End Online: Volume 4 (23 page)

With the drooling crowd of
players surrounding me in this small alleyway, a rather profitable business
idea forms in my head.

I cut the meat up into
portions of about three mouthfuls each, and sell them at a single piece of gold
each. Most people buy two or three portions at once, but even then the dish
sells out in minutes at twenty portions. I cringe a little at the twenty gold
in my hand and consider the effort put in for such a little profit. I consider
stocking up on meat supplies, but I will never have enough herbs to compensate.

I sigh in disappointment.
It is a good plan, but I simply don’t have the goods to sell. With the market
prices in Swordbreak as messed up as they are, I probably can’t purchase the
ingredients and still make a profit.

With all the food gone,
the crowd disperses and leaves a very unsatisfied Fen, who only received a
small portion of the food.

After putting everything
away, Fen and I leave the alley and return to the colosseum for the second
round of the tournament.

Even though the number of
players in the second round is only half of the first round, the waiting room
remains as large as it was when the tournament began. Due to the competition
halving, the room is much less crowded and the different groups of friends can
be distinguished more easily.

I’m not sure how exactly
the drawing system works, but I am notified to move to the arena shortly after
arriving. I don’t even get the chance to find the rest of the party.

Fen and I ascend to the
arena and are welcomed by the roar of the crowd cheering the combatants
currently up on the tournament stages. The difference this time is that it is
the middle of the day, so the scorching sun is blazing directly down on us. Due
to this being a game, nobody’s strength is sapped, but every player under the
sun will feel uncomfortably warm and find their thirst levels dropping faster
than normal.

Of course, I am an
exception to this. My ‘White Wolf Winter Cloak’ not only protects me from the
cold weather, but also the heat to a certain degree. The ‘Epic’ rarity of this
item really isn’t just for show.

“The superstar has
returned.” A few players on the bench look over and smirk at one of their
remarks.

“Such a shame, only one of
us will get to go up against him. I hear the ‘Swords of Light’ guild has a
pretty hefty reward for whoever defeats him.”

“It’s true, I will pay
five thousand gold to whoever defeats him!”

My jaw drops and I stare
in disbelief when I see Chronix and one of his goons sitting down on the bench
amongst the players. They both smirk toward each other before sneering at me.

‘What kind of luck is
this!?’

I awkwardly sit down on
the bench and massage my temples, pretending my headache isn’t sitting six
players down from me. I am not even sure what I did to make this person have
such hatred toward me. I once read something on the End Forums about some
humiliating video of him losing it after finding out I stole his boss fight,
but that kind of thing is completely out of proportion with this vendetta.

A message window appears
which startles me from its suddenness. I am to proceed to the fourth arena for
my match.

I look to my sides to see
who my opponents will be. Three teams stand up at the same time and move off to
two different stages. A female-only team of warriors, another by-the-book balanced
team with a heavy armored player and a mage, and lastly Chronix and goon number
one.

I walk toward the fourth
arena and can only frown, feeling that fate is playing a cruel trick. Chronix
showed complete, open hostility toward me in the gladiator waiting room less
than a day ago. Now, the person standing on the opposite side of the tournament
stage, is none other than that very same Chronix.

-Lost-

Chronix and goon number one glare at me from the other end of
the duelling stage. They make hand signs toward me to express how 'dead' I am
while the countdown for the duel commencement ticks away. In the ten seconds of
the countdown, they take their time to prolong their intimidating tactics.

The countdown hits zero, and Fen is the first to take action by
sending a dozen ice spears screaming through the air toward them. Chronix and
goon number one split apart, dodging Fen's attack and moving to our flanks.
Goon number one mumbles something under his breath that I can't hear, and
Chronix nods his head in response.

'Of course, that guy has some supersonic hearing skill.'

Both of the two enemies approach me at a frightening speed.
Chronix takes out a gold coin from his pocket, which is actually a stack of
gold coins, but I cannot read the number on the coin as it is too far away. He
crushes it in his hand and his blade suddenly emits a faint golden aura.

On the other side, goon number one's sword and shield glow with
a soft white light together.

"Fen, that one is yours!" I say to the wolf girl and
move to defend against Chronix.

"Un," she affirms from behind me.

I move toward Chronix with blinding speed and use both of my
weapons to slash horizontally across his body. Right as I am about to attack,
his body sways with a strange rhythm and my attack misses him. At the same
moment, his sword sweeps in a large parabola toward me. I attempt to dodge out
of the way, but the sword is swinging too fast and seems to track my movements.
I only feel a sting where the sword cuts through my back and see my health drop
to nearly fifty percent after receiving a single attack.

