24TH GEAR - JUST ONE STRIKE!
Beep! Beep! Beep!
It’s been going on for a while now. Vincent has been teleporting Checkpoint Towers from one to another. The audience is just stunned with mixed emotions of amazement and fear written on their faces. They never would have thought that the Speedmage Champion will go all-out against a loser guild like Merry Knights. Nobody uttered a word.
The score is overwhelmingly 3:34.
“Vincent the Teleporter is not just a legend. It is a real title for a real person. My big brother is born with such talent.” Justine said.
“Is this… the power of the Speed God?” I muttered.
Sweat ran down to my face as I watched Checkpoint Towers have their lights on and off every time Vincent touches one.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The score is now 3:42. There are only 2 minutes left. It won’t take a genius to conclude that this battle is long over ever since Vincent unleashed his teleports.
But just when all hope was lost…
“I refuse to give up!”
It was a loud shout from the Triangle. I immediately saw the source of the voice: it was Flu. She has finally stood up back on her feet by using fire incantation to melt the icy ground. Her eyes glowed sky blue as she looked towards me.
“Flu…”
“Vincent the Teleporter is awesome, that is why I refuse to give up! He deserves his title and his crown as the Speedmage Champion. I will admit my defeat in this Speed Battle, but I will not go down without a bang!” Flu said with a determined smile.
Flu’s words somehow sparked something inside my heart. She is right. No matter if we win or we lose, this is a Speed Battle. We are supposed to have fun while playing it! Isn’t it even the motto of the Merry Knights, to have fun in Speed Battles?
I touched my mic and finally talked.
“You’re right, Flu. We already fought the Speedmage Champion, so we have nothing to lose!” I said.
“Coach!” Flu’s eyes brightened and her smile widened.
“All spells have their weakness. All we have to do is to find it and execute a counter-offensive!” I said.
“Roger that!”
I used my Mystic Glasses and focused my eyes on the disappearing and reappearing Vincent the Teleporter. I can see a faint mana trace from him connecting to the Checkpoint Towers-
No, it is slightly off. The mana traces a little downwards, to the mana sword Vincent stuck earlier when he first touched the checkpoints. I smiled and realized one definite thing.
“Flu! Go to the 1st Checkpoint Tower and watch out for the mana sword next to it!” I said.
“Got it!” Flu nodded as she dashed towards the 1st Checkpoint Tower.
While Flu is racing toward the target position, I looked at my pocketwatch and timed Vincent’s teleportation. He disappears for 0.15 seconds and reappears after 0.15 seconds. That means it takes him 0.3 seconds to touch the Checkpoint Tower and score a point. That’s an awful split-second chance for us to stop him.
“One, two, three, one, two, three.”
I counted every time Vincent teleports from one checkpoint to another. He can rotate and make 3 points in 0.9 seconds max. There are times when he takes a break and gasps for air and mana, which takes 2 to 6 seconds. We can’t attack him on that 2 seconds as he always chooses the farthest Checkpoint Towers to rest.
That means we have to go for a counter-attack. Once Flu has taken the position on the 1st Checkpoint Tower, that is our time to strike.
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“I’m in position, Coach!” Flu said as she stopped and spread out her arms. She stared at the mana sword, ready to attack whenever Vincent tries to reappear.
“Count one, and then strike!” I said.
“One!” Flu counted out loud and then she surged forward! “Yaaaaah!”
In that split second, Vincent reappeared! But he was already anticipating Flu’s ambush! He leaned to the left to evade the pink-haired Speedmage!
“Whoa! That was close!” Vincent nervously chuckled, then he dashed around and touched the 1st Checkpoint Tower.
Beep!
I don’t care about the points right now. I’m focused on catching that teleporting bastard. If we figure out a way to catch him, I’ll be happy even if we ended up losing.
“Adios!” Vincent made a two-finger salute and then teleported once more to the other towers.
“He’s fast, but I’ll get the hang of it!” Flu cried.
“Flu, circle the mana sword and count one again!”
“R-Right!” Flu ran around with her pink contrail streaks surrounding the mana sword. “One!”
Flu surged forward with a strike! As predicted by our calculations, Vincent reappeared at the mana sword. This time, Flu attacks from his left rear! However, Vincent bent to the right to evade the attack!
“Whoops! Nice try!” Vincent laughed.
