As I walked out into the arena, I noticed Ceriion waving at from across the stands. He was seated in a wide booth that held all of the remaining participants of the tournant, save for two: John and . The organizers had taken a different approach this ti and allowed us to spectate every match we werent a part of ourselves. This would allow us to plan ahead, but it also limited our own hidden cards. They would only stay secret until we used them once, this ti.
Seeing John stretch before the start of the match reminded of his reaction when this round had been announced.
When he had heard that he was going to be facing in the first round of battle, he had simply grinned in my direction, uncaring of his low odds of victory. Considering his imminent loss, he seed quite cheerful. Perhaps that was just how he was. Always prioritizing irrelevant things like honor and valor over victory. This quality of his also made him likable, though.
Ladies and gentlen, welco to the Royal tournants tier 2 finale! In this series of matches, the kingdoms strongest tier 2 classers will face off to determine who deserves to be called the strongest!
Please welco our first two competitors: Arthur and John! Those of you that watched the last round will rember that they are already acquainted with one another. In a distinctively rare upset, the odds at the betting booths are 8 to 1 in Arthurs favor. Will Johns whirlwinds collapse under Arthurs overwhelming darkness, or will he manage to create a miracle and erge victorious?
Without further ado, lets begin the match in 3 2 1 start!
As I switched focus from the announcers speech to Johns figure, the noise from the arena was drowned out by my calm breathing, by my beating heart. I sized John up and noticed how he matched my calm state. He stared down, thodically following my movents. If what he had told was true, John was a veteran. A person that had fought for survival for years on end. In a way, he was the most dangerous opponent I had faced yet.
The sound of my sword leaving its sheath pierced through the apparent silence.
The sound of our feet hitting the ground as we took the first step followed the previous sound.
With a sudden gale of wind, John launched himself into the air, twisting to maintain his montum. I left a crater in the floor of the arena as I rose up to et him, but he dodged out of the way. I made another foothold, which blew up the mont I let my weight sink into it, launching in the path of his trajectory. Unfortunately, John had foreseen my sudden movent. Either that, or he was so maneuverable in the air that I might as well have tried to swat a mosquito with a stick.
Over the next few minutes, I continued to chase him, building up more and more mana to keep in reserve. I was getting nowhere, though. Each ti I got too close, John would trounce my mobility and change course so swiftly I could hardly follow him with my eyes, let alone my blade. When he regained his distance, he would throw random air-based skills at , as well as windy sword arcs. Considering that his sword arcs cut straight through my armor if I wasnt careful, it was clear he had mastered the skill, much like Cerion and I had.
A few minutes later, I had had enough. The situation hadnt changed, and John was continuously pressing his advantage and backing up anyti I got too close. Any damage he had dealt to was superficial, but it still stung my pride. Evidently, his strategy was to fight in the air, since he knew he could outmaneuver there. That wouldnt work if I stayed on the ground, though. Unfortunately, John knew that too, so he tried to block from landing and created whirlwinds that lifted in the air when I got too close to solid ground.
The thing was, I could be creative when I needed to be. All of a sudden, I started using [Aura step] like a madman, ascending higher and higher into the skies, until the arena was only a small ring down below. Just Like I had hoped, John hadnt bothered to follow all the way up. That ant that it was ti to go back down.
I twisted my body and sorsaulted so that my feet pointed towards the sky, used aura step and jumped downwards. Or, you know, fell downwards slightly faster than normal. I kept accelerating more and more as I used my skills to propel myself. The tiny dot that had been the arena quickly turned into the colossal complex that I knew it was. As I flew, I kept my mana close at hand. I deliberated crashing into John when I reached him, but figured he would probably dodge out of the way in ti, so I settled for my next best option. John wouldnt be able to dodge, if there was nowhere to dodge to, would he?
As I approached his height, I started to weave a figurative net of sword arcs in the air, that traveled at the sa speed I did. Because they never left my [Overload Aura] skills range, I could keep supplying them with mana. Their number grew quickly, until John would have to dodge outside of the confines of the arena to escape unhard.
A mont later, what must have looked like a giant black spiderweb to the people down below crashed into the ring, with at the center. I hit the ground feet first, and winced as I felt my bones splinter. I thanked Helios that I was spared from the pain. The dust settled, and I heard Johns voice.
