It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

He had been confident of his victory.

From the very first clash, up until just a moment ago.

Just as he had anticipated, Lee Yena hadn’t been able to respond adequately to the relentless attacks. He thought it would be over as long as he timed his outburst correctly.

Although he was slightly taken aback when the rogue suddenly disengaged from the fight and activated stealth. Given the opponent, if the match ended without such bizarre moves, it would have been even more strange.

In Revan’s judgment, the match had already tipped 80% in his favor.

In a one-on-one fight, the extent one could attempt while in stealth would typically start with a dagger throw for a surprise attack.

As long as he identified the sound of the throw timely, that would be sufficient.

Thinking this, Revan directed all his attention to his hearing. Then, a sound he did not anticipate at all reached his ears.

—Clank.

‘… Clank?’

This wasn’t the first time he had heard this sound.

Certainly… it was the sound that came when one removed armor. Often, it was a sound made by trolls who, having already lost the game, tossed their armor aside in surrender.

But why on earth would such a sound occur in the middle of a one-on-one duel?

To answer the puzzlement clouding his mind, the rogue began to appear gradually, about five steps away, becoming semi-transparent.

When he moved his gaze to the ground, he spotted a discarded plate gauntlet and greaves.

They were the pieces of armor she had been wearing just a moment ago. The source of the clattering sound.

The rogue, who had been lightly provoking him by shifting her feet back and forth, swung the dagger held in her bare hand a few times through the air.

Then, in the instant his eyes met as the rogue turned her head,

– Boom!

It was a split second.

Revan barely managed to block the dagger thrust suddenly towards his throat and took a step back. He dodged his body to avoid the pursuing dagger. A sharp blade brushed past right in front of his eyes.

In that moment, he saw another dagger thrust upward from below in his field of vision. He could evade it for now, but if he only kept dodging, he would eventually be cornered.

He knew he had to parry at least once or counterattack by sacrificing an arm. Despite knowing this all too well, he couldn’t find the right timing.

He took another step back from the rogue who was lunging towards his abdomen. He pulled both of his axes to his chest defensively as tightly as he could.

The dagger that had been stabbing towards him whirled around in the rogue’s hand before it even touched his axe.

Feint.

The dagger, now held in a reverse grip, was coming down towards his thigh.

Instantly calculating the health loss he would endure if he allowed that attack, Revan quickly shifted his center of gravity backward, narrowly escaping the blade’s range.

He had to prevent entering a berserk state with such low health. As a trade-off, he had to sacrifice a chunk of his stamina.

However, in this drawn-out state of losing his rhythm and being dragged around, allowing an attack with such precise damage calculations was nearly impossible.

First, he needed to widen the distance. He swung his arm to throw a checking blow while stepping sideways, but—

The rogue followed him as if nothing had happened. Maintaining a distance close enough to see each other’s eyes, as if dancing naturally. It was the perfect range for the dagger.

Barely avoiding and parrying the dagger that thrust in again, taking steps back, the rogue easily evaded his checks and maintained the distance as if measured with precision.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been suppressed this much. But the opponent’s speed felt overwhelmingly fast. Until a moment ago, he had been dealing with the rogue slowed down by a weight penalty.

It was like adjusting to a 60-kilometer per hour breaking ball, only to be hit by a 150-kilometer per hour fastball.

If he couldn’t increase the distance, he at least had to buy some time to get used to it. Once more, as he swung his axe short aiming at the opponent’s leg and tried to step to the side—

—Swoosh

A chilling sound accompanied by blood splattering across his vision—soon dyed a faint red.

Berserk mode.
Revan’s eyes reflexively scanned the upper right corner. Only about 10% of his health remained.

He had lost over 20% of his health in one hit. This meant that the recent attack had been classified as a counter.

‘Did he react to that?’

The window of opportunity to push in a counter within that brief movement was truly minuscule. The reaction speed and performance needed were beyond conventional belief, but—

Whether it made sense or not didn’t matter. When operating a Warrior, it was ideal to trigger Rampage precisely at 30%, and 20% was considered safe. However, 10% was despairingly low.

Yet, the true battle for a Warrior began from the moment Rampage was triggered. Even if mistakes had been made during the buildup, it didn’t matter.

Revan gritted his teeth, narrowed his eyes, and swung his axe toward the charging rogue. The real brawl was about to commence.

* * * *

It wasn’t easy to adjust. The senses developed throughout my life were ingrained in even the smallest habits.

Thanks to the plate armor set that provided a timing as precious as gold, the necessity for adaptation didn’t feel as urgent.

However, little by little, I felt a growing discomfort. It was as if my limbs were being dragged, much like the subtle annoyance of playing on a Russian server.

Nonetheless, completely removing the penalty felt like stepping on the accelerator of a racing car with a wild steering wheel. It wasn’t that I was controlling it according to my will; it felt more like I was just colliding wherever it led me.

Caught in that state of indecisiveness, I began my climb to Challenger.

Looking back, it seemed that from then on, my adaptability started to rise significantly. That strange sensation I felt, thinking my hands weren’t loosening up well… that feeling of something going awry with my control, was probably one of the symptoms.

By the time the climb to Challenger was nearing its end, I started to think that maybe I could gradually control this reaction speed.

And then—

Today, while being forced into an extreme reaction speed showdown, that thought turned into certainty. There was no longer a need to intentionally delay my reactions.

