A new day, a new challenge. Round 3 was well underway, with three minutes left on the clock. Team Owl, Team Hawk, Team Buffalo, and Team Bear were fighting for top two to enter the final round of the tournament. I had to give it to Onigen for applying these random arena events, because the last one actually scored us our one and only egg point. Giant laser beams fell from the sky at random intervals, striking mostly buildings and other structures, leaving behind blackened craters of destruction. But occasionally targeting contestants on the field. A direct hit was fatal, and an indirect one could still inflict some serious HP damage.
Naomi used those lasers against Deander of Team Buffalo, the lizard girl with the rupture meta, locking her in position with her telekinetic meta to receive a butt load of damage. She was already half bar, so Naomi not only scored an easy 100+ HP, but also an egg point for our team.
But with how things are going for us, it seemed like that was the only time we were going to luck out….
Our team was now split up, and I had Crisscross from Team Bear chasing me through the Ubon Medical Center Map.
I flew across the third story sky bridge and into its glass railing, landing in the first floor lobby with a crash. Shards of glass rained down around me, my arm shielding my face from not only the debris but the bright ass lights in the upper ceiling.
I knew Crisscross was right behind me even though I couldn’t see him. The fucker was stupid fast, not as fast as Bella, but fast enough to dodge everything I threw at him. His team was smart to split us up, pairing Reina, Naomi, and I with their stronger counters. By default, I was the slowest on my team, but the strongest. However, strength wouldn’t matter in this fight if I couldn’t land a god damn hit on him.
I got up on my feet and ran away as fast as I could. The lobby was designed in an open-plan concept with escalators leading to the upper levels, elevators against the walls, and a reception desk on the opposite end. I jumped behind the desk to recollect my thoughts and figure out how I was going to get back to the nest. Crisscross had an annoying talent, being able to shoot these diamond tethered threads from between his knuckles like some wannabe Spiderman. The problem with those threads was that it ate through my physical invulnerability fast, which drained my stamina a lot quicker. We were halfway done with the round, and I was almost out, my HP not able to take much more of this BS….
I heard his feet touch the floor, the asshole probably having swung from his threads on the chandelier. Like that one Adele song, I was holding onto my reserve for dear life, so I had to be a little creative with Crisscross to bring him down and get back into the game.
“Out of ideas, big guy?” Crisscross taunted from the other side of the lobby.
I was out of breath, not out of ideas. I was plotting behind this desk, checking my surroundings for a plan and a shot.
There was sure a lot of foundational support on this level…. Columns here and there, I could use them to my advantage….
Stolen story; please report.
“Enough hiding!” Crisscross shouted. “Come out and fight like a hunter! Or so help me, I will shred this map to bits!”
“All right, all right! Don’t get your tidy whities in a bunch!” I said, coming out from behind the reception desk with my hands up in the air like I was surrendering.
There he was, Crisscross, what a cheesy name. He had a real Rock Lee look, with a bowl cut only a mother could love. He stood there so full of himself, letting his threads extend beyond his fingers.
“Ready to give up?”
“I guess so. I mean, a bunch of year ones like my team and I really don’t stand a chance against you guys, huh?”
“Check your sys board. The scores pretty much speak for themselves, don’t they? Team Hawk, 2 points. Team Buffalo, 2 points. Team Bear, 2 points. And Team Owl, no points.”
“Damn, six eggs in about six minutes. You guys were loaded with items in this round, weren’t you?”
“The perks of being in the game longer than a month,” he mocked with a smirk on his smug face. “I’ll admit, you three are somewhat impressive for making it this far. Somewhat. But this round is where the road to the big bucks ends. There’s no way you’ll catch up.”
“Don’t be so sure of yourself. It’s not over yet.”
He laughed. “I could see why you’re a crowd favorite. You’re painfully delusional.”
No, but hopeful. Because according to my calculations, Team Buffalo and Team Bear hadn’t been scoring enough kills to break a potential tie.
Collective kills weren’t something that was shared with us, or even the audience. When it came to those close tie breakers, the Hunter Games wanted to keep that kind of information on the hush hush, for dramatic effect. Fortunately for me, I was good with numbers and keeping track of them. So if my team and I managed to capture two eggs, then we could potentially do another tie.
A four way tie was a rare treat. But it wasn’t impossible…
“I must have gotten you scared stiff,” Crisscross retorted. “You haven’t moved an inch. Are you pissing your pants? I understand, the sight of me does that to monsters, too. So, any last words before I drag you and your friends to the shadow realm?”
“Yeah. Just one, think fast!”
“What?”
I kicked the reception desk at him, nothing too flashy. Just enough to get his attention. A diversion was all I needed to dash behind one column, and as expected, Crisscross used his threads to chase me there. I had to remember that his agility was a problem too, so I used my flames to give me a boost toward the next column to the west of him. One by one he was tearing down columns, not only making a mess out of the lobby room, but also setting up the stage for his grave.
“You idiot!” he shouted. “Running around like a headless chicken won’t help you win. You’re just postponing the inevitable!”
How wrong he was. With every column he knocked down, with every step he took to catch me, he was unknowingly playing into my hand.
My heart pounded in my chest as I darted from column to column, calculating each leap and landing with precision, leading him on a wild goose chase around the room. I had to be careful with my stamina reserve, but I was almost done, Crisscross about to go under in a few more seconds….
“How’s it feel to be made a fool of?” I taunted from behind another column. His rage slashed at the stone structure, his thread cutting clean through. “You’re not even close to catching me!”
“Stand and fight like a man, you coward!” he cried, but then he froze, his eyes blew up as the ceiling came crashing down on him.
I smirked. “Night, night.” I snapped my fingers and the flame ring I’d secretly summoned underneath him shot up like a flamenado, locking Crisscross inside. He didn’t have time to escape, and hell, neither did I. When the ceiling came crashing down, it was curtains for the both of us, but unlike him, I was able to withstand the damage, while he was left buried under big chunks of cement.
I crawled out of the rubble, and checked my stamina level. It was damn near empty. But my HP was decent. So I escaped and branched off to where I thought my team was on the map.
With my luck, they’d still be fighting for the Drake egg.