NOVEL WEB chapter 84
First, I used a random skill to trigger an attack animation, and then activated Shield Block just as the motion ended. That was Gang Jaegyung’s usual way of blocking.
[General] Honeybread: :(
I sent the emoticon to indicate that was wrong. Not sure if he’d get it, though.
[General] Retaking a Class: ??
It’s been known since the dawn of gaming that if you’re playing a physical class, learning animation canceling is basic fundamentals. You can cancel one animation and squeeze in three or four skills instead of just two, massively boosting DPS. But Dusk intentionally limits animation canceling as much as possible—for game balance and to prevent player fatigue.
Even so, block-type skills like Shield Block had their own motion-canceling inputs because timing was critical. Meaning, if a dangerous attack came mid-swing, you could cut off your animation and block instantly.
Gang Jaegyung’s problem was that he played caster classes and probably never used motion canceling before. He kept using Shield Block only after his attack animation ended. That meant he couldn’t fully defend himself—he’d still take high damage or fail to block status effects. Watching him do that over and over again was driving me insane, so I couldn’t not teach him.
I continued the lesson with Gang Jaegyung, who still looked confused. I hit a skill, then pressed the S key and right-clicked at the same time to trigger Shield Block. That let me block right in the middle of the animation.
[General] Retaking a Class: ??????
[General] Honeybread: :)
He must’ve found the motion canceling fascinating because his reaction was seriously over the top. Riding the high, I did it again but slower this time. Skill, S key, Shield Block.
Pressing S made the character step backward, so I figured he’d understand that instinctively—but he didn’t seem to get it. He kept trying skill + Shield Block without the S key and sent another question mark. Didn’t Jojun have a bunch of skills with command inputs too? Didn’t he use directional keys in commands?
Even so, you'd think his stream viewers would’ve told him by now... Curious, I hesitated, then briefly opened his stream and checked the chat.
That’s when I realized. Retaking a Class’s viewers were absolutely ruthless bastards.
The chat window was flooded with nothing but “ㅋㅋㅋ” and “shhh.” They’d banded together, hoping to watch him flounder since it was such a rare sight to see him fumbling in Dusk. They even sent fake animation cancel tips via donation messages. Even when Gang Jaegyung suspected they were lies, he still tried them out—only to get clowned even harder.
Watching it unfold made me feel conflicted. On one hand, it was maddening to see someone flailing at the basics—was his Divine Knight power-leveled by someone else or what? But on the other hand, watching this top-tier ranked streamer who always tried to eat me alive struggle with the most basic tank skill was... delicious.
While I leisurely mulled it over and watched him flail, a new message suddenly popped up.
[General] Retaking a Class: ( ; -;)
[General] Retaking a Class: ( ; 0;)
[General] Retaking a Class: ( ; -;)
[General] Retaking a Class: ( ; 0;)
[General] Retaking a Class: 7979...
Seeing him whimpering with fish-lip emoticons and typing “7979” probably meant he was asking for help. I couldn’t say for sure, but in this context, it clearly meant help me, or please teach me again.
So in the end, I gave in to poor Gang Jaegyung and showed him the motion cancel steps again—very slowly this time. Skill, S key, right-click.
I broke it down into clean, deliberate steps like a slow-motion tutorial. Gang Jaegyung stood still, seeming to process it, then suddenly jumped up and started testing it himself.
Skill, S key, right-click.
He tried it, then tried another skill, then again S key, right-click. Then another skill, S key, right-click—repeating the pattern as if savoring the rhythm of motion canceling. I had the stream closed, so I couldn’t see how he was reacting, but this kind of quiet repetition always meant he was deeply moved by the discovery.
[General] Retaking a Class: ＼ ; 0;)/!!!!!!
And sure enough, he sent an overjoyed emoticon, confirming my suspicion.
[General] Retaking a Class: ,_,)52525252
**[General] Honeybread: ^-^)>
Not sure this was something worth sending hearts over, but in the end, I °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° was satisfied too. At least I wouldn’t have to suffer through his miserable block timing anymore.
But the lesson wasn’t over yet. Gang Jaegyung had plenty more problems to fix.
Putting my self-satisfaction on hold, I began the next segment of his training... for both his growth and my sanity.
Title: Why is a military medic discovering Shield Block motion cancel this big of a deal?
Author: [Via] GraduationGomguk
It’s about Retaking a Class.
He’s seriously happy after learning Shield Block from Honeybread; what’s up with that?;;
(15 comments)
What’s a medic even going to do with Shield Block?
└ Psychological feints for aggro control?
└ You don’t even need motion cancel for that lol
He was trolling Honeybread with combo mistakes, now suddenly acting like an eager pupil
└ Maybe he just genuinely likes learning...
└ Makes sense. He is Retaking a Class.
