12TH GEAR - GIVE ME THAT HEADSET!
"Go Fluonessia! Go go go!" Cruzo cheered through his mic with an arm-pumping action.
I know that he's trying to raise Fluonessia's confidence, but those cheers are not enough. A navigator's job is to navigate and not to cheer. Cruzo should have applied for the position of cheerleader instead.
"I will never give up! Yaaaaah!" Fluonessia boosted forward and finally reached the 2nd Checkpoint!
Beep!
The score is now a draw at 1:1!
It's now a tie, but Ericka is still in the lead in terms of distance. She was already halfway towards the 3rd Checkpoint Tower.
All of a sudden, Ericka stopped. She looked back towards the 2nd Checkpoint Tower where Fluonessia is. She stood still and held her hips.
"Touching checkpoints is not my playstyle. I am a Striker, not a Speedster." Ericka said.
That explains why Ericka has an average speed even though she is taking the lead.
In Speedmage Tournaments, there are three roles that specialize in different situations- Speedsters, Strikers, and Counters.
Speedsters are Speedmages who specialize in speed but are low on control. They are built to score points by touching the checkpoints. One great example of this category is Captain Tezza Flaschk of the Cool Escape Club.
Strikers, on the other hand, are Speedmages who specialize in control but lack speed. With their maneuverability, they focus on striking the opponent's backs to score a point. Unfortunately, according to the official rules, a Speedmage is prohibited to strike the opponent's back until he touched at least one Checkpoint Tower. This is to balance the game between Speedsters and Strikers.
Finally, the Counters, who are the most versatile Speedmages of them all. Counters have average speed and control, they rely on their spells and have no definite playstyle. As the name suggests, they score points by either striking or touching checkpoints depending on their situations.
Ericka is a Striker, but since her opponent is a newbie, it is almost imperative that she can still beat Fluonessia in terms of speed. That's how seniors fare with rookies.
"Let's see if you can take this!" Ericka smiled. And then, she spun gracefully like a ballerina and drew a circle with her icy feet. As soon as a full circle was drawn, she channeled her mana to cast a spell! "Freezing Field!"
In an instant, the circle she drew with her foot expanded to about three hundred meters in diameter! The dusty deserted ground was immediately converted into clear ice!
"W-Woah! Aaaah!" Fluonessia cried the moment she stepped on the icy ground. Because it was too slippery, she lost control and fell to the ground, face first! "Gah!"
"Oh shit! Fluonessia, are you okay?" Cruzo asked through the mic.
"I-I'm fine!" Fluonessia struggled to get up, but she slipped again! "Kyah!"
"I will now attack!"
Ericka loudly proclaimed as she skated towards the poor newbie Speedmage! She circled Fluonessia and then stroked her back with her hand!
"This will be the first strike!" Ericka said.
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With a swift swipe, a blue magical circle appeared on Fluonessia's back, indicating a point!
Beep!
Ericka leads again with a score of 2:1!
"Waaaah!" Fluonessia slides through the ice because of the repelling effect of the magical barrier.
Just a trivia: whenever a Speedmage strikes another player's back, there will be a magic circle that indicates a point, and a repelling effect that launches both of the Speedmage in opposite directions. Because of this repel effect, Strikers that have great control over their speed suffer less on the recoil.
Fluonessia slides through the ice because of the repelling effect. She tried to run, but the freezing ground makes it too slippery for her to act!
"This will be the second strike!" Ericka continued her assault as she circled once again around the rookie and then stroked her back!
Beep!
Ericka leads with 3:1!
"Kyaaaaah!" Fluonessia cried.
"The third strike!" Ericka shouted again as she circled once more and stroked Fluonessia's back!
Beep!
The score is now 4:1 with Ericka having an overwhelming lead!
"Fluonessia, get out of there! Get out of the Prez's Freezing Field!" Cruzo shouted.
"I-I can't! It's too slippery! W-Wait! Kyah!" Fluonessia cried as she felt another repel effect.
Beep!
The lead continues to go wider at 5:1!
Fluonessia is certainly panicking due to the continued attacks Ericka has made. Somehow, watching the pink idiot getting beaten up in this game gives a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. I'm suppressing the urge to coach. Heck, I'm squeezing my hand as hard as I could.
"Uwah!" Fluonessia yelped once again.
Beep!
Ericka continues to dominate with a score of 6:1!
I'm sick of hearing Fluonessia's cries! I won't be able to watch her suffering like this! My conscience won't take it!
"Enhance your feet with fire magic and jump!" I shouted out loud, loud enough to reach Cruzo's mic.
"J-Jonathan!?" Fluonessia cried then she immediately answered my command. "R-Right!"
The rookie Speedmage tapped her shoes, and the green mana turned red. Slowly, the ice on Fluonessia's feet melted, only leaving a smoky puddle. That solves her slippery ice problem!
However, Ericka has already circled on her back! With a swift kick to the ground, the club president readied herself for another strike!
"Jump!" I cried out loud.
"Roger!" Fluonessia said.
The pink-haired rookie bent her knees, channeled fire magic on her feet, and then jumped up in the air! The flame magic enhanced the power and speed of her leap, so Ericka did not manage to get a point against her!
This spell that coats her feet with fire energy that enhances her jumping strength is called Rocket Jump, a C-Tier speed spell. Since it is used to jump upwards in a straight vertical line, it is not commonly used by most Speedmages.
"W-What!? Where is she?" Ericka uttered. To her point of view, Fluonessia just vanished without a trace!
"Now use Air Trampoline to preserve your velocity and strike back!" I shouted.
"Roger!" Fluonessia obediently answered.
With a swift swipe in the air, Fluonessia made a green magical circle. She acrobatically maneuvered her body in the air and then she kicked the Air Trampoline to launch downwards to the fully unaware Ericka!
"It's my..."
Fluonessia reached out her hand and then stroked Ericka's back! A pink magical circle point indicator manifested!
"...turn!"
Beep!
6:2! Finally, Fluonessia scored a point!
"Gyaaah!" Ericka shrieked as she was repelled by the barrier!
Seeing that she has scored a point, I immediately grabbed Cruzo's headset and put it on me. I want to show him a true navigator's job!
"Hey!" Cruzo protested, but he didn't retaliate. Instead, he has this disgusting smirk on his face as if he planned to have the headset taken by me all along.
Whatever! I'm hyped up! I will make Fluonessia win this fight!
"Fluonessia, continue attacking!" I said.
"Roger!" Fluonessia answered as she jumped upwards with flaming shoes once again, then create an Air Trampoline, and attacked from above with an extremely fast dive!
Beep!
Fluonessia is closing the gap at 6:3!
"Guh!" Ericka cried. She's starting to get disoriented because of the quick attacks and the repelling effect of the magical barrier!
"One more! Yaaaaah!" Fluonessia cried as she jumped onto another Air Trampoline she just created!
Beep!
The score is now 6:4, with the momentum on Fluonessia's side!
"You're doing great, Fluonessia! Keep attacking!" I cheered.
"Roger that, coach!" Fluonessia happily said.
This time, the Freezing Field around the battleground is mostly melted. The damp soil was already favorable for Fluonessia to run around and strike Ericka's back without casting more spells!
"Here I come!"
Fluonessia circled the staggered Ericka and then aimed for her back! She boosted to score another point, but then-
Fweeeeeeeeeet!
The whistle was blown, signaling the end of the ten-minute match.
"Final Score: Ericka - 6! Fluonessia - 4!" Cruzo announced as he raised his hand. "The winner is President Ericka!"
Darn it! We were so close!