Kill Trade

GoldenLady was already down to 20% HP. Chick was as good as dead, lol.

Come over here so we can end this! Roi stood right between the fleeing aristocrat and her tower. He wasn't gonna give her any chances of retreating to safety.

I'mma take all your lunch money, lol. Roi chuckled. That'll teach you to not show off in public like this.

Lady's aristocrat skin was actually up there with the most expensive skins in the game. It was very different from the base Berserker, eliminating almost every barbarian vibe the class was supposed to have.

This chick must really like looking fancy, huh. Roi shrugged. Well then, lemme show ya something real fancy. Yeah, get a load of my fancy KILLING skills, lol!

Roi was going to get this done for sure. There was no way in hell that aristocrat Berserker was getting away. 

And, the girl must've realized that as well. That's why she switched gears and started running to the side instead.

"Oh, shoot!" Roi exclaimed. "Damn, she's going to the jungle! But, I can chase, right?"

"That's..." Howard frowned. A part of him wanted to allow it so that Roi could score the kill. But, at the same time, he was wary of Rosemary's presence in that very same jungle.

Did it make sense to trade skill for a kill in this situation? Maybe it was better to just avoid taking any risks? At this point, Howard was no longer sure how to best deal with the beast that was Fiona Landberht...

"Welp, no time to think about it," Roi said. "I'mma just go for it, man! No pain, no gain!" 

"Fine..." Howard felt like he didn't have the right to object here. After all, it was his poor shot-call that led to Dan's most recent death. It showed just how ineffective Howard's approach was for dealing with Rosemary's playstyle…

Considering that, Roi might as well give chase. It might or might not work out, who could even tell at this point…

"Let's gooooo!" Roi dashed after the fleeing Berserker. The girl's Berserk mode had already expired, so her running speed reverted to normal. It should be a piece of cake to catch up to her like this.

I'm a little closer to the jungle entrance, so I can cut her off! Despite his late start in this race, Roi had the positional advantage all along. So, he should be able to smack the girl to death before she slips away.

I've gotta do it real efficient-like, though. One little mistake and I'm screwed.

The enemy Jungler was most likely planning to rescue her ally, and there was no way in hell Roi could handle that fed girl. So, he had to quickly get this kill and GTFO.

Here goes! He caught up to Lady and swung his axe. SWHISH! A clean hit, slicing right through the enemy's arm!

Huh. I thought she'd roll this. Roi was a bit surprised to see the attack connect. He intended to use it as an appetizer before the main act but Lady failed to dodge it. Instead, she rolled only AFTER the attack already landed.

What a slowpoke, lol. Roi shook his head in disappointment. Oh, right. For a moment there, I forgot that these chicks are supposed to be greenhorns.

With how hard Rosemary was dominating this game, it was easy to mistake the Valkyries for some powerhouse team. But, it was only Rosemary who performed so well. The rest of her team was filled with scrubs like Lady over here.

So, this should be even easier than I thought. Roi canceled the attack's recovery animation into a Dodge Roll. Then, as soon as he recovered from the roll- WHAM! He drove the axe right into the Berserker's back!

The girl was now down to like 5% HP. She was as good as dead.

You should've built more defense, girl. Roi cracked a laugh as he chased the bleeding Berserker. One more hit and it was over.

But, he couldn't deliver it right away because his target was at the very tip of his attack range. If he were to stop now to swing the axe, then his prey would get away.

We've got more or less the same Movement Speed. Roi analyzed. So, I need her to make a mistake. Even the smallest one would do. Just gimme that one last hit, lol.

Axe Throw would've easily sealed the deal here but it was on cooldown. So, Roi essentially had to outplay his opponent here to confirm the kill.

Against a high-level opponent, Roi probably would've given up by now. But, this girl was a newbie, so she was bound to make a mistake.

And, there it is! You took that turn too early, girl! Roi swung his axe right as Lady tried to turn around the corner. WHAM! It was a home run!

『You have killed an enemy!』

"Alright, I'm done here," Roi reported. "I'm heading back to lane-" 

CLAW! CLAW! CLAW! A wild wolf woman appeared! She leapt at him from the depths of the jungle and slashed him countless times!

"C-Crap! She's already here!? Lol!" Roi thought he was mentally prepared for a development like this, but it still took him by surprise. In an instant, the joy he felt about scoring the kill vanished into thin air. Now, he was far more concerned with running for his dear life!

Well, I'm not in THAT much danger. Roi reassured himself. I have plenty of HP to spare, so I... whoa.

He noticed his remaining HP only now. Just a moment ago, it was hanging around 70%, but now it was all the way down to 20%!

"What the hell is that damage, lol!?" He tried to numb the shock with a laugh, but this was definitely no laughing matter. That wolf had just DESTROYED his HP bar! In just 4 hits she erased like 50%!

She's overfed as fuck! How are we going to deal with this shit!? Roi ran for his life as he asked himself this important question. Like seriously, Rosemary became a monster that now stood far above the rules of the game. She could do whatever she wanted and nobody would be able to punish her for anything.

These kinds of depressing events happen in Ranked sometimes. But, in a competitive game? And, to StormBlitz, of all teams? Madness!

We can't feed her anymore! I can't let her have this kill! Roi dashed like a madman.

The future of this game terrified him. This wasn't just about staying alive, it was about saving the entire game here!

Rosemary achieved insane levels of OP. It was no longer possible to take her down in a fight, or even survive most encounters with her. She was like a walking catastrophe for StormBlitz.

And, this catastrophe was about to strike once again! SLASH! Sharp claws cut across Roi's back, dropping his HP below 10%!

So, one more hit and I'm dead. Roi gulped. No pressure, lol...

In retrospect, chasing Lady was probably a bad idea. Roi thought he'd be able to get away from any counterattack, but it turned out that surviving against this fed monster was an Olympic challenge.

D-Damn, I hear her footsteps! She's breathing down my neck! Roi could already feel the Grim Reaper's cold touch. There was no doubt he'd drop dead any moment now, and there was literally nothing he could do about it.

CLAW!

『You have been killed!』

"Well damn it…" Roi sighed deeply. "Sorry, I got rekt, lol." 

"I figured that might happen." Howard wasn't even surprised at this point. The rules of the game had long since stopped applying to Rosemary. At this point, she was a threat of a colossal magnitude that could not be dealt with through regular means.

So, first there's Apprentece, and now there's Rosemary. Howard sighed. Where do these guys keep coming from? This region was supposed to be easy...

Without Apprentece, the Leopards of this year weren't that impressive. So, winning the regionals and getting into Utopia was supposed to be a no-brainer for Howard. But…

Just when I thought they'd be easy without Fenrir, they brought in somebody who's even worse. Howard grumped. And now, somehow a newbie team like the Valkyries is clowning on us thanks to one strong player. This is getting mildly irritating…

Howard had to win it all this year, no ifs or buts. Having some challenges along the way was nice, so long as StormBlitz was guaranteed to overcome them. Otherwise, they'd be nothing but problems.

With that said, is there even a way to turn this game around...? Howard wondered. Frankly, a part of him had already given up on this game. Rosemary's snowballing was too much to deal with...