Chapter 212: The First Esports Tournament — Seventh Division (17)
'Those toxic pricks!' Last Coin inwardly cursed while his teammates openly talked with the enemies. It was difficult for him to even part his lips, provided the situation was terrible.
He was, however, a gamer.
Cursing was a part of him.
He'd at least write a few curses if there was a chat. Alas, that was impossible.
Last Coin inwardly cursed and blamed his opponents for their dirty tricks.
He could count up to seven mages on the opposite side. As a mage, Last Coin knew very well how much destructive force this class wielded and how compatible it was.
The shapeless magic was simple and could adapt so well.
In Casual Clowns, he was the only mage.
With his talent and experience, Last Coin could influence the battlefield in many ways. He also could combine his skills with Jake to conjure the strongest arrow, even much stronger than his Thunder Arrow!
His magic spread far and wide to assist his teammates.
Yet, the enemies had seven mages.
Even if their talent and skills were common, their numbers alone severely limited Last Coin's power.
'Two tanks…' Last Coin narrowed his eyes. Prince was a great asset to the team because he always perfectly dealt with enemy tanks. He'd not let those heavy players dictate the rules!
In the recent fight against Untamed Seventh, he even found nice teamwork with El Boss Queen, which made him look at her in a different light and be more open toward her as a person. It was a compatibility most often found through sheer luck.
'It'd be difficult for him to keep two enemy tanks at bay! The cooldown of his Undead Gauntlet should be up, so he can try his best,' Last Coin thought.
Because the enemies wanted to play fair, Casual Clowns could study their opponents without fighting them.
Jake thought. 'Two assassins.'
He noticed them first, in fact. Before coming to this world, Jake would never expect to consider defeating assassins first before mages.
His feelings toward this class were really complicated.
'Two healers and a swordsman,' Jake added. 'Their team's balance is odd, but their guilds believe in magic supremacy more than anything else. It makes them perfect enemies for me to defeat them, but…'
Jake said aloud in a voice chat. "Do we really have to fight them?"
Last Coin had never craned his head to the side this fast!
Was Jake complaining, or was he trying to run away?
It was too shocking to him, as Jake struck him as someone too confident and stubborn. He'd not give up on something or someone just because it was impossible!
Prince chuckled. "I know what you're getting at, my dark horse."
Last Coin turned his eyes toward him.
Prince kindly smiled at his mage. "These two teams can't fight because we're in their way. They also can't win the game if we find a shelter somewhere at the top. They have enough spheres to create and elevate their own island above the mountain's spire, but neither will allow the other to leave the top. They're keeping an eye on us and each other, too."
"Ah…" Last Coin nodded. He was too muddled by the turmoil brewing in his heart. Now that he pulled away the cork and let those feelings flood out, Last Coin could properly analyze.
He started to see what Prince and Jake were looking at—the picture of their win!
He said, "It's too difficult. If we find shelter inside the temple, they will surround us. The best option would be to enter the woods and be on a constant move there. That would leave me a burden, though. I want to sacrifice myself."
"Wait," Jake said. "Those guys must have mapped this entire place. They know about the forest and its spire. We can't really do much there, right? What if the consumables they've picked up on their way here were traps or something as useful?"
"But…" Last Coin whispered.
Jake smiled. "If there are traps in the forest, you can sense them with your keen eye. Your senses toward the magic are the best, so we need you."
Last Coin clenched his hands. He nodded heavily.
Jake concluded their plan. "We must leave this even part of the top and head straight to the crowded area. We'll use this peak's cliff to our advantage. We must make it to the forest!"
That was when the enemy team clapped their hands.
"We've given you enough time to prepare. The audience must be getting bored, so let's get down to it," the man in grand robes said. He was a mage from The Heavy Spree.
His nickname was Quento.
In an instant, Casual Clowns were blanketed by the heavy pressure.
Last Coin mustered up courage and shouted. "I'm in control now! I will take us to the forest! Believe in me!"
Prince whistled. "Confidence is the best form of art!"
Jake smiled. "We're in your hands."
The beauties of Casual Clowns nodded, their mask revealing half of their lips curved up.
Feeling that essential boost of confidence, Last Coin spread his arms.
-
BANG!
A sudden, dense mist unfolded in less than a few seconds, swallowing Casual Clowns. It was such a thick smokescreen that fourteen enemies were taken aback by it.
One of the assassins said, "They're inside."
The enemies nodded. Relief could be seen on their faces. It'd be a pain in the ass if Casual Clowns had decided to turn around and run around the mountain's spire.
"Attack!" The tank shouted.
His ally tank from the other team responded at the same time. They stood abreast at the helm of their team and raised their shields up, ready to intercept whatever was going at them.
The reason they could have read the move so well despite Casual Clowns shrouded in the mist was that the tanks' perception, combined with their main class, helped them sense moves much more easily and answer them.
A valley of swift arrows left the mist.
Their trajectory was off, and even their strength seemed to be weak. It could be their archer's ploy, so the tanks simultaneously decided to taunt those arrows and put their shields to the test.
All arrows suddenly curved at their shields.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Hah! It's all speed, no damage!"
"This archer is nothing!"
That was when the thunder resounded within the mist. For a second, it seemed like the eyes of a monster flashed in this unnatural nest, looking down on enemies across it.
A small hole appeared in the mist, from which the arrow no one could see slid out.
Only one of the tanks suddenly felt a terrible precognition. He stared ahead, with only his eyes peeking from atop the shield. He was also encased in the full armor, so nothing should ever wound him, at least not at the beginning of the battle.
Yet, that image of the monsters' eyes resurfaced in his mind.
For a few quick breaths, he could feel like someone's presence washed over him.
BANG!
The second thunder echoed on the mountain's spire.
The tank's brain rattled as the thunder boomed from his shield! No, it even went ahead and pierced through his armor! It meant that his expensive shield had been destroyed in a second!
He felt a cold wind and blood on his chest, meaning that even his armor failed to intercept the attack!
A sharp object protruded from his chest.
'What… just happened?' he could only ask himself.
The screams of his teammates eluded him. Only the giggling thunder bounced off in his brain and ears.
'Why am I behind my teammates? Who put me here?' he asked himself, clueless about his state.
What happened was simple.
Last Coin understood that his mist was a problem to Jake's archery. He created a wind tunnel for Jake's Fenrir's Arrow and strengthened it with his lightning bolt. Before doing that, however, he told Jake to release his fastest arrows at the enemies without the intent to damage them.
All he wanted was a fake attack!
Odin savored the lightning, reaching new heights. It dawned on him that he needed a lightning element! Or rather, that the lightning itself dwelled within him. He was just too weak or too young to release it!
It was something he'd tell Jake later.
For now, he used someone else's lightning as a source to reach the new power! It resulted in their arrow obliterating the enemy's shield and armor! It didn't even crack, just exploded into shards! It was such a domination that Odin's tattoo burned with killing intent and pride.
Meanwhile, the alliance stared ahead, their eyes trembling.
Quento screamed. "The mist is moving! They're on their way to the forest!" He thought. 'I'm not surprised our guilds want that archer dead! He goes against our philosophies! He also dared to steal Cerberus from us!
His damage is on another level! But that mage? Who is he?! He's perfect for us! To be able to make such a mist in less than a second with low-level skills and even make it move! Last Coin?
Where did I hear that nickname from?!'