A straight kick flew past my face.
The strength of continuous attacks is a major advantage in the martial arts world, as it's easier to chain them together compared to other weapons.
The instep, having quickly changed its position, aimed at me once again.

"Nabillera" is an expression from an old poet who described the word "like a butterfly" in an archaic style.
I could now understand why such a nickname was chosen for Tuhui’s movements.

Her style emphasizes speed and technique over strength.
The connections between her attacks are fluid, and she knows how to vary them depending on the situation.
Her balance is excellent, making high-level techniques seem effortless.

A perfect match for the nimble and striking-heavy “Tuhui (闘姫)” class.
However, she couldn't overcome the limits that players focusing on continuous attacks often face.

“Her repertoire is predictable. Unless she intentionally changes things up, she’s just repeating the same old moves.”

The martial arts drawn by her arms and legs seem incredibly variable.
It gives the illusion that she can create any line, as if an infinite number of possibilities are waiting to unfold.
But what should never be forgotten is that the opponent is still human.

Humans are creatures of adaptation.
This is generally a positive term used when overcoming adversity, but adaptation doesn't always carry a good meaning.
Adaptation is familiarity. It can also mean complacency.

Without realizing it, we become comfortable, and the moves we often use settle into “habits.”
And those habits often rob us of countless opportunities and possibilities.
Nabillera was a typical player trapped by her accumulated experiences.

The path she was walking is one I’ve already passed.

“When the match is over and you go home, try to review each situation where you attacked the opponent. You’ll be surprised.”
“Who are you advising…?”
“You’d better listen. I’m saying this out of pity because I can see the effort you’ve put in. Oh, it’s only effective if you write it down, by the way.”

I’ve said all I needed to say.
Now, it’s time for me to start counterattacking.
After the high kick, a foot stomp will follow.

The habit I identified before the match played out exactly as I expected.
Because I prepared for it, the initiative shifted to me.

I lightly scratched Nabillera’s calf with my dagger and then aimed at her shoulder with the opposite dagger.
Tuhui chose to lower her stance and evade. I could have stabbed down right there, but it didn’t seem like a good move.
I could see her shoulder muscles tightening.

Even if she tried to obscure my vision, it wouldn’t work on me.
Nine times out of ten, she would aim for my chin with an uppercut.
An assassin’s frail body couldn’t afford to take that kind of damage.

So I decided to counterattack.

If the continuous attacks are a strength in martial arts, then the opposite weakness is their predictability.
Although the opponent had professional experience in martial arts, I’d faced opponents in the national team training center who couldn’t even come close to matching my skill with a sword.
We weren’t on the same level, fundamentally.

[Applying "Hemotoxin: Bleeding Poison" to the opponent.]
["Hemotoxin: Bleeding Poison" has been applied again.]
["Unstoppable Bleeding" effect damage increased by 50%.]

I tilted my head slightly, and Tuhui’s arm passed right by my side.
The sound of the air being pushed aside briefly felt threatening.
From the long cut made by my dagger, red blood burst out.

It seems that luck was on my side today.
The bleeding exploded, and droplets of blood splashed across Tuhui’s eye.
During that brief moment when her vision was obstructed, I could accomplish a lot.

When sensory input is blocked, the natural instinct is to create distance from the opponent.
My dagger was faster than her movements.
I stabbed into her thigh as she tried to rise for a kick and dug deeper toward her inner side.

“This is payback from earlier. That really hurt, you know.”

Just because my opponent is a martial artist doesn’t mean I can’t use martial arts myself.
I struck her abdomen with my knee, and with some time left, I hit her sternum as well.
At the same time, I stabbed below her collarbone with my dagger.

The brachial plexus.
The nerve bundle formed by the roots of the fifth to eighth cervical nerves, and the first thoracic nerve—five nerve roots in total.
If damaged, the entire upper body could be destroyed—a crucial spot for any martial artist’s life.

These kinds of critical areas also have high damage efficiency in games.
Immediately, Tuhui’s right arm was paralyzed.
She lost an important weapon as a fighter.

“Try a little harder, senior. It’d be embarrassing to lose without landing a single hit.”

