Underground Elysium
Shien and Phoenicia looked back. A young Vulpi lady threatened the crowd to move away with a pair of machine pistols. She placed her guns back into her belt's holsters over her light brown short shorts. It was Elysia. She pulled back her white hair while her Vulpi ears twitched. Elysia wore a light blue short-sleeved jacket, containing a large holster at the back that held her tungsten machete. Her jacket was open, showing a dark blue crop top that exposed her midriff. The Vulpi girl walked towards the two as she closed a tab, allowing her brass knuckles to materialize on her hands as she walked. The crowd lowered their bustling to witness yet another potential commotion.
"I believe those credits belong to me," The Vulpi clenched her fists. "You better hand over that cash before I get mad!"
Phoenicia stepped in front of Shien.
"Excuse me, young lady," Phoenicia gestured. "Shien and I defeated the cyber bandit together. We are the ones who receive rewards according to the standard mechanics of Syanic Earth. Find your cyber bandit next time."
"Hey, you're that NPC droid guide, aren't you?" Elysia talked back. "What do you think you're doing hanging out with another player? You're a stupid, programmed robot with no feelings! Go back to your job being a guide dog where you belong, droid pooch! You're just a lame fabrication!"
Elysia's offensive statement stunned Phoenicia. Shien moved the android girl's arm away and stood in between the two ladies. He placed his arm around Phoenicia, who shed a few tears. She wanted people to recognize her more than a droid. Shien and his friends were the only players that devoted their time to befriend her as if she was a genuine person.
"Hey! That wasn't nice!" Shien turned to Elysia. "Say you're sorry! Phoenicia is a person too!"
"Who cares, shortie?" Elysia shook her head. "She's just a program. An NPC! She's not a person! She and the Shin-Kaminari droids are no different!"
"She's nothing compared to the Machine Queen!"
Phoenicia couldn't help herself but kneel on the ground, covering her face. She didn't want the crowd to see her weep. Shien sat with her, hugging her.
Elysia never liked droids. She distrusted droids as much as humans. She disliked the Shin-Kaminari droid army, which the Global Federation now controlled. Elysia hated SANDRA, the "Machine Queen" of the droids.
She remembered the siganus crusader droids fighting alongside the Reaper Squad with their black titanium armor matching the shadowy clothed secret police.
"And by the way, you jerk, my friend's name is Phoenicia! She has a name too!" Shien faced Elysia. "Apologize to her!"
Elysia rolled her eyes, not having time for such a deep conversation with a human shorter than her.
"Look, little human, I don't care!" Elysia spat. "Just hand over the cash!"
"You want the credits, imbecile?" Shien stood.
"Hey! Who're you calling an imbecile?"
"You, stupid! It's wrong to steal something that doesn't belong to you. And if you think hurting Phoenicia is fine, then I'm going to teach you the hard way!"
Shien swiped a tab that requested Elysia's acceptance for a duel.
"If you win, you get the credits, but if I win, you're going to apologize to my friend!" Shien stated.
"Fine!" The easily irritated Elysia grumbled, accepting the duel. "There's no way this shortie's going to win."
"Phoenicia," Shien comforted his android guide, helping her stand. "It's going to be okay. Let me handle this."
The crowd stepped further back as another skirmish was about to begin. A large ten-second timer appeared in front of the crowd. In duel mode, there were two ways to win. To the opponent or having higher health than your opponent after five minutes.
While the timer ticked, Elysia stomped her way towards Shien. As Shien strolled his way to his opponent, the two stood in front of each other. Phoenicia wiped her tears, turning her eyes at the two titans about to make the heavens crumble.
In front of the crowd, the statuses of the two combatants emerged in large tabs:
Elysia Nai
Level 52
HP: [35,750/35,750]
Trait 1: Metallic Toxoid
Trait 2: Restock Caliber
---
[🕶]
Level [🕶]
HP: [🕶]
Trait 1: Contour Haze
Trait 2: [🕶]
What? Elysia noticed Shien's profile. Contour Haze? Okay, now that's unusual.
