Not good!
A dark shadow loomed directly overhead, accompanied by a fierce, whistling punch wind. Sensing the imminent strike, Yan reacted with lightning speed.
He instantly canceled his ongoing skill, sidestepping two body-lengths to the right, just narrowly evading Old Ape’s earth-shattering fist.
“Tch, he dodged it, just as I thought.”
Old Ape let out a guttural sound, a clear indication that he had anticipated this outcome.
“[Spearmaster] can indeed cancel their skills, it seems.”
“An Ruina’s conjecture was spot on.”
It appeared An Ruina and he had diligently watched every single morning arena master match, making them well-acquainted with Yan’s innate skill, [Agile Control].
For An Ruina to deduce such intricacies merely by watching a screen spoke volumes of her profound familiarity with the game.
‘She truly is an undeniable powerhouse.’
‘Perhaps it’s best to avoid provoking her in the future…’
Yan offered a wry smile, a helpless thought crossing his mind, before his gaze finally settled on Old Ape.
“Given that you’re so intimately familiar with my abilities, I would have thought you’d possess a bit more confidence, wouldn’t you?”
At his words, Old Ape’s features contorted into a tight grimace, as if Yan’s casual remark had utterly dumbfounded him.
“It’s precisely because I’m aware of your ‘skill cancellation’ trick that I lack the confidence to actually beat you…”
Old Ape wailed, his voice a strange, exasperated cry.
“Ha… I suppose that’s fair enough…”
Yan merely shrugged, adopting an expression of feigned innocence.
Indeed, for Zhen Bupo, who engaged in combat by transforming into a formidable BOSS, Yan, with his ability to interrupt his own skills, proved an exceptionally troublesome adversary—one might even call him a natural predator.
After all, while BOSS attacks boasted immense damage, they were notoriously cumbersome.
Any veteran of RPGs knew that, under normal circumstances, BOSS skills were remarkably easy to evade.
The key to counterattacking lay in exploiting the brief windows of vulnerability during a BOSS’s recovery animation to unleash damage.
No player with even a modicum of skill would ever foolishly remain rooted in place, inviting the BOSS’s clearly telegraphed red-circle attacks.
Even though Zhen Bupo consciously commanded the BOSS’s every move, he couldn’t alter the inherent clumsiness of its form.
As long as Yan adeptly utilized his ‘skill cancellation’ ability, there would be no vulnerable cooldown windows for Zhen Bupo to exploit, nor would Yan suffer a single blow.
Consequently, the current predicament was exceedingly disadvantageous for Zhen Bupo.
From the moment the battle commenced, he hadn’t even managed to land a single hit on Yan.
Old Ape appeared to grasp this stark reality.
He could only gnash his teeth in frustration, devoid of any opportunity for a direct assault, his gaze fixed on Yan with venomous intensity.
“Since you’re not going to make a move, I’ll take the initiative then.”
Yan chuckled softly, twirling the spear in his grasp.
With a series of rapid lunges, he swiftly closed the distance to Old Ape’s towering form, then, with a sudden, fluid motion, he spun his spear and thrust it upwards.
“Dragon’s Tooth!”
Following the spear’s rotational motion, Yan retreated the instant his weapon connected with Old Ape, executing a graceful flip in mid-air before landing a short distance away.
[Dragon’s Tooth] (TL Note: A Spearmaster skill that deals moderate damage while simultaneously displacing the user backward, primarily used for flashy maneuvers rather than raw power.)
The moment Yan had begun to close in, Old Ape had already raised his massive fist, poised to strike.
Yet, before that formidable weapon could even descend, Yan had already disengaged and retreated.
Old Ape’s devastating punch slammed into the earth, stirring up only dust, striking naught but empty air.
Yan’s assault, however, was far from over.
Having landed from his [Dragon’s Tooth] maneuver, he executed a swift pivot, his spear suddenly sweeping towards his right rear, the chilling glint of its tip emitting a faint, resonant hum.
