“Uaaaaaam…” I yawn.
This is… is… getting kind of boring. I mean, how much time has passed since the match started? But nothing has happened so far…
I check the clock and see that it’s already been three minutes since the match started. And all this time, we’ve been doing nothing but stay hidden and follow Rogue’s movement from the distance.
We’re too far away for ranged attacks, our position being more of an observation spot from which we can see most of the room than an actual combat position. I’m not sure how are we going to win the match like this…
“...I’m bored.”
“Hey, hey, brother!” Clara waves at me, signaling me to come closer. I move right next to her and she whispers. “I’m bored too! Why don’t we go into their dungeon and have some fun? Look, there’s no sign of any enemy on the other side of the closest portal… we can go, and have some fun… Maybe we can even find the core and win this match?”
W-what is this? Is this what they call the devil’s temptation!?
This is one of those things you really want to do, but you know you shouldn’t do because the consequences are going to be awful… The problem is it sounds so good, you want to do it anyway…
I really want to say yes, but then I also don’t want to. If I say yes, I won’t be bored anymore, but then I’ll have to suffer Laura’s wrath…
I agonize for a moment, and when I’m about to answer…
“So you want to sneak away…? What did I tell you...? We won’t invade the enemy dungeon until we deal a huge blot to them first.”
Uaaah! That scared me! I almost shouted out loud!
I-it’s the demon! An actual demon! The real demon came to assert dominance over the pretender!
Did she use Blink? Right next to me, Laura appears without making any noise. She heard Clara’s devilish proposition and came here to check on us before we could do something stupid!
Luckily, I didn’t shout and thus didn’t humiliate myself. But the best is that I didn’t say anything. It’s a good thing I don’t have to give any excuse, because…
…I was going to say yes.
Quick, Andreu, quick! Think! What can you say so that she doesn’t suspect you? Ah, I know! I just need to say this!
“O-oh, h-hey, Lily! Lemon was asking me if I wanted to invade the enemy’s dungeon without telling you…”
Yep. When you’re suspected of being an accomplice, the easiest way to show it’s a false accusation is to quickly betray the other one!
“Hey, you traitor!”
Clara looks in my direction. I can’t see because her champion doesn’t have a face, but I’m sure she would show a mix of anger and surprise otherwise. Surprise at being betrayed.
Hahaha, what a good thing for me, now I don’t have to feel too bad about this! She doesn’t want to make Laura angrier, so she can’t say anything, and her face doesn’t show any expression… It’s the same as if she didn’t show any reaction to my betrayal at all!
I’m sorry, Clara. Your older brother doesn’t want to ‘lie’ to Laura…
“Of course, I didn’t agree with her because we already have another plan…” I didn’t agree, so I’m technically not lying. Even if I was going to say yes if Laura didn’t come, it isn’t a lie. “A-and… I was going to stop her… Yes! I was going to stop her, before… before she could do something stupid! Ahaha…”
Laura looks at Clara. With a smile on her face, she asks her a simple question. Scary!
“Is that true…?”
“N-no, no! I was just joking, joking! Hahaha…”
Yeah, sure. Nobody believes you, Clara. Laura stares at Clara’s ‘face’. Is she… trying to force my sister into admitting the truth?
I take this opportunity to turn around and hide behind another laboratory rack.
Lalala, this doesn’t go with me! I have nothing to do with this! I was just yawning because I was bored, but I never considered following Clara! I swear!
…Let’s keep this between us, ok?
Hiding behind I peek in their direction so I don’t miss anything.
Under her pressure, Clara trembles and raises her fists. She clearly wants to hit me right now. She knows I’m lying. But at the same time, she knows I didn’t say anything, so I’m not lying at the same time… Sometimes, life is complicated, hahaha…
“...ok! I admit it! I was planning on going into their dungeon. Happy now!? But I’m tired of doing nothing!”
