Chapter 40: A Lesson in PvP

This update was a massive one, lasting a full 12 hours.

[Guild][HeyYam] ㅋㅋ Everyone, did you see this update?

[Guild][Bogak] It’s f*cked

[Guild][Male3] Hah, I’m at a loss for words

I checked the update details in response to the guild members’ reactions.

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[××/×× Card of Fantasy Strongest Player Championship Event Update Notification

PvP Content Balance Patch Notification (Go to)

Common: New PvP waiting motions have been applied for each class (View)

The cooldowns of common PvP skills for all classes have been adjusted.

―Back Attack: 12 seconds > 10 seconds

―Turn: 7 seconds > 5 seconds

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Go to the PvP Content Update Promotional Video Event! (Share on YouTube and get 200,000 cash!)

A thrilling one-match showdown! I am the god of control! Strongest Player Championship Guide!

Hello! This is GM Semaring from the thrilling world of adventure, Card of Fantasy.

Starting from the next update on Thursday the 26th, the ‘I am the Strongest!’ and ‘We are the Strongest!’ events will begin.

Rewards for each event will be distributed differently for each section, such as individual PvP rankings and guild PvP ranking percentages.

Additionally, due to the revised PvP rules, rankings will now be combined across all servers, and rankings will be tallied separately for each class, guild, individual, and group (Party PvP—3v3/4v4/5v5). For more details, please check the ‘PvP Content Balance Patch Notification (Go to)’!

Also, the ranks for the ‘I am the Strongest!’ and ‘We are the Strongest!’ events will be refreshed on the 1st of every month, so we ask for the active participation of all our users!

Thank you.]

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“…What does this mean?”

I just blinked while looking at the event notice.

Even after that, I checked the things I didn’t understand, like the ‘combat waiting motion,’ on the official website.

Below that was a table organizing the PvP skill cooldowns and the number of applicable targets for each class… but honestly, it was a snoozefest.

The terminology was just too difficult.

“So… is it a good thing? Or a bad thing?”

I couldn’t tell, so I kept comparing the cooldowns and target counts and even watched the motions, but being a complete novice at PvP, I had no feel for what had changed or how it would be applied.

On the other hand, the guild members’ group Discord, filled with many rankers, had been ringing with notifications nonstop for a while now.

From the moment there was talk of overhauling PvP, even before seeing the results, the guild members were venting their anger, saying things like ‘It’s definitely going to be a fcking disaster,’ or ‘What a sht game.’

Because of this update, they had become so chatty that if you looked away for just a minute, you’d have to scroll up for several minutes to catch up.

The guild members truly did not rest for a moment, pouring out their complaints.

[Male3] Hah… whose idea was this anyway lol

[Youngmyeong] I know right ㅠㅠ

[Male3] It really makes me sigh

[Bogak] We’re f*cked

[HugMeRaiseMe] If there are guild battles across all servers, this is just telling the guilds to brutally kill each other

[Neda] The forums are already a collection of brainless people, it’s going to get even crazier from now on

[HeyYam] It’s hopeless…… =ㅅ=

Not only was the general consensus negative, but it seemed they also disliked the balancing for each class.

[HugMeRaiseMe] Healers gg, if there’s a 10-second cooldown after using a holding skill, where are we supposed to run to lol? Just let go of our hands and die?

[Neda] And amidst all this, only Lilith has soared^^

[Youngmyeong] Ugh, I need a smoke…

‘Hmm. But it looks like my Ah-ang is doing okay….’

While gauging the atmosphere, I noticed that my main character’s class, Lilith, had received a not-so-bad balance adjustment.

I didn’t make a point of showing it to the guild members, but I was secretly pleased.

However, even ImSoCute, who also played a Lilith, joined the chat with a worried tone.

[ImSoCute] Hey, are the rewards for this ‘We are the Strongest’ thing any good? I don’t know about the others, but this one is a must-do…… what about the people who can’t log in on weekends from now on ㅜㅜ I have to do my part-time job

[HeyYam] I know, right…… I’m already f*cking tired…… ㅇㅅㅇ

[HeyYam] The Prosperity Guild b@stards are already acting up, makes me want to give them a knuckle sandwich ㅇㅂㅇ…

[Neda] Who is that?

