Part 2, Episode 133.
Bjorn is a martial artist with very high specs.
True to its moniker of “King of Destruction,” it was the weapon with the greatest destructive power, but fundamentally, it was superior in every aspect, including health, defense, and speed.
Of course, that is just in terms of the numbers.
Bjorn, however, had never properly felt the effects of his other abilities.
Because the opponent’s head always exploded before I ran out of stamina.
Bang! Crash! Crash!
“Die! Die! I said, smash your head in!”
For Bjorn, the nature of the battle he was currently experiencing was practically a first-time experience.
Extends a fist.
Then the Empress burrows in without making any particular movement and knocks it away.
Scrape!
Swings a hook.
The Empress slightly lowers her stance and evades by diving in, much like a wrestler executing a tackle.
When you strike from above like a headbutt, she rotates her body at a bizarre angle to dodge by a hair’s breadth and lands a punch.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh-!
He extends his fist, extends it, and extends it again.
Boom! Crash!!
Each time that happened, the obstacles behind her exploded, creating a scene like bombs being dropped on a battlefield, but the Empress’s head remained completely unscathed.
No, before that, it does not move even a little bit away from the very close distance.
How many times have I swung my fist already?
100 times? 120 times?
No, maybe it’s more than that…
One thing is certain: at some point, I gave up counting.
[Stamina is depleted faster due to rapid breathing.]
[Your stamina is 30% or less. Please be careful.]
“… … What? 30% already?”
Wait, what did you do?
It feels like only about 5 minutes have passed, but my energy is already running out.
It was absurd for Bjorn, but in fact, it was only natural.
God of Savior is a game based on a certain degree of realism.
Just as real marathon runners pay attention to their breathing to increase their stamina, the rate at which stamina decreases in God of Sei also varies depending on the amount of breathing.
Even boxers with incredible stamina don’t get that tired even when they don’t swing their fists for an entire round.
I had already been swinging my fists non-stop for 10 minutes, and just maintaining this level of stamina was an enormous amount of physical strength.
How many more times can I swing? 50 times? 100 times?
I’ve already thrown my fist over 100 times and missed, so do you think I can hit it now if I swing 100 times?
I didn’t want to stop now.
His instinct was screaming that the moment he missed this flow, he would never be able to hit her.
“… … Why is that bitch so laid-back?”
… … Is their stamina infinite or something?
No, that can’t be true.
That bitch is just pretending to be at ease.
Even though he was dodging and deflecting with minimal movement, he was occasionally landing counterattacks, so there was no way his stamina would remain intact.
If we keep pushing forward like this, we will eventually run out.
He didn’t know.
Bang! Crash! Crash!!
“Die! I said die!”
That someone who has seized the victory would never harbor such thoughts.
The excitement he had shown, anticipating the thrill of his fists, was nowhere to be found.
Bloodshot eyes. Constricted nostrils.
His bulging fists and forearms were closer to a terrified beast than an agitated person.
The confident demeanor that seemed to overwhelm the opponent has disappeared, and the nature of the battle has changed strangely.
Whoosh- Whoosh!
The fist, which had been swung with the intent to kill the opponent, had, at first glance, become closer to a defense than an attack.
It looks as if it is waving its arms to tell people not to come closer.
He himself felt that to some extent, even if not exactly.
What’s up with that girl… …it’s like she’s getting more and more energetic… …
I feel like I’ve already swung my fist more than 100 times, but strangely, none of them have hit her face.
There were only a handful of grazes, and even those were to non-fatal areas.
For example, like an elbow or a knee?
No, did we really just brush past each other?
What if it was a deliberate graze to change the trajectory of the attack?
Moreover, that was only in the beginning; now it was hard to even brush past it.
Suddenly, Bjorn looked at her face.
A gaze that seemed to be checking something. It was an instinctive action. And that instinct soon sounded an alarm.
‘… … That bitch. She isn’t breaking a single sweat.’
That woman. She doesn’t look tired at all.
No, his face was becoming more and more lively, to the point where he looked like someone who had rested well for a few days.
Bjorn shook his head with difficulty.
It was a ridiculous assumption.
However, the uneasy feeling that had arisen rose uncontrollably like creeping smoke and soon consumed his entire body.
Sss-
It was also then that I was engulfed in a strange sensation.
It feels like my body isn’t my own.
A feeling that things aren’t going according to one’s will.
It feels like I am being swept away by something I cannot resist.
For instance, a strange sensation, as if a river flowing fiercely according to its own will had cascaded down a cliff and joined the sea…
‘What on earth is this? This inexplicable feeling… …!’
The opponent feels huge.
No, it is beyond massive, and the end is not in sight.
Just as one cannot defy the laws of nature, I feel like my mind is gradually becoming dazed.
“ah…….”
Bjorn didn’t know.
That this feeling he is experiencing is not the kind that can be expressed merely as unease or strangeness.
That is what is commonly referred to as ‘helplessness’.
It is the sensation felt when facing a wall that defies common sense.
Whether it be physical ability, skill, or position.
It was a kind of sensation he had never felt before.
“Ugh, ugh… ah!”
However, when that emotion engulfs the entire body for minutes beyond a few seconds, one is bound to feel an ominous sense that even the most ignorant person cannot comprehend.
Finally, the moment Bjorn, unable to bear it any longer, let out a strange scream and threw a powerful straight punch.
BANG!
“……ah?”
Bjorn saw.
Tight-
She was grinning as she held my fist in her hand.
At the same time, my vision flipped inside out, and after the dizziness and nausea I had felt for the first time swept from my eyes to my chest.
