Game’s Dogma

That alone could prove the difference between her and ordinary players. Other mages would certainly have panicked when closed in by the enemy, yet she showed no signs of fretting as though everything was within her expectations.

Drako Yau charged at her in a straight line. The swamp wasn’t that large, having a radius of around three to four metres, but running around in circles was still rather troublesome. He set his eyes on Idyllic Poet and made a move which made her jaws drop.

Upon getting to the swamp’s brim, he planted his spear into the ground, bending its shaft. The next moment, he leapt, returning his spear’s shaft into its original state which thrusted him into the air.

This is… pole vaulting? Seriously, pole vaulting? With a spear?!

By the time Idyllic Poet regained her senses, Drako Yau had already vaulted over the swamp and was approaching her at a terrifying pace. She finally panicked a little and instinctively swung her wand to cast Ring of Rebounding Flames… but nothing happened.

The spell had a cooldown time of 20 seconds. Even when halved by her Phoenix Ring, it still had a 10 second cooldown. Drako Yau had already got a grasp of such information after seeing her cast it multiple times. Right now, the spell was still on its cooldown.

‘Ugh!’ A spear thrust struck her body, and the outcome of the battle was decided at that moment. Nothing but death awaited mages who were caught in close range by melee classes.

Idyllic Poet wasn’t going to give up just like that. Right after the cooldown ended, she cast Ring of Rebounding Flames. But…

The spell was a semi-circular arc of flames. When the enemy was more than a metre away in front of the caster, it was almost impossible to dodge unless the enemy retreated on their own accord. The spell would have achieved its effect even in that case because it was mainly for putting distance between the caster and the enemy anyways.

Things were different when in melee range. The seemingly wide arc of 180 degrees meant Drako Yau could easily dodge it by shifting himself over to her back, which only went to show his perceptiveness of skills. If it had been other warriors who were more average, they might have been knocked away by the spell—but there were no ‘if’s.

Before Idyllic Poet turned into a lump of white light, she thought, Ah, how can this man bear killing a cutie like me…

The lump of light vanished from the Tower of Imprisonment along with the swamp on the floor.

‘There are only friendly forces in the tower. Starting countdown.’

Finally having a bit of free time on his hands, Drako Yau checked the squad channel. He was dumbstruck to find that Soulsmith and Zephyrwolf’s names had already turned grey, and Hades only had less than a third of Health left.

Hades’ eyes exuded an exceedingly serious gaze, all while sighing in his head at how times had changed.

This is what technology can bring us! How could movements be so delicate if it were a keyboard-and-mouse game like back then? 

The man before him only held a small, round shield, yet it felt like an insurmountable mountain. He had not hit the enemy even once in the entire fight.

Handsome Scholar also showed interest in Hades. The Underworld guild master was the first person to have survived so many of his attacks, especially for an ordinary person.

It’s his reflexes and quick hands.

Handsome Scholar soon realised the reason behind it and was amazed at Hades’ talents. Hades had overwhelming talent compared to himself; an untrained civilian actually managed to make up for the difference in strength through his natural reflexes and nimble hands.

But that was it. Handsome Scholar was done playing around. If it were another occasion, he’d probably have played along for a bit more, but Booksy Swordsman and Idyllic Poet’s names had turned grey already.

Handsome Scholar had a good idea about his guild master’s combat prowess, but Idyllic Poet wasn’t as simple as she seemed. If he had to deal with her alone, it would have been troublesome too, though it was just on the level of a minor nuisance. His true strength was something unimaginable even for his guildmates.

At that moment, he suddenly thought, The guild master was with that woman, which meant someone defeated them in a 2v2… or maybe 1v2? Excitement and delight filled him upon reaching that conclusion.

Handsome Scholar had figured out almost everything about the three enemies anyways—meaning he had gotten bored of them. Having been on the defensive for so long, he suddenly made a move and turned the tables.

Surprised, Hades quickly swung his dagger to deflect the overhead hack. Their blades clashed, and before he could react, Handsome Scholar kicked him right in the guts and knocked him to the ground.

The paladin showed no emotions as he followed up with a leaping strike at Hades who was scrambling to his feet.

Whoosh!

Shadowstrike!

Hades disappeared from the spot and rematerialised right next to Handsome Scholar, yet his face was full of despair. The dagger which was supposed to stab the enemy was denied by the round shield.

He can even react to Shadowstrike at such a close range and block with his shield?

Hades wasn’t given the chance to dwell on the thought. Handsome Scholar bashed his shield to knock away Hades’ arm and thrusted his sword. Unable to evade quickly enough, Hades was stabbed in his shoulder and his face scrunched from the pain. He had turned his pain sensitivity to 80 per cent after experiencing how a higher pain sensitivity made him stronger in The Siege.

‘Kid, you’re not bad’, Handsome Scholar said despite looking younger than Hades. In a world where strength reigned supreme though, he was totally qualified to call Hades a kid. ‘But I’m sorry, please die like a good boy.’ 

His sword descended from above. Hades had a bitter look as he stiffened and became a lump of white light which soon vanished.

‘There are only friendly forces in the tower. Starting countdown.’

Thirty minutes had passed since Where Rivals Meet started. Three members of the Age of Scholars squad remained, namely Handsome Scholar, Thousand Scrolls, and Bookstore Clerk. As for Dual Coalition, only Drako Yau and Greenstone, who had run off to who knew where, were alive.

Drako Yau immediately left the tower after occupying it. There were five towers in total, and with each team holding a tower, there were three left.

‘A tower has been occupied by the enemy.’ Another announcement interrupted his thoughts. Age of Scholars now held two towers while his squad only had one. As for Greenstone, Drako Yau didn’t hold high hopes. He was surely a powerful player, but there was a limit to what he could do due to his class.

One versus three… Drako Yau rubbed his hands together and showed a heated gaze. This will be interesting.

Handsome Scholar also trod silently across the purplish plains without searching for any towers in particular. He had this feeling that he’d come across one by walking in any direction. After all, it was a mode where players contested for towers, not hide-and-seek or gambling for luck.

Handsome Scholar’s legs soon came to a stop.

A person wearing a fiery red mask was slowly walking towards him.