"It's not over! Archer is back!"
"Seriously?!"
"This sneaky bastard! Where did he hide his arrow to teleport?!"
The crowd burst with excitement as the duel between the archer and the mage wasn't over. The faces of the new Archer's fans lit up like sunshine while the fans of the other side clicked their tongues and began calling Jake a cockroach.
Viktor and Ingrid faintly smiled in relief.
Aaron covertly hid his whiskey.
The debris behind which Jake had been hiding suddenly rose to the skies. There weren't many things to hide in this open field area, so it had been a blessing that the mage could have produced so many earth walls.
They were gone now.
Jake stood up and faced Last Coin.
Last Coin and the crowd blinked as Jake's appearance was different.
He'd assimilated with Ender.
His right eye was dark, and darkness came out from behind his right back. It even swallowed Jake's right shoulder, making him look like he was not human but of a different race.
It was something no player had ever done. No race had been changed yet!
Players roared with various emotions upon seeing Jake like that!
"If this is damn race change, then this guy is a different breed altogether!"
"Maybe he can make a darkness source and turn that into darkness arrows?! Calm down, guys!"
"Lucky bish! I've wanted to turn into an elf since I learned they exist in this game!"
Ignoring the crowd, Jake thought about his options.
It was true that Ender's Arrow Of The End was the best against mages. It could disperse any mana so long as the arrow was stronger! Jake needed a critical strike for that, too.
He'd assimilated with Ender to escape the imminent death through the darkness, but it didn't mean this skill was enough to win against Last Coin.
This man was smart.
'I can't tell how much mana left he has... but I can tell that I'm struggling already. This beating I'd received from him stole a lot of stamina from me. I feel weaker, much weaker. I perhaps could have tried fighting against his mana sources if it was before that mistake.
The winner would have been the one with either higher mana or stamina... but at this point, I think I have much less stamina than he does mana. I can't fight against numbers. I need to end it fast. Ender... we will force him to unleash his strongest skill. We'll do that with your arrow. Odin has one minute left, so I will save his arrow for the final card.'
There was no room for argument.
Jake also didn't have time to talk.
The debris hanging above him was cut from its strings, plummeting at him.
Jake, however, hid in the shadow beneath him.
He appeared across the arena. He was still far away from Last Coin, though.
As he emerged from the darkness, Last Coin and the crowd were taken aback by that move.
Jake thought, 'Don't worry, Last Coin. I know you're smart and won't use your mana rashly now that you know about Ender's ability. I won't even try outsmarting you in this area, as you have much more room here. I will force you to dance on my palm, though!'
Bringing his hand close to his face, Jake drew the highest anchor and loaded his strongest onto his bowstring. Once Ender stopped the assimilation and turned into the tattoo to strengthen the arrow, Jake let it go.
Last Coin felt bad precognition.
He decided to fend off the arrow with his fireball.
Jake grasped the arrow like a javelin and added his raw strength and passion to it. He was in the middle of the disaster, though, and lightning sparks were hacking at him.
He didn't care.
So long as he survived, he'd win!
He also couldn't stay still and look at his companion and archery fighting alone.
It wasn't his style.
It wasn't his archery.
"DEVOUR—" Jake shouted, only to choke on his words.
The arrow's spine cracked.
The arrow's point was blown away next.
The entire arrow lost, and so did Odin.
Jake had been whipped away by the lightning bolt before it obliterated a hole in his chest.
He stared absentmindedly as he fell down like a broken doll.
Upon impact with the ground, only a single message floated before him.
[You have lost the duel.]
[You have died.]
-
Jake logged out.
He removed his virtual reality helmet and slowly sat on his bed.
His hands dangled off his knees as he sat still, hunched.
He stared at the floor, but his eyes were somewhere else.
Jake recalled his time in the game world.
Suddenly, Jake chewed on his lips, and tears started to fall down his face.
There was so much he wanted to prove.
He won against the difficult opponents.
But in the end, he had lost against the mage.
One of the mages whose magic was the cause of archery's decline.
It hurt him so much that he couldn't have stopped himself from crying.
After all, he wanted to help Asta Bow Household and those who believed in him. He wanted people to enjoy archery and believe in it, but what if he had made things worse not only for himself but also for those who believed in him?
It was a responsibility that Jake didn't have any contact with until now.
It hurt him.
He was so selfish as a human... but Jake had grown a little enough to feel terrible about his failures, which affected more than just him.
It was... a quiet evening that even Mary couldn't intrude.
A/N: Read Author's thoughts.