Paradise Lost (4)

[Rank Match – Diamond I]

[Battlefield: Snowy Mountain of Proof]

[Rule: 5-person Annihilation]

As the wind blew, white snow fragments fell on my head.

From the crown to the neck. Sometimes onto the bare skin exposed around the chest.

The snow that touched my skin melted with a cool sensation.

Carefully.

Covering my mouth with the hem of my clothes – I try to exhale deeply.

“Haah…”

The steam breathed out from my mouth rose white, then faded as it was blocked by my clothes.

Next, a big inhale – heuuuup.

After filling my lungs with air, I held my breath again.

This battlefield was the ‘Snowy Mountain of Proof’ covered in eternal snow.

It’s a battlefield that uses very rarely occurring avalanches and crevasses lurking like traps as its main gimmicks.

According to the game’s setting, it’s a place where northern barbarians prove themselves.

There was a legend that if you don’t receive God’s choice, you can’t find the crevasses and fall to your death.

In short, it was a battlefield where you had to be careful of hidden cliffs in the snow.

In lower-ranked games, you often see allies dying before even encountering enemies.

It’s good for hiding at the bottom of cliffs, but… this time the enemy team had a Monk.

[Passive: Ambush]

[If you don’t move for 6 seconds, you won’t be revealed by most detection skills while maintaining your posture. However, it doesn’t stack with stealth effects.]

A class often chosen in tournaments to check Assassins.

Monks have detection skills that sense movement.

There are several means to break an Assassin’s stealth, but this skill has a particularly short cooldown.

The disadvantage is when the Assassin doesn’t move, like me now.

It can’t find cases where they’re not approaching using stealth, but hiding in ambush in a suitable place.

It’s unchanged that you’re forced into an annoying psychological warfare in many ways.

[‘Ambush’ effect ignores the effect of ‘Revealing Wave’.]

But well, it’s also a skill that’s used carelessly to that extent.

As the cooldown is short, using it periodically has become the standard.

The cooldown of Revealing Wave is 12 seconds at most when minimized.

On average, it’s assumed to be within 15 seconds.

I counted the time inwardly from the moment the first wave hit.

[‘Ambush’ effect ignores the effect of ‘Revealing Wave’…]

Good. The cooldown is about 13.5 seconds.

From now on, I can count based on this time.

Not long after starting the ambush.

As if following the predicted movement, footsteps were heard nearby.

Every time someone moved close by, I felt slight vibrations along my back and legs.

The feeling is quite heavy, so it seems a knight-type class has come near me.

Given the enemy composition, it’s likely to be an Inquisitor.

Right now, I’m hiding in a crevasse.

Since there are no allies nearby, all the presences around are enemies.

Now that it can no longer be called a lower-tier game – the enemies checked the crevasses one by one.

And the moment the presence reached right in front of me.

Before the snow covering me was removed, I circulated my magic power.

Fortunately, the timing matched well.

[Active: Hermit]

[Become stealthed for 12 seconds. Stealth is canceled if you move.]

[Ambush state has been canceled.]

“Just in case, please check inside the crevasses too. The enemy Assassin might be hiding since they have one.”

Oh, correct answer.

I barely held back a smirk that was about to come out.

Knowing but still falling for it is the most annoying thing.

From next time, it would be better to carefully check while pushing in some nearby snow.

Even if you use stealth, the physical hit box doesn’t disappear.

It will look like snow is being blocked by something invisible.

Anyway, the enemy Inquisitor passed by without finding me.

It worked out well for me. That was a troublesome one anyway.

Inquisitors are quite tricky opponents for Assassins too.

I slowly came out of the crevasse and took the enemy’s back.

The time left until the wave’s cooldown is just 4 seconds.

There’s no way my Ambush effect will return within that time, so I need to ambush right away.

I reserved one AoE skill between the enemy main force and me. I threw a lasso towards the Inquisitor.

“…!”

I need to end it before they can scream.

The moment the taut rope coiled around the man’s neck like a snake.

I immediately applied force and pulled towards the crevasse.

Even with a knight-class’s strength, they couldn’t overcome my arm strength with their neck.

In a battlefield where falling to death is possible, a moment’s carelessness leads to death.

The body that lost balance once fell into an endless abyss and never returned.

[You have killed ‘GarlicSauce’. (Cause: Falling)]

Although the ambush itself was silent, the kill log is visible to everyone.

