[Location: The Grand Battle Arena]
[Event: Tournament Semi-Finals]
[Match: Class F vs Class B (The Twin Shadows)]
The crowd roared as the arena terrain shifted once again.
Huge mechanical gears turned underground. The steel maze sank, and in its place, a dark, gloomy landscape rose up.
[Map Selected: The Midnight Bridge]
[Environmental Effect: Visibility reduced by 90%. Sound is muffled.]
A long, narrow stone bridge suspended over a bottomless abyss. Thick, magical fog covered everything. You couldn't see your own hand in front of your face.
"OPPONENTS: Kai & Kira (The Assassin Twins)!"
From the fog, two figures emerged. They wore matching black stealth suits and silver masks.
Kai held dual daggers.
Kira held a chain-sickle.
They were Class B's aces. Their speed was rumored to be close to A-Rank.
Kai stepped forward, his voice echoing from everywhere and nowhere.
"Ryan. You hide behind your summons. You hide behind tricks. But on this bridge... there is nowhere to hide."
Kira giggled. "We will cut your throat before your demons can save you."
Ryan stood on the bridge, his hands in his pockets.
His team (Grog, Felix, etc.) stood behind him, tense.
"Grog," Ryan said calmly. "Sit down. Have a snack."
"Felix, don't move. You might accidentally drop the bridge."
Ryan stepped forward alone into the fog.
"You think the darkness is your ally?" Ryan whispered, his voice amplified by the silence. "You merely adopted the dark. I was molded by it." (Bane reference).
"START!"
WHOOSH!
The Twins vanished instantly. They used [Stealth] combined with the fog. To the normal eye, they were gone.
The crowd watched the screens nervously. The cameras switched to "Thermal Mode", showing two heat signatures rushing towards Ryan at incredible speed. One from the left, one from the right. A pincer attack.
Ryan didn't move. He stood still, looking bored.
User_ProGamer: "Ryan is lagging! Move!"
User_Slayer69: "He can't see them! Assassins are the natural counter to Necromancers!"
Kai appeared behind Ryan, his daggers aiming for Ryan's neck.
"Got you!"
CLANG!
Sparks flew.
Kai's daggers didn't hit flesh. They hit... a tiny, porcelain arm.
Standing on Ryan's shoulder was Annabelle.
She had blocked the daggers with her own small knife.
She tilted her cracked face towards Kai.
"Found you," she giggled.
Kai's eyes widened. "What the—"
Before he could react, Ryan spun around. He didn't use magic. He used his leg.
[Strength: 20]
BAM!
Ryan kicked Kai in the stomach.
Kai flew backward, disappearing into the fog.
"One," Ryan counted.
From the right, Kira attacked with her chain-sickle. The blade curved through the air, aiming to wrap around Ryan's legs.
Ryan didn't dodge. He just took a half-step to the left.
Whiz.
The chain missed him by an inch.
"How?!" Kira gasped. "I'm invisible!"
Ryan tapped his glowing blue eyes.
[Skill: True Sight (Active)]
"Honey, you're glowing red like a Christmas tree in my eyes."
He grabbed the metal chain with his bare hand (reinforced by mana).
He yanked it hard.
"Get over here!"
Kira was pulled out of stealth, flying towards Ryan.
Ryan didn't hit her. He just sidestepped.
Kira flew past him... right into the arms of the Shadow Butcher, who had silently risen from the floor.
The Butcher held her up by the back of her suit like a naughty kitten.
Kira flailed. "Let me go! You monster!"
Ryan walked over to her.
"Now, about the looting phase..."
Suddenly, Kai returned. He was enraged.
"Let my sister go!"
He activated his ultimate skill: [Shadow Clone].
Five copies of Kai appeared. They all charged at Ryan at once.
"Five against one?" Ryan yawned. "Annabelle, kill."
"YAY!"
The doll leaped from Ryan's shoulder.
She moved so fast she left afterimages.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
In one second, she cut the throats of all four clones. They dissolved into smoke.
Only the real Kai remained.
He froze.
Annabelle was sitting on his head. She was tapping her knife against his mask. Tink. Tink.
"Move, and I peel you like a banana," Annabelle whispered.
Kai dropped his daggers. His legs shook.
"I... I surrender."
"WINNER: CLASS F!"
The fog cleared.
The crowd saw the scene:
Kira was dangling in the air, held by a Headless Ghost.
Kai was on his knees, crying, with a doll sitting on his head.
Ryan was looting Kai's pockets.
"Nice daggers," Ryan inspected the weapons.
[Item: Twin Shadow Daggers (Rank C)]
[Value: 15,000 Credits]
"I'll take these as a 'Learning Fee'," Ryan said, stashing them in his inventory.
He turned to the camera drone.
"Assassins? More like delivery boys. Thanks for the loot!"
User_RichKid: "He looted them LIVE! Shameless! I love it! [Gift: Treasure Chest x2]"
User_Slayer69: "That doll is the MVP. Where can I buy one? Actually, never mind, it's terrifying."
Ryan walked back to his team.
Grog was eating a sandwich. "Boss win already?"
"Yeah," Ryan stretched. "Time for the Finals."
But as he walked into the tunnel, a System Alert flashed red.
It wasn't a mission. It was a warning.
[System Alert: High-Level Necrotic Energy Detected.]
[Source: The VIP Box.]
[Target: YOU.]
Ryan stopped. He looked up at the VIP section.
Sitting in the shadows, far behind Director Malik, was a man in a grey hood.
The man raised a glass of wine to Ryan.
His lips moved silently.
"Good show, little brother."
Ryan's blood ran cold.
"Little brother?"
[System Lore Update: The 'Necromancer Association' has identified you as a potential candidate for the 'Demon King's Vessel'.]
Ryan gripped his crowbar.
The Tournament was just a game. The real war was about to begin.
"Felix," Ryan said quietly to his teammate.
"Yeah, boss?"
"If a guy in a grey hood comes near us... trip him."