After throwing some of his caution to the wind, Nahum advanced on Beat. WHISH! He successfully rolled under the incoming fireball.
As soon as he recovered, Nahum went for Mighty Roar. He was just close enough to hit the enemy with the tip of the AoE.
"RAWWWR!" The roar was going to severely hit the enemy's stats, giving Nahum a great numeric advantage.
Alas, that theoretical outcome didn't quite align with reality. Even though Nahum activated Mighty Roar as quickly as possible, his opponent was quick to respond.
WHISH! Beat rolled away, dodging the Mighty Roar in the nick of time.
Did she predict my move!? Nahum gritted his teeth. I see. So, this is the big gap between theory and practice…
This was a battle of not only intelligence but also of wit, skill, and experience. The multiplication of all these orthogonal stats allowed high-level players to perform amazing split-second feats.
Honestly, I'm out of my league here, Nahum recognized, but it's too late to turn back. And I can complain all I want, but I have to admit that hectic fights like these are interesting puzzles in their own right.
Even after the Mighty Roar flopped, Nahum didn't drop the offense. He darted toward the opponent with the intention to continue the assault.
"Yeah, get 'em!" Marim cheered. "I'm right behind you!"
Got you! Nahum caught up to the target and slashed her. CLAW! CLAW! From this range, he had an unparalleled advantage!
But even so, Beat didn't seem fazed. She was a mage facing an aggressive bruiser, yet she didn't deem it necessary to flee. Instead, she stood her ground by summoning a Pillar of Fire underneath her.
A logical move, Nahum nodded, this will buff her and damage me. However, the odds should still be in my favor in terms of raw numbers.
Nahum entered this fight with more HP than his opponent, and his bruiser was sturdier than the squishy mage. Therefore, by all accounts, he should have an indisputable edge here.
There is also very little room for error for me at this distance, Nahum thought, so I should be able to win!
SWISH! CLAW! He assaulted the Pyromancer from point-blank; each strike was a success.
However, the opponent was no pushover. WHISH! WHAM! Beat unleashed fast fireballs right in Nahum's face. Even though she was playing a ranged class, her basics were fast and strong thanks to Pillar of Fire.
On top of that, Beat's movements added to the challenge. The girl maneuvered around Nahum while attacking, making it needlessly difficult to land many hits in succession. Every few attacks, he had to pause and adjust his aim.
I still land every attack, Nahum analyzed, but my overall DPS gets hit when I have to lower my attack speed all the time.
On paper, his hit ratio was 100%. However, the small interruptions tanked his aggregated damage output.
CLAW! Then, turn to the left. SWISH! Now, turn to the right. CLAW! Turn again, and so on. What should've been a fluid string of attacks devolved into an awkward mess.
How does she swindle me so well? Nahum frowned. On paper, she isn't doing anything special. She is just... moving, that's about it. And yet…
There was something about that footwork that threw Nahum off his rhythm. It must've been a high-level technique that Beat spent a lot of time practicing. It was the kind of skill that Nahum would never prioritize learning over other things.
SWISH! WHAM! As the battle raged on, Nahum saw himself falling further and further behind. The enemy's combat skill simply overwhelmed him. Any numerical advantages he thought he had simply evaporated.
Ugh. This is so frustrating. Nahum grimaced. She's showing off the kind of skill I'd never prioritize learning over other things, but it's clearly effective when executed right.
The tech Beat was using came from outside the scope of game theory. This wasn't so much about strategy or math; it was all mechanical execution.
Only those who pursue combat mastery go the extra mile to practice tech like this, Nahum thought, and it's undoubtedly very effective in the right hands.
It was a frustrating case of brawn overwhelming brains. It's the same way most sports felt unapproachable to Nahum, as any game theory he studied fell flat in execution.
Nahum's greatest asset was his brain. He could thoroughly analyze situations, make accurate calculations, formulate strategies, and so on. However, when it came to face-to-face combat, he had nothing special to bring to the table. Therefore, he was at a grave disadvantage against opponents who seriously pursued the art of combat.
With all of that in mind, would Nahum still be able to win this duel? Who could even tell? It was too difficult to reach a mathematical conclusion for things like these. For now, Nahum could only continue attacking...!