The enemies immediately look back. The Gunslinger reacts fastest.

The long rifle’s muzzle aimed at me precisely.

At that position, the aiming point is probably the forehead?

Not bad skills for this tier. If possible, I should take care of that one quickly.

The moment the muzzle spat fire, the Gunslinger’s mouth made a deflated sound.

“Gawol? Why in this tier…”

The bullet tore through the air, but there was no need to dodge.

Now it was time for the reserved skill to fall.

“On my way up.”

“This is crazy.”

[‘Black Moon’s Melody’ effect is applied.]

[For 30 seconds, all actions using the chain sickle have positive effects.]

[Damage dealt using the chain sickle increases by 17.6% and…]

Several chains plunged down from the distant sky.

White mist rose thickly from the impact the snowy mountain received, and the flying bullet was crushed under the chains.

In the momentarily blocked vision – I moved my chain sickle.

In front of me, it looked like several huge pillars were erected haphazardly.

For a moment, the line of sight between me and the enemies was completely blocked.

But it’s okay. I’ve memorized everything.

[Active: Assassin’s Sense]

[All senses are amplified…]

Direct weapons like guns can’t attack through the chains, but a flexible weapon like the chain sickle can attack by bending its direction.

I modify the trajectory while picturing the last seen position in my head.

Based on the sensation caught at the blade’s tip, I continue the next attack.

[‘Nianbach’s Curse’ effect is applied to the enemy.]

[For 8 seconds, all enemy stats decrease and…]

It hit.

A bit shallow, but the debuff that bursts on hit gave me confidence.

Then I can trust the sensation left in my hand.

I’ve already grasped all the terrain.

The tactile sensation transmitted through the chains and the vibrations created by urgent footsteps.

All the faintly heard voices provide clues.

I can’t see the exact line of sight, but I’ve laid down many skills that can bend the chain’s trajectory.

This is why weapons with wide attack ranges are good.

If you know the opponent’s position roughly – you can attack by swinging wildly!

The sound of metal friction rang out incessantly.

* * *

[Author: Anonymous (321.212)]

[Title: What the hell is this bitch doing here]

(Attached photo: Gawol swinging chain sickle)

(Attached photo: Game record after defeat)

(Attached photo: Gawol’s rank record)

This is a completely crazy game

How can that record make sense

[Comments]

– I was the Holy Knight in that match, thanks for the free win lol

└ You bastard

[Author: Anonymous (321.212)]

[Title: Improve the matching system]

(Attached photo: Gawol swinging chain sickle)

(Attached photo: Gawol’s martial arts build)

Why did I meet her twice?

Why were both times as enemies?

Anyway, improve it

[Comments]

– Just get better

└ How can a Diamond local beat that

└ Scratch?

└ (This comment has been deleted by the administrator.)

[Author: Hornbeam]

[Title: Have you guys had your main force wiped by an Assassin?]

(Attached video: Snowy mountain ranked game, vs Gawol)

Not getting ambushed by an Assassin while fighting

But just losing 5:1 against an Assassin with your main force?

I just experienced it

[Comments]

– Weakling

– It’s assassination if there are no witnesses

* * *

I continued easy victories in ranked games.

[You have won.]

[MVP: Gawol (Anonymous Adventurer B)]

[Promotion match: ∨∨∨ ‧ ‧ ]

[Promotion successful.]

[Diamond I 150 RP → Black 0 RP]

[Region: Korea]

Honestly, I felt a bit sorry.

An abnormally high win rate. I won with game content that normally couldn’t come out.

It was what you’d call stomping weaker players.

It’s not like I had any other method either.

It’s natural for tiers to undergo a soft reset as seasons change.

It’s not a complete reset, but you’re placed much lower than your original tier.

The problem is that I hadn’t played a single ranked game since the season changed.

Originally, I used to raise it in advance to receive quarterly rewards, but this time I couldn’t because my access was blocked.

There’s no other way, so I just have to win quickly and climb up.

So I was planning to play more games, but.

It seems I couldn’t do that now.

“This kid. If something good happened, you should at least contact us once.”

“Right. Unnie is a bit hurt.”

“…Well, I got excited because the access restriction was lifted.”

“It seems so. You were appearing on every broadcast I tried to watch.”

“Ah. You watched a lot of broadcasts.”

At the cafe I arrived at after receiving a call.

The two women who had arrived first laughed kya-hahaha while looking at me.

The reason why I’m like this is…