Chapter 53: The Swordsmanship Genius Is Also Good at Magic (Part 2)

‘A longsword, huh.’

 (Sprinkled Bull) glanced at the female player standing across the arena and shifted his weight slightly. His heavy armor creaked with his movements.

Silently adjusting his armor and confirming the female player’s weapon, a smirk crept onto Sprinkled Bull’s face. She held an ordinary longsword. With no other special equipment, she was clearly a standard sword-wielding Arcana.

‘This match is as good as won.’

With that single observation, Sprinkled Bull tasted victory.

He couldn’t help it.

His Arcana was knight-based.

Specifically, a Knight Commander, classified as A-rank.

‘Armor is a swordsman’s bane.’

Knight Arcanas, with their heavy armor, had an absolute advantage against melee weapon users. How could they win against impenetrable defenses?

For a swordsman to defeat a knight, they had to precisely target the narrow gaps in the armor, a feat requiring exceptional skill. Only those with top-tier Arcanas or unparalleled swordsmanship could pull it off.

‘And no one in this tier is capable of that.’

Sprinkled Bull was currently in Platinum.

No player in this tier could penetrate a heavily armored knight’s defenses. Absolutely none. If they existed, they would have already ranked up.

So, Sprinkled Bull smiled.

‘Let’s finish this quickly and grab some lunch.’

He considered the match already won.

Therefore…

…he was taken completely by surprise.

“W-What?”

Whirring!

The female player, still holding the longsword, suddenly began drawing a magic circle in the air.

Sprinkled Bull gulped and frantically racked his brain.

‘What? A fake?’

Was she actually a magic Arcana user?

Did she equip the longsword to deceive him?

It wasn’t impossible. Mages used staves because of their magical buffs, not because magic required a staff.

‘Damn, I have to close the distance!’

Sprinkled Bull quickly kicked off the ground.

He couldn’t give a mage space. The greater the distance, the more advantageous it was for them. If he couldn’t get close, he wouldn’t even land a single blow and would be constantly harassed by magic.

‘I can’t let that happen!’

For a swordsman to be defeated by a spellcaster without landing a single hit was utterly humiliating. Besides, mages weren’t suited for individual matches. If a knight lost to a mage in an individual match, he might as well drown himself in a puddle.

So, Sprinkled Bull ran with all his might.

The female player remained stationary.

She wasn’t frozen in fear by his charge; she must have decided it was better to complete the spell quickly.

And as if to prove his assumption, the magic flew towards him.

Bam!

A direct hit to his chest.

But Sprinkled Bull didn’t care.

‘A Tier 1 Magic Bullet.’

Magic Bullet, a Tier 1 spell.

As the lowest-level magic, it did almost no damage. Just a slight sting. It was meant to be spammed as a distraction while moving.

But the woman seemed surprised.

She just stood there, staring at him.

“Hmph!”

Sprinkled Bull scoffed.

He didn’t understand why she was just standing there, but victory was already his. Mages had practically no close-combat abilities. The moment she gave him an opening, she had lost.

And Sprinkled Bull was already right in front of her. Just a few more steps, and his sword would reach her.

He raised his sword and swung.

“Die!”

The tip of his arming sword, raised high, gleamed in the sunlight as it plunged towards the woman’s head.

And…

Clang!

Metal clashed against metal.

“…!!!”

Sprinkled Bull’s eyes widened in shock.

‘Holy!’

He couldn’t believe it. The longsword, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, had perfectly deflected his attack.

Caught off guard by her skillful parry, Sprinkled Bull stumbled backward. Another Magic Bullet flew towards him. He blinked, feeling a stinging pain in his side.

‘What?’

Why was she just standing there, shooting Magic Bullets?

More importantly, how did a mage block his attack?

The situation was baffling, but Sprinkled Bull was still confident in his victory. He had closed the distance. If he kept attacking, the mage couldn’t possibly win.

And so…

Clang! Cling!

The exchange of blows continued. In a typical mage versus knight scenario, the match would have been over by now.

But it wasn’t.

Why?

“Damn it!”

Because she was deflecting all his attacks!

Thrusts, swings, slashes.

She evaded, parried, or blocked everything. And the constant barrage of magic spells was taking its toll.

Sprinkled Bull finally realized the massive gap in their skill. She could have easily killed him if she wanted to.

