BOOM! The enemy’s last drone exploded. It should’ve been good news, yet it left Lars confused.

“Wut…?” Lars blinked. I know my shot was on point, but it didn’t even reach the drone. Did dude straight up blow up his own drone!?

That brave drone was at a 2-2 score against Lars and this decisive shot was supposed to break the tie. Yet, Winner denied Lars that satisfaction.

It served its purpose. William didn’t even spare a glance at the smashed drone lying on the ground. He was the one who ordered this drone to self-destruct early, as it was inevitably going to be shot down by Gunz.

I don’t think I could’ve stepped that. William reasoned. So, no point in wasting any more time on this drone.

The earlier a drone went out of service, the earlier it freed the battery slots it was occupying. And, the less slots were occupied at a given time, the faster batteries recharged overall. Therefore, getting rid of the drone was equivalent to getting an early boost of cooldown reduction.

I should be able to recharge everything by the next wave at this pace. William estimated on the fly. Even though he was about to engage in a much-anticipated duel with Gunz, he didn’t neglect thinking about what’ll come next.

Ron should be back by the time I beat this guy, so we can push hard if nobody returns to defend the lane by then. Sounds like a solid plan.

This was the best-case scenario and William had every intent to realize it with his own two hands. Even without any available drones at his disposal, he’ll definitely stomp Gunz.

This is why I picked Droid against you. William gazed at Gunz. I knew we’d get a chance to have a “raw” fight like this, with no abilities or special effects involved. Yes, this is just you and me, with minimum noise in the background. This is almost a pure test of skill.

Of course, that didn’t exactly hold true for Gunz himself. The guy spent his Backfire Cannon earlier, but he still had access to his Cutlass and Kraken, both dangerous tools that Willaim had to look out for.

With that said, bringing out the cutlass was effectively the same as swapping a ranged weapon for a melee one. Though the cutlass was stronger than the Pirate’s default pistol, the blade lacked range and this made the cutlass that much harder to utilize in a duel between marksmen.

On the other hand, the Kraken was definitely a threat. It was a powerful CC skill that could single-handedly decide the entire duel.

Would he use it in a duel? William wondered.

Normally, it was best to save Kraken for complicated team fights, but Stratus was probably hungering for any sort of advantage. After all, they were facing the regional champions, so gaining even the slightest advantage would be considered a great honor for them.

As such, Kraken wasn’t off the table for this duel. Gunz might very well dump that sea monster on William if things get rough.

So, I have to keep my Dodge Roll available. William concluded. Spending his Dodge Roll on anything other than countering the Kraken would be suicide.

Hmph. I thought this was going to be a “fair” duel, but so far I’m only discovering restrictions for myself.

He wasn’t allowed to let Gunz into melee range, and he wasn’t allowed to spend his Dodge Roll until Gunz uses Kraken. Maybe these weren’t the worst restrictions in the world, but they’ll definitely handicap William against a formidable opponent like Gunz.

Well, I'm sure it'll be fine. William concluded. If my image of Gunz is on point, then he's the type who'll gladly accept an invitation for a pure contest of skill. So, I trust him to not use Kraken willy-nilly. Just like me, he should be interested in proving he’s better via pure skill.

Besides, spending resources too early was a waste regardless of the situation. Therefore, Gunz would like to be conservative at the start. But, he might resort to Kraken if things go south for him.

Of course, I'll also resummon my drones if push comes to shove. William thought. As much as I want to win this contest of skill, it’d be dumb to waste my life on it. So, if I’m forced to deploy my drones and shield, then I’ll do it. And, Gunz will surely do the same with his Kraken.

With that, William finished framing his mind for the upcoming clash.

As the coach always lectured, it was very important for players to maintain clear sight of their goals. Therefore, every now and then, it was a good idea to take a break and reaffirm the situation.

Alright, I'm ready. William took a deep breath and relaxed his body for a moment, helping his brain rebuild concentration. So, are you going to accept my duel invitation?

As expected, Gunz's actions spoke louder than words.

Okay, I get it now. Lars grinned. You killed that drone early because ya wanna hod a simple fight, right? Without skills, ults, and all that fancy stuff. Okey-dokey! I dig that.

A pure mano-a-mano that relied solely on each player's individual skill. It was the best kind of bout, yo!

Even in terms of classes, I think we're pretty much matched, right? Lars wondered. Pirate and Droid are both kinda meh in the early game, so this should be fair.

