Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Kill that guy Liz!"

A voice resounded in the colosseum, mixing with the cheers of the NPC crowd as we all watched the two players readying their stances with the intent to duke it out against each other until the last man..... or woman standing.

The one who shouted just now was my former enemy and also the main reason why I am sitting here in the spectators' area in the first place instead of helping Liz win our match down there in the field. My annoying soon-to-be teammate who irritates me to no end, Renz.

"Destroy him in the most humiliating way possible!" He shouted angrily.

Hey! You're both on the same team so why are you cheering for the enemy to kill your teammate? Who's side are you even on? Though I can't blame him after what happened earlier. With him being used as a suicide bomber and all without his consent by someone he trusted no less. I kind of feel bad for him now that I think about it.

After their short conversation about their values and attitude toward the game, Liz was the first to make her move, she used her skill to instantly blink next to Chu and slash at him. Though as expected, without anything to distract Chu in a 1v1 scenario, he parried the attack perfectly with his weapon skill, which in turn damaged Liz due to the recoil.

"Khh"

Lizbeth

Hp: 72%

That didn't stop her from continuing her attacks though. She instantly proceeds to go on the offensive, clearly taking advantage of the time Chu's weapon skill is on cooldown. I have to agree with her thought process given the situation she is in. Chu's weapon skill has the advantage compared to her own in a 1v1 match given that her Shadow Step skill cannot do any surprise attacks if the enemy is solely focused on her.

We watched the match progress, Liz is having a hard time keeping up with Chu. It is to be expected though since Liz's playstyle is focused on quick and decisive strikes, eliminating the enemy before they even receive healing or support. That kind of playstyle is more effective in team matches, where there are many diversions she can take advantage of and deal lethal blows to the enemy while they are distracted. Like what we did earlier versus Renz in the 2v2 match.

On the other hand, Chu's gameplay is more 1v1-oriented. He focuses on dealing chip damage with his fast dual weapon and bow. He also specializes in parrying the enemy's attacks and doing fast counters with his own moveset. Coupled with his weapon skill, he is a great threat to any opponent in 1v1 situations.

This is bad, Liz will gradually lose her hp until it goes down to zero if this continues. She only has ever landed a single hit the whole time they were fighting, and that only happened earlier because Chu was focused on stalling Liz during our 2v2 match.

Lizbeth

Hp: 56%

NambaWan

Hp: 72%

"Looks like Liz has no chance in this fight huh," I murmured.

"Heh, that's why you are still a newbie," Renz smirked.

He must have heard me because of the hearing feature of the arena that enhances the player's voice. However, his attitude only makes me more irritated at his smug-looking face. I would've sat up and walked away into a different seat but sadly I can't change locations because of the spectators' mode restrictions. I could only move my head, arms, and body for viewing purposes or get out of the PVP lobby, which is not an option since I want to learn both of their capabilities as they would be my future teammates. The restrictions make sense cause nothing will stop players from going out of the spectators' area and back in the fray if they can still move their feet.

"Ohh please do enlighten this humble one, Mr. Veteran of CoA," I said sarcastically.

"That's right, respect your superiors more and I might teach you a lesson or two with my broad experience, my beginner teammate." He replied smugly.

This bastard used my sarcasm against me. Wait, I can still move my arms, right? Maybe I could use my dagger and jam it into his big head..... Ohh all my weapons are unequipped huh? A shame, what a waste of a good opportunity to deflate his head full of air.

Let's just calm down and look at the bright side, at least he is now fine with calling me his teammate so I guess that is a major improvement from his earlier attitude.

"To answer your question," he continued. "Liz has always played for fun in team matches, but if she ever gets serious, she's the strongest player I know. I never once saw her lose a 1v1 match in an even ground ever since she reached max level on her second account." He said solemnly.

I looked at his expression to find any signs of jest or tomfoolery, but all I saw on his face was utter respect and sincerity while he was watching Liz fight. I might have been wrong about this guy earlier, he probably believes in Liz's capabilities even more than me. It kind of makes me jealous of their trust and bond with each other that had accumulated through years of playing together. That's another thing I can add to my ever-growing list of reasons why I hate this guy, I guess.

"Khack"

Hearing Chu's voice suddenly brought my attention back to the match. Liz finally landed another blow against him using her Shadow Step skill to counter Chu's parry weapon skill. I took a look at both of their hp bars.

"That was a fun match! Right?" Liz cheerfully asked while she lay on the ground.

"....Yes, it was,".

Chu replied before they both turned into blue motes of light.

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

I smirked at the guy in front of me. I'm having a very pleasant time right now.

"Looks like we won, Mr. veteran player." I teased.

"You're just lucky Liz managed to carry you!" Renz reasoned.

We're back in the city of Ragath, just outside the pub we used as our meeting place. The match concluded in our favor because Liz dealt the finishing blow before she died and according to the system, that is counted as our victory. It means that we officially won and I can finally rub it in this guy's face.

"Renz, I'm sure you also know how good she is when you both fought." Liz reprimanded.

"F-fine, I'll accept you for now newbie. Just don't drag us down in the qualifiers, ya hear?"

Hey! What's with the difference in treatment? One word from Liz and he readily accepts it.

"What would be our team formation?" Chu chimed in.

Looks like our resident edgelord is finally opening up a little bit after the match. I guess Liz achieved what she intended to do with the team-building exercise she proposed.

"I think it would be best if we do a common 1-2-1 tactic. Novo and I will team up and go spearhead middle orb while you two go for the top and bottom orbs both solo. We will back you guys up after we get the mid-orb." Liz explained.

"I agree with the formation, I don't ever want to play together again with a guy who kills his own teammate." Renz venomously spat out.

"You would be dead anyways, at least you got to take an enemy with you instead of dying pointlessly." Chu bluntly replied.

"....Hah? Why didn't you become the sacrifice then?" Renz raised his voice.

"O-okay, let's just forget what happened earlier and start anew? Infighting in our team would only lessen our chance of winning the qualifiers." Liz became the voice of reason.

"Hmph, be grateful for Liz that I'm letting you off lightly for what you did earlier."

Chu ignored him.

Yep, looks like our team would definitely get along just fine, very peachy, super dandy, a-ok, no problems whatsoever.

"So, what did you name our team when you applied for the qualifiers? You didn't even consult us about the team name right?" I changed the topic.

"Yeah, 'cause I already have a name in mind!" She replied cheerfully.

Typical Liz, always going at her own pace unmindful of others' opinions.

"And what's the name you came up with?" Renz butted in.

She smiled mischievously before announcing our team name.

"Team Paradigm!"