The blade of the sabre cut through the wind.
Following the drawn sword path, sword energy trailed behind, leaving a long scar across the battlefield.
The small assassin darted through the space in between.

Her movements were light and delicate.
The strength that could slice through solid boulders was dismissed as nothing.
Even when there was barely a span of less than a hand, she showed no sign of agitation.

Rather, her cool gaze moved, as if she were waiting for an opportunity.
Those red eyes felt somewhat chilling.

‘She really isn’t taking a hit. Even the strong teams in international matches showed some humanity, I think.’

Nevertheless, she had gained time and distance.
No matter how good Ga-wol was, if the swordsman poured magic like this, it was hard to approach.
Even if this were the Fairywood Great Forest, such consumption would be unbearable.
How much longer can I endure this?

In exchange for sacrificing the future of this match… she had earned the time and distance needed.
Such an opportunity wouldn’t come around again.

Donghae's mind gradually settled.

The surrounding time slowed down, and unnecessary things sank into darkness.
At last, in the moment when sound even fell asleep,
his senses began to solely track Ga-wol’s movements.

‘It’s a pity I can’t show what I prepared…’

Now there were no options left.
If not today, then tomorrow, they said.
The problem was that he could always grow his skills and challenge again.

The opponent is Ga-wol.
A person who handles the sword to the level of being incomprehensible.
He’s a monstrous swordsman who never once jumped in his fight against Cerberus.

Should he have taken this fact more seriously?
The very act of making a half-hearted sword strike against such an opponent was a horrifying arrogance.
At the very least, he shouldn’t have come out as a swordsman.

If he was going to try anything… he would have to borrow the power of the system.

[You receive the effect of ‘Sheathe Sword’.]
[You gain a shield that absorbs damage for 2.5 seconds and partially recover your guard gauge.]
[You can use the unsheathing skill.]

Strictly speaking, the pure swordsmanship that Ga-wol showcased is not the mainstream build of the swordsman class.

On the contrary.
Such a thing would be the realm of a tiny number of eccentrics who refuse the system’s corrections, akin to heroes.
It’s something only geniuses, who are confident enough to deflect both magic and arrows with a single sword, can do.

Thus, the current mainstream build for swordsmen must mix unsheathing and sheathing.
The basic structure involves gaining attack power from parrying bonuses while securing a shield with sheathing.
At the same time, the powerful finishing move of unsheathing creates variables in the build.

The power of unsheathing is among the most notable in the entire realm of invisibility.
When evaluating swordsmen, if one mentions high ‘combat strength’ or ‘high peak’, it is almost always referring to unsheathing.

[Active: Unsheathing]
[Gather your energy to draw your sword. The damage is amplified based on charging time and accuracy of the sword path.]

Soon, it would be time for Father’s area-of-effect attack to fall.

The Cradle of the Fallen doesn’t just proceed without any forethought.
Strong enough attacks that could discuss death won’t come until later.
Initially, a series of warning attacks occur to provide sufficient warnings.

In short, it’s acceptable to take one or two hits.

Father's magical bombardment passed through.
Donghae was hit by a few spells, causing his shield to shatter and his health to drop.
At the same time, a dense explosion rose up, obscuring his vision.

Now was the time of opportunity.
In the rising dust, a silhouette faintly appeared.

Could it be a clone? No. If it were an ordinary clone, it wouldn’t leave behind a shadow.
There was no reason or time to ponder.
Donghae's sword was fiercely drawn.

Then, his eyes widened.

‘Did I hit?’

Indeed, the shadow of the sword was split horizontally.
It seemed his sword had truly landed a hit.

“Donghae’s gamble! The swordsman’s trump card targets Ga-wol!”

The drawn sword created a massive pressure wave.
The atmosphere tore, and the wind let out a silent scream.
The air returned to the emptied space as the dust began to clear.

The current broadcast screen was following Donghae’s line of sight.
Due to the thick smoke, the precise situation could not be confirmed.
However, the commentators and even the viewers didn’t miss the sight of the black silhouette being split in half.

“Just now, didn’t the shadow clearly fall within range?”
“Yes. It seems to have hit accurately. Considering the assassin's health, it should have been a critical hit.”
“A significant upset in a match that was flowing unilaterally! It seems Donghae’s gamble has succeeded.”

That sight made it look like Ga-wol, who was obscured from view, couldn’t react properly.
The commentary cautiously began.

