The Arena of Fantasy Online.
A place created for PVP (Player versus Player combat).
Many players would shout, "You think you're so good at fighting? Follow me to the arena, you bastard!" when they became dissatisfied during gameplay.
However, never had so many people gathered here before.
"Is it starting?"
"Who do you think will win?"
"Don't know. But wouldn't Lee Seyeon win anyway? Honestly, it's already funny that a blacksmith and necromancer came here to fight. It'd be a real embarrassment if Seyeon loses."
There was a reason for the large gathering. The players fighting in the arena were that extraordinary.
One was Lee Seyeon.
As the leader of the Necromancer Guild, she had kept the guild in first place for over a year and a half.
But that wasn't all. Not only did she have excellent leadership abilities, but her combat skills were also outstanding.
She was a ranker who maintained the first place position even as an individual.
She overcame the necromancer's weakness of being vulnerable in one-on-one combat despite being excellent at large-scale hunting, and she defeated many rankers in PVP.
With her outstanding appearance on top of that, it was natural for her to be popular.
"Sister! I love you!"
"Sis! Look over here!"
In fact, 1/3 of the people gathered here were her fans.
However, Seyeon paid no attention and looked ahead. Her opponent was coming out.
"It's Kim Tyler!"
"Kim Tyler! I believe in you! I bet on you! If you lose, I'm ruined!"
Though he appeared to be nothing special, his popularity was considerable.
Kim Tyler. Class: Blacksmith.
Of course, if he were just a regular blacksmith, he wouldn't have become this famous.
In Fantasy Online, blacksmiths could make good items and earn money, but they were clearly limited as a non-combat class.
It was a class meant to be developed as an alt character, or for people who weren't interested in serious raids or combat.
However, Kim Tyler shattered that perception.
==
"You want to 1v1 me? Are you crazy?"
"What, scared?"
"No, where did this crazy guy come from..."
The man laughed in disbelief. Understandably so, as his class was rogue. Moreover, it was specialized in one-on-one combat.
Additionally, he wasn't a low-level player. He consistently ranked within the top 20 in Fantasy Online.
Yet a blacksmith was challenging him to a 1v1.
"If you're scared, can't help it."
"Wait!"
The blacksmith's intentions were obvious. If he refused to fight out of disdain, he'd probably spread rumors saying 'he avoided the fight because he was scared.'
"Fine. Kim Tyler? Come up. I usually don't do this kind of thing, so be really grateful."
"Really, really grateful."
Until Tyler said this with a grin, the rogue didn't understand what he meant.
"Start!"
The rogue's stealth was countered by the blacksmith's disposable item, powder. The rogue's figure appeared in mid-air. He was surprised, having tried to stealth and strike from behind.
'No, it's still okay. Going for Ambush!'
Ambush, the starting move for all rogue combos.
It was the rogue's specialty that inflicted critical hits and status effects when attacking from behind.
Even if the stealth was detected, a blacksmith couldn't match a rogue's speed.
"You, you crazy bastard!"
And the rogue shouted in shock. A different kind of crazy from before.
The one with the status effect was him, not Kim Tyler.
"You set a trap on your own back?!"
He thought the coat looked a bit bulky. The blacksmith had installed a paralysis trap on his back. The rogue who dramatically struck the back fell right into it.
Thwack!
A huge hammer smashed into the rogue's face. Originally, rogues weren't meant to take hits. They were a class that elegantly evaded while outmaneuvering opponents.
His health was instantly halved. Though paralyzed and unable to move, the rogue was truly shocked.
'From a blacksmith?!'
The attack power rivaled that of a warrior.
"Since I don't have attack skills, I have no choice. Please understand."
"You bastard!"
The paralyzed rogue immediately used backstep to retreat. Though his health was halved, it was still manageable. His opponent was a blacksmith, and he was a rogue. If he kept his wits about him, he could finish this without taking another hit.
"Set trap."
"Set trap."
"Set trap."
"???"
However, instead of charging in, the blacksmith started throwing traps on the ground. The traps laid in front of the rogue were clearly visible, not even concealed. There seemed to be no point in setting them.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah. Making sure you can't dodge."
And Kim Tyler raised his hammer to strike the traps.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
They were explosive traps.
And even though the blacksmith was a non-combat class, his defense was better than a rogue's.
"I, I lost...?"
The spectators widened their eyes at the unexpected result.
But this was just the beginning.
==
The next opponent was a paladin.
Paladin. A class with such tenacious vitality and defense that other classes called them "cockroaches."
Unlike the rogue, tricks like ambush wouldn't work on this opponent.
Moreover, the chosen paladin wasn't just any paladin. He was a ranker in the top 10.
However, Kim Tyler won.
"He, he won again!"
From helmet to boots, even down to the underwear, everything was attribute-matched. The equipment was thoroughly designed to counter paladins.
Of course, if that alone could defeat a paladin, they wouldn't have gotten such a bad reputation.
