Some of these skills had names so unfamiliar that I found myself wondering, Have these skills always existed?
This was especially true for the dealers’ skills. Even Sa-yoon, who had spent plenty of time rolling around the battlefield, had never seen anyone use them before.
At this point, their usage rate wasn’t just low—it was practically nonexistent, making them little more than skills that existed for the sake of existence.
Still, after reading through their descriptions, I understood why they had been created.
For instance, Demon Hunters naturally had a lot of evasion skills. Because of this, the mechanism behind some of their skills involved taking hits meant for their teammates and then using their own evasive techniques to avoid the damage.
However, when a party had both a tank and a healer, there was no need for such a convoluted process. You could just receive healing or a shield. In that situation, it was far more beneficial to slot in an additional damage skill instead.
Seriously, why the hell would they make such a useless skill…
“Is this just for the sake of variety?”
It all went back to the first-anniversary update.
[A new hero is coming.]
About two weeks before the anniversary, this ominous phrase was plastered across a giant pop-up on Divine’s official homepage.
Speculation ran rampant. The forums were in an uproar, debating whether this meant the arrival of yet another overpowered class or a rebalance of existing heroes.
Sa-yoon, of course, rooted for the latter. He still held onto the dream of a Warlock buff.
But one thing was certain—everyone was eagerly awaiting D-day. After all, this was the first-anniversary update.
[100 new skills! Endless combinations and synergies!]
On the day of the event, the promotional page changed. The text was something you’d expect from a cheap mobile gacha game, yet players still got swept up in the excitement.
However, when the update was finally revealed, all it amounted to was a handful of new skills for each class. Worse yet, most of these new skills were practically useless.
Compared to the grandiose marketing, the actual content was so underwhelming that people could only react with a disappointed, “Seriously? That’s it?”
Expectations had been high, which only made the disappointment hit harder. The only saving grace was the generous rewards from other event activities—without those, the update would’ve been seen as a complete scam, the kind that would’ve had players sending protest trucks to the developers.
Looking at the skill list now, it was obvious these were the very same “filler skills” that had been slammed back then for existing solely to pad out the update.
The fact that the Killer had dug these up to help me was impressive. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder—was this what they called Stockholm syndrome?
[Party] Shokrates: Oh, looks like the adjustments are done.
[Party] Shokrates: Guess it’s about to start.
[Party] Chasa: Yeah.
At Shokrates’ words, Sa-yoon closed his combat log and turned his attention to the arena.
The two characters, who had been frozen in place as if under a freezing debuff, began moving toward their respective starting positions at opposite ends of the arena.
[Server] Killer: @@@ 7th Arena, 10 minutes from now, high-stakes deletion match. Best of three. Who wants to watch? ㄱ @@@
[Server] Killer: @@@ 7th Arena, 10 minutes from now, high-stakes deletion match. Best of three. Who wants to watch? ㄱ @@@
[Server] Killer: @@@ 7th Arena, 10 minutes from now, high-stakes deletion match. Best of three. Who wants to watch? ㄱ @@@
As Killer walked, he posted the duel announcement in the server chat. Almost immediately, join messages flooded the general chat, and the once-empty spectator stands were packed in an instant.
[Server] JustTwentyEcoBags: Pant pant barely made it in!
[Server] ProteinMonster: Drumroll Rookie vs. Ranker showdown!
[Server] CaramelFlavorCookie: Guys… T_T It keeps saying “Entry Failed.” Is it lag?
[Server] ResignJongHyup: That means the room’s full.
[Server] CaramelFlavorCookie: Ah… ㅜ
[Server] CafeLatte: FFS, I couldn’t get in—y’all are crazy fast.
[Server] Sakeratto: Hope your day is as agile as your hands, Cafe~
[Server] Aquarius: I didn’t get in either. Can someone live-report the match?
[Arena] Hercules: The lag is insane ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Everyone, please leave if you’re not staying! ㅜ
[Arena] Jupiter: Yeah, like that’s gonna happen lmao.
[Arena] Nawal: This lag feels like a siege battle—does that seem right to you?
[Arena] Midori: Lower your graphics settings.
[Arena] Dotori: Not to be rude, but what kind of confidence does a newbie have to pull this off?
[Arena] TheGreatSage: People with nothing to lose are the scariest.
[The duel of heroes is about to begin!]
Amidst the clamor, a trumpet blast—something you’d expect to hear at the start of an ancient war—rang out. A large Battle Start message flashed across the center of the screen.
As the countdown began, the arena chat sped up even more. Sa-yoon pushed the server chat window to the corner and focused on Killer.
[The duel begins!]
The two fighters at opposite ends of the arena sprinted toward the center. Since neither used a movement skill, they arrived at nearly the same time, stopping at a set distance as if planned. From there, they circled each other cautiously, keeping their distance.
