Dusk (BL Light Novel)

[Combat] You used Quick Turn on Retaking a Class, dealing 1,031 damage.

Seriously, what the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} hell is with this damage? Even if the target is a tank and built like a brick wall, I’m barely breaking a thousand.
While I was grumbling to myself, I saw Gang Jaegyung eat the guard skill and then immediately activate his shield block. I expected that, so I held off on the follow-up hit from Quick Turn, opting instead to cast a quick DoT. The moment his shield block dropped, I unleashed the follow-up hit.
[Combat] Retaking a Class dodged the Twist Snap skill using Evasion Maneuver.

His character spread its wings for a brief second, leaping backward and narrowly dodging the attack. With the distance now widened, it was time for another DoT.
[Combat] You used Virus II on Retaking a Class, dealing 416 damage.
After using Virus II, a follow-up skill activated — Virus V with a zero-second cast time. A no-cast DoT skill. Muttering that I was finally catching a break, I applied Virus V on top.

While I was stacking DoTs, Gang Jaegyung had closed the gap and started attacking again. As I continued to fend him off, a skill icon on the slot bar began to flash, indicating that it was ready. I swiftly hovered over it while maintaining the guard skill combo against Gang Jaegyung.
Mutation Virus Extraction. I could have jumped for joy.
The skill I’d been waiting for was finally ready to use. I decided to hold off for a moment, focusing instead on dodging as many of Gang Jaegyung’s skills as possible while keeping an eye on his status bar.

There it was — five red-bordered DoTs indicating successful mutations. My precious little insurance policies, eating away at Gang Jaegyung’s health and growing fat and juicy.
Grinning, I bided my time, waiting for the right moment. When Gang Jaegyung used Evasion Maneuver again to retreat, I seized the chance and slammed the extraction skill button.
[Combat] You used Mutation Virus Extraction on Retaking a Class, dealing 25,824 damage.
[Combat] Mutation Virus II has been removed from Retaking a Class.
[Combat] Mutation Virus V has been removed from Retaking a Class.
[Combat] Mutation Virus LII has been removed from Retaking a Class.
[Combat] Mutation Flu Virus has been removed from Retaking a Class.
[Combat] Mutation Research Virus XXI has been removed from Retaking a Class.
[Combat] Retaking a Class is now paralyzed due to the Mutation Virus Extraction effect.

It felt like finally scratching that itch that had been driving me insane.
Gang Jaegyung’s health bar, which had barely been budging despite all the DoTs chipping away at it, suddenly plummeted by almost 20%. My insides practically unclenched in relief. Now our health levels were nearly even.
Now I just had to repeat this whole process at least three more times. As Gang Jaegyung struggled against the paralysis, I re-applied the missing DoTs and steeled myself. I can do this.

[Combat] Virus LII on Retaking a Class has mutated.
[Combat] Retaking a Class’s Sneak Attack skill was canceled by Executioner’s Restraint.
[Combat] Retaking a Class is stunned by Executioner’s Restraint.
[Combat] Retaking a Class is stunned by the Execution Preparation effect.
[Combat] Continuous damage dealt 4,153 damage to Retaking a Class.
[Combat] Retaking a Class used Execution, dealing 4,728 damage.
[Combat] Retaking a Class is now in a state of healing prohibition due to Execution.
Between monitoring the mutations, predicting Gang Jaegyung’s next skill, and dodging immediate attacks, my brain was running on fumes. I even made the rookie mistake of reapplying a DoT I’d just cast, effectively wasting it.
The long, grueling battle was wearing me down. The moment my concentration slipped, Gang Jaegyung lunged forward like he was watching my every move in real life. By the time I realized my mistake, I was already stunned.

[Combat] Retaking a Class used Desperate Slash, dealing 3,130 damage.
[Combat] Retaking a Class used Low Slash, dealing 1,532 damage.
[Combat] Retaking a Class inflicted a knockdown state with Low Slash.
He was clearly getting the hang of his Holy Knight class. His combos flowed as smoothly as water now, seamlessly weaving in crowd control effects.
[Combat] Retaking a Class used Desperate Strike, dealing 4,007 damage.
[Combat] Retaking a Class used Desperate Blow, dealing 4,785 damage.
With only 5,000 HP left, a miracle happened — the Mutation Virus Extraction skill reactivated. Gang Jaegyung’s health was also dangerously low, so if I could just hit this skill first, I’d win.

