The Will to Fight

The fight against Apprentece was off to a bad start for Nia. She lost way too much HP right off the bat, and the bowmen started raining arrows on her as well.

From this position, if Appretence successfully lands a counterattack against every bolt Nia shoots, then her HP will be deleted in like 2~3 attacks. She had no chance of winning like this!

"I-I think I'll retreat-" 

"Nah, it's all good, yo!" Lars reassured. "I'll be there in a jiffy, dude! Just keep him pinned and we'll finish him off! And, I'mma clear out these goons on the way too, don't worry!"

"O-Ok!" Nia snapped out of it. For now, the flight instincts loosened their grip over her.

[I forgot I'm not alone here.] Nia realized. [It's funny, actually. Originally, the whole point of "ganking" is to take down enemies together, isn't it?]

The word "gank" was frequently abused to refer to any surprise attack, but its original meaning was "gang kill". It referred to the act of ganging up on the enemy with your teammates.

Admittedly, in her entire career thus, Nia hadn't done much justice to this term. Most of the time, her "ganks" involved launching a strong attack all by herself.

[But, some monsters are just too strong to take down alone.] Nia realized that now better than ever before. This time, it wasn't just about ganking a "scary class" like DK or Orc. No, the [player] himself was scary. And he was also playing Orc on top of that, so double the scary!

This was definitely the kind of enemy Nia needed help with, no two ways about it. Alas, she failed to properly sync her attack with Lars, just as she failed to do so with Ben in Top. She only alerted the team that she was going to rotate to Bot, but nothing beyond that.

Before Nia arrived, Lars had been taking full advantage of Elf's long attack range, so he was firing shots from far behind the tower. Therefore, he now had to travel a long distance in order to catch up to Nia.

[If only I told him earlier…. well, it is what it is.] Nia shook her head and focused on the foe in front of her. She had to fire another bolt ASAP, or else the Orc's slowdown will expire.

However, before she could continue her offense - WHISH! The metal whip cracked once more! The momentum of the battle started shiting to Appretnece's side and he sensed it.

[She's hesitating. Good.] Jin nodded. [As expected, she's a scaredy-cat. The moment things go south for her, she freezes up and starts thinking about running away.]

An opponent who abandoned their will to fight had no chance of winning. Now that fear took over her, Vanishing was as good as a punching bag.

[Hmph, not that she had any chance of winning in the first place.] Jin thought.[ Her gank fell apart the moment she failed to push me into the tower area. To make things worse, her gank partner didn't seem ready at all for any of this.]

Perhaps Vanishing deserved a little bit of praise for how sneakily she delivered her gank and almost caught Jin off-guard. However, in the end, she failed to coordinate her attack with her partner, therefore the entire thing was bound to fail.

Now, Vanishing was quacking in her boots, struggling to continue her own offense as well. How laughable. Until the very end, she was a subpar Western player, like everybody in this god-forsaken region.

After the next scourge attack connects and reduces Vanishing's HP below 40%, the girl should completely lose her fighting spirit. She'll run away like the scaredy-cat she was, freeing Jin from the irksome slowdown and allowing him to disengage.

At least, that's what he expected the insecure girl to do. However, the move she pulled next defined all expectations.

[I-It's coming!] Nia saw the scourge flying right toward her! She totally messed up there by getting distracted. Her self-doubt was going to be the end of her!

The time she spent contemplating her next move halted her entire momentum, and the enemy didn't let that opportunity slip. The Korean monster seized full control of the battle in an instant.

[B-But, I'm not scared!] Nia declared. [I mean, it's super scary and stuff, but I'm not scared of you, you monster! I just gotta dodge it...!]

Nia couldn't let the enemy land this hit for free, so she rolled! However, this roll wasn't meant to escape the scene. And, it wasn't a roll to the side, either.

No, Nia rolled straight at the monster in front of her! She rolled forward, prepared to strike down her foe! Or at least, a part of her was prepared for this...

[E-Eh!?] Nia exclaimed a moment after making that bold move. [A-Am I seriously doing this!? I mean, I did want to hit him with the dagger, but this is super risky!!!]

