"I'm casting buffs!"
As the countdown ended and the announcer's voice signaled the start of the match, Han Goeun activated her skill just as she'd said she would.
A gentle breeze wrapped around both and Ryu Sunghyun’s bodies. A chi rang out as my status window popped up.
《Skill: Wind of Endurance (Grade A) activated! (Caster: Han Goeun)》
《A protective shield has been ford. (Duration: 1 minute 30 seconds)》
《Defense increased. (Duration: 1 minute 30 seconds)》
《Healing rate increased. (Duration: 1 minute 30 seconds)》
《Evasion rate increased. (Duration: 1 minute 30 seconds)》
I could see the round-shaped shield materialize, the breeze barely enough to ruffle my hair.
Han Goeun was a support-type Awakened who used wind-based skills to generate protective barriers.
Being able to grant three buffs at once put her among the top even within A-rank supporters, but only two people could receive the effect at once. Naturally, the ones sent to disrupt the enemy team— and Ryu Sunghyun—got the buffs.
I turned to Ryu Sunghyun as I stared across the arena at Ronik Guild, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) who were cautiously closing the distance.
"I'm going in."
"W-Wait, Cover Hunter—!"
Before he could stop , I kicked off the ground and sprinted forward. Behind , Ryu Sunghyun shouted in alarm.
"Wait—don’t go alone...!"
"Ah! Cover Hunter is the first to make a move as soon as the match begins!"
Ignoring Ryu Sunghyun’s voice, I charged straight ahead. My speed and reckless advance caused visible panic in the enemy team.
"What the hell is wrong with that psycho?!"
Although participant info like skills and roles had already been shared before the match, the first clash in these things was typically cautious.
In this ssed-up world, torn flesh and flowing blood were no longer shocking. The fact that over 2,000 people had gathered here just to watch such a match was just another part of reality.
But still—this wasn’t a ga. Even with an ergency team on standby and all kinds of healing items, being hit by a weapon or skill still caused real injuries.
So what I was doing couldn’t just be called reckless—it was plain stupid. If I got impaled or burned by a skill, I’d have no one to bla but myself.
"Get him!"
"He's S-rank—use your skills, no matter what!"
A sharp, bladed boorang ca flying. Right after, a thick black rope snaked around my body like a whip.
Compared to Kwon Taehyuk’s sword, it was pathetically dull. Compared to Eun Woojeong’s chains, it was slow. But I didn’t dodge—I let them hit .
Whip—! The spinning boorang grazed my nape, sending a stinging pain shooting through .
"A wildly reckless move."
"Charging in like that is dangerous! He could get seriously hurt!"
"Could there be a strategy behind this?"
"Cover Hunter!"
As wounds opened across my body, Ryu Sunghyun cried out and imdiately activated his skill.
Brilliant light shaped itself in an instant and streaked out like snakes. The beams of light snapped the rope wrapped around my arms and legs and deflected the incoming boorang.
Clearly, the item I’d given him was helping—the light ford faster than before.
But this won’t be enough.
I had already told him. What we needed now wasn’t defense—it was offense.
My job here was to drag out as much of Ryu Sunghyun’s potential as I could. That was the only real role I had in this match.
I wasn’t the protagonist of this fight. True victory would co only if Ryu Sunghyun and Circle earned it themselves.
A man like Ryu Sunghyun wouldn’t ignore soone walking into danger.
Sure, he had lived cautiously for a long ti. You couldn’t change that overnight.
But whether he trusted didn’t matter. Based on his personality, if soone who ca to help him was in danger, he’d fight like hell to protect them. That was all I needed.
"Co on—do more."
That’s why I had to be in even more danger. I didn’t dodge the barrage of incoming skills—I took them head-on as I raised my sword.
Boom!
I swung my sword at one of the Ronik mbers—the sa guy who’d assaulted Kim Suho. The man jumped back in panic as my blade shattered part of the arena floor with a thunderous crash.
WAAAAH!
The earth trembled, a dusty haze rising as the fight began in earnest. The crowd roared, electrified by the chaos.
"That guy’s f**king insane!"
"Don’t just run—grab your weapons!"
When I refused to back down and pressed forward, Ronik finally snapped out of it and scrambled to retaliate.
Boom, boom!
Balls of fire ca hurtling toward , smashing into the ground and spreading intense heat.
In that brief mont as smoke and flas clouded my vision, a bright-red spear tip suddenly burst through the fire.
"Urgh...!"
I barely held in the grunt as the spear slashed my side. Gritting my teeth, I lunged straight into the flas.
The Ronik Hunter wielding the spear appeared, shocked that I hadn’t flinched in the fire. He swung again in panic, but I twisted my body to dodge and closed the gap with a punch.
