All three Mages had around 2,500 HP and were Level 26, as was the Archer. The four of them huddled in a long discussion before the duel started, almost like a roundtable meeting. Don quickly laid out his strategy in team chat. "Mages before their first job advancement don’t have Flash or Mage Shield. Lily, we each take one down. Kira, use Sprint and go take out the third Mage with Little Chili. Ignore the Archer for now. Lily, special reminder: their names will turn red the moment the duel starts. The instant they do, fire."

"Understood, Brother Don."

With the plan outlined, all that remained was waiting for the other team’s meeting to conclude.

About two minutes later, the Archer player walked over. She was an average-looking girl, nothing particularly striking, but when she met Don’s eyes, she smiled like a blooming flower. "Brother Don, you have to take it easy on me later. Don’t finish me in one hit."

Don nodded seriously. "Alright. Two hits, then."

He immediately sent her a duel request.

By this point, a significant crowd of players in the village had stopped what they were doing and gathered along both sides of the road to watch.

After Archer clicked confirm, she stepped back, but the open space was limited and the two small hills behind her didn’t offer much room to work with.

The three enemy Mages had already lined up at a distance. Their eyes, however, were not particularly disciplined, they kept drifting toward the three women in Don’s group. It couldn’t really be called surprising.

The three-second countdown began. Don didn’t move. His dagger stayed sheathed, and the nearest opponent was about twenty meters away.

When one second remained, Don stepped forward, whipped the Larsel Bow from his waist, and fired.

At that exact moment, Archer had already taken aim at him. Her Slow Arrow flew in a lazy arc toward him, and a sweep of wind dismissed it cleanly as Evasion activated.

The bow shot threw the three Mages into disarray. They scattered, and crucially, none of them began casting a spell. In that moment, they had already lost.

Crimson light enveloped Don’s body. Killing Intent surged. His second arrow was already leaving the string, hurtling toward the nearest Mage and exploding in his chest.

[2,789!]

Blood scattered, and the first Mage was out of HP. Because it was duel mode, he didn’t die, but he stepped out of the fight.

Archer erupted. "Stop running around! Use your skills!"

The remaining two Mages finally snapped back to reality and tried to cast, but the timing was gone. Don’s second arrow and Archer’s rapid-fire shots released almost simultaneously. Don’s arrow combined with Lily’s struck the second Mage clean in the chest while he was still mid-cast, killing him instantly at full health.

At that moment, two sharp impacts hit Don’s shoulders, 899 and 1,005 damage respectively. He had to admit, Archer’s equipment and accuracy were both impressive.

But it didn’t matter. The third Mage never got a skill off. Two ghostly figures materialized from either side, an axe and a longsword dropped him before he could react.

Don seized the window to drink a shop-bought potion and created distance. Lily shifted focus to Archer, took a moment to aim properly, and released. The arrow traced a clean arc and pierced Archer’s throat.

Instant kill.

The onlookers were stunned. The entire exchange had taken less than ten seconds.

Little Witch from Extraordinary Studio started clapping with visible enthusiasm.

Archer looked at Don with a dejected expression, eyes glistening dangerously close to tears. Kira walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. Give me your contact details. Whenever the studio expands, I’ll make sure the boss brings you in first." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Archer composed herself and laughed. "Congratulations. Your team is genuinely frightening. You basically one-shot everyone. We never had a window."

One of the older Mages looked at Don with furrowed brows. "Buddy, are you wearing a full bronze set? Does it have ranged attack bonuses? Why did you hit so hard?"

Don shook his head. "No, it’s a mix of pieces from different sets."

A younger player looked skeptical. "That can’t be right. How can a mixed set hit that hard?"

The older Mage sighed. "You newbie. That’s a mix of bronze and silver. How else do you think he cracked the top ten of the rankings?"

"..."

The second duel began quickly, Wade’s team against a composition of two Priests and two Swordsmen.

Wade’s tactics were clear from the opening. Wild Father went invisible immediately, while Wade, Divine Pig, and Little Ice Plus Black Tea charged straight at the two Priests like shooting stars. The opposing Swordsmen weren’t passive, one moved to hold Divine Pig, the other occupied Little Ice Plus Black Tea. But they’d failed to account for Wade and the invisible Wild Father.

Wade and Wild Father combined Head-On Slash and Backstab to drop the first Priest in one exchange. They pivoted immediately, and a Combo into Consecutive Slash, with Wade landing an additional basic attack, finished the second Priest before she could react.

After that, the outcome was no longer in question. In the subsequent four-on-two, Little Ice Plus Black Tea lost about half his health, while Divine Pig took down both Swordsmen without dropping below comfortable HP levels.

