Chương 283: End of the Competition
Two shadows dashed across the field, they were mere flickers of figures. Wielders of the sword, fighting each other to gain an edge.
Occasionally petals of a cherry blossom would appear, only to be scattered. Like leaves at the mercy of the wind. Uyana's determination to win was commendable. For few can come close to matching it. Sadly her adversary far outmatched her. His attacks deadly, his defense flawless.
When faced with absolute power humanity's first instinct is to flee. The natural feeling overtaking one's consciousness. As the body does its best to save itself.
This natural instinct is hard to fight against, despite what many would claim. It stems from the fear of helplessness. Fear of death.
Many wouldn't want to fight this instinct. Why charge straight ahead towards their death? A foolish decision, is it not?
Of course it is, the real world isn't some fantasy book. There are no heroes, only life and death.
Yet when the body is unable to escape. When death is certain. It forces itself to evolve beyond what it was normally capable of. All to survive the deadly encounter, to live another day.
A World's Legacy opened doors to this situation. Forcing those in dangerous situations to grow exponentially. With its incredibly realistic gameplay, players occasionally forget what they are playing is a game.
This was intentional of course.
All of this began a new Era, those who grasped these near death situations and turned it into their favor. Who evolved beyond what they could do before. The Era of Protagonists!
Akiol was facing one such protagonist. The entire party was. When faced with no choice but death they seized the situation and turned it into fuel for their growth. He could tell, each strike Uyana grew as a fighter. Her next step, her next swing, each movement she made grew sharper.
Time and time again he was faced with a situation like this. It was fascinating. In a world where peace was more prominent than in his own, in a world where the majority of people wouldn't come close to any form of combat. A world devoid of any mana. Yet it gave birth to creatures with unfathomable potential.
However that wasn't enough!
Uyana leapt forward, her sword lifted to her other side. Cherry blossom petals swirled around her as she traveled.
She swung downwards, her bokken crashing against Akiol's blade. A faint ringing sound filled their ears.
Her sword slid downwards, gliding off of Stars' deep blue blade. The petals followed, swirling into a spherical shape.
[Blossom Style: Swirling Point]!
Raising the wooden bokken to her side she angled it parallel to the ground and thrust it forward. It pierced directly through the sphere of cherry blossom petals, causing an explosion of pink.
[Blossom Style: Piercing Wave]!
The petals shot forward, scattering the few that were unlucky. Akiol lifted Stars and deflected them, the force making him slide back.
Petals covered the area around them, slowly covering the ground completely. Their movements causing them to rise and float around their feet. Only to fall again after traveling.
So as Akiol slid back several petals arose from the disturbance. Slightly blocking his view.
An intentional move, Uyana was now descending from the sky. Wooden Blossoms lifted over her head, as she was charging up a powerful strike.
Akiol had noticed this, he had already lifted Stars to block the blow.
Uyana swung downwards, a flurry of petals following the bokken's path.
[Blossom Style Pinnacle Art: April's Descent]!
CLANG~~
Akiol's knees buckled from the force. It was surprising, even if Uyana had the momentum from falling, the force of the blow shouldn't have been that strong.
He had even redirected some of the power behind the attack, yet the force was still this great!
Uyana had a different reaction however, for her Pinnacle Art was blocked. The only reaction she received was Akiol kneeling from the strength of the blow. It was disappointing, but she remained determined.
Akiol's Aura spiked as he pushed Uyana off. She flipped backwards neatly, and landed lightly.
Lifting Stars into a basic stance he suddenly noticed a surprising change of his surroundings. The Arena and the rest of the players were gone. Replaced by a seemingly endless forest of cherry blossom trees. Blossoms and petals steadily descending, their course slightly diagonal from a light wind.
Stars sighed, 'She has already reached the mid-level of Synced Nexus.'
Remaining cautious Akiol asked, 'Mind explaining?'
'Mid-level creates a Territory that empowers the user even further.'
'So like a Domain.'