She looks puzzled, Phoenicia observed Elysia. Shien's Contour Haze blocks his profile from being visible to others in a duel, except for all who know him well. Elysia does not know who she's fighting.
As the crowd murmured about Shien's shrouded profile, there the two titans stood, where they looked at each other in the eyes. Elysia looked down at Shien while he lifted his head to hers, for Elysia was six inches taller. As Elysia frowned at the young man, Shien smirked, unbothered by the height difference. The Vulpi girl didn't know who he was, the son of Drs. Isrina and Jinhai Niang, grandmasters of martial arts and Vultau practices.
I don't care if I can't see his profile. Elysia assured herself, eager to crush Shien as another obstacle in her rough life. I can beat this shortie. I will send him flying so high that he will cry like a baby he already is!
Still unaware of who her opponent was, Elysia grew irritated by Shien's smile. When the timer began the five minutes of the duel, she threw a preemptive punch at his face with her right knuckle. In the blink of an eye, Shien ducked right and slid his left palm onto her right elbow before snaking the palm at her neck. As Elysia choked in response to the uncomfortable positioning, Shien punched Elysia in the stomach.
The Vulpi girl winced. Shien ran towards her with rolling punches. Elysia swatted at the punches without skill as Shien gave off a twisted smile. Shien launched an elbow strike at her head, making her fall. He cartwheeled after her to stomp her with his foot like a blunt ax. Elysia rolled away as Shien's left foot cracked the Earth.
Elysia growled, throwing reckless punches at Shien. He stood on his hand, flailing his curled legs upward to repel Elysia's attacks with the Cardinal's Talon kick Isrina taught him. Shien then charged at Elysia with more rolling punches.
Phoenicia watched the duel with the silent crowd. She had seen Shien fight before. Although Shien uses his cyber clarinet, Shien made his alternative weapon martial arts since he didn't want to depend on a single weapon. Phoenicia watched Elysia clumsily punching and blocking the air while Shien released his melting pot of palm strikes, elbow bashes, headbutts, and uppercuts. He was launching all Isrina taught him for about 15 years at poor Elysia, treating her as if she was just a Wing Chun dummy.
Shoot, I am losing health fast. Elysia thought as she did her best to block Shien's merciless punches with her brass knuckles. Only two minutes left. Not good. Who's this toddler? I need to put myself together now! This shortie's got me mad!
Amid the storm of palms that faced Elysia, she snuck her hands into her holsters for her machine pistols. She kicked Shien away, drawing her guns to fire at him.
Elysia possesses a deadly trait, Phoenicia analyzed the duel. Her Metallic Toxoid grants her metal weapons and ammo a 20% chance per attack to inflict Metal Poisoning Status on her opponent. Take caution, Shien.
Shien backflipped and cartwheeled away with finesse from the barrage of venomous bullets. Elysia checked at her health gauge briefly to find herself in the red zone.
This is my chance to heal myself. Elysia noted to herself as she forced Shien away with the oppressive fire.
As she stopped firing, Shien continued to backflip until coming towards a bench in front of a Tetrachrome apartment. He landed with a smooth sit on the bench with his legs crossed, leaning his body back and relaxing his palms on the bench's surface. Shien still gazed at Elysia with his nasty smile.
Meanwhile, the Vulpi girl selected the well-known Eonspace Brew from her items tab. The Eonspace Brew was a full HP healing potion that cures most status effects. They were extremely expensive, but Elysia had about 30 of those in case she ran into a tough situation.
She's attempting to heal herself, Phoenicia noticed. Not only does her Restock Caliber allow her to gain triple item rewards, but she gets a 25% chance to regain a used item when using it, including bullets. However, in a fight with Shien, I'm afraid her Eonspace Brew will be obsolete.
I can fight you all day, shortie. Elysia smiled, pleased with her decision to heal herself. You think you can beat me? I have like an infinite amount of Eonspace Brews thanks to my Restock Caliber!
