“You rascal, you kept me in a combo lock the whole time, giving me no chance to stack [Unrepentant Killing Intent]!”
Nan Shi pointed an indignant finger at Yan, then crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze darting away.
“Otherwise, how could I have died so quickly?!”
‘It’s just ‘impossible to die so quickly,’ not ‘impossible to lose,’ huh…’
Yan offered a helpless smile, his eyes on Nan Shi.
It was rare for such an unyielding person to possess such self-awareness.
“Your [Unrepentant Killing Intent] skill is powerful, yes, but perhaps it shouldn’t be used lightly in PvP…”
Yan remarked.
“After all, players of any class have plenty of crowd control skills, enough to chain combos for 30 seconds straight, leaving you no room to stack [Unrepentant Killing Intent].”
“Of course I know that!”
Nan Shi retorted indignantly.
“I was just trying to catch you off guard and burst you down! Who knew you’d be so lucky, blocking two of my flashes and only losing half your health.”
‘He actually only blocked one flash…’
The block effect of the Lancer’s [Binding] was not obvious; attacks would land on both the spear and the person, with a certain chance to trigger a block, but no one other than the attacked could tell.
Yan deliberated and decided not to tell him, lest his specialized health attributes be exposed.
“That skill of yours, boosting all attributes, should be a divine skill when fighting bosses.”
Yan praised.
“Naturally! Not only do all attributes double, but even attack effects like ‘attack recovery’ also double.”
Nan Shi stated proudly.
“It can even boost ‘attack recovery’!?”
Yan was somewhat surprised; a high attack recovery stat meant melee classes could unleash several more primary damage skills during a boss fight.
“This skill is indeed a bit overpowered; no wonder it comes with the restriction of instant death if you don’t kill the enemy within a certain timeframe…”
“Even with how overpowered it is, I still couldn’t beat you!”
Nan Shi seemed to recall something, and his previously calming emotions began to stir once more.
“What was ‘that thing’ you did? A feint? Did you just shout it out to trick me?”
‘Huh? Which ‘that thing’? Even if you say so, I can’t understand…’
Just as Yan was about to retort, he suddenly realized what Nan Shi was referring to.
“Oh, that… Are you talking about how I temporarily canceled my [Collapsing Spear] skill?”
“Ah! Exactly! Who knew you could cancel a skill halfway through its cast! I was caught in your combo while I was still in my [Backstep]!”
Nan Shi nodded vigorously, then, without mercy, he scoffed.
“That kind of move is just too cheap in PvP!”
His straightforwardness in such odd situations was also one of his merits.
“Haha, that’s my innate skill, [Agile Manipulation]: When holding a weapon, it and your equipment become extensions of your body, allowing for manipulation at will. Your weapon and personal attributes increase by 20%, and even when detached from your body, they retain 10% of their inherent abilities.”
Yan explained with a laugh.
“The ability to freely cancel skills comes from the description: ‘weapon and equipment become extensions of your body, allowing for manipulation at will.'”
“So, an innate skill that seems so weak can actually be used like that, huh?”
Nan Shi looked at Yan with a hint of surprise.
“Well, it’s a game feature after all; innate skills are never weak, it’s just that many people haven’t found the correct way to use them.”
Yan shrugged, a smile playing on his lips.
“And what about that description, ‘even when detached from your body, they retain 10% of their inherent abilities’? It doesn’t feel like a useless detail.”
Nan Shi rubbed his chin in thought, a puzzled expression on his face.
“Could it be that you can throw your weapon like a javelin?”
“That’s what I’ve been guessing too, but I haven’t had a chance to test it.”
Yan said, his expression gradually turning mischievous as he looked at Nan Shi.
“Guh-heheh.”
“Hey, that’s creepy; please stop that weird laugh.”
Nan Shi felt a shiver run down his spine.
“Come with me to the library for a bit; I have an idea I want to test.”
Yan said, logging out of the arena.
“Hey, hey, at least give a person a chance to refuse!”
Nan Shi grumbled helplessly at the empty arena, then followed Yan in logging out.