'Sort of, Domains are meant to weaken the enemy. This is a Territory, meant to strengthen the owner.'
'So what you're saying is that she has powered up again.'
'Exactly.'
'What a protagonist.'
Uyana sheathed her bokken, "I'll give you the chance. There's no hope for your victory now. Surrender."
Akiol smiled faintly, "What makes you so confident?"
"This place, it's my Territory now. The level I am in here is nothing compared to what I was mere moments ago."
"Oh? How much of a difference?"
Uyana tapped the hilt of the bokken, her figure disappeared and reappeared behind Akiol, "Enough for me to combat a higher Stage foe on equal level."
Akiol couldn't see it, rather he couldn't sense it at all. However he was confident it wasn't pure speed. The petals flowing down, the petals laying on the floor. They were undisturbed.
The first thing that came to mind was that she was swapping her place with the cherry blossom petals. If that had no cooldown similar to Yielya's War Sight. . .
That would be more troublesome than a power boost.
'Can Synced Nexus really provide strength great enough to combat higher Stages?'
Stars quickly replied, 'Almost, entry level won't be that powerful unless your opponent just entered a new Stage. Mid-level's Territory may give you equal footing, but it still depends on the level of your opponent. Mastered level however, it should be enough. Yet reaching mid-level is nearly a thousand times easier than mastering it.'
Uyana reappeared to her original position, "So, what's your answer?"
Akiol's Aura snuffed out, he relaxed his posture.
She nodded, "A respectable choice."
Akiol smiled, "You're incredible, this level of potential I rarely see."
Uyana was unsure where the praise was coming from and remained on guard.
"So let's see just how high you can go."
". . . What?"
"Your strength, your will. Just how high will it push you? Want to find out?"
Uyana's gaze sharpened, "You mean to say you still wish to fight?"
Akiol took up a stance, a chill suddenly sprang upon Uyana's back. His demeanor had entirely changed. The one slightly aloof expression had vanished. Now an expression devoid of any emotion remained on his face, and the flowing petals seemed to slow around him.
The stance of {Absolute Territory}!
Uyana reached for her bokken. Taking up a stance she sucked in a breath. It didn't matter! She'd end things here!
This was incredibly pleasing to Akiol. As he though, the enemy was truly something else. He could tell Uyana was aware of the dangers this stance brought. Yet despite that she was determined to see things through. Facing against someone like this made him want to see just how far she could go!
~ ~ ~
Wrock lifted his arm and blocked an attack. He grit his teeth, while he had the strength advantage that didn't meant the blows didn't hurt.
This was why Pugilists rarely chose the fist class. Without a weapon to guard you were left with your own mobility and arms to defend yourself. However this fit perfectly with Wrock's style. The curse barraged Wrock with punches, slowly Wrock's arms began to become injured from the blows.
Wrock's eyes gleamed, he extended his arms rapidly, breaking the rapid punches from the curse. He then swiftly threw a punch forward, the illusion of a sword appearing around his fist.
The curse retreated swiftly, escaping Wrock's counterattack.
"Hyu~ hyu~"
A creepy grin spread across the curse's face. It then began to move rapidly, rotating around Wrock while delivering blow after blow.
Not about to just stand still and receive the attacks Wrock attempted several counterattacks. However the speed difference was obvious, and none of Wrock's attacks landed.
"Hyu~ hyu~ hyu~"
Wrock chuckled painfully, "Laughing at me are you?"
The curse landed a clean punch on Wrock's cheek. Rolling with the blow Wrock rotated and kicked the curse with his heel, delivering a powerful blow.
"Hyack-!"
The curse retreated rapidly, an obvious injury on its side. Wrock readjusted his stance and grinned at the curse, "Don't just mass put stats into agility. When your defense is this lacking you're no different from a fly buzzing around."
"Hyeee-!"
