Chapter 82. Meeting again (2)
'I never thought I would meet him again.'
Ian stared at his opponent and frowned. His opponent was someone Ian had killed when he had just started Ark.
He was the swordsman Grando who had tried to PK Ian, Clara and Ria.
Ian had killed him at that time and he had never seen him after that.
He had even thought that Grando would try to retaliate with the help of his guild, but there was nothing like that.
That's why Ian has forgotten about it.
Now, Grando was standing in front of him. He had even reached the seventh round in the Rookies league.
'Was he that strong previously?'
Ian thought back to the time when Grando had tried to PK him. At that time, Grando's skill was just average and he panicked easily.
It can be that his skill has grown but Ian thought otherwise.
"Ah, yes. His equipment."
Ian suddenly took a look at the shining golden armour Grando was wearing and the sword in his hand.
Both of them looked like rare grade items. Even the helmet, leg guards and arm guard looked like expensive equipment.
He even has a small angular shield in his hand.
'It's much better equipment than mine.'
Ian finally understood how Grando was able to come this far.
Despite his average skill, he was backed up by a guild and can compensate for his lack of skill by wearing powerful equipment.
It was one of the advantages of being in a guild.
'I can still defeat him.'
Ian smiled thinking that this round won't be hard to win.
If Grando's skill was still the same, then he can easily defeat him without taking any chances.
'It looks like he doesn't recognise me.'
Grando still looked confused as he was staring at him. Ian was wearing a mask. So, of course, he won't be able to recognise him.
Moreover, Ian didn't use a spear when Grando had tried to PK him. There was no way he would know who Ian really was.
That was better for Ian.
On the other hand, Grando was also thinking about Ian.
'Why do I feel like I know him?'
He felt that he had met with Ian before but there was no way of knowing as Ian was wearing a mask.
But still, he put on a guard against him.
'No matter what, I have to win.'
Grando hadn't thought about participating in the Arena before but his brother had forced him to take part in it.
As he was only able to play freely because of his brother, he wasn't able to refuse.
The reason he didn't want to take part was because he knew that there was no chance of winning.
PvP was not like sneak attacks that he is used to. It was a one on one battle and there was low chance of him winning.
His brother also knows that.
So, he had given him several high grade equipment. Because of them, Grando was able to reach the seventh round.
After winning every round, his confidence increased and he even began to think that he would be able to win Arena.
He would get fame and money after that. Maybe, he would even be invited to those broadcasting stations and have dinners with celebrities.
He was really on a high horse as he imagined his beautiful 'future'.
But he has to win for that and for some reason, his current opponent was giving him a strange feeling.
He can't pinpoint what type of feeling it was but it was not a good feeling.
'I would win in the end anyway.'
Grando shook his head and thought. He has confidence in the equipment that his brother had given him.
The match started as he was thinking about that.
"You will lose here!!"
As soon as the match started, Grando rushed at Ian.
He swung his sword vertically at Ian. His sword shone with a white light indicating that he was using a skill.
It was a rushed attack. So, Grando had thought that Ian won't be able to join but the opposite of that happened.
Ian easily dodged the strike.
'He is fast.'
Grando continued to attack Ian and all of his attacks were dodged easily. It was like Ian already knew where he was going to attack.
He became slightly frustrated seeing that.
In his frustration, his attacks started losing their trajectory and it got easier for Ian to dodge that.
"You are weak."
Ian said with a taunting voice and Grando imagined him smirking at him. He got angry thinking that.
"Let me show you who is weak. Gale rush!!"
Grando shouted and his shoes started glowing. His speed suddenly increased and his attacks became sharper.
But…
'His control is the worst.'
The biggest flaw was that Grando was not able to control. His attacks were fast but out of the place.
Ian felt like he was fighting a child because of that. If it was a real battle, then Grando's head would be on the ground.
"Let's finish this."
Ian muttered as he finally stopped dodging.
It would be a waste of time for him to drag this battle more. That's why he finally attacked.
Swish! Thrust!
He thrusted his spear and Grando barely blocked it with his shield.
Ian smiled and started his barrage of attacks. He deliberately continued to hit his shield and Grando took a step back on every strike.
He was getting pushed but he was not able to do anything.
Swish!
He tried to retaliate but Ian's spear would strike before his attack. He was in position to counter attack.
Grando kept getting attacked and his HP started to fall down rapidly.
