The Grand Duelist

[Initializing Connection...]

[Connection Initialized...]

[Capsule ID: 426969; Diamond Tier]

[Assimilation Rate is set to 96%]

[Real Sync Rate is set to 98%]

[Clock Speed: Turbo Mode]

[Connecting...]

[Welcome to Victory!]

[You are currently not connected to the main servers of Victory.]

[It is impossible to connect to the main servers of Victory due to maintenance.]

[Checking Performance...]

[All Green...]

[It has been detected that this is your first time connecting to the world of Victory using a downloadable content.]

[Downloading shaders to optimize gameplay...]

[Shaders Downloaded!]

[Welcome to the Arena!]

How annoying... 

Joseph inwardly commented.

But he was finally connected and when he opened his eyes...

The scene that he saw made him gasp.

It was because he found himself standing in an arena eerily similar to the Arena of the Gods, Colosseum. 

The only difference was that there were thousands of people screaming in excitement at once. Seeing the look of anticipation on their faces, Joseph was reminded of the scene that he had always faced back when he was still a participant of the Festival of Battles.

It seems like this tournament is really similar to the Festival of Battles...

[You are using a temporary account card. Your name will be randomized.]

[Your name has been selected randomly.]

[Difficulty has been set to the maximum due to the tournament rules.]

[Welcome to the Arena of Slaughter; Boss Rush, Undefeated Heartthrob!]

Pffft!

Joseph almost busted his guts when he heard his randomly generated name.

Undefeated Heartthrob? What the hell is this naming sense? And to think that I would still get such a crappy name despite the fact that everything is randomized... 

Joseph didn't know whether he should laugh or cry.

But since everything had already been decided, there was no use for him to cry over spilled milk.

So my available skills are the basic evading skills of every player at Level One and the basic Thrust, Slice, Slash, and Downwards Slash. Hehehe, that's not too bad...

But I'm concerned about the difficulty, just what happens if the difficulty is at the maximum? Will I have to fight a boss while getting struck by Lightning Tribulation at the same time?

Joseph was clearly in a good mood despite the hardships that he was about to face since he still had the time to add some jokes on his monologue. But his ramblings were cut short by a dignified voice that announced the commencement of the Arena of Slaughter; Boss Rush.

His opponent materialized in the distance and when Joseph could finally see his opponent properly. His eyes widened in shock when he realized that his opponent looked quite familiar.

"Challenger, Undefeated Heartthrob is challenging the first Champion, The Owner of the Spiteful Tongue! Arkais!" 

The figure who appeared in the distance looked to be a dignified gentleman. There was a kind look in his eyes and from the way he dressed, it was clear that he was quite a lovely man.

He was that kind of a man whom you wouldn't hesitate to trust for you'd definitely think that he was a man that couldn't possibly do despicable things in life.

But Joseph who fought against this man in the Festival of Battles months ago knew that this kind gentleman was exactly the opposite of how he seemed to be!

Not only his actions were vicious, but even his words were also as sharp as needles!

That was the reason why he earned the title, The Spiteful Tongue!

He was also one of the inspirations for Joseph's unorthodox fighting style before he became the Grand Duelist. 

Outside the world of Victory...

Clarrise, Ethan, and Stafford stared at the monitors and sneered. 

"Look at the smile of that bastard..."

"He's probably confused right now as to why he is about to fight such a kind-looking man."

Stafford commented.

Clarisse chuckled, "Right, even I had a lot of trouble fighting that guy for the first time. His moves were slow, yet it contained a certain charm that attracted you to it, causing you to get distracted in the middle of the battle which has some pretty huge consequences considering the difficulty of this tournament is in the maximum..."

"Speaking of the difficulty..." Ethan suddenly spoke up, "Does he understand what maximum difficulty means?"

Stafford's eyes brightened, "That's right! That bastard probably doesn't know that maximum difficulty meant that he could die in just under five moves! Hahaha! This is too funny!"

"This is really too funny... I wonder how he'll look like once he came out of that gaming capsule after dying from the first BOSS!"

A look of anticipation appeared on Clarisse's face. She raised her head and stared at the battle that was about to begin within the Arena. She was beginning to pray for this battle to end as fast as possible so she could slap Joseph's face and disperse his arrogance.

Ethan spoke up once again, "Clarisse, there's less than two hours until the end of the tournament. Are you sure that we are going to watch him instead of challenging the tournament once again?"

