*>Select your class.*

*>30*

*>29*

*>28*

...

 

*Let's see, what to play this time?*

The current goal was not winning as quickly as possible, but rather gaining information about the game. Archer was off the table as Jisha had already familiarized herself with it.

*Hm... Let's go with the mage.*

Elemental Mage was a complicated class. She'd played against the Fire Mage, yet there were still 3 other types of Elemental Mages.

 

*>Locked in: Elemental Mage*

*>3...*

*>2...*

*>1...*

*>Welcome to Solo Duels.

*>Allunæ (Unranked) vs Adoya (Yellow Belt ★★)

*>Map: Halcyon Pond*

 

*Wha- I can't pick which one I get? Okay...*

Even though she wanted to play as a Fire Mage, the system had randomly assigned her as a Terra Mage. For some reason, the Mage's element was randomly determined at the beginning of the game.

*There's gotta be some way to change it, right?*

Whatever the reason was, it would have to wait. A new landscape and a new opponent faced her, and just like last time, Adoya the male green-haired Juggernaut wasn't keen on waiting.

"Terra Mage? Looks like you have some Terrable luck! Ha ha!"

"..."

This map appeared much smaller than the last. Whereas Stone Ruins looked endless, Halcyon Pond was in the depths of a basin, and the snow-capped mountains surrounding them pierced the sky.

Most of the basin was covered in shallow water. They'd spawned in the middle of a pond, but the water only came up to their ankles. Towards the left was a small cave, and on the far right was a beach.

 

*>Fight!*

 

As soon as he finished telling his joke, Adoya lumbered towards her.

*He's slow. Is it because he's a Juggernaut?*

Naturally, as a Mage, she wanted to keep as much distance as possible from a Juggernaut that was good in close range and likely took little damage.

And as a Terra Mage, she had to escape this water as soon as she could.

Jisha retreated towards the cave on the left, but...

*Ugh... I'm slow!*

Maybe Juggernauts were slow, but it wasn't the only reason why he was moving so lethargically! Since they were both trudging through a pond, the system forcibly slowed players' movements speeds.

However, the heavy movements weren't a detriment at all.

 

*-1*

*-2*

*-1*

*-2*

…

 

"Agh, you-!"

No matter how much Adoya tried to dodge, Jisha landed her Basic Attacks with nearly full accuracy. With the slowness in effect, it was beyond frustrating to deal with the endless pelting of small stones!

However, Jisha did have one minor gripe.

*Headshots with a Mage don't do double damage, and the Juggernaut takes half damage... I'm gonna cry.*

Did she really need more cards stacked against her?

It wasn't *not* a big deal, but rather than complaining about the game being rigged, she had to do her best with her given hand.

"You've had that pun prepared for weeks, haven't you?" Jisha taunted.

Adoya hesitated.

*Wha- Was I actually right? Anyway... here's a Stone Lance!*

The casting animation began. From the ground below, sand, mud, and stone rose up to form a spear the length of an arm.

"Ha, you think you can hit me from there?"

Adoya was ready to dodge. Even with his limited mobility, the Stone Lance *had* to be way too slow to hit him!

But...

"Wha-?"

 

*-2*

*-1*

*-2*

…

 

Adoya was caught off guard by the slew of Basic Attacks headed his way. He was prepared to dodge a single attack, but not all of these at once!

*-100*

 

"???"

"What are you doing?" Jisha asked.

It was a genuine question; for some reason, his movement shifted from methodical to clumsy.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You can fire spells at the same time?"

"..."

Yes, the Stone Lance somehow camouflaged itself among the hailstorm of rocks. Adoya had never seen an Elemental Mage fire Basic Attacks *and* a projectile spell at the same time with such deadly precision. Usually, his Yellow Belt opponents could only do one thing at a time.

However, if she couldn't multitask, did Jisha deserve the nickname "Gun Swap Goddess"?

For nearly a minute, using a technique called "kiting", Jisha retreated while firing nonstop at the poor Adoya. He slowly advanced, and she slowly retreated. In this situation, a ranged character held the absolute advantage! In an ideal situation, she could easily kite him to death with Basic Attacks, Stone Lance, and Stone Shot. However, the Terra Mage's movement speed received a debuff in water, and it was enough to allow Adoya to catch up!

