A narrow alley tightly wrapped around the complex city like a spider’s web.
The width just enough for a single person to barely pass through.
A sturdy man in full plate armor clings to the wall, raising both hands and awkwardly maneuvering his way out.
At the end of the road, atop the roof, he checks his omnidirectional view, ready for an unexpected surprise attack from anywhere.
Just as he was about to exhale a sigh of relief, a shadow pops out from the gap between the buildings on the opposite side.
The warrior swallowed his smirk as he gazed at the shield knight blocking the path to Yggdrasil.
Of all times, it’s a shield knight—
Even though the shield knight belongs to the sword knight profession, they are the traditional counter to warriors, heavily investing in defense, health, and shield techniques in story mode.
The man devised a sharp strategy to target the enemy’s base while everyone’s attention was focused on the fight at Apia Boulevard, but even that was reading his mind.
Had it been in the wilderness, the warriors would have had a fighting chance, but in this confined space, the story changes.
The knight could weather damage just by holding up a shield while the warrior had to break through at all costs.
The warrior had no options left.
Time was not on the warrior’s side.
Above all, he wanted to twist the calm expression on the enemy’s face.
He would breach.
Resolute, he swiftly took action.
Pulling the great sword back dramatically, he charged at the cross-patterned shield with full force.
Whoosh, bang.
He transferred into the motion of Scheitelhau.
As he ran, he observed the shield knight’s response.
Stillness.
He refuses to give up the geographical advantage. It’s a textbook counter.
But both the warrior and the shield knight knew this fact.
The first to change movement was the warrior.
Even at the expense of his exhausted energy, he canceled the skill activation.
The shield knight still showed no signs of changing his response. It seemed calm even beyond the shield, signaling, “I will see it through to the end.”
It’s an unfair game of chicken.
The warrior threw down his trump card.
Thwack.
The knight flinched at the sudden movement of the shield.
It meant using a technique intended for deflecting large attacks from afar against a shield.
Perhaps caught off guard by the unexpected technique, the shield knight’s reaction was slow.
A clean strike beginning from Navenhut, passing through Hengyuen, finishing with Ainhorn. The action assist was perfectly executed.
Clang—
As expected, the attack met the sturdy shield head-on.
However, the shield knight didn’t realize that Unterhau could also be used to pressure the opponent.
The curse of proficiency.
It’s impossible for a person to master all professions, so they come up with improvisational skills.
As the shield was about to be pushed upward by the strike, the knight instinctively pulled it back with his body.
The warrior’s lips curled slightly upward.
As Unterhau finishes, the sword tip faces upward at an angle.
The warrior activates his skill.
Before Zornhau, he casts the spell “Lightening.”
The warrior, clad in heavy armor, is lifted about a meter into the air.
At the point where the sword rises higher than the alley wall, he finally regained his horizontal freedom.
With the sword drawn back, he bends his back leg.
A diagonal downward slash.
If someone untrained in swordsmanship swung the sword, it would be clumsy, but it boasts power strong enough to shatter another strike.
Boom!
Caught in the counter-move, the shield knight is overwhelmed.
The outcome is predetermined.
Crash—
The shield flew away forcefully in an instant.
For the shield knight, having lost his shield was akin to a turtle without its shell.
He couldn’t stop here.
The moment the enemy became most vulnerable, the warrior unleashed his fastest attack once again.
A skill that the shield knight wouldn’t have considered if he were still holding a shield.
It was time to correct the nasty mindset of shield knights who only wanted to defend against heavy attacks.
Clang—
Boom—
Can a one-handed sword even contend with such a heavy great sword?
The warrior was already confident of victory from this moment.
The enemy had already fallen into a state of despair.
Repeated strikes caused the knight to sway dangerously, but the warrior remained intact.
“Should I risk it all to try a parry? Or should I indulge myself with a lengthy spell?”
Neither was the answer.
Suddenly, the shield knight’s hand moved to his waist.
He realized belatedly that there was no need to win.
The shield knight, receiving a report of a 5-on-5 victory from headquarters, chose to pull away entirely from the shield.
He steps back.
Though he has no shield, he only needs to deflect all attacks or get hit without standing painful damage.
The shield knight fumbled to unroll the scroll, but what he wanted didn’t happen.
The warrior’s fierce gaze flashed toward him, mocking him.
When a person is cornered, whether it’s bronze or master, they start searching for the “Blink” scroll.
“You can’t parry because you’re scared.”
The warrior had already anticipated this and prepared a counter with a magic nullification field.
And then the warrior yelled.
“Just get through! If you do, you’ll be a Challenger! A Challenger!”
The warrior raised his weapon high into the sky.
The shimmering great sword absorbed the sunlight, transforming into a beheading instrument.
The warrior’s wrist loosened smoothly.
The handle spun lazily, but the blade at its end howled with a fierce gust of wind.
Despair was evident in the eyes of the opponent who had lost all balance.
Blood surged forth from beyond the screen.
*
[ACHIEVED CHALLENGER!!!]
Having witnessed an emotional narrative, I turned off the screen and took a break.
‘What a fun game.’
It was hard to grasp all the interfaces and the player’s actions and intentions on the first viewing.
However, the man’s intense desire for the Challenger tier was fully transmitted to me.
This game was a bit different from what I initially thought.
In multiplayer, magic could not be implemented.
That so-called “Laurel” synchronization magic seemed to be limited to single-player only.
It appeared you couldn’t use all types of magic just through a scroll either.
In the game, one could choose one out of 128 specified spells to take, but that many spells were indecisive when all twelve players took the ‘Blink’ spell.
“Yum.”
I popped a strawberry that Professor Chun had skewered for me into my mouth.
“Is that a game? It looks a bit cruel.”
It was true that the scenes of limbs being severed and blood spurting were not perfectly censored, so it might be a bit uncomfortable for the faint-hearted.
When I play, I can just change the settings simply.
“It seems that under 15 years old see it differently—look at all these bubbles.”
I moved my hands around and wiggled my fingers to recreate the bubble shape.
Bloop, bloop, bloop.
You can pop them like this, you know?
Instead of blood, cute little bubbles come out.
Limbs don’t get severed, and instead appear transparent as if ghostly.
Yet, Professor Chun still looked quite uncomfortable.
“If you oppose, I won’t play multiplayer.”
I retorted in a droopy voice, but Professor Chun was adamant.
“Still, story mode is for all ages, so shouldn’t it be okay? It was fine with Laura.”
A game that seven-year-old Laura had no problem with either.
And back then, the setting was cheerful, and the difficulty was easy, so I never thought it was a particularly cruel game.
Professor Chun pointed at the screen.
“What is this game’s name?”
“Wagall. World of Arseria.”
“Ah, I think I’ve heard a lot about it. These days, middle and high school students are all playing this.”
As a last resort, I decided to show the all-ages trailer.
“It was originally a game about exploration. You start at the academy, make friends, go hunting together, and watch stars at the observatory…”
In the video, the elven protagonist and her academy friends admired the constellations adorning the night sky together.
It’s ironic that you can’t see the stars in the city, but the game portrays such a clear night sky.
“Oh wow… The background is indeed pretty.”
“Right, right?”
“But what fun is it alone? It seems like it would be more fun with friends.”
“I’m fine playing alone, so can I just try playing until bedtime today?”
“Then no later than 12 o’clock.”
“Yes, understood.”
After all, staying up too late would affect going to school the next day.
Just as I was about to stretch my body and go to my room, Professor Chun handed me another fruit fork.
“Here, have one last strawberry before you play.”
“Nom-”
