Dove POV

            I got into the top 8 of the tournament without much issue. These matches were held simultaneously to proceed as fast as possible; however, the top 16 Duels and onwards were held one at a time for entertainment purposes.

Five of the top eight had been decided. It was Kin, Blitz, Razor, Rem and I. The final matches in the top 16 began: Fumes vs Aka, Kotel vs Stan, Hawk vs Block.

According to Hawk, Aka was a Chinese from Shanghai. Well, he was obviously Chinese to anyone who had seen Chinese before. He had slightly below average height, yellow skin, and black hair and eyes that were slanted. He was a person you would not pay attention to based on his looks, but his skill from what I saw was definitely formidable.

Fumes POV

            No doubt being not allowed to use a Shield placed me in a more disadvantageous position. While I managed until now, I finally met someone from one of the notable Parties in Naut City—Aka.

            Aka was considered one best Players in Naut City outside of the Party Leaders and Vice-leaders. Aside from Hawk, Aka was the only other dual-wielder in Naut City. He was also a Spell-blade but of the Fire Element. Master Zoe stated that his Ability was:

[Friction Flame]

            During the duration, whenever the target is damaged by a physical attack or the target’s weapon hits an object, the target will take a moderate amount of damage.

Range: Single-target; Clear Vision

            Cooldown: 20 Seconds

            A crowd gathered around us as the countdown begun. I braced myself for the battle.

            As soon as the countdown ended, Aka dashed at me. Knowing Aka knew I had no countermeasure against Friction Flame, Aka immediately used it on me as our swords connected multiple time with neither scoring a hit, but I lost 20% of my Health from Friction Flame.

            After 6 seconds, which was Master Zoe’s estimated duration of Friction Flame, I immediately utilized Flame Banner as Aka tried to retreat. His conflicting movement allowed me to land three direct hits on him before he managed to create distance once again, stripping him of 20% Health as well,.

            After being freed from Flame Banner, Aka ran away and I rushed after him; however, his higher speeds due to being a Spell Blade compared to me prevented me from catching up. Aka’s goal was simple—to bide time until Friction Flame cooled down. I knew this would happen but had no way to prevent it.

            The moment Aka’s Ability cooled down, he turned around and started attacking me. I pretended to swing my sword but instead dodged at the last second. My purpose was to lure out the next Friction Flame while taking as little damage as possible.

            Immediately counteracting after my dodge, Aka drew his sword up to block, but I instead crouched down a low kicked him. Aka leapt, avoiding my kick; however, I was still wasting the duration of Friction Flame.

            As soon as Friction Flame ended, Aka ran away again, but since Flame Banner was still on cooldown for a few seconds, I couldn’t punish.

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            I chased him for a few seconds until his Friction Flame was ready. As Aka tried to attack me, I used Flame Banner as soon as he entered my range. I managed to bring Aka down to around 2/3 Health after Flame Banner.

            I ran away as soon as Flame Banner ended, allowing me to dodge his immediate attack. He tried a vertical slice on me, but I evaded.

            Aka appeared to have slowed down compared to the beginning. Maybe he was losing his concentration, but it mattered not to me. It was just another advantage I could use.

            Six seconds after his first attack, I counterattacked but to my surprise a took damage from Friction Flame as soon as he blocked my strike. Smiling, he counterattacked relentlessly as I failed to evade and resorted to blocking, making me take damage from Friction Flame.

            After bringing me down to half Health, the same cycle followed, Aka ran and I chased without much success. As soon as Friction Flame was off cooldown he turned around, but I immediately changed directions and ran away from him.

            I knew better than him the range of Flame Banner, so I would definitely be able activate it as soon as he was in range. On the other hand, Aka had to delay Friction Flame as long as possible to deal as much damage to me as possible.

            Aka and I both stopped and simply stared at each other in stalemate like retards. Since there was no time limit, this could go on forever. However, that was not of interest of me. I began inching closer towards Aka.

            Dove POV

            I stood beside Hawk, Canary, Zoe, and Kotel spectating the match between Fumes and Aka.

            “So it comes down to whether Fumes can bait out Friction Flame without using Flame Banner. After that, he has to correctly guess whether Aka used Friction Flame or not.  Aka could run the moment he uses Friction Flame, but he would run out of Mana faster that Fumes.” Stated Hawk.

            “If you were in their shoes, you would auto-win regardless of which side you were. Mind-gaming people is your thing. So, what’s the play for Fumes?” asked Zoe.

            “I predict Aka to use Friction Flame on the fourth-time Fumes enters his range.”

            “Why?” asked both Kotel and I at the same time.

            “Based on his demeanor, Aka is a traditional Chinese. Four in Chinese means death.”

            “There’s no way he is thinking about that in the middle of a battle.” Objected Kotel.

            “He isn’t, but it is in his subconscious regardless.”

            Fumes POV

            VICTORY!

            I panted as all the stress released from my body. I faked Flame Banner four times before finally going growing impatient and going for it. After that, the Health difference was large enough that Aka could not defeat me even with Friction Flame active, although I speculate the last desperation attempt he did was the final one.

            I returned to Master Zoe who was watching alongside the rest of the Party and Azure Rain Forces.

            “Congrats!” cheered my team for my victory as Master Zoe smiled.

            “Good job. Hashtag luck over skill!” joke Hawk with my getting the correct timing.

            “Did you know it would on the fourth time?” I asked.

            “Yes. I didn’t know when you would go for it though. Anything from third to seventh was likely.” Said Hawk as he went to the center of the plaza to face off his next Duel.

            “You better not lose.” I said to send him off.

            Hawk smirked and replied, “I have only lost to Dove and Swan in a Duel, whether serious or practice. Therefore, I can only lose versus females.”