A short while earlier—
[You have entered the Giant Reed Field.]
Having successfully finished his important business(?), Rough logged back into DDO.
“Wait, why am I here?”
Rough looked around with a displeased expression.
He was standing in the middle of the fourth stronghold.
The reason he was here was obvious.
“Oh, right. This is where I logged out.”
Fortunately, there was not a single sign of anyone nearby.
Kushin had taken every available soldier to attack the suppression forces’ headquarters.
Thanks to that, the place was completely deserted, without even one defender.
“If no one’s here, that saves time. Let’s hurry before I’m too late.”
***
“Ahaha!”
Mellem suddenly burst into laughter.
Laughing in the middle of a battle?
The other players nearby could not help but turn toward him in curiosity at his abnormal reaction.
There was one player beside him.
At first, no one thought much of it.
There were plenty of players here, after all.
But the instant they saw the nickname floating above his head—
[Rough]
“...!”
Several rebel players flinched and trembled.
They had heard plenty about his exploits.
Some had experienced them firsthand.
But only briefly.
They soon regained their composure.
The general belief was that no matter what, one person alone could never overturn the current situation.
The rebel officers noticed Rough’s arrival as well.
“Raid Leader. The guy from the world message is here. What should we do? Should we gang up on him and take him out?”
“I’ll handle him myself. A few of you deal with the named NPC. The rest, capture the stronghold and headquarters.”
Kushin gave his orders quickly.
“Come to think of it, that named NPC has an Epic weapon on his back. What about that? Does whoever kills him get it?”
“What are you talking about?! We split it evenly!”
“We can discuss loot distribution later. Focus on winning first!”
The rebel officers hurried to follow Kushin’s orders.
“Not another step.”
Jaar blocked their path.
“You intend to exploit the fact that your strongest fighter will be occupied with Rough, then seize the stronghold and headquarters. But as long as I stand here, that will not happen.”
Shing.
Jaar drew his sword and aimed it at the officers.
“What the hell is this...?”
The officers facing him stiffened.
His appearance was completely different from before.
“Wasn’t his combat power three thousand?”
But Jaar’s combat power now—
[Jaar]
[Lv. 62]
.
.
.
[Overall Combat Power: 6,183]
—exceeded six thousand.
Rough had arrived, and the enemy commander was here as well.
There was no longer any need for him to conceal himself, so he had changed back into his original equipment.
“This looks dangerous...”
A grim mood settled over the officers.
***
Shwaaaak!
The Giant Beast-Slaying Sword cleanly bisected its target.
Whenever blue sword light flashed, someone screamed before turning gray and vanishing.
“Hey! It’s that bastard from before!”
Several rebel players pointed at Rough.
“You bastard! Perfect timing!”
Just as they had the day before, they trusted in their numerical advantage and charged at Rough.
Naturally, the result was no different from before.
“Heavy Blow!”
With one skill, they turned gray without putting up any meaningful resistance.
Rough did not stop.
Shwak.
He cut one down.
Shwak!
Then another.
Shwaaak!
He continued cutting through every rebel who stood in his way.
“Damn it, why is that bastard so strong?”
As the rebels fell like leaves in an autumn wind, the enemies around him no longer dared to rush him.
‘I’ve drawn enough aggro. The leader should be coming out soon.’
Speak of the tiger, and it appears.
Rough instinctively sensed something rapidly approaching him.
He flinched and immediately raised his sword.
Craaaaaang!!
An ambush came from the side.
Rough barely blocked it and was shoved harshly across the ground.
‘What was that?’
Rough looked toward where he had been standing.
A player stood there, staring at him.
[Kushin]
[Lv. 58]
[Class: Martial Artist]
[Title: Lizardman Slayer]
[Category: Player (Human)]
[Affiliation: Asla Guild]
[Alignment: Neutral]
[HP: 2,658/2,760 MP: 394/420]
[Strength: 63 △▽ Agility: 67 △▽]
[Intelligence: 33 △▽ Luck: 34 △▽]
[Overall Combat Power: 5,722]
‘So he’s the one. He really isn’t ordinary, just as I heard.’
The Rare-grade blue glow rippled from his knuckles and boots.
‘Two Rare items. Well, it would be hard to reach that combat power without them.’
The rebel players cheered at Kushin’s appearance.
“Oh! The Raid Leader! The Raid Leader’s here!”
“Whoa, is he going one-on-one with him? This is legendary!”
Though no one had decided it, the battlefield naturally became a stage for the two of them.
As everyone’s attention focused on them, the area began to boil with excitement.
After all, this was a one-on-one match between the players representing their respective factions.
The event’s outcome could hinge on how their battle ended. Of course people would be interested.
It was not limited to the game, either.
The community was the same.
[Breaking: Myel Main Quest Update]
-Rough’s here. Looks like he’ll be going one-on-one with Kushin soon. Holy shit.
┗ [Isn’t Kushin insanely strong? I saw him stomping people by himself.]
┗ [Yeah. I looked him up, and his rank has four digits.]
┗ [Wouldn’t that make him basically a ranker?]
┗ [Not basically. He is one.]
┗ [How do I watch this?]
┗ [I know Kushin, but who’s Rough?]
┗ [He’s the suppression forces’ leader. He’s good too—he captured four strongholds yesterday.]
┗ [Isn’t he the guy who appeared in the world message for killing a basilisk?]