****
“Please show me the skill list for a Throwing Dagger Assassin.”
Yan said to the librarian NPC.
“Throwing Dagger Assassin skills?”
Nan Shi, standing beside Yan, looked at him questioningly, then suddenly realized.
“Could it be!”
“Exactly, it’s just as you’re thinking.”
Yan affirmed Nan Shi’s thought with a smile.
The Throwing Dagger Assassin class, a type of assassin in “Companion God Realm,” attacked similarly to Japanese ninjas, by throwing kunai and shurikens.
Yan smiled as he purchased several skill books, and after learning them, he returned to the arena with Nan Shi.
“Come on, practice mode.”
Yan told Nan Shi, who nodded in response.
A flash of blue light enveloped them, and both appeared simultaneously in a circular arena much like before, though now, their interfaces displayed many new functional options.
Just like many games, “Companion God Realm” also offered a practice mode, allowing players to study skill effects, practice combos, and more.
The currently available features included infinite health, infinite mana, no cooldowns, training dummies, and boss simulations.
“Activate infinite health.”
Yan instructed, and Nan Shi nodded, understanding implicitly.
“Circle me at a 40-yard diameter; I’ll try to hit you with a throw.”
Yan chuckled, raising his spear with one hand in a javelin thrower’s stance, a sight that made even himself crack a smile.
In reality, if Yan were participating in a spear-fighting competition, he would never make such a move, as it would be disrespectful to traditional spear arts.
However, within the game, it was perfectly acceptable; after all, games were meant for casual entertainment, and besides, “Companion God Realm”‘s Lancers didn’t strictly adhere to traditional spear-fighting regulations.
“Alright.”
Nan Shi couldn’t help but laugh as well.
This was what gaming was truly about: a few like-minded friends devising amusing, enjoyable, if ultimately useless, tactics.
Nan Shi began to move, quickly circling Yan.
Yan fixed his gaze on Nan Shi’s movements, seized the opportune moment, and hurled the [Weakening Spear] from his hand.
It missed.
“Pfft, aren’t you embarrassed?”
Nan Shi scoffed, though his running didn’t cease.
“Go on, you try it if you’re so good; it’s actually quite difficult.”
Yan gave a wry smile, turned, and activated his [Backstep] skill, facing away from the spear stuck in the ground.
The [Backstep] skill covered 20 yards, leaving him less than 30 yards from the spear.
Although Yan had aimed to throw the spear 40 yards, factoring in height, it had ultimately landed around 47 yards away.
He swiftly turned and activated his [Rainbow Thrust] skill, the Lancer’s only untargeted dash, covering 30 yards.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the spear’s location.
“It seems that even after throwing the spear, spear-based skills can still be activated.”
Yan said, pulling the spear from the ground.
At that moment, Nan Shi, with perfect synchronicity, altered his running path, continuing to circle Yan at a 40-yard radius from his current position.
“Let’s try again.”
Yan called out to Nan Shi.
“Oh.”
Nan Shi replied, having never stopped running.
Learning from his previous attempt, Yan slightly anticipated Nan Shi’s running direction and once again hurled the spear from his hand.
Thwack!
The sound of the spear piercing flesh echoed as the [Weakening Spear] accurately embedded itself into Nan Shi’s armor.
“What’s the damage?”
Yan inquired.
“142, one-twentieth of my total health.”
Nan Shi replied, his feet still in motion.
“It seems to be judged as a ‘free attack,’ just like a basic attack.”
Yan nodded, a smile spreading across his face.
“Pay attention, the real test is about to begin.”
“Oh…”
Nan Shi responded indifferently, but in the next instant, the spear embedded in him moved as if it had a life of its own.
“Spear Uppercut!”
Yan activated his [Spear Uppercut] skill, and Nan Shi, who was 40 yards away, was suddenly launched into the air by the spear impaled in him.
“Damn! You can do that?!”
The airborne Nan Shi cried out in astonishment.
“Damage?”
