20 - Playing Just a Tiny Little Bit More

Earth In Words Institute, Small Lake

Beatrice breathes deeply as her hand hesitates for a brief second before the beautiful silver instrument carefully tucked inside its case. Even before truly touching it, she can already feel its wooden touch open her fingertips, a ghost sensation born from countless hours of practice.

The familiar shape which seems to fit perfectly in her grip is at the same time nerve-racking, as it is exhilarating, and Beatrice finds that her arm hairs stand on end as she rises and puts herself in position.

Well done, Linda. Remember, as a Swain, nothing less than perfection is expected of you. Do not disappoint me.

Almost absently, Beatrice drags her bow across the violin's strings, producing a single long note to travel the small clearing.

Should she request the System for a score to follow?

Beatrice…?! What have you done…!? Ah, forget it… I suppose your sister will take care of being the host for today... Again.

Beatrice shakes her head. No. She'll have to catch up to the rest of them eventually, but she'll need to put in more effort than one single morning to do it, and today, she doesn't feel like following a sheet of boring notes done by an AI.

Today, she'll play as she enjoys, and forget.

Forget about her family. About herself. About everything.

Shh! She's going to hear you!

So what?! I'm done! Nobody can handle being around her! She's a demon in child form!

What composes a song? Mere notes connected together competently? Feelings? Some sort of soul, perceived by the listener?

Beatrice figures she isn't smart enough to figure it out.

Some people enjoy the songs created by AIs. Some people claim they have no soul.

How many times do we have to tell you to stop bothering your sister?! Can't you see she has more important things to give her attention to?!

…What? You like her instruments…? Fine, I'll buy you some, then.

Strange, isn't it? Beatrice has been accused of having no soul herself, on occasion. In which case, are her compositions the same as the ones produced by the System, or similar, but different in a fundamental way?

Beatrice doesn't know. What Beatrice knows is that, for all the bad names she has been called, for all the people she has despised, she has always poured everything into her music.

Are you satisfied?! We've lost a third maid! A third!

Gradually, separate and seemingly disconnected notes are attached together by Beatrice's movements. It is a simple melody, something anyone in her class would be able to come up with, but it is a start.

Beatrice, I don't know what to do anymore. Why did you break your sister's flute? You knew she had a concert coming, didn't you?

The notes gain consistency, as the melody becomes incorporated by something.

What could it be?

Beatrice wonders, as she feels the pressure building up from her fast-moving right arm.

Hey, did you hear about the kid whose teacher lost their job because of the rumors she spread?!

Beatrice's bare feet touch the grass in an awkward attempt to follow the melody's fast rhythm, her body moving almost as if on its own.

But they're so different… How could two sisters…

Round, round, and round again… The world spins around Beatrice, but her hands never stop moving as a small smile quirks her lips apart.

The infamous Beatrice Swain, so lost in her own melody she started to dance. Ludicrous, something to be expected of a commoner... Her mother's blood runs through her veins, after all. What did you expect?

She has gone too far this time! Somebody needs to do something!

Her melody's climax begins and finishes but Beatrice doesn't feel like slowing down in the slightest. The calm of the small lake is taken over by tunes of high and down notes following a pattern only she can understand, her laugh now mixed among them.

And, at last, her body doesn't follow the music; the music follows her movements.

***

Gaming Center, Second Floor

'Shouldn't they… have disappeared by now?'

Disappointingly, Sara's group found no trouble throughout the rest of their journey, either from players or mobs. After running through one last short section of somber forest, they arrived at a large clearing leading into an impressively sized cave entrance on the side of a hill.

And dozens, maybe more than a hundred wolf corpses cover the path leading to it, staining trees, snow, and ground. The animals were crushed, cut in half, or beheaded cleanly, some of them brutalized to the point Sara can't identify the cause of their deaths anymore.

Staring at her screen in amazement, Sara tries to make sense of the several pieces of bodies covering the snow, some still fresh enough to leak blood.

'Dungeon perk. Something about a curse, if you're really interested to know… But I'd suggest that you look while moving. We shouldn't delay any longer.'

