Chapter 48 (Patreon)

“You have improved a lot in utilizing haste buff,” I praised Liz.

We had already taken the middle orb and currently heading towards the bottom orb after we had learned that Renz lost against their ace. On the bright side, Chu won the contest for the top orb, netting us one orb advantage and a 3v1. We can regroup and take the easy win, but I don’t think Chu would agree on that kind of play. He has always been stubborn and prideful and I’m sure he would be offended if I were to even suggest grouping up against a single player in the first place.

“Yeah, it’s all thanks to you for giving me a lot of pointers.”

“It’s fine, you're a natural too.”

“Really?!” she beamed at me.

“Yes, you adapt to the changes in motion quickly.”

“He he he,” she gave me a cute grin which made me break eye contact and turn my head away in embarrassment.

“I do get why using haste is pretty hard though, it's like… when I’m picking a light object, for example, an empty water jug, that I thought was full and heavy, I would put too much force lifting it and stumble. It is the same but a hundred times harder when hasted. I would put too much speed and force on an attack and after that initial attack, I would be out of balance and susceptible to counters,” she rationalized.

“Yes, I completely agree, it is one of the major downsides of haste… but let's save the chat for later, we have company.”

As I say that, a good-looking girl our age brandishing a red-themed broadsword appeared from the ruined ancient building.

“Terra... Frostia… Zephyr… I won’t forgive you for harming them! I will avenge my friends!” her voice trembled as she cursed our very being.

They’re still alive though! You know we're just playing a VR game, right?!

I identified the newcomer.

Blaze

Hp: 71%

Lvl: 95

Guild: Atelier Guild (Officer)

Duel wr: Hidden

Team Rank matches wr: Hidden

1v1 Rank matches wr:  76% (Rank 841)

Wins: 2839

Matches: 3712

id#:***********

Introduction: Feel the heat of justice as I blaze through the darkness with my flames for a brighter tomorrow!

Renz, you didn’t even get her HP in half and you have the gal to call yourself our ace!?

I sighed. It was a bad match-up for him to begin with so I can’t blame him too much. He was supposed to fight their archer and Chu was supposed to face off against their ace. I guess the enemy is one step ahead of us this time.

“Be careful Liz, she’s strong,” I called out to her in the team chat to prevent anyone from listening.

“I know, I watch her streams so I have a grasp on what she is capable of. No worries though, even if I lose here, we still have you and Chu.”

I nodded at her. She has a point; our enemy is the only one remaining and we still have three members of our team. Still, I hope I will not have to reveal the ace up my sleeve to win this match. I want to save it for the main event if possible.

“Want me to cast haste on you?”

“No need. You already healed me back to full health, besides, you only have mana for one more haste, right? Save it for yourself just in case,” she messaged back in our team speaker mode to keep it confidential before giving me a teasing wink.

I see, so she already has a grasp on the full range of my mana pool. Haste costs a lot of my mana pool to cast compared to white magic as my mastery of it is still not enough due to my level deficiency. No surprise that she found out, she is a veteran player after all.

“Fine, I’ll try to support you from the side with white magic, good luck,” I cheered her on.

“I don’t need luck if I have you with me,” she said as she walked casually towards our opponent.

What are you even saying?! We’re being streamed so don’t spout out such embarrassing things!

When both of them were only a few meters apart from each other, Liz initiated the first strike. She used her weapon skill to launch a surprise attack. She teleported behind the enemy but was met by a sweeping slash before she even made her move.

“Ack!” Liz exclaimed before disengaging.

Lizbeth

HP: 72%

“I won’t fall for those kinds of tricks so easily,” her opponent rebutted.

I underestimated her. I didn’t think she would be this good. Her skill with the sword is nothing to scoff at, but her ability to predict the opponent’s move makes her even deadlier. I think Liz will have a hard time in this fight, she might even lose if she gets outplayed.

“He hehe… I guess it won’t be that easy. Looks like I have to do it the old-fashioned way. I would just have to let my skills carry me through,” Liz declared as she rushed at her opponent for a contest of skill.

The fight continued, Liz's agile footwork kept her opponent constantly on the move, her rapier darting in and out with calculated precision. Her opponent, with broad, sweeping arcs, countered each advance with sheer strength, forcing Liz to adapt swiftly. The clash of metal rang out, a rhythmic melody in the air as their blades met time and again for the umpteenth time. Witnessing the battle before me unfold, I cannot pry my eyes off the two graceful yet deadly combatants… not that I’m planning to, of course. I still have to play my role and support Liz if things go south.

