problemâ¦
(Attached video: chain scythe combo, movement skills, shadow teleport.)
(Attached video: assassin getting killed by their own chain scythe.)
See how the camera spins wildly with the movement spam?
Even trying to imitate this makes me dizzy. Just donât do it.
[Comments]
The scythe hitting your own head is hilarious, lol.
Is that even the right combo? It looks a little clunky.
â I think thereâs something else in the mix, but Iâm not sure what.
(If you donât know, go figure it out.)
â If I knew, Iâd be going pro by now.
[Post by: Anonymous (321.134)]
[Title: Is Yurang Streaming Soon?]
Apparently, theyâre going to break down Gawolâs second qualifier match.
Theyâll probably focus on the Camellia fight.
[Comments]
Whoâs Yurang?
â You donât know Yurang? Do you even play Infinity Black?
â Heâs a bard expert, but his game sense is on another level.
[Post by: Anonymous (321.134)]
[Title: Yurang is Now Live]