“Hah… It’s fine. Just don’t do it again…”
Laura sighs. It looks like she isn’t really angry about this situation. Could it be, that, maybe, she already expected something like this, so it didn’t surprise her at all? Nah, it can’t be.
“And you’re right, this situation is only good for them. If it continues like this, we won’t have time to counterattack and lose the match anyway… Let’s go, let’s prepare an ambush!”
“Finally! Yes! …if I had known, I would have done this a lot earlier…”
“...huh?”
“N-nothing! I said nothing!”
It seems like Clara isn’t angry at me anymore. Well, it makes sense. She achieved what she wanted.
I pump my fist in ecstasy. She wasn’t the only one who was bored, so I like this change too. Though I first turn around so that Clara doesn’t see it… I don’t want any more trouble…
Although the match has just started and it was uninteresting so far, being angry at each other would only increase our chances to make a mistake and die.
We advance through the cluttered passages full of laboratory equipment, hanging cables, and capsules filled with mysterious liquids and disgusting body parts.
Some of the containers have mushrooms that look identical to those in my dungeon, except these ones are only decorations. In fact, we hope to make them paranoid about their presence. At this point, everyone knows we like to use them, so maybe we can make them nervous when they see mushrooms everywhere.
And then, when they realize they’re fake and lower their guards… Bam! We strike!
Because, you know… there are actual mushrooms in this room too. It’s just that this time they’re placed strategically instead of randomly distributed.
The passages are narrow and difficult to move through. It’s hard for two or more people to walk side by side, so we’re forced to walk in a single line. We designed the passages like this so that the enemies can’t properly fight in them… but it also affects us.
And there’s another advantage to this kind of design: it’s easy to put secret passages anywhere, if you hide them well enough.
From time to time, there are spaces between the lab stuff that allows one to go into the ‘wall’ they create. Most of them are just dead ends that make one waste a lot of time. But, some of them, are actually secret passages that lead to another part of this gigantic room, skipping all those obstacles and water canals!
In this labyrinth of similar-looking passages, these passages allow us to quickly move from one point to another, skipping everything in between. We can move faster than the enemies, and with no chance at all to be surprised by an enemy attack!
The only open areas in the whole room are the ones near the water canals. Right now, we’re moving to one of those areas so we can ambush Rogue when he reaches it. If the plan works, we’ll force him into a 1 vs many fight, and secure a kill for our team.
“Let’s see, let’s see… I think it was here…”
On my right, there’s one of those openings. If I’m right, this is the secret passage we have to take.
But before I can enter it, somebody grabs my shoulder and prevents me from going inside.
“What are you doing, brother? Stop fooling around. You’re the one who designed this room, so I’m sure you remember all the secret passages perfectly… Why did you want to go into this dead end? Also, it’s one of the worst ones… it takes a whole two minutes to reach the end and then we’d have to come back!”
Uaaaagh! Gross! Now my shoulder is sticky with ‘abyssal juice’!
Wait, there’s something more important right now! I must act as if I was fooling around instead of forgetting about it…! My pride can’t allow me to admit I forgot about the secret passages I created!
Useless pride…
Well, I’m not really suited for keeping my focus on a single thing for long. I can remember most of my dungeon stuff because I can switch from one thing to another with ease. From creating monsters to invading dungeons, to preparing traps, to making the dungeon look amazing… Ironically, it helps me focus.
But the tournament is taking very long, and doing the same things repeatedly is taking a toll on my concentration!
Yeah, I’m sure that must be it.
“Hahaha… is that so? Y-yeah… a-as you said, I was f-fooling around!” My eyes swim around and I stutter. Nooo! Body! Don’t betray me! “A-anyway! Let’s find the right one!”
There’s another passage two meters ahead, this time on the left side. Of course, I’m sure this one is the good one, so I go into it.
Or better said, I try to.
“*sigh!* Mad Rat… You don’t really know when to stop, do you? This isn’t the one either…”
Wait! Wasn’t this entrance the good one!? Shit! I don’t know anymore….
