154 Interruptor Combo
"I can lose a battle but I will never lose a war!"
This was one of Samar's favorite quotes. He didn't know who said it or when but those words inspired him to keep going. Because he knew only when you give up is when you lose a war!
Samar was not a genius with inborn combat instincts but what he excelled at was coping with failure. Every time he met a particularly troublesome enemy, Samar would analyze them and create a targeted strategy specifically to deal with their opponent.
This time was no different.
The next morning, Samar and Stivi arrived at the Training Branch of the Torana Town's Military Tree which was open for players. Few players ever visited the training rooms, so they had a room all to themselves.
As soon as they entered the room, Stivi played her battle against Anisa from her perspective on the screen. When the short fight came to an end, Stivi looked at Samar with frustration.
"It's not just her speed and stats," she muttered, her voice tinged with exasperation. "It's those unusual strokes of her sword. I can't predict them at all."
Samar could see how badly Anisa had separated Stivi. Every strike of her sword was different but they somehow linked together and increased in power exponentially.
It was impossible for a non Invoker like Stivi to discover the mystery behind it but Samar nodded in understanding.
"Anisa draws Runes with the tip of her sword," he clarified, unveiling the mystery of Anisa's swordsmanship. "Each of her combos gets stronger as the Rune comes closer to completion. It's a unique style of swordsmanship."
Samar played the video again, focusing on the tip of Anisa's sword. As Anisa began her attack, he explained her strokes to Stivi.
"Look, this is the basic stroke; it can be used for Fire Rune or Venom Rune."
"See that twist? She changed the line and now the Fire Rune strike has become a Wind Rune Strike."
"Oh, ingenious! That stab changed the rune again, and now it aligns with Water Rune. You can even see the icy energy gathering around her Sword."
Samar commentated, pausing the video after every stroke and drawing the corresponding Rune for Stivi to compare.
Realization dawned on Stivi's face as she processed this information. "So that's why her attacks felt so unpredictable," she murmured, a curious glint in her eyes, "The variety of runes basically gives her access to infinite variations!"
Stivi was enamored by what she saw and her interest in Anisa's inheritance only grew. She just needed to survive for three rounds to pass her first part of the Advancement Test but she would have to survive for a whole minute to get Anisa's inheritance.
Samar saw the determination in Stivi's eyes and knew she was ready to learn. "Let's start with the basics," he said, drawing a pen from his pocket. "These are the strokes for the Elemental Runes."
For hours, Samar patiently guided Stivi through the basic strokes, teaching her the various strokes of each Rune with precision. Stivi's hand moved with increasing confidence as she practiced, her focus unwavering.
Despite this, Stivi was not confident of her chances against Anisa. She tried to imagine a fight between herself and Anisa but she always lost even though she had figured out the Rune Strokes, causing her face to fall.
Seeing her looking glum, Samar sat down beside her.
"If you cannot beat her in Rune Stroke Swordsmanship, then simply don't let her complete the Rune-Strokes!"
Samar's words opened a whole new door to Stivi. The Rune Stroke Swordsmanship focused on powerful strikes, each building up on the last. If she interrupted this build up, she would only have to deal with the least powerful strikes, increasing her chances of survival!
Stivi immediately started to work in this new direction. Imagining herself in a spar against Anisa in her mind, Stivi began to move her sword in a specific way to counter Anisa's rune strokes.
She failed but refused to give up. As she refined her movements and tied her attacks together, Stivi's passive, the Blade Dance, activated. It helped her link her attacks into a coherent combo.
She was so engrossed in her imaginary spar that she did not even realize that her movements had formed a brand new coherent combination of Four-Moves, breaking past her barrier of Three-Move combo!
Suddenly a notification chimed in Stivi's ears waking her up from her imaginary fight.
[Congratulations! You have successfully created a Four-Move combo. What would you like to name it?]
"This…!" Stivi looked at the notification with shock, tears of joy streaming down her eyes.
She had strived to improve her combo for many months but failed to achieve her goal. Even an overpowered passive like Blade Dance had not been able to help her breakthrough in the past few weeks.
This had made her question herself. She was starting to lose confidence, almost giving up on the hopes that she would be able to create her own Four-move combo one day.
Who knew she would succeed now of all times!
Stivi happily wiped the tear rolling down her cheek and spoke the name of her combo in a firm voice. This combo was born from her desperation to interrupt the Rune Stroke Swordsmanship of Anisa, so Stivi called it, " Interruptor Combo."
[The combo skill, Interruptor Combo has been successfully created.]
[Congratulations! Your 'Interruptor Combo' has been registered on Skill Board with (A+) rating.]
[You have received universal Reputation +10.]
[You have received +10 to 4 Core Stats.]
Stivi excitedly checked the skill window of Interruptor Combo that had appeared before her.
—--
Interruptor Combo (Tier 1)
Cooldown: 60 seconds
~ Perform four strikes that interrupt a skill or a combo with a 30% success rate.
~Every time the skill or combo is successfully interrupted, the target will suffer 200% of the Attacker's skill damage as backlash.
—--
"Wonderful!" Samar praised as he watched Stivi execute the Interruptor combo with pride on his face. Her movements were even more fluid and precise but most importantly, she had found her own solution to her problem.
"I'm pleased to see our crybaby has found her own way," Samar chimed, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips. Stivi glared back at him, brandishing her sword, her eyes still glistening with tears.
"Don't you dare laugh!" She threateningly hissed, wiping away the last remnants of dampness. Then both of them grinned like madmen and Stivi engulfed Samar tightly in a hug.
"Thank you…" Stivi whispered in Samar's ears, to which Samar only responded with a pat on her back, reassuring her that he would be there for her and no thank you's were needed.
