The heavy, pressurized silence of the White Stars’ underground training arena was shredded by the high-pitched scream of ionizing air.

Gunnar the Viking stood in the center of the reinforced alloy floor, his legs braced wide, his massive double-sided axe—Storm-Breaker—now a focal point for a swirling vortex of black and yellow lightning. The smell of ozone was thick enough to coat the back of the throat, a metallic tang that signaled impending destruction.

Across the room, the two men stood apart. Kim Jin, the pride of the White Stars, held his katana in a low, disciplined guard. His eyes were cold, professional, and entirely focused on the giant. A few paces to his left stood Kang Min.

The observation deck was filled with restrained tension, a low murmur threading through the gathered employees and other players as they looked down upon the arena.

The reinforced glass separated them from the coming storm, but not from the pressure building beneath it.

"That’s Gunnar... there’s no way this ends clean," one analyst muttered, arms folded tight.

"Storm-Breaker alone could level half the floor."

"Kim Jin can handle him," another replied quickly, though his voice lacked conviction. "He’s the White Stars’ ace for a reason."

A third shook his head.

"Handle him, maybe. Overpower him? That’s different. The giant’s raw force is on another level."

Their eyes drifted almost unconsciously toward Kang Min.

"...What about him?"

A brief silence followed.

"He just became a ranker, didn’t he?" someone whispered. "But that pressure... it doesn’t match his status."

"Come on...we’re talking about the guy that’s been popping the fuck off!!" a senior staff member said quietly.

"He’s smaller than Gunnar, but..." another trailed off, narrowing his eyes. "Why does it feel like he’s the one holding everything in place?"

A faint unease settled over the group.

"If this turns into a contest of raw strength..." the analyst murmured, gripping the railing, "I’m not convinced the giant wins."

"You speak English." Gunnar growled, his eyes glowing with a fierce, electrical light. "Tell the swordsman that if he dies today, it is not because he was weak, but because I am a hurricane."

Kang Min didn’t translate. He didn’t need to. The killing intent radiating from the Viking was a universal language. Instead, Kang Min reached into a small pouch at his waist and pulled out three heavy steel balls, the size of marbles.

"Jin-ssi," Kang Min said in Korean, his voice cutting through the hum of the lightning. "I’ll handle the positioning. You handle the blood."

Kim Jin didn’t look at him. "Just don’t think of getting in my way,. I’m the one to deal more damage."

「Berserker’s Call: Thunder Run!」

Gunnar exploded forward. For a man of his size, the speed was unnatural. He didn’t run so much as he was propelled by a localized explosion of electrical energy. The axe came down in a vertical arc, a jagged bolt of black lightning trailing the blade like a cape of death.

[Skill - Avatar is in use!]

In a flash of crimson, four identical versions of Kim Jin blurred into existence. They were lit from within by a sinister, blood-red glow, their silhouettes shimmering as if made of heat haze. Two of the Avatars lunged forward, their blades crossing to catch the weight of Gunnar’s axe.

The collision was deafening. The alloy floor beneath the Avatars’ feet buckled, spiderwebbing in a three-meter radius. Gunnar’s axe hissed as the black lightning chewed through the red mana of the Avatars, but they held for a crucial second.

[Skill - Exchange is in use!]

Kang Min’s voice was a whisper. He flicked one of the steel balls toward the ceiling. In a blink, the world inverted. Kang Min was suddenly ten feet in the air, falling toward Gunnar’s exposed back, while the steel ball dropped harmlessly where he had just been standing.

Mid-air, Kang Min reached out. He wasn’t aiming for a strike; he was aiming for the environment. He threw a second steel ball directly at the hilt of Gunnar’s axe.

[Skill - Exchange is in use!]

The real Kim Jin, who had been repositioning for a side strike, vanished from the floor. In his place appeared the steel ball. Simultaneously, Kim Jin appeared in mid-air, right where the ball had been directly above Gunnar’s head.

Gunnar looked up, his eyes widening. "Tricksters!"

He twisted his massive body, the momentum of his axe pulling him into a violent spin. A cyclone of yellow lightning erupted from the blade, a defensive barrier that shredded the air. Jin, caught in mid-air, couldn’t dodge.

[Skill - Avatar is in use!]

One of his red-lit copies appeared directly in the path of the lightning. It took the full brunt of the discharge, its form shattering into red sparks, but the force of the explosion pushed the real Jin backward, allowing him to land gracefully on his feet.

Kang Min touched down a second later. He was already reaching for his third ball.

"The lightning is grounded through the axe," Kang Min called out, his eyes scanning Gunnar’s movements with the cold precision of a man counting inventory. "If you strike when the blade is in the floor, the feedback is minimized."

"I don’t need advice from you!" Jin snapped, though he immediately adjusted his stance, recognizing the truth in the observation.

Gunnar laughed, the sound booming like a mountain collapse. "You talk as if I am a statue! I am the storm!" He raised his axe high, the lightning coiling around his arms until his veins glowed blue. 「Heaven’s Wrath: Chain Lightning!」

He slammed the axe into the ground. Five separate bolts of black electricity snaked across the floor, seeking out the heat signatures of the two players. They moved with a predatory intelligence, curving around obstacles.

Jin’s Avatars scrambled. Two were vaporized instantly as they tried to intercept the bolts. Jin himself was forced into a desperate retreat, his katana vibrating so hard from the static that he nearly lost his grip.

"ugghh..."

Kang Min was already moving. He didn’t run away from the lightning; he ran toward it. As a bolt of black energy lunged for his chest, he held out a common iron dagger he had pulled from his belt.

The dagger in his hand swapped places with a heavy training dummy on the far side of the arena. The lightning hit the dummy, blowing it into splinters. A split second later, Kang Min swapped again ...this time, he swapped himself with the katana in Kim Jin’s hand.

It was a dizzying maneuver. Jin found himself suddenly holding nothing, standing five meters away, while Kang Min was now standing in Jin’s position, holding the katana.

"What are you—!" Jin started.

"Catch!" Kang Min yelled.

He didn’t use the sword. He threw it. He threw the high-tier katana directly at Gunnar. As the Viking raised his axe to swat the blade away, Kang Min activated his skill for the third time in ten seconds.

"Exchange."

The katana in mid-air swapped with Kim Jin.