Also, Ricard, you’re the last person I want to hear this from! YOU are the worst of all of us when you unleash the undead beast within you!
“Yeah, yeah! Sure. I… I was just joking again.” Oh, let’s try this! This way I can prevent more errors and feel even worse than now. “Aaaah, I don’t think I can stop myself from doing it again… Maybe one of you should take the lead… It’s, it’s because of this rat head that forces me to do stupid things!”
I say, in a defeated tone. At the same time, I hit my head as hard as I can. Let’s hope this works.
“Yes! I’ll do it! I remember everything! It’s time for the Memorization Monster to shine! Hehehe! Don’t worry brother! ”
…I think I managed to convince them, am I right?
Well, just in case… let’s force Ricard into spilling everything later on. He’s weak to real-life pressure. He’ll tell me anything if I’m sufficiently ‘convincing’.
I chuckle evilly as Clara overtakes me. She walks a few more steps and dives into a hole to the right.
I knew it! I knew I was right! The secret passage was right here after all! …I just forgot the exact entrance.
Deluding myself like this, we enter the secret passage.
“Lily, what’s the plan?” I ask. “Go there, wait for him, and attack all at the same time?”
“More or less. We’re also going to take the closest mobs with us, just in case. Who knows what will the Wizardess has planned…”
I see. Just in case, I need an excuse so that somebody else retrieves the mobs. I don’t want to get lost in the dungeon I designed… Again.
Right now, we’re going to one of the wider areas in the dungeon. It’s a place where several water channels intersect and create a difficult-to-move-through area, but without obstacles that provide cover against ranged attacks.
At least, that’s what I believe. I’m not so sure anymore about anything regarding this dungeon’s layout…
Shame on me! I’m the one who designed this room, but the one who remembers the least! Fucking tournament! It’s because of having to do the same so many times that I’m like this!
Yeah… let’s keep blaming the tournament.
Like this, we continue moving through the secret passage. Argh! My brain is so dead right now! I need some action!
When we meet the Rogue, we’re finally going to have some action! And then, if we find the rest… I might be able to blast them all with Grand Finale! Fufufu! Hahaha!
My right hand trembles in excitement, wanting to push the auto-destruction button as soon as possible.
“Shhht! Calm down, buddy!” I gently pat my right hand. “Don’t be so anxious! Our time to shine will come soon. And then we’ll blow everything up! Hahaha!”
“Did you say something, Mad Rat?” Ricard, who’s walking in front of me, asks.
“N-no! Nothing! I was just talking to myself.”
“...is that so? Then, never mind.”
Wow, that was close! He almost discovered my secret: my right hand is actually alive and has its own personality!
Nah, that’s a lie. But maybe I’ll roleplay like this in the future… Who knows.
They disappeared into what looks like a secret passage.
From my elevated position, I can see a huge chunk of this room. There’s little detail I can see because everything I see is blurred, I see everything in white and black, and the laboratory equipment stops me from seeing further away… but it’s enough for what we need.
“Wizardess, did you come up with the plan?”
My vision returns to my champion’s. Druid is anxiously looking in my direction. He wants to know what’s the situation. From time to time, he looks around before looking here once again. He’s truly scared of finding unexpected enemies.
I end the Arcane Vision skill, undo my ‘thinking pose’, and start to walk in Rogue’s direction.
“If my prediction is right, they’ll try to ambush Rogue soon, taking advantage of the fact he’s currently alone.”
“T-this is bad! We have to hurry and help him!”
Druid wants to go and save him already. But I just saw the enemies go into what looked like a secret passage, we still have some time.
“Don’t be hasty. This is exactly what we were waiting for, we can’t waste this chance. We’ll now get closer to Rogue, so that we can act as soon as he’s in trouble. We’ll strike when they least expect it!”
“Finally some action! I was getting bored of doing nothing! Hyaaah! Come and fight me!”