*Why is a Juggernaut faster than me???*

Adoya had less than 200 HP remaining, but if he caught up to her, she was dead.

"Haha, finally, you little rat!"

"You think so? Mud Wall!"

"............"

A solid wall rose out of the water, blocking attacks and line of sight.

However, in less than a second...

"Bash!"

The Juggernaut shattered the wall!

*How convenient...*

Jisha only regained a small lead, and Adoya was still gaining on her. She didn't know what abilities Juggernaut had, but she did know it would be game over as soon as she was in his range.

However, this wasn't a problem.

*My ultimate ability's ready!*

The 60-second ultimate cooldown was at 0!

The Elemental Mage's ultimate was a bit different than the other classes'. Whereas the others had some big attack or something that significantly changed the state of the board, the Elemental Mage's was much more subtle.

*Switch: Ice Mage!*

"You-!"

Being immersed in water, all of Jisha's abilities received massive boosts.

"Sorry you're not as cool as I am. Ice Lance!"

 

*-200*

*>Winner: Allunæ*

 

"Why did my ult not go off????"

Every class' ultimate cooldown was 60 seconds, and Adoya was sure he'd used it as soon as it came up. However, not only was Jisha simply faster, but the Juggernaut's ultimate looked like it required some time to charge.

At only a tenth of max HP, using an ability that took time to charge was extremely dangerous - you'd be a prime target!

"Lucky," Adoya complained.

"Weren't you the lucky one in the beginning?"

"Fight me again on a fair map with fair classes-"

Before he even finished talking, Jisha was well on her way to her next game.

 

—

 

*>Winner: Allunæ*

...

*>Winner: Allunæ*

…

 

In no time at all, Jisha won 9 out of 10 of her placement matches and tried every class at least once.

*Here's the last one.*

 

*>Locked in: Unarmed*

*>Welcome to Solo Duels.

*>Allunæ (Unranked) vs Niyer (Blue Belt ★★★)

*>Map: Red Desert*

 

Jisha almost choked on air when she saw her opponent. A mischievous grin sprouted on her face.

*I wonder what Father would think of this?*

Yes - her opponent was none other than her younger brother Niyo Slyker, or "Niyer".

*He's just as uncreative as I remember.*

He was supposed to be practicing for the upcoming elycai competition, yet he was here playing VR games. As hilarious as it would be to tattle, Niyo didn't deserve any more hardships. Souring the relationship with the one family member who died so early wasn't good for her heart.

*About the competition, if I remember correctly...Those kids were not normal.*

In Niyo's division, kids his age were practicing over 8 hours a day every day. It was quite literally an obsession. When little kids put their minds to something, the focus was unparalleled. It was a miracle he could even keep up despite not practicing as much.

*He deserves a break.*

However, a break didn't mean he was getting an easy matchup.

*As an elder sister who loves you so much, I'll make this quick and painless!*

 

—

 

At the other end of the line, Niyo was flabbergasted. If he won this game, he'd become a Brown Belt for the first time, and he was praying as hard as possible for an easy victory. However, there were two anomalies with his opponent. First, she was Unranked, and he'd never seen an Unranked player compete at the Blue Belt level. Second, she was Unarmed, and he'd never seen an Unarmed player in his Blue Belt games, either.

It had to be an easy match, right? It was a freaking Unarmed player!

There was a reason no one played Unarmed in regular games. Every existing class was simply Unarmed with extra abilities! He, a Swordsman, was also an Unarmed player if he decided to not use his sword. Playing as an Unarmed was simply handicapping yourself for no reason.

However, the blank Unranked belt planted unease at the back of his mind.

It was like using Appraisal and getting unknown values in return. The layer of mystery was unsettling!

He tried his best to shake off the nerves. Most players weren't good, so he should be fine.

 

*>Fight!*

 

This map, Red Desert, looked simple at a glance. It was completely wide open, even more so than Stone Ruins. Only the occasional dead bush or small cactus stuck out of the sand. However, one look didn't tell the full story.

The hot gusts of wind immediately kicked up to gale storm speeds throwing countless grains of sand into the air. With the air tinted red, he and his opponent Allunæ trudged towards each other.

With every push forwards, the sand below absorbed their momentum. The combination of soft sand and rambunctious wind hampered their movements to an uncomfortable degree. The simple motion of running was no longer subconscious, and Niyer had to use brain power even to remain standing.

