NOVEL WEB Chapter 60
Chapter 60 – Thorough Preview and Review
-Thunk!
A crisp sound of a fully drawn string being released.
-The arrow, carrying a murderous intent, tore through the air and struck the ground with a thud, seemingly powerful enough to echo a dull sound upon impact.
“Missed it.”
-Tsk
A mage, draped in luxurious and glossy fabric, peeked out from the top of the tower, clicking his tongue as he saw the arrow stuck in the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
“It’s a distraction. Instead of mocking without knowing anything, cast a spell.”
The disgruntled archer dismissed the complaint as unworthy of response, placed another arrow on the bow, and turned his eyes to check the status of the enemy holy knight.
Indeed, the archer read the movements perfectly. The enemy holy knight, upon discovering the arrow embedded at his feet, raised his shield and crouched, becoming significantly more defensive and cautious.
Preoccupied with the long-range threat, the holy knight’s defensive posture left him nearly paralyzed. Having his movements read by the sniper forced him to contract considerably.
The archer’s lips curled satisfactorily as his eyes began to shine a deep blue.
The archer’s high-level trait, hawk’s Eye.
By temporarily blocking the senses of his own eyes and ears, he could borrow the vision of his allies to check the entire battlefield from a higher perspective.
“It’s an offensive. Start with a lightning spell on the center.”
Just as the blue light faded and the archer, who had comprehensively grasped the battle situation, drew his string again and urged —
No response came back.
‘From a while ago, he hasn’t been doing anything right-‘
While he turned his head with an annoyed expression, ready to yell —
A fleeting uneasy thought crossed his mind,
‘… Was the mage there earlier?’
It turned into certainty by the sight of the mage foaming at the mouth.
When did they come?
The guard.
When did the guard appear?
Thoughts ran through the archer’s mind while he saw the dagger being pulled out of the dying mage’s neck.
Reflexively twisting his body, he fired off the arrow that was notched —
The hastily and straightforwardly shot arrow merely drifted powerlessly through the air. Beneath the rogue’s hood, eyes glowed sharply as they appeared right in front of his face.
No space to retreat, no time to join forces with the front line.
All he could do was, “Damn it.”
Utter a single curse as his last words, feeling the dagger pierce into his body.
***
Taking out a Mage or Archer Providing Support from a Safe Position in KoK
There are two ways to take out a mage or archer who is providing fire support from a safe position at the rear.
Ambush and assassinate them while they are moving to take position, or Overpower them by killing the front line and then pushing through.
However, neither of these methods is my preferred way. The most certain way to turn the game in your favor is to break through the guard that protects the tower where the mage or archer is positioned.
In the previous world, from season 4 onwards, faraday Games began to significantly nerf the attack, defense, and health of the guards.
This was because, as the mages and archers kept using the infinite “come at me” tactic by locking themselves in the tower with 2 archers and 1 mage, both teams ended up sticking to their own towers and relying on casting spells in a boring meta.
The problem arose because, even in a situation where breaking through the tower was already difficult due to the raw specs of the guards, as time passed, the builds and positions of the mage and archer users became optimized.
Later on, the game frequently turned into something akin to the trench warfare of World War I.
Mages and archers, like machine guns settled in safe spots, fired endlessly, and melee characters trying to capture even a bit more territory kept falling in repeated scenes.
It was a boring meta that irritated everyone, but the biggest victims were the paladins who wanted to engage in sweaty frontline duels.
Having come for a knight vs. knight duel only to experience being bombarded like foot soldiers by airstrikes became an everyday occurrence, causing most holy knight users to say “I’ll quit.”
It wasn’t until the guards were nerfed six consecutive times that the balance returned, making it relatively easier to break through the guards.
As for warriors… I don’t know. I think many of them quit because warriors are also melee characters, so I guess it was just natural selection.
Anyway, anyone who survived that chaotic era and made a name for themselves in the upper ranks was adept at guard-strategies to their core.
By season 4, if you couldn’t break through the guard within 50 seconds (unless the enemy archer or mage was supporting the guard), the in-game chat would be filled with hooks.
If you failed in a one-on-one with the guard and had to retreat, you would instantly witness your and your relatives’ jobs change in a variety of ways, and the species would transform into various animals.
That said, I was someone who broke through pre-nerf guards and took out the rear ranks even in season 2, let alone season 4.
Due to a wretched reaction time, I was lacking in handling erratic human movements and fake motions, but I was confident in taking out whatever enemy had a fixed attack pattern.
And now, with my reaction time pushed to the extreme, even a season 1 guard was nothing more than a time attack target to me.
