[Party] DrinkSomeWater: If Rahee's fine with it, I don't care.
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: I don't really mind;;
[Party] Mochabread: Then should we send the tank to the other side?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung.
[Party] Yoo Chae: What about me?
[Party] Yoo Chae: I want to be on the same team as you too..
[Party] SoSleepy: ?
[Party] SoSleepy: Didn't you say you'd be my sparring partner?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Ah...
[Party] ThisIsRahee: Hehe
[Party] Haerun: LOLLLLLL
As expected, buffers are really popular. Even that Yoo Chae guy is trying to get in on it. Well, if they're that good in raids, they're probably even better in PVP.
[Party] LagLagLagging: Then since DrinkSome is the tank,
[Party] LagLagLagging: You should probably go to the guild leader's party.
[Party] ManaOORMan: But doesn't that kind of
[Party] ManaOORMan: split it too much into newbies vs veterans?
[Party] Mochabread: Can't be helped lol
[Party] Mochabread: We've got a buffer, we can't give them a tank too.
[Party] LagLagLagging: We should probably send stronger DPS to SoSleepy's team, then?
[Party] CrazyAboutHunting: Yeah yeah
And so, our team—me, ThisIsRahee, ParkSeungjin99, TheHunter, CrazyAboutHunting, and ManaOORMan—became Team A. Yoo Chae, DrinkSomeWater, Haerun, Hwasoun, Mochabread, and LagLagLagging became Team B.
[Party] TheHunter: Are we hopping on Discord?
[Party] SoSleepy: Nah, I'll join next time
[Party] SoSleepy: I wanna focus right now.
[Party] CrazyAboutHunting: Then let's just go without voice chat for this round.
[Party] Haerun: Good.
[Party] Hwasoun: What percent are we setting?
Unlike field PVP, arena PVP allows you to adjust damage percentages in the settings. Most people tend to go with 60–80%.
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Should we go with the usual arena setting? 80%?
[Party] SoSleepy: Can we do 60, by any chance?
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: 60? Sure.
The less damage each hit deals, the more chances there are to use your skills.
Of course, setting it to 80% is useful to test how much damage you're actually doing, but for now, getting used to skill rotations was more important.
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: Then let's go with 60 today
[Party] DrinkSomeWater: And bump it up to 80 starting tomorrow.
Room settings have been changed.
Once the damage percentage was set, the screen changed, revealing a scene like the Roman Colosseum.
The arena will begin in 60 seconds.
[Team] ThisIsRahee: What am I supposed to do?
[Team] ThisIsRahee: Do I just fight?
[Team] ManaOORMan: Yep yep
[Team] ManaOORMan: Just play it like a raid lol
[Team] ParkSeungjin99: Literally a raid
[Team] ParkSeungjin99: Except now we kill the other players instead of mobs
[Team] SoSleepy: Since Rahee is a buffer,
[Team] SoSleepy: you can position yourself like you would in a raid.
[Team] ThisIsRahee: Got it, hehe
There were only 60 seconds to prep, so it was hard to come up with a solid plan. Only 30 seconds left now.
[Team] TheHunter: Then SoSleepy, you take the guild leader
[Team] TheHunter: I'll handle Lag then.
[Team] ParkSeungjin99: Then I'll take Moka, lol
[Team] CrazyAboutHunting: I'll try my best
[Team] CrazyAboutHunting: to block DrinkSome and Haerun.
[Team] ManaOORMan: DrinkSome is a pure tank,
[Team] ManaOORMan: so we've got to take out the DPS next to him quickly to have a chance.
[Team] ParkSeungjin99: I think Hwasoun
[Team] ParkSeungjin99: is a spear user and probably guarding both of them.
[Team] CrazyAboutHunting: Got it, got it.
Just as ManaOORMan's message ended, the final countdown began. Crimson numbers appeared at the top center of the screen as a whirlwind of sand swept across the arena.
3, 2, 1
The battle begins! Fight to the end and claim victory!
As the match started, the opaque barrier in front disappeared. At the same time, a burst of pure white light flared from the opposite side, and a shield with wide-open wings appeared. It was the skill effect of the Holy Knight, DrinkSomeWater—the pure tank.
[Team] CrazyAboutHunting: Let's go!
[All] TheHunter: Coming for you, Lag^^
The infighter and Warlord, both sturdy DPS-tanks, charged ahead. Ding! Behind me, Dorahee began playing the lyra.
LagLagLagging barely dodged TheHunter's skill and responded in chat, sounding fed up.
[All] LagLagLagging: Seriously
[All] LagLagLagging: Do you even have a conscience? WTF
For a Sharp Shooter—who had low damage but short cooldowns and many evasive skills—the Warlord, with both short cooldowns and high damage, was a real nightmare. TheHunter, knowing this, clung tenaciously to LagLagLagging.
[All] LagLagLagging: Can you back off already — —
[All] TheHunter: LOL
[All] TheHunter: ^_^
Mochabread, seeing LagLagLagging struggling against TheHunter, quickly changed direction—but was intercepted by ParkSeungjin.
[All] ParkSeungjin99: Hello there? lol
[All] Mochabread: hi;
ParkSeungjin, a Gunslinger, fired bullets while Mochabread, a Summoner, summoned a spirit to deflect them. Amidst the glowing effects of skills, the shine of their weapons—ParkSeungjin's gun and Mochabread's wand—sparkled in faint gold.
Looks like everyone's using at least +8 enhanced weapons. CrazyAbout had also charged deep into the enemy line to take down the tank and healer, DrinkSome and Haerun. That left only me, Dorahee, and ManaOORMan on our side.
