EFate: An MMO Story Chapter 102: Finals (1)

On stage, Eric stared down Hydrus, who returned the look with a sardonic smile.
"Ready to lose, kid?" Hydrus asked.
"I could ask you the same thing. Your pal Barns didn't exactly do too well. Hopefully you put up a bit more of a fight," Eric sneered.
"Only a weakling like yourself would consider defeating Barns to be an achievement," Hydrus responded coldly. "
"Funny, I don't remember calling it an achievement," Eric replied with a mocking smile.
Hydrus glowered at Eric, affixing him with an icy stare. "You're about to learn that your place is beneath me."
"And here I thought an a.s.s like you would be on the bottom," Eric replied, unfazed.
With a snort, Hydrus turned, making his way to the other end of the stage. Pondering how to best approach the fight, Eric did the same, heading for the opposite end of the stage.
While he'd talked a big game, the truth was that Eric wasn't all that confident in his chances this fight. Hydrus' skill with that enormous greatsword of his was undeniable. He'd barely had to use skills in any of his fights so far, having only revealed Charge and a single attack skill. It was unlikely that those were all the skills that Hydrus possessed, especially considering his strength. It was more than likely that Hydrus had at least one, if not more, skills that he'd kept hidden as he slaughtered his way through the tournament.
As Eric pondered, walking across the stage to take up his position so that the battle could begin, the crowd was cheering. From what he could tell, some were chanting his name, while others were booing Hydrus and NRG. At the very least, I'd better make this match exciting, Eric thought as he imagined how the crowd would react if he lost to Hydrus in an embarra.s.sing fas.h.i.+on.
It wasn't as if Eric didn't have any ideas on how to take down Hydrus. In his opinion, the best plan was clearly to stay far away from that terrifying greatsword. So long as Hydrus didn't have any ranged skills that he'd kept hidden up until now, then Eric would be in no danger at all provided he could keep a safe distance.
Of course, keeping that distance was another matter entirely. Neither Tanix, nor Astrid, and not even Jun had been able to keep Hydrus' greatsword from reaching them, and they'd been the best ranged combatants in the tournament. If Eric wanted to keep his distance, he would have to be at the absolute top of his game. Under no circ.u.mstances could he allow Hydrus to close the distance. Eric knew his own abilities best, and using his falchion and athame to go against Hydrus' greatsword would be suicide.
No, he decided. Keeping his distance was the only path to victory. Nodding towards the announcer's booth to let Halfthur know he was ready, Eric settled into a fighting stance, drawing his athame and preparing to cast a Wind Dart the moment the fight began.
As both fighters signalled they were ready, Halfthur let out a great shout, "Let the fight, begin!"
Before the words finished leaving Halfthur's lips, Hydrus was already charging forward. There was none of the relaxed or indifferent look that he'd had in previous fights. Instead, he had a look of extreme concentration, as he rushed towards Eric.
Not daring to waste time, Eric had already completed his first Wind Dart, firing the spell towards Hydrus' left side, and away from where the greatsword could slash it in two. Not even pausing to see if his first spell had hit, Eric was running, moving laterally as he fired spell after spell towards Hydrus.
"And Kyp scores first blood! Hydrus is unable to parry the Wind Dart as he did Tanix's Flaming Sphere. But it's going to take a lot more than just one Wind Dart to take down Hydrus!" Halfthur commentated.
"Kyp seems to have learned from the mistakes of Astrid and Tanix. Notice how he's not simply retreating, but instead moving to the side? That forces Hydrus to cover more distance and gives Kyp more room before he runs into the edge of the arena. His spells are also hitting Hydrus in places that are hard to block using a greatsword - Kyp's taking this fight extremely seriously," Wavethur added.
As another Wind Dart smashed into his leg, Hydrus frowned. Eric was taking full advantage of the increased casting speed effect that the Quickwind Dagger gave to wind spells. Despite the increased difficulty that the dagger added to casting, Eric's training with Lucy allowed him to ignore this downside, making his casting speed nearly unrivalled at this point in the game.
Unable to allow Eric to continue casting spells unimpeded, Hydrus let out a roar. As he did so, his form took on a hazy crimson glow, the tip of his greatsword emitting sparks as it trailed on the stone floor behind him.
Casting another Wind Dart, Eric paused in horror, as he watched Hydrus' speed increase by nearly half. Where before he'd been lumbering along, a mighty juggernaut that demanded those in front move out of the way or be crushed, now he was like a runaway train, barreling towards its target without pause.
Doing some quick calculations, Eric groaned. Hydrus had only lost a quarter of his health so far, and the most damage Eric could do before Hydrus caught up to him would be another ten percent or so. It appeared that he would have to take this fight into melee range after all.
"Kyp lands yet another Wind Dart! But Hydrus has finally caught up to him. Will this be the end for Kyp?" Halfthur yelled, standing up as he attempted to follow the fight below.
Hydrus leapt forward. As he did so, the crimson glow enveloping him transitioned to his sword, which glowed with a baleful light as it thundered towards Eric's head.
With quick movements, Eric avoided the attack, the greatsword kicking up shards of stone as it left an enormous gouge in the floor of the stage. Quick as a cat, Eric jumped forward, attempting to get inside Hydrus' range and prevent him from using the greatsword's superior reach and power to his advantage.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Hydrus was prepared for this tactic. As the Quickwind Dagger neared his ribs, he let go of his sword with one arm, catching Eric unprepared with a backfist to the face just before Eric's blade could pierce his armour.
Flying backwards, Eric unleashed the Wind Dart he'd prepared, catching Hydrus in the head as he moved forward for another attack. Rolling once, Eric pushed off from the stone floor, sending him into another roll as Hydrus' greatsword crashed into the place he'd been only milliseconds before.
"Kyp avoids Hydrus' Orc Charge! He attempts to strike back, but Hydrus repels him. But Kyp was ready for this and lands a spell anyways! Kyp's in trouble now though, he's on the ground and Hydrus is approaching with an overhead slash," Halfthur paused, watching in disbelief as Eric dodged the attack. "And Kyp dodges yet again! This is an incredibly high level fight between these two otherworlders. Both fighters are striking fearlessly towards each other, as if they don't fear the other at all!"
"That's not quite the case," Wavesun cut in. "Kyp is clearly watching Hydrus, he's making absolutely sure that that greatsword comes nowhere near him. Despite the minor hits that Hydrus has inflicted upon him, Kyp has managed to avoid taking any critical strikes from Hydrus' greatsword. Hydrus is also being far more careful than we've seen in his other fights - he's managed to keep all but one of Kyp's Wind Darts from striking vital areas, and Kyp's been unable to use his sword or dagger to do any damage at all. Both fighters clearly respect each other's potential, and are doing their best to minimise the damage they're taking."
"Well said, Wavesun. And just as we're saying that, Kyp lands a strike with his dagger! He ducked in under Hydrus' swing and managed to score his first hit with the blade all fight. But Hydrus strikes back immediately! He manages to throw Kyp off balance with a kick, and brings his sword down upon Kyp's back! I hope everyone's watching closely, because this is an incredible battle!" Halfthur shouted excitedly.