Ex rank talent Awakening: 100\% Dodge rate-Chapter 37 - : NOT ARROGANCE BUT CONFIDENCE
Her instincts screamed at her that something was wrong. Shadow felt goosebumps as she scanned the arena, thinking crazily about what could be wrong, and then it occurred to her. She didn't hear any victory announcement from the system.
"Impossible," Shadow spoke, her voice barely audible, the fatigue from using her last attack still taking its toll on her body.
"Indeed, impossible indeed," Abyss said, standing behind Shadow.
Shadow felt her instincts warning her, telling her to stand up and run, but her stamina was empty. She couldn't stand on her feet. She tried several times to get up, but she couldn't find the power to do so.
"Oh, no need to stand, I'm fine with you sitting," Abyss said with a smile on his face.
"How?" Shadow asked.
"I'm not keen on exchanging my trade secrets with you. It's going to be pretty annoying if you go to Nemesis or the other members of the big six guild—oh, sorry, four now. Two's out, thanks to me."
"What? Scared now? Thought that was beneath you, honestly. Maybe I thought too highly of you," Shadow taunted. While the fatigue was still taxing, it was beginning to be bearable for her.
"You know, your taunts don't work on me. I'm not a kid, neither is your deliberate action of stalling for time," Abyss said, his words sounding like a father admonishing his child who thought they were witty enough to outsmart him.
Shadow looked at Abyss, realizing that she had lost. "Well, I guess I will have to surrender. It's better than being embarrassed by trash like you," she muttered.
"Indeed, but before you surrender, I want to ask you a question. Nemesis and me—who do you think will win?" He asked, curious for the answer, not caring that she might be biased.
"Of course, it's Nemesis. You might think I'm being biased, but you will be sorry afterward. You won't even be able to land a hit on him. No one has since he played Apocalypse," she said, her tone holding no fanaticism or blind confidence but more of an honest truth.
"Hahahahahahah," Abyss laughed loudly. "Has never received a hit? Well, I can't wait to fight him now. It seems he will be totally fun to fight against," Abyss said, his face filled with longing and anticipation—a fight with Nemesis, one he believed would bring him happiness. Fighting strong opponents, especially, was the one thing that could give him joy and happiness, though fleeting since the death of Maria.
Shadow couldn't help but look at Abyss like he was a madman. He was walking away from her, not even bothering to see her surrender before he turned his back on her, not caring about being backstabbed.
"Ah, does he really not see me as a threat, or is he that dumb?" Shadow couldn't help but curse in frustration.
"I surrender," Shadow spoke after some seconds of feeling wronged, her body breaking into small pixels and disappearing slowly. And while disappearing, she saw it. The look on Abyss' face—it was one that felt like a hunter whose trap had failed in luring the animal and could only tag the prey as lucky.
"So it was a trap. What a crazy bastard," Shadow said, extremely annoyed.
"Hahaha, it seems she's angry over my actions. How petty of her. She reminds me of Maria, hahaha. I must be delusional comparing her to my Maria," Abyss said, shaking his head slightly, disappointment in himself as well as sadness creeping into his heart.
[Battle won by surrender]
[Winner: Abyss of the Abyss guild]
[Congratulations on advancing to the semi-final round]
Abyss listened to the announcement. "Yeah, yeah. Guess I should get some sleep now," he said, his avatar teleporting out of the arena.
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"It seems you are out of the tournament as well. A shame it was the same guy as Dual Blade," Odin said, sulking and clearly irritated.
Shadow, of course, ignored the talking moron.
"Hey! Why didn't you even attack in the first place?" he asked Shadow, looking her deep in the eyes.
In today's competition, they stayed in the same room, already aware of the system's criteria. The big six guild masters—well, the five of them—had all decided to stay in a particular lounge. It was better than sending texts in chat, after all.
"I would be dead, in a very painful way, if I had done that," Shadow said, finding Odin to be extremely annoying.
"Yeah, right. You would have died excruciatingly. Your pride would show no mercy in cutting your throat," Odin attacked verbally.
"You asshole, I hate wasting my breath on you. Talking to a thief is a waste of time."
"So says the murderer," Odin retorted to Shadow's words.
"Enough!" Nemesis said, getting tired of Odin and Shadow's squabbling. "And Odin, she is right. If she had attacked, her fate would have been terrible. Abyss would have made sure of it. You will understand when you face him—hopefully, it's only within this event. It's going to be annoying fighting against him to release you as an undead," Nemesis said, lying lazily.
