MMORPG: Martial Gamer

Chapter 1810 1810: Sea of Fire Tactics

"Lower limit?"

Originally, Ming Du wanted to be grateful to Fearless for clearing his name, but after hearing Fearless's words, he couldn't help but curse, "Damn you all!"

Seriously, who would be happy about being labeled as the lower limit?

However, there was some truth to Fearless's statement.

As the saying goes, knowing oneself and knowing one's enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles. This was just the first match of the first round; it was too early to reveal the upper and lower limits of their team.

Otherwise, if the opponent discovered their team's uneven strength, it would make the subsequent matches more difficult.

Therefore, it was crucial to hide both one's strength and weaknesses.

…

After confirming the players on stage, Ming Du clicked the confirmation option, and both he and his opponent were teleported to the venue simultaneously.

Standing opposite Ming Du was a girl named September Flower.

Dressed in a gray cloak and holding two blue daggers, it was clear that her profession was an assassin.

Like all assassins, September Flower had a petite figure, and her leather armor perfectly outlined her S-shaped curves. Coupled with her exquisite looks, Ming Du felt his heart flutter.

There were few female players in the professional scene, and even fewer as beautiful as September Flower. Meeting her was quite a stroke of luck for Ming Du.

The contrast between Ming Du's plain face and the stunning September Flower competing on the same stage added an interesting twist.

At this moment, the commentator Jing Lei introduced, "September Flower from the Arirang team is a newcomer with the assassin profession. She just turned nineteen this year. Although she is a female player, her strength is not to be underestimated."

After introducing September Flower, Jing Lei's gaze shifted to Ming Du's face.

"Uh…"

After a moment of pause, Jing Lei organized his words and said, "The player from the Crowd of Misfits, Ming Du, is a mage. This is also his first time on the professional stage, and he is said to be a very distinctive expert."

"Is it because of his looks?" Feng Shuang whispered from the side.

"Not sure; that's what the data says", Jing Lei replied.

"Ha ha!"

Once on stage, Ming Du smiled slightly and raised an eyebrow at September Flower, saying, "Beautiful lady, can I get your number? I'd love to treat you to tea after the match."

"???!"

The competition venue was completely silent, and while Ming Du's voice wasn't loud, everyone present, including all the players in the competitive arena, heard him clearly.

Hearing Ming Du's words, everyone was taken aback.

What was this guy thinking, asking a girl out in the middle of a match?

The spectators below were equally confused: "This idiot is embarrassing himself again. That girl is a foreigner; what good is this tactic?"

As expected, September Flower showed no reaction to Ming Du's nonsense and instead flickered, disappearing into thin air.

Assassins might have limited roles in team fights, but in one-on-one PK scenarios, they were undeniably the kings of combat.

Especially without any anti-stealth equipment, assassins had no natural enemies. Even the toughest tank classes could only slightly counter them; they couldn't fully suppress a skilled assassin.

As for fragile classes like mages and archers, they were essentially lambs to the slaughter against a ghostly assassin.

After all, an assassin's burst damage was terrifying. Once successfully ambushed, a fragile class could be taken out in an instant.

Ming Du was also aware of how assassins countered him. Seeing September Flower activate her stealth, he quickly retreated a few steps, pressing against the edge of the arena.

Most of an assassin's skills deal damage from behind, with a significant attack bonus for back attacks. Not exposing one's back to an assassin is a fundamental quality of a skilled player.

Once pressed against the edge of the arena, Ming Du pointed his staff at the ground.

"Boom!"

A wave of fire spread from Ming Du, quickly covering the ground around him.

The Sea of Flames was a rare AOE skill for mages, allowing them to unleash fire on a designated area within a 500-radius.

This magic caused continuous damage, inflicting burn damage per second. Compared to other burst spells, its instant damage wasn't high, but it lasted a full three minutes, which coincidentally matched the duration of the assassin's stealth skill.

After casting the Sea of Flames, Ming Du stood confidently in the center of the fire, vigilantly watching around him without moving.

The assassin's stealth lasted for 180 seconds, and September Flower initially intended to rush in and take Ming Du out within that timeframe. But upon seeing Ming Du employ such tactics, she quickly halted her advance.

In <<Rebirth>>, an assassin's stealth is only forcibly canceled by being displaced or making an active attack; taking damage does not break stealth.

However, as a fragile class, September Flower couldn't afford to recklessly step into the mage's magic. If she were a tank class, she wouldn't fear crossing through persistent burn damage, but an assassin would never dare step into a mage's magic.

As the saying goes, every version creates its god-like characters; mages are the system's favored children, boasting the highest output among all classes. Even the most confident fragile classes wouldn't dare to recklessly tread on an unfamiliar mage's magic.

Moreover, this was an international professional league. Those who made it this far were all top-tier experts, and the fire from a top-tier mage should definitely not be trampled upon.

With no other choice, September Flower could only stand outside the Sea of Flames, squinting her eyes tightly at Ming Du within the fire, trying to find an opportunity to attack.

At this moment, Jing Lei and Feng Shuang commented, "What a clever Sea of Fire tactic! Although Ming Du from the Crowd of Misfits may not look impressive, his strategy is quite mature. This Sea of Flames, while not dealing direct damage, effectively prevents September Flower from approaching him."

"Too shameless!"

Seeing Ming Du resort to such underhanded tactics to keep September Flower at bay by lighting fire beneath his feet, the audience erupted into boos.

Especially the spectators from Brave Continent, who had already experienced the almost shameless time-wasting tactics of the Quan Zhen Sect, couldn't help but recall the last professional league's hide-and-seek strategy they employed.

That had been a painfully long thirty minutes… Were they about to witness a repeat of that scenario in the international professional league?

If it were possible, Ming Du certainly wished to end up in a draw with September Flower.

However, the duration of the skill was limited; Ming Du could only use the Sea of Flames to block September Flower for three minutes.

A match lasted thirty minutes, so three minutes could only make a limited impact.

Time ticked by, and Ming Du remained on high alert, silently keeping track of the countdown.

Outside the fire, September Flower was also stealthily counting down.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

…

Three.

Two.

One!

When both of them silently counted down to one, the Sea of Flames dissipated from the ground, and the air in front of Ming Du shimmered as September Flower revealed herself.