What people admired was Kim Tyler's control.
While he had no choice against the rogue due to the huge agility gap, his control shone against the paladin with similar agility.
Hit, dodge, come back and strike again. The paladin, lacking decent area attacks, shed tears of blood.
Though he could heal after each hit thanks to his excellent vitality, being constantly hit like this was mentally exhausting.
He surrendered after being reduced to a sandbag for over three hours. Though his health was still over half remaining.
"I surrender!"
==
Kim Tyler didn't stop there. He continued challenging top rankers to PVP and winning each time. Class differences seemed irrelevant to him.
One day after a PVP match, someone asked him.
"But why fight as a blacksmith? Wouldn't another class be better?"
"Because it's fun."
And Kim Tyler's final opponent was Lee Seyeon.
The reason was simple. All other ranked opponents had disappeared.
==
On one side was the individual rank 1 and guild leader of the top guild.
On the other side was someone with nothing but who had been cutting down rankers like an unstoppable force, nicknamed the "Crazy Blacksmith."
Unlike Seyeon's supporters, the atmosphere among Tyler's supporters was unique.
"If you lose, I'll kill you! Hey! I've got your face memorized!"
"Go for it! Don't lose to those high and mighty ones!"
Gamblers who had bet large sums on him and people jealous of successful rankers mixed together to cheer for Tyler.
Seyeon sent a whisper before the start. She was very interested in him too. She had rewatched all his PVP videos.
"You're really amazing. Honestly, I thought blacksmith had limitations as a class."
"It does have limitations."
"Then why did you choose that class?"
"Because it's fun."
"What?"
"It's not fun to win with a strong class, developed strongly, with overwhelming control. It's too easy."
If someone else had said this, it would have sounded arrogant, but Seyeon had to acknowledge it. Tyler had earned the right to say such things.
And simultaneously, another thought occurred to her.
'Isn't he a pervert?'
If Tyler had known, he would have been angry.
"Isn't the true fun of gaming when a weak class character defeats a strong class character through various strategies and effort? Why do people love it when weak teams beat strong teams? It's because that's fun."
"I understand, but. Actually doing it is different. You're a bit strange."
"Save that talk for after you win?"
The PVP began.
And Tyler lost.
==
"H-how?"
Seyeon muttered. Even she couldn't believe she had won.
She hadn't underestimated him. Unlike others, she knew how tremendous his skills were.
His game understanding was high, and especially his control was extraordinary. His micro-control of hitting and retreating was a level above hers.
That's why she studied by watching his PVP videos. She also studied what methods a blacksmith could use. To avoid being surprised.
If she didn't get flustered, it was her game to win.
However, despite this, Tyler pushed her to the brink. All sorts of unimaginable methods came pouring out.
She would have been amazed that such elements still existed in the long-running Fantasy Online, if not during the duel.
What decided the match wasn't skill or strategy or tactics, but luck.
Until mid-game, Seyeon struggled, caught in Tyler's traps.
Taking critical damage in an instant, Seyeon gritted her teeth. If she could catch the timing just once here, she could execute the necromancer's curse combo, but Tyler never gave her the chance.
And then came the final attack.
According to her research, that blacksmith's hammer had a 98% chance to trigger critical hits, the most difficult weapon a blacksmith could make.
A weapon that couldn't be made without endless grinding and grinding and grinding.
Moreover, Tyler didn't even have a guild. The thought that a solo player had gathered all those materials was mind-boggling.
'Is this it?'
"Huh?"
Seyeon realized she hadn't died.
The critical hit hadn't triggered.
Because of that 2% probability!
Tyler laughed in disbelief. Seyeon's health bar remained, very red, but still there.
However, with that attack, the fight was as good as decided.
It was his defeat.
"This RNG game, seriously!!!"
Seyeon was the rank 1 ranker. No matter how surprised she was, her hands moved instinctively. In an instant, curses stacked and blew away Tyler's body.
"Did I lose..."
Tyler sighed. His character flickered and faded. Characters who died in the arena were given time to process before being declared dead. After that, the penalty was the same as dying in the field.
Fantasy Online had quite strict death penalties. Enough for users to complain. Moreover, he had no guild and was a blacksmith, so recovery after death was really difficult.
"I lost."
Seyeon whispered to Tyler.
"It's completely my defeat."
"Nonsense. A loss is a loss."
"If only that last attack had landed a critical..."
"2% probability is still probability. I've won by luck before too, so I can't make excuses now that I've lost."
"No. At least for this one, you won. I can announce it if you want."
"Stop it. Someone who's good at the game, beautiful, and good at relationships shouldn't be nice too. That's too much."
"Thanks for the compliment."
Seyeon paused and asked.
"What are you planning to do now? Try again?"
"No. I'm quitting."
Seyeon, who was about to make a cool speech inviting Tyler to her guild, froze.
"...What?"