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Finally, with only half-health left, the swordsman broke free from the stunned state and glared angrily at Endless Sea.

**Clang!**

The Fractured Hammer smashed down hard against his blade, but most of the damage was blocked.

The Guardian Shield’s effect had finally expired at this time.

FleetingDream deflected the Fractured Hammer and quickly gulped down a Bloodflow Tonic along with a High-Grade HP Potion.

…

Using his advantage in attack speed, he stepped forward and unleashed a flurry of strikes! A storm of sword shadows erupted in an instant!

He even managed to land a critical hit! But with Endless Sea’s health sitting close to five thousand, this damage barely made a dent.

Another strike landed squarely on the shield. The Fractured Hammer, however, was far too sluggish, and the swordsman slipped past its arc with ease. He couldn’t keep up with the swordsman’s speed…

‘No, if this keeps up, I will die!’

He withdrew the Fractured Hammer, and in the moment FleetingDream dodged, he pivoted and retreated rapidly toward a massive boulder. At the same time, he downed a Heartsteady Pill and HP potion.

“Trying to stall for cooldowns? Not happening!”

This was the powerful special skill granted by his epic-grade armor. It boosted all three of his speeds by 30%¹, increased attack power by 30%, and raised his critical rate by 10% for a full thirty seconds!

The effect was formidable, but it came with a dangerous drawback—damage taken would be increased by 50%.

Yet against a knight wielding the cumbersome Fractured Hammer, he was confident he could dodge every blow. In that case, the drawback was practically meaningless. The only real threats were the two crowd control skills.

He absolutely could not allow his opponent to survive until the next skill rotation!

Endless Sea hadn’t yet widened the gap when he suddenly heard the clatter of scattered stones behind him.

‘How is he so fast? No, he’s practically right behind me!’

**Squelch!**

Endless Sea staggered forward several steps, reeling from the sheer force of a heavy slash.

‘That damage was outrageous!’

Using the momentum of the impact, he circled around to the far side of the boulder. Lifting the Fractured Hammer high, he prepared to smash down on his opponent unawares!

Yet no movement came.

Suddenly, from above to the left, came the sound of stones tumbling down. Looking up, Endless Sea’s eyes widened. ‘My gawd! He’s planning to execute a leaping slash?!’

As expected, once FleetingDream realized he had been discovered, he stopped hiding altogether. He leapt straight down, raising his sword high, and swung a brutal vertical slash right toward Endless Sea’s face!

The strike came too fast, nearly impossible to dodge. He had no choice but to gamble! Endless Sea hurled the Guardian’s Heart upward with all his strength, and the massive shield smashed into the swordsman’s face.

There was no time to dwell on the strange damage numbers. Endless Sea gripped the Fractured Hammer with both hands and swung it upward from below, aiming at his opponent’s unguarded stance!

He had struck a weak point!

FleetingDream staggered back several steps, his face pale with bruising, nearly losing his balance.

“You… are dead!”

Endless Sea scratched his head sheepishly. “Uh… I didn’t mean to do that, ahahaha!” At the same time, he bent down and picked up the dropped shield.²　

Fortunately, this wasn’t reality. Still, the pain was far beyond what most people could endure. FleetingDream was forced to lower his pain sensitivity to the minimum just to ease the agony.

He couldn’t understand it. How had that simple-minded knight suddenly developed reflexes nearly on par with his own? In just a few brief exchanges, Endless Sea had pulled off far too many unexpected maneuvers.

It made sense though. Endless Sea had spent too much time fighting alongside Zane and Starry, constantly challenging bosses far beyond their current level with only a handful of people. Not only had his technical skill improved, but his tactics, his use of terrain, and his mastery of items had all grown far beyond conventional thinking.

He had grown stronger, while FleetingDream was still standing in place.

‘Could it be… that I was wrong all along?’ FleetingDream clenched his fists. ‘No, that’s impossible!’ He immediately charged with his sword, only to find Endless Sea had already bolted away.

‘No way. My Charge and Taunt are both still on cooldown. Who in their right mind would fight head-on like that?’

Thus, the Death Match devolved into a bizarre game of chase. Endless Sea darted between boulders, and for a while the swordsman simply couldn’t catch him.

FleetingDream grew more and more agitated. “Damn it! You mother f̲u̲c̲k̲e̲r̲, how long are you going to keep running?!” he shouted in fury.

“Alright, I’m coming out!” Endless Sea suddenly stepped into the open.

“…”

‘S̲h̲i̲t̲!’ FleetingDream immediately knew what that meant, his Charge cooldown must have reset!

And sure enough…

“Heh.” Endless Sea smirked slyly, raising his shield and shouting in mock seriousness, “Charge!”

The hyper-focused swordsman instantly sidestepped to the right, preparing to counterattack once the knight’s Charge overshot. But the afterimage never came!

‘So you think you’re the only one who could fake it?! I can bluff too!’

This time, the real afterimage shot forward, slamming directly into FleetingDream’s body.

This time, under the combined assault of Charge, Taunt, and a flurry of normal attacks, FleetingDream’s health was reduced to a sliver.

“You’ve lost.” The Fractured Hammer was pressed sideways against the swordsman’s neck. Just the slightest push, and the Death Match would end.

“…”

“What’s wrong, unwilling to accept it?” Endless Sea asked.

Thinking it over, he realized he had indeed taken quite a few advantages. As a knight, he had actually let a swordsman chase him around. If not for this complicated terrain, his health would have been emptied long ago, and he never would have lasted until a second round of skills.

And besides, he held the advantage of Charge. If FleetingDream had also possessed Charge, the outcome might have been completely different. But no matter what, at least for now, he had won this duel.

“I just want to ask you one question.”
“What is it?”
“What exactly did you do to Misty!?” FleetingDream asked, his voice firm, his eyes burning with rage.

Misty… It had been so long since he had heard that name, he had nearly forgotten the person entirely.

“I did nothing.” Endless Sea looked straight at him.

“Is that so…” FleetingDream’s expression showed his reluctance to believe such an answer.

In the next instant, the master swordsman slammed his own head against the hammer, ending his life on the spot.

“……” Endless Sea didn’t know what to say, a swirl of emotions filling his chest.

On the ground lay a piece of pure white armor.

‘Epic-grade armor! No wonder that guy was so tough. My gear should’ve been top-tier too, yet it barely scratched him. So that’s the reason… And those insane spikes in attack power earlier, those must’ve come from this skill as well.’

With this armor, his damage output during leveling would probably rival even Lordsey’s! Why compare himself to Lordsey? Simply because Shiu’s damage was far too exaggerated. With Pyrestorm and Thundercloud, even Zane couldn’t always surpass his damage.

And yet, Lordsey, just a pet, had consistently out-damaged him. Being stuck at the bottom of the damage charts for so long had dealt a deep wound to this proud knight’s heart.

He was supposed to be a master! It was one thing to be carried by someone like Stardust, but Yoyo and Shiu were just ordinary people. At the very least, his own damage should have lived up to his rank.

As for whether to return the armor… Not a chance! Even if FleetingDream had once been his brother, the stats of this Frenzied Armor were simply too overwhelming. He would definitely keep it for himself!