The Hype for A Battle

[ Doyle's POV ]

That match was easy. It wouldn't be an understatement to say that it ended before it could even begin. As soon as the announcer said "start" I used the 11th tier(Super-tier) spell called [ Time-Stop ] and casually walked towards the mage. Once I reached him I used a sword I upgraded not too long ago before this tournament started, I've also changed its initial look and appearance to a katana. Seconds later the spell lifted, and the match was over.

I realised something when using [ Time-Stop ] though. Unlike when in new world, when a player uses that spell here time does not stop, but that's understandable. Instead due to the technology in this world that's built into the Neural Nano-Interface that operates YGGDRASIL, when using [ Time-Stop ] it instead superspeeds up the mind of the player who uses the spell. So for instance, after I used the spell, my avatar was now moving at 90000 FPS while the players around me were moving at 90 FPS. So instead of literally stopping time, it would just speed my time up exponentially to make it seem like time stopped for me.

This is my second time using a super-tier spell. My first was when I challenged the black skull guild. I got access to my first super-tier spell when I reached level 70, and every time after I leveled up after that I received access to another new super-tier spell.

Beating the mage before he even had the chance to fight back was overkill, but It was better that way, for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the guy I was fighting wasn't worth me putting in much effort. It would have just resulted in me revealing a bunch of my spells and abilities. I'm still shrouded in mystery, so why would I change that just to fight some random guy that's not even important?

Secondly, my plan for all of these matches is to simply breeze through them. I won't waste my time bullying a player who isn't even almost as strong as me. The guy I just fought is not even level 60 yet, I'm sure you understand what I mean...

And lastly...I just wanted to look badass! I mean, come on! You can't blame me for this, I've been keeping a low profile for a minute now so I decided to show out during this tournament. I should show these guys why I'm ranked #1! Ahem- of course, there are other more important reasons for me showing off. For example, this could allow me to expand my influence, and I could make more connections within YGGDRASIL.

"THE FIGHT DIDNT EVEN LAST A SECOND! HOW DID HE DO IT?!" said the announcer as he snatched me out of my thoughts. I looked up and around to hear the crowds of people in the audience celebrating.

Hearing this I can't lie, this felt pretty good. I don't like to get much attention but this isn't too bad. Seconds later the announcer continued.

"IT WAS A SPLENDID FIGHT, AND NOW THAT IT IS OVER ITS TIME TO BRING OUT OUR NEXT CONTESTANTS." saying this he snapped his fingers and I was teleported back into the waiting room from before.

"Doyle, how did we not notice you before?!"

"No wonder the announcer said things would be unique, I would have never expected you to be here."

"Doyle I have a clan, although it's small with you there I'm sure we will..."

As soon as I appeared I was immediately bum-rushed by the players. Each and every one trying to butter me up for a chat with them. Some even offered me invites to their clans and guilds. Fortunately, I was quick enough to go invisible before anyone could reach me. I quickly traveled to the second floor of the room where only a few players were.

Once I reached the top I leaned on the railing and looked towards the screen showing the next contestants battling. The next two contestants were two warrior class humans. Hmm? Now that I think about I haven't seen a lot of Heteromorphic players…

I looked over the railing down at the players on the first floor. Well there are some non human players but the majority is definitely the humans. I'd say its 30% Heteromorphics and 70% humans.

*Tap Tap*

Hearing armored footsteps I looked over my shoulder to the left of me only to see Shadow looking directly at me. This guy… he sees me? Right now I'm using my invisibility so it's normal for players to not see me at all, but this guy… he's literally looking directly at me. Before I could say anything he spoke.

"So your Doyle… I watched your match with that mage. It was a good fight, it ended faster then my fight." He said.

"Yeah. I didn't want to waste too much time fighting him so I decided it would be better to end things quick. Your match was also good." I said paying him back a compliment.

He analyzed me, looking me up and down for a couple seconds, then he crossed his arms and spoke once more. "I've been thinking since I first saw that fight, and I still can't come up with an answer yet. What exactly did you do to reach that mage so fast?"

Ho? So that's what it is, he's curious. Well, I'm not one to reveal secrets.

"You didn't see it? I simply walked toward him." I said in an amused tone.

Shadow didn't react to my words and instead spoke with a vague phrase. "So that's how it is..." he spoke as if he had discovered something then he turned around and begin walking in the opposite direction from me.