Everybody on our team knows I have the Arcane Vision skill, and they believe in my judgment. We’ve made sure to never mention the skill in any of our matches, and we pretend as if I didn’t have it, talking as if I were the one to predict everything the enemy team does.
But in fact, we wouldn’t have reached so far without this skill.
| Arcane Vision (Active skill) |
| Cost: 20 MP, 2 MP per second |
| Mark an area you can see, up to 50 meters away maximum. While the skill is active, you can change your vision and see things as if you were in the marked area, or return to your champion’s point of view at any time. Can only have 1 area marked at the same time. |
This is one of those skills that look like a waste of a skill point but, in the hands of someone capable, can turn into one of the best utility skills ever.
I can’t remember how many times this skill saved our lives, both in the tournament as well as in the normal dungeon invasions. Things like scouting ahead in suspicious situations, or keeping watch over a single spot to prevent enemies from taking our rear without us realizing it.
Or my favorite: in big rooms like this one, watching the whole situation from above. The perfect way to know everything the enemy team is doing!
Arcane Vision is one of those skills only useful for players unless you’re really good at modifying the monster’s AI. Which I can’t. But it’s also one of the less appreciated skills. Why would a player pick this skill when they can take another skill to blast the enemies away with a Fireball?
They don’t know shit. Being able to see everything before it happens, is way better.
Knowledge is power! Knowing what the enemies are up to, is way better and an attack skill! Planning your next move according to what the enemy team is doing is the best way to win!
The only drawback it has is that it costs a significant amount of MP if I want to keep it active for a long time. But I’m a wizard. I can spare a few MP points if it means we get important information that might help us survive, or even win the match.
But we had to think about some way to prevent the viewers from realizing I use the Arcane Vision skill… because I have to stop moving when I activate it. So we came up with this ‘thinking pose’.
The ‘thinking pose’ is a name our followers gave me when I’m using the skill, it wasn’t our idea to call it like this. But it works, nobody thinks I’m using Arcane Vision.
A very good thing, because it’s very important the other team doesn’t know about this skill. It allows me to abuse it in situations like this one.
Everyone believes I’m absurdly good at making plans and predictions, but in fact, I make most of them thanks to the info I get through Arcane Vision. Though this doesn’t mean I’m bad at making plans… it only helps me to make better ones.
“If it goes as I predicted, we’re going to fight in a very open area.”
“Why do you think so? Wouldn’t an ambush work better in one of these narrow passages?”
I like having Druid around. He asks a lot of questions about my plans, helping me improve them. It’s similar to what happens with Watson and Holmes.
“No. I’m sure they want to force Rogue into a one-versus-many situation. And they can’t do so in a passage like this one because only a single person can fight in it.”
“Then, wouldn’t we be at a disadvantage if they bring more enemies? We’re only four!”
“More enemies means more fun!”
“Barbarian, stop for a moment, please…” Why do you always… You know what, let’s ignore her. It isn’t good for my mental health. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they’re going to choose an area that isn’t easy to move through. Maybe with some obstacles on the ground that stop movement or the like.”
“...like… those water canals we saw before?”
I nod. “Maybe. We’ll see about it, but it’s very probable.”
I actually saw the area I’m describing when I used Arcane Vision. Rogue was heading there, so I’m sure I’m right. They must plan to kill him there. And if we don’t intervene, he has no chance of surviving.
I know what you’re doing. Now, let me show you how to counter the enemy’s plan!
“The thing you need to worry about the most in a PvP match, unlike what most players believe, isn’t the strongest skills the enemy player can use, but those that bring utility. If you aren’t prepared for certain situations, a single utility skill can break your whole strategy.
A few examples are an invisibility skill turning all your guards useless, or a taunt skill allowing the enemy to exploit a death-burst skill to kill all your monsters. Sometimes, even a skill that only allows the enemy to see ahead, is enough.
You should fear those utility skills. So, if you don’t want to cry later on, plan your PvP dungeons taking them into account.”
- A tip from a professional DMA player to newer players.
