"And that's all from the MC! Greetings again, my fellow Qinites! I am your humble Warrior Princess of Bonds, Venus Qizuna!" A girl with light pink hair and light blue hair greeted her own eye drone. "If you're new to the channel, don't forget to like and subscribe if you're watching it on YouTube! And if you're living under a rock and still don't know what we're streaming about, have you even read the title of this stream?!"
She twirls around and stretches her hand to a crowd of people in front of her while a floating window that automatically scrolls down messages from her viewers levitates next to her.
"I'm here to commentate and react on
PING!
"Ooh... Thanks for the dono,
PING!
"And thanks for another,
PING!
"Huh? [Why do you sound like you're not happy to see the shining prince himself?]" Venus groaned. "Look,
PING! PING!
[Is it possible the "Bear Slayer" himself makes his grand appearance in the event?] An artificial voice echoed within Venus's HUD, causing her to hum in thought.
"I don't know. I heard about that [Insignis] player that's been raving around through the latest [World Notice] lately. Still, I don't see those brothers from the first one, and I doubt they're the type to join this kind of event." She sighed. "And I apologize for going off tangent in advance, but I wish I could join this event myself. I did level my [Masteries] onstream and offstream lately, and honestly, I can kick their *ss any day. I mean, I'm a warrior, for crying out loud! I may be the Warrior of Bonds, but these events need more girls, you know what I mean?"
PING!
"[Is this the [Isekai] debut of the 'Mad Venus']? What the heck does that mean?!" Venus bursts out in laughter. "I told you, there's no way I can do that! I'm already dying of embarrassment after my Cario Bonanza incident! Besides, co-streamers and pro gamers aren't allowed to join the event to avoid bias. So don't get your hopes up."
PING! PING!
[Hey! I don't know if you see the participants behind you, but I saw a white-haired player named
Venus's eyes widened when she heard the text-to-voice message from her chat. "You serious? No, that can't be." She starts to turn around. "If he's really here, then that means his next aim is the Ar- Huh?!"
Her eyes widen, and the footage turns to where she's staring. Behind the crowd is a young white-haired man in a jacket and slacks as he walks away from the [Viper Fangs].
"OMG!!! It's really him! The white hair, blue eyes, and the name... It really is him! The great "Bear Slayer" himself has graced us in
Venus screams in glee as several more TTV messages echo in her head. But as they continue to flood her ears, she stops jumping as her eyes widen in realization.
"But hang on, why do I have a feeling I know that guy?"
I blink my eyes as I regain consciousness. Teleporting like that in the game still feels like I'm about to throw up. But I rarely used warps to travel around
lately, I managed to get used to it. I am going to get a warp point in the village soon, and I don't want to end up losing my lunch in real life after I log out.
That aside, I'm surprised at where the NPCs warped me into as my starting point. A lush jungle filled with large trees and vines, with a few gaps in the leaves revealing the bright sunlight above me. It's not a bad area to start in a battle royale, but it's not advantageous to me. And since they disabled the [Titles'] effects for this bout, it seems like I can't use my newly acquired [Conquerer of the Wilds]. I'm not complaining since the devs intend for this event to set everyone on the same level, regardless of whether they recently started the game or played it since the launch. I only managed to join thanks to my [Martial Arts'] level, so the odds are stacked against me. What's worse is that I haven't set up my buffs thanks to an untimely encounter with Savior and his goons.
Well, at least that's what I thought.
In reality, I'm glad I didn't put up some buffs beforehand. It might be a big boon for me, but it doesn't mean I can gauge my strength without them. I have no idea how strong I've become since the [Mad Bear] fight. Plus, with my sub-par non-Lycan equipment, this is a good way for me to test my raw strength. If push comes to shove, I will set my buffs up. But for now, I'll take what I have and prepare myself for battle. Besides...
Looks like I'm not alone.
"Well, well, well... Looks like I found a cub."
I silently turn around and see a brown, long-haired man in a red shirt, brown pants, boots, and a sheathed sword. He's wearing a suspicious smile as he approaches me.
"Do you need something? The ball is supposed to be that way." I smirked while pointing the other way.