At least if she could get away from me.
If she didn’t, she’d probably die here.

Meanwhile, things were not going smoothly for Galaxy Gaming’s main team either.

For now, it looked like Galaxy Gaming was pressing Sigma relentlessly.
But summons are expendable, and a gun with no bullets is nothing more than a piece of junk.
In the end, since no kills had been made, it was only natural that anxiety started to set in.

With repeated explosions, Luche’s shield was losing its strength.
Countless guard breaks, too many to count. Her armor was scorched and cracked, but that was it.
Luche stood firm, still holding her shield and not falling.

In any game, an invincible tank doesn’t exist.
The higher the level of play, the harder it becomes for tanks to survive as the battles intensify and the dealers’ skills rise.
Therefore, the virtue of a tank on the front lines is simply “not dying easily.”

They force the enemy to expend their resources while staying alive themselves.
Today, Luche performed this role better than anyone.

[“Sigma Ga-wol” has defeated “Eunha Fiesta.”]
[“Sigma Ga-wol” has defeated “Eunha Nabillera.”]

On the other hand, Sigma already had two kills.

The bleeding from the first surprise attack eventually took Fiesta’s life.
In that short time, several vital points were hit, and Galaxy Gaming had no supporters to heal the wounds.
We could consider ourselves lucky that she didn’t die immediately.

Nabillera, too, didn’t manage to buy the time she hoped for.
She had built her strategy and trained specifically to face Ga-wol.

Her resolve was in vain, leaving behind only one strike.
Just before her death, she managed to land a hit on Ga-wol’s side.
It wasn’t a light blow, but it wasn’t fatal either.

Tch. Ga-wol spat out blood from his mouth.
Luche tore off the half-destroyed armor fragments and threw them on the ground.
From that moment, Sigma launched their full offensive.

“Looks like the promised time is coming.”
“The assassin is like a death sentence coming, and Luche is still holding strong.”
“Meanwhile, Galaxy Gaming’s ammunition is slowly running out. The Spirit Healer is dead, and the number of Lava Wolf summons has significantly decreased.”
“Aazure is attacking hard, but the firepower is running low.”

The Lava Wolves made a fierce charge.
In response, a gun lance shot was fired a moment earlier.
The iron-scented flames tore the wolves’ bodies apart.

Through the blackened explosion, Camellia emerged.
Though Ga-wol’s arrival somewhat overshadowed it… during the previous IKL Spring League,
Luche was Sigma’s shield, but Camellia was Sigma’s sword.

Now, the strength of the warrior who had preserved their power was like a disaster to the mages.

“Oh... Camellia is heading toward Nare’s Spirit Healer.”
“There’s no power to stop it. It’s only a matter of time.”
“It seems impossible to get support from the other players. At this point, the game is essentially lost.”

Moreover, Azure wasn’t in a position to comfortably use magic either.
Quite some time had passed since the last shot rang out.
A sniper must be targeting her from a new position.

She checked her surroundings for cover and erected an ice wall if needed.
But then... suddenly, the assassin was behind her.

“Unnie, behind!”
“When... when did that happen...!”
“Good reaction. I was planning to kill you right away.”

It was so close that there wasn’t even a sound.
If it weren’t for Crimson’s shout, she might have been killed right there.

Azure bit her lip and slammed her staff into the ground.
Blue frost spread in a circle, but the assassin simply disappeared into the shadows.
When the assassin reappeared, it was behind Crimson.

She slashed the neck, cutting off her magic, and severed the tendons, rendering her staff-wielding hand useless.
Azure’s staff moved just in time, but it was meaningless resistance.

From somewhere, a spear flew and pierced her heart.

“Hah...”

Camellia’s throwing spear, which had been darting through the enemy lines, struck precisely.
The shaking aim of Azure’s staff couldn’t stop Ga-wol.
At this point, the game was practically over.

Azure muttered, smiling faintly.

“I didn’t think the strategy would break so easily...”
“Well, it’s not the first time I’ve been hit.”
“I guess so. Sigh, I really want to win the next game.”

[“Sigma Ga-wol” has defeated “Eunha Crimson.”]
[“Sigma Camellia” has defeated “Eunha Azure.”]