“Uaaaaaam…” I yawn.
This is… is… getting kind of boring. I mean, how much time has passed since the match started? But nothing has happened so far…
I check the clock and see that it’s already been three minutes since the match started. And all this time, we’ve been doing nothing but stay hidden and follow Rogue’s movement from the distance.
We’re too far away for ranged attacks, our position being more of an observation spot from which we can see most of the room than an actual combat position. I’m not sure how are we going to win the match like this…
“...I’m bored.”
“Hey, hey, brother!” Clara waves at me, signaling me to come closer. I move right next to her and she whispers. “I’m bored too! Why don’t we go into their dungeon and have some fun? Look, there’s no sign of any enemy on the other side of the closest portal… we can go, and have some fun… Maybe we can even find the core and win this match?”
W-what is this? Is this what they call the devil’s temptation!?
This is one of those things you really want to do, but you know you shouldn’t do because the consequences are going to be awful… The problem is it sounds so good, you want to do it anyway…
I really want to say yes, but then I also don’t want to. If I say yes, I won’t be bored anymore, but then I’ll have to suffer Laura’s wrath…
I agonize for a moment, and when I’m about to answer…
“So you want to sneak away…? What did I tell you...? We won’t invade the enemy dungeon until we deal a huge blot to them first.”
Uaaah! That scared me! I almost shouted out loud!
I-it’s the demon! An actual demon! The real demon came to assert dominance over the pretender!
Did she use Blink? Right next to me, Laura appears without making any noise. She heard Clara’s devilish proposition and came here to check on us before we could do something stupid!
Luckily, I didn’t shout and thus didn’t humiliate myself. But the best is that I didn’t say anything. It’s a good thing I don’t have to give any excuse, because…
…I was going to say yes.
Quick, Andreu, quick! Think! What can you say so that she doesn’t suspect you? Ah, I know! I just need to say this!
“O-oh, h-hey, Lily! Lemon was asking me if I wanted to invade the enemy’s dungeon without telling you…”
Yep. When you’re suspected of being an accomplice, the easiest way to show it’s a false accusation is to quickly betray the other one!
“Hey, you traitor!”
Clara looks in my direction. I can’t see because her champion doesn’t have a face, but I’m sure she would show a mix of anger and surprise otherwise. Surprise at being betrayed.
Hahaha, what a good thing for me, now I don’t have to feel too bad about this! She doesn’t want to make Laura angrier, so she can’t say anything, and her face doesn’t show any expression… It’s the same as if she didn’t show any reaction to my betrayal at all!
I’m sorry, Clara. Your older brother doesn’t want to ‘lie’ to Laura…
“Of course, I didn’t agree with her because we already have another plan…” I didn’t agree, so I’m technically not lying. Even if I was going to say yes if Laura didn’t come, it isn’t a lie. “A-and… I was going to stop her… Yes! I was going to stop her, before… before she could do something stupid! Ahaha…”
Laura looks at Clara. With a smile on her face, she asks her a simple question. Scary!
“Is that true…?”
“N-no, no! I was just joking, joking! Hahaha…”
Yeah, sure. Nobody believes you, Clara. Laura stares at Clara’s ‘face’. Is she… trying to force my sister into admitting the truth?
I take this opportunity to turn around and hide behind another laboratory rack.
Lalala, this doesn’t go with me! I have nothing to do with this! I was just yawning because I was bored, but I never considered following Clara! I swear!
…Let’s keep this between us, ok?
Hiding behind I peek in their direction so I don’t miss anything.
Under her pressure, Clara trembles and raises her fists. She clearly wants to hit me right now. She knows I’m lying. But at the same time, she knows I didn’t say anything, so I’m not lying at the same time… Sometimes, life is complicated, hahaha…
“...ok! I admit it! I was planning on going into their dungeon. Happy now!? But I’m tired of doing nothing!”