“It’s one-tenth of the [Spear Uppercut] damage you dealt during our duel just now…”
Before he could finish, Nan Shi landed.
“Huh? It seems the crowd control duration is also one-tenth; the system registers a forced control of 0.1 seconds.”
In “Companion God Realm,” if crowd control durations are reduced, they can only be shortened to a minimum of 0.1 seconds; they will not disappear entirely unless a crowd control immunity skill is used.
‘So, that’s what it meant by detached weapons retaining 10% of their inherent abilities…’
Yan nodded, lost in thought.
“Next item…”
Yan smirked.
“Flying Thunder God!”
Yan activated the [Flying Thunder God] skill he had just purchased, allowing him to instantly teleport to his thrown weapon.
Although it was a Throwing Dagger Assassin skill, like [Backstep], it was available to all classes.
However, few other classes chose to learn this skill, as their weapon-throwing accuracy was indeed pitiful, and it was only judged as a ‘free attack,’ dealing mere basic attack damage, making its cost-effectiveness very low.
Yan instantly vanished from his original position, teleporting in front of Nan Shi—no, rather, directly into his face.
“Success.”
He held his spear, pressed close to Nan Shi, and said with a laugh.
Incidentally, after using Flying Thunder God, the thrown weapon would automatically return to the player’s hand, saving Yan the trouble of retrieving his spear.
“Hey, hey, back off, are you gay?”
Nan Shi looked at Yan, who was inches away, with a disgusted expression. He quickly pulled the spear from his body and ran back forty yards.
“Tch, don’t even look in a mirror, are you worthy?”
Yan scoffed, then said with a smile.
“Next up, at 60 yards, I’ll try a targeted throwing skill.”
Yan said, and Nan Shi nodded, once again widening the distance by 20 yards.
Yan could reliably throw his spear 40 yards, with 50 yards being the absolute limit. Any further, and he’d likely miss nine out of ten times, a conclusion he’d reached during his previous throwing tests.
However…
“Secret of Fixation!”
Yan activated [Secret of Fixation], another Throwing Dagger Assassin skill. It was a targeted crowd control ability that, when normally cast, would have four kunai simultaneously strike a target, pinning them to the ground for 1 second.
Suddenly, the spear in Yan’s hand seemed to break free, flying straight towards Nan Shi as if uncontrolled.
“Damn it!”
Nan Shi cried out in exasperation, his body impaled by the spear at an odd angle and pinned to the ground in a sideways-lying posture.
“Hahahaha!”
Yan burst into uproarious laughter.
“This skill is so much fun when combined with a spear, isn’t it?”
“Still laughing!”
Nan Shi exclaimed, slightly annoyed.
“The damage is still one-tenth, and the crowd control is 0.1 seconds.”
After the brief control, Nan Shi’s body returned to its normal posture, standing still. It seemed the awkward pose was merely a visual effect caused by the vast difference in the spear and kunai models; in reality, Nan Shi hadn’t needed to stand up, as he had remained in a standing position.
“Test successful. It seems targeted throwing skills can be used and are guaranteed to hit.”
Yan nodded with satisfaction, then used Flying Thunder God to retrieve the spear from Nan Shi’s body.
The maximum attack range of [Secret of Fixation] was 80 yards, whereas archers, who possessed the longest attack range in this game, typically had ranges between 100 and 150 yards.
Thus, with such a potent combination of dash and attack, Yan was effectively half an assassin. Any archer attempting to attack him from over 100 yards away would be instantly eliminated by Yan’s [Backstep], [Rainbow Thrust], [Secret of Fixation], and [Flying Thunder God] combo, brought right into their face.
“Alright, I’m done with my tests. Now it’s my turn to take a beating.”
Yan activated infinite health and said to Nan Shi with a smile.
“Oh! I’m going to try out the dual-sword combo I’ve been researching!”
Nan Shi eagerly drew his twin swords, grinning at Yan as if seeking vengeance.
“Now you’ll get a taste of being tormented by combos!”
“Hahahaha!”
And so, that night passed in the “friendly” practice of the two.