'Will do, Sir!'

'I'm glad you're having fun,' Zach murmurs.

More like she's barely keeping it together by joking… Not that she's about to admit that.

As they approach the entrance, Sara sharpens her ears, attempting to catch something that would give away an ambush waiting within. But church-like silence surrounds their group, even as SlashingWing's footsteps change from snow to stone, and Sara's screen gradually adjusts to a darker environment.

Sara scans her gaze over the many descending passages to branch out of the main cave, before landing it over the mutilated corpse of a much larger wolf.

'Mid-boss,' Charles announces, probably for Sara's benefit, 'Avril and the others should be at the bottom. Follow the stream of blood.'

Controlling her character to glance down, Sara realizes that, indeed, a small river of blood was gathered from the many corpses as it runs into one of the side passages leading into the dark.

'Cool. I'd never have guessed it on my own.'

The feature will most likely become meaningless once it spreads across the Community, but Sara still appreciates the thought FG developers must've put behind it.

'Remember to watch out for players, since we were the ones supposed to be guarding this place,' Charles reminds.

And descend they do, ignoring any side passages leading away from their bloody trail as Charles spearheads his PeaceSeeker ahead of the group.

The underground passage continues for much longer than Sara anticipated, revealing what might have been a nightmarish labyrinth in different circumstances, especially for players pressed for time as they attempt to reach the final boss before the dungeon closes.

Dungeon Cleared! Congratulations to players: DarkEnding, ColorfulFlow, JadeFlower, and JadeKnight for clearing the final boss!

Exit Instance PVP Map, Restless Underground City of Hydlina?

Sara pauses her character as she stares over the prompt on the screen, nearly conforming it by accident.

'Don't accept,' Charles warns, 'They'll wait for us, and we still have almost fifteen minutes before the dungeon closes to finish the gathering. Nobody will bother us in here now, it's perfect.'

'Got it.'

Sara refuses the prompt as she continues to follow after PeaceSeeker, and it isn't long before the passage finally ends, opening up as it reveals a much larger cavernous space.

As she walks SlashingWind through the entrance of what she presumes is the final boss's room, Sara realizes the "room" actually has no end in sight, instead, ending upon a large body of water where stone and dirt meet with nearly transparent liquid.

Hydlina, Sara deduces, is the city of impressive proportions she's able to glimpse at through the water, sunken and forgotten. And at the margin of the lake, rounding the dead body of a wolf at least three times their size, Sara's former teammates await.

'I'm joining their call,' Charles warns, moments prior to four new yet familiar voices invading Sara's thoughts.

'It was so fast! For a moment there I thought I was going to die for sure!'

Sara recognizes the first speaker as Grace, the girl who glared at her earlier. Her character, JadeFlower, which has a very similar look to Sara's own apart from possessing a style of short hair like that of its owner, does in fact seem to sustain several small cuts and injuries.

'And it was able to avoid so many of our attacks near the end… Almost like it was learning during the fight. It's scary to think of what they're doing with these AIs nowadays.'

Recognizing the second voice as Braden's (the third swordsman in their merry band and by far the most skilled one), Sara glances at his JadeKnight, noticing that his character is covered by several large bloody claw marks to a point where she is amazed it is alive.

It looks as though he and Grace were both forced to act as tanks during the fight because of Charles's absence.

'Aren't you ashamed of complaining so much about a simple puppy, when you call yourselves pro players?' Zach cuts in as he approaches his character from the group.

'Well, it was fun, so you won't hear any complaints on my part, but… I tried my best to keep alive those too incompetent to avoid the enemy's attacks. It isn't my fault they kept throwing themselves onto the wolf's claws,' Shani, Sara's neighbor and the second archer in their party, emotes her still unscratched character to perform a bow towards their trio. 'Glad to see you managed to find your way, Sara.'

'Hi Shani. I'm glad you're still as sharp as those arrows of yours.'

Grace snorts through their group connection. 'Don't reward her bitchy behavior, lost pup. Look at what we have to deal with already.'

