Chapter 23: Why Is the Saintess Holding a Greatsword?

The “Saintess” hurriedly ducked her head to evade a blade flying in from her blind spot.

Her long hair, trailing behind like a kite caught in a string, followed her small head hastily.

However, she couldn’t entirely avoid the blade, and the tips of her hair were mercilessly severed.

Amidst the golden strands scattering like precious threads in the background, she managed to evade the blade, only to find a powerful fist once again aiming for her character’s chest.

Noticing the attack in time, she input a command to perform an evasive maneuver, successfully avoiding the strike.

Yet, the assault from the knuckle-clad fists didn’t end with one blow.

Although targeting the “Saintess” in such a persistent and efficient way might have been a strategic choice, the way the attacks exclusively aimed for her face and chest was excessively fixated.

Even if her customization settings had hidden her identity, it was immediately clear who the opponent was.

There was only one player in this tournament who displayed such proficiency with a knuckle-warrior.

Yes, Gold Sun.

It was impossible to block or evade all the rapid, relentless attacks.

Thanks to the sub-trait “Pain Resistance,” she avoided concussions and subsequent stuns by dodging attacks aimed at her head.

For the rest, she either blocked them moderately or endured the hits.

Seizing an opportunity, she swung her weapon broadly to shake off the persistent combo and exploited the advantage of her superior attack range.

She deliberately took a bold step forward, turning the opponent’s intention to close the gap into an opportunity.

Even for Gold Sun, a warrior renowned for his composure, this was an unexpected response.

Caught off guard, he couldn’t immediately cancel his preemptive movement inputs and fell right into her strategy.

Using the rear handle of the weapon that swung along with her grip, she struck his extended right fist along with the knuckles.

This was a split-second decision, using the unfamiliar rear handle of her weapon to counterattack an incoming blow moving at blinding speed.

The audacious counter with such intricate technique left even Gold Sun visibly shocked, forcing him to retreat his character significantly.

He gave up the advantage of fighting within his optimal range just to recalibrate his breathing and timing.

Part of this retreat likely aimed to give his injured right hand—practically shattered—a chance to recover through the priest’s healing.

Of course, she had no intention of allowing him to fulfill that plan.

This was the perfect opportunity, perhaps once in a lifetime.

At my command, the Saintess surged forward.

To be fair, the skillful use of a weapon’s handle wasn’t particularly difficult for upper-rank players who had thoroughly mastered their weapons’ possibilities beyond their limits.

While it carried the risks of instability and unfamiliarity, overcoming those risks could lead to clear rewards, like disrupting the opponent’s attack timing, as demonstrated now.

Lethe had been in service in Korea for ten years already.

As the years passed, the overall skill level of players began to rise.

What once drew praise for being a professional-tier technique became something that players with decent proficiency in weapon handling could attempt and achieve success with.

As the game continued to evolve, players naturally learned to counter these handle-based maneuvers.

It was unthinkable that Gold Sun, a top-tier player close to Red tier, hadn’t mastered such counters.

And yet, look at the result now.

He fell perfectly into my trap.

Because he underestimated me?

Could such a wise player do so?

Even though my reckless charge into the opposing team’s base naturally drew a siege around me, and even though the numbers made it a three-against-one melee, here we are.

The fact that Gold Sun only engaged in close combat after carefully wearing down the “Saintess’s” stamina, confident that he couldn’t possibly lose, was proof enough that he was not underestimating her.

Clearly, he wasn’t careless.

However, as a human, there was one thing he simply couldn’t anticipate, and that was what created the current situation.

Did he think that a player who spent over 8,000 matches sitting in the back, focused solely on healing, wouldn’t be capable of shining in close combat?

Close, but not quite.

It wasn’t about underestimating her intellect or her ability to strategize.

He must have known better.

Before the tournament, I had personally cracked his head open several times with a mace.

Even in yesterday’s match, the “Saintess” had made impressive plays with her secondary weapon, the mace.

Gold Sun, meticulous and careful to the point of fault, wouldn’t have missed how proficient the “Saintess” was with the mace.

So if she had been wielding a mace right now, Gold Sun would not have fallen for the current maneuver.

But even for someone as cautious and precise as him, he could not have predicted that a player with zero experience using a greatsword would suddenly display such advanced techniques, including utilizing the weapon’s hilt.

Yes.

The “Saintess” was now wielding a greatsword.

She held the massive weapon—larger than her own body—in her delicate hands, standing alone in the heart of the enemy’s ranks, with no ally at her back.

But this wasn’t the time to lose focus.

The “Saintess,” following my command, launched herself toward Gold Sun.

This happened not during the match but moments before it.

To be precise, this was during the selection and ban phase, the time just before the game officially began.

As the clock ticked down during the ban-pick phase, the coach’s voice echoed through the team’s communication channel.

“Just do what you’ve always done. Stick to the strategy, and we’ll be fine.”