Alarming me even more is the sound of shattering ice from Fen's
direction. I turn my head while retreating and see goon number one pressing
back Fen. His large, glowing blade shatters every ice spear that it hits. At
first, it appears to contain deadly force, but closer inspection reveals that
the sword has taken on the properties of a shield.

Goon number one has become a moving, impenetrable shield. Even
the ice walls that Fen puts up are easily shattered by his charge.

I place my faith in Fen's capabilities to deal with him, and
give Chronix my full attention. The guild leader of 'Swords of Light' is
suddenly upon me. I am stricken by a sudden panic as his sword glows gold
again, so I instinctively activate 'Perceptual Sight'.

Time seems to slow by fifty percent, no, even more than that.
The sword swinging toward me slows in the air and I use my maximum speed and
heightened reflexes to hastily dart under the blade and behind Chronix,
successfully dodging the sword.

To anyone else, I would have disappeared from where I was
standing and reappeared behind Chronix. I regret using the skill as soon as I
move. The same headache I suffered from last time I used this skill assaults me
again. It isn't necessarily unbearable, but it is still painful and gradually
increases.

I stab Chronix's back with my weapons, dealing large critical
damage. As I retreat to avoid his retaliation, I forcefully disable 'Perceptual
Sight'. Time returns to its usual speed and my headache dulls somewhat.

Fen retreats from goon number one toward me. As she backs away,
she creates some strange ice mist around him, then flicks a finger back and
forth and forms small ice spears within the mist to attack from unexpected
angles. Many of these attacks manage to pierce through his defense, dealing a
decent amount of damage while also slowing him down.

Chronix charges toward me in a rage. With my weapons levelled up
to the fourth class, my critical hit dealt as much damage to him as his did to
me. Even I was shocked at just how high the damage was.

He crushes another unknown amount of gold, causing his weapon to
glow gold once more. I have seen this move before, and there is no way I will
allow it to hit me again. I move to the side as the sword travels toward me and
reassess the situation.

'Not good!'

The biggest problem now is that Fen is right next to me and also
in danger of being hit by Chronix’s attack. I wrap an arm around the girl's
waist, ignoring her surprised yelp, and jump off to the side.

I hear two noises as I jump: the slice of a sword passing
through the air where I just was, and the sound of a body falling to the
ground. The whistling of the sword is clearly caused by Chronix attacking, but what
about the other noise?

I look toward goon number one, and see him finally give way to
the assault of the omnidirectional ice spears, falling to the ground and dying.
The crowd roars and wolf-whistles in excitement. This attack of Fen's is
terrifying, and there is no way to escape it. I am glad that she is on my side.

"Damn it! What is with that girl!?" Chronix shouts
while glaring at Fen.

"Fen, stay out of this. He's mine." I don't know
whether she listens to me or not because I immediately dash toward him.
"Minor Dire Flame!"

A fireball larger than what I used to be able to produce is
formed in my hand due to my increased 'Belief'. For every ten points of
‘Belief’, I gain one level for each religious skill.

I see a hint of doubt flash across Chronix's face as he focuses
his attention on the fireball. I throw the dire flame toward his chest from
near point blank range. Chronix seems to anticipate it though, leaning to the
side and dodging past it with ease. His sword swings toward me from a strange
angle and I find myself unable to avoid it.

'This isn't an in game skill! This is the real art of the
sword!'
I think, shocked.

Raising my own weapons, I attempt to block or parry the sword.
The difference between our levels and strength stats is made obvious as our
weapons collide. I only feel a mountainous pressure come over me and my arms
completely give way before Chronix's attack. Fortunately, I manage to borrow on
that repulsive force and lean back far enough that the attack only grazes me
and does minimal damage.

Clicking my tongue, I activate backstab as he steps forward and
twists his blade for a return slash. The attack passes through me but my real
body is behind him. He is no longer surprised by this skill and gracefully
moves forward without even turning his head. My attack only grazes him, as his
did me.

Looking at our health bars, we are both below the fifty percent
mark, but I still feel like I am at a disadvantage. Trying to finish him off
quickly, I use 'Pincer', and attack him from different sides simultaneously.

This sacred art seemed to upgrade recently, allowing me to
attack from three directions instead of the usual two. I don't know what caused
it, but I am not one to complain about getting stronger.

Chronix sees two images of me attacking, but not the third, and
coincidentally real attack. His sword glows in a pale yellow, and his body
suddenly spins and turns into a whirlwind. All I see is a ring of yellow around
him as his blade passes in a circle. The attack hits all three of me, including
my real body.

The attack seems to lack in power as a result of affecting a
full 360 degree range and doesn't kill me, but I still inwardly curse at the
fatigue weighing down on my body. With only twenty percent health left, I am
currently far from being able to use my maximum speed and slow to react.