“Back-Turning Spear!”
In the very next instant, Yan, who had moments ago presented his back to Old Ape, abruptly reappeared before him, his spear-thrusting motion striking deep into the ape’s muscular leg.
‘Damn it!’
Zhen Bupo watched as his health bar, now reduced to half by Yan’s relentless attrition, stirred a potent surge of anger within him.
The Old Ape he controlled seemed equally enraged, the scarlet glow in its eyes intensifying further as it glared fiercely at Yan.
He resolved to launch a counter-offensive.
“Take this, Yan!”
Old Ape unleashed a piercing shriek, its sharp cry painfully assaulting Yan’s eardrums.
He raised both his arms, his massive body beginning to spin like a top.
Simultaneously, a dangerous red circular aura enveloped his immediate vicinity.
Yan had witnessed this technique before; it was Zhen Bupo’s ace in the hole during the previous afternoon’s arena battles.
The skill allowed for mobile casting and inflicted a devastating 360-degree area-of-effect damage with no blind spots.
Coupled with Zhen Bupo’s precise control and the skill’s inherent stun effect, Old Ape’s maneuver became overwhelmingly potent.
Alas, having already witnessed it, Yan had, of course, already devised a counter-strategy.
“Secret of Fixation!”
“Backflip!”
The spear in Yan’s hand seemed to possess a will of its own, flying from his grasp to abruptly embed itself in the spinning Old Ape.
Concurrently, he activated his [Backflip] skill, now off cooldown, executing a backward leap that instantly put a twenty-yard distance between himself and Old Ape.
Even though a BOSS would only suffer twenty-five percent of the control effect, and even though this control wouldn’t outright interrupt Old Ape’s technique, it was sufficient to momentarily restrain the spinning, berserk ape.
“Divine Speed!”
“Divine Speed!”
Seizing the brief interval created by his retreat from Old Ape, Yan swiftly applied three stacks of the Divine Speed buff to himself, significantly augmenting his action speed.
No sooner had he finished stacking Divine Speed than Old Ape, having been forcibly held in place for a mere 0.1 seconds, was already closing in.
The edge of the menacing red circle now lay only five yards from Yan.
“Rainbow Thrust!”
Yan spun around, activating a displacement skill to once more widen the gap with Old Ape, then immediately broke into a sprint.
It appeared his strategy was to simply outlast Old Ape’s current skill.
Old Ape continued its relentless, spinning assault, yet it proved utterly incapable of catching the exceptionally swift Yan.
While Yan hadn’t specialized in raw movement speed, the combined effect of three layers of Divine Speed and his 599 points of Agility granted him a velocity that the spinning Old Ape simply could not match.
Naturally, if Old Ape had simply abandoned its spin and pursued with powerful, ground-eating strides, it would have easily closed the distance.
However, a spinning Old Ape clearly couldn’t maintain its upper body’s rotation while simultaneously having its lower body sprint directly towards Yan…
“Spear Uppercut.”
Yan paused, then, from a distance, activated the [Spear Uppercut] skill.
The spear embedded in Old Ape’s body seemed to stir with a life of its own, its tip abruptly flicking upwards, forcibly stunning Old Ape for another brief 0.1 seconds.
He immediately resumed his sprint, moving with incredible agility, once more creating a significant distance from Old Ape.
It appeared he had no intention of stopping until Old Ape’s relentless spinning attack finally ceased.
‘But then again…’
Still in motion, Yan glanced back at the perpetually spinning Old Ape, a helpless smile gracing his lips.
‘Is Old Ape truly alright, spinning like that?’
‘Or rather… can Zhen Bupo, the one controlling him, actually withstand this?’
Yan found himself intensely curious about how Zhen Bupo managed to operate after transforming into Old Ape.
If the controls were still akin to a normal full-dive experience, wouldn’t he essentially be spinning in endless circles within that colossal body?
