Chapter 111: The Disrespectful Elegance
Chapter 111: Chapter 111: The Disrespectful Elegance
Chapter 111: The Disrespectful Elegance
[Global Timer: 06:43]
Vaelith Starbane stumbled through the portal. He landed heavily on the dark, sandy floor of a massive underground colosseum.
He was panting. His perfectly styled hair was ruined with sweat and dust, and a thin trail of dried blood crusted his jawline. Before he could even catch his breath, the heavy iron gates across the arena ground open.
Three massive Armored Trolls stepped into the light. They were easily fifteen feet tall, entirely encased in thick, riveted steel plating. They dragged gargantuan iron war hammers behind them.
Vaelith gritted his teeth. He channeled his lightning and lunged forward, swinging his crackling blade directly at the lead troll’s chest.
CLANG!
The strike bounced off the steel armor violently. The recoil sent a painful shockwave up Vaelith’s arm. The troll merely grunted, raising its massive hammer and bringing it down with terrifying speed.
Vaelith threw himself backward.
BOOM!
The hammer shattered the stone floor where he had just been standing. Shrapnel rained down on his shoulders.
’My normal strikes are completely useless against this armor,’ Vaelith thought frantically, his chest heaving.
’I am wasting too much mana. I need to end this instantly, or my time will be ruined.’
He tightened his grip on his sword. He watched the trolls closely as they lifted their hammers for another coordinated strike. In that brief, tense moment, he saw it. When they raised their arms above their heads, the thick steel collars around their throats shifted upward, exposing a tiny, two-inch gap of gray flesh.
’There,’ Vaelith realized. ’I have to risk it all on a single motion.’
He took a deep breath, pulling every last drop of his core mana into his blade. The silver steel glowed blindingly white. He prepared his ultimate move.
The three trolls charged, swinging their hammers in a deadly, sweeping arc.
Vaelith dropped to his knees. He slid across the rough sand, passing directly under the massive, sweeping hammers.
WHOOSH!
As he slid beneath the lead troll, Vaelith thrust his glowing sword straight up into the tiny gap in the neck armor. He unleashed the stored lightning.
ZAP!
The electric current fried the monster’s brain instantly. The troll collapsed. Vaelith did not stop. He launched himself off the falling corpse, twisting in midair to plunge his blade into the neck of the second troll, and then the third.
He landed on the sand, completely exhausted, his sword arm trembling violently. He had survived, but the fight had cost him dearly.
[Vaelith Starbane Cumulative Clear Time: 14:12]
---
[Global Timer: 00:19]
Draven Mordis stepped onto the dark colosseum sand.
Across the arena, the three Armored Trolls roared. They raised their gargantuan war hammers and charged. The ground shook violently under their immense weight.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Draven simply looked down at the dirt at his feet.
Using his telekinesis, Draven gently picked up three tiny pebbles from the sand. Each rock was barely the size of a grape. He floated them in the air directly in front of his face.
The charging trolls saw the tiny floating rocks. A guttural, mocking laugh erupted from their mechanical throats. They raised their massive hammers to crush the arrogant human into paste.
Draven stared at the lead troll with cold, dead eyes.
He applied a massive, hyper-concentrated forward vector to the three pebbles. In a fraction of a millisecond, he accelerated the tiny rocks from zero to several times the speed of sound.
CRACK!
A deafening sonic boom ruptured the air inside the colosseum.
The three pebbles became invisible projectiles. They punched straight through the thick, impenetrable steel chest plates of the charging trolls before the sound of the launch even reached their ears.
The three massive monsters took two more confused steps forward. They stopped. They slowly looked down at the smoking, perfectly circular holes in the center of their chests.
Then, all three trolls collapsed simultaneously.
CRASH!
Draven stepped over their massive steel corpses. He adjusted the cuffs of his coat as the exit portal illuminated before him.
’Slain by a pebble,’ Draven thought, a dark smirk crossing his face.
’Not the sort of epitaph a troll would appreciate.’
It was fast. It was incredibly efficient. And it carried a certain disrespectful elegance that Draven truly enjoyed.
[Draven Mordis Cumulative Clear Time: 00:23]
---
Thousands of miles away, the atmosphere inside the opulent VIP observation lounge of Bastion One was suffocating.
The Vanguard Elders stared at the giant holographic screens in growing disbelief. Their carefully groomed champion was being systematically dismantled by an unknown contender from the outer rings.
Their smug confidence completely curdled into pure outrage.
SMASH!
A crystal glass shattered violently against the polished marble floor. Gilded chairs scraped back as several Elders shot to their feet. Furious accusations erupted across the chamber.
"This is a farce!" the scarred Elder roared, his face purple with rage. "Get the simulation engineers in here right this second!"
The heavy wooden doors burst open. A team of terrified Vanguard engineers scrambled into the VIP lounge. They were sweating profusely, cornered under the murderous scrutiny of powerful men who were desperate to protect their pride, their influence, and their carefully constructed narrative.
"Explain this immediately!" the jewel-draped noblewoman screamed, pointing a trembling finger at the global leaderboard.
Rank 1: Draven Mordis
"Who is Draven Mordis?" the scarred Elder barked, grabbing the lead engineer by his white collar.
"Why wasn’t he in our records? How is our champion losing to a nameless peasant from Bastion Seven?!"
"We... we do not know, my Lord!" the lead engineer stammered, frantically tapping his tablet.
"His files are completely average! But the simulation servers are not malfunctioning. I swear it! This boy’s kinetic outputs are registering off the global charts!"
The VIP lounge fell into a tense, explosive silence. The high-stakes political drama had just reached a boiling point. Elite corruption and wounded egos clashed with mounting panic.
The Elders looked back at the screen. The unsettling realization slowly washed over them. An unknown, terrifying force had just entered the game, and Bastion One was completely powerless to stop it.