HFS 26

“Fireball attack speed is definitely not slow! But Player Ittorang dodges it effortlessly!”

“Seven has now wasted two preciously saved skills. This makes it a good time for Normal People to engage in a frontal battle.”

Normal People’s main team, which had been facing Seven head-on, pushed forward, spreading the aggro to the front. Sensing they couldn’t stall any longer, Lucky from Seven charged at Cheong-hyeon.

Cheong-hyeon likewise started running toward Lucky. Thinking Cheong-hyeon had entered the skill range, Lucky quickly pressed an attack skill, but simultaneously Cheong-hyeon backed away to create some distance. By a split second, Lucky ended up executing his skill into thin air.

Seo Hee-won, who had appeared out of nowhere, fired basic attacks from range, and Cheong-hyeon used the Dark Swordmanship technique and basic attacks on Lucky, who quickly lost health and died as a result. Seven’s healers used their healing skills belatedly, but it was already too late.

“Ah! Lucky has melted! Disappeared in the blink of an eye! What just happened?”

“Ittorang’s distance control was perfect! Made the opponent look like a fool in an instant!”

“Seohee1’s assist timing was also excellent! The two moved like a single body!”

“When a Dark attribute class attacks a Dragon attribute class, it deals additional damage. They certainly made good use of that advantage.”

“Actually, even with the attribute difference, Dark Assassins are typically bottom-tier in PvP while Dragon Fighters are top-tier, so normally the Dragon Fighter would win regardless of attributes. Lucky must be grinding his teeth right now!”

“That’s right. It’s like a dragon being bitten by a mouse. The chat is continuously asking how a Dragon Fighter could lose to a Dark Assassin.”

[How could a Dragon Fighter lose to a Dark Assassin lololololol]

[Wow, that’s insane skill]

[Ah…Ittorang is the god of Dark Assassins, the hope of Dark Assassins.]

[Lolololol since they’re not professional commentators, they seem to be saying whatever they want more and more.]

After Lucky died, the Normal People guild members at the front pushed in and quickly finished off all Seven guild members. While Seven was respawning, Normal People leisurely attacked Sane and gained experience, creating a level gap with Normal People at levels 2-3 and Seven all at level 1. Eventually, Seven couldn’t catch up to the gap, and with Cheong-hyeon landing the final blow on Sane, they moved on to the second stage.

[Why is Seven playing so stupidly today?]

[It looks like Seohee1 or Jimni were the brains. They’re getting completely destroyed now that those two have left.]

[Getting beaten by a Dark Assassin is pretty awful though.]

“Ittorang takes the Sane Hunter buff as we move to the abandoned underground for stage two!”

“The atmosphere could still completely change in stage 2! Please continue watching until the end of today’s match. We’ll now take a short commercial break during the waiting time!”

Before the start of stage 2, Cheong-hyeon distributed his skill points in a festive atmosphere. There wasn’t a hint of tension about being in a finals match in the Normal People Guide.

“Ah, this is easy. So easy~ Is it allowed to be this easy?”

“They’ve obviously watched a lot of our match videos. They even knew Ittorang  would be flanking from the beginning.”

“Hahaha! And they were so intimidated that they couldn’t do anything!”

While Jimni and Heekkom were chattering excitedly, the countdown began and the locked basement door opened. Stage 2 had an overall dark atmosphere, with a narrow corridor leading to Devotee Kayla’s boss room.

This time, instead of flanking, Cheong-hyeon helped attack Kayla from the front. The Holy War bosses were quite large, and since Kayla moved very little, she was easy to target.

From stage 2 onward, structures would fall from the ceiling with a thud, potentially isolating players, so it was better to stay with teammates rather than flanking the sides.

Seven, burdened by the level difference with Normal People, chose to gather experience by attacking Kayla. When Kayla’s health dropped by four sections, Seven, who had been focusing only on the boss, gradually began to attack.

“Ah! They really did study our matches thoroughly!”

“It looks like they know there’s no chance when the lights go out.”

Seven targeted Tiramisush, mixing skills and basic attacks as they closed the gap. They focused on one target with quite fierce attacks, but thanks to Seo Hee-won’s healing and the tanks’ barriers, they narrowly survived. However, knowing they wouldn’t survive another concentrated attack, the DPS actively attacked Seven to draw aggro.

“Don’t die. When I give the signal, we’ll melt their summoner tank first. Wait. 3, 2, 1, now.”