"Thank you for the chat, I appreciate it. Doyle, I look forward to our match." as he walked away he had his head turned towards me.

As he turned down a hallway and disappeared from my sight I could help but think about what he said. What the hell did that mean? And why is he talking all mysteriously? Hmm, wait a minute lemme check something. I opened up the leaderboards and looked at the second rank player.

[ { Shadow }: Level 73 ]

Ah.. So that's what it is. He's level 70 so I'm sure he knows I used a super-tier spell. He mustn't have realized it until now. Well, that's understandable since there is a high chance that he doesn't have the spell [ Time-Stop ] so he probably didn't know what I could have done, his class build probably focuses on something that is not magic oriented.

Time flew by and I was teleported back into the arena, it was my turn to fight again. Of course, I quickly got rid of my opponent so as to not waste time. Shadow also did the same on his turn, honestly, it looked to me like he was trying to beat my speed when beating his opponents. This guy sure is competitive.

More time passed and the contestants had finally reached a small number. We had finally entered the Semi-Finals. During these fights, I was put up against players who were within the top 100 on the leaderboards. They were also easy due to their levels and because of their disadvantages against me.

When my opponent was a warrior-oriented class I'd just take advantage of my physical immunity and destroy them at close range. My weapon master class was really beneficial during those fights.

When my opponent was more of a Magic-oriented class I'd use a couple of illusions to distract and disrupt their focus from me whilst I simply drained their health down. Though this does sound like it took a lot of work you have to put my gears and items into the fray to understand just how much of a different league I was in compared to the others. I had a huge advantage against my opponents for fact. Most of their armor and items were Legacy - Relic class which was lower than my items.

To be honest, I was surprised that I didn't end up facing Shadow during any of these matches. It was either a huge coincidence or the devs were pulling the strings so that we would meet up in the finals. Now that I think about it was most likely the latter since we are talking about the devs here.

***

It's finally the finals and in the waiting room right now is only me and Shadow. He stood across from me looking directly at me. As he walked closer to me I could hear the announcer's voice coming from the virtual screen.

"IT HAS BEEN A LOT OF FANTASTIC FIGHTS SO FAR, BUT THIS LAST AND FINAL MATCH IS THE MOST ANTICIPATED BY FAR! WE EVEN HAVE PLAYERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN OTHER WORLDS WATCHING THIS FIGHT, ARENT YOU GUYS EXCITED?!" he screamed. The crowds of players replied with screams of excitement.

Shadow finally reached me and spoke. "So it's just you and me. I can't hide the fact that I'm excited to finally fight and test out that crazy strength of yours."

I giggled a little then replied, "Same here. Hopefully, you don't disappoint, I've seen all your matches so I'm also curious."

Shadow laughed then looked towards the virtual screen. While continuing staring at the screen he spoke again. "To think even players from other worlds are watching this fight, this is exhilarating!"

I looked at him from the side of my eye and replied confidently while also joking "So you better not embarrass yourself."

He laughed once more then looked in my direction reaching out his armored hand. "Same to you. I'll see you inside of the arena, maybe after this tournament we can add each other and play together sometime."

I looked towards his hand for a couple of seconds then reached out my hand to shake his. "Yeah, maybe."

Almost on cue, we were both teleported into the arena. All around me the audience screamed my and Shadow's name. With such screams colliding it made the arena start to tremble.

"NOW FOR OUR LAST MATCH OF THE FINALS. ON MY RIGHT SIDE, A PLAYER WHO HAS BEEN BEATING ALL OF HIS OPPONENTS WITH EASE IS THE CONTESTANT 'SHADOW' THE RANK #2 PLAYER!" yelled the announcer energetically. Almost immediately the audience yelled his name.

"AND ON MY LEFT SIDE IS A PLAYER WHO HAS BEEN MAKING SPEED RECORDS WITH HOW FAST HE HAS BEEN DESTROYING HIS OPPONENTS, THE CONTESTANT 'DOYLE' THE #1 RANK PLAYER OF YGGDRASIL!". The crowds screamed even louder with the players jumping out of their seats.

The announcer let everyone scream their hearts out for some seconds before finally speaking once more.

"I KNOW THAT EVERYONE IS READY FOR THIS MATCH TO BEGIN SO I WONT WASTE TO MUCH TIME. WITH INTRODUCTIONS OUT OF THE WAY, LET THE MATCH BEGIN!"