CHAPTER 19: “WINNER”

If Ai wasn’t rooting for the villain, he would’ve definitely been wowed. The tactics Maestro used were just incredible for a mage, to predict and control the trajectory of his spells was something not everyone could do. You couldn’t get that level of accuracy just from the game’s codes. His skills showed roughly how much time Maestro had actually invested in the game, and the hours weren’t little that’s for sure.

“Hah.” Maestro scoffed. He fingers tightening around his staff. “You’re sturdier than I thought. Look, Morion, just give me the info that I need then I’ll just surrender. How’s that sound?”

Morion opened his mouth, intending to answer the question for the third time, but this time he seemed to realize that answering won’t actually lead to anything, so he simply closed his mouth and gripped his sword again. He was still in his lazy stance, but the look in his eyes told Ai that he was focused.

Maestro also seemed to realize that Morion wasn’t talking anymore, so he too descended into silence, though his eyes were still filled with that raging glint that demanded Morion to tell him his secrets or go down for it. He tilted his staff once more, this time changing his tactics. A giant magic circle appeared between the two players. Slowly, bright shiny butterflies emerged from the circle. In the dim lights of the arena, the butterflies seemed like an ocean of pretty lights. It was such a breathtaking sight.

The crowd murmurs came back to life.

“Ah Maestro’s special skill.” One said, full of excitement. “To be able to see it in person. I can die happily.”

“It’s pretty.” Another one said. “Too bad it's a damned poison cloud. Why is that skill so pretty?”

A poison cloud...and yet it looked so incredibly beautiful as it spread across the entire arena. Morion seemed to understand that it wasn’t a good idea to touch those butterflies, every time one got near, he would take more steps back until his feet were touching the edge of the platform. One more step and he would be outside the platform and get disqualified. That seemed to be Maestro’s goal as the mage watched gleefully from the corner.

Morion stopped himself at the edge of the platform. There was no more room and yet the butterflies kept coming in closer. How long was the duration of this skill? It seemed so endless. If it was cast in a wide area then it wouldn’t be as much as a problem, you could just escape it since the spread of the butterflies was so slow that you could easily outrun it. In a place like the platform, one didn’t have infinite spaces to run.

Morion watched carefully as one of the butterflies landed on the back of his hand. Its fluorescent wings fluttered gently before the butterfly burst into blue dust that stuck to the skin. It seemed to burn as the man gripped his hand while gritting his teeth.

Ai anxiously watched as more butterflies landed on the villain and bursting into more blue dust that damaged him. He didn’t count how many had hurt him, but his HP had to be in the red now. Yet Morion didn’t do anything. He simply stood still and let the butterflies do their thing while Maestro laughed to himself at the corner.

The butterfly skill didn’t let up. It was going for so long, much too long for a skill to be able to. Morion’s wasn’t dying either. He was still standing with that blank face even though the butterflies must’ve damaged him.

Then he made a move. 

The blood gem on the hilt of his sword glinted. Then slowly, black cloudy miasma started to gather around the blade of the sword. The black miasma covered it from the hilt until the sharp point. Morion swung his sword gently in a slow horizontal arch in front of him. At once, the butterflies slowly turned black then crumbled onto the ground. With each butterfly line gone, Morion would take a step further and further.

Maestro clicked his tongue, his eyes blazing in anger.

“You and your damn black miasma.” He growled angrily. Swinging his staff, more butterflies came through the magic circle but the miasma attached to Morion’s sword simply brushed them off. 

So that was the butterfly skill’s weakness. Unlike other poison cloud skills that couldn’t be dismissed easily, Maestro’s butterflies were actual butterflies and not a lifeless cloud. Though they looked more powerful than normal poison clouds and did significantly more damage, they worked in the same way living creatures worked. Maestro’s miasma sword simply killed off the butterflies. Though normally, Ai assumed, it wouldn’t be that easy since the butterflies were small and large in number so hitting them would be an accomplishment. Like trying to kill off a swarm of ants. You would kill some of them but not all.

Maestro realized that his butterflies couldn’t help him. With a tap of his staff, the creatures all vanished in a bright blue flash. He swung the staff once more, most likely going back to his original tactic of trying to trip his opponent. This time though, Morion had a different idea.

Before Maestro could unleash any of his quick fireballs, Morion dashed forward in a cloud of dark mist. He reappeared behind the mage and gave a swift slash that almost knocked Maestro off his feet.

The mage looked back and sneered at the villain. He prepared his staff to cast another invisibility spell but Morion had been expecting it. With another quick dash, he pushed himself off towards the mage then dealt a finishing blow with a swing of his misty blade.

Player Morion has defeated Player Maestro in a duel!

Player Morion has won the Day 1 duel!

***

Ai didn’t know what he was doing exactly.

Most of the crowd had already disappeared from the arena since there were no more fights for the day. Even the NPCs all had vanished when they noticed that their buyers had already left the scene. 

So why was Ai here?

The best feeling that described it was probably curiosity.

The battle between Morion and Maestro had him fascinated with each of their skills. They were the players he imagined seeing when he decided to watch the arena event. Though Maestro was probably not in the mood to talk to anyone, Morion was still around. 

He didn’t know why he was suddenly so bold. He wasn’t the type to speak out to a person he didn’t know like this without getting anxious but here he was, waiting for Morion to step out of the colosseum so he could talk to him. Honestly the man was only being nice to him in passing and he was probably exhausted right now from fighting all those battles. But Ai still wanted to talk to him. Or at least get a glimpse of him as he walked past the colosseum entrance. If the man spotted him and talked to him, that would be great, but if he didn’t and simply walked on by, then that would also be fine.

A few moments later, a swish of a deep red cloak made its way to Ai’s peripheral vision. Ai sighed, a mix of relief and disappointment, when it made its way past him. Suddenly, it stopped. The owner of the cape turned towards Ai with a confused look on his face.

“You’re...here.” The man looked around, taking notice of the almost empty area. “Did you need something?”

So many questions. About the man’s skills, his train of thoughts mid fight, the black miasma, all didn’t make it past his laps. It was as if he was starstruck all of the sudden, unable to ask the damned questions that he was dying to know the answer to.

Gaping, he croaked out a semblance of a question. “Your...um...sword, the miasma...how?”

He wanted to slap himself. So much for being a smooth talking mediator.

Morion touched the hilt of his sword and glanced at it. “Was it scary? I’m sorry.”

To some it might have been. That black cloud that could probably kill you if you touch or inhale it. If this was real life, Morion’s blood gem sword would’ve been listed as a deadly war weapon and sealed it in a bunker. In a game though…

“I liked it. It was very cool.”

Morion looked almost surprised, his dark eyes widening as he stared at him. He cleared his throat. “Ah I have to thank you.”

“For what?” Ai frowned in confusion. He didn’t remember doing anything for him.

“The fruit.” Morion said. “The miasma skill drains my HP while it's active. The lower my HP is, the bigger the damage. The fruit gave me more HP to survive longer.”

Ah, so that was why he let the butterflies injure him. In any case, Ai was happy that the item he gave had some use. So he didn’t completely embarrass himself after all.

“Your name?”

Ai looked at Morion and without hesitating, “It’s Ai.”

The Villain gave a gentle smile, so unbefitting of his title. “Ai. I’m Morion.”

fully colored version next chapter.