The curse was angered by Wrock's words, it seemed to understand basic language, or perhaps the meaning behind it. It dashed forward with incredibly speed and threw a punch forward. Wrock leaned and shifted his feet placement. He then kicked upwards, his foot slamming into the jaw of the curse. Swiftly retracting his foot into a bent position he pushed it forward. His foot slammed into the curse, who was stunned by the previous blow, and sent it tumbling across the ground.
Wrock returned to two feet on the ground, "Everything has its flaws, and that doesn't escape my eye."
The curse shot forward, speed greater than before. The hands across its arms tensed their fingers, as if in rage. It was unexpected, the increase of speed was too sudden. Wrock received a powerful blow to his shoulder, throwing him off balance. He shifted his weight to prevent himself from falling. Simultaneously he lifted his arms to defend himself.
Instead the curse used its absurd speed to move behind Wrock. It kicked Wrock's legs, making them buckle. As Wrock fell it grabbed his head, squeezing with an incredible grip. Letting out a groan Wrock lifted his arms to pry away the hands, however his body was stopped short. A green and black sickly substance began to crawl up his arms. Paralyzing his movement.
"So you're making my own curse react. Planning on tag teaming me?"
His body was completely overwhelmed in seconds, the majority of his body not responding to his commands.
He attempted to free himself using a Skill, although that was stopped short.
<Unable to use Skills!>
The option of using mana was also removed, for his consciousness was fading. His entire being was overwhelmed by the two curses.
'You're kidding me. . . I got too careless. . . !'
Yielya clicked her tongue, "What would you do without me around?"
Tring~~
Wrock's position was swapped with a random stone. His consciousness rapidly returned. Before the curse could even comprehend what had happened a bright blue glow extended from Wrock.
[Endless Fighting Spirit]!
The curse that once paralyzed him retreated in the blink of an eye. Wrock felt the power course through his body, an troubled expression on his face.
"I'll be returning the favor."
~ ~ ~
A wall of ice formed in the blink of an eye. Several wind blades collided into the ice, making cracks spread across the surface.
Namasah roared, "You stand no chance unless you are at your strongest!"
The ground shook, several spikes made of earth shot up and poked Namasah. Despite their fast movement, they failed to pierce the Dragon's scales.
Guarton slapped his tail onto the ground and made a ramp large enough to reach the top of the ice wall. Whitelash ran up the ramp, paws thrumming against the earth. With a large amount of power he leapt over the wall of ice. Thick roots of wood ascended from the earth and entangled Namasah. She flapped her wings in satisfaction.
Extreok leapt up the ice, lightning crackling at her paws. She jumped place to place, using the wind as footholds for her ascent. She bared her fangs, purple lightning crackling at her jaws. With a burst of wind she launched upwards and colliding with the underside of Namasah's jaw. With the newly created opening Whitelash gripped Namasah's next. Claws almost slipping off the sturdy scales.
Namasah released a cold breath of air, instantly freezing the entire area around him.
He snorted, "Hmph, you all stood no chance anyways. Ridiculous. Now all I have to do is rid of the rest of them for my contract to be complete."
After examining the battlefield he opened his jaw slightly, a piercing blue light forming within his mouth.
Kan'na suddenly raised a hand to her side, several magic circles appearing simultaneously. Suddenly several glowing rings appeared around Namasah's jaw. They shrunk, squeezing the Dragon's mouth shut.
She looked at the Dragon, "Finish your own fight first."
Namasah shattered the rings with a roar, "You dare?!"
"Heed her warning Dragon."
Namasah whipped his head around to see a Mythical creature stand majestically. The body of a tiger, the head of a wolf, the tail of an alligator, and on its back the wings of a crane.
The Dragon revealed its teeth in a grin, "So you finally show yourself! The creature of legends, the ultimate form of the Sages!"
Zenothoriath stared with an uncaring gaze, "Are you pleased? No matter, you can leave now."
"Hmph! I hold the greatest mastery over ice, you cannot compare!"
A wave of ice formed in an instant, aiming to cover Zenothoriath.
The Mythical creature merely blinked, the terrifying ice disappearing in an instant.
