The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 40: Your attention please. (Part 4)

Vanter jumped from tree branch to tree branch as beneath him a cacophony of spells fired his way. He was barely making it in time to dodge the rays of fire and spikes of ice, many of them making glancing blows across his armour. The fight had been going for quite some time now, and though I was alone in the waiting room now, I could feel the tense atmosphere in the audience. Even one mistake would spell Vanter's defeat.

"Just stop moving Vanter," Aria yelled from the ground, taking aim and firing another barrage of magic. "I'll hit you eventually."

"I'm good!" Vanter leapt just in time as the tree had been hiding behind blew to pieces. He looked back and quickly fired an arrow which bounced harmlessly off an invisible barrier.

"You can't win," Aria targeted him again but as she reached inside to pull together the spell, it fell to pieces. "W-what?"

"Finally!" Vanter launched towards her, closing the distance quickly. Aria tried to back away, but her skills failed to activate. Though she had some hand-to-hand combat training, it wasn't much in comparison to Vanter.

"Tch," Aria clicked her tongue as Vanter descended upon her with a dagger in each hand. He had given up using Flow as soon as the fight began. There was no way he could defend against Aria's attack using the half-baked knowledge we had.

"Looks like someone forgot to manage their mana," Vanter smirked and though Aria tried her best, her mana recovery speed was capped by the game's limits. As efficient as she was in real life, Areithia Online was a game that followed different rules. In the end Aria began to disappear, a clear frustration on her face. The crowd cheered.

**

"Here we have it everyone," Cher began her commentary as both Vanter and I approached each other on the stage. "Our two finalist, A.Friend and Veran! Just who will win? Both part of the same team, partners now set to fight each other! Let's get a word from them before we begin."

Cher appeared beside us and put a microphone to Vanter's mouth, "Veran, how do you feel making it this far? Do you think you can win this?"

"I feel pretty good," Vanter replied. "That last match almost got me and now I face her brother. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can win, but I'll definitely make a show for it."

"Excellent. That's what we like to hear." Cher pushed the microphone towards me. "And our dearest Friend. We missed you while you were ill and now you're back with a vengeance. How does it feel to be competing for a championship title again?"

"It feels right," I replied simply. "Veran has been a friend of mine for a long time. He may not seem confident, but I'll tell you now, I can't let my guard down."

Cher grinned, "Well we're glad to have you back. It's a shame you couldn't compete live in Osaka but our online audience are just as enthused to see another victory. Now let's get it started!" She disappeared and sound of the crowd faded away. It was only Vanter and I left.

"We're doing this?" Vanter smirked.

"You know it," I nodded back and we both selected the open stage field before taking our positions.

5... 4... 3... 2... 1... BATTLE START. Unlike the other matches so far Vanter and I didn't charge at each other, instead we took a step back and raised a hand to the sky. We clapped our hands in unison and bowed, taking even steps closer to each other until only a metre separated us.

"I, A.Friend, ask for this duel of wills," I began.

"I, Veran, respond to this duel of wills," Vanter finished.