As soon as the Resurrection Zone opened, Sangdanghan charged straight at me, who was standing in the front.
He was fast, but not so fast that I couldn't react. I was about to use an evasion skill, but before I could, Yuchae stepped in front of me and deflected Sangdanghan's skill with a counter.
"Hyung, let's go."
Nice timing. I gratefully accepted Yuchae's help and dashed past Sangdanghan toward the opposite side, where the Fever guild members were gathered.
The Chojunyeok guild has earned 10 points!
The Chojunyeok guild has earned 10 points!
The Fever guild has earned 10 points!
The Chojunyeok guild has earned 10 points!
With nearly 80 players clashing in one place, the surroundings quickly turned into chaos. Amid the frantic melee, locating a single character was much harder than expected.
Fortunately, Muljom and Ssesese spotted the newbie before I did and gave me their location.
"One o'clock direction! But they just disappeared."
"Now at three o'clock."
"On my way."
I immediately turned my screen and moved toward the three o'clock direction Ssesese had mentioned. Using evasion skills generously, I arrived as fast as I could, and the nickname I was searching for came into view.
'MelodyCode. That's the one.'
The male character with deep navy-blue hair was vigorously swinging a staff embedded with a blue gem—the one I had been looking for. I'd heard the Fever guild had upgraded it, and indeed, it sparkled more brightly than the last time I saw it.
Just then, the guild member fighting MelodyCode died, leaving the spot vacant. I deliberately used a D-skill to make my presence known.
[All] MelodyCode: ??
Seeing a magic field appear beneath him, MelodyCode reflexively used an evasion skill and typed in all-chat. I ignored it and launched into my basic combo.
He had just used his evasion skill, so he couldn't dodge my bind skill. As expected, he was caught in the bind and hit by the follow-up combo, instantly dropping his HP to 10%.
Still, he wasn't a bad player—he managed to dodge my final W-skill with manual control. Though surprised by my sudden assault, MelodyCode quickly regained his composure and retaliated with a D-skill. Watching that, I thought dryly:
'How predictable.'
He was trying to slow me with a field and then use either a bind or attack skill.
So, my reaction split into two possibilities. If it was a bind, I'd dodge with an evasion skill. If it was an attack, I'd dodge manually.
MelodyCode raised his staff in my direction. That was the motion for the R-skill, an attack skill. Predicting his targeting angle and line of sight, I dodged to the right—and sure enough, the skill was fired to the left.
As I easily avoided the attack, he suddenly used a bind skill. But I had anticipated that too. Right after dodging right, I used an evasion skill and avoided the bind as well. The entire exchange took less than two seconds.
In a Dark Mage vs. Dark Mage fight, the most important thing was the bind skill. It wasn't an exaggeration to say whoever landed the bind first would win.
'Which means…'
Since I avoided MelodyCode's bind, I clearly had the upper hand. He must've realized that too, as he didn't even try to dodge my Q-skill and took it head-on. His HP was low anyway, so he probably decided it was better to die and respawn.
The Chojunyeok guild has earned 10 points!
As MelodyCode died, our gauge filled a little more. Still not halfway, but we weren't in a relaxed situation.
"I killed him, but I didn't get the staff. From now on, I'll just focus on killing MelodyCode."
"We'll follow you."
Muljom came closer and responded. Since Yuchae couldn't reach me due to Sangdanghan and the Fever guild blocking the way, I headed for the enemy resurrection zone with Muljom, Ssesese, and Haeren instead.
We cleared out the players blocking our way and reached the Resurrection Zone just in time to see MelodyCode respawn and step out. Upon seeing me, he hesitated for a moment before hurriedly raising his staff.
But it was no use. The skill gap between us was too great—MelodyCode had no chance of winning. And to make matters worse for him, my teammates holding off the Fever guild members were Pure Tank Muljom and Healer Haeren.
'Even if his weapon's better than mine, with this much of a gap in skill, there's no way he wins.'
MelodyCode, at full HP, seemed to steel himself upon seeing me at about 80%. He made the first move. Once again, he didn't recklessly use his bind skill—but it didn't matter.
If neither of us used a bind, then all we had were non-targeted skills, which meant it came down to control. From our earlier exchange, I had already gauged MelodyCode's entire skill level. I dodged his attacks mechanically.
'He has a habit of firing skills to the left. He can't combine skill use with movement. Doesn't seem to know which skills to prioritize either.'
This kind of PvP skill-based game inevitably brings out a player's habits. And habits always show in individual play.
MelodyCode wasn't a bad player—he was actually decent. If this were Hiore instead of Zenoris, he'd be a solid Platinum, maybe even Diamond-tier with some luck.
But in the end, it just means—he still can't beat me.
Even though neither of us used bind skills and just kept spamming non-targeted skills, the HP gap kept growing. MelodyCode, who had started with full HP, kept getting hit by my skills until he was down to 30%. Maybe he'd lost his composure—he started making more and more mistakes.
As soon as I saw him cornered and forced to use his evasion skill, I used the bind skill I'd been saving. MelodyCode's character collapsed after taking my E-W-Q combo. Unfortunately, the staff still didn't drop.
[All] MelodyCode: ;
Having been killed by the same person twice, MelodyCode sent a single sweat emoji before returning to the resurrection zone. I took the chance to check the time. About two minutes had passed—not bad.
