Virtual Tournament (Final)

The cheers within the colosseum erupted as a rush of adrenaline shot through them, our fight being projected to a bigger monitor right above us just in case anybody couldn't see the juicy action happening below.

"You're pretty good!" He shouted from across the dirt plane.

"You're decent," I muttered under my breath before picking up the level of speed once more, causing the swordsman to just barely block my next attack.

But, he was smart and didn't go in for the next attack with his sword but instead let one of his hands ungrip the sword's handle and reach for my leg that was just about to rush past him.

FWOOSH… BAM

I fell on my face but quickly placed my hands on the ground to shoot myself with a pillar of white flames.

Coming out of them completely unscathed, I was able to see the crowd's exhilarated reaction travel through the atmosphere.

The man quickly wrapped his burning arm with wind and compressed it down until my screaming flames disappeared from existence itself.

"*sigh*... He's smart," I muttered, as he at least knew that taking away the oxygen from a burning flame would cause it to evaporate into thin air.

But, he wasn't smart enough as while he was putting all of his concentration on putting out my flames, I activated [Stealth] to get rid of my presence and circle around him.

TING

"Tch… Almost," I muttered as I scratched the man's neck with my blade, but as he pushed both of my daggers back with his own blade that just barely managed to stop me from killing him, I whipped my leg around and kneed his solar-plexus.

I jumped back upon releasing my pressuring blades and saw his neck leak white particles, all while he attempted to gasp for air.

"You're very aware of your opponent's position, but also be aware of their limbs. Their limbs can stretch out from the position you have in mind… so quickly decide on what you want to do," I gave the man before me feedback, but instead of getting offended, he actually took it well and learned from me.

He's a good fighter… somebody who learns from small defeats or large defeats will hone the greatest blade.

As he slightly nodded his head, he dashed towards me, making the first move for the first time this entire round.

Small arrows of wind conjured around him, serving as a mechanism for him to get close to me, but with my swift and nimble movements, I was able to easily bypass the quick attacks and block the man's sword.

He shifted his weight forward to try and overwhelm the speed-focused assassin in front of him… but what he didn't realize was that I had [Empower].

And as soon as I activated it, he couldn't push me back any further, and in fact, I even began to push him back and eventually stagger his movements.

I would've taught him more, but the crowd would begin to boo me for not taking advantage of this opening… so I quickly slipped in and went for the throat again.

He just barely blocked both of my daggers and then my knee that came for his solar plexus, but he was still too stiff-minded, eventually falling victim to snake-like movements.

I let go of my daggers and grabbed both of his shoulders before throwing myself over him, and with a slight turn, I had his back and had him in a rear-naked choke.

With [Empower], my muscles slightly bulged and closed off all the squirming room that he had.

And since this wasn't a spar, my instant strangeling caused his muscles to tense up and cause him to slightly lose focus of his next movement.

But, just as he went to stab me with his sword, my fingers had already squirmed their way into his neck and dug straight through them, allowing me to open up a massive hole in his neck.

I couldn't really dodge the sword swing, so I took it to the shoulder and just coldly watched my opponent drift off into a pile of white particles.

"You're good… You just need more experience," I muttered lightly.

"AND THE WINNER IS… HELU THE ASSASSIN! WITH HER CALCULATED AND NIMBLE MOVEMENTS, SHE WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY OVERWHELM HER OPPONENT AT THE LAST SECOND! GIVE IT UP FOR THE WINNER OF THE D-RANK TOURNAMENT!"

"ORRAAAAAAAA!"

The crowd let out a long and excited cry, causing the adrenaline to even piece me and make me a bit excited for a win.

Geez… what a place.

[Congratulations on winning the tournament]

[Fifty gold has been transferred to your bank account]

[Your account will be marked with a Winner Star]

As I lightly smiled, content with the outcome of the tournament, I was suddenly soaked in white particles and was dragged back into reality.

The capsule quickly opened upon sensing my awakening, and as I stepped out, a woman assistant was there to greet me.

"Congratulations on winning the D-rank tournament. For your efforts, you will be able to visit here for six months with half the price off," The woman explained before handing me a twenty-dollar gift card for the pasta restaurant nearby.

"What is this for?" I asked, taking it from her hand.

"This is also for your efforts and how you won a tournament despite the slight lag between modules from a personal one and a public one," The woman explained once more before walking away.

As I walked out of the establishment, I received a few eyes, but they slowly lingered away since even though I was a winner, I was still a D-rank in their eyes.

D-rank is considered the lowest rank, while E-rank is just considered trash.

"Well, I'll be climbing my way back up," I muttered with a smile before turning into the cheap pasta restaurant, which I guess expected my arrival.

"Helu?" The receptionist asked.

"Yep… Here you go," I said, tossing him the gift card for the pasta platter, which was so much food that I could barely finish it all.

But let's just say I went to sleep completely satisfied that night.