The player with the first mark, SsangGyePiRiceCake, died without returning from a goat to human form.
And the second Priest was tougher than expected. As soon as the curse was lifted, WhiteNoise rushed in, posturing like a Tank to block the front. In that moment, the Priest retreated and cast an instant heal. Their previously empty health bar filled up in an instant.
Just a little more and we would’ve had them. Clicking his tongue in frustration, Sa-yoon was interrupted when RedAlert jumped in, slamming his spear into the ground.
The ground cracked apart, forcing all party members to step back at once. It was the Spearmaster’s ultimate skill. The crevasse would last for 30 seconds before restoring itself.
With a massive gap between them, the two parties stared each other down. The opposing side backed away toward the edge as three ranged damage dealers—Sharpshooter, Black Mage, and Warlock—attacked in unison.
[Battlefield] Freedeal: Such an honor to see someone so distinguished in this shabby place ㅠㅠ
[Battlefield] OtherTeamPriest: Haha, right?
[Battlefield] OtherTeamPriest: Too bad we’re not in the same party.
Three Tanks in one team was a troublesome combination. Sa-yoon was debating how to efficiently take down the Priest first when, out of nowhere, Freedeal started casually chatting with the enemy.
When did they even get to know each other? Feeling slightly awkward, Sa-yoon asked, “You know them?”
Freedeal: Yep~ We run into each other a lot around midnight. They recently changed their nickname, I think? Their Tank gear has maxed-out defense fragments and optimized options, so they won’t go down easily.
Out of habit, Sa-yoon checked the enemy Priest’s guild. . A familiar name. If they had a skilled Priest in that guild…
“KimbapJoah?”
Freedeal: Oh, yeah, that’s them.
Jeon-gi: Freedeal, when did you start running the battlefield so much?
Freedeal: The best way to end the day is with a battlefield run.
As both a working professional and the guild’s sole Priest, Freedeal was instantly dragged into a party the moment they logged in.
By the time they finished a full dungeon run, it was roughly midnight. Sa-yoon had assumed they did a few daily quests before logging out, but it seemed they had actually been running battlefield matches until the very end. That was the mark of a true ranker.
“That one’s good. Probably tougher than GreenLight.”
Jeon-gi: Wow, so that’s basically four Tanks? Ugh… I hate that.
Oath’s Vow: It doesn’t matter. We’ll wipe them out before the dead Priest rejoins.
GegulGegulFrog: Neeeng.
Two Priests and one Priest had a huge gap in healing output. To overpower that, they needed enough firepower to crush the incoming heals.
Fortunately, they had four damage dealers on their side, so firepower wasn’t a concern. The real problem was the three Tanks.
Oath’s Vow: First, we need to make sure they can’t use their defensive skills on the Priest.
Just like Assassins and Hunters had plenty of evasion skills, Tanks had various defensive abilities to protect allies. With three Tanks, that meant three times the defensive skills.
Even if they targeted the lone Priest, it would be meaningless if an invincibility skill covered them.
Jeon-gi: Hah… Guess it’s my time to shine.
With a confident remark, Shokrates stepped forward from the backline. His weapon, a grimoire, floated ominously in front of him. His character, with stark white hair, began chanting a sinister incantation—exuding the vibe of a mad sorcerer who had lost his mind to dark experiments.
As he raised both arms toward the sky, dark clouds suddenly formed inside the battlefield.
GegulGegulFrog: Am I the only one who thinks Black Mage skills were designed by a dev who never outgrew their edgy phase?
Ignoring GegulGegulFrog’s jab, Shokrates cast another spell. This time, black rain began to pour. The enemy scrambled back, but the entire space had already become part of the storm’s domain. With each drop of rain, their health drained.
He wasn’t done yet. He initiated a third motion.
KRRRRUNG!
The ceiling rumbled as random lightning strikes rained down. It was the final skill of an Electro Mage.
Unluckily for GreenLight, a bolt struck him directly, inflicting stun. Oath’s Vow wasted no time, activating a skill that yanked distant enemies right in front of him.
As the rest of the enemy team hopped around desperately to dodge the lightning, GreenLight was instantly overwhelmed by a six-man beatdown and died on the spot. Now, it was four versus six.
Anyone could see their side had the upper hand.
Jeon-gi: Hah, this is why I play Electro Mage.
Oath’s Vow: Finally pulling your weight.
GegulGegulFrog: But how is the Tank losing HP faster than the Priest?
GreenLight was a Brawler, a new class introduced last season. Back then, WhiteNoise had feigned kindness, recommending it to Chasa as if doing him a favor.
Maybe that’s why their gear still looked incomplete. If this was their main character, they wouldn’t have melted so quickly. Their main was named RedLight, for reference.
Oath’s Vow: Stealth No. 3 is active. I’ll keep an eye on Freedeal’s side. Jeon-gi (No. 4) and Chasa (No. 5), keep applying binds.
Jeon-gi: Ah, they’re pulling back!
Oath’s Vow: I’ll follow.
Realizing they were at a disadvantage, WhiteNoise abandoned their team and bolted back the way they came. With the main Tank fleeing, the remaining party members quickly retreated as well.
One by one, their team chased the fleeing enemies down a dark corridor. Chasa was about to follow when, suddenly, a stun landed, freezing him in place.
“Ambush from No. 3. I’m stunned!”
Oath’s Vow: I’m coming back.
