Chapter 75
[Combat] You used the Frontline Command skill and dealt 3,918 damage to Jaesugang.
[Combat] Jaesugang is stunned by the effect of Frontline Command.
[Combat] Jaesugang’s Composure has been interrupted by the stun effect.
Seeing me move, Gang Jegyeong quickly used Composure as well, but by a hair’s breadth, I succeeded in stopping his skill from activating.
What a stroke of luck. Looking at Gang Jegyeong, whose Composure had been canceled and who was now stunned, I cheered inwardly.
I checked the time—just over a minute left—and started beating on Jaesugang. Right now, rather than knocking him off with knockback, it was better to kill him slowly while applying status ailments. If I gained 5 points now, I’d be ahead by 1 point, and to secure the win from here, it would be best to either make a comeback impossible or deny him any chance to fight by running away or holding out for the remaining time.
I dragged things out as long as possible, carefully applying status ailments one by one, and about 12 seconds were consumed. It was possible because Gang Jegyeong had plenty of HP left, and most of my status ailment cooldowns had come back up.
[System] You have proven 5 worth to the god Ibria.
[System] Your HP has recovered slightly by divine protection.
In truth, the place I’d been in was closer to the 2-point weight, so there was barely enough time to get the 5-point weight. But taking the 2-pointer would have been too tight on time, and the score would have been nowhere near enough to win, so I’d been trying to force my way to the 5-pointer no matter what.
Fortunately, I succeeded in taking the 5-point weight by the skin of my teeth, and Gang Jegyeong, who had reached my side, used his skill a split second too late.
[Combat] You took 3,017(-1,388) damage from Jaesugang’s Straight Break.
[Combat] You took 4,722(-2,172) damage from Jaesugang’s Meridian Strike.
[Combat] You used the Shield Block skill and blocked Jaesugang’s Meridian Strike effect.
I succeeded in blocking the groggy effect with Shield Block. Then, when I put up a resistance skill in preparation for a possible Joint Strike combo that might follow, I saw Gang Jegyeong use a DoT skill instead of a defensive technique. It seemed he intended to wait while shaving away my HP until the duration of my resistance skill ended.
Gang Jegyeong, who had nothing else he could do in the meantime, focused on applying DoTs, and I used status ailment skills whenever I could to interrupt his attempts to deal damage to me. Perhaps frustrated by that, Gang Jegyeong used skills that reduced skill casting speed all at once, making the cast time flat-out 0 seconds. Since knockback didn’t seem like it would work, it was a clear declaration that he would just kill me instead.
I put up a survival skill to lower the DoT damage coefficient. I had to at least do that to protect even a little HP amid the countless bundles of DoTs.
When the skill duration ended, Gang Jegyeong used an evasive skill to move away from me, then used skills in succession.
[Combat] You took 1,174 damage from Jaesugang’s Research Virus XXI.
[Combat] Jaesugang’s Forced Mutation effect is applied.
[Combat] Jaesugang’s Research Virus III has mutated, and its duration has been reset.
[Combat] Jaesugang’s Virus V has mutated, and its duration has been reset.
[Combat] Jaesugang’s Virus LII has mutated, and its duration has been reset.
[Combat] Jaesugang’s Research Virus VII has mutated, and its duration has been reset.
[Combat] Jaesugang’s Research Virus XXI has mutated, and its duration has been reset.
[Combat] Jaesugang’s Influenza Virus has mutated, and its duration has been reset.
Insane. How many… how many of them mutated?
Horrified, I calculated my survival skills. If he used the
[Combat] Jaesugang’s Virus I has mutated, and its duration has been reset.
Ah, why are you acting up too…?
At seven stacks, there was a very high chance I’d be one-shot for real. As if that weren’t enough, after the DoTs were forcibly mutated, the speed at which my HP was dropping had visibly accelerated, making me anxious enough to die.
While putting up a survival skill, I watched Gang Jegyeong’s movements obsessively. If possible, the best outcome would be to apply a status ailment when he used the Extraction skill and interrupt the skill itself. Gang Jegyeong knew exactly what I was thinking too, so he tried to throw off my focus by making unnecessary movements.
