The Enigmatic Twin-Sword Wielder

“Battle Instinct.”

“War Cry!”

Both of them activated identical buffs, a synchronized gesture that only occurred when two opponents genuinely respected each other and wished to engage in a full-power spar.

After all, when facing an unfamiliar player, who could guarantee they wouldn’t be ambushed while stacking buffs?

“You first…” both Yan and Xiao offered simultaneously, then paused, momentarily stunned.

“Pfft.”

Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle, her pre-battle stance relaxing as a laugh escaped her lips.

Yan, too, offered a slight smile, then took the initiative to speak.

“If I may be so bold, what level are you now?”

“Let me see…”

Xiao’s fair, slender hand glided through the air.

“Ah, I’m Level 55.”

‘Just as I thought…’

Yan’s lips curved into a wry smile.

He had first encountered Xiao in a Level 40 zone when he was only in his thirties, a significant ten-level gap that persisted even now, with Yan at Level 45 and Xiao at Level 55.

“Yan’s level is probably similar, right?”

Evidently, Xiao didn’t perceive their levels the same way; she was convinced that when they first met, both had been around Level 40, with little difference between them.

“Ah… roughly…”

Yan replied with a helpless sigh, unable to offer a better explanation without revealing why he had been leveling in a Level 40 zone at Level 30.

“In that case, I won’t hold back.”

Xiao declared, her twin swords once again settling into a combat stance.

“Oh, ladies first, as it should be.”

Yan nodded.

“Backstep!”

Wielding her twin swords, Xiao instantly activated her Backstep skill, retreating another 20 yards until she stood at the very edge of the arena.

Their distance had now stretched to a full 60 yards.

“Huh?”

Yan was utterly bewildered.

‘Didn’t I just duel Nan Shi?’ In Yan’s experience, that was how a twin-sword player’s duel should unfold.

If Xiao were an archer, initiating with a [Backstep] to create distance would be perfectly logical, but wasn’t she a twin-sword player?

Before he could react, three streaks of white sword light assailed Yan, who swiftly responded with a dodging backstep.

“Backstep!”

Yan immediately shifted backward, almost stepping off the edge of the arena, yet the white sword light, as if endowed with eyes, followed his movement and struck him.

‘What?’

Yan was perplexed. ‘Was this a targeted skill?’

‘Flash?’ he mused, only to immediately shake his head.

“No, that’s wrong. Flash isn’t a targeted skill; it can be dodged.”

“Moreover, the damage feels off; these three streaks of blade light didn’t hurt as much as a single Flash.”

Yet, Yan couldn’t recall any twin-sword ranged skill that could guarantee a hit.

Before he could fully comprehend, another three streaks of sword light darted towards Yan, who instinctively activated a blocking skill.

“Binding!”

Yan brandished his spear, its tip tracing arcs of chilling brilliance that enveloped his body; though [Binding] offered only a 10% block rate, it was better than nothing.

Just as he braced himself for the impending damage, he was surprised to find all three streaks of sword light blocked.

“Huh?”

Yan exclaimed in surprise. ‘Was his luck truly that good?’

He glanced at Xiao in the distance, noting the complete lack of surprise on her face, and instantly understood that things were far from simple.

‘Could it be…’

“That sword light… is it your basic attack?”

That was it; [Binding] had an 80% block chance only against basic attacks, whereas against skills, it was merely 10%.

Yan looked up, questioning Xiao.

“So, you discovered it this quickly, did you?”

Xiao offered a wry smile, making no attempt to conceal anything.

“That’s right, these are my basic attacks.”

“My innate skill is Light-Shadow Enchantment: All attacks release a sword light wave of the same attribute in the original attack direction, reaching up to 80 yards and dealing 100% of the original attack damage (magical damage).”

Xiao’s smile grew even brighter.

“This means not only my basic attacks, but all my skills can be transformed into ranged sword light, and what’s more, basic attacks and targeted skills cannot be dodged.”

“What a troublesome innate skill…”

Yan pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation.

Upon hearing his words, Xiao smiled and shrugged helplessly.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“No wonder you started by using Backstep to create distance; your maximum attack range is effectively half that of an archer.”

Yan finally understood why Xiao had made such an unusual move as an “opening [Backstep].”

“Indeed, if you were to use the ‘Seven Ins and Seven Outs’ movement skill you employed against that Greatsword player just now, you could still close the distance to my face.”

‘Huh? “Seven Ins and Seven Outs”?’ ‘Ah, she’s talking about that movement combo from earlier.’

‘So that’s how the spectating players described it; it’s quite a cool name, hehehe…’ Yan thought, his mind momentarily drifting.

Yan’s focus was clearly misplaced, and seeing his distracted expression, Xiao felt a strange flicker of annoyance.

“Sword Dance!”

Blue flames erupted around Xiao, and with a flurry of motion, she continuously wielded her twin swords, unleashing a torrent of dense sword light wildly towards Yan.

This was a primary damage-dealing skill for twin-sword players in the third tier, normally involving repeated close-range strikes with both swords, dealing multiple instances of damage, with the number of swings tied to attack speed.

Yet, in Xiao’s hands, this skill took on the feel of a “magical machine gun,” as vast waves of sword light attacks surged towards Yan.

“Whoa, whoa! Did you actually specialize in attack speed?”

