I liked this chapter, for several reasons XD.
I hope you like it too, peace.
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—----------------
[Searching… Match found]
[Checking availability… Free]
[Moving to Arena…]
/Flash!/
…
/Flash!/
[DING]
[Welcome to the Arena!]
[Envyroment: Heroic Spirit Colosseum (Hall of Champions)]
[Within these halls, Heroes were born and Champions fell, only the worthy will persevere]
[Time Limit: N/A]
[Defeat your opponent or have him give up. If the match lasts over half an hour, the Observer can opt to interfere and raise a vote to see who deserves victory]
[Arms Up! The protective barrier will fade away in 60 seconds]
[59…]
Like many times before, Dale was transported to the Colosseum of Heroes where Legends were made and Champions celebrated, albeit this time, things were a tad different.
The area itself felt bigger, no, it was definitely so.
The stone looked sturdier and cleaner, devoid of deformations and cracks, the decorations and carvings on it looked grander and more well-made.
The spectators' seats were now adorned with plush cushions for the comfort of the audience, adding a touch of luxury to the otherwise rugged surroundings.
Golden and Blue engravings adorned the entire span of the Arena, giving it a royal look.
Above, a ceiling now stood covering the heavens. A colossal dome adorned with constellations, celestial motifs, and intricate patterns that seemed to dance with otherworldly energy, seemingly coming to life whenever he or anyone looked at them.
It was as if there was no ceiling at all.
There was a familiar feeling in the air as if he had been before, but this definitely wasn't the same Arena Dale fought all this time in.
The atmosphere within the Colosseum crackled with magical energy, he could feel it, running beneath the ground somewhere beyond his senses.
Something was different about this place, it felt more substantial, more… Real.
/Crunch…/
"Huh?"
Taking a single step in this Arena, Dale already felt a massive difference.
The sand on the ground felt heavier, denser. Just by taking a single step the grains cracked and crunched, they were like biscuits in his teeth.
'Are those…'
Decorating this very sand, he saw all kinds of objects, bones, metal splinters, skulls of animals he couldn't recognize, fragments of the tales that were told within these halls.
[Ding]
[Both participants have been confirmed in the Arena]
/Flash…/
Far away from him, probably about half a Km from his current location, Dale saw a man in a dark and tight robe wearing a dark cloak, manifest from white light, his face was covered by a cloth.
In fact, it was hard to tell if it was a man or not since his waist was a bit… Feminine, the fact this person wore unisex clothes definitely didn't help.
Albeit difficult to spot at first, a pair of daggers could be seen hanging by his waist.
This person had a sharp and gloomy aura surrounding him, like a stalking panther ready to pounce… Or like a Chihuahua growling at his owner.
That was how it felt to Dale at least…
(Image?)
[Your opponent is: Proud Child (HcM) -> Level 38]
[Solo 1v1 -> 75/20/1]
[Highest Winning Streak: 66]
[Leaderboard Ranking -> 90]
[The Match will begin in 50 seconds…]
/Whistle…/
If his strong presence wasn't enough, even his portfolio was impressive.
'He's quite the guy, only a single true defeat despite being in the top 100?'
But there was a problem…
'Does he always finish his fights with a suicide attack or something? This is actually concerning…' He thought with some amusement as he thought of a certain guy blowing himself up…[1]
…
/At the same time, just as Dale observed his opponent…/
"..."
[Ding]
[Both participants have been confirmed in the Arena]
[Your opponent is: DareDevil (HcM) -> Level (Private)]
[Solo 1v1 -> 36/0/0][2]
[Highest Winning Streak: 36]
[Leaderboard Ranking -> 120]
[The Match will begin in 50 seconds…]
'... So it's him.'
Behind his cloak, the person's eyes flashed green, revealing their beautiful emerald eyes to him.
'The target of the failed operation.'
…
The two of them stood in silence, looking at each other as they waited for the match to start.
That was when it happened:
[30…]
[Ding]
[Due to the nature of the Hall of Champions, any live recordings of the Arena will be halted in favor of anonymity]
[Recordings are still allowed but any public posting of the fight's contents will have to first go through approval by the Community Management Sector of Elden Throne as per the EULA]
[Under the condition both combatants agree, the Arena can be opened to spectators]
[Betting remains unaffected, Elden Throne guarantees honesty and that no fights are pre-planned]
[For any questions, contact… Thank you for understanding]
"..."
'This is… Unexpected, yet… Exciting.'
Why would anyone wish to hide themselves in a situation like this?
Even if they were being extremely professional about the game and treating their own Skills and Combat Style as private assets, Dale saw things another way.
'Maybe… There are others like me…'
'Perhaps not quite like me but similar… If that makes sense.' He thought quickly as he looked at his opponent
Dale had already been exposed to the other side of the real world more than once, and it would be idealistic to think there weren't others who had realized similar things as he did.
