DRAGON: First Link

15.0: Lecture

6-4. In favor of CloverLeafs.

The defenders of the enemy team have their hands full. Panu ba naman, bukod sa mga turrets ko ay anjan din si Cr1ng, releasing her own barrage of invisible bullets. Ryd and Loaf where trying to penetrate the shields too, and every now and then a mine would explode.

Meanwhile....

Nakikipagsuntukan ako kay GreyShorts. Right now, it is not a contest of strength, but a contest of endurance. He swiped his hammer towards my head, but I instinctively ducked and gave him my own dose of Kidney Shot. That didn't hurt him a bit, kasi may healer siya na back-up. When I tried to release Barrage, he stomped his hammer to the ground, stopping everyone from moving. At yun, he gave me the beating of my life. However, that three-man kill gave me a better glimpse of how his shockwaves act.

Sinabayan ko muna si Pr3sh sa pagkakape while waiting for the others to respawn. I asked the shielder to not take part on that battle, for research purposes.

"Seems like your plan is a bit, off." Sabi ng kakarespawn lang na si Loaf.

"Nope, it will start now." I grabbed my own arm, "slaving trigger points of all turrets available." Nang-nagconfirm naito ay nagfocus na ako sa mga kalaban, 750 meters away, with all the greenery hiding most of the targets. "Breaker Scope Shot."

All turrets in the field, along with my arm, released forth a hail of bullets that targeted all enemies but the hammer guy. The sheilders have a better idea to be careful now, but even they cannot block my bullets with high penetrative ability. A four-man kill slashed the screens above.

10-7. Still in favor of my team.

"Pr3sh, this is what you'll do..." after I gave him my instructions, I proceeded to give Loaf another set of orders. "Okay, when you get it, follow me."

I entered the middle grounds with Ryd and Cr1ng following. The only guy left there is GreyShorts, na nakakunot ang noo.

"You think you can beat me!?" The dude pounded his chest with his left fists. "Nobody crosses the Anti-Mage with cheating guns, bitch!!" His teammates started contact with my allies, leaving no one to disturb a deathmatch.

"Ah, yep, I don't care about that. I can't beat you, really." I dashed towards him, materializing my knuckle gear in the process. "But..."

He met my fist head-on and retaliated for a second. I consumed all my EP and used Gradiate Drill. The skill only cut his HP to half, cause he blocked with his hammer.

"Woah, pretty good weapon you got there." I mused as I backed away for the moment. "That's even crazier than the Dull Thorn. Wait, scratch it, the Dull Thorn has a better penetrative ability, but not as durable as--"

"H-healer!!" he shouted, but his life gauge remained the same. "Fck it, where'n the hell is that hea—"

He flung his gaze towards his healer, na hinahabol ni Pr3sh. You can see despair in that wild pair of eyes. Pun intended.

"Yappari." I got his attention back. "You focused too much on strength that you forgot one simple rule in this game. It is not strength that constitutes health and energy regeneration. It is stamina."

"You, fcking bitch!!" he slammed his hammer to the ground, stunning all of us in the process. "Now speak while I pound you to death!!"

"Okay." I said. Twenty seconds before he makes contact. "First, your shockwave stuns everyone in a 50-meter radius, that's why you kept the fighting close to you. However, I have an ally in our base, plus a whole lot of turrets."

He might have gotten what I meant cause he flicked his eyes towards the healer. The latter has dropped to the ground, and cannot move. Just then a hail of bullets, coated with force from Cr1ng, went and finished GreyShorts' teammates, who have no choice but to lower their guards. GreyShorts roared. And dashed towards me.

"Second is...." I confidently waited for the impact.

He swung his hammer down towards me, but it was deflected by a pair of scimitars. Loaf went forward and went on a frenzy of his own, slowly hacking the life out of GreyShorts' gauge. Just as his life is at 6 points, Loaf stopped.

"Second is, you blindly took me on in a one-on-one without consideration of your teammates' positions. Sadly, this is a 5v5 match. When you initiated the stun, I had Loaf step 51 meters away from you" I locked my index finger at his exhausted face. "Here's a bullet in your face."

The crowd's roar was heared when the sound-proof covered arena finally opened, indicating that the match is over. The announcer, a red-haired girl, went flying down towards the team.

"Congratulations!! You have defeated the current ranked 7th team in the SEA league!! How does it feels winning against a strong opponent?" tinanong nia si Loaf.

"Luck is still in our side, I think." He smiled good-naturedly. "And all thanks to the merc, really."

"Whiiiiiiich brings us to the MVP of the game!!" she turned towards me. "You, young lady, is the four-leaf clover of the Cloverleafs!! What is your reaction to that?"

"Uh nothing, it was all strategy. No luck involved." Oooohs from the crowd. "Uh, can I greet some people? That was my first intention in joining here in the first place."

"Of course!!" She twirled and announced before she gave me the mic. "Everyone!! The Boxhead Princess!!"

Ugh. Okay? Why the weird nickname? "To the smith and the gym guide of Navalin Island, I, am here." Murmurs can be heard from the onlookers. "And to the Mayor of that island, yep, I took the advice. It was stupid, but it worked. And to the former 5-man guild of Holocaust-Team Sands---"

All of the arena fell silent as I unequipped my box helm, "I'm here now, let's chill out some time." I grinned and walked out of the building.