A fierce battle broke out in the middle of the battlefield.

The sword of the swordsman gleamed with a sharp, threatening light. The straight sword strike sliced through my clothes, and Luche dodged the berserker's axe. Behind the shield, the sound of chains rattled from Freil's weapon.

But it wasn’t just the two in front of us who were causing trouble. The cultists summoned tentacles that kept interfering, and in response, Hekate and Rika provided covering fire. The barrier blocked the tentacle attacks, and the ranger, jumping, shot green arrows from a distance.

There was no safe place; no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find a single spot of safety.

[‘Divine Bell of the Spirit’ effect activated.]
[Removes the most recent harmful effect.]
[Caster: Sigma Hekate]

Stay calm. The more complicated the situation, the more we need to solve things one step at a time. Since Camellia began to pressure the Ghost Priest, time was on our side.

Our support from range was advantageous. Given the nature of the enemy's strategy, they were receiving support on both offense and defense. The cultist’s attempts at interference were mostly blocked by Hekate, rendering them ineffective.

The real problem lay in the melee combat, where we were at a disadvantage in terms of stats. I was facing Donghae’s swordsman.

‘As expected, the feel of his blade is not quite the same.’

If it weren’t for the debuff, I would have already left multiple wounds on his vital spots by now. The overwhelming mobility I once had was significantly restricted, and with my stats reduced, the battle of strength wasn’t going easily either. Even in the weapon's range, I was at a disadvantage.

In RPGs, specs are a kind of skill too. If the character’s stats are reduced, the skill gap can be narrowed.

Well, that’s only true if it’s a gap that can be closed.

Relying solely on physical advantages will never lead to great success. Even at my peak, I fought against opponents who were both stronger and technically superior to me.

As I prepared to attack, I hesitated—changing my grip and adjusting my trajectory. My opponent overreacted, leaving a scar on his thigh as if punishing him.

"…!"
"Heh, you fell for it, didn’t you?"

It wasn’t a fatal wound. Though it was a deep cut, it was still on his thigh, so its effectiveness was limited.

However, the feeling of being tricked would stick with him. If he falls for it again, the next time it won’t just be his thigh at risk. His focus would now stay on my daggers and limbs.

He didn’t realize he was walking straight into a trap.

Intense focus would prevent him from missing my movements, but it would narrow his field of vision. The real issue was that he couldn’t widen his sight. The more focused he was, the worse it would get, and the quicker his mental energy would drain.

"Not that way."
"…!"
"Not there either."

Instead of leaving a wound, I focused on unsettling his mind. Starting the attack from the left, I shifted to the right, and as I moved forward, I used my waist to pivot.

The confused blade didn’t manage to land a solid strike.

Donghae’s sword, despite being sharp, was still easy to read. He wasn’t a swordsman by nature, and though he adapted well to the character’s physical abilities, his fundamentals were lacking.

‘That’s why he couldn’t learn.’

You can’t be distracted by the weapon itself. Right now, it’s not where the blade is, but where it’s going that matters.

Combat sports are like playing chess with your body. If you only look at what’s visible, you’ll almost certainly fall into a trap.

The first place intentions become clear is the eyes. Where did the opponent look? Which muscles contracted and which ones relaxed? The blade is simply the result that follows all those questions.

[‘Carcosa’s Fog’ effect activated.]
[Attack speed reduced by 8%, and all defenses…]
[Remaining duration: 3.97 seconds]

I can show you why relying solely on physicality is flawed.

Controlling your speed during an attack isn’t an easy technique. It has to be natural enough to deceive the opponent and sudden enough to create a meaningful offbeat.

If it’s not done properly, it will only give the opponent an opportunity to retaliate.

Mastering it, like a reaper, requires substantial practice. It’s not something you can do on a whim.

If you try to use it without proper power or if your weapon’s trajectory becomes unstable, it’s all for nothing. There are limits to when and how you can use this technique.

But you can alter your attack speed by using the system well.

[‘Carcosa’s Fog’ effect removed.]

