Nearly half a day had passed since the event began.
By now, almost half of the participants had already been eliminated.
Those who had fallen gathered around the central plaza of the main city, their eyes fixed on the live broadcast projected high above the square.
Among the dozens of floating screens, one stood out.
It had been enlarged to the maximum, dominating the airspace, its popularity far surpassing the rest, ensuring that everyone was watching the same scene.
And the moment the crowd saw what was happening on that screen, they froze.
"Isn't that… Payne? The guy everyone calls the strongest player?"
"And that red one... Flame Emperor? She runs a major guild, right? Even among pros, she's top-tier!"
"Why are those two working together? Teaming is forbidden in this event!"
"No, look closer. I don't think this is intentional."
"…You mean they're being forced to cooperate?"
"That's impossible. Who could force those two into teaming up?"
"Then who the hell are they fighting? Does anyone recognize him?"
Almost everyone's attention was locked onto the white-clad figure standing opposite the two strongest players.
Then, suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted.
"That guy, he's Blank..."
The battle had been so intense that most people hadn't even noticed the ID hovering above his head. "Blank? As in that Blank?"
"Even Payne can't suppress him on his own? That's insane!"
"Wait, does this count as illegal teaming?"
"Looking at it like this, isn't Blank the unlucky one? He's getting targeted by two monsters at once."
"You guys have no idea how terrifying that man really is."
"Blank isn't human. He's like a final boss"
"Hah, did you get one-shot by him too? Don't worry, man. Payne will avenge us."
"…You don't get it. I think even Payne..."
The voice trailed off.
Among the crowd, an assassin-class player who had personally crossed blades with Blank stared at the screen in silence. Watching the indifferent reactions around him, bitterness welled up in his chest.
He couldn't put into words what it felt like to face Blank directly.
It was suffocating.
Like staring down a loaded gun and realizing there was no cover.
Blank's strength was simply too terrifying. It wasn't just about his character's attributes or skills, but the combat techniques forged through pure instinct and countless battles. I was an Assassin known for speed, yet when I launched my sneak attack, that guy—who should have invested everything into raw attack power—relied solely on subtle shifts and precise movements, barely stepping away from his original position, to fight me within that tiny circular space.
In just a few short seconds, every skill I had accumulated throughout my entire career as a player was pushed to its absolute limit. One single mistake would have meant death. This was the first time I had ever truly feared dying in a game. The sensation was overwhelming, as if fighting him would result in real death rather than a simple defeat.
Everything he did spread like a plague across the battlefield, affecting everyone who crossed blades with him.
No one could turn their back on him and escape.
Meanwhile, the images on the massive screen began to shift.
"That's Dread!"
The audience erupted.
A top contender for the championship, Dread was recognized as the strongest Assassin in the game.
At some unknown moment, he had already slipped into the vicinity of Payne's battlefield, activating Stealth and vanishing from sight.
Hidden within the bushes, his body merged with the environment, his cold, predatory gaze locking onto the three figures fighting in the arena as he silently calculated the perfect moment to strike. Payne raised his Holy Sword before his chest, his expression turning grim as a chill crept down his spine... Blank had not used a single skill from start to finish, relying solely on positioning, timing, and frighteningly precise swordsmanship.
Then the battlefield slowed.
Dread moved soundless... each step refined through countless assassinations as he closed in from behind.
Five yards.
Four.
Three.
The air itself seemed to tighten, the spectators unconsciously holding their breath. Just as Dread prepared to strike, a sharp gust of wind swept across the 'arena' where the battle was happening, and at that very instant, Arthur's eyes shifted. Not his head or body.
Only his eyes, sliding to the side and locking onto the exact spot where Dread stood hidden. His lips moved, barely forming a whisper.
"Found you."
The next moment, Arthur exploded into motion. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he pivoted, the longsword in his hand flashing like thunder as it cut straight toward his rear.
"Assassination!" The skill of Dread activated at the same time, a dagger lunging forward to meet the strike, and the collision erupted with a violent clang that sent a shockwave through the arena. Arthur held nothing back, STR was not merely an attack stat but raw, overwhelming physical force.
While Assassins and Thieves, built around Agility and Dexterity, possessed bodies far too fragile to withstand a direct clash.
The instant their weapons met, resistance became meaningless. Dread's body was blasted away like a broken doll, slamming into a distant tree trunk dozens of meters away before crashing to the ground.
Before he could even comprehend what had happened, his vision dimmed, his health bar dropping straight to zero as a four-digit damage number burned itself into his system panel. Dread stared at it in disbelief...
"What the hell… is this?"
Amidst those meaningless complaints, the strongest Assassin who had abruptly entered the battlefield exited just as quietly. The players were still immersed in the thrilling clash from moments ago, unable to comprehend what they had witnessed. While Blank was locked in a direct standoff with Payne, how had he possibly discovered the Assassin lurking behind him?
The answer lay in that fleeting gust of wind.
The instant it swept across the battlefield, Arthur's [Breath Perception Lv.3] reacted. At a specific point behind him, the flow of air was disrupted... as if something roughly the height of a person were standing there, blocking its path. Arthur remembered clearly: within at least a five-meter radius behind him, there were no trees, no obstacles, nothing that should have interfered with the wind. Yet the airflow split, curved around that invisible presence, and collided again, creating a faint but unmistakable turbulence.
Someone was there.
An Assassin.
Without hesitation and conscious thought, Arthur trusted his instincts. In that single instant, he activated 'My Style Swordsmanship' and unleashed his strongest basic strike straight to his rear.
The outcome was absolute.
Instant kill.
"Then..."
Payne looked at the figure before him, the one who had just slain one of the strongest Assassins in the game, and when their eyes met, he thought he saw a faint flame burning within those blue irises. Arthur flicked the longsword in his hand, as if brushing away blood that was never there, and spoke at last. His voice did not waver in the slightest; it was calm, devoid of excitement or hostility, as though he were merely stating an obvious fact.
"...This ends here."
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What did you think of the way the battle was written? Was it exciting enough? If there's anything you felt was missing or found "out of place," let me know in the comments. As long as it's constructive criticism, I'm open to hearing it.