Noise, true to his tank role, had set his character’s size to the maximum. In contrast, Killer was slightly smaller than average, creating a scene reminiscent of David and Goliath.
A fierce battle of wits unfolded. Noise was the first to finish analyzing the situation.
With Iron-Blooded Shield, he maximized his defense and launched the first strike. His massive lance extended in a straight line, looking as if it could pierce through anything in its path.
Predicting the attack, Killer moved backward, but Noise immediately closed the gap, letting out a battle cry—the Guardian’s stun skill, which inflicted stun on any enemy within a certain range.
“Huh?”
Shouldn’t he have seen that coming?
Contrary to expectations, Killer didn’t dodge. Instead, he was hit head-on and immediately slumped forward.
Not missing the opportunity, Noise leaped into the air and slammed his lance down on Killer.
[Arena] BlackPropaganda: Lmao, how did he not dodge that?
[Arena] Greenbelt: It’s over lol.
[Arena] Hercules: Rookie, were you all talk? ㅠ
Noise gleefully unleashed a barrage of skills. He didn’t forget to extend the stun duration by following up with a shield bash on his defenseless opponent.
Sure, he had a reputation for fumbling in siege battles, but that didn’t mean he became a ranker for nothing. His understanding of other classes’ skills might be a bit lacking, but when it came to his own, he had them mastered and put them to damn good use.
The weighty lance struck Killer repeatedly. Combo chains stacked up, rapidly chipping away at his HP.
[Party] furple: Guild Master went full glass cannon build.
“…What?”
Sa-yoon checked Furple’s message and let out a dumbfounded noise without realizing it.
Demon Hunters were already a class that focused heavily on firepower, meaning their base defense wasn’t high to begin with. Going full glass cannon meant completely sacrificing any additional defense from armor or skills in favor of pure offensive investment.
The advantage? If you caught your opponent with an opening, you could obliterate them in an instant. The downside? If you didn’t find that opening, you could be the one getting obliterated instead.
The problem was that Killer’s opponent was a Guardian—a pure tank. He was literally the worst type of opponent to try and brute-force down with raw damage.
From Sa-yoon’s perspective, who always preferred stability, it was an incomprehensible decision. Isn’t he just going to lose like this? He rubbed the area beneath his eye with his thumb.
No matter how much of an unlucky bastard Killer was, the fact remained that he had been genuinely helpful during the siege battle. More importantly, this whole deletion match was because he shielded me. If Killer actually lost and had to delete his character, it would leave a bad taste in his mouth.
“Shit.”
Should I ask them to go easy on him since he’s a newbie? Or argue that since he wasn’t even fighting me, this match shouldn’t count?
As Sa-yoon was busy imagining a future where Killer had already lost and coming up with ways to protest, the guild chat remained as lively as ever.
[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Chasa-nim, who are you cheering for?
[Party] Freedeal: Well, definitely not Noise, right?
[Party] Oath’s Vow: Judging by the guestbook, it’s probably not our Guild Master either. ㅜ
[Party] Freedeal: He brought that on himself lol.
[Party] GegulGegulFrog: By the way, why isn’t anyone betting money on this?
[Party] Furple: If Snowman were here, there’d be a whole market open already.
[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Could’ve gone all-in on Inseong and made some easy cash lol. What a shame.
Even as Killer was getting his ass kicked, the guild members were busy with useless chatter, completely unfazed. It felt like he was the only one getting anxious.
The only silver lining was that Guardians had an incredibly slow attack speed.
At least it won’t be over in one skill rotation. Sa-yoon sighed in relief.
But just then, Noise’s lance began to glow white.
[Party] Furple: Oh, he’s already using his ultimate?
[Party] Oath’s Vow: Feels a little early, doesn’t it?
[Party] GegulGegulFrog: Guess Noise wants to wrap this up quick.
If that lands, he’s dead.
Unlike his guildmates, who remained nonchalant, Sa-yoon furrowed his brows.
Three seconds until the stun wore off. Three seconds until the Guardian’s ultimate finished casting.
Killer’s HP: 50%.
Even for a Guardian built entirely around defense, things changed when an ultimate skill came into play.
On top of that, Noise was the type to compensate for his lack of skill with top-tier weapons and armor.
[Arena] JustTwentyEcoBags: Aah… the newbie’s done for. ㅜ
With a Demon Hunter already below half HP, a single ultimate would be more than enough to send him straight to the grave.
“Ah, this… this isn’t good…”
The casting bar was nearly full. Killer still hadn’t moved, his head hanging low. Sa-yoon unconsciously licked his lower lip, his mouth dry.
Come on. Move already. Hurry up. Please. Just don’t lose like this.
He had been thinking about how much he hated Killer just moments ago, yet here he was, silently rooting for him.
And finally—Noise raised his lance high and brought it crashing down.