As she pressed the almighty item, she took the little bottle from the tab and drank the item. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel the surge of energy empower her body. However, she felt nothing. Elysia looked around to see the mass of witnesses, bewildered as much as she was.
"Wait, what just happened?" Elysia questioned. "I should've healed!"
She looked at her profile to see a big gray zero appear instead of any green numbers. The Restock Caliber also didn't kick in this time to restock the lost item. Shien tilted his smiling head, his sparkling eyes staring at the Elysia's soul as if they were snake eyes. Elysia was afraid of her opponent's playful yet twisted attitude.
"You! What did you do, short stack?" She demanded.
"Look carefully at your profile," Phoenicia answered with her arms crossed.
Elysia did just like the android girl said.
Elysia Nai
Level 52
HP: [9,941/35,750]
🕱 Antijuvenoid Prozosis 🕱
"Anti what?" Elysia questioned as her Vulpi ears drooped.
"Antijuvenoid Prozosis. Besides nullifying all positive status ailments, the trait negates healing or status gains from items and abilities for one full minute," Phoenicia confirmed. "My friend possesses the trait, Plasmodium Phalanxes. All of his martial art moves have a random chance to inflict such a deadly status."
"A minute?" Elysia saw the duel timer with only a minute left. "You're kidding, right?"
"I am not. As an android guide, I must be truthful to guide players the best I can."
Elysia took off her tattered jacket, deactivating it by closing a tab. She was afraid. Elysia never wanted to be afraid like how she was when Russian High Envoy Cirvez enslaved her family. She hated to be scared, yet the Vulpi girl felt vulnerable once again.
With rage, Elysia drew her tungsten machete, making a reckless stab towards Shien. He responded with a blinding kick at her hand, disarming her. With only 30 seconds left, Shien stood on his hands to swing another Cardinal's Talon kick at Elysia.
The Vulpi girl backed off, but Shien pounced towards her, coiling his legs around her shoulders and neck. The unfortunate Vulpi girl grabbed his legs, trying to free herself. Shien made an omnidirectional spin of his body around her body with the Osprey's hook, another move his mom taught him.
Shien ended the act by landing on his hands and launching Elysia sky high with his legs like a trebuchet. Elysia fell facedown on the ground. The timer rang while a tab declared Shien's victory and displayed the results of the battle.
Winner of the Duel
[🕶]
Results:
Elysia Nai
Level 52
HP: [12/35,750]
EXP: 0
---
[🕶]
Level [🕶]
HP: [🕶]
EXP: 12,500
Shien took a deep breath of relief while Elysia laid ground. Her body was aching as if the pain was real.
As Shien gave Phoenicia a thumbs up, she made a small smile at her friend. She knew Shien was caring but quite dangerous for anyone that tries to provoke him. Shien usually isn't angry, but his friends know very well that Shien will fiercely protect the people he loved.
"Quite impressive, Shien," She said as she walked to him. "But scary as always."
"Yeah," Shien nodded.
He looked at Elysia. The white-haired Vulpi sat quietly on the ground as people ignored her. She was crying.
How, how could I lose to that shortie? She thought as her Vulpi ears drooped. It's so embarrassing. I am supposed to be tough! Why do I feel so destroyed?
"Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on her," Shien said.
"What do you propose we do?" Phoenicia asked him.
"Hmm, I have an idea!" Shien proposed, whispering to the android girl.
"I'm a powerful person!" Elysia covered her face. "I am not supposed to be weak!"
She saw a tab emerge in front of her.
Accept Transfer from Unknown Player?
Netium Value: 166,000
EXP: 12,916
"What's this?" Elysia questioned, examining the tab as she wiped her tears with her arm. "Wait, is this?"
"Yep," Shien walked towards Elysia. "That's about a third of the cyber bandit's netium and experience, plus half of my gained experience from our duel."
"But, but why?"
"It was a good duel, Elysia. I'm sorry that I was tough on you. But anyway, I think it was a good fight. I didn't know you used three different weapons!"