Clarisse turned to look at Ethan in irritation. She felt like he was such a kill-joy as she replied in annoyance: "Of course, I know that! This won't take too long anyway. Don't be such a party pooper, all right? I'm sure even you want to see that arrogant bastard get humiliated for his arrogance!"

Clarisse then turned her head towards the monitors, not bothering about Ethan anymore.

A bitter smile appeared on Ethan's face.

He felt a sense of bad premonition but he couldn't decipher its cause. 

In the end, he decided to stare at the monitors and observe the battle that was about to happen within the Arena.

This boss is definitely familiar to me but who knows if there were some modifications done to his attack patterns? I'll go and observe his moves for now. Let's see if there are some changes. 

Joseph raised his sword and rushed at the enemy. 

Arkais opened his mouth and spat, "The world would've been much better if you weren't here!" 

[You heard the admonishment of the Spiteful Tongue...]

[His words are as sharp as knives and his declaration dug deep into your heart.]

[Your Movement Speed is reduced by 20%.]

"Cursing the enemy as soon as the battle begins? You really are the Spiteful Tongue." Joseph clicked his tongue, his body became slow as his movements stagnated.

"Die, you brat!" Arkais raised his sword up in the air.

"You're wide open!" Joseph inwardly exclaimed.

He used [Slice] and immediately canceled its animation through the use of [Slash].

His stagnated movement instantly quickened and he arrived in front of Arkais in an instant.

Animation Cancelling was extremely popular in the world of Victory for it enabled you to chain skills that normally couldn't be used consecutively. It was a legitimate and practical strat so almost everyone in the world of Victory knew how to do it.

Everyone outside wasn't too surprised by what Joseph had done.

After all, if you had a common sense...

You'd understand that the only way that you could reach your enemy from such a distance was only through the use of Animation Canceling.

Joseph fluently displayed this technique and he was now crouching low in front of Arkais.

His sword was still in the middle of executing [Slash] 

From the looks of it, it was clear that Joseph's attack would land first before his enemy.

But seeing what was going on, the people outside wore smiles on their faces. 

"It looks like it's game over already..." Stafford wore a sneer on his face.

He felt like Joseph really did underestimate the difficulty of the tournament.

But knowing that several dozens of people failed on completing the tournament despite trying for at least half a day. Shouldn't it be normal for someone to assume that the difficulty of that tournament was off the charts? 

Yet, why does he look like he doesn't know about how difficult the tournament really was?

It may be because he's ignorant.

Or maybe...

"He's stupid." Clarisse coldly declared, "Let's go, let's just challenge the tournament and take home that fifty-thousand. It seems like there's nothing enjoyable to watch here anyway." 

Stafford nodded his head and Ethan didn't say anything. Clarisse turned around and was about to enter one of the Gaming Capsules when the crowd suddenly erupted into cheers.

"What? What happened?"

Clarisse hurriedly raised her head and the scene that she saw, thoroughly shook her to her core.

Displayed within the monitors were two figures. One of them leisurely attacked the other while the other desperately defended. Panic could be seen on the latter's face and he couldn't even open his mouth anymore for he didn't even have the time to breathe properly amidst the other's barrage.

"What?" Clarisse blankly stared at Ethan.

Ethan shook his head and replied, "I don't know... I also don't know what happened, I just turned my head away for a second and the tables are now turned?" 

Stafford couldn't believe what he was saying, "Boss! Can we get a replay of what happened earlier?" He turned to look at the tournament manager.

The tournament manager had an amiable smile on his lips as he nodded his head and agreed.

Stafford was one of the frequent customers of the Grand Internet Cafe and since no establishment wanted to offend their guests. He complied and used one of the three wide monitors to show the replay of what happened while the three were walking away.

When Joseph appeared in front of Arkais...

Arkais had his sword raised up to the skies.

With how close Joseph was to his body, it was practically impossible for him to defend and fend off Joseph's attack.

But was there anything in the rules that said that the participants could only use their weapons to attack?

Of course not!

This was the reason why Clarisse, Ethan, Stafford, and most of the people watching the tournament deemed Joseph's challenge as over for he would definitely get caught off guard by Arkais's counter-attack.

But what was the reality?

Arkais lifted his leg and sent a Knee Strike towards Joseph's face. With how close they were to each other, it was virtually impossible for anyone to dodge such an attack, but Joseph did it anyway through a maneuver that thoroughly astonished everyone to the point that they exclaimed.

