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Of course, the priestess’s combat ability is lower than that of the assassin.
While the strength stats aren’t too different, in terms of mobility and attack speed, it was embarrassing to even compare. The skill setup also leaned heavily towards shields and buffs, making it less effective in close combat.
However, it wasn’t impossible to engage in combat.
As always, Inbl was a game where skill could overcome limits.
The lack of mobility could be compensated with the shield. While the assassin was breaking through the shield, it would be a matter of keeping a solid defense. If I could read the enemy completely, I could take it a step further.
My staff struck Hekate’s side. At first, I hesitated about whether to tease her, but when I saw the look on Hekate’s face, I figured it was fine. It wasn’t a look of defeat. I could feel her determination rising to the top of her head.
“Ugh?”
“Wow, it must be really embarrassing to lose as an assassin to a priestess. Since we’re on the same team, should I let it slide this time?”
“I haven’t lost yet!”
“Really? Because it looks like you have. If I lose today, I’ll be your slave for a week.”
“You better keep that promise!”
This was more fun than I expected.
Since my weapon didn’t have an edge, the impact felt special. The shock of the hit transferred directly to my hand, giving a satisfying feel. Every time I struck, the sound of the ringing loops added extra points, making me feel even better.
Plus, Hekate wasn’t someone who completely couldn’t use an assassin either.
It seemed like she wasn’t lying about having used one in her amateur days. If she trained hard enough, she could probably make it to a level where she could compete in the pro scene. Perhaps she could even target lower-tier teams?
That said, that was about the extent of it. It was easy to read her. The difference in combat power was too big, and the staff wasn’t a weapon that would be easily overshadowed by a dagger. It had a long reach and was great for putting power into the strikes.
As the exchanges continued, I focused on gathering magic.
[‘Rite: Blessing of the Divine Dragon’]
[Heals the target’s health and grants physical defense for 12 seconds...]
“What, what? Did you just heal me?”
“Yeah. I could tell your pride was hurting.”
“Ahhh...!”
“Seems like mental wounds are the hardest to heal.”
Plus, the priestess robes and the scepter, which resembled a staff, were quite eye-catching. Just spinning the scepter in front of Hekate had a significant effect.
I had to take a few hits while messing with her, but as a support, I could just heal my health back.
After a few exchanges, Hekate’s arm was broken. I quickly healed it with a recovery spell and then struck her thigh. Dodging her thrust, I slapped her on the behind.
When the distance grew, we fell into a stalemate again.
I spun my staff, waiting for an opportunity to close in.
“Why... why are you so good with such a weapon? You’re an assassin.”
“Didn’t you know? I’m good with all weapons. Dagger is especially my forte.”
It’s a bit of a cliché, but I truly love this game, Inbl.
In real life, I’m a cripple, but in this game, I can move freely. And in practice mode, I could use any weapon and skill I wanted.
Naturally, I’ve tried out pretty much everything. The chain sickle was one weapon I found during that exploration, and I’ve become skilled at using traps like the silver staff.
Spears, staffs, bows, and firearms are the same. I chose assassin because it suited me in PvP, but I could handle all the weapons well enough, not to the extreme level, but at least enough to be satisfied.
There was only one weapon I couldn’t use. The sword. Specifically, the size of the sword I was best at handling.
“So, what now? We can keep going. I still have plenty of magic left.”
After practicing a little, I got much better at spinning the staff. I started rotating it with one hand, passing it over to the other, and then trying to speed it up even more by switching hands.
It looked pretty flashy too. Maybe I should record it and post it later. I bet people would enjoy it.
Full of anticipation, I looked at Hekate, but her head was drooped low.
“Alright... I’m done. I can’t take it anymore.”
“Okay, let’s do better next time.”
“Ugh, seriously, what do I do? Can I hit you just once?”
“If you wanted that, you should have won.”
“Hah.”
[Streamer ‘Sigma Ga-wol’s Lounge]
[Author: Sigma Ga-wol]
[Title: I’ve picked up a new trick.]
