Chapter 347: A Valuable Defeat (1)

Jackal was a player who used two sabers as his main weapons, but no one had ever seen him draw the second saber. Up until now, none of his opponents had been able to handle even a single saber.

Then why am I the only one getting special treatment?

So the moment Kai saw the two sabers directly flying at him, he naturally understood.

“

Haap!

”

Jackal was now doing his absolute best to kill him.

Naturally, the spectators who were watching were also greatly shocked.

“

Oooooh!

”

“Jackal drew his second saber from the very start!”

“He didn’t even draw it when fighting Kane the Spirit Summoner... Why now?”

“Could it be that he judged Banish to be more dangerous than Kane?”

“I mean, sure, Banish has a good win rate, but he’s never shown overwhelming strength like Kane has...”

“

Huh?

”

“

Huh...?

What?!”

There were two main reasons for their shock. First was the fact that Jackal used both sabers. And the second was...

“When facing a serious opponent, it wouldn’t be polite to hold back.”

Because from Banish’s body, an overwhelming aura surged—something no one had ever seen before.

In the next instant, Banish easily dodged one incoming saber using footwork he had stolen from Nest, and deflected the second saber using Haroro’s deflection technique. In two fluid motions, Kai moved like flowing water, and an opening appeared. Jackal’s upper body, completely unguarded. Without hesitation, Kai drove his shoulder into it.

“Oh no, that won’t do.”

But Jackal’s figure slipped back like a ghost, leaving behind an afterimage, and avoided the strike. There was only one possible meaning for a movement so unreal it couldn’t be considered human.

“A Rare... no, is it Unique?” Kai asked.

“

Haha,

you sure are sharp-sighted. That’s right. It’s a skill called Ghost Step. It was quite hard to obtain.”

“I didn’t know you had that kind of skill.”

“Because I never showed it before.”

As he answered, Jackal slowly spun both sabers. While spinning the sabers, he slowly circled around Kai, like a beast studying its prey before pouncing.

“That’s not all. I’ve also completed a third job class advancement. No matter how strong you are, I’ll be very different from the enemies you’ve faced so far.”

“Is that so?”

First job class change was at level 10, second job class change at level 200, and the level required to receive a third job class change quest was 400.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

But because of how hard the quest is, most players hit around level 410 by the time they complete it.

According to the rankings, only ninety-one players had reached level 400 so far, and more than half of them were still in the middle of their class advancement quests.

Then Jackal must be one of those ninety-one. There might even be a face I recognize under that mask.

With that thought, Kai’s body spun in an instant. His sword, charged with full rotational force, flew precisely toward Jackal’s temple.

Jackal quickly raised a saber to block it.

Clang!

Even as Jackal deflected the strike, Kai was spinning as fast as the wind. It was as if he had been waiting for that moment. This time, he spun three times. Yet despite that, Kai’s sword pierced through the same path with perfect precision.

Jackal defended the trajectory with one saber, and at the same time, he tried to counter using the other saber in his right hand.

Claaang!

But that was a careless thought. The attack he assumed one saber could handle was far heavier than expected.

Jackal’s body flew through the air like a ragdoll hit by a dump truck. Using a soft landing technique, he got back to his feet, then let out a dry laugh at the tingling pain in his left arm.

“

Hah

, right. I forgot you were the guy who crushed Nest with brute force.”

Realizing his mistake, Jackal stomped the ground hard. Then, from behind him, another Jackal emerged, and then another. A total of three Jackals stood in the arena.

Kai’s eyes gleamed as he saw this.

Are they clones?

It must be a mechanism similar to his own Solarian Body.

However...

These clones weren’t vague faceless clones but perfect copies of Jackal, right down to the face. [1]

Actually, this might be a good thing.

Rather than being taken aback, Kai looked relieved because

MID Online

might seem unfair at a glance, but it had its own system of balance. For example, the Solarian Body skill consumed 5 Benevolence points just to summon one doppelganger.

But that guy gets two clones that can perfectly copy his appearance?

It didn’t make sense logically, and there was only one way to justify a skill that made no sense like this.

Those clones must either have no attack power or extremely low damage.

The chance to test that hypothesis came sooner than expected. The three Jackals who had been circling around Kai suddenly rushed at him all at once.

The biggest strength of clone-type skills is how they confuse the opponent.

Kai knew that better than anyone because he used them himself. Which also meant he knew just how frustrating it was to be on the receiving end.

He deflected only half of the incoming attacks. Out of the six sabers flying toward him, he deflected just one from each pair, and three sabers slashed Kai’s body. In that split second, Kai was watching his HP closely.

"Not you, and not you either."

The speed and trajectory were exactly like Jackal’s, but the damage from the first two was only 1.

With an indifferent expression, Kai looked to the third Jackal.

"You...!"

Sensing danger, Jackal flung his body back and cast a skill. At the same time, black hands shot up from the ground and grabbed Kai’s legs. It was Dark Touch, a binding skill from the Rogue class.

"You won’t break free that easily."

Having immobilized Kai, Jackal immediately began casting a long-cast-time skill.

But no debuff skill could stop Kai.

“Sunlight’s Warmth.”

He broke free from the bind in an instant and accelerated.

"What...? How did he break out of that so fast?"

Jackal had been at ease but now, he swung his saber in shock.

Clang! Clang!