Namasah recoiled from shock, "What?!"
"Ice is merely frozen water. When it comes to us no one holds more mastery over the elements."
"Nonsense! I am a Dragon! You cannot possibly compare!"
"Ha, the Dragons who lost their permissions to use Spirit in that war. Instead you choose to rule over the Elements, but that's our domain."
"Silence, you know nothing of that sacred time!"
"Yet our words remain true."
"Damn you! I refuse to stand idly by!"
Now how had the Sages transformed? They had used Namasah's arrogance! Before they were frozen they had positioned themselves into a diamond shape. Melting the ice was no hard task, which allowed them to have space to chant for the transformation.
After the fight against Rygeth Jarvis underwent various attempts to shorten the ritual time. It had taken significant effort, but it had become successful! Now the Mythical beast needed significantly less time to be summoned!
Compared to before the Sages now had experience utilizing the form, along with the steady growth of Jarvis, so fighting a Dragon was no longer an impossible task. The Mythical Beast launched itself and bit into Namasah's neck. Its jaw far more powerful before, allowing it to pierce the hard scales.
The Dragon attempted to free its neck using ice made into spears, yet was stopped short by Zenothoriath's complete mastery over the elements.
Thick green plant stems arose from the ground and grew around the Dragon. The plant grew rapidly, all the green stems merging together above Namasah, a beautiful massive flower blossoming at the top.
Namasah felt his body weaken, the giant flower sapping his strength rapidly. He struggled to free himself, "You will not finish me! I am the great Dragon!"
Zenothoriath jumped off, an arrow made of the basic elements forming above them. They spoke as they slowly descended, "This is goodbye, rest well Dragon."
The arrow shot forward, piercing Namasah's chest. With his strength having already been sapped from the giant flower, it could not even place any form of defense.
It weakly roared in defiance, "I will not fall-!"
"You have already."
And so, the dominant Dragon faded to light.
~ ~ ~
Gan was breathing heavily, "Why. . . why can I not break it?"
Tilia was in much better shape, having to barely put effort into fighting back, "This is not something you can shatter just yet."
She raised a hand forward, her War Sight accumulating together and forming a tower shield as large as herself. This was much different than the kite shield she normally used for her ranged attacks.
Grasping the shield she lifted it, "Now let us finish this."
Gan laughed, "You've removed the one thing that kept you safe? Don't blame me if your arrogance makes you lose!"
Tilia held no signs of arrogance, instead of anything she was respecting Gan as a fighter. The Tower Shield was her shield of choice in her previous world. The one she was most familiar with using. Meaning she planned to take down Gan at her greatest.
The shield isn't something normally used for combat. Tilia knew this better than most. Despite her position in the party requiring her to tank powerful blows, she couldn't always rely on someone dealing the damage for her.
So she created her own way of fighting with the shield. While not as consistent or great as any other form of combat, she was proficient in it enough to take on high caliber opponents.
Although Gan surpassed her in stats, one thing she was confident of was her toughness. It would be no lie if she claimed to have the highest HP amount in the entire player base. Taking a few hits was of no consequence.
Not that she planned to anyway.
Gan shot forward, aiming to take her down in a single blow. His fist struck a semi-translucent bronze shield however, surprising him greatly.
Tilia had predicted his next move, with that much exhaustion a fighter would aim to finish it as fast as possible. Making their moves hasty and easily read.
Runes spread across her body as she buffed herself as much as possible in the shortest time. Gan moved quickly, maneuvering behind his opponent he delivered a swift and powerful kick. Tilia was already moving, the kick scraping her slightly, yet causing large damage. Without flinching she held her shield in front and charged forward, slamming into Gan.
Gan stumbled back, his exhaustion preventing him from resisting the blow. Tilia jumped up, vaulting with her shield. She angled the shield underneath her and landed onto Gan. Crushing him to the ground.