“It’s not over!” Flu angrily said as she swiped her fingers in the air to create an Air Trampoline! “I’ll strike you at least one time!”
Swoosh! The Air Trampoline doubled her speed as she dashed midair to touch Vincent’s back! However, Vincent was able to maneuver and avoid the attack again!
“Shit!” Vincent finally cursed as he barely evaded Flu’s strike! He’s panicking now because his sweat is now spraying all around!
“One more!” Flu cried as she created another Air Trampoline and jumped to attack for the third time!
“Hraaagh!” This time, Vincent blocked the attack by swiping his right arm toward the left! He used the magical barrier’s repel effect to deflect Flu and gain room to breathe!
“Kyah!” Flu cried as she was launched into the air!
But it’s not over! Flu’s blue eyes fired up as she acrobatically recovered in midair and created another Air Trampoline!
“You should be kidding me!” Vincent cried as his eyes widened in shock.
Flu has made three Air Trampolines in a single tag fight, and it can only be done by professionals at the international level. The consecutive creation of the Air Trampoline is called Chain Trampoline, an S-Tier spell that raises the speed of the Speedmage exponentially. Since there were three Air Trampolines, Flu’s speed is now 8 times faster than her normal speed!
“...At least… one strike!” Flu cried!
At that moment, time seemed to have stopped. Flu’s fingers which were enhanced with mana tapped Vincent the Teleporter’s back!
Beep!
A magical circle point indicator materialized, stating that Flu managed to strike the Speedmage Champion!
“I… I did it!” Flu’s serious gaze immediately changed to a bright smile as she cried out of joy.
And then…
Fweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
“Match is over! The winner is Vincent Shadowseek with a score of 4:54!” Levi the referee announced.
Everybody was silent. The result of the match was already clear the moment Vincent teleported around the Checkpoint Towers. But for some reason, the Eaglecrest mages are frowning in disbelief. Wait, their champion won, but why are they so sad and surprised?
I guess I can learn something from Vincent’s little brother, Justine, who is just as stunned as most of the spectators.
“No way… Big brother got struck on the back… This was the first time!”
Flu approached me with slumped shoulders. She’s drenched in sweat, and all dried out of mana. When she looked at me, she smiled stupidly.
“Sorry. All those efforts and I only scored one point. I’m such a failure, tahahaha!”
“No, you did great out there.” I smiled.
I immediately grabbed a towel and covered her head. I even patted her head as she sat down on the floor while gasping for breath. She gave it her all in that Speed Battle, and even if she made only one strike, it was a testament that the Teleporter can be caught.
Vincent finally went back to the viewing stage and talked briefly with his navigator-slash-little brother. Then he looked at me and smiled. He slowly approached us with a much more friendly aura than before.
“Good game!” Vincent greeted as he offered his hand to the exhausted Fluonessia.
“Playing with you is an awesome experience! Thank you!” Flu happily took his hand and shook briefly. She was out of energy, so she stayed sitting on the ground.
Vincent then turned to me with the same optimistic expression on his face. He looked at Cruzo and Ericka who just arrived.
“So, about the bout of the match.” Vincent made a menacing yet teasing smile.
“We are not giving him to you,” Ericka said as she suddenly clung to my elbow. “Jon is the coach of the Merry Knights.”
“Don’t you think it is for Jonathan Wardenorth to decide? Besides, you should be happy that I’m giving him the freedom of choice even though I completely obliterated Merry Knights in that Speed Battle.”
Vincent said those words as if he was certain I would join them.
Ericka told me about how Eaglecrest operates and its underhanded tactics. Whenever talented freshmen join a club like Merry Knights or Cool Escape, the Eaglecrest would scout for exceptional talents and gives them an offer they cannot refuse.
Sometimes, they threaten the target’s grades in a terror teacher, saying that they have enough influence to flunk or pass students. There are other times that Eaglecrest members would promise an absurd amount of money if they join their guild.
Prez said that most of their freshmen recruits who have talent were bribed to join Eaglecrest. For freshmen, it is some form of honor to join the elites of the elites since only 1% are allowed to be part of their guild. For other clubs like Merry Knights, it is an insult and a low blow to their pride.
But my vague familiarity with Vincent Shadowseek piques my interest. Who is he? Why does he know me?
The Speedmage Champion lends out his hand.
And it’s all up to me to accept it or not.