Light. She was unbelievably, inexplicably light. It felt as if I was holding a plastic bottle. The lightness threw me off, and she spun around, kick after kick burying its way into my face. They felt like being struck by paddles, but no one wanted to be struck by paddles on the face several hundred times.
I disengaged, gaining distance, while she dropped to the ground, panting and wheezing. The damage from my initial Spartan Kick was ultimately catching up with her.
She slapped her hands together, muttering a word underneath her breath. Neo’s Flair lit up, indicating that she was casting a Spell.
[You have been afflicted with the Status Effect: {Encumbered}]
[Your movement speed has slowed considerably.]
[You have been afflicted with the Status Effect: {Slow}]
[Your overall speed has slowed considerably.]
Oh shit.
Seventh Sense – Notification!
Flair: [Cursed Eye of Pattern Recognition] Activated!
[Pattern Recognized!]
Your opponent is using [Gravity] Magic.
Caution is advised!
My neck whipped over to Sophia’s direction, and I realized it was moving horrendously slower than it should have. My entire body was slow. Weighted down. Each action I made took far longer than it should have.
She uses Gravity Magic? Like… Hoplite?
I grinned.
Perfect.
I had very little experience with fighting humans. The fact that Sophia used Gravity magic, the same magic as Hoplite, just made things more fortunate for me. I would take this battle as a test run.
Her speed increased fivefold. I knew the massive increase was due to my own slowed state, and also due to some Gravity shenanigans, but it was such that I couldn’t keep track of her when she rushed at me with –
Is that… a saber?
Seventh Sense – Collision Imminent!
If she ran me through with that saber, I wouldn’t die, because my [Barbeast Armor] would activate, and the saber would break. The problem was, it would be suspicious to everyone else if a saber clashed against my human skin and shattered.
I don’t have a choice.
“[Phantasm].”
And just when things were getting good.
Phantasm enabled me to do everything a ghost could. One of those, was short-range teleportation. The max range was about twenty feet. Enough for me to cover the distance between Sophia and me. She had not been expecting it in the slightest, and thus, had no way of guarding against the fastest thing I could think of to use and hit her.
My head.
It was without a doubt the strongest headbutt I’d ever given anyone in my life. The impact ricocheted throughout Mosh Pit Beta. Sophia dropped her sword, standing frozen and motionless. I reacted quickly, tilting my head back, and once more for good measure, slammed it forward.
Sophia dropped to the ground.
The crowd was silent.
Then, all at once, like an explosion, the cheers burst.
“He did it!”
“Whoo! That crazy bastard!”
“NE-O!”
“NE-O!”
“NE-O!”
“You bastard…” Sophia’s voice came, as she staggered, slowly to her feet. I could neither believe my eyes nor my ears.
Blood dripped down from her forehead, yet, she stood, defiant.
“What in the world are you made of?!”
“I’m – not… made of anything…”
She was disoriented. I was also certain that she had a concussion. She staggered about blindly, but her HP had not hit zero. Her eyes did not have any light in them. It took me a second, and I realized with disbelief what was happening.
I waved my hands in front of her eyes, but they did not blink.
She wasn’t conscious.
She wasn’t conscious, but she was still standing. She was still standing, and she still wanted to fight. Her subconscious desire to fight and win was the only thing keeping her on her two feet.
…what sort of absurd determination…?
I was impressed. No, I was amazed. I was amazed, and horrified, and awed, all at the same time. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips. I turned to the referee.
“She’s not conscious.”
The referee frowned, rushing in between us, and checking Sophia’s eyes.
“…You’re right.” The ref sounded as amazed as I felt.
“Then –”
“Unfortunately you two agreed to Winner Takes All rules. The match can only end when one person’s health hits zero.”
The chants were deafening. “NE-O!” echoed with such force that it shook the foundation of the very earth upon which I stood.
“You expect me to attack a person who’s unconscious?”
“Those are the rules.”
I had no words. I could instead hear the chant from the crowd change into something else.
“FI-NISH HER!”
“FI-NISH HER!”
“FI-NISH HER!”
I kept forgetting, time and time again, that Alamir was not my world. It was not earth, where violence was frowned upon, and chivalry and honor were respected. It was not a place where the act of beating a downed opponent got you scorn. No, they were like the bloodthirsty spectators at the Roman Coliseum, eager to see slaughter and carnage as a means to sate the boredom of daily life. As Adventurers with no TVs and very little designed for entertainment, the spectacle of Player Vs Player served as their Super Bowl and Grand Prix, their World Cup and Olympic Games.
I picked up Sophia’s downed saber. I rose it into the air, hearing the chants multiply a thousand-fold.
Then, without hesitation, I brought the sword straight down –
And plunged it into my chest.
The crowd went silent.
The referee stared at me like I had grown two new heads. I was tempted to spread my hands open and declare: Are you not entertained?
Instead, I allowed the bar reading my life up above to continue to trickle down, and down, and down, until finally, the meter emptied.
PvP Concluded!
Winner: Sophia Alphaphilia.
“Now,” I
