Talk about exhausting. Not only was that jerk was stubborn as hell, but he can't seem to learn when to back down and his friends seem to possess the same attitude as him. Thankfully, I've managed to defeat him and with our customers' help, we managed to drive them back and save our shop. Glad that o-
"Well, it seems you had a very rough day today, young Wind." I gasp slightly startled as I turn around and see Wallaby working on some small ingots to make them some accessories for Annie to finish. "Are you sure you're still well to continue this game?"
"U-Uh... Yeah. After the [Duel], my wounds will heal the damage I took from that fight. Though my wounds aren't that serious or else, Star and Kazu will yell at me for it."
"I'm glad to hear that. But I was wondering about something. What did happen during your bout with that bully?"
My eyes widen at hearing his question. "Are you sure you want to know? The last few minutes of the [Duel] were too extreme for me to explain, so I didn't let Kazu see the replay of it due to my duty as a [Guardian Player]. Kazu even told me he had to cover his eyes during that time for my sake, which I'm relieved to hear that."
"It's alright, young Wind. I understand why you don't want to share the full details of your bout, but I promise to not share them with Annie or your brother. Besides, I don't want to share it with them for the same reasons."
To be honest, I'm not keen on sharing the full details of it, especially with Kazu. But since Wallaby is a legitimate adult, I think can trust him enough to share him.
"I guess it doesn't hurt to share with you what really happened."
With that, I start to tell him from the beginning to the duel until the part when I made my turnabout.
----
"I've admitted, you got some guts taking me on like a man, kiddo. But now it's over..."
Over? That might've been true. My sword was a few feet away from me, but with me being pinned down by him, there is no way I could block or avoid the rude player's upcoming attack. At least, that's what he thought. In reality, I already had a counter to it and I needed the right timing to invoke it.
"Any last words, newbie?"
And that's the timing I need.
"Why, yes, I do."
[NOTICE]
[You have activated [Trained Strength Enhancement]. Your [ATK] has been increased by 10.]
"Fuck off, asshole."
With that said, I grabbed his arms and pushed him and his sword away from my face. And still using my passive skill, I slowly stood up and started an invocation.
"S-Spirit of Sylph, I ask for your aid. Grant me the power of the wind to outrun and defeat my opponents!"
"Oh no, you don't!" He screamed as he tried to grab my throat. But thanks to my passive skill and the wind beginning to envelop my whole body, I managed to push him away. "N-No, don't say i-"
"[Bluster Speed]!"
Too late. Using the wind I conjured up from my buff spell, I kicked my opponent's gut and use the force from it to push myself away from him.
"Y-You damn newbie! Get back here, you coward! If you don't, I'll make you! [Aftershock]!"
Like I'd ever listened to him. As soon as he released another energy blade wave towards me, I used [Super Jump] to dodge it and quickly pulled out my bow and arrow. I know everyone has a weakness and that includes their equipment and since this game mimicked real life, there was a way to penetrate his so-called impenetrable armor. So I pulled the string and released it to fire the arrow with my [Tracking Aim] skill and to my surprise and expectations, it pierced between his neck and right shoulder.
"AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!! What the hell?!"
I knew it. Once that happened, I could see his [HP] begins to dwindle as I watched him scream in pain. Knowing this, I quickly fired more arrows at my opponent. While I did need to wait for the skill's cooldown, I managed to pierce through his other shoulder, right knee, and finally his exposed neck before I landed on the ground.
[CRITICAL HIT]
"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGRAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Okay, that was a bit overkill. But at least it incapacitated that jerk enough for me to make my move while also stopping him from trash-talking me. While I appreciated the silence, I had no time to relax. As soon as I tried to charge in, my opponent managed to use [Aftershock] despite his injuries, which forced me to use [Super Jump] again. Guess shutting him up didn't stop him from using his skill. Regardless, I decided to fire another arrow with [Tracking Aim], this time on one of his eyes. Again, it was overkill, but it would get the job done.
"GGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHAAAAAAA!!!"