┗ [??? You’re right. This is gonna be fun. I’m going there now lol.]
┗ [No, how do I watch it?!]
┗ [I want to watch too, but I have to go to work...]
┗ [Don’t worry. I’ll post live updates.]
┗ [Thanks, thanks.]
‘First... let’s see what he can do.’
Fwoosh!
Rough lightly kicked off the ground.
“Heavy Blow!”
He swung his sword to gauge Kushin’s level.
His opening attack was blocked with absurd ease.
‘...He blocked it?’
Rough’s eyebrow twitched faintly.
This was the skill that had even deflected an adult basilisk’s tail.
Of course, that time it had also received bonus damage against beast-type monsters.
Even accounting for that, having the skill blocked was unexpected.
‘Then this time...!’
“Point Severing.”
The sword energy forming at the tip of his blade shot forward with fierce momentum.
But Kushin was nowhere to be found.
He had already slipped behind Rough.
And the price for revealing an opening was harsh.
Craaaack—!!
“Ghk!”
For an instant, it felt as though his breath had stopped.
The pain starting from his side quickly spread through his entire body.
[You have taken 536 damage.]
‘One normal hit took a third of my HP. Rare weapons really do have ridiculous power.’
On top of that, he was still wearing low-performance armor.
It was only natural.
“I’ve watched that skill’s footage dozens of times. It won’t work on me.”
Based on Garbo’s footage, Kushin had thoroughly studied Point Severing.
Its timing, preparatory movements, casting time—everything.
‘He watched my footage dozens of times? Then he must know I have a Second Weapon too.’
There was no doubt about it.
‘This is going to be tougher than I thought.’
Rough frowned.
“Your defense seems lacking compared to your attack power. I’ll finish this now.”
Unlike before, Kushin was the one who lunged at Rough.
An ominous force gathered around his fist.
Mixed with the blue glow flowing from his weapon, it looked even more menacing.
Just as his fist was about to pierce Rough’s heart—
[Changing equipment.]
[Shabby Adventurer’s Cloth Top has been changed to Sarin Armor.]
Sarin Armor equipped itself over Rough’s body.
“It’s too late to change your equipment now!”
It seemed suspicious, but Kushin did not stop.
Not only was he unable to retract the fist he had already thrown, he also assumed it was a final desperate struggle.
Then something unexpected happened.
Boooom!
“Khk...!”
For some reason, Kushin—the one who had attacked Rough—groaned and was knocked back instead.
[When hit, there is a 40% chance of reflecting 82% of the damage received.]
It was the new special option Sarin Armor had gained through Keen Insight.
‘...Epic grade? This is insane!’
The purple glow emanating from Sarin Armor left Kushin dumbfounded.
Murmur, murmur.
“Isn’t that Epic? This is the first time I’ve seen a player wearing an Epic item.”
“It must’ve dropped from the basilisk. I’m so damn jealous.”
Several players watching their fight whispered among themselves.
Even as they spoke, Rough and Kushin’s duel continued without pause.
Fwoosh!
Rough leaped.
“Double Jump.”
His body launched itself once more in midair.
The distance between them disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“Heavy Blow!”
Heavy Blow, now empowered by his speed.
Craaaang!!
“Khk...!”
Kushin let out an involuntary groan as he blocked it.
Unlike before, he was clearly struggling.
Rough intended to ride this momentum and seize victory.
“Point Severing.”
Whoooosh!
Rough’s sword energy missed again.
‘Damn, he’s good at dodging.’
The reason was Kushin’s boots.
[Lizardman Chieftain’s Leather Boots Lv. 25]
[Grade: Rare]
[Category: Equipment Item]
[Durability: 1,800/1,800]
[Defense: 88]
[Description: Boots crafted from the hide of a Lizardman Chieftain. They boast outstanding flexibility and grant the wearer a light body.]
[Special Option: Agility +5]
[Movement Speed +20%]
‘No wonder he’s fast. He probably has a skill that boosts his movement speed too, but I need to deal with his mobility first.’
“Weapon Exchange...”
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
As Rough tried to switch weapons, Kushin desperately closed the distance.
Even if he wanted to create space, he could not.
Rough’s Second Weapon—the crossbow—made that impossible.
If Kushin let the distance open up, it was obvious Rough would unleash all manner of crossbow attacks.
As the battle dragged on and his wounds accumulated, only one thought lingered in Kushin’s mind.
‘He’s strong. I can’t defeat him with ordinary methods.’
Rough felt the same.
Even with Sarin Armor greatly raising his defense, Kushin was burdensome.
The damage-reflection option did not make him invincible.
Moreover, considering that he would have to fight the remaining enemies after defeating Kushin, he needed to end this battle quickly.
‘I think I’ll have to reveal another card I’d been saving.’
“Whew.”
After catching his breath, Rough assumed a stance.
“Point...”
‘...That skill again?’
Kushin narrowed his eyes.
Point Severing was a skill that formed sword energy along the path of Rough’s swing.
Therefore, as long as one could determine whether the attack was horizontal or vertical in advance, dodging it was not particularly difficult.
Of course, actually doing that at close range required tremendous courage, observation, and reflexes.
In any case, Kushin’s plan was simple.
Just as he had done before, he would dodge the skill, exploit Rough’s opening, and defeat him.
But his plan went badly wrong from the start.
“...Cross Slash!”
Sword energy crossed in the shape of an X and descended upon Kushin.