After the continued battle of nerves, I caught sight of Gang Jegyeong’s character making a familiar motion.
[Combat] You used the Noble Execution skill and dealt 4,192 damage to Jaesugang.
[Combat] Jaesugang is stunned by the effect of Noble Execution.
[Combat] Jaesugang’s Mutated Virus Extraction has been interrupted.
Mutated Virus Extraction… I stopped it!
The crisis had passed now. There wasn’t much time left either, so all I had to do was run. Thinking that, I moved my character to get far away from Gang Jegyeong.
That was when it happened.
[Combat] You took 4,693 damage from Jaesugang’s Corner Slam.
[Combat] You are stunned by the effect of Jaesugang’s Corner Slam.
[Combat] You are bleeding by the effect of Jaesugang’s Corner Slam.
Joy and sorrow switched places.
[Combat] You took 2,387 damage from Jaesugang’s Kick.
[Combat] You are knocked down by the effect of Jaesugang’s Kick.
The problem was that, because I’d been paying attention to the Extraction skill, I’d slightly missed the timing to refresh my resistance skill. In that brief instant after its duration ended, Gang Jegyeong, who had used the Extraction skill, charged in and used Corner Slam, putting me into a short stun.
Gang Jegyeong, whose chance of winning had plummeted now that his Extraction skill was gone, did not miss this opportunity and rushed in ferociously.
I hurriedly checked my escape skill, but it was still on cooldown.
[Combat] You took 2,973 damage from Jaesugang’s Straight Break.
[Combat] You took 5,649 damage from Jaesugang’s Twist Break.
[Combat] You are stunned by the effect of Jaesugang’s Twist Break.
Jaesugang used his defensive technique as if slipping past, then, for the finish, used a skill with knockback attached and pushed me into the air.
[Combat] You took 2,754 damage from Jaesugang’s Roundhouse Kick.
[Combat] You are knocked back by the effect of Jaesugang’s Roundhouse Kick.
Wow, fuck. I’m screwed.
I had plenty of HP left, but if I fell to my death, I’d die no matter how much HP I had. And if you asked whether I could get back to the ground, the answer was “no.” Knowing that, Gang Jegyeong leisurely turned toward the direction of the weight.
In this situation, with barely any time left, if Gang Jegyeong took the weight regardless of the points, I’d suffer a comeback loss just like that. Even if I knocked Gang Jegyeong off immediately after respawning, I didn’t know if there would be time to take a weight. But it wasn’t as if I had a way to set foot on the ground again either.
Then what should I do? Die like this and lose?
I bit my lip. …I absolutely couldn’t let that happen.
Before falling to my death, I pressed the space bar to glide and buy time, then quickly moved my fingers. The aim on my screen was locked precisely on Gang Jegyeong.
The moment the key under my finger was pressed, my character, who had been falling vertically, hung in the air for an instant, and the iron chains spreading from his body struck Gang Jegyeong.
[Combat] Jaesugang has been hit by the Executioner’s Binding.
[Combat] Jaesugang is stunned by the effect of the Executioner’s Binding.
I didn’t stop there and pressed the skill button once more to use the linked skill.
[Combat] Jaesugang has been hit by Preparation for Execution.
[Combat] Jaesugang is stunned by the effect of Preparation for Execution.
Because of the
Because my gliding state was canceled when I used the skill, the moment the skill motion ended, I dropped straight down below the bridge, and Gang Jegyeong, who was stunned and unable to glide, fell with me.
Just like that, after I fell to my death first, Gang Jegyeong also fell and died by a tiny margin, and we both entered the respawn state. Since even Gang Jegyeong, who had had the chance to get the weight, was dead, I was still ahead in points. And there were 11 seconds left. Even if he rushed out the instant the respawn ended, the match would end along the way.
“Ha.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding without realizing it.
There was nothing more Gang Jegyeong could do.