23 Mock Battle! (2)

"Tournament? What do you mean?" Zero tilts his head out of confusion from the sudden query. Various gaze from his comrades are all breaching for an answer. Penelope was the first to reply, breaking the awkward silence from the atmosphere. "Sir Abaddon held a tournament for amateurs like us. You could win a large amount of sum for around...3 million dollars, may be?" She starts counting these numbers using her fingers for a calculator but abruptly interrupted by Lance midway from her computation "10 Million dollars and an ancient artefact" he restates Penelope's statement, making the said tournament grander than ever. Cytus on the other hand, shrugs his shoulder and grabs a book from his open pocket.

Mr. Snow steps forward from the communication barrier, taking all of their attention "I cannot allow a freshman student who knows nothing about fighting. He is just an underdog mage. What knowledge does he possess, gaining such statuses on his first few days of being a mage?" he refutes. The old man who had been nagging since then turned out to be a responsible director to Zero for a change.

"Director…" Zero produces an ecstatic sniff and forced teary eyes, cuddling the side of mr. Snow. With a loud *thud* Zero had been thrown out to his left, as mr. Snow recollected his thoughts once again.

Despite these occurrences, Snow had stated such a firm point upon his statement. "Unless, 'til he's ready to fight and show us a bit of his potential then… I could allow him"

"DIRECTOR!" Zero couldn't refute onto his claim. Although he too wanted to test his capabilities as a gamer and as a fighter (for future references, of course) still it was quite fearsome to stomach everything especially the fighting experiences from the tournament.

"Then what do you say, let me personally teach him the ropes? I got nothing but free time" protruding a smile wide enough to show his upper inlets of gums and teeth. Lance boldly stated that he would personally tutor Zero from all the basics and mishits he could observe. His comrades, Penelope and Cytus, even Lilith, flashes a response shouting the same exact words from their mouths

"EEEEHH" *everyone

"Director, I'm not quite sure about this. A novice mage, on top of that, he just barely even starting his academy's life!" Lilith spoke up with a stern look beneath her eyes.

Penelope had the same expressions however has different intentions. She was worried about Lance teaching the kid his unfruitful ways. Cytus, with his notebook buried on his face, glimpses towards the direction of Zero and showed a slight concern over the matter. It wasn't Lance having his own apprentice. It was Zero's potential and popularity amongst people.

"Er…If you put it that way, then I'll be in your care, Brother Lance" Zero gives everyone a weak smile, doubting himself whether he had chosen the best option for his personal growth. Although Lilith and Penelope had different ideas in mind, they couldn't budge and finally gave in from the decisions of these two youngsters. Ironically, may be this particular conclusion made them closer to their group called the "Shadow".

"As your first assignment, why don't we have a mock battle, shall we? Of course, I'll go easy on you, Zero" Lances gives him a playful smirk and readies his broad sword, preparing for the mock battle.

Shadow was one of the most popular and strongest parties ever formed from the last 20 years since their graduation from Warford's Academy. These group comprises of three members: Lance being their leader, Cytus their Critical Damage dealer and Penelope their mage and healer. Their powerful combo and amazing synergy brought them enormous titles for slaying various monsters and participating in dungeon raids and conquests which made them highly valuable for their country itself. They were veterans, but never the best yet holds great influence on the officials and power among their peers. They were feared and respected…. Seeing them now Zero couldn't even muster the strength to be even freak out at their overwhelming aura combining with their goofy idioticness. A legend versus a beginner, a painful sight to see to say the least.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME" Zero blurts out. He wasn't aware, at first, the power that these 'shadow' group holds yet individually powerful which even mr. Snow couldn't take them too lightly.

"Nope. The faster you can learn, the better" never revealing his sadist desire to crush me in his mind, Zero thought. Lance never dropped his smile, as he moves further away from their circle.

"Ready when you are" He shouts, giving us 20 diametres for a battle arena.

Having no position to refute, the rest of the part made way for the 'mock battle' of these two. Some of the knights and other bystanders watched from afar, making their bets whoever could win this match. And of course, it was a useless and inefficient way of gambling when they could already guess the victory of their match to be.

Zero, bewildered from the sudden events happing, he checks his status bar for the time being, easing his heavy anxious feeling deep inside his head.

: Objectives

1. Defeat Lance in the Mock Battle

* earn 500 stats points, 50 skill points and 1,000 exp.

2. Show your powers to Lance and everyone who could witness the match, even if you get defeated. Prolong the battle for up to a minute

* earn 100 stats points, 25 skill points, and 5,000 exp.

3. Be utterly defeated by Lance without having the chance to show off your gamer's skills

*earn 10 stats points, 5 skill points and 1,000 exp.

You could finish your objectives by triggering an event in your life, depending on the matter. Your prize will be set from your result. Wish you luck!:

'Such a supportive system" he thoughts, as he browse down the indications of each of his gains. Despite losing the match, he could somewhat gain some slight amount of experience and points from his failure or he could also gobble up all the massive points and experience upon winning these match. But….HOW ON EARTH CAN HE PULL OUT A STUNT OUT OF THIS MATCH? Lance is one of the top tier mages in their country and on the other hand, Zero, who had been introduced in magic and recently received the 'gamer's status'.

Browsing on his menu, he sees some new profound skill that could turn the tides around his favour.

: New skills unlocked!:

You can now gain access from some of the passive spells.

*Reduces the cool-down of all your skills and items for 2%

*Reduces the mana cost of all your skills and items for 2%

*Unlocked mindless incantation (you can now cast spells without chanting)

*stamina increased. Your stamina depends on your current health.

*You can now cast dark and light magic

*You can now add spells based on your imaginations and capabilities

'wooow~' was the only word Zero said upon seeing this update. He had now gained something from these matter and somehow, he must need to win to be stronger and better than the rest of them. And… their pride was on the line. He knew Lance could be only 'testing' Zero's amount of potential, making him either obtain his motivation to be stronger and hit a bottleneck and shame from the defeat he would be feeling from the results of this match.

: Inventory:

Do you wish to equip the Durandal's blade?

Yes/no?

"Yes" a wide grin paints Zero's face and a mist full of light entangles his hands, forming an average sword perfect for his body.

"Let the game begin!"