'Okay, that's enough. We came here for a reason,' Charles interjects, walking his PeaceSeeker to stand near the others as it stares toward the last, silent member of their group. 'I think we're good to start whenever you are, Avril.'

DarkEnding, their captain and only lancer, has its back turned toward their group, staring into the lake's deep waters. Even as Avril speaks, her character still remains unmoving, 'These wolves… They made this place a home. A home we invaded, butchering our way through and killing everything in sight. And for what?'

DarkEnding turns in the group's direction as a single swing of its lance cuts the air, decapitating the giant wolf's head cleanly, then points its weapon at it as the head rolls past its boots toward the water.

'This pathetic thing… Unable to run, and unable to finish off any of its equally pathetic adversaries. Cornered, desperate, and predictable. And look at YOU. Tell me, was there glory in this? …Or was it for fun?'

Avril speaks the word as if cursing, her voice growing dangerously low as she walks her character over the newly created trail of blood toward their group.

'Avril, I thought we were only doing this while waiting for the team meeting. I didn't think we were supposed to take it seriously-' Braden attempts to interject, only to have JadeKnight's head nearly cut off by a sudden slash from DarkEnding's spear.

'You thought? No, Braden, you didn't think. You see, if you had, you'd have done what I told you to, instead of throwing yourself in front of the stupid wolf's claws repeatedly to save the poor excuse of a creature you call a girlfriend,' Avril continues, voice dripping with poison, 'Now, refresh my memory, and tell me what role I assigned you before the fight.'

'Avril-' Grace starts, only to cut herself off as DarkEnding's spear turns to point toward her battered character.

'Braden has a dick, what's your excuse? Do you think I don't know why you kept fighting the wolf head-on even after I ordered you to stop? Were you so worried about being replaced you forgot how to play?! Do you think Sara would've needed so much help just to stay alive?!'

A brief silence lingers over the group as Avril releases a sigh through their connection. 'Just because you were able to win playing the way you did doesn't mean it was good enough. We play for glory, not fun. Is that clear?'

'…Yes. I'm sorry,' Grace eventually responds, 'You are right in that I was distracted during the fight. It was my fault Braden couldn't follow the plan, so don't take it out on him.'

'He should've allowed you to die if that's what it took to finish off the boss. Instead, he chose to ignore his role and save you… And if I can't trust him not to do the same during an official match, how am I supposed to run the team?'

'I… I wouldn't do the same during an official match.'

'You think your word is worth shit to me? If you're serious about it, then prove it by playing better. Julius and Perla… The ball is with us now.'

Neither Braden nor Grace seem to have the courage to reply anymore, and a heavy silence fills the call, though it lasts but a moment before DarkEnding's blood-stained spear turns towards SlashingWind's first-person point of view, causing Sara to almost jump from her chair.

'But let us not forget the reason we were wasting our time here in the first place. Overconfidence, carelessness, neglect… Does it ring a bell? Watching her fight yesterday made me wanna puke, and then quit For Glory forever… Anyone care to take a guess at what I'm referring to?'

Avril commands DarkEnding to put away its spear as she emotes the character to cross its arms.

Sara feels the gaze of her ex-teammates as something physical, both inside and outside of the game, and her heart seems about to jump out of its cage as the seconds drag on.

Should she… say something? Apologize? Beg? Explain her strengths as a possible team member?!

Just as Sara isn't able to take in the silence anymore, Zach steps his character forward, having it glancing over the group.

'Okay, fine, I'll start if none of you pussies are willing. Last semester, we had one of our members desert for personal reasons. Considering the circumstances, school rules demand we take a vote in accepting her back or not. Anyone got something to add before we start?'

'Let's get this over it,' Shani adds, 'Who's starting?'

'I'll start,' Charles speaks, causing Sara's heart to skip a beat.

Out of all the players here, maybe besides Avril, he is the one she respects the most. If he doesn't accept her back…

'First, I believe Sara is a talented player who has the potential to help the team. Second, I believe she had good reasons to leave, even if she doesn't trust us enough to share… Not that she should feel forced to. And third, I believe she deserves a second chance to prove herself. My vote is yes.'