"A good fight? I lost though."
"Doesn't matter, does it? We all lose some time, but it's how we get back on our feet to become better, which strengthens us."
"I…" Elysia's Vulpi ears twitched. "I never thought of it that way."
"By the way, I think we should properly introduce ourselves," Shien offered a hand to pick Elysia up.
"Introduce?"
"Yeah!"
She at first felt reluctant to accept his hand.
"Uh, why?" Elysia sheepishly asked. "Why are you being nice to me?"
"Why not?" Shien spoke. "I mean, who wouldn't meet someone new? Or even befriend a beautiful young lady like yourself?"
"I am beautiful?" She questioned. "You want to be friends with me?"
"Of course!"
"But, I am a Vulpi."
"Who cares? Humans and Vulpi can be friends, right? I have a friend who's a Vulpi! Just like Phoenicia and I, I am a human player while she's an android NPC, but that doesn't stop us from being friends, right?"
Elysia stared at Shien's hand.
It's right there. She thought. A human is offering to be friends with me. No human has ever wanted me as a friend. Master Fermato always told me that there was goodness in humanity, but I never believed him… until now.
She took Shien's hand.
"My name's Shien," Shien pulled her up. "Sorry that my Contour Haze blocked it."
"Elysia," She replied. "Nice, nice to meet you. And thank you for the transfer. Very thoughtful."
Elysia accepted the transfer, closing the tab.
"Oh, and don't forget," Shien smiled. "You and Phoenicia should kinda make up. After all, I won, right?"
Elysia's Vulpi ears went up. She completely forgot about that. Elysia said many mean things to Phoenicia. After all, Shien won. The Vulpi girl wanted to honor his condition.
"Okay…" Elysia nervously began. "Phoenicia was it?"
The android girl nodded and gave her a welcoming smile.
"Hey, I want to say that I am truly sorry for all I said. I just had a rough experience with droids."
"Understood, Elysia," Phoenicia replied. "No need to explain yourself. It's a pleasure to be acquainted with you!"
"Likewise," Elysia felt unaccustomed to such a friendly conversation. "By the way, I think your name is beautiful."
"Aww, how kind of you!" Phoenicia spoke with a blush.
"Ya know," Shien chimed in. "Phoenicia can be mean too!"
"Excuse me, Shien?"
"That's right! Prove me wrong!"
"Illogical. I am programmed to be sincere to others as a guide for new players. And I am one of the nicest androids around! Provide a valid example of when I was mean to you."
"The time you threw a sucker punch at my face when Ritom and I tried to repair that glitch in your CPU. You call that a thank you?"
"Shien, we've been arguing about this frivolous topic exactly five times including now. The reason behind the events that occurred was because you bent my locomotion wiring enough that caused me to spread my arms, which hit your face. In conclusion, causing minimal damage to your adorable face was not my fault, shortie!"
"Adorable? I am not adorable! And I am not short!"
"I am afraid for your insanely cute height of five feet and two inches, it's logically undeniable."
"Shut up! I am a fully grown young man, thank you! And I am not cute! I am mean and grumpy!"
Elysia couldn't help herself but laugh at their amusing conversation.
"I guess it's time for me to have a fresh start," Elysia said to herself. "Maybe having friends again won't be so bad."
Shien helplessly flailed his arms as Phoenicia gave him a noogie.
"By the way, Elysia," Shien pushed Phoenicia away. "Would you like to join us at Enshiron's Kyyrhim Bistro? It's only a few blocks away."
"Oh," Elysia wagged her Vulpi tail. "I guess it wouldn't hurt."
"Awesome! And here," Shien tossed her an Eonspace Brew.
"Oh! Thanks," Elysia consumed the item, restoring all of her health.
"Yay!" Shien jumped. "Let's go see Enshiron!"
"With the utmost pleasure!" Phoenicia smiled.
Elysia smiled as she walked with her two new friends towards the heart of the booming city of Tetrachrome.