eFate: An MMO Story Chapter 92: Eric vs Rob (1)

"Lol sure," Rob replied, looking supremely unconcerned.

Taking their positions, Eric and Rob both looked towards the announcer's booth, waiting for Halfthur to start the fight.

Seeing the two fighters staring up towards the booth, Halfthur let out a shout, "Let the fight, begin!"

As Halfthur's shout echoed through the arena, Eric looked at Rob. He'd fought alongside Rob for years across many different games and he knew his playstyle well. Even though they'd only played Fate together for just over a week, his understanding of Rob's fighting style was deep.

Unfortunately, the same was true for Rob. While Eric hadn't revealed all of the abilities he'd gained from studying under Lucy, it was most likely that the same could be said for Rob. Eric had no idea what Rob had learned from studying with the combat focused Rimestone Circle. As such, this was likely to be his most intense fight yet.

Abandoning any thoughts he might've had about hiding his magic, Eric drew his athame, leaving the falchion sheathed as he confronted his friend.

As the audience watched, two pairs of runes appeared in midair, as both Eric and Rob fired spells at each other.

"And Kyp opens the fight with a Wind Blade, but Hope responds with a Stone Sphere! Both fighters are casting spells non-stop, it looks like we've got a proper mage fight on our hands!" Halfthur commented excitedly, rising from his seat as he watched the events unfolding below.

Spell after spell whistled across the stage below, as Eric and Rob both attempted to be the first to break through the other's defenses. Dodging to the side, Eric watched as a Stone Sphere sailed past, slamming into the stage behind him and showering is legs with shrapnel.

This isn't going to work. His earth spells are acting like grenades. Even when he doesn't hit me directly, I still lose a bit of health, Eric thought with a frown, firing a Wind Dart towards Rob as he did so.

Standing in place, Rob continued to shower the area around Eric with spells, aiming for his lower body to allow his missed spells to strike the stage near Eric's feet.

"Hope's Stone Sphere seems to be giving Kyp some trouble. His health is slowly going down with every spell he dodges. Even though he's hitting Hope with the occasional spell, that damage he's taking is starting to add up," Halfthur commented.

"Yes, Kyp needs to find a way to either increase the rate that he's dealing damage to Hope, or find a way to negate the damage that he's taking from those stone shards," Wavesun added, leaning closer to observe the fight below.

Eric grimaced as he heard the announcer's commentary. They were right, if he didn't find a way to start outdamaging Rob, then he was going to lose this war of attrition. Guess I've got no choice, gotta advance, Eric decided, leaving the area he'd been standing in since the start of the fight as he began to advance towards Rob.

Abandoning offense, Eric began to rush towards Rob, firing Arcane Strikes at him as he ran to throw off Rob's aim. As he ran, Eric did his best to dodge Rob's spells, rolling and dodging to avoid the various Stone Spheres and Water Blades that Rob sent his way. Jumping, Eric twisted his body, going nearly horizontal as Rob's Stone Sphere passed just underneath him.

"And Kyp advances! He's already covered more than half the stage, is he planning to bring the fight to melee range? We already know he's pretty deadly with that falchion," Halfthur speculated, watching as Eric slid underneath a Water Blade.

"I don't think that's a great idea. We already watched Hope take on a very good close-combat fighter in Ziral Ironbane last round. Hope's ability to kite was absolutely phenomenal last round, and I see no reason why it should be any different this round. Kyp's going to need to do more than just bring the fight into melee range if he wants to defeat his teammate here," Wavesun commented.

Under the crowd's watchful gazes, Eric arrived within five metres of Rob's position. Coming to a sudden halt, Eric ducked as he avoided another Water Blade, firing an Arcane Strike in response which struck Rob in the chest.

"Gonna come any closer? I've beaten Ryan before, and he's a better swordsman than you are," Rob stated, preparing another spell as he watched Eric begin to circle.

"Heh, who said that I was going to use my sword? I've got a different plan," Eric replied, casting a Wind Dart towards Rob.

As the audience watched, the true mage's duel began. Both Eric and Rob fired spell after spell towards each other from only a couple metres away, the spells flashing in the sun as they crossed the short distance between the two mages.

At this distance, Eric's spells were much more accurate, his Wind Darts striking Rob repeatedly. His dodges were also far more effective, as Rob was forced to cast spells directly at Eric in order to keep his damage output high. As a result, many of Rob's spells flew past, exploding harmlessly several metres away.

"Ah, I think I understand," Wavesun commented thoughtfully.

"You've figured out Kyp's plan?" Halfthur asked excitedly, causing the audience to perk up.

"Yes. One of Kyp's biggest strengths is his ability to avoid attacks. Against Mikasa, he was able to avoid almost all of her strikes. Even earlier this fight, he was avoiding most of Hope's spells, it was just that the splash damage from the Stone Spheres meant that he was accumulating more damage despite his fairly high accuracy with his own spells," Wavesun explained.

Halfthur nodded, "Right. But how does Kyp advancing allow him to win? Hasn't Hope's accuracy improved now that Kyp's closer?"

"Yes. But Kyp is still dodging the majority of Hope's spells. Look," Wavesun replied.

As Halfthur and the audience watched, Eric dodged another spell, leaping horizontally over a Stone Sphere and firing an Arcane Strike towards Rob in response. Rolling, Eric avoided another Stone Sphere, which exploded behind him, showering his back with stone splinters.

Ignoring this, Eric drew the rune for an Arcane Strike mid-roll, completing the spell even as he tumbled across the ground. Rolling to his feet, Eric fired the Arcane Strike directly at Rob, disrupting his attempt to cast another spell as the runes he was drawing exploded into sparkles of light.

Chapter end