The cloaked person in front of him was a HardCore player as well, and a very skilled one as well.
If he was so skilled and talented, what stops him from realizing what he can do and the freedom he possesses?
But at the same time, what limits this person from achieving what he currently did solely through the fact he realized what he can do?
Certainly, by coming face to face with the truth, that a HardCore player can learn techniques and grow stronger through similar methods to the 'NPCs', someone could definitely make use of it to grow immensely strong, hence closing the gap and climbing all the way to the top 100 through a mix of the Skills they learned and the fact they are a HardCore Mode player.
It could be both as well, a talented and skilled person found the truth, seeking it, learning and growing, eventually using everything he had to achieve something he would've otherwise been unable to do due to lack of resources, friends, items, and so on.
'Strangely enough, I feel like I've seen this person before…' Dale thought as his eyes sharpened
'It's certainly not my imagination, the more I think about it, the stronger this feeling becomes.'
'Have I ever met such a gloomy person before?' Dale thought deeply as he tried to remember all of his recent encounters
But eventually, his dilly-dally time came to an end.
[1 second remaining…]
/BADDUM!/
[BATTLE START!]
lightsΝοvεl ƈοm …
"..."
"..."
/Silence.../
For the first few seconds, Dale and the cloaked figure stared at each other, trying to figure each other out.
"... I've been waiting for you." The cloaked figure said in a light feminine tone as she looked at him
"You have? I didn't know I was famous." He replied awkwardly as he looked at the figure
'A girl? Can't be... Is it due to her clothes?'
Dale had to check and double check but the more he tried the less he believed it.
Either she was unbelievably flat or her chest armor was sadly too good at its job.
"You underestimate the ripples your actions have created in the once-still lake, the scope of things is far beyond your understanding." She said without moving a single bit
"... I thought you knew me through my Duels and LiveStreams... Guess I was wrong." Dale said as his eyes sharpened
His thoughts started running wild.
"... Our meeting has long been overdue." She said as she opened her cloak slightly, grasping her daggers
"..."
'It's barely been a real-world week since the game launched what does she mean by long overdue... Wait a minute... Is she a girl I rejected during my glow-up year?'
When Dale started to grind his real-life Skills and muscles to grow stronger, it was obvious that he drew attention from... Unwanted individuals with impure intentions.
Dale rejected at least six girl's approaches during that year, mostly coming from the many gyms he attended as he grew stronger, though eventually, he stopped seeing girls altogether when he changed to a bodybuilder gym.
The girls there were too 'girly' for him...
'... Is she really a girl?' He thought as he raised an eyebrow
Dale could see no resemblance of femininity from her outline, but she was too small to be considered big in any way.
"I don't remember making a reservation with you, have we met before?" He asked as he touched the back of his head
Without him even knowing, due to him constantly provoking all of his enemies before, Dale unconsciously started speaking like that, adding nails and daggers onto his words without realizing it.
'She has a slight accent... This isn't usual given the System translates things in real time.'
'And even though it tries to keep the translation faithful to a person's way of speaking, there are some things it can't just replicate merely because it wouldn't fit.'
'It seems this girl knows how to speak English.'
'But where's this Accent from?'
"... We have not." She said as she swung her daggers upward, holding them tightly
"Then... Do you believe in fate?" Dale asked all of a sudden
"?... Pardon?" She asked in some surprise
"As you were saying, I think we were truly meant to connect, after all, out of everything in the world that happened in the last few weeks, it all led to this moment."
"How about it? Would you like to have lunch later?"
"..."
The girl's gloomy aura seemed to change slightly, but it wasn't very apparent.
"But still, I can't quite put my finger on it... Where did we meet?"[3]
'She's very unresponsive, this is hard.'
"... You seem to be mistaken about this encounter. Dale Houston." She finally replied after being half-stunned by his previous statement
"!!!"
Dale's eyes opened wide when he heard his own name, and the realization of what was possibly happening dawned on him.
"This isn't a reunion of any kind... This is your Execution." She said out loud as she crouched slightly, crossing her daggers in front of her chest
/Crunch!/
From behind her mask, the girl seemingly crushed something with her teeth, sending a slight chill down his spine.
[DING]
[A Seed of Cataclysm has been imbued into the land]
...
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Notes
[1] He's talking about Krillin lol
[2] 10 Matches to be placed at 900. + 20 Matches to be placed at 300. + 5 Matches to be placed at 150. + 1 Match to be placed at 120
[3] I actually wanted to have Dale make a joke and say: "Can you do a little spin for me? That may shed some light on my memories." But in the end I had him Ryzz her up because why not XD.
I always feel like these protagonists will say the right things to ryzz the girls but for the comedic principle they'll break it all up with a joke, so I thought, why not just stop for once and maintain the Ryzz aura?
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