Chapter 203 - Be the Deviser
In the end, it the outcome was as expected.
None of them could clinch a victory even though Rhode had picked new opponents for them and arranged for them to have the upper hand due to their classes. While it was true that everyone had improved tremendously and felt the incredulous change at the start of the battle, but once their opponent retaliated, their initial euphoria quickly turned into sorrow and defeat.
This time, Rhode arranged a one versus one fight and the rest would observe from the sidelines. This gave them a third-person perspective over the battle. Rhode wanted them to generate ideas by watching how the superior players played. In the past, they could only focus on their opponent in front of them. But now, by observing as a third party, they could expand their knowledge of various classes and hopefully create new techniques for themselves.
Obviously, Rhode didn’t do this to torture them. So after every three matches, he would wave his hand to stop and gather everyone.
“Okay, I have a question. What do you think of their attacking style?”
The five of them frowned at Rhode’s question. After thinking for a moment, eventually, Marlene was the first to answer, albeit hesitantly.
“They… seemed to like attacking. A lot.”
Marlene wasn’t wrong. Especially today, after the observations, all of them realized the five figures seem to possess a crazy level of passion in offensive play. Even a support class like the Cleric, she even dared to use ‘Defense Wall’ to trap her opponent. From this, they could discern how extreme these group of people would go regarding taking the offensive. It wasn’t only the cleric. Marlene’s battle with the Shield Warrior was also the same.
As a mage, one would think that she would have a natural advantage over the Shield Warrior, but alas, little did she expect that the ‘Shield Warrior’ would totally abandon her defense and used the shield for offense instead. This left Marlene dumbstruck. For a moment, she forgot to release the spells from her hand, and by the time she snapped back, it was too late as her opponent already entered her proximity. The shield smashed her away and then…
“You should understand what I’m trying to say. Remember, be the deviser. The battle style that you chose may have flaws, but that’s okay. In theory, there are no battle styles that don’t have any weaknesses; even the godly Archangels can be defeated. So, don’t mind what the others say, remember what you should do, trust your decision, don’t waver and hesitate, and it will be enough.”
It wasn’t illogical for Rhode to have such information. After all, he had seen many players struggling with this dilemma. Some people had their own special talents and traits, however, under the constant negativity of other people, they eventually gave up.
Just like this projection of ‘Mini Bubble Gum’ standing in front of Rhode. Since the inception of her character, she knew she wanted to choose the cleric job for PKing. Everyone doubted the cleric’s battle abilities. Some of them even analyzed the data of cooldown, damage range, and spells. Some asserted that it was impossible based on their personal experiences in using a cleric to PK. In the beginning, ‘Mini Bubble Gum’ had indeed lost many times in a row.
Many players began started expressing their views on how clerics were not suitable for PK, and how the gaming company had never designed this job with the intention of possessing battle skills. If it were any other player, they would have already given up much earlier on. But since she was still a girl in her rebellious stage, the more they resisted, the more she wanted to prove herself. Rhode also supported her by giving her recommendations based on his experience. In the end, ‘Mini Bubble Gum’ created the most popular battle tactic of all Clerics, the ‘Double Boom” tactic. Eventually, her PK rankings shot through the roof and secured a spot in the Top 10 Hall Of Fame, and was the only Cleric in the Top 50 PK rankings.
This story was the prime example of how other opinions were just opinions, and at the end of the day, the one with the final say would be the person herself.
Rhode didn’t intend for them to have the same desire for offensive tactics. He just wanted them to experience themselves through this method the importance of persevering in their own style. If they were to do what everyone says, and not have their own style, then when it comes to the real fight, they would eventually still lose. Just like what Marlene had thought, it was impossible to gain victory if they were to react according to what their opponents do.
One lucky thing was, this wasn’t like the game. In the game, many people would criticise and discuss others’ decisions which would create tremendous pressure and may cause one to give up on their path. In other words, the only opponents that Marlene and the rest had to face were their inner selves. If they can overcome this tribulation and decide on their battle style, then that would be a big success for them.
After saying all that was needed, Rhode turned around and left the training ground. He gave the remaining time to the group to ponder and understand their abilities. Rhode did all that he could and the next part would rely on their own comprehension. Rhode believed that if all of them understood the point he was trying to make, then at least they wouldn’t be defeated by their opponents in mere seconds. As long as they could do this, they were considered to have passed the test.
But Rhode didn’t relax due to this. As the days passed, he began to grow busy.
–
And the ban from the Mercenary Association finally ended.