The Second Test

Nia's 1v1 test match against Vincent came to an end. Surprisingly, she gained the upper hand and won the entire thing.

"Welp, she sure got me," Vincent smiled wryly. "She's rather impressive for a freshman."

"All I saw was you making a lot of mistakes," Yuel said.

"I'd like to claim otherwise but I'm disappointed with myself as well," Vincent admitted. "It's unfathomable for me to make such mistakes. That girl, BlackFlower, definitely has some sort of power!" 

"Of course she does."

"And, it's such a fearsome power that even my Information Blackhole can't discern its true nature! Even after an entire match, her specialty remains shrouded in darkness!" 

"So, even the great 'Arbiter of Talents' can't figure it out, huh."

"Indeed! Such blasphemy!" Vincent flailed his arms dramatically. "To think that I, the Arbiter of Talents, would fail to comprehend the talent of another player. Unheard of! We must be living in the wrong timeline!" 

[He's sure making a big deal out of it.] Yuel thought. In a way, this indeed a peculiar occasion.

Normally, the moment Vincent saw something he considered impressive, he attached a silly name to it and hyped it up through the roof. Yet, in Nia's case, he claimed he couldn't quite "figure it out". It almost made it sound like Vincent really analyzed all these abilities he coined a name for. Almost.

Still, there were definitely some odd circumstances surrounding Nia's performance. She didn't only take Vincent by surprise but, apparently, her plays were also unexpected for everybody else watching the game. Even Lars and Kai, the best duelists here, attested that Nia's plays came out of left field for them.

Perhaps Kai sugar-coated things to make Nia look more skillful, but Lars had no reason to make things up. He said Nia's plays caught him by surprise so it was probably the case. Though, it'd still be interesting to see what'd happen in practice. Because frankly, right now, none of this sounds particularly convincing.

"So," Kai started. "Since Nia won, we all agree she passed, right? Right."

"She only won because Vincent has been messing up left and right," Yuel argued. "Nia does know how to play, I'll give her that. But, it's hard to judge whether she's really skilled enough to compete against the Gold players who applied to the club." 

"Even a win isn't good enough for you, huh." Kai gave him a look. 

"I'm just saying we shouldn't rush to conclusions. It's unclear how much of that victory was Nia's skill and how much of it was Vincent clowning around."

"Hey, hey, hey," Vincent objected. "I was playing with every I had. I even tapped into the dark witchcraft of hell to receive demonic powerups so I could vanquish my opponent!" 

"You mean that demonic skin you were wearing?"

"Indeed! It's an artifact from the depths of hell itself! Only the most qualified of players can don it!" 

"Well, seems like being a total amateur is good enough to qualify."

"Gaaaaaaaah!" Vincent staggered backward as if he received a heavy blow. "Seriously, though. Even I don't really comprehend what just transpired there. How did I mess up so badly? Was it me? Or, was it Nia's elusive special ability? Does she possess some mysterious ability that can even nullify my Information Balckhole!? These questions will keep me up at night if I don't get to the bottom of it right away. "

"Wait," Kai frowned. "You also want to test Nia again?" 

"Indeed! We must get to the bottom of this case and expose the truth! But, don't get me wrong. I believe she has already played well enough to pass. However! As the Arbiter of Talents, my hunger for the truth hasn't been satisfied! I demand to know more! I see for myself exactly how she fools her opponents into committing such terrible misplays."

"So, you want to play her again?" Kai asked. 

"If possible, I rather observe the unfolding events from the side. That'll increase my efficiency as the Arbiter of Talents by 50%!"

"Then, who gonna play her?" Kai looked at everybody.

"I suggest Lars," Yuel jumped the opportunity. 

"That'll be too harsh," Kai objected. "Even if she's good, fighting Lars will make her look bad. He's a Challenger rank player."

"Actually, he's only Diamond in Duel," Yuel correct.

"Hey, I'm almost there!" Lars exclaimed. "Diamond I, yo! Just gotta win a few more matches and I'm Challenger no problem. Here, gimme 5 minutes and I'mma become Challenger!"

"I know, I know," Yuel said. "Anyway, I still suggest Lars. If Nia plays poorly and can't get anything going against Lars, we'll simply conclude her skill level in Duel is somewhere between Vincent's and Lars's."

"Sounds like you just want to bully her," Kai gave him a look.

"Don't worry, dude," Lars flashed his teeth. "I ain't gonna go full hardcore mode. But, don't expect me to lose on purpose either."

"I don't know about this," Kai crossed her arms. Her fears were understandable. She has already faced Lars before so she knew what manner of monster he was in combat. Even in MOBA mode, Yuel and Lars have won many Ranked matches simply from Lars terrorizing his lane opponents and destroying their fighting spirits.

Nevertheless, Yuel really wanted to see how this duel will play out. If Nia can make Lars commit the same mistakes Vincent made, that'll imply she had amazing potential. In such a case, Yuel would approve of her on the spot.

"I admit," Vincent said. "I'm also curious about how this fight will play out. The elusive BlackFlower vs. the unbeatable Gunz! Who will reign supreme!?"

"Fine, whatever," Kai sighed in defeat. "Let's have them play." She checked around the room. "Huh? Where did Nia go?"

Nia was nowhere to be found. She should've been sitting on the chair at the corner of the room, yet the chair was empty.