└ 222
Kinda wild to see Honeybread teaching Divine Knight stuff
└ Isn’t that weird? They're rivals
└ All he taught was stuff you can find in beginner guides anyway. Must’ve just been that frustrating
Good thing he majored in sports—if he’d studied anything else, he’d be trapped in grad school by now
└ LOL
└ He’s exactly the type profs would fight over
└ Still don’t get why he became a bodyguard... he had real academic talent
└ Probably followed his dream. If he went to sports college, he must’ve been legit there too
***
TIP – The Divine Knight’s Commander skill, Sanctuary of Good and Evil, grants a shield to all allies in the same field based on the caster’s current HP.
***
[General] Honeybread: 0 |< ?
[General] Retaking a Class: 0 |< !
True to his nature, Gang Jaegyung soaked up every explanation like a sponge. It felt rewarding to teach him, and before I knew it, ten minutes had passed. It might’ve taken longer because I had to keep asking other players not to kill him whenever someone attacked.
Was I hogging too much of his stream time? Maybe it was time to let him go. I targeted his character and watched him—but he didn’t seem to want to leave at all. He just stood there, looking up at mine with bright, sparkling eyes (as much as a polygonal model could, anyway), like he was waiting to learn the next thing.
I didn’t have anything else to teach... should we just fight? I thought about it and typed.
[General] Honeybread: 9 '-')9 ?
A vaguely “let’s fight” emoticon. Gang Jaegyung understood instantly and replied right away.
[General] Retaking a Class: 8-8
Was that a crying face? So, a no?
Sure enough, Gang Jaegyung put away his sword and shield and plopped down on the ground like he had zero will to fight. Funny, considering he was charging at me not long ago, and now he’s doing this.
Just to be sure, I poked at him with a few normal attacks while he sat there, but he stayed put, resolute. Fine, whatever. If nothing else, he’s finally learned that dying’s not fun.
[Guild] RomanticCat: Done
[Guild] RomanticCat: Back to 45?
[Guild] Honeybread: gogogo
Romantic came over and suggested we return to the 45th Base. Gang Jaegyung instantly jumped up and started following me. It really felt like I’d picked up a pet.
[Guild] RomanticCat: You gonna keep dragging him around?
[Guild] Honeybread: He won’t leave...
[Guild] RomanticCat: LMAO
[Guild] RomanticCat: Is this what being chosen feels like?
[Guild] Honeybread: lol
The first time I get chosen by someone, and it’s not a stray cat or a dog—it’s a person.
[Guild] Honeybread: He’ll probably get himself killed at 45 anyway
[Guild] RomanticCat: You’re such a cruel guildmaster, lol
[Guild] Honeybread: It’s 45, what do you expect ㅠ
[Guild] RomanticCat: True that
The 45th Base was the most contested zone, closest to the enemy base. It was a slaughterfest. Expecting mercy in a place like that was laughable.
Saying “please don’t kill him, he’s my pet” like I did at 44 wouldn’t cut it here. Honestly, the fact that Via players didn’t kill Retaking a Class on sight earlier was already a miracle. You can’t take people being nice for granted.
He’d figure it out himself. I’d done enough—no need to worry anymore. I had to go back to the base anyway to switch back to medic, so the plan was to let Gang Jaegyung die at 45 while Romantic finished gathering, then make a quick round-trip.
That’s when it happened.
Just as I was mentally organizing my tasks, I heard the brutal sound effect of a sneak attack right next to me. It wasn’t me being hit—an Assassin had been hiding nearby and just launched a surprise attack on Retaking a Class.
The assassin was pretty good. He dodged Gang Jaegyung’s reflexive counter and kept hammering him with skills. If Gang Jaegyung had been a healer instead of a tank, that one exchange would’ve shaved off 30% of his health.
But seriously—why are you doing this to my pet?
[General] Honeybread: hey hey
[General] Honeybread: please don’t kill him
[General] TableIsFullButHelpYourself: ?
[General] Honeybread: he’s my pet lol
[General] TableIsFullButHelpYourself: ??
I figured he’d laugh and disappear like other players did. But this guy was built different.
[General] TableIsFullButHelpYourself: not my problem lol
And then he went back to mercilessly attacking Gang Jaegyung. Despite improving a lot, Gang Jaegyung couldn’t keep up—he was still unfamiliar with the class and had already taken a big hit at the start. The assassin’s momentum overwhelmed him. If he’d been a medic, that kind of player would’ve been an easy snack.
I propped my chin on my hand, watching the screen. Gang Jaegyung clearly wasn’t used to fighting assassins—he still hadn’t regained control.
And sure, from the attacker’s point of view, there was no real reason to not kill Retaking a Class in a conflict zone, but...
I didn’t like it.