“ah……?”
He was lying spread out again, gazing at the night sky.
The first words he uttered while standing there blankly were…
“how…….”
It was a question.
And before that doubt could even lead to a question, the Empress clicked her tongue in annoyance and shook the hand she had been clenching into a fist.
“Tsk, anyway, why do all these so-called high-rankers I meet these days think they’re the only ones with signature traits? I would have gotten mine much faster than them, you know.”
“……!”
Bjorn, who had been listening quietly, opened his eyes wide.
The Empress laughed fiercely as her eyes met his. However, unlike the corners of her mouth that were stretched wide, her eyes were smiling like a mischievous prankster.
Does she know that it is actually even more chilling because of that gap?
And the voice that followed was… … .
“wake up.”
“…….”
I haven’t used it much either, so I want to treat myself for the first time in a while.
It was chilling, like the Grim Reaper delivering a death sentence.
* * *
After the large-scale New World update was completed.
To be precise, after the Tower of Calamity became famous, the rankers changed a lot from before.
Tinnitus obtained from the tower.
And the signature characteristics obtained based on this.
That completely changed what symbolized that ranker.
Of course, the number of rankers who have acquired signature traits is not very large, and for most, it is due to various other content that a new era has begun, but…
That is only the case for the rankers who have boarded the new era.
The most definite change for existing rankers was the signature trait.
Ability solely for oneself.
As it was a capability directly determined and granted by a system managed by cutting-edge artificial intelligence, it had to be utilized more effectively than any other capability.
Didn’t Raon, for starters, enjoy the benefits greatly right away?
This was the reason why the rankers, who had never gone out of their way to thoroughly prevent information from leaking, were now gritting their teeth and controlling the situation.
Because the presence or absence of signature characteristics was that significant.
“You know I put my name on the tombstone on the top floor, don’t you? You must have woken up later than me.”
“……ah.”
“The others are like that, too. They didn’t even suspect that he and I would use our signature traits. We didn’t even go out of our way to hide it.”
But why didn’t I think of that?
The Empress, that she also possesses a signature trait.
I could immediately recall the reason.
“……Is that so?”
One-man army. Fighting cock.
The strongest female player in God of Savior, acknowledged by everyone.
Even though she has countless descriptors, the single word that best represents her is ‘physicality’.
The Empress, she was strong even without any signature traits.
“Everyone overlooked it because of its inherent strength… … Huh.”
Bjorn wore a hollow smile.
I had no choice but to admit this.
The very fact that even he hadn’t considered her signature trait meant that he had already unconsciously regarded her as stronger than himself.
So my abilities weren’t a good match.
It must be the ability that sent him flying.
‘If I had been thinking about my signature traits… … I wonder if I wouldn’t have lost so futilely.’
I was quite disappointed about that, but I had no lingering regrets.
She is a woman who could not land a single clean hit even after swinging her fists for 10 minutes straight.
She was someone who was immune even to his own abilities, which were her only extreme counter, so there was no way things would change just because he knew what her signature trait was.
I was just curious.
I lost.
“Do you want to die? Didn’t you hear me? I said get up.”
“……I don’t think I can win even if I get up again. I’m not reckless enough to engage in a meaningless fight.”
“Wow, what a purely selfish bastard. You go wild happily blowing heads off, but now that it’s your turn to suffer, you’re playing it safe?”
Bjorn, who had moved his lips a few times at the Empress’s scathing criticism, soon closed his mouth.
I couldn’t bring myself to say a rebuttal.
Did that sight make them lose their motivation completely?
The Empress, who had been laughing fiercely just moments ago, let out a sigh and clicked her tongue as if she had lost all her energy.
“Tsk.”
I had high hopes because he seemed like a hot guy for a change, but…
The opponent was below expectations.
It feels tantalizing because the signature characteristics weren’t utilized properly.
She smacked her lips and glanced at the system window floating in front of her.
[Signature trait ‘Heart of the Empress’ is active.]
[The Empress’s heart, having reached the pinnacle, releases temporarily latent energy.]
[As stamina decreases, you become stronger, and your attack, defense, and speed increase.]
[When stamina reaches the minimum, stamina consumption is removed. If you continue fighting for a certain period of time in this state, the next liberation will proceed.]
[You can liberate up to four times, and ending the liberation will result in side effects corresponding to each stage.]
[Current Liberation Stage: 2 times]
[You can use ‘Shatter’ due to two liberations.]
[A ‘Counter’ is applied when you make contact with the same body part as your opponent with the same movement at the precise timing.]
I can’t seem to get to the next stage.
Surprisingly, she had never freed her heart beyond this next stage until now.
It was because the fight usually ends during the crushing phase.
I had been planning to have a proper duel with that Sword Saint sometime and reach my maximum potential, but…
Unfortunately, that guy didn’t have time for that either, as he was devoting himself to training after acquiring his signature trait.
I thought we might finally move on to the next stage this time, but sure enough, it ended the same way.
I’m going to have a showdown once this is over. I can’t take this anymore.
She clicked her tongue in annoyance at her body, which was vaguely flushed, and snapped her head away.
He was finished at this point… … .
“Let’s see how the others are doing.”
He intended to soothe his heated body by watching his comrades intensely focused on the battle.
The first place she checked was… … .
Chaeng! Chaeng!
A place where the crisp sound of a sword can be heard.
Smirk.
Another new swordsmanship style. Let’s see what you’ve been training for.
It was a battle between the Sword Saint and Sirgan.