[Team] ManaOORMan: To take down their tank and healer,
[Team] ManaOORMan: I'm gonna have to drop a Meteor.
[Team] SoSleepy: How long will it take?
[Team] ManaOORMan: I need to charge the gauge,
[Team] ManaOORMan: at least 1 minute 30 seconds.
[Team] ManaOORMan: Realistically, around 2 minutes.
Meteor—the ultimate skill of the pure mage class Elemental Mage. It required a full 100-point gauge and a long cast time, but its power was overwhelming.
It was practically our only way to win without a tank or a healer—just a buffer. The other team would definitely try everything to stop the ult.
'Which is why I knew you'd come.'
Using my chain, I flew straight to intercept Yoo Chae, who had rushed in. I had taken this position specifically because I expected him to come.
Until Meteor was ready, I had to protect the mage and buffer alone from Yoo Chae.
[All] ManaOORMan: Time to pray, folks
To charge the gauge, ManaOORMan's character held his staff with both hands and closed his eyes. I clenched my fist once, then laid my hand on the keyboard.
Vrrrrng, Clang! Yoo Chae's long golden chain hummed as a red light surrounded it. It was the visual cue for Chain Burst, one of the Chain Blade's skills.
'This won't be easy.'
Chain Burst was a unique buff skill exclusive to the Chain Blade class, which added armor penetration. It already hurt enough just to get hit normally, but now he was adding a penetration buff?
Still, I couldn't go down without a fight. Backed by Dorahee's buffs, I rapidly activated my skills.
Let's start with the basic Dark Mage skill combo. It was a CC chain that started with a 1-second bind followed by a 0.3-second stun, and then linked into a damaging combo.
The skill key order was: E-W-Q-R-1-4-W-Q-D-W. Basic attacks had to be mixed in between. The combo relied on using the E skill to bind the enemy, then landing the strongest untargeted skill immediately. Of course, the bind had a long cooldown, so I'd have to land the rest with manual aim.
I cast E toward Yoo Chae, who had entered range, and a small blue diamond (◆) icon appeared over his character's head. It was the "Stack" indicator, the hidden passive of the Dark Mage. The more stacks, the higher the damage—up to five.
I moved my fingers fast, dumping the entire combo on Yoo Chae. It took about 2.5 seconds in total, and even after the bind wore off, Yoo Chae didn't move.
He took the entire combo. No—he let it hit.
He let the full combo hit him on purpose—so I could see how much damage I could dish out.
Yoo Chae's HP dropped by half. Considering the damage balance was set to 60%, that meant I had taken away half the HP of a DPS-class like Chain Blade. In a regular PVP match, that much damage would be enough to kill most DPS players.
Chiiing, KWAANG!
As soon as my turn ended, Yoo Chae swung his chain hard as if he'd been waiting for that moment. Hearing the deafening boom and seeing the floor crack beneath me, I panicked and dodged using an evasive skill.
"This crazy bastard."
Even though I dodged, I still lost some HP—probably because I was too close to the chain. I was hit with the stark realization of just how big the gap between us was.
Chaaaang! CHANG!
His chain didn't stop. It moved like a serpent, making it incredibly difficult to dodge. Since the match had started, Yoo Chae hadn't typed in chat even once—he just kept relentlessly attacking. His seriousness was obvious.
While struggling to evade him, I suddenly realized I'd strayed too far from the buffer and mage I was supposed to protect. Yoo Chae had been intentionally holding back just enough to let me dodge while waiting for the perfect moment to kill them.
'That sly bastard…'
I couldn't help but curse and admire him at the same time. Yoo Chae wasn't just mechanically skilled—he knew exactly how to manipulate the flow of the match in his favor.
Then I saw a chain flying toward ManaOORMan, who was mid-cast on Meteor. I immediately threw myself between them. Even if I died, I had to keep the mage alive. If Meteor got interrupted, the fight was over.
But then—someone completely unexpected took the hit from Yoo Chae.
[Team] ThisIsRahee: Ah
[All] Yoo Chae: lol
Rahee, who had been rotating buffs, suddenly lost a huge chunk of HP and was blasted backward. Then a second swing of the chain hit her, and she died instantly. The whole thing took less than a second.
'He killed the buffer instead of the mage?'
Why? I was certain he'd go for the mage who was casting his ultimate. Yoo Chae's move had completely defied expectations, and before I could recover from the surprise, the kill feed lit up.
Team B's LagLagLagging has been killed by Team A's TheHunter.
Team A's ThisIsRahee has been killed by Team B's Yoo Chae.
TheHunter, having taken down LagLagLagging, posted in chat with 30% HP left.
[All] TheHunter: Trash eliminated!
[All] LagLagLagging: Ugh ffs
[All] DrinkSomeWater: Wait
[All] DrinkSomeWater: You were supposed to kill OORMan, why the buffer?
At least it was a one-for-one exchange. With Rahee already dead, I could only step in between Yoo Chae and ManaOORMan using another evasive skill to protect the mage. As long as he was alive, we still had the upper hand.
Or so I thought.
Team A's ParkSeungjin99 has been killed by Team B's Mochabread.
[All] TheHunter: ?
[All] TheHunter: What are you doing, ParkSeungjin — —
[All] ParkSeungjin99: Summoners are seriously OP ;;
[All] Mochabread: LOL
[All] Mochabread: The turning point of the comeback?
[All] Haerun: The comeback's turning f*ckpoint~
[All] Haerun: Let's gooo lol
'...This is bad.'
What had been a favorable situation just tilted back against us with ParkSeungjin's death. And unlike us—who'd lost our buffer—the enemy still had both their tank and healer. The difference in recovery potential was massive.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]