Regardless, there was no going back now. Her Drow was rolling forward, ducking under the lashing scourge. She closed the distance between them in an instant.

[Scary! But, this range is good!] Nia realized. [And, he will be stuck in a recovery animation for a bit, so this is the perfect chance...!]

Nia took out her black dagger as soon as she recovered. STAB! She thrust it at the monster in front of her!

Even though the range of Cursed Dagger was poor, Apprentece had no chance of dodging this one from point-blank, not while he was locked in a recovery animation. Or, so Nia thought...

WHISH. The dagger pierced through something, but that something was just empty air.

"Eh...?" Nia blinked in confusion. "But, I was in range, and..."

She didn't mess up her aim, did she? No, she definitely didn't. Even amidst this fast-developing situation, Nia managed to maintain a good degree of focus, so her thrust should've been spot-on.

So no, it wasn't Nia who missed. It was her opponent who moved! Even though the guy was supposed to be stuck recovering from the whiff, he somehow managed to sidestep Nia's point-blank stab!

[It's that Korean hack again!] Nia seethed. [Just how many cheats can one step cancel fit!?]

It was absurd. First, the guy used KC offensively to prevent Nia from stepping out of his attack range. Now, he used it defensibly to dodge a point-blank strike that should've definitely connected. It's like this one technique was breaking all the rules of the game!

[So, what do I do now!?] Nia gulped. [I'm literally next to him, and each of his attacks hits like a truck. Do I run? Can I even run? I don't think so. But, I can't beat him in a melee fight, either...]

"You won't be able to run away," Yuel stated matter-of-factly. "Just keep attacking." 

"R-Right!" Nia got the answer she was searching for. So, she ignored the fact that this telepathic robot somehow read her mind and fired a bolt at her opponent!

This was a desperate last stand. Her death was all but assured at this point, but Nia nonetheless stood her ground and fought. She wasn't going to let this Korean superhuman scare her...!

Of course, the enemy lashed back right away.

[Hmm. I didn't expect this.] Jin thought. [I was sure she'd run away the moment her HP dropped low, but she's being surprisingly brave this time. Or reckless, rather.]

Rolling in with Cursed Dagger was an uncannily bold move for a scaredy-cat like Vanishing. It seemed like the girl was out for blood. She disregarded her usual timidness for the sake of taking Jin down.

Was it applaudable? Or, just foolish? Either way, that play almost put Jin in jeopardy. If he failed to sidestep that thrust, then he would've sustained heavy damage and debuffs. In fact, his death would've been all but assured at that point.

[But, too bad for you. It didn't work out, so now you'll die.] Jin lashed his scourge, erasing yet another 20% from Vanishing's health bar.

For a moment there, he entertained the idea of switching his scourge back to the default axe. The axe hit faster and dealt more damage, so it was the superior weapon for close-quarters combat.

[But, she might try to escape the moment I switch. She's a scaredy-cat, after all.] Jin reasoned. [So, it's safer to use the scourge for now. It'll take a little longer but it should secure the kill.]

WHISH! Contrary to Jin's expectations, Vanishing expressed no intention of retreating. Even in the face of death, the girl continued drilling bolts into him, as she should.

[Hmph. I'm not even sure what I'm so surprised about here.] Jin thought. [She's just playing as she's supposed to do, nothing more. Still, it's a bit odd….]

This brave last stand was uncharacteristic of Vanishing. She wasn't supposed to be the kind of player who had the gall for such plays.

[Perhaps I underestimated her a little. Well, no matter.] Jin unleashed his deadly scourge once again, slashing through the Drow's body. The end was nigh.

WHISH, WHISH, The bowmen contributed to the damage with their arrows, and so the Drow's life was extinguished.

『You have been killed!』

The familiar message showed up on Nia's screen. It was the second time she died at Apprentece's hand in this game, so this had a sense of deja vu to it.

[Gufu...] Nia's shoulders dropped. [I failed again...]