"Whaaaat? You think he's stronger than me? You can't believe I'm weak, right? Sure, my last battle wasn't glorious, but that doesn't mean I'm weak," Odin complained, feeling wronged.
"I know you are not weak. On the contrary, Abyss is plenty strong. He went easy on Shadow and Dual Blade so far," Nemesis said, earning surprise from everyone. None believed Nemesis would rate another player like that—he had always been one to call them weak.
"If he is that strong, then why didn't you add him to our team? I thought you wanted to make the strongest team?" Scarlett asked, curious about Nemesis' actions.
"I do, but you see, a tamed lion is far weaker than a wild lion, allowed to do as he sees fit. A trained dog, though, is better than a wild dog. Do you get my point now?" Nemesis said again, getting tired of talking.
"While I hate the fact that you had to use dogs to refer to us, we all get the point. Abyss will fare better being alone and unrestrained, but we will fare better under someone—helping and grooming our skills. But that's even more confusing. How will you control the wild lion in the end?" Gold Goblin asked, feeling intrigued by the discussion.
"Like I have always done—beat the fat cat until it fears me and won't dare to disobey my orders," Nemesis said, uninterested in any more conversation.
Everyone in the lounge, though, couldn't help but shake their heads. The simplicity of how he spoke about it, like it was casual, was something the others couldn't get used to.
"Tsk, only a monster can say that. Sucks to not be as powerful as that scumbag—his arrogance knows no bounds," Odin said, a bit jealous yet respectful of Nemesis' actions.
"Confidence! It's not arrogance but confidence. That's Nemesis for you—he always speaks with confidence and never arrogance," Gold Goblin corrected Odin, the smile on his face wider than ever.
*******
[Second round of the quarterfinal]
[Jacob of Pirate Guild vs. Nemesis of Dark Star Guild]
[Battleground: Arena of Neutrality]
[Both parties are to prepare]
Nemesis, hearing his name being announced by the system, felt slightly annoyed. "Tsk, and I was about to drift to sleep. Guess I'll have to make this fast. I hate being disturbed. Would've taught the system a lesson if only I knew where it is and if I were stronger," Nemesis complained, earning sighs from everyone in the lounge.
"Kyle, what are you doing here?" Jacob asked, seeing his good ol' friend Kyle.
"Nemesis, you will be fighting him soon, in the next 30 minutes, I presume," Kyle said, his steps slow and unhurried as he sat across from Jacob.
"Indeed, and it seems it's going to be a tough fight. Watching his last battle, he seems fairly strong, and he gives off that air of invincibility. It's going to be enjoyable for me, wiping that confidence from him, as well as seeing the ugly face behind that mask," Jacob said, a grin on his face.
"What's the plan of country Nexia? I thought all big countries agreed to grow their strength within the game secretly, Jacob. So why are you in this event, showcasing your strength?" Kyle asked, raising an eyebrow.
"None of your business, friend. It's best if you don't pry too much. I don't want to have to deal with you. Besides, very few people know that I work for the government, and the main force remains hidden. I'm just here to have fun, that's all. Plus, if I show my full strength, there is no one who can stop me, not even you, my dear friend Kyle," Jacob said, pouring wine into the glass in his hands and taking a sip. "Hmm, such sweet wine. How did this game manage to recreate even taste buds? It's almost like everything that makes up the human body in the real world is perfectly replicated here. Such precision is awe-inspiring," Jacob said, his eyes showing admiration for the game.
"Well, it was done by the supreme will that ruled the universe. Of course, it's an easy task. Easier than allowing people to gain the power they earn in this game world in reality," Kyle said, mocking the shameless Jacob.
"Well, I'm not here to chit-chat with you. I'm afraid staying here any longer might end up with me putting an arrow through your skull. Crush Nemesis, and crush him badly. Don't hold back. That's all I have to say," Kyle said, slowly standing up and walking away.
"I don't answer to you, you bloody Merian. Besides, you just warned me about giving people the chance to find out about the government forces. Guess you remain as hypocritical as ever, Kyle Albert. You never change. But you don't need to advise me or admonish me. I plan to crush Nemesis completely either way," Jacob said, continuing his leisurely sipping of wine as Kyle walked away.
[A/N: Alright, country M and country N sound kind of lazy and all that, so I will be giving them proper names. Country M will be country Mer, and country Nexia. I believe it will be better and more well-presented.]