She was that strong.

But…

Despite the difference in skill, the fight continued.

For a simple reason.

She was only defending, not attacking.

He knew that if she decided to attack, his head would be flying through the air.

‘Why…!’

Why was someone this skilled in this tier?

Why was she using magic if she was so good with a sword?

And why was she only harassing him with magic and not going for the kill? Was she toying with him?

Just then…

“Ah, I see now.”

The woman smiled.

Boom!

Finally, a real magic spell came flying towards him.

[She beat him with magic lol]
[How did she use magic?]
[Seriously, how?]
[Oh lol, magic is a piece of cake]

Shihyun clicked her tongue, watching the frantic chat.

‘That took a while.’

Unlike usual, this match had dragged on.

It wasn’t because her opponent was skilled.

If she had fought seriously, it would have been over five times faster.

The reason it took so long was the magic.

Or rather, its weakness.

‘…I didn’t expect the magic output to be reduced.’

When the knight charged, she had used a spell she frequently used in ‘that world’: Magic Bullet. Any ordinary person would have been instantly killed by it, even a heavily armored knight.

However, her opponent had taken a direct hit and kept running.

The magic output was intentionally lowered.

‘Probably for balance reasons.’

It was only logical.

If a single Magic Bullet could instantly kill, mages would be overpowered. They had to nerf magic for PVP balance.

‘But I didn’t expect to have to use Hellfire.’

To have to use a large-scale spell capable of destroying a fortress just to take down a single knight…the efficiency was terrible.

…Wasn’t this mage balance a bit…broken in a different way?

‘Well, it’s not my concern.’

She wouldn’t be using magic much anyway.

It was good to know, though.

Shihyun snapped out of her thoughts and checked the chat.

[Was Shihyun’s Arcana Magic Swordsman?]
[Beautiful girl Archmage Sword Master]
[No, I don’t think it’s an Arcana]
[Then what is it?]
[Looks like she memorized the magic circle]
[ Is that possible?]
[Crazy]
[Shihyun, is that true? You don’t have a magic Arcana?]

The chat was in chaos, confused by her magic use.

Shihyun slowly began to explain, “Yes. I don’t have a magic Arcana. Memorized…? I guess that’s right.”

[lol]
[She really memorized it]
[Crazy lol]
[How did she memorize it lol]

How did she memorize it…?

Shihyun tilted her head, not understanding the question.

“Um, I just…memorized it?”

She really just memorized it. Because she needed it for combat.

[That’s just showing off]
[Oh lol, just do it]
[Magic is a memorization subject]
[Noobs rely on Arcanas. ‘Real’ players just learn it]
[For real lol]

The chat exploded again.

Shihyun smiled awkwardly.

“Haha.”

[But she really beat him with magic]
[She cleared the mission lol]
[A beautiful girl sword master overcoming an impossible mission]
[I didn’t think it would work]

“…Ah, right.”

Shihyun remembered the mission.

‘There was a mission.’

A 300,000 won mission.

She smiled.

“Since I succeeded, I should get the reward, right?”

A donation notification popped up.

[Webjoong donated 10,000 won!]
[I got scammed]

Shihyun shrugged at the message.

“Scam? No way.”

It was a legitimate transaction.

[Oh lol, it was a scam lol]
[Using magic with a longsword to win is a scam lol]
[Scam (Confirmed)]
[I thought it was a safe bet, but it wasn’t lol]

“It’s the loser’s fault.”

[For real lol]
[If you bet your hand, you should be prepared to lose it lol]
[But isn’t getting scammed by a beautiful girl sword master a reward in itself?]
[Ugh]
[Creep]

Another notification chimed.

[Mission successful!]
[Weapon: Longsword, Win this match using magic]
[Mission reward: 300,000 won]

The mission was successful, and the reward was deposited.

Shihyun beamed and bowed her head.

“Thank you for the 300,000 won, Webjoong. I’ll use this money to buy crab tomorrow.”

[Oh lol, crab is acceptable lol]
[A beautiful girl who uses magic for crab]
[King crab is better than snow crab]
[Tasteless?]

The first mission was complete.

Shihyun had earned 300,000 won, the viewers were entertained, a happy day for everyone.

[Webjoong donated 10,000 won!]
[I still feel like I got scammer]

“I told you, it wasn’t.”

Except for one person.