'Well said, my friend,' Zach adds, 'Or close enough, anyway. My vote is also yes, for the reasons he said.'

'Sara's cool,' Shani says, 'Yes.'

Wait, wait, wait. Things are moving a bit too fast for Sara to keep up. This means a three to zero, right? Out of six? And Avril already said she was tired of looking for a replacement…

She can scarcely believe it. She's back? Just like this?

'Wait, I have a proposal,' Grace interjects, stepping her character forward.

…Or maybe not.

'You can't take a loss; We get it love, now shut up so we can begin our day, yes?' Shani speaks.

'First off, we don't know if I have "lost" yet. Avril could draw it…'

'Already counting your boyfriend's vote on your side, huh? Sweet.'

'…And second off, you don't even know what I'm about to say, you insufferable fucking cun-!'

'All right, all right, Grace, please, you should know better than to fall for her bait. If you have something to say, then go ahead… Though I wish you had done so before we started voting.'

'Thank you, Charles. AS I was saying… I have a proposal.'

As Grace's character, JadeFlower, turns to face her own, Sara has no problem imagining the girl's sharp features instead.

'As we all know, the team doesn't need three short-range damage dealers. And Braden is the best out of us three, which means either Sara gets to play… Or I do. Now, whatever you fuckers might think about me, I do care about the team, and I wouldn't ask you to accept a worse player out of pity.'

'What's your point?' Zach prompts.

'My point is that I can't trust my position to someone who left us hanging once. Who is to say she won't do it again, in the middle of the season when we won't have time to find a new player?! For some of us, gaming is our life… Isn't it the same for the rest of you?! I don't want to depend on someone who treats this as a mere game!'

'You could always replace her again if that happens… But I see what you're getting at. Subbing in a player who hasn't had much time in real matches is never ideal. What's your proposal?'

The sharp noise of a sword being unsheathed echoes across the underground cave, and Sara finds herself facing the tip of JadeFlower's weapon as the character performs the emote indicating a challenge being issued.

'I propose an official duel. If Sara defeats me, then I won't have anything more to say. But if I win, then she'll stay benched for this season and I'll get to play instead.'

Her hands frozen over the keyboard and mouse, Sara hesitates.

She's rusty, while Grace has only sharpened herself since they last played. And it isn't like the difference was that big in the first place.

Benched for the entire season… Would she still have a shot at pro gaming if that happened?

If she refuses, it is possible the others will still accept her deserter ass back onto the team anyway… But knowing Grace, she knows the girl won't let this go easily if she is forced to accept it.

More importantly, not only Charles, but Shani is also in her last year, and their future depends on the team's performance to a certain extent. Don't they deserve to have the best player available?

'Avril? What do you make of this?' Charles asks.

'If the stupid monkeys can't figure things out without fighting, then let them fight. It will be faster,' Avril replies emotionlessly.

'We still have eight minutes before the dungeon closes,' Grace adds, 'What do you say, pup?'

'Look, Sara, you don't need to accept this,' Shani interjects, 'She knows you'll win the vote, and she's trying to take advantage of the fact you haven't played much recently to secure her spot. There's literally no benefit for you in this.'

Sara takes a deep breath. 'Thank you, Shani. And the rest of you too, for giving me a second chance. But she is right in that I left you guys hanging. Let's get this over with.'

Sara steps SlashingWind forward, leaving her and Grace in the middle, facing. Some of the others hesitate, but end up following their captain's lead, in the end, as they step back.

'Are you both sure about this?' Charles asks. 'Grace, shouldn't you at least heal your character?'

'I'm good to go. It's that one you should be worrying about.'

Silence descends upon the cave. The translucent lake waters, the wolf's gruesome body, the distant unknown darkness, and her former teammates compose the background. The floor is flat stone, her arena a medium size circle where she has no choice but to meet her opponent head-on…

Grace suddenly dashes JadeFlower forward.

