Chapter 9: Part 1

Soul Art Online

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 9: Duel

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- Arthas -

"We have decided the terms of the fight. They will bet the Boots of the Blessed Sun and a sum of Gold Coins for our Shield of the Blessed Sun in the first round. If they win, they will bet both the pieces for the Armour and the Bottom and finally, if we wish to continue, they will bet the Boots again for the Sword." Shiroe explained the deal.

I raised an eyebrow. "They are extremely confident, aren't they?"

"Yes. It was the first term. We had to agree to fight all the battles in case they win and we cannot back down. They must have some kind of trump card which they know we can't beat….at least in such a short amount of time. I asked around a few of my contracts and there is news that Dwain solo'ed a T4 monster in the Raid. We don't know the exact method he used but this information was verified by several people who were on the same wall as his team."

"A Skill of some type then. You wouldn't lose, would you, Arty?" Star asked.

"Nah, I'd win."

Congratulations Traveller.

You have discovered another secret!

Traveller.

A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.

+8 to all stats.

+16% to Exp Gained.

Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller discovers in the world.

Reward: Reverse Cursed Technique

Reverse Cursed Technique[Level 1/100]

Heals all physical negative buffs from the user and 20% of the User's Health.

Cooldown: 2 hours.

Even with my self-control, I couldn't help but laugh.

They took my laugh as a sign of confidence which looking at the current skill, I did have.

Shiroe still looked a bit worried so I reassured him a bit. "I haven't told you about the Skills I got from the level ups, did I?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"I was thinking of keeping it as a surprise for the hunts. Anyways, don't worry. I got this one." I patted his shoulder.

By that time, everyone had gathered.

I looked in the corner of the field and saw Gareth and his team.

Even Veena had returned after talking to her friends.

We walked towards Kenneth who was ready with his team of Knights with Dwain and his team already on the other side.

Kenneth's face looked completely emotionless as he stood judge.

"Both sides, present the terms of your duel and the stakes."

We did.

Veena went over the contract once more before we agreed.

"How many gold coins will be paid along with the boots as a stake for the Shield?" She questioned.

"Hmm, fifty thousand Gold Coins should be good?" The guy smiled at Veena.

"Not really. Even if we go by the standard rates, fifty thousand is too low. At the very least, it should be one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins for a fair stake. If you don't agree, we can compare the prices with the blacksmiths and verify."

A slight frown appeared on his face but he quickly covered it under a fake smile and raised his hand in surrender.

"Alright alright, fine you win. Actually, how about I use two hundred thousand and you go on a date with me if I win?" He winked.

I narrowed my eyes at the guy and Shiroe and Star looked offended too.

"Mr. Dwain, you are talking out of line." Shiroe

"Oh, please. I am talking to the lady here. She would have company with men her own age rather than the kids in your team. It's her own choice after all. Why are you getting all pissed off?" He scoffed at Shiroe's words.

Veena however just smiled. "Men my age? Where? All I see in your team are insolent children."

He frowned but she continued.

"But you know what, I will accept your terms if you make it five hundred thousand gold coins." She smiled.

"Veena, you don't have to…." I tried to speak but she looked at me with a smile. This smile however felt unlike her previous smiles.

It felt dangerous.

"Oh my, are you saying you will lose, Arthas?"

"That's not…."

"Then it doesn't matter, does it. If he wants to take me on a date, this is the least they can do. Obviously, if they are broke then it's not my problem." She looked at the guy challengingly.

"That is a bit costly."

"Oh, your team, the so-called Blood Knights are broke. You know what? there is a place nearby where you could borrow the money. There is a shop nearby which offers loans….with some interest, obviously. Nothing much, just five percent."

His frown increased.

"Obviously, borrowing money also requires resolve and guts. Money one can get slowly, the other two….not everyone can have them."

The three of us looked as she continued to rip the idiot's team apart with words.

His frown had been replaced by an angry look and he forced a smile on his face. "Oh, I wasn't aware that I could borrow the money. In that case, give me thirty minutes. I will arrange for the amount. Let's confirm the stakes by then."

"Do it Arthas." Veena said without any change in expressions.

"Are you sure?" I asked, one last time.

She just looked at me and smiled. "I trust you."

With a sigh, we confirmed the stakes with Kenneth and the other team went to get the money while we separated into a different corner.

"You all look upset." Veena asked as we took seats in an empty corner of the place.

"I don't like this." I said directly.

"I am with Arty on this. That asshole was too much."

"He crossed the line." Shiroe added too, slightly angry which was rare for him. I had very rarely seen him angry.

In return Veena just laughed. "You children need to learn so much about deals. Sigh, let me explain." We looked up at her.

"While you people were going around doing your own research, I was looking for information about laws and how they are carried out. Turns out that several laws are similar to the outside world. Now, how does it matter in this case? Well you see, there is a thing called The contra proferentem." I looked around and all three of us were confused. 

"It is a legal doctrine that states that if a contract term is ambiguous, it should be interpreted against the party who drafted or introduced the term. This rule favours the party who did not draft the contract, as they are not responsible for the ambiguity. This rule is applied when the parties have equal bargaining power and are represented by counsel. Now, tell me who was the one who added the five hundred thousand for a date to the contract?"

"Dwain."

