Chapter 59: just take a look once!

[Lené]

[It’s been a while.]

[New Dimension | 723 viewers | 01:06:20]

[The format will be a best-of-five match. No weapon swaps in the middle. Random fields. How does that sound?]

“I’m fine with that. Please set it up in whatever way is comfortable for you, Ga-eun.”
I answered briefly, then shifted my gaze to check the stream status.

Currently, 723 viewers. 724. 728. 730. 735. 749…

The viewer count was increasing nonstop in real-time.

Of course, it was good news, but… honestly, I felt more overwhelmed than pleased.

─Why the fk, only you? 

─So arrogant for an E-rank!

─This guy’s finally hitting a wall, lolololololol

─Upvote if you want to see him get schooled and cry, lololol

─“Who is this girl, oppa? Who is this girl, oppa? Who is this girl, oppa?”

There were so many weird people flooding in…

“Alright, everyone. I’ll put the chat on limited mode for now….”

—Ugh, f**king trolls.

—Do you even have a chance to win?

─Wouldn’t winning even one round be impressive?

─Still, the opponent is Ga-eun, after all…

After I said that and enabled limited mode, thankfully, the weird chats…

─So arrogant for an E-rank! So arrogant for an E-rank! So arrogant for an E-rank! So arrogant for an E-rank!

Wait, what?

“Lynel?”

─Ah, s**t.

ᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ

─Just give me one chance!

“…I’ll let it slide just this once. But next time, I won’t.”

Since Lynel had been watching since my second stream, I showed some leniency. If it had been one of the newcomers from the Albion influx, I would’ve temporarily banned them right away.

・“Hmph.”

─Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph.

—Fking nasal voice b****,

—Lené, just marry me already. I’ll be the groom.

─You genius female animal.

Seriously, what’s wrong with these people?

—Is this guy actually making a move on her?

—Growl, grrrrrrr.

There are so many beast-like idiots here, lololol.

—I’m not aroused, I’m not aroused, I’m not aroused, I’m not aroused, I’m not aroused, I’m not aroused.

Seriously, can’t take this anymore.

[I’ve set up the room under my nickname. I’ll send the password in the Discord chat.]

(Ga-eun)

Nickname: Ga-eun | Class: Martial Artist [Level: 70 | PVP Level: 50 | Ex Rank]

“Alright…”

Leaving behind the confusing chat, I entered the PvP room he had set up.

─ “Can’t you let us spectate?”

─ “I want to see it directly in NewD.”

─ “I really want to see this rookie get taught a lesson, lol.”

“Um… Miss Gaeun?”

[Yes?]

“Well, our viewers in the room are saying they want to see it directly in NewD…”

[Ah… I’m okay with that. Lene, are you okay with it?]

“Well, I think… I think it should be fine.”

A little. Really, just a tiny bit, it felt like it might be overwhelming, but it didn’t seem like it would make a huge difference.

[Then… hmm. Let’s wait about three minutes, and limit the number of spectators to around 50. I’ll unlock the password now.]

“…”

As soon as that conversation ended, people filled the spectator slots in no time — no need to even wait three minutes.

I guess it’s because he’s a world champion. His popularity is insane.

[Alright then, let’s begin.]

I nodded at his words, and the field was randomly selected.

…Should I call this bad luck?

The randomly chosen field was the Arena of Judgment, one of the favorite stages for brawlers.

At the start, the distance between opponents is considerable, but the terrain is very narrow, making it easy for brawlers to close in.

I don’t particularly dislike this field, but if we’re talking about which side it favors, it’s definitely theirs.
Of course, even among brawlers, some use weapons like swords or spears, but the opponent standing before me was, predictably, equipped with nothing but knuckles on both hands.

Since he used to be a kickboxer, I guess he gravitated toward something familiar.

(Are you ready?)

Gooong.

The toll of the great bell signaled the start of the PvP match.

(Fight!)

The moment that word appeared, he charged at me.

The defining characteristics of the war hammer as a weapon are simple.
Longer than a sword but shorter than a spear, it occupies an ambiguous attack range.

Its speed is so slow that there’s barely any weapon it can confidently overpower, with very few exceptions.

But in exchange for those drawbacks, it offers overwhelming power in a single strike.

For many players, this made the war hammer a kind of dream weapon — but ultimately, that’s all it was: a dream.

