9 9 - Competition

Cain met with the shareholder one morning to find out about a national competition. Someone had discovered a duel command. It allowed players to fight without damaging each other. To take advantage of this, there was a completion in the capital.

Before he could decline, the shareholder voiced his concerns. It was fair to say that he worried about the money he invested. Cain understood completely. In a way, it helped him make his decision right there. He was going to make it big in the competition and make a real name for himself.

Amy prepared with him for the competition. They were excited, but Cain ended up pushing her with a lot of criticism. Cain was a fencer, or at least before he became a player. With the amount of tournaments he visited, he had a lot of expertise. Cain somewhat wished that he didn't have to stop fencing due to unnatural strength.

Amy was trying to use a two sided spear. Cain taught her what he could about distance, parries (deflecting blades), and disengages (moving around the blade in evasion). The spear had a large distance, so he mostly trained her to fight close range, since that would be the hardest for her.

She was incredibly proficient in the spear. Being a pole vaulter, she created a new technique. She'd fake a strike, then use it to launch off of the ground like her sport. From there, she'd use a ranged attack from above.

Cain however, did not have much time to better himself. He made an A-quality sword perfect to his preference, but there wasn't much he could do in a week. Most of the time was spent rewriting habits that did not transfer from fencing to real fighting.

The two of them drove to Washington D.C. with Cain's father. The shareholder drove as well, taking his family to watch. There was no suspense on the drive there, only an ever present boredom.

They arrived at D.C. around 5 pm. Cain placed a door to his instance in the back of the van they drove. He then explored the city with his Amy and his father as chaperone. They travelled around twenty miles without stopping. Heading to the capitol building and the Lincoln memorial, they viewed as many things as they could.

Cain was happy having Amy around. He never considered having a relationship before, but now had second thoughts. She was beautiful. Amy was a 10/10 redhead with an athletic build. Not to mention that her personality was exactly his type. Cain felt lucky.

At the end of the day, they used the party command at the arena's entrance to travel back to the van. They still had to register, but that was tomorrow. Settling into several rooms in a hotel, they slept for the night.

When they woke up, they arrived at the arena through the cheat teleport. Somehow they were in a massive line of people. Seeing the three suddenly appear shocked the crowd. The people in the crowd were nice and let them by. Most of them weren't players. They were just spectators trying to get a glimpse of the tournament tryouts.

The spectators kindly let them pass. The inspection line wasn't nearly as long. All that was required was that they reveal their stats, as well as obtain five skills. This was not a problem. Cain was the first to give his stats.

'Cain Fortissimus // Status, Agility: 1247, Strength: 1109, Endurance: 1194, Intelligence: 30'

The receptionist was shocked at the stats. "These.. They're higher than the first players! How did you catch up?" Before Cain could answer, a pretty girl showed up at the table. She was dressed as an employee, but was obviously a player.

"Seeing your high stats, it doesn't seem like there's a reason to do the next test. I'll waver you an exception." She smiled and was about to leave, but Cain stopped her.

"I'd still like to take the test. A good benchmark of skill would be nice." Amy seemed to agree with Cain. Revealing her stats, they were as high as Connor's, with agility being the strongest.

'Amy Lumina // Status, Agility: 938, Strength: 893, Endurance: 874, Intelligence: 50'

The two of them ended up taking the test, despite having the option of exemption. Heading to the main arena, they waited with a group. Cain could see Connor watching over the results.

"Alright, we've got a lot of people signing up, so don't be surprised if you lose. The first test was your stats, where you got graded on how strong you are. Now we're going to test your ability to use skill. Contestant 920, please step up."

It was Amy. She stepped onto the stage. The attendant also called another person. "The result of this match will be grading by duel. Winning does not necessarily mean entry, and losing does not mean refusal. Good luck."

The players used their commands. After setting a duel to the rules of the test, they took their positions. The player opposite of Amy pulled out a rare B class sword. The other contestants marveled at its quality.

Her spear caught Connor's attention. Her match was a different style than the ones before. Taking advantage of range, the opponent could not get close enough with a sword. She jabbed quickly from different angles; from top to bottom, and from left to right.

It was an intricate movement that was normally not effective. The only thing that made it functional was the superhuman speed. Her main targets were the opponent's feet. The opponent fell to a lack of balance and Amy used a skill for the final blow.

Next was Cain's turn. Walking up, he didn't put on any armor. This was a disadvantage, as he'd lose 20% of his points by the system. The reason he didn't use any was the weight. He loved the feeling of moving freely and smoothly.

The match started with a bang. Cain's enemy charged forward with a skill to dash. By accident, Cain tried to knock the blade too early. Just when everyone thought it was a hit, Cain somehow got a parry over his head. Carrying the opponent's blade into a hit, he slashed into the neck.

It was chaos from there. Without any skills, Cain kept evading everything. The guy would put his blade out to stop him, but Cain would find a way around it. He picked up speed. The hits he made were all around 50 points, but the match ended in 12 seconds.

They easily passed both tests. Skill wise and stat wise, they knew they were ready. Connor watched Cain leave with disgust. He knew that Cain could ruin everything.

*Note - Sorry if this was too specific.