Chapter 19: Chapter 17

"Kill that guy Liz!"

A voice resounded in the colosseum, mixing with the cheers of the NPC crowd as we all watch the two players readying their stances with the intent to duke it out against each other until the last man..... or woman standing.

The one who shouted just now was my former enemy and also the main reason why I am sitting here in the spectators' area in the first place instead of helping Liz win our match down there in the field. My annoying soon-to-be teammate who irritates me to no end, Renz.

"Destroy him in the most humiliating way possible!" He shouted angrily.

Hey! You're both on the same team so why are you cheering for the enemy to kill your teammate? Who's side are you even on? Though I can't blame him after what happened earlier. With him being used as a suicide bomber and all without his consent by someone he trusted no less. I kind of feel bad for him now that I think about it.

After their short conversation about their values and attitude toward the game, Liz was the first to make her move, she used her skill to instantly blink next to Chu and slashed at him. Though as expected, without anything to distract Chu in a 1v1 scenario, he parried the attack perfectly with his weapon skill, which in turn damaged Liz due to the recoil.

"Khh"

Lizbeth
Hp: 72%

That didn't stop her from continuing her attacks though. She instantly proceeds to go on the offensive, clearly taking advantage of the time Chu's weapon skill is on cooldown. I have to agree with her thought process given the situation she is in. Chu's weapon skill has the advantage compared to her own in a 1v1 match given that her Shadow Step skill cannot do any surprise attacks if the enemy is solely focused on her.

We watched the match progress, Liz is having a hard time keeping up with Chu. It is to be expected though since Liz's playstyle is focused on quick and decisive strikes, eliminating the enemy before they even receive healing or support. That kind of playstyle is more effective in team matches, where there are many diversions she can take advantage of and deal lethal blows to the enemy while they are distracted. Like what we did earlier versus Renz in the 2v2 match.

On the other hand, Chu's gameplay is more 1v1-oriented. He focuses on dealing chip damage with his fast dual weapon and bow. He also specializes in parrying the enemy's attacks and doing fast counters with his own moveset. Coupled with his weapon skill, he is a great threat to any opponent in 1v1 situations.

This is bad, Liz will gradually lose her hp until it goes down to zero if this continues. She only has ever landed a single hit the whole time they were fighting, and that only happened earlier because Chu was focused on stalling Liz during our 2v2 match.

Lizbeth
Hp: 56%

NambaWan
Hp: 72%

"Looks like Liz has no chance in this fight huh," I murmured.

"Heh, that's why you are still a newbie," Renz smirked.

He must have heard me because of the hearing feature of the arena that enhances the player's voice. Though his attitude only makes me more irritated at his smug-looking face. I would've sat up and walked away into a different seat but sadly I can't change locations because of the spectators' mode restrictions. I could only move my head, arms, and body for viewing purposes or get out of the PVP lobby, which is out of the option since I want to learn both of their capabilities as they would be my future teammates. The restrictions make sense cause nothing will stop players from going out of the spectators' area and back in the fray if they could still move their feet.

"Ohh please do enlighten this humble one, Mr. veteran of CoA," I said sarcastically.

"That's right, respect your superiors more and I might teach you a lesson or two with my broad experience, my beginner teammate." He replied smugly.

This bastard, he used my sarcasm against me. Wait, I can still move my arms, right? Maybe I could use my dagger and jam it into his big head..... Ohh all my weapons are unequipped huh? A shame, what a waste of a good opportunity to deflate his head that is full of air.

Let's just calm down and look at the bright side, at least he is now fine with calling me his teammate so I guess that is a major improvement from his earlier attitude.

"To answer your question," he continued. "Liz has always played for fun in team matches, but if she ever gets serious, she's the strongest player I know. I never once saw her lose a 1v1 match in an even ground ever since she reached max level on her second account." He said solemnly.

I looked at his expression to find any signs of jest or tomfoolery, but all I saw on his face is utter respect and sincerity while he is watching Liz fight. I might have been wrong about this guy earlier, he probably believes in Liz's capabilities even more than me. It kind of makes me jealous of their trust and bond with each other that had accumulated through years of playing together. That's another thing I can add to my ever-growing list of reasons why I hate this guy, I guess.

"Khack"

Hearing Chu's voice suddenly brought my attention back to the match. Liz finally landed another blow against him using her Shadow Step skill to counter Chu's parry weapon skill. I took a look at both of their hp bars.

NambaWan
Hp: 51%

Lizbeth
Hp: 38%

I saw her grinning as she continued her relentless attacks, what a battle maniac.
I noticed right away the difference in playstyle from before and her current one. Liz's moves feel more free, primal, and unrestricted compared to before with her graceful and timely attacks and dodges. Her offensive strikes are also faster, more accurate, and deadlier. That must have been her usual playstyle, a more natural way of playing based on pure instinct and countering the opponent's movement. She might be subconsciously holding back to enjoy matches longer against average opponents based on her personality. It also doesn't help that her show-offish graceful type of gameplay for her viewers on stream became her facade, hiding her true gameplay. Fighting Chu, however, brings her close to her true level of skill. She might just have the potential to become a fearsome monster in the future.

