Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

"Let the fighting begin!" announced the narrator excitedly.

At the same time, the sound of a gong echoed throughout the Valkyria Arena station, indicating the start of the first quarterfinal battle.

Kaizen and Evan moved at the same time, each with previously pre-defined strategies.

Wasting no time, Kaizen moved quickly towards Evan, wielding the Eye of Storm stiffly. He wanted to take advantage of the increase in his speed and strength provided by <Giant's Lungs> to put pressure on Evan and not give him any room to use any magic, considering Evan was holding a mage staff. Kaizen did not have any information about what Evan was capable of and what he was not, he only knew that Evan was probably a very versatile and powerful mage, capable of using various types of spells and incantations to attack, defend or even control the battlefield. He couldn't let Evan have time to prepare any of his spells.

Since Evan was a mage, he took a few steps back in order not to let Kaizen get so close, keeping a safe distance from Kaizen even with his rapid advance.

Then Evan raised his staff and began to conjure a spell without a grimoire, only with words.

"Voxyria, Mystiflora, Distancium magicae, Sylpharia!"

Kaizen was surprised to hear this series of words, because even though most of them were not understandable, he could understand what would happen next, when a greenish glow appeared from the tip of Evan's staff, shining on the Psyker's sword blade.

Evan wanted to use his range and variety advantage to keep Kaizen at bay and attack him with a magic from afar. That was obvious to anyone. Possibly, Evan had seen other videos of Kaizen, especially from the previous fight, and found that Kaizen was a very skilled and strong swordsman, able to use various moves and techniques to cut, pierce and dodge his attacks. He could not let Kaizen get close or use his sword.

Still, when a wave of wind was fired by Evan in Kaizen's direction, trying to stop his advance, all the Psyker did was stretch his hand forward, and the wind magic collided with something invisible, causing an atrocious gale. The wind was not even enough to slow Kaizen, who came close to Evan in a matter of moments and struck a horizontal blow with his sword, aiming at his opponent's chest.

Evan managed to react quickly, dodged to the side and aimed his staff at Kaizen, quickly launching a fireball in his direction without any precondition.

Kaizen also had an ability to control fire, only only fire created by himself, not from other players, monsters, or NPCs, so he had to think quickly of a way to defend himself.

So he spun his body around and hit the fireball with his sword, as if he were playing baseball, creating not only a spark in the air, but a smaller explosion. He continued his movement and tried to hit Evan with a vertical blow, aiming for his opponent's head.

Evan ducked and rolled backwards, narrowly avoiding the blow. He stood up quickly and swung his staff, creating a barrier of ice in front of him. At this point in the battle, it was more than obvious that Evan was not a magician like the others, but an Elemental Mage.

Thinking he couldn't let Evan breathe for too long, otherwise it would give him time to set some trap, Kaizen didn't stop his attack and slammed his sword into the ice barrier, trying to break it. The barrier cracked a little, but did not break. Evan took advantage of the gap and launched a powerful gust of wind, which broke the barrier and threw Kaizen backwards.

The Psyker was not expecting it, so he lost his balance for an instant, but recovered soon after. When he opened his eyes, he saw Evan among the pieces of ice in the air, running to the opposite side of the arena.

'He's trying to gain more space to use his magic. He definitely has something hidden up his sleeves.' Kaizen thought, recovered and ran after his opponent.

Evan looked back and saw Kaizen approaching him, yet he continued to run across the battlefield, looking for a new strategic position to cast his spells. He knew that Kaizen was skilled with the sword and could not risk getting too close to him again, because he knew he would not be able to dodge every blow. As he ran, he observed the surrounding terrain, looking for any advantage he could find.

The arena they were in was large, with a few stone pillars scattered around, from the various other fights, creating natural obstacles. The ground was dirt, with a few puddles of water from the previous rain. The sky was cloudy, with a few rays of sunlight breaking through the clouds. The wind was blowing strongly, making the hair of the two players flutter.

At this moment Evan saw an opportunity. He noticed that there was a stone pillar near where Kaizen was standing, and that the wind was blowing in his direction. Instantly, he had an idea.

Evan stopped suddenly, pointed his staff at Kaizen, implying that he would fire another spell in Kaizen's direction, but then he aimed at the pillar and cast an earth spell.

Everything suddenly shook, making Kaizen's world shake as he ran. He looked to the side and saw a large pillar to his left shattering into dozens of smaller rocks. Kaizen saw the stones flying toward him, but he was undeterred by Evan's attack.

[Activating Class Skill <Psychokinesis>.]

This ability allowed Kaizen to stop all the heavy stones in mid-air, which scared the thousands of people in the stadium and Evan as well.

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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