*player 8 / Lv.3 / HP.100

Swordsman (2): 30% chance to perform an additional attack upon landing an attack.

*player 3 / Lv.4 / HP.100

Assassin (2): Leaps to the enemy’s rear at the start of combat, and the first attack deals 130% bonus physical damage.

Player 3’s force composition consisted of two Assassins, one Archer, and one Guardian.

They seemed to have been in a rush just to field the champion count, as no additional synergies were activated besides the Assassin class.

‘The matchup is favorable. I can definitely win this.’

There was only a single Guardian champion stationed at the very front.

‘I should only push my tempo when I’m certain I can win.’

The battlefield wasn’t a game that could be won simply by outnumbering the opponent.

As the battle commenced, having predicted the flow of combat, I shouted to my champions.

“Focus your attacks! The Assassins will be coming for me!”

Reducing the enemy champion numbers was the top priority. If I could drag this into an even fight, the advantage would be mine.

“Understood!”

I hadn’t revealed that I was a player, but since they had already witnessed my performance in the previous round, the champions followed my commands to some extent.

Vroom-!

Not a single moment could be wasted before the Assassin champions reached me, so I immediately swung my shield at the enemy Guardian champion.

Boom-!

‘He’s seriously tough.’

My hand stung as I struck the Guardian’s thick armor.

Since it was a champion specialized in defense, I couldn’t deal proper damage, but the sheer force behind the blow was enough to make the Guardian champion stagger.

Pandin and Chuck seized that opening and swung their swords.

Chaeng-!

Under the combined assault of three champions, the enemy Guardian was left entirely defenseless, unable to mount a proper response.

In early melee combat, the Swordsman’s combat prowess was among the highest of champions in the same cost tier.

Not only did they have high base attack power, but there was also a 30% chance to trigger an additional attack.

Freeze.

I momentarily paused my attack and heightened my alertness.

The Assassins had closed in on me.

I immediately raised my shield and took a defensive stance.

Whizz-!

Two daggers were rapidly approaching from both sides. A blue light lingered on the blades.

Since these were attacks enhanced by synergy, allowing a critical hit would result in massive damage.

Even if I counterattacked, the rules of the battlefield prevented me from dealing damage to their health.

Right now, the only one I could deal damage to was the Guardian.

Rather than making pointless moves, focusing on defense to minimize damage was more important than anything else.

What should I do to minimize the damage?

I immediately put the thought that crossed my mind into action.

Thud-!

I pressed my shoulder firmly against the thick shield.

Pababak-!

I kicked off the ground as hard as an enraged bull.

I charged forward rapidly with my shield raised in front of me.

Shield Charging.

My center of gravity shifted so far forward that it was an unstable stance where I could fall over, but if there was someone in front of me, they could act as a brake.

Boom-!

I crashed into the blue-glowing daggers. Though they were thin blades, the combined effect of the synergy and the immense impact washed over my body.

“Keugh-!”

I suppressed the pain.

My body was violently pushed back, and right before I fell backward, I twisted my upper body.

As if it were originally a part of me, the shield showed no intention of leaving my shoulder.

The blue-glowing daggers appeared before my eyes once more and struck the shield.

Crash-!

Given how unstable my stance was, rolling on the floor was inevitable.

“No way. You blocked that?”

However, a voice of astonishment came from the side that had successfully landed the attack.

If it had been a shieldbearer without an active synergy, it would have been normal for those two attacks to leave them on the brink of death.

Vroom-!

The shieldbearer champion, who had been attacked by two Assassins, quickly dusted himself off and swung his shield at the Guardian champion.

At the same time, Pandin, whose mana had filled up while taking attacks from the Archer, used his skill.

<<Thrust(★)>>

Deals 40 physical damage to the enemy in front. The on-hit effect is also applied to ‘Thrust’.

Squelch-!

Fwoosh-!

It hadn’t been long since the battle started, but having endured the combined assault of Swordsman champions with exceptional attack power, the enemy Guardian champion scattered into the light of the battlefield.