Unbelievable. The "great" gank opportunity she discovered ended up being a dud…

[Well, maybe that's not exactly true.] Nia thought. [I think I did catch him off-guard overall. He probably just realized his mistake at the very last second, that's why he cast his ult and rolled away.]

Apprentece pulled that weird play right as Nia ganked him. If only his Spidey-Sense activated a second later, then Nia would've successfully pushed him into the tower area. In that position, Nia and Lars would've ripped the guy to shreds.

[Well, I tried.] Nia slumped. [It's all in your hand now, Lars.]

She failed to deliver the finishing blow herself, but she successfully prepared the ground for Apprentece's death. If that cocky guy thought he could escape from something like this alive, then he had another thing coming!

But, that was just what Nia believed. Apprentece didn't share her mindset at all.

[Well, that's that.] Jin nodded in satisfaction and turned around. Now that he eliminated the immediate danger, it was time for him to retreat to safety. At least, that was the plan. But…

ZAP! A laser beam pierced through his skull!

[Oh yes, of course.] Jin nodded. [You're not going to let me get away that easily, are you?]

Gunz sure took his sweet time getting to the scene, but he was finally here. And, with Jin still affected by Drow's slowdown, it was going to be difficult to escape from this situation alive.

[I have to hope that he misses at least one shot along the way, or else I'm through.] Jin analyzed.[ But, will he actually drop any shots?]

Somebody with Gunz's accuracy wasn't going to miss any shots for no reason, especially not against a slowed target.

ZAP! Another headshot! As usual, the guy was showing off his trick-shooting skills by landing all his laser beams on Jin's skull even though it didn't give him any benefits whatsoever.

[I suppose this can be considered a form of psychological attack, but a very risky one. I, for one, don't feel intimidated by it at all. If anything, I find it inefficient and exploitable.]

Jin was two hits away from dying at this point. Since Gunz hadn't built much crit rate yet, it meant there wouldn't be any surprises on that front. Exactly two hits, that's what separated Jin from death.

[This accursed slowdown will lift up after the next shot.] Jin thought. [And, my roll is about to come off cooldown. In theory, there's still a chance.]

Jin tried his best to maintain his composure but it was tough. He was steps away from dying to this western rubble, an event that would sully his reputation beyond measure. But, panicking won't do him any favors here.

[I just have to remain calm and make sure I avoid the worst-case scenario.] Jin took a deep breath and cut off the unnecessary noise. All he should be worrying about right now was dodging the upcoming hits. 

ZAP! Another laser beam, another headshot. This one was unavoidable as Jin was in no condition to juke anything at the moment.

Thankfully, after this, the slowdown finally lifted. This allowed Jin to move around as he pleased.

[He really insists on landing these pointless headshots.] Jin grimaced. [I admit, it manages to get on my nerves a little, but only because of how dumb it is. Time to put him in his place.]

ZAP! Another laser beam resounded. It was no doubt aimed toward Jin's head again, for no reason other than showing off.

[Fool, do you not realize that this is the competitive stage? Though, I suppose the competition in this region can be rather mind-numbing.] Jin admitted[. So, let me show you how REAL competitive players do things and why you can't keep showing off like this.]

Jin hit the brakes and stepped to the side right before the laser reached him. It was a last-moment sidestep, the kind of maneuver that normally wouldn't be enough to juke an approaching shot.

However, against Gunz's cocky shot, a single sidestep was more than enough. After all, that dumb shooter aimed the laser at Jin's head, a small area that was easy to miss.

ZAP! The laser beam passed by Jin's ear and continued on, failing to deliver any damage.

[And, that's that.] Jin nodded. [You missed your chance and you have only your cockiness to thank for it.]

This shot would've ended it all but Gunz botched it up. Jin's Dodge Roll was up again, so Gunz wouldn't be getting this last hit anymore.

But of course, Gunz will try to launch one last attack, as futile as it may be. Will he manage to fix his mistake and deliver the killing blow?

[Of course not. That ship has sailed.] Jin asserted. [But, you're welcome to try, amateur.]

And so, the final decisive shot was upon them…