“It was a necessary decision. The situation was far too unfavorable.”
“In close combat, Donghae was being pushed back, and in a situation facing the battlefield gimmick, only Ga-wol could take the initiative.”
“Whether to evade to the safe zone or to keep trying to trip him up in the battlefield. Donghae couldn’t choose. It must have been quite unwelcome.”
“Rather, by risking death as he did now, he was able to fight in an equal state, even if temporarily.”

But not yet.
If Ga-wol had died, the system message would have announced the next player’s entry.
The only silence flowing signifies the enemy is still alive, and Ga-wol isn’t the type to give up until death.

Just because a hit was landed doesn’t mean the skill gap has diminished.
Still, it feels much lighter now.

If Ga-wol had truly taken a fatal wound, the next player would finish him off.
Based on the winner-takes-all, the situation was still unfavorable.
But it hadn’t plunged to a level of being completely hopeless.

As the dust cleared, the appearance of the battlefield was revealed once more.
The first thing that caught sight was the black fabric of a cloak.
It was undoubtedly Ga-wol’s attire.

The cleanly cut evidence was proof that his sword had landed a hit.
Donghae’s expression brightened for a moment before it fell again.
There was no blood on the cut clothes.

“Ah…”
“Indeed, it’s not easy, is it, Ga-wol?”

The commentators sighed in unison.
At that moment, chains descended from the sky, smashing down on Donghae’s shoulders.

He was already in a state of critical health.
Having maintained the charge earlier, he was already brought to the brink of death.
Donghae’s demise was drawing closer.

With his magic exhausted, he had no expectations for victory.
But it was undeniable that he felt resentment.

‘Isn’t this a bit much?’

Reappearing, Ga-wol was now in a state where she had removed her cloak.
True to the stimulating assassin costume, her figure and exposure were quite accentuated.
I heard she has that body in reality too… it felt a little provocative.

Anyway.
A hollow laugh escaped involuntarily.

Though her clothes were torn, there was no blood flowing.
It wasn’t hard to guess what shadow she had cut.
If he had been a bit calmer, he might have noticed, but his impatience was probably his poison.

Moreover, a chilling sound echoed.
It was a sound more fearsome than anything in this world.
The source of the sound was neither the blade that had cut through the wind nor the dagger wielded by Ga-wol.

It was the sound of metal grinding against metal.
The sound of chains scraping across the ground.
It was the moment Ga-wol revealed the cards she had been hiding.

In this match.
Ga-wol had never exerted her full strength.
Her eyes were already looking beyond herself to the next.

“Dear viewers, for the first time in IKL history, an assassin with a chain scythe build has appeared!”
“She didn’t show the moon buff at all; it seems she was conscious of the next player.”
“This puts a lot of pressure on Igor. There’s no time to modify his build.”
“Ga-wol hasn’t consumed many skills so far. Could she… be aiming for an all-kill?”

“Ugh…”

In the end, the all-kill failed.

In a winner-takes-all match, four players is the smallest number.
Thinking it was a good opportunity, he challenged, but by the point of getting 3 kills, his body had already become ragged.
For him, it was a result filled with regret.

Starting against the swordsman was good.
After all, the weapon I read the most easily was the sword.
Especially the swordsman based on a longsword was like tasty prey.

Moreover, with unsheathing.
Relying on such oddities was why his skill didn’t improve.

If he hadn’t gone with the chain scythe build, he would have simply died head-on.
To reduce consumption, he had to take a longer route.
Given the sheer amount of damage… that build wouldn’t absorb it all.

“Did you want to try that? All-kill.”
“Yes. It’s a great record. No one has done it until now.”
“I think three kills is impressive.”
“Next time, it probably won’t happen. The situation was just right.”

This time, he was quite lucky.

A special battlefield that had only recently been integrated. Then there was the lead swordsman.
He even utilized the forgotten surprise of the chain scythe.
In a winner-takes-all where countering matchups was severe, the result of successfully deceiving the second player was three kills.

Who knows if the same result will happen next time.
Certainly, the atmosphere in the first string’s winner-takes-all is quite different.
This isn’t a game where I can just avoid getting hit.

While I was still mulling it over, Elderin smiled softly.

“But Daeun.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t move too much; it’s hard on your sister.”
“Oh. It’s fine to stop now.”

Monthly menstrual cramps.
I was lying on Elderin's legs, rubbing my stomach.
How did it come to this?