Against weapons like spears, which have a longer reach, it’s at a one-sided disadvantage, unable to retaliate.

And against swords?
No.

When an opponent closes the distance, just like with spears, it becomes difficult to counterattack. The weapon’s slow speed makes it hard to fend off an advancing opponent.

A weapon that’s powerful if it can land a hit, but incapable of hitting anything. That’s the war hammer.

“Hup!”

The moment the bell resounded, Gaeun leaped toward Lene to exploit that weakness.

In response, a faint blue glow shimmered around Lene’s jet-black full-body armor.

It was evidence that Lene had activated a speed-enhancing skill.

Normally, the skill does nothing but increase speed, which is why it’s rarely favored by most players except for a select few.

Ga-eun already knew very well how absurdly powerful Warhammer could be when combined with Lene’s skill.

‘If I give her space, I’ll be the one who gets hit. She knows that, too. So she’ll back off for now, right? To maintain distance and attack unilaterally…’

Then, I just need to close the gap so much that retreat isn’t an option anymore.

Even with acceleration, she’s still slower than me, equipped with knuckles on my light armor.

With that difference in speed, I thought I could apply enough pressure.

But it didn’t take long for me to realize that was a miscalculation.

“…Huh?”

Contrary to my expectation that she’d create distance, Lene charged directly at me instead.

For a moment, the unexpected move made my reaction lag, and Lene wasn’t the type to miss such an opening.

BOOM!

A perfect strike landed with precise timing.
The result: an overwhelming impact that left my entire body trembling.

“Damn it…”

Flying backward from the blow, I couldn’t help but curse under my breath.

Lene’s move was completely outside the realm of what I thought she’d do.

‘Did she know what I was aiming for and still charge at me?’

If I had dodged that attack just now or landed a counter, Lene would have been unable to recover.

Even with acceleration skills, that’s the fate of wielding a Warhammer.

After being hurled across the field and crashing to the ground, I immediately got back up and checked my condition.

Even though I managed to guard at the last moment, my HP had dropped by almost 10%.

The damage was absurd, to the point where I wanted to call it unfair.

But I knew that was the essence of the Warhammer’s existence, so I didn’t say anything and simply adjusted my stance again.

Meanwhile, Lene stood still in the exact spot where she had delivered that strike.

‘If she had charged at me again right away, it would have been my turn this time…’

The previous blow caught me off guard, leaving me no choice but to take it.

But now that I was aware she could fight like that, I was confident she wouldn’t catch me off guard again.

In any case, the distance between us had widened once more.

‘Now, how should I approach this…?’

With a firm resolve not to let my guard down, I took a step forward, considering my next move.

And then.

(Ga-eun
Inquisitor)

From that point on, Lene couldn’t land a single proper attack and lost two consecutive sets to Ga-eun.
The same went for the final third set.

Although Lene managed to dodge some of Ga-eun’s attacks, she couldn’t counterattack effectively and suffered a one-sided defeat.
It was the same pattern as the previous two sets.

Ga-eun’s remaining HP: 98%.

Lene’s remaining HP: 14%.

A staggering difference of over five times.
Even this outcome was purely coincidental.

If it weren’t for that chance event, Ga-eun’s HP would have been at 100%.

‘Did I… Did we overestimate it?’

Ga-eun thought to herself.

She wondered if they had been blinded by the achievement of “Successfully Defeating Albion.”

‘Well, raids and PvP are completely different to begin with.’

In the end, the opponent was also only able to deliver that level of performance because they were an A-rank.

Thinking that, a bitter feeling surged within Ga-eun’s heart.
“Sigh…”

And not wanting to feel that disappointment any longer, Ga-eun decided to end this PvP match as quickly as possible.

Whoosh!

Ga-eun closed the gap she had created and threw a punch.

This attack was a feint.

She planned to use the opening created when her opponent either blocked or dodged to chain a series of skills and finish it.

It was a combo move that Ga-eun had never shown to anyone other than Jae-hoon.

This would be her final gesture of respect toward Lené.

An apology for recklessly expecting too much and then being disappointed just as thoughtlessly.

And just as Ga-eun’s fist was about to connect with Lené’s shoulder—

[Ah, I understand now.]

His voice quietly resonated in her ears.
…