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The second match was a six-person annihilation battle in the Pilgrim's Desert.
The vast battlefield had no distinct side paths. It was difficult to predict the assassin’s entry points, and with the vastness of the terrain, many variables could arise.
For our team, we deployed ‘Rika’ as a ranger. Together with the sniper, our focus was on keeping the enemy mage in check.
Since we were in a slightly more favorable position, the result was more one-sided than the previous match. With support from the two ranged dealers, I assassinated Azure and ended the game by striking at the heart of the enemy team.
Thus, the toughest match against Galaxy Gaming concluded with a 2:0 victory.
The remaining matches went relatively smoothly, and our team's momentum remained sharp. Across the entire league, 10 teams had a total of 45 matches. After each team had played once, the first round came to an end. Sigma solidified its top spot with no match defeats.
Daily eSports News
By the halfway point of the regular league, there was a one-week break after the first round to prepare for the second round. For the players, it was time to rest from the grueling schedule and organize data from the previous matches.
What was most important was that a patch from the game developers was going to be implemented. However, no major updates are introduced during the league; only balance patches are applied when urgent.
These kinds of patches are typically scheduled around the conclusion of a round or after a tournament ends. The competition schedule was originally arranged with the timing of large patches in mind.
So, we couldn’t afford to just relax. The season wasn’t over yet. Efforts don’t always bear fruit, but laziness inevitably robs you of opportunities.
At lunchtime, after morning practice, Luche was chewing on a salad across from me. I popped a small cherry tomato into my mouth, its tangy juice refreshing me.
“Do you think the Guardian is any good?”
“It’s better than before. It's not at the level where it's completely useless anymore.”
“Really? Your evaluation’s a bit vague.”
“It doesn’t seem like it would fit well with our team. We’re a team that’s strong in close combat, after all. Its usage is very limited.”
In this patch, non-meta classes received significant buffs. It wasn’t a drastic change that would immediately shift the meta, though. Classes that hadn’t been picked in a while tend to have structural issues beyond just performance, and the in-game balance doesn't easily fix such problems.
The developers’ approach, looking at their patches, was rather obvious: there would never be a flawless, all-powerful class in this game.
The critical weaknesses remained, but the patches helped to bring out the strengths. Now, there were more potential cards that could be played depending on the opponent’s composition, playstyle, battlefield, and rules.
Would players have to identify all these factors? Of course not. There’s no need to be obsessive about it. That’s why coaches, analysts, and team managers exist—to alleviate such burdens.
For now, I was just casually revisiting the changes with Luche, trying not to overthink it. As long as we focused on practicing the basics, we’d be fine.
“Shall we take a look right after lunch?”
“Sure.”
As I fired up my enthusiasm, Hekate looked a bit apprehensive.
Who had I killed the most in the game? Honestly, I couldn’t remember well.
I’d always focused on PvP gameplay. I hadn’t kept track, but I was certain I’d killed more players than I’d eaten meals.
The advantage of being a freelancer was that you could control your workload. In other words, as long as I could get work, I could keep going indefinitely.
So, it was a tough question to answer. There were a few names that came to mind, but since I didn’t have exact counts, I couldn’t say for sure. However, if I added the qualifier "in the past few months," I could give a precise answer.
Recently, the person I’d killed the most was Hekate.
Every Sigma player had faced off against me in one way or another. But the coach and manager both agreed that survivability was Hekate’s biggest flaw. She had always struggled more than others.
So, sooner or later, something like this was bound to happen.
“I can't take it anymore!”
Hekate, revived, shouted with a face that looked like she was about to cry.
“This is too much! Every time I fight you, the mages die, the battle priest dies, and the inquisitor dies, and I have to somehow survive that?!”
“Hmm...”
“I don't need a response! I already know! Playing against you makes me feel like I’m getting better. Honestly, I find other assassins much easier to handle now. So, I didn’t mention it before, but…!”
Her arms flailed up and down in frustration. The priestess’s staff made a clinking sound as it tapped against the ground.
“You need to understand what it’s like to live a life where all you do is take hits! Isn’t it okay to go a little easier on me?”
“Well… I can somewhat understand. As a professional, I’ve learned a lot, but you know, mental state isn’t always rational.”
“Of course, it doesn’t hurt me as much as you. I held back because I didn’t want to look like I was whining. But after a while, just getting hit over and over makes me feel disillusioned!”
Outlaw, who had been listening from the side, chipped in. He was the second most frequent victim after Hekate.
Now that I heard it, it did seem reasonable. I had thought she was tough enough to handle it and assumed time would heal things. But perhaps that was a bit naive.
When I was a player, there was only one person who would practice with me—my friend. That’s probably why I didn’t have anyone left I could call a friend.
Had I gone too far?
Should I accept her request to train differently for a while? The path to my goal would get longer, but my mind was racing with these thoughts.
“...So, what should I do?”
“I’ll continue training. I have my pride as a pro. I won’t make excuses. But there’s one thing we have to clear up first.”
“Alright. Go ahead.”
“Put yourself in my shoes! When I was an amateur, I used to play as an assassin! I may not be as good as you, but I wasn’t useless either. So today, let’s see how it feels to be on the other side!”
Fortunately, Hekate’s resolve wasn’t weak. If she was satisfied with that, I had no reason to refuse. A grin spread across my face.
“Alright. But if the results aren’t what you expect, no complaints, okay?”
“Of course! If I lose to a priestess with an assassin, I won’t say a word!”
“Outlaw, you too. Let’s settle this now.”
“Yes, let’s do it.”
[Training Mode]
[Battlefield: Shadow Hall]
[Rules: Duel]
[vs Sigma Hekate (Assassin)]
It seemed like luck was on Hekate’s side today. The random battlefield selection turned out to be Shadow Hall. For an assassin, it was practically their home turf.
The only light in the arena came from torches hanging on the walls. If all the torches went out, the arena would become complete darkness, with the torches lighting up unpredictably. It would become hard to track an assassin’s position.
Additionally, it was the assassin’s privilege to ambush the enemy once they spotted them. It wouldn’t be long before Hekate found me and launched an attack.
‘Since I’m changing weapons, it feels a bit awkward.’
It had been a while since I’d used anything other than a dagger. The training gear I had on, including the priestess robes, and the priestess’s unique staff, felt unfamiliar. The sound of the bell-like noise coming from the end of the scepter was particularly odd.
For an assassin, decorative noises like this were nothing but a hindrance.
Normally, I would have used detection at this point, but I decided against it. In a combat situation, it would be hard for Hekate to pinpoint my exact location.
I had promised to put myself in Hekate’s shoes. I intended to match her as closely as possible. Well, I wasn’t going to just let myself be defeated easily, of course.
Using the Ashen Moon buff to cloak myself was the right move. Moving near pillars and the ceiling to muffle any sounds wasn’t bad either. But I should have kept a better eye on the position of the torches. The shadows were showing.
Active: Divine Barrier
[Creates a shield that blocks a certain amount of damage.]
The assassin’s attack was blocked by the barrier. The shield broke almost immediately, but it bought me just enough time. My staff was enough to parry Hekate’s arm with a single strike.
“Didn’t we agree on no complaints?”
“Huh? Uh...?”