Chapter 262 - Her Best Friend
The crowd inside the coliseum was going wild with their screams. The time for the first two Champions of the first round to meet has finally come. They are excited to see the fight that was about to commence.
Monique tapped Ethan's shoulder while he was trapped in her strings. She chuckled and leaned in to whisper, "I'll be your eyes."
She loosened all her strings that were coiled around Ethan, and whipped them around a rock. Monique pulled herself up and squatted on the rock, "If you see a cat, an enemy is nearby."
"A-A cat?" Ethan knit his brows on confusion. His question, however wasn't answered when Monique leaped to another rock and disappeared from his vision.
Monique's actions made the crowd scream with boos and displeasure. The other Champions were now curious about why the crowd was acting this way. They didn't knew what happened between the two of them.
"What was that?" Irv yelled from the speakers. "We had the Legion and Azure Scorch's Champions meet, but they didn't engage in combat."
"Do I smell an alliance forming here, Irv?" Zia quirked her brow up.
Irv nodded, "I think I do. It is not uncommon for Champions to team up and help each other eliminate the rest of the Champions first. They will just settle on who will win right after."
"I think that is what's happening," Zia said. "But can these two keep up with stronger enemies such as Janine from Cosmic Arch, and Rocky from Circus Carnival?"
It took a few more minutes before the crowd cheered again. Two guilds has clashed. It was the Champion from Circus Carnival Guild and another top guild called Rust Saber Guild.
But the fight didn't last for more than a moment.
"And our first Champion has fallen, Rust Saber Guild is eliminated from this round," Irv announced.
"Rocky is still a formidable earth user, don't you think, Irv?" Zia said. "The fight only lasted for about two minutes and she was doing all her best to fight in those two minutes."
Irv hummed in agreement, "He is still one of the best earth users in the kingdom, Zia. There's no doubt about that."
Rocky had his opponent inside three twisted rocks. She was unconscious after she was hit by a large rock in the chest from an earlier attack.
"Aww," Rocky pouted in a playful manner. He leaped from the ground and conjured a shiny black sphere below him like a ball. "I hoped you would come more of a challenge for me. But, oh well."
The man rolled around the battleground with his ball, grinning and laughing as he hunted for his next victim.
Meanwhile, Ethan was running around the battleground when he heard the announcement. He froze after hearing that Rocky defeated an enemy that easily. Ethan knew Rocky was one of the best in their affinity, so he was hoping he wouldn't encounter him throughout the round.
Not long after, Ethan saw a pink string forming a cat on the side of a rock. He stopped and raised his spear, pointing it at the rock. It was then when he realized that this must be what Monique meant.
Ethan instantly raised his guard. He ran to a rock and leaned his back there, waiting for an opponent to appear.
"I don't want this anymore!" A girl was screamed and ran across the field. Ethan swung his spear and stopped it right in front of her. "Please, help me!"
Ethan didn't lower his guard. Trusting this girl may cost him his victory. He walked just a few meters back and pointed his spear at her. "Who are you and why are you screaming?"
"I-I'm from Vulture Torch Guild," she cried. "We didn't want to be here. Please, help me. I want to go home."
She let go of her rusty worn out knife and kneeled in front of him. Her eyes held nothing but truthfulness and fear, everyone would know that she was indeed telling the truth. "Please."
"Calm down first," Ethan said. "Come on, let's find you a spot. You can surrender if we find a safe place."
Ethan took the girl's arm and swung it around his neck. His own arm was supporting her waist while he lifted her up, walking into a more secluded area.
"Don't worry, I will protect you and–"
The girl gasped that made Ethan turn to her. His eyes widened after seeing a glowing arrow right through her chest. The arrow zapped her entire body with electricity, letting her fall unconscious and lost her grip on Ethan.
"It seems like our second Champion has fallen!" Zia announced. "She was being helped by Azure Scorch, but a surprise attack came from behind them."
"Who eliminated her?" Irv asked. "Oh, it's Carridad Pittinger from Swamp Angels Guild!"
"The swamp dudes?" Ethan scrunched his face and slowly laid the girl's body on the floor. The arrow used to pierce her chest was made of mana to let the target fall in a temporary paralysis.
"You really had to do this point blank, huh?" Ethan smirked, but had his aura raging like an angry river.
"She was my prey, I was chasing her earlier before you intervened," the woman grinned. She was wearing a cloak made of grass and green bodysuit. Her belt had four quivers that were full of arrows, making Ethan wonder why she needed those. "I see you found my quivers. I don't like going around without them. It seems… unnatural."
"Unnatural," Ethan nodded. "Okay."
He suddenly dashed forward, running at an incredible speed without showing any signs of slowing down. His spear was beside him, ready to slash into the flesh of the woman.
She raised her wooden bow that was made from an old wood. The middle of the bow was a flower while a pair of vines trailed from the flower to both ends of the bow. "Target locked."
"You have upgraded to Huntress, I see," Ethan said, appearing in front of her. "You're quite strong then."
The huntress gasped and took out one of her arrows. But her actions were too late when Ethan had already swung his spear, clashing with the wooden bow.
The girl was thrown back, having to use both her hands to stop herself from being dragged away. "What a luck for me. A close combat fighter."
Ethan glanced at his bort spear and his hands. He swore that he wasn't this strong. His movements and strength were all enhanced for some reason. It all started when Elliot added him to his party list.
He found himelf glancing at the balcony where his teammates were, looking at a specific brunette boy.
"What secrets do you actually keep, Elliot?"