After regaining some HP thanks to Haeren's AoE healing skill, MelodyCode reappeared just outside the resurrection zone. This time, the distance between us was much shorter. I approached him leisurely, almost like going for a stroll. The moment he saw me for the third time, MelodyCode quickly typed in chat.
[All] MelodyCode: ?
[All] MelodyCode: What is this?
There was no need to answer. I immediately used my E-skill, and before he could react, MelodyCode was bound again. After getting hit by the full combo, he fell for the third time. It took 30 seconds less than last time—just 1 minute and 30 seconds.
[All] MelodyCode: ????
Leaving behind a mess of question marks, MelodyCode disappeared into the resurrection zone once again. About a minute later, he crept back out.
He was probably waiting for me to leave before coming out… but unfortunately for him, my sole objective was MelodyCode, so I had no reason to go anywhere. When we locked eyes again, he finally couldn't take it anymore and tried talking to me.
[All] MelodyCode: Hey
[All] MelodyCode: Why are you doing this;;
Of course, I didn't respond. Actually, the more I talked in chat, the more likely others would notice I was specifically targeting MelodyCode over and over. It was better to just ignore him and keep killing.
When I silently launched another skill, MelodyCode didn't just stand there like before. Maybe he was annoyed now—he looked more focused on the fight. But even then, he didn't last two minutes before dying again.
After dying and respawning a couple more times, MelodyCode finally snapped and sent me a whisper.
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Excuse me
[Whisper] MelodyCode: ffs this is pissing me the hell off
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Can you at least tell me why you're doing this
Didn't they say he had a good personality?
I scratched my cheek, recalling what Soodal said over Discord. Well… even a guy with a good personality would probably start cussing at this point.
Still, whether he whispered or not, it changed nothing. If I mentioned the staff and he decided to unequip it, this entire plan would go to waste.
Besides, the gauge had already passed 60%. Since a large-scale battle had broken out near the main gate, the gauge was rising faster than expected. All in all, the situation was getting tighter than I'd planned.
I ignored his whispers and moved to kill him again—but then MelodyCode sent another message.
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Hey
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Are you camping me hoping for the item to drop?
Damn. Not only is he decent at the game, he's got sharp instincts. I clicked my tongue and started typing.
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: Just practicing since you're another Dark Mage lol
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Cut the BS lol
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Your gear's trash af what are you even saying lmao;;
"..."
I looked over my character. The gray robe I wore looked like rags, and my staff—plain brown with no adornments—looked more like a dry tree branch than a weapon.
Okay… yeah, it was trash. Unlike my brittle-looking staff, MelodyCode's staff sparkled with a shining blue gem.
That realization made me suddenly annoyed. That's supposed to be mine.
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: So what if your gear's better
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: You keep dying to a guy with trash gear
[Whisper] MelodyCode: I admit you're better than me
[Whisper] MelodyCode: But that's not what I wanted to say
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Do you… want this staff?
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: ??
[Whisper] MelodyCode: I'll drop it
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Do you want it or not?
His offer was so unexpected that instead of feeling excited, I felt more unsettled. My brows furrowed instinctively.
What the hell… why does it sound like he's trying to get rid of some trash?
Now that I thought about it, hadn't he said earlier that the staff was forcibly given to him by Sangdanghan?
Still, no matter the circumstances, does it make any sense to just toss such an expensive weapon to a stranger he just met?
A trap? Or not?
Either way, I needed more information to be sure.
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: nah
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: if you go back on your word, who's the one that'll get flamed? Not me, right?
[Whisper] MelodyCode: lmao what
[Whisper] MelodyCode: You scared?
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: I could just keep killing you
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: and wait for the drop myself lol
[Whisper] MelodyCode: ;;
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Picking up drops during prelims is unsportsmanlike, you know
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: Yeah I'm an unsportsmanlike player
At this point, chatting felt like a waste of time. I decided to just keep doing what I'd been doing—killing him.
As I launched another skill and hit him squarely again, MelodyCode quickly resumed whispering, sounding more desperate.
[Whisper] MelodyCode: ah f**k
[Whisper] MelodyCode: wait
[Whisper] MelodyCode: I still have something to say
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: What is it
[Whisper] MelodyCode: I'll drop the staff when I die
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Just take it and be done with it
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Fever's going to win anyway
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: ? lol
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: Why do you think Fever's going to win?
[Whisper] MelodyCode: You guys don't even know what's happening here
[Whisper] MelodyCode: It's already too late. I'm sure—Fever's winning this.
Reading that, I felt a strange and unshakable sense of unease.
It didn't feel like he was bluffing. There was something too confident, too calm, in the way he said it—it seriously rubbed me the wrong way.
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: What's happening exactly?
[Whisper] MelodyCode: You want the staff or not?
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: I'll take care of that later
[Whisper] JeoJollyeoYo: Tell me—what is Fever doing?
[Whisper] MelodyCode: You guys…
[Whisper] MelodyCode: Have you checked where our El-Mages are?
El-Mages? Elemental Mages?
Why bring them up now…?
...Wait, no way.
The West Gate—a place filled with narrow alleys.
A massive group—forty players.
The Elemental Mages of Fever—completely off the radar.
The conclusion hit me like a flash of lightning, and I shouted urgently.
"Kim Yuchae!"
"H-Huh? Y-Yeah!?"
Yuchae, startled by my sudden call, gasped and answered in a trembling voice.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]