Chương 15

He was instantly teleported to one end of the station, and several visual effects popped up at once. The edges of the station were instantly lined with a translucent purple light, reaching a third of the way to the ceiling before fading; the giant letters v-Duel in progress … appeared twenty feet overhead. Two banners appeared at the station's very center. 1arcstyrion Lv. 2 (400?) A big banner in red, with the letters in a stylized, impact font. Vs. lugia_64 Lv.

2 (416) A nearly identical banner, only in blue, featuring lugia_64's name. Aesthetically it was pretty similar to a fighter game, and 'Solo Queue' as terminology borrowed from gaming too; he idly wondered if it was the intentional design choice on the part of the 'Leagues.' Definitely seems designed to feel fun, draw you in. At the same time, he considered the station before him—holding two thoughts in parallel was very natural-feeling to him. In an instant, his environment had changed too.

He was standing in a plains with lush green grasses going up to his knees, swaying gently in a chill breeze; there was blue sky, bright sun. A few jagged boulders studded the landscape, but that was all. It's 'grasslands'—he recognized the arena. You could use those boulders for cover, but otherwise, pretty basic arena. Might feel kind of idyllic, even, if it wasn't a duel setting. He was only slightly nervous. He glimpsed lugia_64— a mage, by the basic white cloak and simple, gem-tipped staff, early 20's.

Thin, lanky, with straggly, unkempt black hair—he saw Alex's gaze, and gave a very curt nod, jaw tight. Definitely seems more nervous than me. And his rating isn't provisional, meaning he's had at least a few fights under his belt? He should've had at least a little experience. 3… 2… 1… FIGHT! lugia_64 screamed surprisingly loudly, and dashed straight at him. At the same time the guy hoisted his staff overhead, and the light-blue sphere at its tip lit up.

A line of water mana flowed around its tip, clinging to it as though by magnetism; it seemed clear the staff was helping him cast in some way. Probably should've seen the water mana coming, given— He paused. Why is this guy so…? Teeth clenched, and lugia_64 was close enough he could see the blood vessels in the guy's eyes. He knows this isn't for real, right? It was almost concerning—he would've much rather fought a slightly more chill opponent.

Alex would've liked a little extra time to strategize, but he wasn't given a choice; by this point lugia_64 was maybe five seconds from collision. He was forced to draw his sword, leveling it at his enemy. Force-mana slicked the edge of his blade, and in the same instant he willed, Mana Shield. His eyes were very focused on lugia; specifically, the guy's changing position. He wanted to place this perfectly. A shield appeared thirteen inches in front of lugia's face. CRUNCH.

When he'd run the bot into his Mana Shield the bot had stumbled back—it'd bought him maybe a few seconds. lugia_64 crumbled to the ground. His staff was out of his hand, the water-mana dissipated; he clutched his bleeding, broken nose—"FUCK!" It all ceased at once. Alex felt awkward. That actually worked? He was in genuine disbelief.

He'd just wanted to force the guy to halt, maybe distract him, get him to stumble— I literally used that against bots, because they're bots, it's not supposed to work if you have—like— —foresight? It felt a bit cruel to think. A silence as the guy cringed, groaning. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Am I just supposed to walk over and kill him? It felt incredibly unsportsmanlike. Also awkward— as in, stab him as he's lying there, whimpering?

He wasn't sure what the norms here were. It was just a virtual fight, it wasn't like there were genuine stakes besides a few virtual points. After a few seconds of thinking he walked over, picked up the guy's staff, held it out.

"Hey," he said.

"You okay?" His idea was lugia would pick up the staff, they'd walk back a few paces, and they'd resume. lugia_64 stilled, glanced up. Then lugia lunged, grabbed the staff, screamed, " Mana B—" CLANG. The flat of Alex's sword landed on lugia_64's broken nose and he was downed again.

"Thought that might happen," said Alex, who was waiting for it. I'll be sportsmanlike, but not if you'll backstab me. That would've been incredibly stupid.

"Just finish it already!" gasped lugia." You fucking fuck —" —Oh. He blinked. The sword, laden with Force mana, passed through lugia's neck. lugia went still; a huge amount of tension seemed to go out of the guy at once, and it didn't seem like it was only from the wound. It felt like he was really forcing it. A new banner filled the center of the station, above Alex's head. 1-0, WINNER—_1arcstyrion_! elo increased! 400? -> 490?

(+90) The essence in his soul also went down a little; he'd gained Class experience as well.

Alex was teleported back to one side of the station, as was lugia_64. The station cleared.

"Good fight," said lugia, and vanished from the station. Station resetting, please vacate the station. Alex did, feeling quite awkward. He thought I was playing with my food, he realized. Which—in hindsight, if sportsmanship isn't really a thing in v-Dueling? And I guess it isn't? It's just—kind of unnecessarily cruel. I… okay. I'll keep it in mind. Next time, I'll be a little more cold-blooded, he decided. Start to finish. He cringed. In retrospect that was… arrogant as hell? For absolutely no reason whatsoever.