He panicked seeing that.
'I have to do something.'
He gripped his sword tighter and raised it but before he could even touch Ian, he felt a blow in his chest.
He took a step back and closed his eyes out of panic and fear.
That was his biggest mistake as a punch quickly came flying at him. Grando rolled on the ground because of the punch.
He was barely able to take that blow.
"...I lost…"
The last thing he saw was a glowing spear that was coming directly for his head.
The match ended with that.
* * *
"You seem to be in a good mood, brother."
Lu Xiaomei said as he saw Lu Fei washing the dishes with a smile on his face.
He was even humming a song.
"Yeah, I'm in a great mood."
There was no reason for him to be sad and there were various reasons for him to be happy.
Starting off, his bank account was filled with money. For the first time in his life, Lu Fei had that much money in his account.
He was just starting in Ark and he has already earned this much.
His future prospects were endless and he had even reached the semifinals in the Arena.
No matter if he won or lost, he would get a reward.
He can't help but think about the types of reward. An armour or a weapon. It can even be a special item.
His V-tube channel growth was also rapid and he would soon start to earn from that. Money would literally come from every director.
'In some years, I would be able to pay back the debt'
He felt a warm feeling thinking about a debt free life. His sister would now be able to have a good life.
Everything was going in the right direction.
"By the way, my mock test results came out."
Lu Xiaomei suddenly changed the topic.
"What was your ranking?"
"First in my class and third in the whole school."
Lu Xiaomei said in a happy tone, thinking that Lu Fei would praise her but nothing like that happened.
"You should work harder and get first place in the whole school."
Just like any other Asian parent, Lu Fei wanted his sister to be the best. He won't compromise on that.
"Work harder? I'm already working hard."
"You should study more than. You are playing with your friends quite often these days."
"You can't even praise me."
Lu Xiaomei stuck out her tongue when she heard that.
Her brother was telling her to work harder instead of praising her. She sighed thinking that.
Her brother would never change.
'I should make her favourite food today.'
On the other hand, Lu Fei was really happy about his sister's results but he was not showing it on his face.
His sister can get arrogant if he praised her.
"Don't you also have a mock test?"
"Yeah."
The college entrance examinations were coming close and his high school was preparing students by taking mock tests.
"What was your result?"
His sister asked with some hesitation in her voice. She was sure that her brother failed again.
"I passed."
But the response she got was unexpected.
"Huh? You what?"
"Do you have trouble hearing? I said I passed."
It was not like she had trouble hearing. She heard it clearly on the first time but it was just too surprising that she wanted to confirm it.
"You really passed?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
Lu Fei shrugged his shoulders.
He was studying in his free time these days and with the help of Fang Xue, he was able to barely pass the mock tests.
He still remembered the smile on Fang Xue's face when she told him about the result.
Her smile was like the rainbow that would form after heavy rain. If she was his…
'No! What am I thinking?'
He quickly shook his head when his thoughts reached an uncharted territory.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Lu Xiaomei noticed his expression and asked.
"It's nothing."
Lu Fei said that but her sister can tell that something was going on in her brother's mind.
She wondered what he was thinking.
* * *
As Ian was spending time with his sister, a match was going on in the Arena.
It was the fight match of the seventh round and Wayn was struggling to win this fight.
Swish! Whoosh!
Wayn continuously fired arrows but his arrows only touched the ground. A surprised look appeared on his face seeing that.
He was sure that his opponent was there, just a moment ago.
It was like his opponent had suddenly become invisible and disappeared from his field of vision.
'Where is he?'
Wayn looked around but there were no signs of his opponent.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a movement behind him. Archers normally have good senses.
So, he was able to dodge the strike by rolling on the ground but when he stood up, his opponent was nowhere to be seen.
Swish!
'An attack!!'
He suddenly heard a swishing sound from his side but he was not able to dodge it this time.
A sword pierced one has shoulders.
Wayn cried out in pain but the attacks of his opponent only increased. He felt several stabs on his body.
But the weird thing was that his opponent was nowhere in sight.
It was like he was fighting an invisible person. Wayn had already given up on winning this round and soon, he lost his life.
A player appeared on the ground after Wayn lost.
The crowd cheered seeing him but there was only disappointment on his face. It was like he was dissatisfied with something.
'I have not met a worthy opponent yet.'
The player named Kai frowned as he exited the Arena.