[Title]  
Arena Balance is Broken (+514)

[Content]  
Isn't the ranged class way too overpowered in 1:1 PvP?  
Just look at the top 100 rankings:  
- 36 mages,  
- 23 onmyojis,  
- 18 spirit masters.  
The only ones somewhat keeping up are hybrid rangers and tanky warriors, but their numbers are still low.  
Why are there less than 10 swordsmen and martial artists? LOL.

[Comments]  
- Arena flattens gear specs, so yeah, the balance is really obvious here.  
- Maybe there aren’t that many good swordmasters? They do have invincibility frames and counters that are better than other classes.  
- Isn’t Deathmaster, a martial artist, ranked #1 in the arena right now? It’s just that you’re bad~  
- If they held an arena tournament, I bet there’d be plenty of melee classes in the top rankings. The top 10 class distribution is pretty balanced.  
- Since it’s a VR game with synchronization limits, melee classes tend to be at a disadvantage. Ranged classes can time their invincible skills and shoot from afar, making them less reliant on physical skills. Melee classes need good physical skills, but not all top players choose melee classes.  
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- I’m a spirit master ranked near the top 100, and I got wrecked by a swordmaster yesterday; couldn’t land a single hit. Honestly, a skilled swordmaster is totally OP.  
    - Maybe you just suck? How do you not land a single hit?  
    - (OP reply) No, no, I have over an 80% win rate against swordmasters. But this one was something else. Dodged all my attacks, closed in instantly, and landed a full combo.  
    - Is it this player? [*** Rain], ranked 96th, swordmaster. There’s only one swordmaster around the top 100.  
    - 100% win rate? What’s that about? 18 wins, 0 losses? If they have no losses, they aren’t losing any points and are likely benefiting from win streak bonuses. Must’ve climbed fast.  
    - Even if their first three matches were against newbies, by the fourth, they’d be up against higher-ranked players, right? How do they win 18 straight?  
    - (OP reply) Arena fields don’t show usernames, and voices aren’t transmitted, so I don’t know who they are. But their character was small, white, and cute.  
    - Oh, that’s Chris’s little swordmaster. Got famous in the bus raiding scene for being a top-tier player.  
    - LOL, so their name is Rain? Thanks for the info!  
    - What are you thinking? You know you can’t friend request someone without their full name.  
    - Haven’t seen them around the fortress or heard about them running buses recently. I thought they quit the game, but I guess not.

*Whirrr…*

The scenery around me changed, and I found myself in the rocky mountain field near the "Demon Army Outpost."

It was a field with plenty of terrain to hide behind, perfect for a swordmaster like me.

A short distance away, I spotted a human mage wearing a black robe. 

This was my opponent for the last match of the day.

*Tatatat!*

Without hesitation, I started moving swiftly between the large rocks scattered around the area.

At this range, the mage’s spells couldn’t reach me, but since the terrain favored melee classes, I had to use every bit of cover available to approach unnoticed.

*Taat!*

The mage, clearly skilled in the arena, was quick to relocate. He moved to a spot with less cover, watching my movements as he prepared his spells.

Though there were still a few rocks around, all of them were barely within the mage's attack range. To close the gap, I’d have to endure a few attacks head-on.

I could use a gap-closing skill to get closer quickly, but the movement is in a straight line, without invincibility frames, and it can’t be canceled. Using it recklessly would turn me into a sitting duck, easily stunned or burned by the mage.

*Tsk.*

I weaved back and forth to confuse his aim, taking cover behind the rock closest to the mage.

If I stepped out from behind the rock, I’d immediately be within range of his spells.

There was no time to overthink it. I had to get close enough to land a hit.

*Tatatatat!*

The moment I stepped out from behind the rock, I charged directly at the mage.

*Pop! Pop!*

In an instant, the mage fired ice and fireballs at me.

It was safest to dodge them one by one as I advanced.

I dodged the ice by twisting my head and avoided the fireball by turning my body. The mage’s casting speed was fast, but the projectiles flew in straight lines, making them easy to avoid.

*Fwoosh.*

The mage spread his arms, causing his robe to flutter. He was preparing a powerful spell.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Suddenly, three massive projectiles filled my view, hurtling toward me.

One aimed directly at me, while the other two were slightly off-center, boxing me in with no space to escape.

In that brief moment, I analyzed which spells to block and which to dodge.

The ice dragon to my left could be blocked, but if I let it explode, my feet would freeze in place.