And Sara hurriedly steps SlashingWind back, leaving her opponent's attack range, then aiming a precise kick at their sword pommel just as their attack animation is about to end.

'Oldest trick in the book, pup! Nice try though!'

Sara curses as she realizes the attack missed by less than a hair strand.

Having wasted her opportunity, she is barely able to avoid JadeFlower's rising sword as it rapidly slashes from below by rolling as Grace chases after her, easily able to connect her slashes and kicks in a way to stop Sara from hitting back.

Sara ignores her screen as it constantly flashes in red; Were she to wait for the game's warning in order to react, it'd be far too late to avoid her opponent's combos, which grow in precision and voracity as the seconds pass…

Suddenly, Sara slashes her own sword downwards, but, as though expecting the blow, JadeFlower's momentum is abruptly transferred into a roll, avoiding the attack completely.

"Fuck!"

Unfortunately, given SlashingWind's ongoing attack animation, Grace's next kick is simply impossible to avoid, and Sara is forced to watch hopelessly as her screen becomes filled with splashes of blood.

She has barely the time to rise her character before having to roll again.

'What happened, pup?! This isn't how you usually play!'

Sara grinds her teeth.

Grace is right, she has never been much of a defensive player.

Fine. If she's to lose her chance at playing, at least she'll go down while fighting!

…

Grace's cursor finds the approaching sword with pinpoint precision, driving it away only to rapidly step her character back in order to avoid a kick.

Now, that's more like it.

"Are you sure about railing her up?"

Shut up. She knows what she's doing.

Despite her opponent's increasing aggression, Grace's hands move with controlled precision, the sounds of her typing almost rhythmical. How could there be a combo of her own class Grace is not familiar with? Predicting Sara's next movement, given the game's limitations, is little more than child's play.

Furthermore, the faster Sara's character moves, the more obvious her movements become.

She simply needs to wait for the right opening.

…

In the situation where she has completely given up on defense, any miscalculation or mistake will certainly lead to her character's instant death; Sara is very much aware of that.

However, her thoughts are unwavering.

JadeFlower's movements, and SlashingWind's chain of attacks designed to keep them in check; nothing else occupies Sara's mind.

She'll be faster, and faster still!

…

Grace narrows her eyes towards the fast figure moving across her screen.

"She's not giving you any openings."

She can see that!

Thanks to the System, Sara's reckless blade swings seem to blow real wind against Grace's ear, as SlashingWind's footsteps rapidly chase after JadeFlower's.

Still, Grace feels as though her concentration has reached its peak.

There exists no such thing as a perfect combo pattern that goes on forever; eventually, her opponent will slow down, or commit a mistake, costing them their life.

Considering she's fighting Sara, such an opening will most likely be much smaller than a whole second.

Grace simply has to wait for the right moment.

She merely has to wait, maintaining her concentration…

Concentration…

Grace feels a drop of sweat sliding down her neck.

Sara's movements aren't slowing down. If anything, her combos are becoming faster?

Even if Sara's typing speed is faster than Grace's, there should be a limit to how fast one is able to chain a combo together, given the game's limitations.

Regardless, Grace finds that, slowly but surely, she is driven to increase her own typing speed in order to continue avoiding Sara's attacks.

Fuck! For how long does she plan to keep on attacking?!

Grace abruptly increases her typing speed to its limits, intending on throwing Sara's timing off…

But has her attempt met with a sudden roll forward?

Completely unable to react, Grace nearly screams in fury as her screen becomes filled with red.

Was it a slash? A kick? Is her character still alive?!

Grace clenches her teeth as she smashes her unresponsive keyboard keys and a roll is finally brought out of JadeFlower, indicated by the movements of the screen, which rotates, then focuses again, finding Sara's SlashingWind.

Abrupt silence, sparsely broken by the occasional droplet falling, now fills the cave. The relentless wave of attacks Grace expected to meet never arrives. Instead, Sara seems more than happy to wait for JadeFlower to rise as her own character merely stares at it.