Arkais's knee flew and Joseph forcefully twisted his body downwards avoiding the Knee Strike while still executing the animation for his [Slash].

Joseph's attack struck and drew a line across Arkais's chest. 

"I-Impossible... How... did you..." Arkais uttered what everyone had in their minds.

Yes...

Like Arkais, they were also wondering as to how Joseph evaded Arkais's Knee Strike.

They stared intently at the monitor as Joseph raised his head and declared.

"This is how you deal with Arkais, the Spiteful Tongue." An indifferent smile appeared on his face, but everyone thought that his smile looked more like a condescending sneer as he simultaneously looked down at everyone.

Clarisse gritted her teeth and said, "Arrogant! It's just the first BOSS, why are you being so smug!" 

Stafford also nodded his head, albeit sweat could be seen on his forehead. "Yeah, that's right! Talk to us like that once you have defeated the last BOSS..."

"Right now, you're still too far from impressing us!"

Ethan kept his silence, he just stared at the monitor with a frown.

The other customers had wry smiles on their faces but there was a defiant light within their eyes.

Yes, that's right! This was just the first BOSS, why was he being so arrogant?

The customers glared angrily at Joseph but then they were astonished once again as Joseph casually talked amidst the battle.

"Arkais, the Spiteful Tongue is really a difficult BOSS to fight against due to his unpredictable nature. But to tell you the truth, that unpredictable nature really isn't that unpredictable at all..."

"The only reason why all of you guys think that he's an unfathomable enemy is because of his unexpected curses at certain timings..."

"If you're in doubt again, then I'll show you what I mean before you guys start mocking me again."

Joseph rushed at Arkais.

Arkais raised his sword up to the skies and Joseph talked once again.

"He has his sword above his head like he's about to send a downwards slash, but that is actually just another feint. If you think that Arkais wouldn't be so shameless that he wouldn't reuse his tactics that were already broken by his enemy, then you'll definitely have a hard time against this bastard..."

"Downwards Slash... Knee Strike! Avoid the Knee Strike by jumping backward, then he'll send a Slash towards your chest. Avoid that Slash too, and he'll send a Back Kick towards your torso before cursing you once again and rushing towards your location..." 

Joseph leaped backward and avoided the incoming knee.

Arkais gnashed his teeth and sent a Slash towards Joseph, but Joseph retreated backward once again to avoid the incoming attack.

However, while he was still in the middle of his jumping animation...

Arkais's Slash turned into a swift Back Kick that Joseph avoided by raising his sword in front of him.

Joseph flew backward from the heavy kick. The dust made him look disheveled and pitiful, yet everyone's eyes were as wide as saucers when they saw that he was safe after those quick consecutive attacks.

"You guys can see what I'm talking about, right? Arkais is a BOSS that is not only swift, but he can also spit some bars that will give you some status debuffs."

"This is a battle that you need to end as much as possible..."

"Fighting a long battle against Arkais is basically suicide since those status debuffs can infinitely stack which will spell your death one way or another..."

Joseph wore a smile as he ran towards Arkais and sent another barrage of attacks towards the poor Arkais. Arkais had a look of panic and frustration on his face and he looked really pitiful. The customers who had a hard time against Arkais even felt sympathy towards him.

After all, who wouldn't be depressed fighting against an enemy that could read you like a book?

Yes, Joseph was perfectly predicting Arkais's movements for some unknown reason.

Even Arkais himself couldn't understand how his enemy was predicting all of his moves, even his curses that he always spat in unexpected times were seamlessly avoided by Joseph by plugging his ears.

In the end, Arkais fell down...

His death wasn't glorious or anything. In fact, it was quite a sad and depressing death.

He didn't even manage to touch the seam of Joseph's clothes as he fell down and turned into countless light crystals.

Joseph stared at the light crystals that wafted in the air.

A melancholic smile appeared on his lips.

Although he won quite easily against Arkais in this tournament...

Only he knew how many deaths he suffered from the hands of Arkais for him to be so proficient in fighting against him.

Joseph shook his head, he placed that thought into the deep recesses of his mind as he fought against another BOSS.

The spectators on the outside world stared wide-eyed for the entire thirty minutes that it took for Joseph to defeat the last and final BOSS, the Great Magician Lilibeth. 