As he called out the status update and turned his view, Chasa saw Killer behind him, driving a blade deep into his waist.
Despite having landed the ambush, Killer showed no further intent to attack. Sa-yoon quickly called out, “No, go after them! I’ll handle this.”
[Whisper] Killer: You did unblock me.
[Whisper] Killer: Why are you ignoring me?
Of course. There was no way this obsessive freak would just sit still. Ignoring them wouldn’t do any good—they’d just keep following him around, being a nuisance.
[Whisper] Killer: Why aren’t you keeping your promise?
[Whisper] Chasa: What promise?
[Whisper] Chasa: I said I’d unblock you, not entertain you.
[Whisper] Killer: So you’re a liar?
[Whisper] Chasa: That’s kinda harsh ㅜ
[Whisper] Killer: ㅜㅜ
As the two exchanged messages, their characters stood idly, shifting into default idle animations.
“What did I say would happen if you approached me again?”
“Are you seriously thinking that cute little damage output of yours is enough to threaten me?”
The Warlock pointed their staff menacingly, while the Hunter smirked with arms crossed, clearly provoking them.
Even their default character personalities were insufferable.
[Whisper] Killer: That’s not fair.
[Whisper] Killer: Stop playing word games.
Judging by their complaints, they clearly couldn’t accept it. Not that Sa-yoon had expected words alone to convince them.
[Whisper] Chasa: Then how about another 1v1?
[Whisper] Chasa: If you win this time, I’ll talk to you.
Sa-yoon was confident he wouldn’t lose again.
[Whisper] Killer: You really mean that?
[Whisper] Killer: Be specific.
[Whisper] Chasa: I’ll talk to you as much as you want.
[Whisper] Chasa: I’ll even answer your questions properly.
[Whisper] Killer: Let’s go.
To cut to the chase—Sa-yoon lost this 1v1.
Killer had learned from their previous encounter, adapting to his damage-over-time attacks.
On top of that, the cramped corridor was a terrible environment for a Warlock, whose strength lay in dealing sustained damage while kiting.
But since he was the one who suggested it, he couldn’t exactly back out. Damn, they were annoyingly good… Sa-yoon gritted his teeth and sent a whisper, sticking to his word.
[Whisper] Chasa: So? What did you want to say?
If it was about character customization again, he was blocking them on the spot. He had promised to unblock, not to never block them again.
[Whisper] Killer: Nothing.
[Whisper] Chasa: What?
[Whisper] Killer: Just felt like it.
Just…?
[Whisper] Killer: If you block me, we can’t talk.
Sa-yoon narrowed his eyes at the monitor. What the hell? So… they didn’t actually have anything to say right now, but they were worried about it being inconvenient later?
[Whisper] Chasa: What could we possibly have to talk about?
[Party] Oath’s Vow: <Position><Position>
Oath’s Vow: Chasa, we’ll regroup once you respawn.
Jeon-gi: Freedeal! Freedeal! I’m dying!
Furple: Use a potion.
Jeon-gi: Ah, it’s on cooldown!
Freedeal: Someone get Ggoong over here. They still haven’t transferred servers?
GegulGegulFrog: They said they did. Should be moving over this week.
Furple: This Tank-Tank-Tank combo is so damn annoying. They just won’t die.
Hearing the party’s chatter, Sa-yoon hurriedly typed.
[Whisper] Chasa: Let’s talk later.
[Whisper] Chasa: After this match.
***
PVP was the kind of fight where even the smallest variables could flip the tide in an instant. Pushing the enemy all the way to their starting point had been great, but they’d overextended, allowing the dead enemies to respawn and rejoin too quickly—turning the battle against them.
This time, the enemy had done a better job protecting their Priest. With constant healing support from the back, the three Tanks, whose HP barely seemed to budge, were relentlessly harassing Freedeal.
Meanwhile, Killer—having finished off Chasa—was now aggressively targeting Shokrates.
With Freedeal preoccupied, the Black Mage, whose HP was about as sturdy as wet tissue paper, met an untimely demise.
[Guild] Shokrates: Ugh, Inseong, you’re the worst ㅜ
[Guild] Killer: ?
[Guild] Killer: There’s no such thing as mercy in a duel.
Furple: I’m gonna die.
Freedeal: Low on heals.
Killer, having eliminated Shokrates, set their sights on Furple next. The Sharpshooter tried to flee, but their HP kept plummeting.
Freedeal wasn’t a pure healer, and there were limits to what a single Priest could do. On top of that, three Tanks were relentlessly chasing them down, leaving them too overwhelmed to focus.
GegulGegulFrog and Oath’s Vow were trying to hold the Tanks back, but that just meant the enemy Priest could heal uninterrupted, keeping their team alive.
If they focused on the enemy Priest, their own Priest would die. But if they protected their Priest, the enemy wouldn’t go down. At this rate, they were going to get completely wiped.
“Freedeal, can you use your heal-boosting skill?”
Freedeal: I could, but I don’t have enough mana for it right now.
Sa-yoon was referring to a new skill. The Priest class had received major buffs in the last season’s balance patch.
Not only had their healing output increased overall, but they’d also gained a self-buff that boosted healing by 20% at the cost of consuming 20% more mana. Unlike passives or timed buffs, this one could be toggled on and off freely.
“I’ll give you mana.”
And Sa-yoon had a way to turn the tide. A strategy only Warlocks could use.
