Chapter 6: He's More Terrifying Than I Thought

  Swords clashed.

  The Holy Sword Xaltheon Lucis traced a radiant arc in the air, colliding with the elegant fiery slash from a curved longsword that resembled a blood-red crescent moon.

  A Long Sword is a heavy-class weapon, requiring at least 120 Strength to wield. Heavy weapons possess high judgment force. Holy-type weapons also inherently deal 5% Holy damage per attack, and Paladins frequently enchant their blades with Holy Blade.

  Elemental enchantments not only add magical damage of their respective type to physical attacks but also grant special effects. There is even a Spell Blade class that specializes in utilizing these effects, executing fast-paced physical strikes while dealing tremendous magic damage. Other classes, though not focused on magic damage, still allocate skill points to obtain elemental effects.

  The Holy attribute boasts high judgment force—imbued with the divine righteousness of Holy Light, capable of cutting down gods and demons alike, leaving no room for resistance.

  With such power, Xaltheon Lucis struck down, knocking aside the opponent’s katana. In a sword duel, using judgment force to overpower the enemy’s weapon could throw them off balance, creating a massive advantage. But could Ignis Flamma, his opponent, possibly be unaware of this?

  He was a Sword Master, a class known for exceptional solo combat prowess. Though his Flame Edge-enchanted katana couldn't match the Holy Sword’s sheer force, Ignis skillfully used the impact to his advantage, leveraging his 140 Reflex stat to spin mid-air. His 150 Attack Speed allowed him to swiftly deliver a downward slash aimed directly at Henry’s head. The flames on his sword roared wildly, painting half the screen in a deep crimson blaze.

  CLANGGGGGG!!!!!!!!

  The enemy had high attack speed, while Henry wielded dual swords. His left-hand Devil Sword rose to meet the strike. Without Xaltheon’s overwhelming judgment force, however, Henry was knocked three steps backward.

  The flames from the impact latched onto the Devil Sword, spreading to his hand, inflicting burn damage. The Self Heal effect that Lana had recently cast on him had its duration halved.

  "Black Flame…"

  Henry muttered as he checked his debuff status. That damn effect was just as annoying as ever.

  "Henry got hit by Black Flame!"

  "The legendary demon sword Vajnar lives up to its name. Black Flame transfers through weapon contact. But more importantly… how did he counterattack so fast after being knocked back?"

  Helen was puzzled. Meanwhile, the chat was exploding over this rare high-level duel.

  "Henry vs Ignis!"

  "Is this the semifinals from last year’s world championship? :)"

  "Henry got destroyed in that match."

  "Looks like Henry just ran into his dad again."

  "That last exchange was insane."

  "Shouldn’t he have been staggered for at least one frame? How did he counter so smoothly?"

  While the chat was going wild, the fight itself only took mere milliseconds to escalate into a second clash.

  Henry’s relentless fighting spirit drove him forward, but his opponent was just as aggressive. The Paladin had barely closed one-third of the distance, and the Sword Master had already engaged again.

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  CLANG! CLANG! CLANGGGGGGG!!!!!! SWISH! SWISH! SLASH!!!

  From Helen’s perspective, Ignis Flamma appeared like a flickering flame, his red cloak dancing wildly. The demon sword Vajnar unleashed dark red sword waves, striking endlessly.

  Yet, amidst the raging inferno, a knight stood firm, parrying each strike with precision, his twin swords moving with impeccable rhythm. His block rate remained exceptionally high, and the battlefield echoed mostly with the clash of metal, interrupted only by the occasional slash cutting into flesh.

  Despite Ignis’s overwhelming offense, Henry managed to land a counterstrike each time he took a hit.

  Both health bars were steadily draining, but Henry’s HP drops were far more severe.

  "Ignis’s damage output is clearly higher!"

  "The Black Flame effect burns and increases critical damage. Even with an oversized blade, Ignis maneuvers effortlessly in close combat. He constantly adjusts his position—it's like watching a dance. This must be seriously frustrating for Henry."

  "And there! He just dodged Henry’s strike by stepping back twice, then immediately landed a perfect mid-range Pyro Slash—so smooth!"

  "Henry got hit again… but he keeps moving forward. Another trade! Henry’s HP is down to 50%, and he’s still burning! Ignis still has three-fourths of his health!"

  "Looks like a father teaching his son."

  "Hard counter matchup, not much he can do."

  "Henry has high defense and strong self-healing, but Black Flame’s burn damage ignores armor."

  "Vajnar is a Mystic-grade weapon too."

  "How is Ignis fighting this smoothly?! Not a single stagger frame!"

  ===

  "Ignis Flamma…"

  In the tea room, Shun hadn’t expected the painting on the opposite wall to be a massive screen. They were watching live footage from the world of Valia, displayed in crystal-clear resolution with sound booming through a high-end in-wall speaker system. Johnathan really goes all out, Shun thought. At first, he was a little uneasy about the volume, but after some consideration, the room must have had excellent soundproofing.

  "Ignis Flamma," Johnathan muttered suddenly. "His skills are truly terrifying."

  "Yeah, he uses his high Reflex stat to pull back his attack just before the judgment calculation occurs. There’s a 2 to 3-frame gap between the moment of impact and when the system determines the outcome. A high Reflex stat allows the player to cancel their attack animation faster, but ultimately, it still comes down to pure player skill."

  "From the first time I met him, I had a feeling he would become something quite terrifying."

  "You know him too, John?"

  "I once invited him to join the Guild—as an exception. I didn’t even care about his background. At that moment, he was so outstanding that he overshadowed all notions of class or status. Shun, earlier, I mentioned how having the right backing can help you accomplish things more smoothly, didn’t I? Well… he’s an exception."

  "He turned you down, didn’t he?"

  "That’s right. Shun, do you know how many people in this world would pay an astronomical price just to get my phone number? How many would sell their very souls just to sit at the same table as me? You might not pay much attention to these things, but I’m not exaggerating. Five minutes of conversation with me can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And yet, back then, Ignis Flamma was just an unknown gamer—and he rejected the opportunity to connect with our elite world without the slightest hesitation."

  Johnathan let out a small laugh. Shun couldn’t quite figure out what that smile meant.

  "So, Shun, you know him too?"

  "Yeah…" Shun searched his memory. "Oxford. We were in the same class. I was bored back then, and some of my friends convinced me to try Valia. They were all from wealthy families, but pretty easygoing. We had players from both factions, no discrimination. So, they started looking for other students who played Valia to recruit into our group. That’s when we were pointed toward him."

  "And he turned you down too?"

  "He did… but not in the way you might think." Shun hesitated. "Even if he wanted to join, he couldn’t."

  Johnathan raised an eyebrow.

  "He…" Shun continued. "At the time, he didn’t even have a Valia account. But do you know why we got that tip about him? One day, I happened to see see him with stacks of notes, all filled with analyses of Valia’s world. That was three years ago. I wasn’t really paying much attention back then—I was carefree… still am, I guess. I didn’t think much of it, even after I dropped out and the name ‘Ignis Flamma’ exploded in popularity. It wasn’t until recently, when his real face appeared in the news, that I realized he was that same classmate."

  Johnathan studied him for a few moments, then turned back to the screen, deep in thought.

  "No account, yet deeply researching Valia?"

  Another faint smile appeared on his lips. Once again, Shun couldn’t decipher its meaning.

  "Maybe I misjudged him. That guy… is far, far more terrifying than I thought."