Don’s team and Wade’s team both moved through the group stage undefeated.

The second round brought Don’s group against two Priests and two Swordsmen.

Don followed a deceptively simple-looking plan. After the duel triggered, he and Lily both entered stealth, while Kira and Little Chili ran toward the two Swordsmen. The opposing team, predictably, assumed the Priests were the targets and rushed to form a protective perimeter around them. They were wrong. Don and Lily surfaced not behind the Priests, but beside the healthiest and most durable of the two Swordsmen, specifically targeting the unarmored gap at his waist.

Don’s Backstab and Lily’s normal attack connected at virtually the same point simultaneously. The Swordsman’s health bar collapsed in a single burst.

What followed was the most straightforward possible conclusion, all four members of Don’s team converging on the second Swordsman in what could only be described as a group beating. The two remaining Priests, stripped of their defenders and possessing almost no offensive skills, surrendered immediately.

In the other semifinal, Wade’s team eliminated the Archer group without visible effort.

The final was set: Don’s team against Wade’s.

Wade licked his lips, brows furrowed with genuine calculation. "This is a problem, Don. I really don’t think we can beat you."

Don laughed. "Wade, spare me. You’re playing dumb. Your three brothers are all solid players, I’ve seen it."

Wade chuckled. "I’m being honest. What I’m actually thinking about is how much of my defense you can punch through. You’d better not one-shot me, at least. That would be embarrassing."

Don looked at his 5,500 HP display and shook his head. "Your defense is too high. My skills can take maybe two thousand off you at best."

Wild Father was practically buzzing with anticipation. "Brother Wade, let’s just go already. I want to actually spar with Brother Don. I need the practice."

Don drew his Huron short sword and pointed it casually at Wild Father. "Tell you what, I won’t switch to the bow. Pure close range. Sound fair?"

"Excellent!"

As Wade stepped back to accept the duel, Don sent a single line to his team. "Prioritize Little Ice Plus Black Tea."

The reasoning was simple. Little Ice Plus Black Tea was a Swordsman, the lowest health pool, no dodge skill. Wade and Divine Pig were both Knights with high defense. Taking on a wall was inefficient. Eliminate the damage dealer first.

Wade clearly read the intention. He and Divine Pig immediately formed a double-tower formation, positioning both shields in front of Little Ice Plus Black Tea, while Wild Father disappeared into stealth.

Don left his own stealth active off. His dagger swayed loosely at his side, eyes fixed on Wade.

The confirm button was pressed.

With the countdown nearly expired, Don shifted his feet by the smallest margin and typed a single word into team chat: "Lily, Evasion. Now."

Lily’s reaction speed was excellent. A reverse current shimmered across her body instantly.

The time difference was created.

Don was already moving toward Lily when Wild Father, lit up in scarlet by Killing Intent, materialized behind her and activated Backstab.

The skill missed spectacularly. By that point, Don was already in front of him. Under the crimson glow, Consecutive Slash flashed and carved across Wild Father’s chest.

[2,287!]

[Critical, 4,904!]

Wild Father’s eyes went wide. There was nothing to be done. Even without the critical, his fate had been sealed the moment he appeared. Against Don’s pure-Strength build, a lightly armored Thief was simply fragile.

The miss threw Wade’s formation into disarray. Divine Pig grew impatient and activated Sprint, charging directly at Don, which meant one of the two shields protecting Little Ice Plus Black Tea had just vanished. Wade gritted his teeth but had no choice except to follow Divine Pig forward.

Kira drew a sharp Z-shape across the ground. Before Divine Pig could even raise his shield fully, her longsword connected with his side. Divine Pig staggered, and an impressive damage number appeared above his head.

[1,845!]

Knights had the weakest offensive output among human warrior classes, but Kira’s Head-On Slash was something different entirely.

Almost simultaneously, Little Chili had already flanked Divine Pig from the opposite side. Two rapid axe strikes stripped over two thousand HP from him, leaving his health at zero. As if to punctuate the execution, Lily’s crossbow fired a precise horizontal shot that grazed the edge of his shield and pierced through anyway.

[574!]

The damage was minimal, but it was enough to remove him from the fight.

Little Ice Plus Black Tea roared and brought Qiankun Strike down at Don, but Don had already activated Evasion. Instead of retreating, he stepped into the attack and answered with a sword strike to the shoulder. Over 1,900 HP gone. At almost the same moment, Lily’s Wind Arrow connected, reducing Little Ice Plus Black Tea’s attack speed by 30 percent.

Kira and Little Chili moved back toward Don to assist. Don waved them off without looking. "Wade is mine. Nobody else touches him."