“Hah… It’s fine. Just don’t do it again…”
Laura sighs. It looks like she isn’t really angry about this situation. Could it be, that, maybe, she already expected something like this, so it didn’t surprise her at all? Nah, it can’t be.
“And you’re right, this situation is only good for them. If it continues like this, we won’t have time to counterattack and lose the match anyway… Let’s go, let’s prepare an ambush!”
“Finally! Yes! …if I had known, I would have done this a lot earlier…”
“...huh?”
“N-nothing! I said nothing!”
It seems like Clara isn’t angry at me anymore. Well, it makes sense. She achieved what she wanted.
I pump my fist in ecstasy. She wasn’t the only one who was bored, so I like this change too. Though I first turn around so that Clara doesn’t see it… I don’t want any more trouble…
Although the match has just started and it was uninteresting so far, being angry at each other would only increase our chances to make a mistake and die.
We advance through the cluttered passages full of laboratory equipment, hanging cables, and capsules filled with mysterious liquids and disgusting body parts.
Some of the containers have mushrooms that look identical to those in my dungeon, except these ones are only decorations. In fact, we hope to make them paranoid about their presence. At this point, everyone knows we like to use them, so maybe we can make them nervous when they see mushrooms everywhere.
And then, when they realize they’re fake and lower their guards… Bam! We strike!
Because, you know… there are actual mushrooms in this room too. It’s just that this time they’re placed strategically instead of randomly distributed.
The passages are narrow and difficult to move through. It’s hard for two or more people to walk side by side, so we’re forced to walk in a single line. We designed the passages like this so that the enemies can’t properly fight in them… but it also affects us.
And there’s another advantage to this kind of design: it’s easy to put secret passages anywhere, if you hide them well enough.
From time to time, there are spaces between the lab stuff that allows one to go into the ‘wall’ they create. Most of them are just dead ends that make one waste a lot of time. But, some of them, are actually secret passages that lead to another part of this gigantic room, skipping all those obstacles and water canals!
In this labyrinth of similar-looking passages, these passages allow us to quickly move from one point to another, skipping everything in between. We can move faster than the enemies, and with no chance at all to be surprised by an enemy attack!
The only open areas in the whole room are the ones near the water canals. Right now, we’re moving to one of those areas so we can ambush Rogue when he reaches it. If the plan works, we’ll force him into a 1 vs many fight, and secure a kill for our team.
“Let’s see, let’s see… I think it was here…”
On my right, there’s one of those openings. If I’m right, this is the secret passage we have to take.
But before I can enter it, somebody grabs my shoulder and prevents me from going inside.
“What are you doing, brother? Stop fooling around. You’re the one who designed this room, so I’m sure you remember all the secret passages perfectly… Why did you want to go into this dead end? Also, it’s one of the worst ones… it takes a whole two minutes to reach the end and then we’d have to come back!”
Uaaaagh! Gross! Now my shoulder is sticky with ‘abyssal juice’!
Wait, there’s something more important right now! I must act as if I was fooling around instead of forgetting about it…! My pride can’t allow me to admit I forgot about the secret passages I created!
Useless pride…
Well, I’m not really suited for keeping my focus on a single thing for long. I can remember most of my dungeon stuff because I can switch from one thing to another with ease. From creating monsters to invading dungeons, to preparing traps, to making the dungeon look amazing… Ironically, it helps me focus.
But the tournament is taking very long, and doing the same things repeatedly is taking a toll on my concentration!
Yeah, I’m sure that must be it.
“Hahaha… is that so? Y-yeah… a-as you said, I was f-fooling around!” My eyes swim around and I stutter. Nooo! Body! Don’t betray me! “A-anyway! Let’s find the right one!”
There’s another passage two meters ahead, this time on the left side. Of course, I’m sure this one is the good one, so I go into it.
Or better said, I try to.
“*sigh!* Mad Rat… You don’t really know when to stop, do you? This isn’t the one either…”
Wait! Wasn’t this entrance the good one!? Shit! I don’t know anymore….