"Huh, a comedian. Unfortunately, your unlaughable jokes end here." He unsheathes his sword and aims the tip of the blade towards me. "I will be your executioner and opponent for this bout! Looking at your lanky disposition, you're 10,000 years early to defeat me right here and now!"
10,000 years? Disposition? He looks like a swordsman, but has an air of chuuni around him. And I was relieved when I didn't encounter some Viper members who were like him. That aside, I should have been cautious around him, but...
"But enough talk! It's time for us to fight!"
With a loud scream, the chuuni raises his sword and charges towards me, with I prepare myself to endure his attacks. But the moment he thrusts his blade to my chest...
I simply step sideways and smack his nape with a karate chop.
"ACK!"
I watch the guy drop face-first on the ground. "Well, you're 3 months early to be a swordfighter than acting like one."
"You monster..." The man slowly stood up by using his sword as support. "What kind of trick did you use? There is no way you can make that kind of dodge against my moves!"
Technically, he's right about me being a monster. But it's more of a literal sense than in terms of strength.
"I can't say. But you can't win with those amateur-ish moves," I answered calmly. "I suggest you should give up while ahead. You can't win against me."
"Nonsense! You're just a newbie! You only got here because you got one of your combat [Masteries] up to 15 for this event! You can't win against my blade and charms!" I'm not sure charm counts if you try to play smart in this game. "I have trained my mind against your dishonorable tricks and with my self-discipline from my tomes, I will expose your dirty tricks, monster!"
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Self-discipline...tomes? Maybe I overestimate this guy. Those random sword movements... His blinded battle cry...
This guy is nothing more than an auto-battle amateur! I get you can just flail your weapons around so the game counts as a basic attack, but his movements were more pathetic than I imagined! Granted, that chop isn't enough to knock him out of the fight, but come on!
"It's time to meet your maker, evil monster! [Cross Slash]!"
He quickly swings his sword in a cross-like movement towards. However, I quickly sidestepped again as I let it graze through my right cheek. After that, I rush towards my opponent and respond with a [Double Jab], followed up with a few basic jabs and kicks before I end the combo with a [Low Blow] upper kick.
"HIIIIICKKKK!!!"
I almost flinched the moment I heard him screeching like a back. That might not be a wise move, but I'm more of a pragmatist than being in a fair fight, except in some situations.
"Coward! How dare you treat your opponent like this?!"
I sighed. Again with his chuuni talk about honor... Then again, I wasn't playing fair with my current skill set, so he's not much of a hypocrite.
"You should have known what kind of event we're fighting right now," I said. "Besides, there's no rule about not fighting fair." I focused my strength on my right fist before charging in for a possible killing blow. "[Power Attack]!"
With this punch, it should have ended there. However, those skills and weapons are enough to give me some ideas about his skill set. And since he has a [Sword Mastery]...
He's bound to have the [Clash Block] passive skill. I'm a bit frustrated that he managed to activate it on time to block my fist with his blade. But that is expected for a sword wielder like him.
"If you insist on fighting without honor, then you're not worthy to be my opponent!" He pushes my fist back and raises his sword once more. "I will end you in one stroke! [Counter Slash]!"
A [Sword] skill that absorbs the damage from the last attack and uses it to double their next attack. Sword wielders usually use it alongside [Clash Block] as their desperate combo move. This would have killed me right away if it landed. But it does have a fatal weakness. As the chuuni guy said, he can only use it in one strike. So while I was falling, I cushioned it with both hands behind my back. Using them as a spring, I thrust my body while throwing a leg up and kicking his wrists before his blade reaches me. This causes the sword to fly out of his hands and stab itself into the ground after it lands.
Success! Using a basic attack to [Disarm] a human opponent is risky since it's very rare, with criticals only increasing their chances. But I managed to beat the odds by targeting their weak points thanks to Lawrence's teachings. Plus, it also works in the real world, just that the kicking part might be difficult to achieve without doing the right moves, though.
"How dare you?! How is that even fair?! You are the worst monster I have ever seen!" The chuuni rants. "When my comrades get here, they will have y-"
"[Power Attack]."
I threw a quick uppercut on his chin before he could finish, leaving him screaming as he flew up in the air, right before his body disappeared in data.
