Chapter 62- Zaros VS Zero
*Clank,Clank*
A sharp and hard sound produced from the hanging metal striking one against the other. The clanking of the chains resonated throughout the arena as it swirled in a circular motion. After enough momentum had been built, Zero hurled the weighted iron attached to the chains towards his adversary. The obvious and dull initiative allowed his foe to ready his parry, while placing his feet width apart from the shoulder and parallel to one another. He quickly bent his knees, adopting a steady and grounded stance to keep his balance from derailing. With an effective grip around his great sword handle, he lifted his weapon and placed it behind his shoulder. As the weighted iron approached in haste, Zaros took a small step forward, increasing his power as he swung his sword aiming directly at the ball like object.
Having high confidence in hitting a home run, Zaros couldn't fathom being so easily played. As the iron ball approached the swinging sword, Zero swiftly kicked down the chains, briefly stopping the weighted iron from advancing any further. Stupefied from the absurd feint, Zaros couldn't stop himself from swinging the sword, barely missing his mark. With a quick movement of his wrist the chains swirled forward, as if a snake was advancing towards the end point of the chains. This allowed the briefly halted iron to advance once again, hitting Zaros smug face.
"Faltering Impact!"
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Faltering Impact (F Rank) (Active)
*Deals 50% of physical damage.
*10% chance to stun target if used with a bladed weapon.
*100% chance to stun target if used with a bludgeon weapon. (Effect is halved)
Stun: dazes target for 3 seconds, restraining all movements.
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[You have been dealt 230 damage]
[You have been stunned for 1.5 seconds]
Zaros was quite surprised by the sudden status effect but wasn't worried for long. The effect lasted for a very short duration, not long enough to allow his opponent to make any significant impact. His judgment was quite reasonable against any normal person, but he was facing the first ranking player world wide. And he soon realized how mistaken he was.
"Body Replacement Technique!"
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Body Replacement Technique (E Rank) (Active)
*Cooldown: 5 hours
*Substitute yourself with another object.
*Can only substitute with a recently held item.
*If you lost contact with the item for over 3 seconds, you are no longer able to substitute yourself with said item.
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"Huh?"
A sudden smoke like explosion appeared right Infront of Zaros, the location was the exact same one that the iron weight was at. Out of thin air, in front of him was Zero. His scythe in hand, aiming directly at his previously tackled face.
"H-how!"
The active skill Zero used allowed him too quickly substitute himself with another nearby object belonging to him, in this case he changed places with the iron weight. Most rogue classes, if not all, had this skill at their disposal, yet no one was willing to use it for a frontal assault because of it's huge cooldown duration. It's main purpose was to allow the individual too quickly flee and hide from a failed assassination attempt. Yet, Zero was using it to shorten the distance between him and his opponent. His action truly shocked every one spectating his surreal performance.
"Coated Strike!"
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Coated Strike (E Rank) (Active)
*Cooldown: 20 minutes
*Inflicts the 'poison' ailment.
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"Sharp Edge!"
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Sharp Edge (E Rank) (Active)
*Cooldown: 20 minutes
*Inflicts the 'bleeding' ailment.
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[You have been dealt 890 damage]
[You have been inflicted with the poison ailment! You will lose 1% of your maximum health every second for 10 second]
[You have been dealt 954 damage!]
[You have been inflicted with the bleeding ailment! You will lose 1% of your maximum health every second for 10 second]
"AHHHH! GET OFF ME!"
Zero managed to inflict significant damage in quick succession during Zaros restrictive state. As the effect of the stun ended, Zero pushed both his feet in Zaros shoulder plate, providing him enough distance away from each other. As he leaped backwards, Zero hurled his scythe towards Zaros, aiming once again at his unprotected area. Zaros quickly tilted his head to the left, dodging the sharp edges of the scythe. As he was getting ready to rush towards his floating adversary. A sudden sharp pain could be felt behind his collar. While he was dodging the scythe aiming at his neck, he miscalculated, thinking Zero had no way to inflict any more damage. But as he was getting distracted from his initial strike, Zero once again kicked the chains attached to the scythe. Bringing the scythe to fall downwards, the sharp end directly penetrating the back of Zaros neck.
"Backstab!"
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Backstab (E Rank) (Active)
*Cooldown: None
*Backstab does not deal additional damage if it hits any area other then the back.
*Deals triple damage if attack lends in the back area.
*Increases critical chance by 50% if your attack lends in the back area.
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[You have been dealt critical damage! You have been dealt 5,230 damage.]
"W-WHAT THE FU-"
[You have died! Thank you for participating the the tournament!]
"..."
Everyone was in a daze, barely believing what they had witnessed. A skill with the sole purpose was to be used from behind was being used from the front, in full effect. Complete silence. Not one sound could be heard from the spectators, participants or even the announcer.
[Generating next match!]
[Final match detected! Number 001 VS 003]
All eyes switched from Zero to Edwards, who was also standing in place dumbfounded. A whole minutes passed, until the AI had to inform him of his disqualification if he did not enter the arena. As the video recording approached its end, Edward blurred out in faint voice;
"I-I forfeit..."
***