With the long haft and heavy blade of the Naginata, Kael met the Berserker's Heavy Slash head-on, showing no signs of fear.

  Had Kael been using his usual longsword or a dagger, an attack of this magnitude likely would have shattered his guard instantly, allowing the massive blade to cleave into him and end the battle right there.

  CLANG—!

  Gripping the shaft with both hands, Kael forcibly tanked the Berserker's Heavy Slash.

  This was only possible because they were inside the Combat Simulation Arena, where selected weapons possessed the "Indestructible" attribute. Outside of this virtual space, no one in their right mind would dare to block a Berserker's full-power strike so rigidly.

  At the exact moment the two weapons collided, the Archer's arrow arrived—right on cue.

  The timing was terrifyingly precise.

  This was the duty of an Archer: never letting a single opportunity slip by, sniping enemies from the most impossible angles. Archers were never meant for frontal assaults, but with the cover of teammates or the environment, they became the deadliest killers on the battlefield.

  "Don't worry, Boss! We've got this!"

  Tiger Hunt, who had been keeping a close eye on the Archer, suddenly leaped out, swinging his axe to intercept the incoming arrow. Blood Wolf raised his shield and pressed forward immediately after.

  "Argh—!"

  A short scream cut through the air.

  Blood Wolf’s heart skipped a beat. He glanced back only to see his squad member lying on the ground with an arrow protruding from the center of his forehead.

  It had happened in a split second. When Blood Wolf moved his shield to advance, the teammate hiding behind him hadn't kept pace, exposing a fatal gap in their defense.

  The opposing Archer had sniped him instantly.

  What a monster!

  "The weakest one is dead."

  "Didn't expect everyone to survive anyway."

  Neither Tiger Hunt nor Kael looked back. Their expressions didn't even flicker.

  Not everyone possessed Kael's combat awareness, and not everyone could coordinate perfectly with a team. These were things that required honing. Fortunately, this wasn't a real battlefield.

  "Watch and learn from the grave," Blood Wolf cursed in frustration at the corpse, then continued to push forward with his shield raised.

  He had to suppress that Archer. If he didn't, the enemy would continue to find openings to attack Kael.

  Meanwhile, Kael's battle with the Berserker had entered a critical phase.

  The Berserker's offensive style was similar to a Lancer's—both possessed an indomitable momentum, a spirit of "do or die." However, unlike a Lancer, who suppressed opponents with a wave-like barrage of attacks to disrupt their rhythm, a Berserker focused on individual, catastrophic strikes.

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  Each blow carried the power to cleave mountains and sever waves. The sheer force behind a Berserker's attack was enough to instill fear in anyone, stripping them of the courage to resist.

  "Just as I thought, different from a Lancer."

  Watching the Berserker's massive blade cleave down from above, Kael slid his feet backward and twisted his waist. He swung the Naginata up to meet the incoming blade, but at an angle.

  SCREECH—!

  Metal ground against metal, producing a sound that set one’s teeth on edge.

  "Berserkers really do have immense strength."

  Naturally, Kael wasn't trying to match the Berserker in a contest of raw strength. That would be foolish.

  Unlike Single-player Mode, in Online Co-op Mode, the opponent's stats were defaulted to "Complete Attributes." More specifically, everyone entering the room had their stats adjusted to the same baseline level, and the opponents were set to match that baseline. Otherwise, high-level players carrying low-level ones would break the game balance.

  And among all classes, the Berserker's Strength attribute was undoubtedly at the pinnacle.

  As the Naginata clashed with the greatsword, Kael twisted the handle, deflecting and redirecting the force.

  The technique of "Using Four Ounces to Move a Thousand Pounds" was just as effective in weapon combat as it was in hand-to-hand martial arts.

  "Heavy Slash!"

  The Naginata slid down the enemy's blade, using the opponent's own momentum to smash heavily onto the Berserker's shoulder.

  "Borrowing force to strike" was an advanced application of deflection techniques. Kael integrated it into his combat style effortlessly, executing it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  With a muffled grunt, the Berserker was sent flying backward.

  Blood Wolf and Tiger Hunt, who were keeping an eye on the situation while engaging the others, nearly popped their eyes out of their sockets.

  "Tiger Hunt, you're a Berserker too, right?" Blood Wolf asked, sounding uncertain.

  "Probably... maybe... I think so?" Tiger Hunt began to doubt his own class identity.

  At this moment, Kael looked more like a Berserker than the actual Berserker.

  Tiger Hunt knew that in this arena, "Complete Attributes" meant the opponent had the exact same stats as the player but possessed godlike combat techniques. Usually, the AI would crush them effortlessly.

  But Kael—who was theoretically on the same stat baseline—had just sent a Strength-based Berserker flying with a single strike.

  For the first time, Tiger Hunt, a Berserker himself, wondered if his Strength stat was fake.

  "The Guardian Knight uses the 'Four Ounces Move a Thousand Pounds' technique all the time. How do you guys not know even that?" Kael glanced at them casually, speaking as if it were common knowledge.

  "I..."

  Blood Wolf was full of question marks. How did this get turned around on me? Since when did I know such high-level combat techniques?

  "Blood Wolf, can you knock a Berserker flying with one hit?" Tiger Hunt looked at Blood Wolf with burning curiosity.

  "If I could, I would have knocked you flying by now," Blood Wolf glared at him.

  When did this guy learn from the Boss? He can mock people without using a single dirty word now.

  The battle continued.

  Although Blood Wolf and Tiger Hunt weren't as strong as Kael, they had no problem keeping the remaining Guardian Knight and Archer occupied. Kael had assigned those two opponents to them precisely for this reason.

  The Guardian Knight was a defensive class, and the Archer wasn't suited for frontal combat. Even if the mercenaries couldn't defeat them, they could certainly stall them and prevent them from interfering with Kael's fight.

  The Berserker who had been knocked back stomped his feet into the sand, stabilizing his stance. Then, he charged again.

  Just as famous as their Strength was the Berserker's Regeneration.

  While their defense couldn't match a tank class, once they entered a "Berserk" state, the more they were hit, the stronger they became. Their powerful recovery abilities allowed them to fight continuously as long as they weren't instantly killed.

  "In the end, their style is too obvious. Not as hard to deal with as a Battle Mage." Kael swayed his body, dodging to the side.

  He had only wanted to test the Berserker's strength earlier. To engage a Berserker in a prolonged head-on collision would be stupidity.

  The Berserker class was characterized by high attack and fast health regen, but slow attack speed and relatively slow movement.

  You could hit him several times without him caring, but if you took one hit from him, you'd be on the ground.

  Therefore, the strategy was simple: Kite him.