"Vanished!" Vincent exclaimed. "The phantom candidate disappeared without a trace! It's a locked-room mystery!" 

"Except, the door is open," Yuel pointed out.

"Oh, right! Nice deduction, detective Chessmaster. From that, we can conclude the culprit escaped through the unlocked door!" 

"Not really," Yuel walked around the table to the opposite side of where everybody was standing. There, he founded a black hairball.

"Eavesdropping on the examiners is bad taste, you know," Yuel said.

"G-Gufu!" Nia jumped and drew away. "I-I wasn't eavesdropping. That's a rude accusation."

"Sure. Then, what were you doing down there?" 

"Just taking a rest."

"A rest? On the floor behind our table?" 

"That's how I like it. My favorite pastime" 

"Okay then," Yuel rolled his eyes.

"B-Besides!" Nia pointed at him. "How? How did you find me?" 

"How did I 'find you'? Then, you admit you were hiding?" 

"G-Gufu!" Nia took an invisible hit.

"I actually wonder too," Luke said. "How the heck did ya find her so fast? I didn't see anybody and I was the closest." 

"Indeed," Vincent nodded. "Even my all-absorbing Information Blackhole couldn't tell Nia's position. It's like she escaped into the fifth dimension to dodge me!" 

[What's even the fifth dimension?] Yuel made a face. Anyway, this was peculiar. Yet again, there was this unsettling feeling. For some reason, only Yuel could spot Nia right away.

Admittedly, even he didn't notice when Nia snuck away from her chair and crept all the way over here. Her footsteps must have been light a feather. It was like she entered real-life Stealth mode. Real-life Rogue confirmed.

Still, once Yuel started looking around, it didn't take him long to spot that black spaghetti hair. But, he was the only one to find her so quickly. For the others, it was as if Nia vanished into thin air or escaped into the "fifth dimension", whatever that meant. 

[I probably just had the best angle for spotting her. It's not like anybody went out of their way to search for her too hard. I was just in the best position to see her, that's all.]

"I guess she was just in my field of view," Yuel shrugged.

"Impossible," Nia argued but immediately regretted speaking up. "Ah, I mean. Umm. Nevermind."

"Anyway," Kai wheeled the conversation back on topic. "Nia, we'd like you to duel one more time. Is that alright?"

"Ok," Nia nodded dimly and returned to her chair without asking anything else. She probably heard all the details while spying on them so she knew what's up.

"Also," Yuel added. "Can you please pick something other than Rogue for the next match?"

"Ok," Nia nodded dimly without showing much emotion. It was difficult to tell whether this request bothered her or not.

Nia's Rogue play was decent but Yuel had to make sure it wasn't the only class she played. Rogue was a solid class in Duel but a meme in the MOBA so it'll be more reassuring if Nia knows how to play a more useful class.

"So," Lars leaped onto the chair in front of the PC. "What do ya guys want me to pick? Trickshooter? Gunslinger?" 

"That's going overboard," Kai objected. "Are you trying to bully her?" 

"But, dude looks kinda strong and all. She even beat Vince."

"It will be a slaughter," Vincent theatrically stretched his arms toward the ceiling. "Shall you pick thee strongest classes, thee shall crush her spirit and make her rethink all her life choices."

"Exactly," Kai nodded. "Even good players can get discouraged after fighting your Shooter and Slinger." 

"I agree," Yuel said. "No need to go overboard for an exam. Just pick something decent like Pirate." 

"Okey-dokey," Lars locked in Pirate. "Jeez, didn't know my Shooter and Slinger scare dudes so much, haha."

Meanwhile, Nia returned to her personal corner at the far end of the room and curled up on the chair.

[Ok, no Rogue.] Nia scrolled away from her favorite pick. [Then, maybe Ninja? Hmm, I need something good. Shadow Walker? Eh, it's such a hit-or-miss...]

Nia titled from side to side on the chair while scrolling through the roster of assassins. Based on what she heard, her new opponent was going to be a much bigger fish. She was about to fight a high-level competitive player! A pro-caliber duelist! Scary.

Nevertheless, she had to do it. This was a rare opportunity to properly join a club. The people here liked bullying a little but they didn't seem like bad people. Maybe she'll even be able to make some friends here for a change!

[I have to ace it.] She clenched her controller. No matter how strong her opponent will be, she had to give them a hard time. She'll stealthily sneak up behind them and strike them down like a ninja! Nin nin.

In the heat of the moment, Nia landed on Ninja and locked in. This class had some issues in Duel but it had stealth so that made it top tier for Nia. Her stealth worked on the previous examiner so it'll surely work on the new guy as well. After all, that pro duelist couldn't spot Nia behind the table just a few seconds ago. He'll never find her!

In fact, nobody there saw her; she hid like a pro. If they held Olympics for hide-and-seek, Nia will surely be a runner up. Back in kindergarten, nobody could find her when playing hide-and-seek. At some point, everybody just gave up and had to hold the L. Though, sometimes, the other kids kinda forgot about her and left, leaving her behind in her hideout...

A-Anyway, her new opponent couldn't find her just now so this wasn't an impossible fight. On the other hand, that other guy in the group...

[How did he find me?] Nia grumped. She hid so perfectly behind that table and yet the mean-looking boy saw through her camouflage. [How dare he. Next time, I'll hide so well he'll not find me in a million years!]

With that irrelevant resolve, Nia headed into her second exam.