Chapter 106 - Battle at the Top (2)

"Who's that?"

Those who were fighting alongside him saw Salon, who looked like a hero.

A few users stopped fighting and looked at his movements.

Users that had Thief-related jobs were especially in shock.

"Woah, it’s Salon! How many combos is he at?"

"It seems like he surpassed a thousand with «Trance»... I can't believe that’s possible in a real battle."

The small uproar was transmitted to the world from the user's point of view.

At first, most TV shows didn't film him because bost of them thought that Salon was a commander-rank NPC.

They never thought that the one in the fighting against the monsters at the forefront was a user!

- Move all the cameras to the West gate!

- ID Salon? Search the available information in the Hall of Fame! Display it on screen!

Iluna's Quest was being displayed worldwide.

And a few big corporations like The Gamez, thanks to a partnership with NFM, were able to use special equipment.

Namely, unmanned, indestructible cameras that could fly and transmit video.

People that worked in TV called them 'drones’—they could do various things, filming included.

Tens of drones were focusing on Salon.

—Even the one that belonged to The Gamez!

The Gamez was the company with the most drones. Thanks to that, they sent three drones to film Salon.

—They wanted to film the most decisive battle from different points of view.

[Providing first-person perspective to The Gamez! To cancel synchronization, check out your status window!]

[Providing first-person perspective to InterPlay! To cancel synchronization, check out your status window!]

[Providing first-person perspective to I Game! To cancel synchronization, check out your status window!]

...

Salon, who was still fighting, felt a thrill after reading the messages.

He had the option to refuse the broadcasters, but he had no intentions of doing that.

If you allowed a broadcaster to show footage from a first-person perspective, it was written in the contract that you could ask them to share profits.

No, it wasn't just the money. Thanks to that, there were probably millions of people looking at him at the moment!

'I wonder how many people are looking at me right now.'

Chills and delight hit him simultaneously.

Due to the effect of «Trance», which made his attacks stronger with higher combo counts, his body was burning with a brilliant light.

'Hahaha, good. Let's show them!'

Excited for the brilliant performance he was about to show, Salon jumped toward the monsters when suddenly…

All the attention directed toward him moved to another place.

- Move all cameras to the magic circle!

The first one to get the breaking news was The Gamez.

Since they had the most drones, they'd placed one on top of the main magic circle.

They’d done it just in case the magic circle lost its light. If it did, they'd be able to record the dramatic footage of the Heavens being defeated.

But they never thought they would really be able to record that moment.

- Lattice has appeared in the magic circle! Ain is there too!

- All seven cameras!

The Gamez quickly changed the screen to the top of the tower.

The news was bigger than initially thought.

The speed at which information moved through the internet was faster than anyone could imagine.

The number of viewers of The Gamez went from a hundred thousand to five hundred thousand almost instantaneously.

The chat window that was full of Korean suddenly became full of languages from all over the world.

[InterPlay has canceled synchronization!]

[I Game has canceled synchronization!]

...

A few moments later, Salon began receiving bad news.

'What happened...?'

Astonished, Salon looked at the drones getting far away.

Because of that distraction, 1.5 seconds passed, and he lost his combo.

Because the effect of «Trance» disappeared, Salon had to hide among the Heavens Forces.

[The Gamez has canceled synchronization!]

Even the last drone flew away to somewhere else.

He was watching it get away when he heard someone's voice.

"Be careful!"

A Holy Knight pulled back Salon, who was standing still as if he were a scarecrow.

Because his combo had been reset, Salon couldn't move for a while.

* * *

- Change the screen to the seventh camera!

The Gamez showed the main magic circle after Ain returned from the Symmetrical World.

They weren't able to record the scene of Louise jumping from the tower.

Just showing Lattice and Ain fighting was enough to attract a huge number of viewers, so they couldn't afford to record anything else.

With Ain and Lattice standing atop the last magic circle, The Gamez hit a record number of viewers.

Even the veteran anchor, Im SeungJun, was surprised by the numbers.

"Oh, it seems like there's a problem with the servers because of the sudden influx of people. Excuse us for a moment. We're going to fix it as soon as possible."

After taking a breath, Im SeungJun started to heat up the atmosphere.

"There are currently more than 500 thousand people watching! Commentator Kim SooYong, what happened?"

"Yes, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the fate of the magic circle will decide the battle. And it just so happens that this is where the last magic circle is!"

Kim SooYong quickly answered.

He explained the situation briefly.

Where was that place? How did a fight break out there?

—He didn't bring up questions like those.

The viewers were most likely more interested in other things.

With a subtle tone, Im SeungJun started to lift the atmosphere.

"But... Don't these two users seem familiar...?"

"Yes. There are even many people who don't even play Asrian that know about them."

"The fact that they're here looking at each other means they're about to fight, right? Lattice vs. Ain, Ain vs. Lattice! The dream match is about to start!"

The two most famous people in the game that everyone knew of were looking at each other.

Lattice was the number one player who hadn't lost the crown since the game began!

And Ain was the new rising star who’d become famous after the Duel Arena update!