Before Chronix has the opportunity to press me further. I
withdraw a few steps and pull out two 'Red Health Potions' from my bag. These
potions are created from using two 'Red Medicinal Herbs' in the same method as
when I would use two 'Green Medicinal Herbs'. The resulting potion healed much
more health than even what most stores would sell, but the taste was still as
revolting as ever. The potions also look like they would burn my insides as
soon as I swallow it.

Drinking both of the potions and grimacing at the thick texture
and flavor of sand and water going down my throat, my health gradually starts
to recover. Chronix see this and hurries over to finish me off while spouting a
few more curses. I do my best to maintain my distance from him until at least
my fatigue can lessen, but he is incredibly persistent.

Just as he is about to attack, I form a 'Minor Dire Flame' in my
hand and pull my hand back to launch it. As I rear back to throw the fireball
at him, Chronix realizes he is too close and chooses to attack my arm rather
than dodge.

His blade passes straight through my arm, and the image of me
smirks as it vanishes.

I had activated 'Backstab', but instead of attacking with my
blades I launch the small fireball. I knew he was too close for me to attack
with the fire properly, and was hoping that he would attack me and not attempt
to dodge. It was all for this moment.

The 'Minor Dire Flame' leaves my hand and hits Chronix square in
the back. The fireball explodes and the fire adheres to his body and refuses to
come off.

"Curse you! This wretched attack again! Do you have no
shame?!" He screams at me and even the crowd seems to quieten down a full
tone as they become intrigued by his loud voice.

Chronix knows he has lost to the same skill again, and appears
utterly infuriated by it. He makes a few futile attempts to put out the flames,
but still does not know that pouring a 'Burn Remedy' over the flames will quell
them and is forced to watch as his remaining health whittles away while I
constantly maintain my distance from him.

Eventually he falls and just like that the match is over. The
crowd roars in excitement from the show as Fen and I walk off the stage and
return to the competitor’s waiting area underground.

Over the next few days, the interval between each of my matches
shortens as the number of competitors dwindles. Some of the matches are easy,
but some are much harder due to the opponents having skills that significantly
hamper me. I die in one of the rounds, but fortunately Fen quickly finishes it
by herself.

Before I realize it, I am standing on a single arena, three
times the size of normal, to participate in the finals. On the other side of
the arena is once again a familiar face.

Long brown hair drifts in the wind, and tight leather armor
accentuates her well developed figure. It is the same woman who defeated me on
my second bout in the arena.

"What a pleasant surprise to see you here again!"
AmberMoon joyfully calls out but pouts upon looking at Fen. "Here I was
hoping that if I found you again, I would make you mine, but it appears you
already have a lady."

Fen's eyes flare up after hearing her, but she doesn't say
anything.

"Sister Moon, please don't invite any more men. How many
have you taken and thrown away after finding a new one?" The lady serving
as AmberMoon's tournament partner frowns at her. "At least be faithful to
your current one."

"But he is so boring! He does nothing but flatter me and
give me gifts every day. I want someone strong who can look after me!"

Just like that, the two apparent sisters enter their own world
and don't even seem to realize that the match is starting. I don't move from my
spot, unsure about attacking two people arguing with each other.

Fen is different though, immediately creating two dozen deadly
ice spears in the air. With the flick of a finger, every single ice spear
creates ripples in the air as it homes in on AmberMoon.

Both of the sisters notice the attack and immediately move to
evade while abruptly ending their argument. The sister I don't know has no
trouble evading the attack but AmberMoon is incapable of getting out of the way
as the attack was originally aimed at her. AmberMoon uses a strange set of
footwork and her whole body radiates a faint white glow, almost like a holy
radiance. Her body shifts from side to side, leaving faint afterimages as she
avoids each and every one of the ice spears.

I feel a chill at viewing her skill and realize that it is no
ordinary sacred art that allows her to move like that.

With such a large stage and my improved control, I flash from
where I am and exhibit movement leaps and bounds above what I showed AmberMoon
last time in the arena. The person in question doesn't show any surprise on her
face, but instead one of utter happiness.

"As I thought, you are definitely the one for me!" She
calls out while using complicated footwork to avoid my initial strike.

How she managed to calculate the direction I would attack from
is beyond me, but I can only imagine it to be some sort of skill heightening
her senses like Chronix's amplified hearing.

Fen and I have already moved beyond having to discuss who will
attack whom now and she naturally tangles up the partner of whoever I am
fighting. It still doesn't stop her sending multiple ice spears at AmberMoon
when she speaks her desire for me. The slip up in Fen's concentration causes
the other sister to break through a wall of ice and land a solid attack on her.

"Fen!" I call out worried. This is the first time
someone has landed such an attack on her.