Okay—put it past me. The nice thing about that fight was he'd used almost zero willpower, at least. He was fresher exiting it than he was entering it. He'd also realized he felt mental 'soreness,' almost, but it was kind of like the way a muscle was sore a day after strenuous activity, but you could still use it; you can push through it a bit if necessary. The original intent was to practice his new Mana Spear, so in that respect the v-Duel was kind of a failure.

He felt he'd still gained valuable lessons he'd take into his next v-Duel, specifically regarding his expectations. This isn't a real human, this is a virtual person. Stay clear-minded. He rested half an hour, reflecting. And then he walked over, tapped the steel pillar a second time— Would you like to Duel? Yes. 1v1, he selected. And let's actually practice the mana spear this time? Searching…

His rating had shot up almost a hundred—he knew it wouldn't always be this fast, but provisional rating, which was in effect before he hit a certain number of fights, was volatile. Which was to say he was expecting a bit of a different caliber of opponent here. Match found! 1arcstyrion (490?) vs. b0b12 (492) The station shifted once more. Banners filled the station's center; the purplish translucent walls came up.

This time, he was standing in a setup almost exactly the same as a blank station, white floors and all. The difference was, the station was filled with pure-white blocks; blocks piled in mounds, smaller blocks scattered around, with clear paths in between. Think this arena was called 'Blocklands'? From his end he couldn't even see his enemy. It put him slightly on edge; it wasn't nervousness this time, he just wanted to be careful. 3… 2… 1… FIGHT! Silence.

He quickly walked away from his starting position, striding out left. Still silence; there wasn't a lugia- like scream, which he'd held out a little hope for. He walked between two mounds of piled-up pristine blocks— you could probably squeeze between these blocks, he realized. You could come at the enemy from anywhere. I feel like it's a good idea to get the high ground, though? His eyes were mostly scanning up high. He didn't hear a single footstep. Where is this person? Mana spear.

A spear materialized right above his head. He debated putting up a second, but didn't for now; manipulating two in the air at once felt a little willpower-intensive. Force mana was also on his mind. He wanted to pre-envision it, so he'd be able to apply it in an instant— He almost ran into his enemy. He stepped around a corner, glancing at the blocks above him, and was less than ten feet away from a short-haired girl with a basic cloak, a quiver, and a half-drawn bow. She'd also been looking up, funnily.

She gave a squeak, drew the bow; he slashed wildly, not to land but to throw her off a beat, which worked. Force-mana slicked his spear, and it burst into motion. It spiraled sideways right over her head, striking a cube, shattering into a thousand pieces, all of which dissipated instantly— She drew her bow lightning fast, and the entire arrow glowed with Pure light, aimed directly at his head; he dived behind a block, saw— felt it whizz! by less than a foot away; " shit," whispered the girl.

He caught a glimpse of her as he retreated—at this angle he could see her through a sliver between the blocks; she was glancing where his mana spear had struck—" What the hell…?" She seemed surprised by his fake mana spear, but he wasn't sure by what specifically. She also seemed to be whispering to herself.

"—okay," she whispered. Then, something like— focus, girl, you can do this— Is she giving herself a pep talk? She stilled, turned, locked eyes with him through the crack in the blocks. An arrow screamed where his head was a half-second before. Which was his cue to also focus. What followed was a quick stalemate. He threw out a ball of mana, and it was instantly pierced by a Pure-filled arrow. Another, thirty seconds later, also pierced, from a slightly higher angle—which told him two things.

She has her bow locked and loaded, but she's also trying to flank me. She's gaining elevation. The arrow came from higher up than before. Two Mana Spears materialized behind him; a little extra willpower, but he didn't think he'd hold these long. His idea was he'd beat her to the highest point in the arena and meet her there. He wasn't as confident as he'd like in the idea. As he crept up the blocks, he must've been getting closer; he could hear her footsteps, faintly, where there weren't any before.

She's not being as careful. Why do those footsteps sound a little—metallic? He froze. He whirled around, already applying Force to the mana spear, as b0b12 burst into view behind him. As she drew her bow a fake mana spear was already wobbling side-on at her, at speed; she cried out and her arrow went wide. The spear struck her right in the face. In the same instant— Mana Shield, Mana Spear!

She flew three feet before her back struck a Mana Shield, knocking the wind out of her; an instant later a second sideways mana spear struck her in the chest, shattering as it did— A sword slash followed, finished the duel. The sequence happened in under two seconds. 1-0, WINNER—_1arcstyrion_! elo increased! 490? -> 602? (+112) He was teleported to one side of the station, while she was teleported to the other. b0b12 still seemed a little shell-shocked.

I feel like that second spear might've been a bit overkill, he reflected, wincing. And he'd actually been considering a third spear, just in case…

"Good fight," he said— as in, no hard feelings.

"It's fine if you can't tell me," she said quickly, glancing at him.

"But who are you?"

"As in?"" Like—who did I just fight?" She clarified. He wasn't sure how to answer that. She isn't asking for my name, right?

"I feel like there's a misunderstanding here?" Before she could say more, she vanished.