Chapter 60- Finals (part 3)

The fresh air breathed cool wind over the arena, Mylo shivered slightly as the wind rippled past him. Loud voices from the public venue resonated throughout the field the two man where standing on. Belittling comments and harsh criticism where the only thing that could be hear.

"JUST SURRENDER ALREADY!"

"YEAH! YOU HAVE NO CHANCE AGAISNT EDWARD!"

"BOOO!"

As Mylo sniggered at the barrage of disparagement coming his way and the laughter being targeted at him from the other contestants, he looked at the knightly figure in front of him and tightened the grip around his rapier. He still remembered the hopelessness he faced a few minutes ago. As if the overwhelming difference in skills wasn't enough, the public had to further desecrate the small amount of confidence he had left in him.

"Do not pay attention to them. Their words should not indicate the outcome of this match."

"..."

The two men looked too faraway to engage against each other, but each time one of them took a step, their distance would greatly shorten. Until Edwards broadsword reach was enough to initiate the first attack. Mylo lunged out of the way as the sword travelled past him, he tried to quickly stab the only vulnerable area that did not have armor protecting it, his neck. But to his surprise, Edward used his swinging momentum to swiftly circulate his body to lend a heavy kick at Mylo's stomach. Sending him flying a short distance away from him from this one counter.

*Cough, Cough*

[You have been dealt 450 damage]

'A kick managed to deal so much damage? It wasn't even a skill, this must be the effect of the 'Graceful duel' skill. Wouldn't I be killed by one swing of his sword!'

"May I ask you something?"

"Huh? What is it?"

"Since the start of the match you have yet to make use of any skills. Why is that?"

"..."

"If you do not wish to let me know, I will not dig any further."

"... I guess at this point it would be useless to trick you into thinking I had any active skills."

"From your wording, could I assume you do not own any skills?"

"Yes, that is indeed the case."

"... To honor this duel, I will also not make use of any of my skills starting now. I apologize but I cannot remove the Graceful Duel mark since it has already been placed onto you."

"Hahaha! Why are you so generous. Please do not mind me and use everything you have, I would feel ashamed of myself if my opponent barely used any of his strength."

"... so be it. I'm not one to disgrace my opponents."

"Thank you..."

As a last desperate action, Mylo rushed towards Edward and screamed his lungs out as he ran at full force. One would think he was screaming out of anger or frenzy but rather, it was out of motivation. That scream brought more courage then he could usually manifested. To answer his bravery and determination, Edward answer back by using his strongest skill. Showing him in return his respect towards a much weaker yet strong opponent.

Edward placed his sword in the rear, igniting light emerging from the sword. Illuminating the already lit sky even more.

"EDWARD!"

"You gave it your best and I applaud you for it. RETALIATION & HOLY PROVIDENCE!"

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

Holy Providence (A Rank) (Active)

*Cooldown: 1 hour

*Engulfs your weapon with Holy attribute providing you with added damage on your next basic attack.

*Converts 100% of physical damage to Holy damage

*Increase next basic attack damage by 500%

*If the attack kills the enemy your skill cooldown will be halved.

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

'Beautiful...'

Never had he felt such warmth as concise as now, his eyes grew heavy from the effect of the blinding light which forced him to give away to the overwhelming exhaustion he felt. The atmosphere around him distorted into complete whiteness. His consciousness drifting away within mere moments, followed by an explosion of blue particle right before hitting the cold concrete floor.

The profuse amount of stacked effect from various skill brough forth this enormous amount of damage. Retaliation, Graceful duel and Holy Provenance increased Edward basic attack to a whole other level, one that no one could ever defend against in the current state of the game. If one had to calculate the actual added damage from all those skills it would amount to an increase of 750% damage. A unfathomable percentages.

[You have been dealt 9,201 damage]

[You have died]

[Thank you for participating in the PvP tournament]

[WARNING! PLAYER IS EXPERIENCING UNATURAL STRAIN. PLAYER WILL BE FORCEFULLY LOGGED OUT]

[You have been logged out!]

Inside the empty room was a singular object. A human sized capsule could be seen harboring a young yet frail man. His eyes still closed, laid in place inside the virtual capsule sleeping away his exhaustion. Having yet realized, this overwhelming defeat would bring forth a significant change. One that would undoubtedly bring him to a higher point in his life.