'Sorry about that, I was surprised when you spasmed out all of a sudden… Everything okay there?'

Her stupid boyfriend's laugh, painfully obvious from behind her seat, does little to diminish Grace's embarrassment as she feels her face heating.

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to laugh… She's being childish during a serious match. Shameless. Not funny at all."

Insufferable pricks. They deserve each other.

"Grace? Are you okay?"

Grace catches Braden's concerned glance at the corner of her vision as she contains an urge to give him a glare.

Of course she's not okay. Not a single one of their teammates, not even him, believes she's the better player out of the two of them.

Again, they've all fallen for her already.

It doesn't matter that she left them, or that she has never taken the game seriously before.

Their precious, talented Sara…

Why can't they see she'll just abandon the team again, as soon she finds it inconvenient to stay?

"Yeah, I'm fine. Didn't think she had it in her still."

"It was only a month. I warned you-"

"Shut the fuck up, Braden. Just shut the fuck up."

Despite her boiling fury, Grace forces herself to unclench her teeth and take a deep breath. Unlike Sara, she can't simply rely on her talent in order to win; her playstyle is much more methodical, and she needs a cold head in order to compete.

And Grace won't lose; not to her, of all people. She'll show them they were mistaken; she'll crush their precious mascot in front of their eyes.

…

'Shut up, pup. You should've finished me off when you had the chance. You caught me off guard, and it won't happen again.'

Sara's heartbeat thunders against her ears, though she's barely aware of it, as she stares over JadeFlower's hesitant figure.

She's felt this before, the adrenaline of being on the edge during a hacking stunt, where a mistake could cost her everything.

Now what?

Earlier, because she was aiming for a one-shot counter-attack, Grace allowed Sara to take control of the fight's pace. But Sara doubts Grace will give her another chance to overpower JadeFlower so easily, and if her combos are broken before they've begun, there's little Sara can do in terms of speed alone.

Though she hates to admit it, when it comes to game knowledge and strategy, the other girl has her easily beat…

'Time to get it over it, monkeys,' Avril's plain voice suddenly interjects the standoff.

So be it… Dance time.

Sara bursts SlashingWind into movement, abruptly dashing in a straight line towards JadeFlower, then rolling at the last second in order to close the distance in a mere instant.

SlashingWind's sword, as soon as Sara's screen finishes its rotation, is already on its way upwards; Sara is sure no human could have linked the two moves together faster than this.

'Painfully obvious.'

Red, and a sword's tip, however, are what fill Sara's screen the split-second it leaves the ground.

Your character has suffered moderate damage! Movement speed reduced!

Without a pause, Sara commands SlashingWind to kick, throwing JadeFlower on the ground.

'How did you even- Never mind. Let's end this, pup.'

Though she managed to survive JadeFlower's point-blank trust by changing the trajectory of her own attack last moment, the brief interaction still sends a shiver down Sara's spine; she is sure JadeFlower's screen never flashed in red, regardless of how fast SlashingWind moved.

Grace most likely predicted her roll and moved JadeFlower a step back preemptively, leaving SlashingWind's reach in order to counter-attack with perfect timing.

Still, retreating now, or hesitating, would bring nothing but certain death.

Ignoring the game's warning, and Grace's bickering, Sara runs after JadeFlower as it rolls on the ground, but, JadeFlower's sword suddenly bursts forth just as it finishes its roll, imitating Sara's earlier stunt, and effectively keeping her at bay for long enough for Grace to rise her character again.

Nevertheless, Sara's typing speed rapidly rises as she continues to advance, ignoring Grace's slash in order to close the distance between them and draw a line of blood throughout the damp air of the cave herself.

Your character has suffered moderate damage! Movement speed reduced!

Sending slash after slash, Sara chases after JadeFlower restlessly, ignoring the other girl's cleaver counters though they nibble at her character's health considerably.

The moment she hesitates, it'll be over in a second.

Just a little more!

Sara's instinct to roll SlashingWind away to safety is nearly overwhelming, still, she pushes through, disregarding the red splashes of blood covering her screen.