This went on until both of them disengaged to catch their breath from the grueling exchange, wherein none came out unscathed.

Lizbeth

HP: 51%

Blaze

HP: 41%

“You’re really good, even though you know you’re outnumbered, you still play at your best,” Liz praised.

“Of course! I won’t ever give up. I won’t lose for the sake of my friends who all believe in me!” she declared.

“Kyaaa! I’m glad I got to hear it in person, that was so cool! I’m a huge fan of your stream by the way!” Liz praised.

You call that cool!? Daring is what I would call it! I would never spout such lines even if it costs my life!

Our opponent seems stunned by Liz’s fan-girl mode. The immersion broken from having her opponent as a fan seemed to catch her off guard making her unable to respond properly.

“U-uh… thanks… I guess?”

“He hehe, no biggie… but sorry to say, I’m not ‘gonna lose either. Same with you, I also have friends who have faith in me and support me with their all. I vowed to not let them down again. I will play at my best and enjoy every match in the process!” Liz declared, ready for another round.

“Urk!” she seemed taken aback by what Liz said.

Nice one Liz! Go beat her at her own game! Fight fire with fire, and cringe with cringe!

Liz charged at her opponent. The clash of metal echoed through the battlefield just as Blaze parried Liz’s rush attack. Liz's lithe form weaved in and out, evading her opponent’s powerful swings with graceful finesse. Yet, Blaze’s relentless pursuit left no room for respite, making the match at an impasse.

It seems that Liz suddenly shifted tactics, utilizing quick feints and sudden changes in direction to exploit Blaze's slower recovery times. With precise lunges, she aimed for gaps in her opponent’s defenses, seeking to pierce through and land a hit. Her efforts were rewarded by a thrusting hit in right in Blaze’s lower torso.

Blaze

HP: 28%

Taking the hit head-on, her opponent was undeterred. Blaze adjusted her stance with each strike, channeling brute force into every swing. Her movements were less agile but carried an undeniable weight, each strike aiming to overpower Liz's swift and calculated assaults.

The brute force of her swings caused Liz to stumble. The enemy capitalized on Liz’s misplay, bringing her huge sword down at Liz to cut her in half.

*WHOOSH

The swing hit the air. Liz used her weapon skill to completely dodge the fatal slash. She vanished, distancing herself to regain her composure.

But her opponent seemed to anticipate her move.

“Got you now! You have nowhere to run! Crimson Blaze Slash!” she shouted, confident at her victory as Liz already had no means to dodge after using her Blink skill.

Liz, instead of even making an attempt to dodge, charged right at the blazing pyro attack, facing it head-on as if intending to die.

I smiled. You really trust me too much, Liz.

“Guardian Angel!” I exclaimed.

Liz took the blow but was unscathed. It was all because of my white magic skill, Guardian Angel. It takes time to pre-cast but gives invulnerability to the receiver of the buff for one second. It is extremely hard to use because it requires you to predict when your enemy is about to use a massive attack or your mana will be wasted. It also has a long cooldown and, therefore cannot be spammed constantly. I knew of Blaze's weapon skill from my information gathering so it was no challenge for me at all to predict when her weapon skill would come.

In the heart of the raging inferno, Liz charges forward, undeterred by the licking flames that claw at her surroundings. With each quick step, embers dance around her, the white holy shield of the Guardian Angel skill protecting her against the scorching fire.

Blaze, after using her weapon skill seems to need a bit of windup time after that kind of devastating attack. Capitalizing on her opponent’s fatigue state, she did a charging fatal thrust aimed toward Blaze’s head.

It connected.

*KACHACK

Blaze

HP: 0%

“Ack!” Blaze cried in surprise.

What an outplay by Liz. Even though we did not communicate on that kind of maneuver due to time constraints in the middle of the battle, she still baited the opponent’s weapon skill, risking it all for a do-or-die situation all because she had complete faith in my capabilities.

Her trust in me paid off and her gamble won. I had already known her opponent’s weapon skill so I had already pre-casted the Guardian Angel skill. However, her capitalizing on the momentary confusion of the enemy was solely from her skills and intuition. Honestly, she never ceases to amaze me. To put your wholehearted trust into someone in a desperate situation is not an easy task. I can tell that from experience with my old teammate and partner. It honestly makes me happy she has this much faith in me. What a peculiar, yet endearing girl.