『Guard nerfed?』
『Class is insane』
『Indeed, he is really good』
『So cool』
『Marry me, GetDevoured! Marry me, GetDevoured! Marry me, GetDevoured! Marry me, GetDevoured! Marry me, GetDevoured!』
『Guard 1-minute cut, insane LOLOLOL LOLOLOL』
『Turn the baby cam back on』
『When are you debuting pro, teacher! When are you debuting pro, teacher! When are you debuting pro, teacher! When are you debuting pro, teacher!』
A tower without a guard is no longer a safe machine-gun position. It’s a grave without an escape route.
『FollowOrDie(Mage) has been killed!』
『GetDevoured(Rogue) → FollowOrDie(Mage)』
『ChallengeCompleteMessageSent(Archer) has been killed!』
『GetDevoured(Rogue) → ChallengeCompleteMessageSent(Archer)』
Once You Break Through the Tower, the Game Becomes Much Easier
After smashing through the tower once, the game becomes incredibly easy.
Except for the users of Seasons 7 and 8, who have gotten used to attacking, defending, recovering after the tower is breached, and pretending to recover while counterattacking.
For those at the skill level of Season 1 masters, there’s no way they could handle the situation when the tower they had placed so much faith in is suddenly breached by a single rogue.
The archers and mages, feeling uneasy, abandon the tower and reposition themselves elsewhere, only to get cut down. The front line enemy becomes undecided on whether to focus on the enemy in front or to protect the rear.
Even the priests, who initially had no clear intentions, start panicking about which side to assist.
= Victory! =
In the end, the game wraps up with internal strife as everyone blames each other, leading to a powerless, chaotic, and infuriating game outcome.
I was sure that the enemy team’s chat was filled with a mix of curses and praises. Why doesn’t the game sell a feature that lets you see the enemy team’s chat?
An item that allows you to see what the enemy team said to each other after the game… just imagining it seems like such great content.
If they sold this as a cash item… no, even if it were obtainable via gacha, I’d throw money at it for sure.
As I soothed my disappointment, I moved to the result screen where the 12 players gathered briefly.
“This rogue… carry… beyond dispute.”
『GetDevoured(Rogue): The rogue carry is beyond dispute』
『Why are you so cute while talking in chat』
『Devastating 6-win streak ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ』
『Is she really going to challenger?』
『GetDevoured is going to challenger!!』
11 wins, 3 losses.
This win rate is higher than I had anticipated. It might be because I’m still in the mid-high range of masters, but it seems highly unlikely that I’ll lose a game easily in the future.
Rather than the feeling of having improved my skills, it feels like I’ve become more accustomed to controlling my body.
Stretching my arms up and loosening my shoulders, I glanced at the clock, which now read 8 o’clock. The sunlight streaming through the window was dazzling.
It’s way past time to eat. Not feeling hunger easily, I consciously try to have my meals even when I’m not hungry. I’m neither healthy nor do I have good lifestyle habits.
At least I should eat on time.
“…It’s late. I should at least eat dinner first.”
『Let’s go for a mukbang』
『Why not have chive pancakes?』
『Let’s go for a mukbang~~』
『Communicating broadcast ON』
『Cooking broadcast? Cooking broadcast? Cooking broadcast? Cooking broadcast? Cooking broadcast?』
『Guys, let’s expect things worth expecting』
『I’ve told you 48 times, turn the cam back on』
Cooking broadcast… it’s still hard for me to understand the demand for that. I plan to try it someday, but it’s not feasible right now.
More than anything, I had already spent a lot of time at the start of today’s broadcast giving friendly advice to a fellow rogue.
Considering the Low Ratio of Rogue Gameplay During the Broadcaast, it Might Be an Issue
Given that it’s been a long time since the last broadcast, the low proportion of rogue gameplay might be a problem.
How disappointed would viewers who were hoping to get tips on rogue gameplay from a skill broadcast be?
Manipulating the Tw*tch studio, I changed the broadcast title to:
『(Hot)(Live)(Replay) Rogue Revival Movement – Persistence with Rogue (No end until Challenger)』
I added the saved replay videos from my computer to a playlist set to continuous, repeat play.
Ah, I should exclude the first day’s broadcast.
The result of filming with a camera mounted on my head… even made me dizzy.
I didn’t realize it would be that bad.
“Alright, everyone. It’s review time.”
『??』
『(Hot)(Live)(Replay) LOL LOL LOL LOL』
『Teacher, how old are you?』
『???』
『Where are you going…』
『Mom, I’m cold, don’t leave』
『You’re coming back, right? You’re coming back, right? You’re not just leaving this on, right?』
『Let’s play one more game; it’s been 19 days since the last broadcast…』
“I’m going to eat dinner… sleep a bit, and come back. I’ve carefully selected rogue videos worth reviewing… if any latecomers arrive, pretend it’s live and encourage them to watch thoroughly.”
Leaving a few words of advice to the viewers, I stood up from my seat. I hope they’re doing a thorough review.
TL’s Corner:
Pre-recorded.