(Attached video: Ga-wol spinning the staff skillfully)
Today, while practicing with Hekate, I gave this a try, and I think I’m getting pretty good at it. If I practice a little more, I think I could do two at once, but the staff is a bit too big for that.
I’ll show it on stream later. I wish I could practice this in real life, too. Does anyone know of any good tools for this?
[Comments]
In the end, Hekate gracefully accepted her defeat. I was also looking forward to a match with Outlaw, but he refused and ran off. It couldn’t be helped. There would be another chance later.
Still, I wasn’t planning on pushing her too much. Sometimes you need to ease up a little for better results.
That’s why I agreed to hear out Hekate’s requests for various things.
I didn’t really have anything special planned for the holiday. To be precise, I didn’t have any schedule except for gaming.
Most of the Sigma team knew about it by now. Hekate, who shared a floor with me, also knew, so I couldn’t refuse when she suggested we go shopping at the mall.
Looking back, I should’ve found some excuse to escape.
“Still... you have more to buy?”
“Of course! It’s been a while since I’ve gone shopping. I’m going to buy everything I’ve been wanting!”
“Are you really going to search this entire mall?”
“You don’t know. The best items are always found in the places you least expect.”
I had never really empathized with the complaints about shopping with women.
I hadn’t done it much, but when I did, it was with Luche or Elderin. Both of them didn’t like wasting time. They would just get what they needed or skip the whole decision-making process and buy whatever.
But Hekate was different. If she didn’t like something, she wouldn’t buy it. She’d endlessly shop around until she found exactly what she wanted.
The only good thing about it was that she didn’t drag me around too much. She immediately found a place to rest for me, knowing that I had difficulty walking.
How much time had passed? I saw Hekate return with a shopping bag and a bright smile on her face.
“Daeun, Daeun. Look at this!”
“What is it?”
“A hairpin. I thought it would suit you so well.”
The white hand pulled out a ribboned hair accessory. The neat black ribbon looked quite elegant.
Hekate, Seoye-won, quietly came behind me and began gently caressing my hair.
“...Is this a gift?”
“Yeah? Of course. We’ve been looking at things together, haven’t we?”
“Oh, no. I’ll pay for it. I feel bad.”
“Don’t worry about it. I made you wait longer than I thought. It’s only fair since we’re hanging out as friends.”
When I heard those words, my mind momentarily went blank.
Friend. The simple two words stuck in my mind.
How long had it been since I’d heard that word? Since the person who died, I hadn’t had anyone I could call a friend.
Luche had been my idol. The person I wanted to be like. Like Gayun, I wanted to overcome my disability, and I had received a lot of help along the way. Because of that, it was hard to call her a friend.
Elderin and Sansae were like older sisters to me. They helped me grow mentally. I was close to them and grateful, but were they truly my friends? I wasn’t sure.
Sulbbang... well, we had drifted apart at some point. I guess she felt a bit burdened by me. I had approached her like I would any peer, but it backfired. She was the one who made me realize I had become a woman.
I had been lost in thought for too long.
Seoye-won waved her hand in front of my face.
“What’s wrong? Did I make a mistake?”
“Nothing like that. It’s just... hearing you call me a friend, it’s been so long.”
“You didn’t have any friends?”
“...”
It was hard to nod my head.
In the end, I was greeted with a shocking tease.
“Daeun, so you were a total loser in real life, huh?”
“That’s... that’s a bad thing to say.”
“Loser girl.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Seoye-won giggled.
I took a lot of teasing. They said things like I couldn’t even live up to my appearance or that it felt refreshing to finally get a hit in. At the end, with her white hands, she put the hair tie on my head.
Looking at my hair, I noticed the ribbon as I slightly lowered my gaze.
Seoye-won smiled brightly and asked.
“Now that you’ve got a gift, what do you say?”
“...Thank you.”
“Good. Now, let’s go eat.”