'Have ya finally gone mad?!'

Your character has suffered severe damage! Attack speed greatly reduced!

In the split of a second, Grace's sword sticks out of her screen, just as Sara kicks JadeFlower onto the wolf at its back, then thrusts forward.

Main weapon has been lost!

Fuck!

It was the stupid trick she tried to pull at the beginning of the fight! Just, the other girl actually succeeded!

Sara nearly cries out loud… So much for that moment! If her attack speed hadn't been reduced right before the final blow, Grace wouldn't have had enough time to react and kick SlashingWind's sword away!

Red covers her screen, and Sara has no choice other than to abandon her fallen sword in order to avoid Grace's next wave of attacks. She doubts another chance will present itself; she had one shot, and she blew it.

However, Sara still commands her character to take its dagger out, solemnly.

'Seriously, pup?'

As a chess player who has only their king left, Sara dances SlashingWind around as fast as she can to avoid JadeFlower's reckless slashes.

In this situation, it is clear Grace isn't suffering any pressure anymore.

'Avril? There's really no point anymore, is there?'

Avril doesn't respond, which Sara assumes means she still has a shot at it.

Half a second; every time she uses her dagger to deflect Grace's sword, an opening will be created, and Sara needs to keep SlashingWind alive through it somehow.

'For how long do you plan on running!?'

Clearly annoyed by the situation, Grace carelessly lunges JadeFlower's sword as Sara quickly rolls and aims an attack at its open stomach, drawing a line of blood.

Still, red soon flashes on Sara's screen as she uses SlashingWind's ongoing momentum to roll away again, avoiding a blow from above.

And once she rises and turns her character, Grace's sword is already so close it fills her screen.

Without thinking, Sara meets the attack with her pointer, slamming her dagger from above onto the approaching sword, and causing SlashingWind's arm to be blown back.

Without a pause, Grace lunges forward again, targeting SlashingWind's open chest.

Sara barely manages to step her character aside in time to avoid a mortal hit, but…

Your character has suffered heavy damage! Movement speed and attack speed greatly reduced!

Sara is quick to continue running once she realizes her character is still alive, though Grace doesn't follow immediately this time, instead, taking her time to emote with JadeFlower as she laughs through the call.

Sara can see it, which means so can Grace. SlashingWind is far too hurt now; it won't move away in time again. Even if Sara parries the blow with her dagger, it'll merely delay the inevitable by a split second.

It's over.

Sara clenches her mouse, racking her mind for a solution, or a way to stall for time…

When her gaze happens to land on the timer slowly ticking down at the corner of her screen.

Sara smiles.

'You know what, Grace? I admit you're a better player than me. No, really, you can have my spot on the team... I do have one condition though.'

'What are you on about? I won. You don't get to give any conditions.'

Six…

'C'mon! You won't even listen to what I have to say? I thought we were friends…'

Four…

'Did you hit your head really hard or something? Fuck, forget it, I'm ending this.'

JadeFlower steps forward, clearly intending on finishing the fight… When Sara's screen suddenly flashes black, before being immediately filled with the image of SlashingWind walking out of a teleporter beside several other figures.

Instance PVP Map, Restless Underground City of Hydlina closed.

Time before reopening: 05:59:58 hours.

The sound of bailing laughter, underlined by Grace's curses, fills the group connection as Sara leans against her chair in relief and smiles.

'Why did none of you warn me?!'

'I told you to hurry,' Avril says.

'Braden?!'

'I… I didn't notice it either. I'm sorry.'

'Fuck! It's obvious I was about to win! This is bullshit!'

'Enough. And for the record, my vote is yes. You'll have to finish this another day. Thanks to your stunt, we lost precious time. We all have drills to get through.'

'No, Avril, listen-'

'I am beyond caring about your shit for the day Grace. Sara noticed the timer; you didn't. Need I remind you who decided to interrupt our meeting in the first place? You'll finish your stupid duel some other time. Did I make myself clear?'

Sara only half listens as the others argue among themselves.

She did it… She's back!