She jumped off and grabbed her shield, grabbing Gan by his throat with her free hand she tossed him into the air. Rotating her shield around she held it upside down.
Then she swung it like a bat.
It hit Gan as he was falling, even though he guarded himself on the way down his exhaustion was still piling up. Rolling into an upright position he grit his teeth and shot forward. Tilia had returned her shield to the proper position, changed her footing slightly, and pushed forward. Her charge slammed into the incredibly fast Gan. The speed he had traveled at was stopped short, leaving him to deal with all the recoil from the sudden stop.
He coughed blood and fell to the ground. His body weak and damaged. Leaving him struggling to stand.
Tilia looked down at him, "Good fight."
~ ~ ~
Noen slammed his staff, "Now's my time to shine!"
Grey began to expand rapidly from his staff, enveloping the entire arena. All the colors turned greyscale.
He grinned confidently, "You have no idea what I had to do to get such a Skill. I can stop time!"
Kan'na nodded, "Mhmm, quite impressive."
Noen fell back in surprise, "What?! How can you move in stopped time?!"
"Oh silly, you didn't stop time! Take a look."
Noen confusingly looked around, it was true! All his skill had done was turn things grey! His confidence shattered in an instant, "What?! But- that shouldn't be possible!"
"A law was declared, time shall move at the same rate for everyone."
Noen's eyes widened in realization, "The law from the card game! It's your War Sight!"
"The declaration of law, it must be fair and honest to all. I can't just make some in my favor you see. So I put a little spin on how to use it."
"By making time move the same for everyone! That means I really did stop time, just that everyone is capable of moving in it!"
Noen snapped his focus onto Kan'na, "But how?! How could you have known?"
"I've witnessed time stopping abilities before. Considering your confidence I figured your ace card was something on a more fundamental level. Granted it was a bit of a gamble."
"But how could you have known that it was time?!"
"That's the gamble bit, the only data I had was when you swapped positions with your defender. It couldn't have been a War Sight due to the energy not being similar. So my options were limited, either you could manipulate space, or you can manipulate time."
"What made you choose time?"
"Like I said, I've witnessed time abilities before. Took me a bit of effort but I managed to decode it before you stopped time entirely Once I ruled out space manipulation I only had to make sure time remained unchanging."
"So I've been. . ."
"You've been out played! You really shouldn't put all your bets on a single card."
The greyscale returned to the staff, leaving the world colorful again.
Noen dropped to his knees, "So. . . it's a complete loss?"
Kan'na smiled, "It would seem so."
~ ~ ~
Wrock barraged the curse, powerful punches making the surface of the curse collapse inward.
"Hyee-!"
It was helpless, the speed it was showing off was now useless. Like a kid showing off their new toy only for their audience to bring out something greater. It needed to flee. Its fellow curse had hidden away completely during the transformation of its opponent. It now understood why.
Fleeing was not an option, Wrock appeared in front of it and grasped its neck. Slamming it onto the ground his eyes flashed, "Now, since you wanted to awaken my own curse, I don't mind suppressing you!"
"Hyiiiii-!"
It struggled violently, fighting with all its will to escape. Yet an energy flooded its body, fading its consciousness.
Wrock watched as the monstrous curse shriveled and faded, returning the unconscious body of Iyh. The defender no longer able to respond.
Wrock's glowing body faded, along with his War Sight. With a rueful sigh heard only by him he stood up, "Now. . ."
~ ~ ~
'Why?'
This same thought looped through Uyana's head.
Akiol was covered in a deep blue Aura, several colorful dots appearing and moving about before fading. Along with it was Stars' Berserk Skill. Utilizing these abilities to close the stat difference.
Uyana flickered across the field, several afterimages appearing as she moved.
'Why?'
Akiol stood still and emotionless, his body moving quickly but rhythmically. His arm a blur as sparks appeared around him.
'Why?'
Uyana moved about, her speed causing the cherry blossom petals to swirl into a cylinder shape. Constantly switching amongst them, swinging to deliver fatal strikes.