"Exactly. Now, can anyone clear for me exactly what a date means? For some people, meeting over tea and leaving can constitute a date and for someone else, simply walk down the road and guess who gets to decide this ambiguous situation in the contract?" She smiled. "If Dwain is ready to pay three hundred and fifty thousand for a walk down the market with me, and that too after defeating Arthas, don't you think it's a fair deal."

….

….

"He just got swindled, didn't he?" Star asked.

"Not yet, dear. But he must be in the process of getting swindled." She smiled. "While it's true that the shop I referred to him loans high amounts of money. It charges five percent interest….per week."

"Fuck!"

"Language."

"So now, Arty just has to go and beat him up just as we had planned….only he will suffer more this time around?"

"I have heard that those who are not able to pay off their debts often get sold into slavery. In this aspect, this world is just like the mediaeval ages."

….Holy crap.

I was right.

That smile was dangerous. She was really pissed off at the guy.

In the meantime, Shiroe told me about the Skills of Apprentice Archers which he had bought from some of his friends. Nothing too much, just the basic knowledge of the skills.

After around thirty minutes, the guy returned with his team. Some of them looked unsatisfied but didn't say anything against the guy.

"We have all the funds." He handed the money to Kenneth who checked the bag and nodded.

"Then we will commence the match." He confirmed, leading us towards the field.

"As one of you is an archer, they will be provided with a place to cover for himself. It will be a raised platform and you will start the fight at a distance of one hundred and fifty metres. The first one to give up or get their health in the red zone will be considered the loser regardless of any complaints anyone has. No potions or healing items are allowed in the duel. Any doubts?"

"None Sir."

"Get in your positions. Match begins on my signal."

- Shiroe -

They took their place on the stands and looked at the match.

He looked around and saw the rest of the players filling up the stands too.

"You think Arty would be fine?" Star asked. "I mean sure he was confident and all but…."

"Don't worry. Arthas is not the type to talk nonsense….especially in this kind of situation. If he said he will be fine, he will surely be fine. I am just thinking of the skill which he said he unlocked."

"Skill?"

"Hmm. Arthas….has a Unique Class which he got as an achievement. The Skills of that Class were one of the reasons for our astronomical scores in the World Quest. I wonder what Skills he unlocked during the raids."

They concentrated on the field where both Arthas and Dwain had taken two sides of the field.

The field was more or less clear so there would be no place for Arthas to hide. He will have to dodge the Skills.

It's just that Apprentice Archer's had a skill at higher levels, Aim. It took four seconds to prepare but it makes their next shot, undodgeable unless the target has some other type of skill to counter it. The strongest part of this Skill was that it could also be used with other skills. Obviously there were several restrictions on this skill. It could only be used with Archer Skills and no instant death or one hit skills will work with it. The accuracy also fell down when the level difference between the targets was a lot.

Arthas would need to reach the guy before four seconds or he would be open to any one skill of that guy.

No….probably less than 5 seconds.

"Your partner is going to lose, Shiroe. That Dwain has him exactly where he needs him." A voice came from the side.

He looked to the side and saw Gareth and his team coming towards them.

"That remains to be seen."

"It's not a matter of chance. I might not like that bastard but there is no doubt about his skill. I have seen him soloing a T4 Monster with my own eyes. Even if your teammate is a Knight, he might not stand a chance."

"Oh you saw that fight?" Shiroe asked.

"It looked so easy. That monster wasn't able to do anything to anyone from the moment Dwain hit him. Even Dwain's teammates fighting right beside it were unhurt while he engaged the monster from over the walls. As long as your teammate gets hit by one of his attacks, he falls in a trap and it's all over. The guy could kite him till the end of the day."

"So he inflicts some kind of status effect on the other side."

"That bastard got some kind of skill from one of his quests and without any items allowed, your teammate wouldn't be able to throw it off. He would just be a fish on the chopping board. In a matchup like this, against a melee class, Dwain is almost invincible."

"Look, it's starting." they heard someone say and looked at the field.

They did just that.

Arthas was standing on the other side of the field.

Kenneth drew his sword and swung.

"Begin!"

With the word, Arthas rushed straight ahead.

On the other side, Dwain was aiming but not firing.

Anyone with a good eyesight could see a skill being invoked.

"Holy crap, the boy's fast." Someone commented as Arthas three fourths of the field in less than four seconds.

"Too bad, he isn't fast enough." Gareth commented while Shiroe concentrated on Arthas.

Dwain looked like he finished his skill as the arrow on his bow took a dark tinge.

He shot the arrow and it headed directly towards Arthas.

Arthas however didn't dodge. He….just slapped the arrow away with his off hand.

"That's impossible!" Gareth exclaimed.

Even Dwain looked stunned and flumbled nocking his arrow. It took him over two seconds to recover.

By then Arthas had already been on his face.

Dwain fired another arrow but Arthas just gripped it with his left hand and crushed it.

Arthas however surprised everyone as he sheathed his blade instead and picked Dwain up by his face….and banged his head through the wall.

Shiroe shivered a bit at the cruelty.

What came next weren't attacks with a sword or any weapons but just raw punches, straight to Dwain's face.

Arthas sat on his chest and rained a flurry of punches on the man's face.

His cries could be heard throughout the duelling grounds and it was only stopped by the shout of Kenneth.

"Match. The winner is Arthas!"