The two approached each other, and Niyer was the first to strike. The sword he wielded had a far longer reach than arms alone. This battle would be simple. All he had to do was keep using Basic Attacks by swinging his sword, and use Pierce to close the distance! If there was no way for his opponent to close in, it was impossible for her to do any damage.

Swing, swing, swing, Pierce...

She couldn't approach him, but there was a problem. He couldn't approach her, either.

"Ghrrrr, stop running!"

Niyo had never fought against an Unarmed before, but shouldn’t it be simple? It was definitely the wind’s problem; it was as if he had two opponents instead of one. It was alright, though. All he had to do was keep focusing on swinging his sword. 

Swing, swing, swing, Pierce...

"Come on!"

How long was this going to continue? This was a terribly tragic stalemate thus far. However, he knew he had the advantage as long as he didn't let her within arms' reach!

Until...

"Ugh!"

At some point, the winds shifted. He'd just been fighting a crosswind, but now it was a headwind! This simple fact made his swordplay all the more difficult. Now, every time he swung his sword, the wind pushed back much harder. It was annoying, but it wasn't the end of the world. He could still keep her away.

But...

"Huh?"

For a moment, he'd been Blinded.

How???

He completely lost his focus and fumbled.

 

*-10*

*-20*

*-20*

*-10*

…

 

Allunæ took perfect advantage of the mistake and unleashed a flurry of punches upon her adversary.

Crap! He only had one mission, and he'd failed!

Niyo still had his sword equipped, and of course Allunæ was still Unarmed. The sword was too large and slow of a weapon to handle in grappling range, and for a while, he was unable to stop the bleeding.

*Clang!*

Finally, he landed a successful Parry, and Allunæ had no choice but to back off.

Nearly 20% of his HP was gone, and it was back to square one.

Swing, swing, swing, Pierce…

However, this time would be different.

His ultimate ability was ready.

Right at the 60-second mark, he struck.

"Splitter!"

A singular powerful sword slash in any direction dealt massive damage to all targets it sliced through. Naturally, he chose to swipe horizontally. Since Splitter's range was longer than the sword's, Allunæ was bound to get hit!

Or so he thought.

He missed! It had to be the stupid wind's fault!

Allunæ ducked under his slash, and, while Niyo was unable to retaliate after using Splitter, closed the distance once more.

Just like that, another 20% was gone, and he hadn't done a single point of damage in return.

At this point, Niyo's patience was running thin.

For a split second he lost his focus, and...

Blinded again!

Another 20% gone!

He was about to lose it, but he forced his 10-year-old mind to focus as hard as possible one last time. He was going to stall until Splitter was available again. This time, he wouldn't use it immediately. Perhaps that had been too obvious.

That was alright, though. He would learn from his mistake. A cunning plan formed in his little brain. He would fake a blunder, then use Splitter right after! It was genius!

He pretended to mess up, and just as he'd planned, Allunæ fell for it! She stepped forwards, and...

"Splitter! Take that!"

 

*-500*

 

"What????"

She didn't dodge. Rather, she tore straight through it taking the full brunt of the damage all so she could close the distance again!

Now Niyo was down to his final 20%, but could he stall until Splitter was available one last time?

The answer was…

 

*-20*

*-20*

*-20*

*-20*

*-20*

…

 

*>Winner: Allunæ*

 

Her raw martial arts ability was too good. In super-close range with a sword, Niyo stood absolutely no chance; it was as if an adult were beating up a child. Only his weapon gave him a slim chance of victory, yet this slim chance still might as well have been 0.

Niyo clenched his fists as he stared at the post-match stats.

"How?" he asked.

He'd taken a break from his elycai practice to hopefully obtain a brand new belt for the first time, yet one step away, his hopes were dashed in a pathetic fashion.

Losing to an Unarmed? If his friends found out, he'd never hear the end of it!

"How..."

... did it happen? It was practically a rhetorical question; he never expected his opponent to answer.

But...

"Why were you blinded?" she asked.

"Huh?"

How was he supposed to know? If he knew the answer to that, it wouldn't have happened in the first place!

"Here's a small hint," she continued. "There's sand, and there's wind."

"..."

"You're not far from a Brown Belt, Niyer."

Before he could respond, Allunæ had already left the lobby.