Likewise, in terms of HP, both of them were at maximum health.

Even though Winner lost some of his HP earlier when he and Challenger attacked Lars, his Support patched him up before leaving the lane. So now, both sides were on equal footing.

This is such a rare opportunity. I almost never get the chance to hold a simple and fair fight like this. Lars readied his gun. I dig it for sure. So, better have fun with it while it lasts, yo!

BAM! Lars fired as soon as Winner stepped within his range. It was showtime! But...

Hmph. Fast response, as always. William sidestepped the shot and fired back.

ZAP! The laser darted straight at Gunz's side! However...

Not so fast, yo! Lars sidestepped the beam at the last moment. Phew! Dang, it was a close one.

That counterattack was lightning fast. This play must’ve been close to the upper limit of human capability, or maybe it even surpassed it!

Nonetheless, Lars recovered just in time to sidestep and shoot back!

BAM! A bullet drilled itself into Winner's side. First blood, yooooo!

Tch, I failed to KC it. William grimaced. So, he'll be the one serving in this game.

If this were a tennis game, then Gunz would be the one serving the ball. He had the initial momentum on his side, so it was William's job to break this momentum.

Therefore, this was not time to be aggressive. Instead, William had to be patient and methodical in his approach, biding his time until he can flip the tables around and become the server himself.

But, that didn’t mean he shouldn’t attack either. He had to keep returning the ball to the enemy side of the court, to keep piling pressure on the attacker.

ZAP! William fired a laser beam after repositioning himself.

Once again, Gunz sidestepped the shot with ease.

BAM! A fast counter, one that required a pitch-perfect reaction from William.

Tch, another failed KC. William failed to cancel into a sidestep yet again. But, this time, he had a backup plan.

His step input registered a little later than he would have liked it to, but he nonetheless stepped backward before the bullet reached him. And so, the bullet dropped off and fell onto the ground right before reaching him.

You miscalculated your spacing. William criticized as he stepped in and fired a beam. ZAP!

Dang, I was just a little too far...! Lars criticized his earlier shot while simultaneously sidestepping the incoming beam. Gotta say tho, that backstep he did was slick. It's like dude knew he was right at the edge of my reach. Sick skillz.

To avoid committing the same mistake again, Lars stepped in a little further this time. BAM!

Too slow. William scoffed.

In the time it took Gunz to step in deeper, William has already finished recovering from his previous attack animation. So, he was ready to shoot once more! ZAP!

"Whoa!" Lars rolled aside on reaction. He escaped the damage by a hair's breadth.

Hmph. Not bad. William admitted. On the other hand, I messed up…

The enemy's bullet pierced his chest. William nearly stole the initiative this round, yet his opponent was just a little better this time again.

Tch, another failed KC. William grumped. What a terrible streak. I thought I'll be able to do them more consistently when push comes to shove, but so far it’s been the other way around. I’ve been messing up left and right.

This was an important battle for William. Not only was he facing a formidable competitive opponent for once, but also the title of the region’s “No. 2 Strongest Player” was on the line here.

Maybe the pressure is getting to me a little. William wanted to believe he was calm and composed as usual, yet the results were undeniable. Then again, maybe it’s just a streak of bad luck. My KC always feels so inconsistent...

The Korean Step Cancel was a top-level technique, one that took months, sometimes years, to master. And, William only started practicing it this year after Young-jin joined the club and showed off the technique’s potential.

As a result, William's KC technique was still far from perfect. He simply didn’t have enough practice and experience under his belt.

His KC was very unreliable overall, with a success rate below 50%. Furthermore, Sonya collected all sorts of advanced statistics about William’s KC, including how the success rate varied between different scenarios. It illustrated how unreliable William’s KC was at the moment.

For example, one important finding was that the KC’s success rate dropped sharply when Willaim was dueling a strong opponent. It became around 30% against Young-jin and even dropped as low as 20% against pros. Yes, it was that bad.

I can’t keep getting hit like this. William thought. Maybe I’ll have to dial down on the KC, after all.

There was some merit in sacrificing a bit of his HP to try out KC in a high-level fight. There was a lot of experience to be earned here.

With that said, he couldn't allow these tests to ruin his chances of winning the duel.

Well, if it keeps failing like this, then it’s a wrap, at least for now. William decided.

KC was a useful tool but it came with great risks when it was this imperfect. So, depending on how this fight will proceed, William might have no choice but to seal this great tool...