Charming Prince? So he's merely a prince charming chuuni. Well, he did get a run of my money. But next time, he should have focused on recovering his weapon rather than ranting about me being a monster or whatever he's babbling about. Anyways, looks like I didn't get the first kill. The event started off with 222 players. So they didn't waste any time getting some kills on their own. I'm just lucky my first opponent is a delusional know-it-all prince who somehow got into the event through levels alone. I doubt I can encounter other players like him since some of them managed to level their [TML] to 15, unlike us with only one Level 15 [Mastery]. I have to be ready for them soon.
But in the meantime...
Rustle... Rustle...
I have other players to take care of. I only took a few damages from his attacks since I managed to stop his [Counter Slash]. But it looks like they're not willing to let me rest immediately. I take a few deep breaths as I watch two figures come out of the large leaves and bushes.
"Well, I'm surprised you managed to take care of that newbie for us," a bare-chested warrior said as he carried a large axe on his shoulder. "That guy barely has some moves, and you stopped his [Counter Slash] with only a basic kick."
The mage in a black robe behind him huffs while adjusting his glasses as if he's an anime villain. "Too bad your luck ends here, Bear Slayer. We barely teamed up in our runs, but with my magic and his axe, we're going to conquer your fists, [Insignis] fighter!"
So a brains and brawns team, huh? By the sounds of it, they already found a loophole in the first 30 minutes and teamed up against me. At least they're also aware how newbie-ish that first guy was.
"That depends. I'm willing to do a handicap match," I smirked. "But I have to warn you: I don't fight like any [Insignis] around here."
"We're aware of that. But even in your lanky appearance, you won't be able to stop my axe! En garde!"
The warrior rushes in and swings his axe at me. I quickly responded by jumping backwards and using the tree trunk behind me as a springboard to launch myself back at the warrior. "[Double Jab]!"
I throw two fists onto his chest. But he blocks them with his axe like a shield and smacks me away like a baseball bat. "Waz, you're up!"
When I recover my footing, I see the mage nod at his partner and focus his staff as its gem glows in a light green Mana. “Spirits of life, hear my call. Give my ally the strength from your power. [Gift of Strength]!"
Dammit, he has [Life Mastery]! Thanks to that spell, the glow around the warrior appears, and his [ATK] has been increased. As expected, that warrior fights smart by letting that mage act as support in the backlines. Plus, since he's right behind him, he can chant his spells while the warrior focuses on melee DPS, while also acting as a shield in case I might target the mage named Waz first. I have to admit, both of them managed to cover their weak points despite their brief time together, and they're savvy enough to stop my tricks by observing my last fight with that chuuni. Or maybe, they might have worked together in the past and didn't party up, so they can team up much faster if they find each other. Whatever it is, I can't underestimate them.
Clicking my tongue, I take out my [Bear Claw Gauntlets]. Unlike Waz, I'm wide open alone, and his partner will have the chance to interrupt my spells if I try casting them. So I can't rely on my own [Life] spells to buff myself out of this mess. I might as well take out my first trump card if I want to make it to the top 50.
"[Claw Sharpening]!"
I smack the claws together to activate this skill, increasing my [Melee ATK] of my basic attacks for the next 2 minutes. After that, I charge towards the warrior and start throwing basic scratches, jabs, and kicks. While I managed to get a few hits in, he parries most of them with his axe before returning the favor with a few swings. I did try to avoid them, but I ended up taking two basic hits from his axe, leaving me with half of my [HP]. Thankfully, that's enough to give me info on his potential openings.
"[Low Blow]!"
I raise my leg for an uppercut kick to immobilize him. But to my shock, he blocks it with his free hand with a smirk.
"We told you, we've seen your tricks, kid." He grabs my leg and pulls me up in the air. "[Axe Thrust]!"
With a strong thrust, he struck my gut with the blunt side of his axe before he smacked me and ended with a punch that flew out of his hand. That string of attacks put me near critical, but not enough to put me in several status conditions, as he dropped me to the ground. I expect him to end me with another skill, but I then hear Waz's voice.
"[Thunder Blade]!"
Did he say a Level 17 [Thunder] spell?! Crap, no wonder they have a great synergy and experience. One of them already got past Level 15 in one of their [Masteries]!
What's worse is that I can't dodge or block his upcoming attack. The moment his spell blade cuts me down, I'm eliminated from the fight!