I had one second left before the knockdown expired. Hammering the dodge skill button like a madman, I prayed to every nonexistent god. It was a race between my dodge and Gang Jaegyung’s next strike.
Please, you garbage class.
[Combat] Retaking a Class used Shedier's Desperate Final Strike, dealing 6,103 damage.
[Combat] You have been killed by Retaking a Class.

Damn you, garbage class.
[System] You have died in a disputed area.
[System] You lost 5,160 reputation points upon being killed by a player.
[Race] Retaking a Class, the Grand Commander of the Silver-Fox Tribe, has defeated Honeybread, the Grand Commander of the Via Tribe.
[Race] WhatsForLunch: ?
[Race] Taurus: Oof.
[Race] Shinha: LOOOOOORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I slumped forward, resting my forehead against the desk. Fine. I was willing to admit that the Harmonizer was, in fact, a complete garbage class. Sorry, kids. There was nothing I could do. The class is just that bad.
…No, wait. If I’d just double-checked the skill descriptions and managed my cooldowns properly, I might have pulled this off. Maybe. It wasn’t the class’s fault — it was mine.
While I was busy justifying my loss to myself, Gang Jaegyung approached, drinking a potion as he crouched down in front of my fallen character.

So, what now? He had to have a lot to say after getting slaughtered repeatedly.
As expected, Gang Jaegyung stayed silent for a long time. Then, finally, a massive text bubble appeared above his head.
[Public] Retaking a Class: Against tanks with high HP, start with Virus II, V, LII / Research Virus IV, XXI / Flu Virus. They deal damage based on HP percentage, so the damage scaling is higher. For healers or DPS, start with Virus I / Research Virus I, III, VI / Miasma. Don’t use a 2.4-second cast skill after a knockback, since the knockback lasts 2.2 seconds. All Virus skills hit guaranteed, so just spam them as soon as they’re ready. Don’t wait to confirm the follow-up skill. And if the guard skill cooldown is up, use Quick Turn first. It reduces the cooldown. Depending on the situation, use Joint Lock first, but you were just pressing skills at random, weren’t you?

“......”
He... had a lot to say.
Maybe there really was a difference in damage output between Virus II and Virus I... But come on, does that tiny variation in skill sequence actually make or break a fight? Seriously, this class is a nightmare.

Despite his lengthy lecture, the only thing Gang Jaegyung asked in return was, “How do you dodge Capture using movement?”
But since I was still lying there dead, I couldn’t exactly answer him.
At that moment, a barrage of messages started flooding the race chat, catching my eye.

[Race] Sillonti: LOL guys.
[Race] Sillonti: We need to avenge our lord, Honeybread, who was just killed by Retaking a Class.
[Race] PillowNotAPillow: Oh, the #1 Assassin.
[Race] Shinha: REVENGE???????????
[Race] CryingCatRipsUpTissues: LET’S GOOOOOOO
[Race] Sillonti: Base 27.
[Race] Honeybread: ??
Wait. How the hell does Moon Seonhwa know I’m at Base 27?
The answer came immediately. The once quiet field suddenly erupted with the sharp sounds of skills activating and attacks landing.

 
Out of nowhere, Sillonti appeared and started attacking Gang Jaegyung.
Gang Jaegyung, who had been crouching in front of me, scrambled to his feet, activating a survival skill to shield himself. But Sillonti didn’t let up, moving with deadly precision, relentlessly pressing the attack.

Gang Jaegyung had just barely graduated from being a newbie — there was no way he could stand up to the number one assassin across all servers. He was completely overwhelmed, his health bar dropping rapidly. All he could do was stagger backward, unable to even attempt a counterattack.
Just when it looked like he was about to get wiped out, someone else suddenly appeared and jumped into the fray. It was Amhak, the Grand Commander of the Silver-Fox Tribe.
Then, from somewhere else, another Via Tribe assassin appeared, followed by a hidden Silver-Fox sniper who fired a crossbow shot from a distance.

Those bastards. I was wondering why the field had been so suspiciously quiet for the past seven minutes — turns out all these little rat assassins had been cloaked and watching the whole time.
Now that the assassins had jumped in, the whole battlefield had devolved into utter chaos. Everyone was attacking everyone, and like true assassins, they were more interested in dealing damage than actually helping their own side.
Caught in the middle of the mayhem, Gang Jaegyung was barely managing to stay alive, dodging attacks while frantically trying to escape.

As I watched the fight devolve into a complete free-for-all, more and more players began pouring into the area. Moon Seonhwa had broadcast my location in the race chat, so Via Tribe players were arriving en masse. Meanwhile, it seemed like the Silver-Fox Tribe had also called for reinforcements, as more players began flooding into Base 27.