14 Gerard Defeated?
They all turned silent at the remarks of the owner and a professional player. After all is said and done, the only thing they can do is to continue watching.
Gerard and his final opponent now faced each other. His opponent is dressed in the finery of a knight, though he is lacking in any chain mail or defensive clothing. He wields a sword as tall as half his body.
Both players prepare their hands as they await the start of the countdown.
"3, 2, 1..." The system sounded.
When the timer turned zero, both players launched at each other. The former Gerard, who liked to play it safe, is now gone, and now he wants action.
His opponent's blade struck Gerard's dagger; a clang rang out, and both players were unharmed.
They backed up a bit to gain some space, then jumped on each other again. They battled for a few seconds, exchanging blows for blows. Neither of the two players could outmatch the other; it was a stalemate.
The spectators watching from the outside were shocked to see Gerard unable to finish the match. They had formerly regarded him as a monster, and now they're seeing another monster who can stand against Gerard.
Two people from the crowd voiced their thoughts.
"I might not be a pro, but I consider myself quite decent. I couldn't move all throughout the game; I was left motionless."
"Me too; the match earlier made me feel like dust. He carefully analyzes my moves; he also has superb skill as a gamer, complicated hand skills even."
When the listening crowd heard what the two had said, they thought that Gerard and his opponent must be very similar.
How on earth do two unfamiliar and random people have such similar monstrous and inhuman strengths? This was not even the real tournament to be held the day after tomorrow.
While the others contemplate, Coconut Josh watches the match carefully, seemingly lost in thought.
On the match.
Gerard was still struggling to gain the upper hand. After again putting some distance between them, Gerard heard a clang right before his opponent disappeared from within the screen. Gerard slides his mouse to see if his opponent came from behind. At this point, something struck his back. A clean strike was made as he wobbled before jumping to the other side.
Gerard's opponent didn't really disappear. The audience saw what was on the screen of Gerard's opponent, and by no means did his opponent do anything underhanded. He had done one of the most difficult techniques a knight can do in Banzrant. It was a quadrangle zip rush, a notable technique that most knights want to do.
Basically, a quadrangle zip rush is a technique that uses two skills at the same time. It was a use of sword slash and sword rush; these skills combined can either propel the player at an inhumane speed or backfire and result in an explosion that will most likely kill the player.
No player would dare use this in a match; even pros are scared to do so, except for one. That person can do it three times in a row without taking a break, though after that he wouldn't be able to continue any longer.
Those three times will be enough to defeat any opponent he faces, so he didn't need to consider being unable to move during that time.
Gerard's avatar had a disfigured back, and now awaits the doom brought by his opponent's sword strike.
His opponent readied his blade and disappeared again. Gerard focused in front, seeing that it was what had injured him earlier. The scene didn't play out as Gerard had hoped; even when the time struck on the time his opponent should've struck, no blade came out.
Until suddenly a blade was unleashed from his back, Gerard's avatar was now dead; dead as the wind that blew from the underground.
The crowd cheered; they were shocked to the core. At first, they thought that Coconut Josh would win, seeing that he belongs to a professional team, but because of certain events, Gerard won and became the next favorite to win.
Amidst all of that hope, Gerard lost. Splendidly so by a remarkable rushing technique; a technique that can turn any knight into an assassin.
Knight assassin? What a badass name!
In this time Gerard's opponent had now stood up and went outside, welcoming him was all the players that had played earlier.
He wore a hoodie and a facemask; it turns out he was more fond of secrecy than Gerard.
"That was so good!"
"How did you manage to pull off a Quadrangle Zip Rush?! That's unbelievable"
"It was three times that! That makes you as strong as the top 1 player of Banzrant"
The players were all in awe as to what had transpired in this little event. During this time, Coconut Josh suddenly laughed; his laughter got louder and louder.
The others were puzzled by his behavior—was this the right time to laugh so hard? It may even come off as rude to the other person, considering how much of a genius Gerard's opponent was.
The players couldn't wait to see Coconut Josh finally stop.
"What is he doing?" Those were the words in the minds of the players.
Seeing Coconut Josh's laughter, Gerard's opponent smiled.
The others were stunned when they saw this. What could this mean?
"He is as good as Kiel? The top player in Banzrant?" Coconut Josh stopped and asked.
"What's wrong with that? You also saw his match; you couldn't deny that it was inferior to Kiel."
"Yes that's true!"
"What are you talking about?"
Amidst all the responses, Coconut Josh just stayed silent before he intervened.
"It looks like you still don't know what I'm talking about. I'm questioning you about his identity not because I don't believe in his talent but because I believe in his talent"
"I am from the professional league, where I have encountered all sorts of stuff and faced so many opponents. I may be in the bottom part of the league, but still, I have had my fair share of encounters. The one match that I won't and will ever forget is my match with him." Coconut Josh said with a grin.
"He's a pro player like you?"
"Is he retired? Why haven't I heard of him?"
"Tell us, who the hell is he really"
Coconut Josh was amused with this and said, "I don't believe you don't know this man, I might reckon to say that almost everyone who plays Banzrant has heard his name or watched his game."
It was this time that they all finally get who the unknown player is
"No way!"
"Is he really him?"
"How is that possible?"
"Why did he even participate here! That's bullying!" Someone wanted to even cry.
"As I said before, as good as Kiel? Why wouldn't he be? He is freaking Kiel himself!"
The crowd was in an uproar; they forgot all about Gerard, who was still inside the tournament video.
The players all wanted a signature from their idol.
Seeing that his disguise isn't needed any longer, he took off his hoodie and his face mask and said, "Hello, everyone! I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with that game"
Kiel greeted them with a smile, and the people present responded with pure enthusiasm.
"How was the match?" one person asked.
Kiel pondered for a little bit before he answered, "He's a very good player, very good at that, but... he must be a beginner; all his moves are stiff; he might be able to analyze me, but so do I. The only thing that differentiates us is our experience, and I have plenty."
"One day, he might surpass me; but not now and nowhere in the very near future."
It was boasting, but if you're at the top with no competition, what comes out wouldn't be arrogance but confidence. Confidence to face all difficulties that might arise.
Kiel felt bad for saying that and looked in the direction of Gerard. He said that to uplift himself; he felt that something weird was going on, but he decided to not mind it.
Gerard was still on his chair, and he waited for a couple of minutes before he rose up and walked toward the door.
He was greeted by a lot of stairs. The crowd had mixed feelings: awe, disappointment, and mockery. All sorts of emotions were present in the lobby, and no one dared to speak up except for Kiel.
"Nice game," Kiel said as he offered Gerard a handshake.
Gerard accepted the handshake and quickly left the area; the crowd didn't get a clear look at him. They figured that Gerard might be embarrassed beyond his wits and couldn't control his emotions, thus he left. That's the most logical explanation; anger is normal. Who decided that it's a sign of weakness?
Kiel didn't bother around anymore so as soon as he finished giving his autographs, he left.
During this time, Gerard had now arrived at his house.