[Neda] I’m asking because I’ve sincerely never heard of them

[HeyYam] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[HeyYam] It’s a guild that only does PvP ㅇㅅㅇㅋ It’s a gathering of losers who are proud of their kill count

[Bogak] ㅋㅋ

[Bogak] The guild master there is the one who used to get owned by Ban-ye all the time

[Neda] ㅋㅋㅋㅋ They’ll be coming out with a vengeance this time

[HugMeRaiseMe] Hah, this is so stressful…… but where’s Ah-ang?

[Neda] Why are you looking for Ah-ang-nim?

[HugMeRaiseMe] I need to relieve some stress… I’m gonna beat him up

[Bogak] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

I read up to this point and, finding it absurd that Aki was suddenly taking his anger out on me, typed a question mark.

[Ah-ang] ?

[HugMeRaiseMe] ㅋㅋ Joking

Realizing I was being teased again, I typed [ㅡㅡ].

Then he replied with some more nonsense: [Why? Gonna go tell Ban-ye?].

But just then, with perfect timing, I heard the sound of my door opening.

It was Ban-ye.

“What are you doing?”

“Just…. they said there’s a big update today, so I logged on to check.”

“Ah, ah.”

Ban-ye nodded, as if he already knew.

“That combat update? It’s a mess.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Yeah, well….”

“They said Lilith is good, though.”

“Lilith is fine. But, the ranked battles….”

Ban-ye paused for a moment, then glanced me over and said gently.

“You don’t need to know, hyung. I’ll take care of it.”

His words only pretended to be gentle; the content was far from it.

I flared up and glared at Ban-ye.

“Hey, don’t ignore me!”

“I’m not ignoring you… a-anyway, I’ll be the one playing Ah-ang.”

“You have Ban-yeStorage too, don’t you?”

Ban-ye’s alt character, which I sometimes played… had already become as familiar to me as my main character, and I had been steadily leveling it up.

It wasn’t max level yet, but I had hit max level in a week before.

If I put my mind to it, there was nothing I couldn’t do.

“You’re not good at PvP anyway, hyung.”

“I can practice!”

“Why are you so motivated?”

Even though I was trying to do well, Ban-ye’s tone was somewhat disapproving.

“It’s just, I can’t be the only one left out, right? Everyone’s doing it.”

In the past, I had little interest in anything other than crafting, but now I had found a certain enjoyment in running dungeons.

Of course, PvP was still outside my territory, but… if I learned, couldn’t I do it to some extent?

“Well, alright. Then the Alchemist… let me see for a moment.”

Hearing my resolve, Ban-ye strode over and grabbed the mouse from behind me.

The distance between me and Ban-ye closed.

A faint smell of cigarettes wafted from him, as if he had just had a smoke.

I don’t normally like the smell of cigarettes, but Ban-ye’s was an exception….

It made me feel strange.

I tried to push my chair back to escape, but Ban-ye grabbed my chair and returned it to its original position.

“Where are you going?”

“Why are you stopping me?”

“I’m trying to look at the update details.”

Ban-ye clicked the mouse to check the patch notes for the Alchemist.

He muttered something as he did, and though I didn’t understand the details, it didn’t seem like a nerf.

“The patch notes for the Alchemist aren’t bad. Shall we try practicing then?”

I wondered if he really needed to check in this position, but….

In any case, as if there was no need to delay, Ban-ye immediately used his own Discord ID to ask, [Anyone want to go to the training arena with Ah-ang-nim’s Alchemist?].

The one who responded immediately, breaking off from another conversation, was Male3.

[Male3] Let’s go

[Bogak] S

[Bogak] Too late, gg

[Male3] lol Next round then

[HugMeRaiseMe] This should be fun

[Neda] Please share your screen

“Hyung, just a second.”

At Ban-ye’s words that he would show me a demonstration, I obediently stepped aside.

Ban-ye immediately logged into the game and reallocated Ban-yeStorage’s skills for combat.

[Guild][Male3] But is Ah-ang participating in this one too?

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] Yep

[Guild][Male3] ㅋㅋ We need all the help we can get, so that’s good

The shirtless Male3, wearing a cat-ear headband, took the lead.

Male3’s character was a [Ranger].

It was a class strong in hunting, but especially specialized in PvP.

On the other hand, even if the Alchemist got buffed this time, it’s not a strong class for combat.

Furthermore, the Alchemist wasn’t even Ban-ye’s main character, so he was at a disadvantage.

“Will you be okay?”

“I’m not trying to win.”

Ban-ye reassured me as I looked at him worriedly, and then he cracked his knuckles.

“I’m going to explain, so watch carefully.”