Because Ain's name wasn't in the Hall of Fame, there wasn't a lot of information about her.

Kim SooYong started to relay what information he knew.

"Most experts think that Lattice is going to win. Some people say that his specs are equivalent to a level 180 user. Not only that, but he's known to pay to... No, I mean. He's famous for being a user with both money and talent."

"But since we're Korean, I guess we'll have to support Ain, right?" Im SeungJun said.

Ain had become famous in a foreign community. Not only that, but she'd never mentioned her nationality.

The reason why Im SeungJun so confidently said that she was Korean was that a few days ago, it was revealed that she had been a user of the previous game.

Asra Online was only serviced in Korea, so her nationality was naturally revealed.

- So she was Korean? I thought she was a foreigner since she got famous on Reddit.

- There's a rumor that says that she's a veteran Asra player with more than 5 years of experience.

Judging from the chat's reaction, it seemed like there were lots of users who didn't know that.

"Korean players of the previous game are struggling more than we initially thought. Unlike what we initially thought, there aren't many Koreans in the rankings," Kim SooYong said disappointedly.

Just like he'd said, there weren't any Korean players in the top 10 of the Hall of Fame.

The main reason was that Hyun, Ain, and other previous game rankers hadn't registered in the Hall of Fame, but since most people didn't know about that, it was normal that many of them thought that Korean players were struggling.

"You're right. That's why I hope Ain can take this opportunity to show what she's capable of! I hope she can demonstrate that even if she isn't in the rankings, she's good enough to be called a ranker!"

"Oh, Lattice has pulled out his sword...! He's leaping forward!"

The moment both users started moving, both commentators shouted in excitement.

At that moment, they were thinking of commenting as excitedly as possible... But they never thought they would end up remaining silent for a few seconds.

* * *

At the top of the tower, red and blue lights shone.

Lattice had a blue sword.

Ain was using red flames.

Both users moved so fast that it was easy to miss if you didn't pay attention.

The two colors clashed numerous times and then separated again.

'Ugh...!'

Suddenly…

Ain jumped to the top of the tower.

Simultaneously, the blue sword swept through the railing below.

It was a long, blue sword that stirred through the blizzard!

Clang! Clang-!

The railing stones that were cut away froze and then shattered.

Lattice could freeze opponents with each attack.

Because she'd jumped to the top of the tower, Ain was at the city's highest point for a moment.

Paf-!

Then, the blue sword shone from behind Ain.

As Ain lowered her head, a few hairs of her froze.

'There's no floor...!'

Ain took a breath after looking down.

There wasn't anything underneath her.

It seemed like she'd moved off the tower's center because she’d moved too violently.

«Steps of the Incarnate»!

Flames erupted from Ain's body.

The Elemental Berserker's movement skill, «Steps of the Incarnate» ignored inertia.

A fiery path 30 meters long appeared in the sky.

—It was the traces of Ain moving through the sky.

A road of fire that went from outside the tower to the center appeared.

"...!"

Lattice tensed his shoulders.

He never thought that an opponent in the air would be able to move so fast.

There was also something else…

Even during that short moment, she swung her flames while aiming at his chest.

How many users could launch an attack from that uncomfortable position?

He'd been lucky to dodge that attack, but if things had gone wrong, he could've died.

'It seems like she wasn't exaggerating.'

Soon, Lattice's eyes turned colder.

It hadn't been long since he’d started fighting with Ain, but it was enough to know that he should be wary of her.

'She's on another level compared to the guy from before!'

It hadn't been a minute since the fight began.

Even during that short time, many different attacks were used.

Patterns that you could notice only with the experience of the previous game or the sight of a professional gamer went back and forth.

The most amazing thing was that even though they'd exchanged numerous fatal attacks, none had ended in a critical hit.

Judging from the available information, they both seemed to have full HP.

Vrrrrrr.

All the drones were filming Lattice's fight with Ain.

Lattice murmured something while frowning.

"Turn off all synchronization..."

The lights on all of the drones, which were shining like fireflies, were turned off.

Most drones changed the direction to Ain and began emitting a light again.

"..."

Ain silently looked at Lattice.

Even though she wasn't saying anything, the tips of her lips were up.

It had been a long time since she had a proper duel.

The fight between them both was being streamed through The Gamez.

"This... Is amazing..."

After looking at that overwhelming exchange of blows, it wasn't the caster Im SeungJun who spoke first, but the commentator Kim SooYong.

It was his job to provide meaningful analysis to the viewers, but he was lost for words.

Kim SooYong, who was a professional gamer, knew the intentions behind the movements of both users.

He'd seen footage of Ain fighting before, but it was his first time seeing Lattice.

'They said that he has both money and talent...'

Kim SooYong quickly tried to judge Lattice's level.

Even compared to professional gamers, he was probably one of the top players!

'No, Lattice has more talent than money!'

Up until then, Lattice hadn't shown his skills.

He was famous for being a user that enjoyed playing solo, which was why not many people had seen him doing quests. And if he thought that a user was bothering him, he just killed them.

In other words, Ain was the first user who’d properly fought against Lattice.

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