Once he came out of the Gaming Capsule, there was a heroic smile on his face as if he was a general that had just returned victorious from a battle.

"U-Unbelievable..."

"Yeah..."

The entire room was dead silent.

No one knew what to say.

They were completely dumbfounded by the skills that Joseph had shown to them.

But even though they were speechless, they were also now convinced of Joseph's skills when it came to battles. No one dared to mock him anymore as almost all customers didn't even dare to meet his eyes.

Clarisse gnashed her teeth, a pale expression could be seen on her face.

She fought against those BOSSes for at least half a day without stopping for the sake of the fifty-thousand pesos yet it only took Joseph thirty minutes to defeat all of them?

Just what the hell was going on?

Was he really that good?

Or...

"You're cheating!" Clarisse declared and decisively pointed at Joseph.

Joseph's eyes narrowed into slits.

"So you really think that you're that capable? That you're the strongest? Since you're that capable, everyone who is more skillful than you must be cheating, right? I mean, how else could they be stronger than you when you're the strongest in this game?" 

"What are you talking about?" Clarisse furrowed her eyebrows, "I didn't say that I am the strongest in the game."

Joseph sneered, "Yeah, but why are you assuming that everyone that's stronger than you are cheating and playing it dirty?"

Ethan frowned, and Stafford had a look of anger on his face while the customers looked enlightened. What Joseph said made sense so they looked at Clarisse in disapproval. They really didn't expect that this determined girl that refused to give up would actually be so arrogant.

Just because someone is stronger than you doesn't mean that they are using some exploits in the game to beat you!

There's no such thing as that!

Clarisse bit her lips. She could obviously feel the coldness of everyone's stares at her, but she suppressed all of her anxiety and fears as she stared defiantly at Joseph and declared.

"If you really are that capable, then fight me, right now!" She pointed at Joseph.

"Just what did you... say?" Joseph's narrowed eyes shone in a dangerous light.

Clarisse subconsciously took a step backward, "W-What? You're not willing? That means that you really are cheating! If you are that capable then you should be able to defeat me in a duel, right?"

Joseph stared speechlessly at Clarisse before he sighed, "Fine... If that is what you want to happen for you to believe that I am not using any exploits, then fine. But be warned, I will not hold back against you, even if you're a woman!"

Clarisse replied with a sneer, "Likewise, don't expect me to hold back! I'll log you out in ten seconds!"

"C-Clarisse!" Ethan exclaimed in a soft voice.

"How bold!" Stafford was also astonished.

The customers were astonished by her declaration for they clearly recognized Joseph's skills on the battlefield. Even though they were suspicious as to why he was so familiar with the NPC BOSSes...

That really didn't matter anymore since having information about your enemy alone wasn't enough to win battles.

From the movements that Joseph displayed while facing the NPCs, such as animation canceling and the swift, yet precise usage of I-frames. It was obvious for everyone who had eyes that Joseph was a decent player. In fact, the customers didn't even know why Clarisse was so indignant about Joseph winning the tournament. 

"Seems like she really is desperate for that fifty-thousand..."

"Yeah... That's the only explanation that I can think of..."

"Heh... She said that she'll log-out that guy in ten seconds. What do you think? If you were that girl, can you do kick that guy out of the game in ten seconds?"

"Hahaha, you're asking me for the impossible... It's highly probable that it would be the other way around."

"Yeah right, hahaha..."

Joseph approached a Gaming Capsule and he was about to place his temporary account card in the terminal when Clarisse spoke up from behind, "There won't be a fight if you use the account in that account card..."

"Go and temporarily transfer your account details into that account card! Use your real account or else you won't stand a chance!"

Joseph turned to look at her in amusement, "So you actually planned on fighting against me using your real account?" 

"You really have no shame... Fighting against a Level 1 character using your real account?"

Joseph shook his head and didn't say anything anymore.

He left to look for the tournament manager.

Clarisse was left trembling as she bit her lips and stared at Joseph's back.

I swear I will definitely log you out in ten seconds!

She declared.

Soon, Joseph returned with his temporary account card.

The customers gathered around and even those eating within the buffet carried their plates and moved closer to the monitor, afraid that they would miss a detail as to how Clarisse would log-out Joseph in ten seconds.

Two characters soon appeared within the Colosseum and the fight was finally about to begin!

1. Invincibility Frames.