Thats not enough to knock outta the sky, fella. the veteran that was pushing thirty said. He looked a little frazzled and had a wound on his arms, but was fine otherwise. It looked like he had succeeded in blocking whichever sword arc that had been in his way.
I couldnt hear any hint of him mocking in his tone, but his intent was obvious. Contrary to his expectations, I just smiled.
I know, but that will be. I replied, pointing at the wound on his arm. It was seeping black smoke, invisible to the naked eye. A sign of a curse mark, and mine were particularly nasty, in their own way.
I laughed as I sent an armada of ranged skills his way, all of which flew at his wound as if they were sharks slling blood in the water.
[Curse mark(guide)] was a skill that was easy to underestimate, at your own peril. While I didnt put much effort into the individual projectiles that were chasing John down, their sheer volu made up the difference. Quantity was a quality all its own.
The look on Johns face as the black trails and balls veered off course and followed him when he tried to dodge would have made a loss with it, on its own.
What in the bloody hell is goin on?! he said as he tried to dodge more of my attacks, and as they once again turned around.
A curse mark is going on, John. Ever heard of them? I teased, silently thanking whatever god had granted the skill upon my class evolution. If there was one major advantage dark-affinity classers had, it would be their unusual, almost unfair skills that supplanted expectations. That, and my supernatural healing.
John cursed beneath his breath and tried to lead so of my attacks into the walls of the arena. So were destroyed as they lost strength when they made contact with the walls, but most were slow enough to veer out of the way before they hit the wall.
On top of that, everyti John tried this tactic, I could rush at him sword first and hope he would still be there when I arrived, limiting his movent options.
Using skills to defend himself wasnt an option either, because John had a limited amount of mana. He wouldnt know that I could go on infinitely, but he knew enough to realize I could outlast him if necessary.
Slowly, John accrued more and more significant wounds. Cuts and lacerations rand down his limbs, his chainmail not nearly strong enough to withstand my attacks. Maybe he realized that he would have to change tactics if he still wanted to win, or maybe he, too, was tired of this ga of cat and mouse, because eventually he landed on the ground with both feet and lifted both hands in the air.
Stop, stop! he shouted.
Either my curiosity got the better of , or my pride did, because I did as he asked without question.
What? I asked stoically.
Listen, this is goin nowhere. What do you say we have one final clash, my best against your best?
I nodded wordlessly, confident I could win a fight like that.
The skills we had thrown around the arena had all dissipated by now, so only a deathly silence was left as we both drew in mana for our attacks.
I decided against creating an unstable overloaded orb like I had used against Cerion, because I was scared John wouldnt survive an attack like that. Instead, I went with the tried and true thod of creating two, separate, normal orbs, before chucking them at John and running ahead of them with Aura step.
On Johns side, wind had grown and coated his body to the point that it beca visible to the naked eye. In contrast, Johns eyes were closed as if he were in a state of dreamless sleep.
I ran to the other side of the arena and used my mana-intrusive swordsmanship with the intent to end this match in one final blow. Instead, my sword stopped dead in its tracks the mont it touched the wind-barrier around Johns body.
Then, my opponent's eyes opened, and the wind ca to life. With a furious howl, the barrier expanded and threw back, tearing the earthy floor of the arena into the sky as it did so.
Before my very eyes, a true tornado ca to life, no doubt expending every last drop of mana that John had left.
Unfortunately for him, that was also the mont my overloaded orbs made contact.
As if to chastise the wind for its arrogance, two black explosions rang out and silenced the newly ford storm, forcing the wind to dissipate as if there had never been a tornado there in the first place. All that was left was Johns unconscious body, which dropped to the floor with a quiet thud.
With the match finally over, the announcers voice drifted back into my ears.
Ladies and gentlen, we have ourselves a winner! After a valiant effort by John, who truly astounded us with his display of power, Arthur cos out victorious after all! He will move on to the quarter finals!
Applause rang out and the crowd cheered my na, as if they had never doubted my victory. Sothing about their excitent was infectious. I tried as hard as I could not to, but gave in in the end and waved at the crowd, smiling. There, lets see what story you can spin about that, reporters I thought, slightly bitter as I headed to the participants booth. As I took a seat a few minutes later, I heard the announcers voice appear above the clamour of the crowds again.
Now lets move on to the match which will decide who Arthur will face in the next round Please welco adventurer-extraordinaire Reana and the mysterious X!
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