They continued exchanging blows, countless dodges, and parries that my eyes can hardly perceive. They got so used to each other's moves in the short while they fought that they are at a stalemate. It also helps that Liz's speed and precision now evenly match Chu's, or even exceed it. I can also see our resident edgelord having an upturned lip as opposed to his usually flat expressions. Not entirely smiling, but I guess it's his closest expression to one given his personality. He is clearly enjoying the match.

Their dance of death goes on for a long while. They both look like they're having a blast. They're both focused on enjoying the bout without thinking of anything else.
A multitude of skillful dodges, parries, slashes, stabs, thrusts, and strikes. They are both like kids in a playground without a care in the world. Watching them duel gives me a feeling of envy and desire in my heart. I also want to join them and have fun playing the game I love.

Renz and I were both so captivated by their bout that we became speechless. They're both so skilled that it made me doubt if the current me can keep up with them. I joined Liz's team thinking that I would carry them but the way I see it, they might be the one who does all the heavy lifting. I was complacent. Their match made me realize that I should train a bit more in PVP so I wouldn't drag them down. Still, my topmost priority is power leveling though.

Ting*

Suddenly a ping resounded throughout the stage that caught our attention. It was the timer notifying the players that the match will end in 30 seconds. They're both fully immersed in their battle that they didn't even notice it. To be fair, Renz and I also failed to spot the timer due to the eye-catching match in front of us. Liz probably didn't tweak the time in the settings before the match began cause she didn't expect the match would last this long. I doubt they would end the match in a draw though, so its do or die for both of them.

They distanced themselves a bit to get some breathing room after they heard the timer.

"I guess we should wrap things up?" Liz asked, a happy grin plastered on her face.

Lizbeth
Hp: 7%

"........" Chu remained silent.

NambaWan
Hp: 18%

They both focused for a second and then at the same time, aggressively rushed toward each other. Looks like they are both dropping all attempts at any defensive maneuvers and going for each other's jugular, intent on having a satisfying conclusion.

Liz did a quick thrust, faster than any attacks she did before. Chu positioned his butterfly swords perfectly in her line of attack though, it takes incredible skill for someone to execute that move given how fast Liz is moving right now.

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He voiced his weapon skill.

"Reversal!" Chu cried.

Liz's attack is about to be parried when suddenly she did a timely use of her weapon skill. She disappeared before her attack got parried leaving both of their weapon skill rendered useless.

Chu was shocked for a split second before he did a wide crescent slash at his back.

To be honest, that is what I would also do in his situation. The only position left for Liz to blink to is her opponent's back if she wanted to finish the fight. Chu would have won too if he predicted correctly given Liz's minuscule hp, but it seems like we were both wrong on our predictions.

Liz was 5 meters above Chu falling headfirst onto the ground. I noticed it first since I have an eagle-eye view of the match, but Chu noticed it a little too late.

Liz landed a coup de grace with her rapier.

"Ack!"

NambaWan
Hp: 0%

Although Liz also suffered falling damage due to her risky move after slashing Chu.

"Kyaaaa," she let out a cute voice after she fell headfirst.

Lizbeth
Hp: 0%

"That was a fun match! Right?" Liz cheerfully asked while she lay on the ground.

"....Yes, it was,".

Chu replied before they both turned into blue motes of light.

-----------------------------------------

I smirked at the guy in front of me. I'm having a very pleasant time right now.

"Looks like we won, Mr. veteran player." I teased.

"You're just lucky Liz managed to carry you!" Renz reasoned.

We're back in the city of Ragath, just outside the pub we used as our meeting place. The match concluded in our favor because Liz dealt the finishing blow before she died and according to the system, that is counted as our victory. It means that we officially won and I can finally rub it in this guy's face.

"Renz, I'm sure you also know how good she is when you both fought." Liz reprimanded.

"F-fine, I'll accept you for now newbie. Just don't drag us down in the qualifiers, ya hear?"

Hey! What's with the difference in treatment? One word from Liz and he readily accepts it.

"What would be our team formation?" Chu chimed in.

Looks like our resident edgelord is finally opening up a little bit after the match. I guess Liz achieved what she intended to do with the team-building exercise she proposed.

"I think it would be best if we do a common 1-2-1 tactic. Novo and I will team up and go spearhead mid while you two go for the top and bottom orbs both solo. We will back you guys up after we get the mid-orb." Liz explained.

"I agree with the formation, I don't ever want to play together again with a guy who kills his own teammate." Renz venomously spat out.

"You would be dead anyways, at least you got to take an enemy with you instead of dying pointlessly." Chu bluntly replied.

"....Hah? Why didn't you become the sacrifice then?" Renz raised his voice.

"O-okay, let's just forget what happened earlier and start anew? Infighting in our team would only lessen our chance of winning the qualifiers." Liz became the voice of reason.

"Hmph be grateful for Liz that I'm letting you off lightly for what you did earlier."

Chu ignored him.

Yep, looks like our team would definitely get along just fine, very peachy, super dandy, a-ok, no problems whatsoever.

"So, what did you name our team when you applied for the qualifiers? You didn't even consult us about the team name right?" I changed the topic.

"Yeah, 'cause I already have a name in mind!" She replied cheerfully.

Typical Liz, always going at her own pace unmindful of others' opinions.

"And what's the name you came up with?" Renz butted in.

She smiled mischievously before announcing our team name.

"Team Paradigm!" 

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