Also, Ricard, you’re the last person I want to hear this from! YOU are the worst of all of us when you unleash the undead beast within you!
“Yeah, yeah! Sure. I… I was just joking again.” Oh, let’s try this! This way I can prevent more errors and feel even worse than now. “Aaaah, I don’t think I can stop myself from doing it again… Maybe one of you should take the lead… It’s, it’s because of this rat head that forces me to do stupid things!”
I say, in a defeated tone. At the same time, I hit my head as hard as I can. Let’s hope this works.
“Yes! I’ll do it! I remember everything! It’s time for the Memorization Monster to shine! Hehehe! Don’t worry brother! ”
…I think I managed to convince them, am I right?
Well, just in case… let’s force Ricard into spilling everything later on. He’s weak to real-life pressure. He’ll tell me anything if I’m sufficiently ‘convincing’.
I chuckle evilly as Clara overtakes me. She walks a few more steps and dives into a hole to the right.
I knew it! I knew I was right! The secret passage was right here after all! …I just forgot the exact entrance.
Deluding myself like this, we enter the secret passage.
“Lily, what’s the plan?” I ask. “Go there, wait for him, and attack all at the same time?”
“More or less. We’re also going to take the closest mobs with us, just in case. Who knows what will the Wizardess has planned…”
I see. Just in case, I need an excuse so that somebody else retrieves the mobs. I don’t want to get lost in the dungeon I designed… Again.
Right now, we’re going to one of the wider areas in the dungeon. It’s a place where several water channels intersect and create a difficult-to-move-through area, but without obstacles that provide cover against ranged attacks.
At least, that’s what I believe. I’m not so sure anymore about anything regarding this dungeon’s layout…
Shame on me! I’m the one who designed this room, but the one who remembers the least! Fucking tournament! It’s because of having to do the same so many times that I’m like this!
Yeah… let’s keep blaming the tournament.
Like this, we continue moving through the secret passage. Argh! My brain is so dead right now! I need some action!
When we meet the Rogue, we’re finally going to have some action! And then, if we find the rest… I might be able to blast them all with Grand Finale! Fufufu! Hahaha!
My right hand trembles in excitement, wanting to push the auto-destruction button as soon as possible.
“Shhht! Calm down, buddy!” I gently pat my right hand. “Don’t be so anxious! Our time to shine will come soon. And then we’ll blow everything up! Hahaha!”
“Did you say something, Mad Rat?” Ricard, who’s walking in front of me, asks.
“N-no! Nothing! I was just talking to myself.”
“...is that so? Then, never mind.”
Wow, that was close! He almost discovered my secret: my right hand is actually alive and has its own personality!
Nah, that’s a lie. But maybe I’ll roleplay like this in the future… Who knows.
They disappeared into what looks like a secret passage.
From my elevated position, I can see a huge chunk of this room. There’s little detail I can see because everything I see is blurred, I see everything in white and black, and the laboratory equipment stops me from seeing further away… but it’s enough for what we need.
“Wizardess, did you come up with the plan?”
My vision returns to my champion’s. Druid is anxiously looking in my direction. He wants to know what’s the situation. From time to time, he looks around before looking here once again. He’s truly scared of finding unexpected enemies.
I end the Arcane Vision skill, undo my ‘thinking pose’, and start to walk in Rogue’s direction.
“If my prediction is right, they’ll try to ambush Rogue soon, taking advantage of the fact he’s currently alone.”
“T-this is bad! We have to hurry and help him!”
Druid wants to go and save him already. But I just saw the enemies go into what looked like a secret passage, we still have some time.
“Don’t be hasty. This is exactly what we were waiting for, we can’t waste this chance. We’ll now get closer to Rogue, so that we can act as soon as he’s in trouble. We’ll strike when they least expect it!”
“Finally some action! I was getting bored of doing nothing! Hyaaah! Come and fight me!”