CRACK!
"Guh!"
My fist landed squarely on his jaw, sending him crashing to the ground with a choked gasp.
"You—f**king bastard!"
Another Ronik mber, witnessing his teammate go down, pulled a gun and fired.
BANG, BANG!
The specially made bullets were about to hit my shoulder when a faint golden shield shimred into view and deflected them.
I turned my head. Ryu Sunghyun had finally caught up, his face pale with shock. He looked at with an expression of frustration and disbelief.
"So this is what you ant?"
I pressed my foot against the shoulder of the fallen Ronik mber who was struggling to get up.
"What is?"
"When you said our teammates would get hurt..."
"That’s not what matters."
I gestured with my chin toward the gloves he was wearing.
"I didn’t give those to you just to block bullets."
"......"
Ryu Sunghyun flinched, then let out a slow, heavy breath. He began gathering his energy.
"......!"
And then, a surge of light unlike anything before exploded from him.
The power he released gathered and shot straight into the sky. When it hit the top of the arena’s barrier, it swelled like a balloon and burst into a radiant explosion.
"Whoa!"
"Beautiful..."
The golden light scattered like fireworks, resembling stars strewn across the night sky. The audience gasped in awe at the breathtaking sight.
And then—it happened.
Dozens of glowing lights suspended in the sky suddenly began falling, one by one, like a teor shower. Even the Ronik Guild mbers, entranced by the surreal scene, froze and stumbled back.
"W-What...?"
"Wait, is that...?"
The ominous killing intent pouring in waves was so strong, even I tensed up. What had looked beautiful just monts ago now ca crashing down at terrifying speed, smashing into the ground like missiles.
BOOM! KA-BOOM!
"Run—RUN!"
"AAAGH!"
"There’s too many—!"
Glowing spheres of light rained from the heavens. Despite being no bigger than a coin, the blasts they caused were massive, shaking the ground violently with each impact. Explosions and screams erupted from every direction.
"My god! Light is falling from the sky!"
"This is the first ti we've seen Ryu Sunghyun use his skill like this. He’s clearly all in today!"
"Ronik’s formation is in total disarray. No one seems seriously injured, but it’ll take them ti to regroup."
"That must’ve been the plan all along—destabilize the formation while only Ryu Sunghyun and Cover engage."
"Cough, cough!"
The entire area was choked with dust. I coughed a few tis and glanced around.
To think he’d go this far.
I didn’t expect just a couple words and throwing myself into danger to have such imdiate effect.
But this... wasn’t bad. It was likely the first ti Ryu Sunghyun had used his skill for a wide-area attack. Now that the dam had burst, next ti would be easier.
And we’d succeeded in breaking Ronik’s formation. That ant it was ti for to do my part. I pushed through the dust, searching for my targets.
Before the lights fell, I’d already seen where they’d tried to run. The first one was groaning on the floor, clutching a piece of shattered arena tile. The sa guy who’d tried to spear and got punched in the jaw.
"Hello there."
"W-What the hell...?"
He was bleeding from the forehead—probably smacked his head during the explosion. As I looked down at him, I grabbed my sheath instead of my blade.
Sensing sothing wrong, he yelled out desperately,
"W-Wait, don’t—!"
I ignored him and raised the sheath. Then brought it crashing down.
WHACK!
"AGH!"
A sickening crack echoed as the sheath landed squarely on his head. I kept swinging, even as the man trembled in fear.
SMACK! CRACK! WHAM!
"Y-You crazy b—"
WHACK! WHUMP! THUD!
"STOP! I give up!"
THUD! CRUNCH! BAM!
Begging, apologizing, even groveling with clasped hands didn’t save him.
"Urgh..."
The A-rank Hunter from Ronik was beaten so badly he eventually passed out. I glanced at his pitiful figure in satisfaction and moved on to my next target.
The dust had cleared enough that I spotted them quickly.
"Heh..."
Grinning behind my mask, I dashed toward the second target. The poor bastard was crawling out from under so debris when my foot smashed into his face.
"Who the hell—KAAAGH!"
CRACK! SMACK! THUMP, BAM!
The sound of blunt impact rang out again as I pumled the second guy with my sheath. The audience and announcers, seeing the scene now clearly, erupted in chatter.
"Cover Hunter is... really laying into that Ronik Hunter!"
"The target is... ah, that’s Hunter Lee Sungho."
"Do they have so kind of grudge? That’s so serious dedication."
"We’ve got our first player eliminated from the match—Ronik’s Kim Gihyuk."
"He’s been knocked unconscious with severe blunt trauma. Let’s check the replay."
[Main Quest: Win the competitive match against Ronik Guild with Circle Guild. (Ti Remaining: 3 hours 37 minutes)]
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