Crunch-!

Pandin snapped the arrows embedded in his body and shouted with a voice full of irritation.

“Let’s finish this quickly and go catch that Archer bastard! I won’t be able to hold out for long!”

Being attacked by two enemy champions, an Archer and a Guardian, Pandin’s health was scraping the bottom.

At the very least, he needed to take one down with him to drag it into an even fight.

“The Assassins first!”

At my shout, Chuck and Pandin turned their gazes toward the Assassins.

In early melee combat, no champion could match the Swordsman.

The Assassins, having used their synergy effects, were merely fragile melee champions.

Chaeng-!

A fierce melee unfolded.

The busiest among them was none other than me.

Battles in the battlefield weren’t something you could excel at simply by having outstanding combat skills.

You had to somehow deal damage to your target while minimizing the damage you received.

The battlefield’s restriction of only being able to deal damage to the champion you were targeting guided combat in a peculiar way.

There were two daggers approaching me, but I was focusing on only one.

My target was on the left.

Clang-!

I deflected the dagger flying in from the right with my shield and used that impact to spin my body to the left.

It was an unstable stance with my center of gravity shifted to one side, but instead, I kicked off the ground harder, completely throwing off my center of gravity.

And then I thrust my shield forward.

Crash-!

The Assassin crashed into me and my shield, and we rolled on the floor simultaneously. I swiftly mounted the opponent’s body.

“Get off-!”

The Assassin struggled and moved his body, but thanks to the weight of my scrap iron armor, he couldn’t easily escape.

A dagger flew in from behind.

I moved my arm into an unnatural position and raised my shield behind me.

Boom-!

“Keuk-!”

One of my arms slumped down.

Due to the reckless movement exceeding my range of motion and the impact from the dagger, it felt as if one of my shoulders had been dislocated, and no strength would enter it at all.

Since it was a kind of status ailment, it would recover before long, but the pain remained.

I should take out my frustration on this guy.

Vwoomm-

But at that moment, an invisible force pushed me back.

It was the intervention of the battlefield’s power, as it was impossible to continuously pin someone down.

The guy was trying to get up from his spot again.

I moved the one arm that was still holding out and slammed the shield into the floor.

Thud-!

Flop-!

The guy was forced face-down onto the floor again, right in the posture of trying to get up.

Slither-

Following that, Chuck swung his sword. Despair could be seen in the guy’s eyes.

Crunch-!

Fwoosh-!

When Chuck’s sword reached his neck, the guy couldn’t endure it and immediately scattered into the light of the battlefield.

A voice filled with malice echoed from the right.

“Die!”

<<Sharp Claws(★)>>

Deals 50 physical damage to the enemy. If the enemy’s health is below 20%, it deals double damage.

He used the skill because his mana was full. An ominous black light flowed from his dagger.

No matter how much I minimized the damage, I had already allowed several attacks.

Even if I blocked perfectly, a certain level of damage would still come through.

My health just wouldn’t hold out to block that dagger.

But if he used a skill, my mana, having been attacked by two people, had no choice but to be full as well.

<<Solid Exoskeleton(★)>>

Obtains a shield that absorbs damage for 8 seconds. The shield applies 40% of maximum health.

Crash-!

The Solid Exoskeleton was destroyed the moment it was created. The shield’s value was 80, but the power held within the guy’s dagger exceeded that.

It seemed my current health was lower than expected.

‘Can I endure this?’

With my current health, taking 20 damage could very well kill me.

So, it was actually the time to focus on attacking.

“Heueup-!”

I took a deep breath.

The dagger had reached right before my eyes, but I drew upon all my remaining strength and swung my shield.

Boom-!

Squelch-!

Along with the stinging sensation felt in my hand and face, my vision went dark.

***

When I opened my eyes again, a space that was unfamiliar yet familiar came into view.

A large screen attached to the front.

It was broadcasting the battlefield footage in real-time.