Everybody on our team knows I have the Arcane Vision skill, and they believe in my judgment. We’ve made sure to never mention the skill in any of our matches, and we pretend as if I didn’t have it, talking as if I were the one to predict everything the enemy team does.
But in fact, we wouldn’t have reached so far without this skill.
| Arcane Vision (Active skill) |
| Cost: 20 MP, 2 MP per second |
| Mark an area you can see, up to 50 meters away maximum. While the skill is active, you can change your vision and see things as if you were in the marked area, or return to your champion’s point of view at any time. Can only have 1 area marked at the same time. |
This is one of those skills that look like a waste of a skill point but, in the hands of someone capable, can turn into one of the best utility skills ever.
I can’t remember how many times this skill saved our lives, both in the tournament as well as in the normal dungeon invasions. Things like scouting ahead in suspicious situations, or keeping watch over a single spot to prevent enemies from taking our rear without us realizing it.
Or my favorite: in big rooms like this one, watching the whole situation from above. The perfect way to know everything the enemy team is doing!
Arcane Vision is one of those skills only useful for players unless you’re really good at modifying the monster’s AI. Which I can’t. But it’s also one of the less appreciated skills. Why would a player pick this skill when they can take another skill to blast the enemies away with a Fireball?
They don’t know shit. Being able to see everything before it happens, is way better.
Knowledge is power! Knowing what the enemies are up to, is way better and an attack skill! Planning your next move according to what the enemy team is doing is the best way to win!
The only drawback it has is that it costs a significant amount of MP if I want to keep it active for a long time. But I’m a wizard. I can spare a few MP points if it means we get important information that might help us survive, or even win the match.
But we had to think about some way to prevent the viewers from realizing I use the Arcane Vision skill… because I have to stop moving when I activate it. So we came up with this ‘thinking pose’.
The ‘thinking pose’ is a name our followers gave me when I’m using the skill, it wasn’t our idea to call it like this. But it works, nobody thinks I’m using Arcane Vision.
A very good thing, because it’s very important the other team doesn’t know about this skill. It allows me to abuse it in situations like this one.
Everyone believes I’m absurdly good at making plans and predictions, but in fact, I make most of them thanks to the info I get through Arcane Vision. Though this doesn’t mean I’m bad at making plans… it only helps me to make better ones.
“If it goes as I predicted, we’re going to fight in a very open area.”
“Why do you think so? Wouldn’t an ambush work better in one of these narrow passages?”
I like having Druid around. He asks a lot of questions about my plans, helping me improve them. It’s similar to what happens with Watson and Holmes.
“No. I’m sure they want to force Rogue into a one-versus-many situation. And they can’t do so in a passage like this one because only a single person can fight in it.”
“Then, wouldn’t we be at a disadvantage if they bring more enemies? We’re only four!”
“More enemies means more fun!”
“Barbarian, stop for a moment, please…” Why do you always… You know what, let’s ignore her. It isn’t good for my mental health. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they’re going to choose an area that isn’t easy to move through. Maybe with some obstacles on the ground that stop movement or the like.”
“...like… those water canals we saw before?”
I nod. “Maybe. We’ll see about it, but it’s very probable.”
I actually saw the area I’m describing when I used Arcane Vision. Rogue was heading there, so I’m sure I’m right. They must plan to kill him there. And if we don’t intervene, he has no chance of surviving.
I know what you’re doing. Now, let me show you how to counter the enemy’s plan!
“The thing you need to worry about the most in a PvP match, unlike what most players believe, isn’t the strongest skills the enemy player can use, but those that bring utility. If you aren’t prepared for certain situations, a single utility skill can break your whole strategy.
A few examples are an invisibility skill turning all your guards useless, or a taunt skill allowing the enemy to exploit a death-burst skill to kill all your monsters. Sometimes, even a skill that only allows the enemy to see ahead, is enough.
You should fear those utility skills. So, if you don’t want to cry later on, plan your PvP dungeons taking them into account.”
- A tip from a professional DMA player to newer players.