“Wha- I… we lost…”

“I told you before, didn’t I? I have reliable teammates by my side,” she stated while giving her opponent a gentle smile. “Good game.”

“Yeah… it was a good match,” Blaze reciprocated Liz’s gesture before she vanished into blue motes of light.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

-Rin's PoV-

“I... I’m sorry guys… It was all my fault we lost… I wasn’t able to win against them…” I sniffled as my voice trembled in admitting my shortcomings.

We were back at the GM-created lobby. The other team is currently celebrating their win, the creepy siscon being the loudest even though he did almost nothing in the fight and got eliminated early. On the other hand, me and my friends are extremely solemn in comparison to them.

This is all my fault. I failed my team. They put their whole trust and faith in me to carry them… but I still lost. Even though I know cursing myself won’t change the outcome of the match, I still can’t help to blame myself for my inadequacy.

“Nobody here thinks that way, Rin. You did the most work even in this match. If there is to blame, it is me for failing to protect Lyra. Because of me, we didn’t even get to eliminate a single player in the opposing team. I could’ve reduced the burden you had to shoulder, but I failed to do that,” Wren tried to console me.

“It’s nobody’s fault guys, please don’t be too hard on yourselves, it can’t be helped that we lost. The enemy is just the better team this time. Our informant did not even know their support was a dual caster because they hid it so well. They beat us both in tactics and skills so don’t feel too bad. I’m sure no one will blame us for this loss,” Lyra expertly pointed out.

“Yeah! If the management blames us for not qualifying even though they lack critical information on the enemy, I will personally kick their butts!” Ellie tried to lighten the mood.

*Warning: mental and emotional state fluctuating player is advised to take a break.​

I ignored the notification. Their encouraging words made me even more emotional. I am truly lucky to have them as my teammates.

“...Thanks guys…” I expressed my gratitude from the bottom of my heart.

“Well, enough of this dreary atmosphere. Let’s congratulate the winners, shall we? We have a reputation to uphold as members of the Atelier organization. We at least have to show our sportsmanship, yeah?” Ellie beckoned us by going to our opponent’s side to congratulate them.

We followed her as she led the way. Ellie stopped in front of one of our opponents, a black-haired guy with a custom Taoist set, whom I assumed to be the one who beat her in the contest for the top orb.

“Hey, that was a good match, you earned the right to add me as a friend. I’ll help you out sometimes in training if you want. We can even play together in front of my stream viewers!”

“…Sounds bothersome,” he replied unenthusiastically.

“What! You're kidding right?! Don’t you know many of my male fans would do anything just for me to add them to my friends list? You don’t know how lucky you are! Or are you scared for a rematch 'cause you know you just got lucky earlier?” she taunted.

That seems to have gotten a rise out of him, the very first time since they started talking.

“...Fine, I’ll take you on anytime you want.”

My attention was immediately caught by a familiar dazzling figure who greeted me before I had the chance to.

“Blaze, that was a good fight!” Lizbeth greeted.

“…Yeah.”

She analyzed me for a bit. Then suddenly, her expression changed, giving me a solemn look.

"Please cheer up. It was not your fault, I think you would've won against me if I was alone," she tried to comfort me.

Am I that obvious?

“I... no, you're too good even on your own... it felt like you were improving every second we exchanged swords. You would've eventually surpassed me in that fight.”

She gave me an unreadable look before quickly pulling me for a hug.

"W-whaaaa-!"

I was caught off guard by her boldness. So this is what Lyra felt earlier when I did it to her.

“Don’t worry, we will carry the weight of your aspirations. Believe in us, my teammates and I will win the tournament so that no one could ever blame you for losing this match.”

My heart skipped a beat. They say I am a natural, but this girl… she is on a whole different level.

We stayed like that for a while, her gesture comforted me even though we were in a VR game and probably hundreds of miles apart from each other.

After mustering up my courage, I finally asked her.

"Uhm... can we play again some other time?  I-if you're not busy practicing for the main tournament that is..."

"Of course! I always watch your streams, I'm a streamer too so we could do collabs together if you'd like?"

Sharing our hobby through streaming and playing the game we both love sounds... extremely delightful.

I beamed at her. "I would love to!"