In the round, red crystal orb placed in front of it, the number 100 was written.

From one of the ten screens attached to the wall, the worried voice of the Magic Engineering Mage, Rockefeller, could be heard.

“I hope I earned at least 20 gold in this battlefield…”

This place was the battlefield command room, a space that only players could enter.

The scrap iron armor and shield that had weighed down my body were nowhere to be seen.

‘I died.’

Thanks to the experience I had during the placement exam, I didn’t panic.

If I died in battle, I would only lose my qualifications as a champion, but I could remain on the battlefield as a player.

Anyway, if they spent health points to re-hire me, I could regain my qualifications as a champion.

It meant there was no need to be overly afraid of dying in battle.

‘It’s coming to an end.’

The last ones remaining on the battlefield were Chuck, the 1-Cost Swordsman, and the enemy Archer champion.

Pandin, who had allowed multiple attacks just like me, had already scattered into the light of the battlefield.

<<Mana Sword(★)>>

Increases attack power and attack speed by 40% for 5 seconds, and deals 10 additional damage upon hit.

Chuck, who had engaged in melee combat, immediately used his skill.

<<Rapid Fire(★)>>

Increases attack speed by 50% for 5 seconds.

In response, the enemy Archer also used a skill as if refusing to lose.

I wasn’t worried.

They were similar types of skills, but due to the difference between being a melee and a ranged champion, Chuck was naturally at an advantage in melee combat.

Fwoosh-!

Empowered by the skill and the Swordsman synergy effect, the guy instantly scattered into the light of the battlefield.

【+4G】

▶ Base reward of 4 gold has been granted.

【+1G】

▶ 2-win streak reward of 1 gold has been granted.

* Held Gold: 6G

The battlefield footage ended there, but I couldn’t help but be lost in thought for a while.

‘It’s definitely changed.’

It was my body, but even I found my movements awkward.

Unlike before when my body didn’t follow my thoughts, now my body moved exactly as I thought it would.

It felt like I had shed a layer of restriction.

It wasn’t like an auto-chess game where battles progressed according to set patterns; it felt like controlling a character in an AOS where battles unfold in real-time.

Because of the battlefield rule where you could only deal damage to the targeted enemy, the combat style was inevitably different from a normal situation.

The goal of the battlefield wasn’t to kill the opponent, but to reduce their health to 0.

If their health didn’t reach 0, they could keep moving.

They said the pain felt in the battlefield was only half compared to reality.

Therefore, most focused on reducing the enemy’s health rather than defending.

But in this battle, I fought while smoothly switching between defense and offense.

Naturally, without putting in any special effort.

‘How did I do that?’

My combat ability wasn’t that outstanding.

It meant I wasn’t talented enough to wield Shield Charging this freely when I had barely managed to use it before, only thanks to champion enhancement.

But something had changed.

It was the same in the first battle, and the second battle was no different.

My current movements were optimal, with no such thing as waste.

Defense and offense connected like flowing water, to the point where I even utilized the impact I received for my attacks.

The movements of the other champions felt obvious, as if they were moving according to a scripted scenario.

In my current state, it felt like I would never allow a critical hit no matter how many attacked me.

In the battlefield, basic combat ability was quite important alongside skills.

If you were a shieldbearer, you had to be good at handling a shield; if you were a Gunslinger, you had to be good at handling a gun.

If you excelled in the fundamentals, you could lead the battle to be even slightly more advantageous.

Of course, because there was combat compensation, there was a limit no matter how well you fought.

Still, that difference sometimes determined the outcome of a battle, and I had the ability to exploit this difference.

‘I can afford to build up a bit more leisurely.’

Next to player 3’s name, I wrote a memo: ‘Assassin?’

Player 3 was hiring Assassins, but I couldn’t be certain yet.

If I gathered a bit more information, I would definitely be able to tell what kind of deck they were going for.

Since the guy had pushed his tempo but still recorded a loss, his plans must have gotten quite tangled.