Should I capture the opponent’s attack the moment it starts and respond immediately—

-Vroom!

Just like that, the character in the screen moved and evaded the attack exactly at the timing I had in mind. A feeling close to euphoria filled my chest.

A toast. I wanted a toast. I suppressed the urge to take a sip of the soju in the glass before me and focused on the screen. There wasn’t a moment to take my hands off the keyboard.

Indeed, it was that build-down movement. The warrior rampaged like an enraged bull. As if waiting for the moment the frenzy activated. The two eyes glowing red indicated that the frenzy had reached its peak.

In other words, it also meant that the warrior’s health was nearly depleted—

He couldn’t easily be subdued.

With the ax strikes pouring in from both hands, there was no room for even a moment’s respite. Allowing just a single attack would mean endless follow-ups using the increased speed.

It was said that a wounded beast was the most dangerous. Indeed, he was like a beastly character.

However—

From the very beginning, the thought of allowing any more attacks had never crossed his mind. Their weapons cut through the air several times.

The warrior’s left shoulder twitched, and as if that part was magnified, I noticed it instantly. I waited. Observing if the shoulder movement would translate to the forearm, then the hand, and finally the ax, until the very end.

Now there was no need to predict whether it was a feint or not.

As I swiftly manipulated the keyboard to target the opponent’s lower body with my right hand dagger, my gaze remained fixed on the ax held in the warrior’s left hand.

The opponent’s ax blade seemed to shimmer, illuminated. It was a strong attack, not a feint. It was a good trajectory. The attack suggested an intention to receive my attack with strong armor and then strike at my neck.

It was a gambit aiming for a comeback. A wise decision. There wasn’t much time left for the warrior’s rampage. If more time passed here, the movements would become more predictable instead.

“There was no reason to gamble yet, which made it the best time to take a gamble.”

Indeed. Although the player’s character selection was somewhat lacking in insight, their skill was top-notch. Even as I harbored a small compliment inwardly, a gleaming axe blade was approaching fiercely.

After dodging once, it was best to re-enter when the opponent was struggling with the cooldown from their missed heavy attack – spending time throwing only light checks until their rampage ended was the optimal strategy.

However, I didn’t want to do that now. There was no reason to anymore. Without the slightest hesitation, I swung the dagger in my right hand to the fullest.

*Thud!*

A dull sound. It wasn’t a fatal blow, but the damage was dealt. Following that, I shifted half a step to the left and rapid-tapped the keyboard.

*Bang!*

With a powerful crash, the health bar in the upper right corner began to rapidly decrease. Although I missed the targeted neck, it meant I succeeded in hitting my opponent’s right shoulder.

In that single attack, more than 40% of my health vanished – my vision was almost entirely obscured by the splattered blood.

The remaining health was just under 20%. A few more checks or a combo attack would end it.

However… it didn’t matter.

*Thunk*

There wouldn’t be any additional attacks. Slowly, my vision began to clear again. Against the backdrop of a gloomy gray rock wall, the warrior drenched in crimson blood was kneeling.

Embedded in his chest was the dagger that had been thrown just before the impact, with his left hand.

Revan(Warrior) has been defeated!”

“GetDevoured (Rogue) → Revan (Warrior)”

* * * *

[CravingWarmAmericano: Good job.]

[CravingWarmAmericano: Thank you.]

(Revan is typing a message…)

(Revan is typing a message…)

(Revan is typing a message…)

[Revan: Yes, thank you for your hard work.]

[IWantHotAmericano: I’m planning to avoid showing the ID in the highlight video.]

[IWantHotAmericano: Is that okay with you?]

[IWantHotAmericano: If you prefer to have it shown, though…]

[Revan: No, please do whatever is comfortable for you.]

(Revan is typing a message…)

[Revan: It might be better to use my screen instead.]

[Revan: The opponent’s movements would be more visible that way.]

[IWantHotAmericano: Oh…]

[IWantHotAmericano: Thank you.]

[IWantHotAmericano: I really appreciate it.]

[IWantHotAmericano: I’m not sure how to repay you.]

[IWantHotAmericano: Would you like a get-out-of-jail card or a kick reflection voucher or something?]

(Revan is typing a message…)

(Revan is typing a message…)

『Revan: What is that?』

『CravingWarmAmericano: Oh, so, this is something I talked about with Arc.』

『Revan: Ah, with Arc?』

『CravingWarmAmericano: Yes, have you watched my broadcast?』

『CravingWarmAmericano: Even if you do something worthy of a ban, the manager who tries to ban you will be forcibly removed instead.』

『CravingWarmAmericano: Ah… but I don’t have a manager, so I guess I will be banned.』

『CravingWarmAmericano: In that case, just think of it as having the power to end the broadcast forcibly included as a bonus.』

(Revan is typing a message…)

(Revan is typing a message…)

(Revan is typing a message…)

(Revan is typing a message…)

『Revan: Hold on a moment.』

『SYSTEM: (Revan) has invited (Arc) to the chat! Enjoy group chatting 😊』

『Revan: Arc, can you see the chat above?』

『Revan: Please help with the translation…』

『Arc: Sorry』

『SYSTEM: (Arc) has left the group chat!』

TL’s Corner:
ROFL, whahahahahha. Arc bailed in an instant.