At Seo Hee-won’s signal, Heekkom threw Ice Spear at Kayla, hitting the mark. Kayla’s health, steadily decreasing from both teams’ attacks, fell to the sixth section.

Devotee Kayla: “I cannot tolerate this any longer.”

Kayla clapped her hands with a sharp sound. Just before the candles that were dimly lighting the room went out, Hyutzzi cast the Binding Spirit skill on the enemy Dragon Summoner. Seo Hee-won’s Mark skill was cast at the same time.

“Remember their positions?”

“Yes.”

Cheong-hyeon, who received a movement speed buff from Tiramisush, rushed out instantly. Though the surroundings were dark with only a small circular area visible around each character, Cheong-hyeon ran without hesitation to the remembered position.

The dark environment where sight was limited was perfect for melee DPS to rampage, and with skill points invested to unlock the special ring’s skill, this was truly Cheong-hyeon’s stage.

“I’ll follow you.”

Seo Hee-won chased after the rapidly moving Cheong-hyeon. It was good to move in pairs in the darkness, and since they had used Jimni’s shield to save Tiramisush, they needed to support Cheong-hyeon who had to fight without protection.

Taking down the Dragon Summoner, who was both bound and debuffed, was easy, but the opponent’s desperate use of all attack skills before dying left Cheong-hyeon on the cusp of death as well.

Cheong-hyeon kept moving around the enemy’s corpse as he asked. Sharp thorns continuously rose from the floor following the player’s movement path, making it impossible to stand still.

“Can you heal me? I’m heading toward the 3 o’clock direction.”

“Give me a signal.”

“Okay, now.”

In the darkness where even teammates weren’t visible, Seo Hee-won accurately healed Cheong-hyeon. Both of them had precisely remembered the location of the targeted enemy Dragon Summoner, making it possible. With solid support and not even thinking of hiding, Cheong-hyeon smiled broadly and searched the dark map for remaining opponents.

“Keep briefing your position as you go.”

“Moving straight to 3 o’clock.”

At some point, Seo Hee-won, who used to resist fiercely like a wild beast at any sign of Cheongh-yeon dropping formalities, didn’t particularly resist Cheong-hyeon’s informal speech at that moment. Seeing this as a good thing, Cheong-hyeon continued speaking informally.

“Found Choikangjungryeong at 7 o’clock! Got him.”

While Heekkom and Hyutzzi were taking down the enemy healer, thorns rising from the edges of the map gradually moved inward, narrowing the space available for movement. This naturally increased the chances of encountering enemies.

“Where did Jimni go? I lost him!”

“Would you like to come to the 5 o’clock direction?”

“…Argh!”

Tiramisush let out a scream filled with terror. It seemed he had suddenly encountered an enemy in the darkness.

“Ah! Of all people, I ran into Lucky and died…”

“It’s okay. It’s 5 versus 4.”

“Head to the 5 o’clock direction and meet up with Jimni.”

Following Seo Hee-won’s instructions, they were moving downward. Suddenly, Lucky appeared within their narrow field of vision. It was truly a chance encounter.

“Oh? Found Lucky.”

“Kill him! Avenge me! My nemesis!”

Cheong-hyeon, who was about to reflexively press an attack skill, hesitated and instead used a basic attack. Lucky had just killed Tiramisush, so he probably wouldn’t have any significant attack skills left, but there was a possibility that the Dragon Scale skill, which temporarily increases defense, might still be available to him.

The moment Cheong-hyeon’s character made an attack motion, Lucky immediately used the Dragon Scale skill. It was as expected. Seo Hee-won, who teleported in to confirm Lucky’s position and immediately backed off, applied a debuff. Having wasted a defensive skill on a mere basic attack, Lucky met his death helplessly.

“Got him!”

“Nice! So good! Our Ittorang is the best~”

When four players died, the candles lit up again with another clap sound. As visibility returned, Kayla, who had been hiding, reappeared in the center. With a favorable situation of 5:3, they set Kayla aside for the moment and focused on eliminating the remaining Seven guild members to gain experience. It was clear without further observation that this stage would also likely end in Normal People’s victory.

[Normal People Guild has defeated Devotee Kayla.]

[All Normal People guild members gain experience and skill points.]

[Ittorang receives the Will of Kayla buff effect.’

[Moving to the Forgotten Soliyad.]

The backdrop of the third stage was a vast forest dense with trees. In the middle of the map was a wide-open field, where the ancient god Rauhen, in the form of a bird, lay sleeping.

[The ancient god awakens to the presence of intruders.]

As the barrier surrounding the entire field shattered, the match began.