[Stat Conversion]
[Endurance 18 → 30▲; Mana 12 → 0 ▼]
He just barely got his skill off before Jisung appeared right in front of his face, swinging his large broadsword down with intent to kill.
Minjae abandoned his dagger and raised his shortsword up to block. Steel met steel as sparks rained down onto the stone floor.
It's…heavy!
Minjae's arms trembled from the sheer force of Jisung's strike. The power difference between a Level 4 and a Level 1 was overwhelmingly stark. Even when he shifted his stats to Endurance and blocked the attack, he'd still lost 15% of his HP.
"Mark!"
Immediately, the same red sigil had appeared on Jisung's chest as Jiwon surged from behind, trying to get a sneak attack on him.
Within seconds, Jisung shattered the sigil, using his overwhelmingly higher mana stat than hers.
Jiwon's attack managed to land. Well, he didn't even try to block it. Her eyes widened as the HP bar above his head moved ever-so-slightly. If one wasn't paying attention, they wouldn't have noticed anything different.
He didn't even bother turning fully. Jisung's arm snapped back, elbow slamming straight into her midsection.
"—ghk!"
The air left her lungs instantly as he body folded inward, the force itself made her stumble back a couple of steps.
She coughed heavily, losing nearly 20% of her HP just from the one hit. But Jisung wasn't done just yet.
He appeared right in front of her, following up with a gigantic swing of his blade aimed straight at her before she could even recover—
CLANG!
A second blade just barely managed to intercept it. Sparks burst outward as Ara slid in, both hands gripping her sword as she braced for the impact.
Jisung eyed her briefly before pushing her blade upward. Ara's eyes widened as his leg shot forward with a brutal kick, slamming straight into her stomach.
The impact lifted her off her feet, sending both her and Jiwon crashing into a nearby wooden bench. The wood splintered on impact, dust bursting into the air as they hit the ground hard.
Minjae's eyes narrowed.
Shit…Ara's just a level under and even she couldn't take a hit? I need to speed up the plan.
"Hyunwoo!" he snapped.
The archer flinched slightly before looking over. "W-What?!"
"Support me. Don't aim for damage, just force him to move!"
The boy hesitated for half a second before nodding.
"Got it!"
Alright, let's hope glass-cannon works here.
Jisung's Agility was 19 at base…with each Level, all his stats should increase by 5. Which would put him at 39 Agility.
[Stat Conversion]
[Endurance 30 → 0 ▼; Strength 20 → 30 ▲; Agility 22 → 42▲]
His strength is still too much…but this should do. I can't take a hit…not even a single one.
Immediately, Minjae shot forward, closing the distance in a blur as his blade cut straight toward Jisung's blade.
Jisung caught it, but this time, he only barely had time to react.
Minjae didn't stop. A second strike came immediately after, aimed at his side, forcing him to shift just as an arrow plunged itself right into his shoulder.
Jisung gritted his teeth, more from anger than from pain as he swung his sword overhead…only to find nothing as Minjae was no longer there.
"You little—"
Minjae came up from right beside him, slipping past his guard but just barely being able to graze his side before pulling back instantly.
He kept dodging and weaving, managing to leave small chip damage onto Jisung. It was nothing, in the grand scheme of things.
But Minjae only needed it to do one thing…piss him off.
"MINJAE YOU FUCKING PEST! SEE HOW I DEAL WITH YOU!"
A brief gap appeared, just intentional enough for Jisung to activate his skill.
[Skill Activated: Agility +5, Footstep Noise Reduced.]
The sound of his movement vanished instantly.
Even if Minjae knew what the skill did, his eyes still widened when Jisung appeared right next to him, this time with the stat advantage.
CLANG!
Minjae barely got his blade up in time as the strike came in faster than before. But with zero in Endurance, he flew straight into a nearby broken pillar.
"—ghk!" Minjae coughed as a small stream of red ran down his mouth. A telltale sign that someone was on lethal HP levels.
Jisung's footsteps approached, echoing in the hollow cathedral. He stopped just a few steps away, resting the flat blade on his shoulder as he looked down on his former teammate.
"…That's it?" he scoffed, "All that running and planning…and this is how you end up?"
Jisung walked up to the now heap on the floor that was Minjae, and plunged the sword right into the ground beside his head.
But even so, Minjae didn't flinch.
"You know what the funniest part is?"
His grip tightened slightly.
"Nothing's changed."
"Back in Blue Comets…you remember?" Jisung continued casually. "You sat back, collected your cut, played the 'smart guy'—"
"While I did the work. While I carried your ass."
With contempt, Jisung stomped on Minjae's stomach with his foot. Minjae coughed up blood, his HP bar running dangerously low.
"Yeah," Minjae said, voice hoarse. "That part might be true."
"You were stronger than me then. And you're still stronger than me now."
Jisung smirked faintly, basking in the glory as Minjae admitted his defeat. But something's wrong.
The prey…he wasn't scared. Why's he smiling?
"But you're right, Jisung. Some things never change."
The air shifted behind Jisung. Minjae didn't even have to look, didn't really need to, as he knew what was going to happen next.
"…You're still an idiot."
Jisung's expression twisted instantly.
"You—!"
A shadow loomed over him from behind. Jisung's instincts screamed danger, causing him to take out his sword and throw his body to the side.
BOOM!
The archbishop's massive mace crashed down where he had just been, shattering the stone with a deafening impact.
Minjae just barely managed to get out of the way. Recovering from the dodge, Jisung's eyes snapped toward his former teammate immediately.
"You think that does anything?!"
He blitzed forward, the tip of his sword pointed at Minjae who was still on the ground, coughing up blood.
"DIE YOU PEST!"
He thrusted the sword forward with all his might, all of his combined emotions, whether it be ego or otherwise.
The pest should've been dead…
But his sword stopped, just inches away from Minjae's face, almost like the world itself refused to let it go any further.
Minjae smirked, pointing at the monstrous presence behind them. "Your business isn't with me, Jisung-hyung. It's with him."
Jisung turned slowly, only to see his worst nightmare. The monster stood still, its torn prayer book hung open in its grasp. Even if the paper had completely deteriorated, only one thing remained on it, just legible enough for all to see.
"Oooh, seems like you've got the short end of the stick…" Minjae snickered.
[Skill Activated: False Judgement]
[Target: Han Jisung]