I knew it. I wish I can check how much [HP] he lost from my previous attacks, but I wanted to do one more thing. By using the force from my fall towards the rude player and with my right feet first, I kicked the arrow on his arrow, which caused it to push it deeper into his head. It wasn't enough to pierce through his back head, but it did plenty more damage. As I landed, I checked the rude player's appearance, which was now covered in arrows and pixeled wounds. I then turned to see my younger brother, who to my surprise, covered his eyes from seeing my battle. This made me a bit relieved since this [Duel] was turning into a gorefest.
"GG-GGOOOUU... GGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU...!!!'
Well, that's enough torture for one day. I needed to end this for the sake of his remaining sanity. With a big sigh, I walked off to grab my sword and once I returned to my opponent, I took a deep breath and without any hesitation, slashed his body a few times and with [Cross Slash] as my final attack, I finished him off in literal pieces.
[BATTLE OVER!]
[The winner is [Wind]! The winner and spectators will be transported back into their original location in a few seconds.]
And with that, it was over. To be honest, I hadn't known that it would work, but at least it was done. All that was left is to calm a certain brother of mine before we can go back to <Initio>.
----
"Ah, I can see why you didn't want to tell your brother the whole thing," Wallaby remarks, which I sigh in relief at his understanding.
"Yeah. Plus, the admins would be at my throat if they found that I didn't protect him from those gory moments. Still, I'm just glad that he averted his eyes without my input."
"I can say the same with Azel. In any case, I'm glad that everything went well in the end."
I nod in agreement as I focus back on my cooking.
"Yeah. I just hope we won't see those jerks again."
I then look at my younger brother, who is giving a dozen potions to another player with Star's help, allowing me to smile at his efforts once more.
----
With that, the business continues to boom thanks to everyone. For the next few days, the economy seems to recover as many players managed to get through the game without crowding <Initio> again. Thanks to that strange event, everyone began to reconsider the [Alchemy Mastery] in a meta sense. Since the ability to sell out the NPC shop's wares became a permanent feature of the game, some players accepted the respective gifts to transfer points to their said [Mastery] from the admin as an apology for the unannounced sudden event, which I guess gained a lot of backlash because of it.
However, one positive point about this is that they're starting to put up several potion stands on their own not only to gain more money but to help the game's economy. At least with this, we've managed to lower the burden on ourselves so we can go back to hunting monsters and completing [Quests] with our friends.
As for those rude players, it seems that their little stunt and the results from my first [Duel] have made them the most disliked players in [Isekai Online] to the point that many player merchants have turned their services away from them. I've also heard from Star that they've been performing badly in dungeons and the <Tested Wilds> and even lost to some high-leveled players. It's no surprise that many players reported in the forums that they quit the game out of pure frustration. Well, that's what they get for harassing us and other players from Day 1.
Regardless, all I know is that we've managed to save the game for all of the players who love [Isekai], including myself. We're thinking right now that after this, it's all well and done. However, what we don't realize this is all part of the developer's sneaky way of leaving a hint towards the events to come.
----
Wind's Masteries
[Archery] Level 18
[Woodcrafting] Level 7
[Swordsmanship] Level 16
[Cooking] Level 6
[Wind] Level 15
[Physical Enhancement] Level 15
[Hunting] Level 14
[Blacksmithing] Level 6
----
Kazu's Masteries
[Arcana] Level 19
[Thunder] Level 16
[Wind] Level 14
[Alchemy] Level 15
[Magecrafting] Level 10
[Magical Affinity] Level 17
[Scribe] Level 4
----
[GAME NOTICE]
[Heads up, adventurers! We will be having huge maintenance from December 19, 8:00 AM to December 20, 10:00 AM to prepare for a huge first expansion for [Isekai Online]! This will allows you to travel the bright kingdom of <Lucidus> and unlock a whole new feature connecting to the whole new story of <Volo>! During the maintenance, the game will be inaccessible for the duration. So make sure you log out before the maintenance period.
For more information and sneak peeks of the new expansion, visit the forums and developer blog and we'll see you in <Volo>!]