The Gladiator bombshell involuntarily took a step back. The tension between the two men was intense.
KnightOfHoliness and Isaac stared each other down, and she could feel unbridled anger lingering in the air.
She smirked, anticipating the insane match that was about to unfold!
''Match… START!'' Her voice rang throughout the Colosseum, signaling the start of the match.
KnightOfHoliness didn't even give the stunning woman time to leave the arena. He crossed the distance in an instant, performing a rapid overhead slash!
The strike was aimed at Isaac's head. Obviously, his opponent intended to end this match swiftly.
Isaac leapt to the side. His eyes followed the sword, watching as it slammed into the ground, blasting dust and debris in every direction!
*CRACK!*
The sound of the impact rang across the Colosseum, causing the blood of the onlookers to boil. After the initial surprise, thunderous cheers erupted throughout the stadium!
Isaac frowned, putting some distance between them as he landed.
'He's already caught me in levels... maybe even surpassed me!' He thought, looking at the destruction.
Isaac felt like slapping himself. He was handed the Mythical VR helmet on a silver platter!
Anyone with brains would have used this opportunity to the fullest! They would have leveled up considerably before the helmet ended up on the market!
However, Isaac hadn't used the Mythical VR helmet as was intended. Instead, he'd squandered one of the opportunities that it had presented him!
'I need to start grinding XP… I cannot allow myself to become complacent!'
KnightOfHoliness wouldn't allow Isaac to have any free time. Instead, he ran after the man like a starving beast chasing down its prey!
He grasped the sword tightly in his right hand and swung at a speed that was considerably swifter than his initial strike!
Isaac attempted to spin away from the blow, but the attack still bit into his shoulder! An image of their first meeting flashed in his mind, though this time, it looked as if Isaac was on the back foot.
A drop of blood dripped slowly down the tip of the steel sword. It ran down the edge of the blade, soon staining the hilt.
A devilish grin flashed across KnightOfHoliness' face. Throughout the audience, the cheeks of the women turned a light red.
*CHEERS!*
The Colosseum shook as another round of cheers erupted from the audience! Men were standing in their seats, stomping the ground and whistling at the contestants!
Isaac unstrapped his gun, bringing it around swiftly and using the butt of the sniper to launch an unexpected attack! The Mosin-Nagant sniper struck out, aiming for the man standing behind him.
*CLANK!*
KnightOfHoliness moved his shield to block the strike at the last moment! Though he succeeded, the power of the strike forced him to stagger back.
Isaac used this to his advantage. The gun vaulted him into the air while simultaneously pressing the shield to the ground.
He used this momentum to spin swiftly in the air, launching a well-aimed kick at KnightOfHoliness' now unguarded face!
The Knight ducked at the last second, feeling the breeze of the attack ruffle his gorgeous blonde hair.
''Haahhh…'' He let out a relieved breath and rushed to regain his footing.
*Thud*
Isaac landed heavily on the ground. The disappointment in his eyes was evident, but he didn't let that slow him down.
His weapon was already sweeping through the air, not stopping until it was pointed directly at his opponent. He aimed the sniper's barrel directly at KnightOfHoliness' face and squeezed the trigger.
KnightOfHoliness had already regained his balance. He snatched his shield off the ground, swinging it in a wide arc until it slammed against the barrel of the rifle!
*BANG!*
The bullet left the barrel, completely missing the Knight's body!
The Knight's muscles trembled beneath his armor. His sword snaked forward like a streak of lightning as he lashed out!
Isaac swung the rifle just in time to deflect the blade away from his waist! A screeching sound echoed as the two metals clashed.
Gritting his teeth, Isaac jumped back, his arms starting to numb from their most recent clash. He'd managed to deflect the sword, but it had been no easy feat!
There had only been a handful of clashes, but he felt like he could accurately gauge KnightOfHoliness' Strength Stat. The man's Strength was definitely over 100, while Isaac's was only a measly 50.
He couldn't count on his Strength any longer. If he continued to go head to head with the Knight, only death awaited him.
KnightOfHoliness snorted, ''What the hell is this pitiful strength?''
Isaac aimed his sniper and pulled the trigger.
''Hah!'' KnightOfHoliness raised his shield, blocking the bullet with ease.
''Did I hit a sore spot?'' With a grin, the Knight leaped forward and slammed his shield into Isaac.
Isaac was knocked back nearly twenty meters by the blow. There was no noticeable damage, but...
A trail of blue suddenly poured from the edge of his mouth. Isaac used the edge of his sleeve to wipe the blood away.
The NPCs noticed that the tide of the match was rolling in KnightOfHoliness' favor. The Players were shocked to see the famous Wraith being pushed back by some unknown player!
KnightOfHoliness smirked, 'Once I've won this… I'll be known as the Player who defeated Wraith!'
The other members of Wraithless were wholly unaware of his plans. Unlike the others, he really wasn't after Wraith's head for revenge.
Instead, he just wanted to become famous. The shortest route to achieving that happened to be killing Wraith in front of everyone.
Exacting revenge for their first encounter was simply a bonus. The Knight's two friends, TomValeo and Salamander, watched the match with satisfied gazes.
They'd chosen KnightOfHoliness to represent them in this match, even though all of them had wanted to fight.
The reason for this was simple... He was the strongest one.
KnightOfHoliness sheathed his sword and spun around. He smiled and waved to the crowd, doing his best to show off and make this fight look easy.
The female audience members swooned as his gaze ran across them, and the children in the crowd shouted in excitement.
Even the male audience members clapped or whistled, impressed by his show of power.
The many Players in the stands were grinning for multiple reasons. Most of them had opened their streams long ago.
Just having Wraith's name in the title caused their streams to become instant hits! Viewers flocked to the newly opened streams as soon as they saw the familiar name.
Viewers were utterly shocked to see that Wraith was actually losing!
…
Somewhere in Winterland.
A young man around 18 was sitting in front of an expensive-looking PC. It had a 144hz monitor with a powerful set of speakers next to it.
He ran his hand through his black hair while looking over the setup. On top of his desk, a VR helmet sat. It was only a meter away from him, and it was close enough for him to feel the temptation.
He glanced at the helmet, his skin itching and his hand almost reaching out for it.
''Not yet…'' He glanced at the clock and knew that it wasn't time for him to enter the vast World of White.
Instead, he scrolled through the StreamKing website. The look of disappointment on his face was evident as he glanced back at the helmet.
He quickly found Wraith's profile on the website. The word [Offline] was painful to look at.
However, just as he was about to close the Internet Browser, he saw that one of the streaming titles included Wraith's name.
"This is definitely clickbait," He mumbled.
The thumbnail showed a white-haired youth facing a heavily armored knight, making him question his initial assessment.
He could recognize that white-haired youth anywhere. The young man quickly double-clicked on the title and entered the stream.
The stream already had 200 viewers, and that number was climbing rapidly. Most of the viewers were excited at first, typing away in the streamer's chat.
Soon, many of the words turned to disappointment and worry. In the stream, the Knight put on a fantastic performance!
His masterful swordsmanship was beautiful as he swung his sword with apparent ease. The Knight quickly overpowered the white-haired youth.
''No… He can't lose," The young man spoke aloud.
His new idol, Wraith, was being pushed back further with every clash. It was evident that the youth was struggling.
''He can't lose….''