Everyone responded confidently, each offering their own determined reply.

In Rainbow Tales, the ban-pick phase refers to the process of selecting and banning weapons, primary traits, and secondary traits.

While this doesn’t occur in quick-match settings, ranked games and professional tournaments follow a cross-pick system for bans and selections.

The number of bans may vary depending on the map or battlefield, but the fundamental principle remains the same: the captain of each team bans weapons or traits that are particularly troublesome for their team or uniquely suited to the opposing team’s players.

Any weapon or trait banned during this phase becomes unavailable for use by both teams.

This system was the developers’ way of maintaining balance, ensuring that even if certain weapons or traits inadvertently became overpowered, players could self-regulate to a degree.

It was a “game before the game” and understandably carried significant weight in determining the match’s outcome.

The team had to consider the opposing team’s intentions.

They had to figure out how to counter them.

And they had to plan how best to leverage their own strengths.

Allowing players to perform at their best is one of the reasons coaches exist in the professional gaming world.

The coach, who also doubled as our manager, spoke up.

“Saintess, let’s ban Martial Arts and Danger Awareness.”

“Yes.”

Bans and picks could easily determine the outcome of a match, so the choices had to be made carefully.

Following the manager’s advice, I banned those two secondary traits.

This tournament followed a simplified rule where only secondary traits could be banned, leaving weapons and primary traits untouched.

Of course, this made sense.

The streamer tournament wasn’t like ranked games or professional matches.

Most of the players participating were so-called “specialists,” users who had honed a single build to perfection.

For me, it didn’t matter since my character’s core traits and equipment couldn’t be banned, but others weren’t so fortunate.

Imagine a greatsword main unable to use their greatsword, a berserker unable to access their berserker build, or a fire mage without fire magic—it would be disastrous.

To prevent such unfun scenarios for both players and viewers, the organizers had made a smart call.

Perhaps because of his experience in the pro scene, Coach Effort was exceptional at the ban-pick phase.

His bans and picks effectively concealed or misled opponents about our team’s strategy, playing a key role in our victories so far.

“I can guess what the opponents will do,” the coach said.

The opposing team’s bans were decided quickly, without even using up the timer.

With an air of certainty, they banned Blood Feast and Last Struggle.

This was a clear targeted ban aimed at weakening our berserker, who played the hyper-carry role on our team.

Despite having two of his main secondary traits banned, the berserker seemed oddly proud.

“So even traits everyone used to call worthless are getting banned now, huh?”

Blood Feast, which restores a percentage of health for each wound inflicted, had been banned before.

But banning Last Struggle, a situational comeback trait that activates when HP drops to 1–2% of maximum, was unprecedented.

After all, given this game’s mechanics, it’s rare to be left with just a sliver of HP.

And it’s even rarer to turn such a situation around with Last Struggle.

While the ultimate skill Undying Rage could synergize well with it by preventing death at 0 HP, it was usually considered too niche to justify selection, let alone banning.

But now, the situation was different.

Because of me—the “Saintess.”

It might seem immodest, but the truth was that my healing skills were exceptional.

If I focused solely on supporting the berserker, I could calculate the incoming damage and his environment to heal him just enough to keep him from dying.

Of course, this required the berserker to trust me, but…

That trust had shone brightest in yesterday’s match.

Given how difficult it was to trigger Last Struggle, the reward it offered was significant, and our opponents, who had made it to the finals, couldn’t ignore it.

Once the bans were finalized,

The turn to make selections arrived.

“Saintess, let’s lock in Berserker’s equipment and traits first. It’ll get troublesome if they target-ban more traits.”

“Sounds good.”

After the bans, one player from each side selects their equipment and traits, revealing them simultaneously.

Once revealed, these selections cannot be changed, a process referred to as a “lock-in.”

The reason our team prioritized picking the Berserker was straightforward.

Once this selection was complete, there would be another round of trait bans.

While having Blood Feast and Last Struggle banned was manageable, if two more targeted bans or delays occurred, it could potentially collapse the Berserker’s entire build.

The Berserker was, without a doubt, our team’s strongest asset.

Even if the traits faced counters later on, it was better to ensure he had traits he was more familiar and comfortable with.

I began selecting the Berserker’s traits.

If you’re wondering why I, instead of the Berserker, was the one doing this, it’s because, once all selections were finalized, players could swap completed builds within the team.

However, this wasn’t about simply swapping a few secondary traits. The entire set of ten selected traits, along with the equipment, had to be exchanged in full.

In essence, it wasn’t about changing the pick order but ensuring the best strategic choices were made.

In this game, only the first player in the selection order had the authority to ban traits. As the team leader, with the most seamless communication with the coach, it was natural for me to take the first spot.

So, I picked the greatsword and selected traits for the Berserker.

After meticulously checking everything for errors multiple times, I finalized the selections.

…Little did I know this would mark the beginning of the Saintess wielding a greatsword and taking on the Berserker’s build.

 


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