But Kai parried the attacks head-on while continuing to close the distance. Of course, Jackal didn’t go down easy. The black aura clinging to both his sabers kept aiming for Kai’s throat and heart.

Jackal’s two sabers moved like they were possessed by a god.

Because of that, Kai’s eyes moved rapidly to track them.

Left temple, right shoulder, left thigh.

He read every trajectory and either deflected or redirected them as retreating was never an option for him.

“

Argh...!

”

That was the decisive reason their distance kept narrowing as time passed.

Because of it, Jackal began to feel increasingly impatient as time passed.

Kai’s stats are higher than mine... The moment he closes in, the fight tilts massively in his favor.

Realizing this, Jackal made his move sooner than expected.

“

Heup!

”

He swung his left saber, which was now burning with dark energy. Even Kai wouldn't be able to walk away unscathed if he were to be hit by it.

Clang!

But Kai blocked it with ease, and both of them had expected that result.

Just as expected. But... the real attack is this one!

The saber that Kai blocked began to emit a bright white light.

"

Hm?

"

Just as Kai sensed danger, Jackal’s saber shattered into thousands of fragments and formed a massive sphere.

Argh, I didn’t expect him to throw away his weapon without hesitation.

Trapped inside the sphere, Kai looked at the rotating fragments.

I’ve learned many skills and gained experience in the Duel Arena.

And all that experience had taught him something new.

Victory is decided by a paper-thin margin. And the one thing that creates that margin is a moment of courage.

Kai instinctively knew that this was the moment to make his decisive move. So he squared his shoulders and charged forward. Thousands of weapon fragments sliced through Kai’s skin and armor like razors. Naturally, his HP dropped rapidly.

Unaware of this, Jackal simply waited outside for Kai to emerge.

He’ll probably try to escape through the back. The moment he comes out, I’ll blind him and then finish him off slowly.

At that moment, a hand burst out from the blade sphere and grabbed Jackal’s face.

"Got you..."

“Th-the front?!” Jackal shouted with a horrified expression.

The front of the Blade Sphere is much thicker than the other sides. Since he broke through that directly, he must’ve lost at least half his HP!

Unfortunately, there was no time for Jackal to continue the thought because Kai had grabbed him by the mask and slammed the back of his head into the ground.

“

Argh!

”

However, he didn't panic. Instead, he used the momentum to rebound upward and swung the remaining saber.

But Kai easily blocked it.

Clang!

Kai then drove his foot into Jackal’s exposed abdomen and let go of him.

“

Kugh...!

”

Spit flying out of his mouth, Jackal bounced across the ground like a skipping stone. After being flung a considerable distance, he pushed against the floor with his trembling hand and slowly stood up.

Ugh, my vision’s spinning... Am I in Confuse state? I need to recover quickly...

Just as Jackal tried to assess his condition and rise to his feet, Kai’s knee crashed into his mask with a clean sound.

The shock was so intense that he couldn’t even scream. In fact, the moment he got hit by that, the match should’ve ended.

But... not like this... I can’t end it like this...!

Jackal forced his fading consciousness to stay awake and squeezed out his last strength.

“Deadly... Sharp!”

His mana plummeted, and a tremendous force surged into his saber. Dizzy, Jackal shut his eyes tightly and swung the weapon straight ahead. It was a powerful slash that looked like it could split the world in two.

Kai stared directly at the incoming attack and said, “Gravity Field.”

At that moment, Jackal’s arm twisted, and the saber’s trajectory shifted. Its original target had been Kai’s neck, but Jackal’s arm dropped downward under the immense gravity. Jackal’s saber carved a sharp arc into the arena floor, right at Kai’s feet. A single attack had split the Duel Arena in two—an unprecedented event.

Kai, who had been right in front of that massive strike, stood frozen without taking a single step.

The spectators were left speechless at the overwhelming power and determination Jackal had displayed until the end. And Kai was no different.

That final attack. Honestly, it shouldn’t have even happened.

Any average player would’ve been finished the moment a knee slammed into their face.

Kai looked at Jackal, whose whole body convulsing, and said to him with sincerity, “Good match.”

Still unable to see clearly, Jackal forced his eyes open and slowly raised his head. His gray mask shattered, revealing the face of a man with sharp jawlines.

“Good... match... A... valuable... def—”

Thud

.

Jackal collapsed, unable to finish his sentence. The mental damage had forced the system to log him out.

“A valuable defeat,

huh

.” Kai murmured the words Jackal couldn’t complete as he looked down at the arena floor, then turned to ask the announcer, “My score. What is it?”

“P-pardon?”

“I asked, what’s my score?”

“

O-oh!

Right, that is...” The announcer quickly checked Kai’s points. “2,578 points! Banish’s rank points are now at 2,578!”

“When designating someone, does it always have to be one week in advance?”

“

Huh?

No, not necessarily...”

“That’s good.”

Kai let out a short breath.

He had already gained everything there was to gain from the arena through his match with Jackal. He had also proven something to himself. That the time he spent learning here was worth it.

Shing.

Kai raised his head along with his sword. His gaze locked onto the highest section, the spectator seat reserved solely for the champion of the arena.

1. The raws had it as egg ghosts

달걀귀신

. But since this has nothing to do with the legend that says if a person saw them, they were destined to die, we went with the context rather than a direct translation. ☜