'Why?'
None of these strikes hit, instead they were deflected by a powerful strike. The strength causing sparks of mana to fly.
'Why?!'
She felt so much strength! The power flowing through her would make anyone mad! She felt invincible! Unstoppable!
So why couldn't she land a hit?!
Her speed could put a Second Stage in some trouble! Her Territory made her unstoppable!
Yet it was all naught!
Clang~!
Akiol deflected her strike and sent her off balance. He moved quickly, the strength of his swing enough to blow away the cherry blossom petals.
His sword stopped a hair away from Uyana's neck. His emotionless face turned into one with a grin.
Then, in an unexpected turn, the entire team of Six Lights said something at the same time, baffling everyone watching.
Simple words, yet stunning thousands into silence.
"I surrender."
~ ~ ~
Desk Guy choked on his sparkling water. Struggling to speak he only managed to garble a single word, "What?!"
. . .
The audience who was watching the fight with excited gazes!
They were stunned silent for an uncomfortable amount of time.
Suddenly, as if following a cue, they all shouted a word that rang across the street!
"Whaaaaat?!"
The public chat was filled with question marks. The commentators were stunned silent just like everyone else!
Travis coughed in surprise, "This is the choice you make? What a way to become known…"
-Anon626: ?
-Anon771: . . . ?
-Anon597: ???
-Anon901: If this is the case, doesn't that mean 626 won the bet?
-Anon626: ??
-Anon771: What an unexpected twist. However what 901 stated is true. I shall abide by the bet.
-Anon597: How honorable!
-Anon522: Truly a person of their word!
-Anon333: Respectable.
-Anon626: No, technically Bakery Basics lost. There was no feasible way for them to win.
-Anon771: Yet the victors are them.
-Anon626: This doesn't sit right with me.
-Anon771: I will not go back on my word. A bet is a bet.
-Anon626: How about a change of the bet then?
-Anon771: ?
-Anon626: Return the stuff I lost previously in our bets. That way neither of us make any losses or gains.
-Anon771: You would be satisfied with that?
-Anon626: Yes, this is the best outcome I can think of.
-Anon597: !!! In a turn of events 626 is suddenly virtuous?!
-Anon005: I seem to have misjudged you 626, how moving~
-Anon111: Brings a tear to my eye!
-Anon626: Silence you lot!
~ ~ ~
The second ever Professional Competition ended in a disaster. The audience flew into a rage, demanding to know why Six Lights would just surrender. Facing the outrage the party had to sneak out of the place, lest they face the rage of the mob.
It was confusing, when faced with such a clear win why would anyone simply surrender?
Rumors about bribery and fixed matches ran about. However we're quickly silenced by official statements from both the developers and Bakery Basics. There was supposed to be an award ceremony, but that was cancelled.
In the end the name Six Lights became incredibly popular, from either the scandal that people believe to have taken place. Or the sheer amount of skill and strength they displayed in the competition.
Due to the popularity of the 'scandal' eyes were turned towards the party. Eventually their names became more known over their usernames, and aside from just the hate there was more fans of the group.
Along with the fame unique titles began to spread for each of the party members.
Mythical Tamer Jarvis!
Master Magician Kan'na!
Invulnerable Shield Tilia!
Raging Flames Wrock!
Untouchable Priest Yielya!
Sword Saint Akiol!
Later Akiol mourned at the unoriginal title he was given. He was later comforted by his party, who had arguably way more original titles. They had been contacted by the developers about the prize for second place they left behind. But the party declined the physical rewards, for they had no need.
Several times they were reached out for an interview, but they only gave out a basic answer.
They had participated in the event for fun, the rewards were nothing of interest.
At the peak of the commotion the developers released a shocking announcement.
A new update was coming, with incredibly drastic changes!
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
UnableToOpenDoor
UnableToOpenDoor Alright, it is here! And with it releases will slowly return to normal. Expect the occasional no release, but also some more chapters.
Word count for those who are interested:
4475
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