The fireball on my right couldn’t be blocked; it would burn me and inflict massive damage.

The giant fireball in the center looked the most threatening, but it could be blocked.

The mage was smart. He fired his most dangerous-looking spell straight at me, hoping I’d dodge into the other projectiles.

I stopped in my tracks and raised my guard.

*Crash!*

A loud explosion shook the ground, lifting me slightly, but I blocked it perfectly.

I was now much closer to the mage.

Having used his most powerful skills, all with long cooldowns, the mage had no choice but to retreat.

At this point, I turned my back on him without hesitation.

This skill would close the remaining 8 meters in an instant.

[Backward Evasion (B)]
[Quickly leap 8m backward to evade front-facing attacks (grants invincibility during cast). Cooldown: 8 seconds.]
[(E-rank) Movement speed increases for 5 seconds after using the skill.]
[(B-rank) Automatically transitions into ‘Drawing Stance’ after skill use.]

*Pop! Pop!*

Dodging the ice and fireballs brushing past me, I found myself right next to the mage.

I flashed him a grin. His expression twisted in frustration.

*Tatat!*

He immediately used his own backward evasion, trying to create more distance.

But with his strongest spells on cooldown, there was nothing he could do to stop me from closing in.

*Swish!*

The mage barely managed to evade, but my skill landed me directly in his path again.

Even though he had used a defensive maneuver, he couldn’t escape. As soon as my sword, imbued with starlight, touched him...

*Crack.*

His body froze. I had successfully landed my ‘Frozen Prison’ skill. As the ice shattered, flames engulfed his body—his personal invincibility skill.

*Clang!*

While the mage regained his footing, he immediately cast an ice barrier to block my sword.

Desperately using every invincibility skill and defensive move he had, the mage was trying to escape my reach.

*Pop! Pop! Pop!*

But in close combat, it was nearly impossible for a mage to handle a swordmaster. My blade relentlessly chased him down, and his HP dropped rapidly.

*Swish!*

*Clang!*

Dodging his clumsy ice blade strike by lowering my body, I swept my leg under him and tripped him up while staying low.

"!"

The mage’s stance broke, and as his panicked expression showed, a single beam of light cut through him.

*Flash!*

My sword sliced through the mage’s body, depleting his remaining HP.

*Whirrr!*

His body glowed brightly before disappearing from the field.

[Victory!]
[Daily Quest: ‘Win 3 Arena Matches’ (3/3 complete).]

I spun in place and flashed a victory sign toward the sky.

A perfect finish with *One Slash*. Well done, Rain.

Another daily quest completed in the arena!

The mage had more options to deal with me. He just panicked and didn’t use his ‘Tower of Training’ skill. I had already planned for how to handle him if we reset the distance.

Smiling to myself, I checked the magic stones I earned from the daily quest.

I wasn’t too fond of PvP content offering enhancement items as rewards, but I understood the developers’ desire to motivate PvP players.

1:1 PvP in the arena.

At first, I didn’t like it since getting attacked by other players could be stressful, but after discovering the ‘Surrender’ system, I didn’t mind doing daily quests in the arena.

If I felt like I’d get hurt, I could always surrender and exit the PvP field. Thankfully, I hadn’t needed to do that yet.

In any case, I wasn’t interested in PvP. I just needed to win the three matches for the daily quest.

Now that the quest was done, it was time to move on to the next adventure—completing sub-quests and exploring regular dungeons.

*Whirrr.*

I exited the arena field and found myself in the middle of *Verbe

ia Plains*.

This was the last region of the plains, leading to *Silva Plains*, the next adventure zone.

The journey for players starting in the central regions of the continent was gradually moving northward. The next area would be a snowy, cold region.

Whether it was because we were in the northern part of the continent or because winter was approaching in *Astra*, the temperature in the plains was a bit chilly.

*Whoooosh!*

Strong winds from the north swept across the plain, creating waves of green in the grass.

I fastened my coat to keep the cold out.

This part really reminds me that I’m in a game. The coat is so thin, yet it keeps me warm.

I grumbled lightly.

"I miss Chris."

Chris hadn’t logged in much lately. She said she had to catch up on her company work after taking care of Seulbi. But she still always made time for breakfast with Seulbi.

She needed to level up soon, too.

Seulbi’s health issues were slowing down Chris’s progress.

As the skilled swordmaster employed by Chris, it was my duty to help power-level her.

Alright, today I’ll find a field or regular dungeon where I can earn some good experience.