‘Wouldn’t he get dizzy… or even pass out?’
The mere thought sent a wave of nausea washing over Yan, and he quickly forced himself to banish the image of a world perpetually spinning.
Just as his mind wandered, Old Ape’s rotational frenzy finally subsided.
Ultimately, he had failed to land a single blow on Yan.
Noticing Old Ape’s attack had ceased, Yan also halted, turning to face him.
What he saw, however, was Old Ape’s massive, hunched form trembling faintly, the scarlet glint in his eyes significantly dulled.
He hadn’t even managed to orient himself to face Yan directly.
Observing Old Ape, silent and swaying precariously as if on the verge of collapse, Yan’s brow furrowed slightly.
‘Hold on, did that guy actually get dizzy from all the spinning?’
‘Surely not?’
“Hey! Zhen Bupo! Are you alright?”
Yan called out, his voice laced with genuine concern.
Old Ape lifted his left hand to clutch his head, swaying unsteadily as he weakly waved his right, clearly trying to project an image of resilience.
“No… I’m not…”
Yet, before he could fully utter his defiant ‘I’m fine,’ his colossal form abruptly vanished from Yan’s sight.
[Player Zhen Bupo has disconnected.]
[Victor: Yan]
‘Ah, this…’
Yan stood dumbfounded, his mouth slightly agape as he stared at the white text shimmering in the sky, proclaiming his victory.
‘No way…’
It was his first time ever witnessing an opponent disconnect in the middle of a PK match.
‘I can’t exactly feel pleased with a victory handed to me like this…’
Yan gazed up at the words in the sky, a bitter smile gracing his lips, before allowing the shimmering blue light of teleportation to envelop his form, transporting him to the center of Arena Number Three.
****
“Tch! That imbecilic older brother!”
In the center of Arena Number One, [Iron-Blooded Queen] An Ruina clicked her tongue in exasperation.
Her silver helmet, designed to obscure her eyes, failed to conceal the anxious worry etched across her otherwise delicate features.
With a frustrated, impatient stomp of her foot, her graceful figure gradually shimmered and vanished from her position.
“Force Logout!”
****
“Esteemed players, the five ultimate victors of our inaugural event’s arena challenge have now been determined.”
Alice’s voice, clear and cool yet undeniably gentle, resonated in the ears of every player.
“Arena Number One: Hayata Midori.”
“Arena Number Two: An Ruina.”
“Arena Number Three: Yan.”
“Arena Number Four: Xiao.”
“Arena Number Five: Lian.”
Alice’s ethereal form materialized before the spectator area’s colossal screen.
She raised a slender, elegant hand, gracefully conjuring a sixth display panel in the air.
“The awards ceremony and distribution of rewards will commence at 7:30 PM.
Now, please enjoy a compilation of the most thrilling moments from this event.”
****
Standing in the heart of Arena Number Three, Yan gazed up at the sky-high screen, his eyes lingering on Alice’s serene, exquisite profile.
A helpless smile touched his lips.
‘I wonder if the awards ceremony was genuinely scheduled for 7:30 PM from the start…’
Yan’s gaze flickered to another screen, where the image of the now-empty Arena Number Two was displayed.
‘…’or if they’re simply waiting for all the arena masters to gather.’
‘Well, Zhen Bupo is quite fortunate, I suppose, to have a sister who worries about him so much.’
‘Who would have thought that the [Iron-Blooded Queen], who always appears so cold and detached, would actually care so deeply about Zhen Bupo’s well-being?’
‘This must be what they mean by losing the battle but winning the war of life…’
Yan thought of Zhen Bupo’s slightly awkward and self-conscious face when he spoke of his sister, and his lips couldn’t help but curl upwards.
‘I hope after this, those two can be more open with each other.’
‘Well, it’s got nothing to do with me, anyway.’
Yan mused, returning the spear to his back.
He lifted his eyes to the large screen in the sky, standing quietly in the center of Arena Number Three.