CHAPTER 57: “THE WITCH AND HER SPELLS”

The mage’s avatar was young. Very young. So young that it made Ai feel slightly concerned. Although [World Symphony] wasn’t a violent game, it still depicted elements of monsters, death, and some pretty gruesome actions in rare instances. 

In a normal, traditional game, it was much easier to distance yourself from those things. In VR however…everything was so much more real. 

The girl suddenly jumped down from the tree and stared at him. Her avatar had short blonde hair tied into low pigtails and big blue eyes that seemed to study him intently. Obviously, Ai had never seen her before, but there was something about her eyes that reminded him of somebody. That mischievous glint, as if she was about to pull a prank on him.

She tilted her head to the left and right. After she finished studying him, her previously curious expression morphed into one of disappointment. She clicked her tongue, annoyed. “A mediator? I thought you were someone strong.”

He probably should’ve felt offended by that, but honestly he expected as much.

She glanced at his sword disinterestedly. “Why are you even using that? You can’t even use it.”

Ai twisted the sword by the handle and shrugged. His mind sorted through the different things he could do to attract the mage’s attention. Right now, she wasn’t at all interested in handling him, at least not until the very last minute, when she absolutely had to. The event stated that there were three teams left inside and the mage would probably deal with him when there were only two teams left, hers and Ai’s. She shouldn’t know that the other two teams were working together. He needed to use this to his advantage.

He thought for a little bit more before putting his plans into action. “What? You don’t know why I’m using this? Here I was thinking that you were some sort of genius. I guess we shouldn’t believe every exaggerated rumor that we hear.”

That made the mage stop in her tracks. She didn’t turn back to look at him but he could see her shoulders tensing and her fists clenching. Ai tightened his grip on the sword and gulped, preparing himself, and kept going.

“Don’t feel too bad!” He said, keeping his tone light and friendly even though he felt incredibly nervous. “I’m sure everyone can get caught up in these types of rumors, right? It’s not your fault that you can’t keep up with everyone’s expectations.”

The girl finally made a sound. She laughed, the tone sounding angry and annoyed. “Aren’t mediators supposed to be smart too? Because you’re being very dumb right now.”

Ai felt a single drop of sweat above his brow. His whole body felt a sort of pressure that grew heavier with each provocation he threw, but even then he continued.

“Are you angry? Come on, I told you, there’s no need to feel bad about being inferior.”

The word seemed to spark an even greater sense of rage. This time she turned around, her blue eyes glaring at him intensely. “Inferior?! To you?”

Ai could now see the sparks coming out of her hands. He had to give it to her. Even though she was very angry right now, she still spared a bit of attention preparing a spell. Any other child would have been too focused on their anger to think about anything else.

“Of course! Haven’t you heard? I’m the person who cleared the elf beginner quest with an S. I single handedly changed the course of Oceanus’s questlines. I’m a mediator, not some mage with no skills.”

GlassyDiamond finally snapped. With a frustrated yell, she launched the spell that she had been preparing. It was a flashy lightning spell that flew at an incredible speed towards him. Not only was it fast, but the lightning seemed to spawn a multitude of other lightning that struck the ground around it.

Ai quickly pulled up the sword and activated its passive. The sword would give him a shield that lasted for five seconds. It had a thirty second cooldown so he needed to time the activation carefully. This seemed like the perfect opportunity since he wouldn’t be able to dodge the spell due to how fast it was going.

The spell struck the shield, its power knocking him back a few steps. He didn’t feel any impact, but his HP bar told him that the spell had taken a bit of HP. 

He took a big breath and lowered the sword. He would need to dodge the next spell.

The next attack came not a second later. This time it was a line of fireballs that was covered in a red glow followed by a gust of wind spell that seemed to make the fireballs go faster. This spell was slower than the lightning spell, even with the wind boost. With a quick shuffle of his feet, Ai managed to duck and dodge the spell with minimum damage to his HP.

He didn’t even manage to get back up on his feet before another spell came flying this way. This time it was an earth spell that rumbled along the ground. Ai didn’t know what it did, but he mustered all his energy to roll away from the spot. Unfortunately this time, the spell managed to take a substantial amount of his HP.

Without hesitation, he swiftly reached into his inventory and used a minor HP potion that restored his HP back to 75%. 

The mage stomped her feet in frustration. She was truly a child, even throwing a tantrum in the middle of battle. “You’re so annoying! Why won’t you lose!”

Ai dusted his pants and forced a laugh. “But mages are so much more powerful than mediators. Doesn’t this mean that you’re just a terrible mage?”

GlassyDiamonds stomped her feet once more, a cloud of rage completely covering her young face. “I’ll show you! I’m the strongest mage in the game!”

The mage prepared to throw another spell. Ai prepared himself to dodge another onslaught but then stopped himself. Something felt different this time. The previous pressure he felt before seemed to grow even more, almost suffocating him. His heart beat faster when he realized what it was.

The mage has an ultimate spell. Avoid that spell at all cost. It can very well one shot you if you’re not careful. 

That had been LadyMaia’s warning. Not taking any chances, Ai summoned Athens. Heeding its master’s call, Athens appeared and just as quick, morphed into his big canine form. They needed to escape the spell's radius immediately.

Athens carried Ai and leaped away from the mage, its four legs carrying them as far away as possible. Ai didn’t look back but he could feel heat close to his back and he knew that was the spell GlassyDiamond had unleashed. It was the complete opposite of Maestro’s beautiful butterflies. This spell was flashy, chaotic and was akin to a bomb.

Fortunately Athens managed to get them away from the radius. If he had been alone, he would’ve been disqualified from the battle for sure. He didn’t even know if Morion was able to outrun that spell.

Taking a deep breath, Ai commanded Athens to return to the shadows. He then picked a spot with particularly thick shrubbery and hid himself as best he could. Holding his breath, he waited for the little mage. He knew she wouldn’t be satisfied until she saw his demise with her own eyes.

Not that long after, Ai could hear the small footsteps from where he hid. With it came GlassyDiamond’s voice that echoed through the forest.

“I know you’re still alive!” She exclaimed. She still sounded angry and impatient.

Ai moved aside some of the shrubbery hiding him and took a peek. Sure enough, the mage was standing not too far away. Thankfully she had yet to notice his presence. 

Suddenly, another pair of footsteps seemed to approach them steadily. GlassyDiamond snapped her head at the player who approached her. She didn’t recognize them and her impatience made her want to blast the player away almost immediately.

Before she could however, the player spotted her. They gave her a grin and let out a breath as if relieved.

“Hey there!” the player greeted.

The mage clicked her tongue and looked at them impatiently. “What do you want?”

The other player ignored her rude tone. “Hey, have you seen my partner? He’s an elf with the mediator class.”

The question made GlassyDiamond stop her spell. The fireballs that danced on her palm faded away. She studied the player’s face and thought to herself. After a moment of contemplation, she gave them a sweet smile.

“Yes I have, let’s find him together!”