Just as important as the timing of a supporter’s buff is the timing to remove debuffs. Whether it makes things faster or slower, it’s all about how you use it. Unlike the ‘Rite’ skill, which comes with a flashy effect, debuffs just quietly fade with no visual cues.

The moment I’d been waiting for arrived—the debuff’s duration ended.

I’d grown used to the tempo, and now it had changed.

As the debuff was lifted, my blade gained its full momentum.

Donghae’s sword tried to defend inward, but my blade was already on its way. I could have taken this moment to gain some advantage, but instead, I paused, waiting for the parry to finish.

I had predicted this moment. He missed the timing, and that opened up a critical weak point.

I stabbed into his side, rupturing his internal organs, then slid my blade up through his forearm.

[‘Rite: War God Spirit’ effect activated.]
[Attack power and attack speed increased…]

[‘Grasp of the Haunting Spirit’ effect activated.]
[Movement speed increased…]

Hekate’s attack speed buff, the various stat debuffs from the cultist, and my own misdirection.

These were all the ingredients necessary to make Donghae’s mind spiral.

After landing the first critical hit, the openings only grew, and now I was dealing one-sided damage.

At last, the berserker on the enemy team attempted to change the flow of the fight.

This was what I had been hoping for.

I dodged the berserker’s axe and received support from Luche.

“Left! Right! Left! Right! Bet you thought it was left again? Right!”
“My mind… I think I’m going insane!”
“From Donghae’s perspective, it’s understandable. But this is too much! There are more feints than actual attacks!”
“But that’s the true nature of an assassin, right? They specialize in deceiving their enemies!”

Donghae had surprisingly held out well. It was true he had been humiliated by me in the past, but this time, he had support and debuffs working in his favor.

But deep down, he knew we were already winning.

If things had gone according to plan, he should have killed Luche and disrupted our rear by now.

But instead of pushing forward, Donghae was being pushed back by me.

The pressure was beginning to crack him. He had to confirm something important, but he didn’t.

At some point, Donghae’s movements began to slow down. His strikes started missing more often, and he was taking more fatal injuries.

The reason was simple: the rear of ACL was no longer safe.

“This is dangerous, ACL! The summoned creatures are being cleaned up!”
“Transferring the warrior to the summoned creature removal team was a great decision. Attacking the Ghost Priest’s neck early in the match was also a big success.”
“The Ghost Priest’s summoned creatures are quite defensive, but they have no means to deal effective damage to the warrior.”
“But using other skills is tough due to the neck injury, which slowed down the casting speed.”
“They’ve already used up too much magic and skills... It looks like their time limit is almost up.”

The cracks were widening.

As my dagger moved sharply, Luche’s flail left bloodstains on the ground. The berserker’s axe was struggling to match the power of the chain-linked flail.

No, it wasn’t just a simple issue.

The berserker Igor had met Luche before. He had always been a tough opponent. But each time, this steadfast knight kept growing stronger and sought him out.

His playstyle had become more solid, and now, he was equipped with fierce offensive power.

Even his field of vision had broadened.

Luche’s eyes glanced at the shadow of me moving near.

‘The distance is a little too short.’

When facing me, one must be cautious of the shadow.

I’m sure ACL heard this countless times. That’s why Donghae was so cautious to make sure my shadow didn’t move beyond him.

But...

Shadows shift depending on the position of the light source.

The moment Luche raised his shield, a bright flash swept across the battlefield.

A brief, momentary visual impairment—an ‘eye-blinding’ skill.

It was far too short a time to do anything substantial, but unlike a real flashbang, there were no lasting visual effects.

It was such a brief moment.

As soon as the vision returned, Donghae furrowed his brows.

He couldn’t see me where he had just seen me—right in front of him.

‘Invisibility? No, I saw him use the Black Moon buff.’

The battle had dragged on, and Donghae was mentally worn out.

Asking him to also be aware of the shadow cast by the flash was too much to ask.

But in the world of competition, it’s all about winning or losing.

The ruthless dagger buried itself into the back of Donghae’s head, and the pillar of ACL crumbled.