Game 3: The Lesson III
672 Words
Rico wastes no time with the objectives at hand and commands Uber helion to capture. He watches his progress sweep across the progress bar while watching out for the opponent's counterplay.
Climbing up from the river, she knows she won't make it in time. Midway up the ladder, she leaps towards the bridge.
Rico smirks at this desperate move. He knows from experience that you cannot reach the bridge this way.
In a moment's notice, however, the desperation transfers to him through the windslash that he took head-on. Naika cast it mid-air. She launched the sharp wind blades right in front of Rico before she fell back into the river, only this time, with Rico diving in right after.
Combat in the water would be risky, and virtually luck-based due to the currents. None of them even tried to make a play before getting back on land.
Both of them ditched the ladders and headed straight into the sewer network. Rico towards Naika's spawnpoint, and Naika towards Rico's.
For a while, there was no clashing of metal or throwing of rocks, or sharp winds slicing through the air. There were only silent footsteps echoing through linear caves made of old bricks and water splashing from a waterfall outside.
Too bad, there was no time to enjoy that moment of peace. They find each other unintentionally behind the waterfall, the only path that connects the two underground ruins. It seems they had the same thing in mind.
"You know, you're smarter than I thought, I'll give you that. But this is the end of the line for you" Rico declares.
Windslash's cooldown had just been refreshed, and they both know. Rico, in response, does the sequence of moves for warshock, his cast-canceling ability and holds it before it is finished, waiting for Naika to shoot her bullet.
She acts the sequence for windslash too, but right before she finishes the sequence, she jumps.
They both execute their spells, but windslash prevailed and Rico slid downwards in an attempt to elude the shot, but nonetheless, it hit Rico critically. One combo could force him to use fury to save himself from being combo'd to death.
"I figured your cast-canceling should have a mode of transmission", Naika said.
"Oh?" Rico said. "Do tell. I might give you a high grade based on your...report, dear student" he jests.
"The first time you used it, I was far away. If it were an AOE ability, it would break the balance of the game just by its range" Naika said.
Rico grins. His interest ill yet piqued. "Hmm... Go on".
"Back at the bridge, you saw me coming at you performing windslash. You already have proved that your reaction time was fast enough to detect it. Your skill couldn't have been on cooldown. The last time you used it was already a while ago. It could only mean that it wasn't that you couldn't use it because of humanly fault, but because a programmed condition wasn't met", Naika smiled.
Rico returned the smile, "Which is?".
"It travels through the ground, doesn't it?" Naika makes her final statement.
"Very good. You are a fast learner. Minus one though, for that lengthy explanation. You could have just said that because I was an earth user, you must watch out from earth" he said before covering himself in a sandstorm.
Naika's knows what's coming. He's going to empower his rock spike, and with these walls encasing her, there is no dodging this time.
The spike connects, but she uses her last ace up her sleeve, crescent cleave, to deflect the giant nail back at Rico her and turn the tides. His aura afterwards would only allow a couple more hits before being sent back to spawn if it wouldn't already, but it was IF it would hit, which proved itself wrong.
After the sandstorm subsided it revealed that Rico wasn't hit. He wasn't there at all, and must already be racing to get his hands on the flag.
"You're not the only one with a few tricks" he bantered.
Naika immediately followed after him, frustrated that he was still one step ahead after all that.
- Writer