Yan hastily used his [Rainbow Thrust] skill to dash forward 30 yards, narrowly evading the onslaught of blade light. He cast a fearful glance back, only to see that the ground where he had just stood was now scarred by a large crater, blasted by Xiao’s sword light.

‘Whew, that was close.’

Yan let out a long breath of relief. Fortunately, the attacks from [Sword Dance] weren’t targeted, or he might already be critically wounded by the sword light.

“Cleave!”

Xiao unleashed another skill, sending a crescent moon of sword light flying towards Yan. This time, he couldn’t dodge in time, and the crescent struck him, pushing him back another 20 yards.

“Damn it, the skill turned ranged and it still has crowd control effects?”

Yan complained vehemently.

“This is just too cheap…”

“Falling Moon Slash!”

Ignoring him, Xiao released yet another streak of sword light.

This, too, was a knockback skill, and a targeted one at that, leaving Yan with no means of evasion.

If he were hit by Falling Moon Slash and knocked back another 20 yards, he would be pushed out of the arena!

Yan’s brow furrowed, and he decided to meet the skill head-on.

“Thunderous Spear!”

Purple lightning coiled around the spear in his hand. He abruptly raised its tip, aiming it at the sword light Xiao had unleashed.

“Boom!”

The clash of skills produced a violent roar; Falling Moon Slash vanished, and the spear in Yan’s hand returned to its normal appearance.

‘Whew, good thing, no miscalculation in damage.’

Yan felt a sense of relief.

This was the “Attack Nullification” mechanism that Alice had previously explained to Tian Jiu.

When two attacks of the same nature and identical damage clashed, they would nullify each other. Of course, if your skill damage was higher than your opponent’s, it could still nullify; if it was significantly higher, your skill would continue to attack the opponent after a reduction in some of its properties.

At this moment, Yan had utilized this very mechanism, using his [Thunderous Spear], also a Tier 2 skill, to nullify Xiao’s [Falling Moon Slash].

‘Good thing they were damage skills of the same nature… wait? The same nature?’

Realizing something, cold sweat nearly broke out on Yan’s brow.

“Huh? Wait a minute, didn’t all your sword lights convert to magical damage? Why was my [Thunderous Spear], a physical damage skill, able to nullify it?”

When in doubt, ask. Yan posed the question to Xiao.

“Because the original nature of this skill was physical damage, and then it was converted into magical damage by my innate skill, [Light-Shadow Enchantment], so it possesses both physical and magical properties simultaneously…”

Xiao spread her hands.

“Therefore, whether it’s magical damage or physical damage, both can nullify my sword light.”

“But in other words, you can nullify either magical or physical damage with your sword light, right?”

Yan keenly perceived both the advantages and disadvantages of this trait.

“Exactly.”

Xiao nodded, an excited smile gracing her face.

“Yan, you actually used the ‘Attack Nullification’ mechanism; what a wonderful surprise you’ve given me.”

“Indeed! This is what true full-dive VR game PvP is all about!”

She raised the pristine longsword in her left hand high, then slowly brought the blade down, its sharp tip pointing directly at Yan.

Immediately, purple electrical light surged from her longsword, and she activated a skill.

“Thunderous Spear!”

‘What!?’

Watching the sharp, purple sword light surge from the longsword in her hand, Yan’s eyes widened in astonishment.

‘Isn’t this…

…the very skill I just used to nullify [Falling Moon Slash]!?’

“Backstep!”

Yan spun around at lightning speed, activating his now-off-cooldown Backstep, moving 20 yards towards Xiao’s direction and evading the purple sword light of [Thunderous Spear].

Yan turned back, looking at Xiao, who was now 50 yards away.

“Whoa, whoa! What’s going on here? Aren’t you a twin-sword player? How do you have a spear skill?”

“It’s all thanks to this.”

Xiao offered a slight smile, holding the pristine longsword in her left hand horizontally before her, showcasing it to Yan.

“Sword of Drizzle: ATK +5%, Stability +5%, Accuracy +10%

Innate Ability: Completely copies a previously nullified skill, allowing it to be cast once without mana cost. Damage is determined based on the opponent’s attribute bonuses (no cooldown).”

“You really hold nothing back, telling me all your trump cards…”

Yan chuckled helplessly, unsure whether to be pleased or not.

“Anyway, our conversation in the arena won’t be broadcast through the screen; the players outside can’t hear us.”

Xiao winked playfully, a smile on her face.

“Well, I trust you, Yan, you won’t tell anyone, right?”

“That may be true…”

Yan gave a wry, helpless smile.

“Speaking of which, the innate ability of this companion-grade weapon is a bit too overpowered, isn’t it?”

“If one skillfully uses the ‘Attack Nullification mechanism,’ wouldn’t they be able to ‘freeload’ skills and health without any mana cost?”

Yan pressed a hand to his forehead, a headache beginning to form.

“And… if I nullify your skills, they’ll also be copied by you…”

“If you use a more powerful skill to shatter mine directly, I won’t be able to copy it, you know.”

Xiao chuckled mischievously, offering what seemed like a “kind” reminder.

This seemed like the correct answer: simply use a higher-damage skill to nullify hers and then continue the attack. But…

“Wouldn’t that be a huge mana drain for me?”

Yan scratched his head, a bitter expression on his face, finding himself at a loss for a solution for a moment.

‘Ah! I’ve got it!’

‘Can’t I…

…cancel skills?’

Yan pondered, his gaze at Xiao’s smiling face slowly turning mischievous.