Thaleus may not have been physically tired because he had been playing in VR, but he was mentally stressed. He left the game so he could go eat and rest his mind for a little bit. He was currently walking around the park across from the arcade relaxing while eating a soft pretzel. The park was like a maze with flower peppered bushes the height of a man cutting around the walkways. If you were to see it from an eagles eyes you would see it expanded for about 3 miles every which direction and at the opposite side of the arcade entrance the furthest away from the military base was forest. There was a gate seperating the base from the rest of the planet. Standing at this gate facing the forest was a man. He stood about 6'3 with long black hair that glistened in the sunlight. His left eye was red while his right one was completely black like an abyss. a scar ran from the inside of his left eye to the outside of his cheek. Damien Sable gripped the fence while looking into the forest intently. "The Clockmaster is going to be a tough opponent, but ultimately he hasnt seen my true strength." He thought to himself. "It's been hard holding back against the other contestants, but his ability is incomprehensible im going to have to give it my all." Damien turned away to head back to the arcade when he saw another teen with dishevelled silver hair and silver eyes. On a closer look he noticed what looked like clock hands in the others left eye that were moving in reverse. "Who might you be?" He thought as he brushed past the young man as they were walking in different directions. Thaleus turned as he passed another person in the garden. He locked eyes with someone who looked to be a student of his age. A man with a red eye and a pitch black eye that seemed to emanate darkness. The scar across his face spoke of a deadly fight. Thaleus gulped as they locked eyes for a brief second before they both turned back around and walked their seperate ways. "He's dangerous." They both thought as they headed back to the arcade.
Both young men walked quickly hoping that they would catch the other again. Thaleus's boosted stats giving him a massive helping hand at getting back to the arcade quickly. As he reached out for the door both his hand and another reached the handle at the same time. He looked up and started as he saw the same man with the red and black eye they locked eyes again for a brief moment before grinning sheepishly realizing that they had both been trying to catch the other unawares. For some reason they knew theyd be facing each other in the final fight. "Good luck" Damien said "you're going to need it" he added under his breath. Damien entered the arcade first and entered the vr chair that happened to be across from the one Thaleus had been using. They hadnt noticed each other before because they would leave and enter the game at different times.
Thaleus entered the game to the 5 minute till start announcement. Kip joined him to hype him up "You nervous bro?"
"Yeah, but who wouldnt be during a finale"
"True, watch out for the AoE attacks it seems hes a distance fighter once you get up close you should be fine" Kip remarked.
"Thanks man, I'll do my best" Thaleus replied.
"Word of advice Thaleus" Dom chimed in as Kip left. "That man has been holding back in all his fights. So much so that its quite possible he could wipe the floor with you. Use strategy well this fight or you're sure to lose."
Thaleus gulped hearing this. "I'll definitely give this all I got, if he wins I wont be making it easy for him."
The time had come for Thaleus to enter the arena. As he was teleported in he noticed his opponent already sitting down cross legged and it looked as if he was meditating. He also immediately got a system quest *Special Quest Defeat Opponent:
Rewards:
Instant level up, 1 passive skill selection, 20 skill points*
Thaleus's face was grim as he knew this would be a hard fight.
The countdown started as the fight was about to begin. the crowd quieted down knowing a battle of epic proportions between two powerhouses was unfolding.
Dark Sceptor vs. The Clockmaster
10...
9...
8...
7...
FIGHT!!!
Dark Sceptor remained in his seated position while Thaleus eyed him quietly. The pressure between the two was like a small mountain. You could feel the energy emitted between the two fighters.
Thaleus knew the distance between the two was supposed to be exactly 10 meters which was just inside of his control. Time Lapse so far had been his best tool but while his opponent seem passive he decided to wait and inspect his foe hoping to see at how he might gain the upper hand in this fight.
"Inspect"
Damien Sable
Tier 9 Space Control
Health: 1000/1000
Mana:???
Strength:???
Agility:???
Stamina:???
Intelligence: 200
Endurance:???
"This is not good" Thaleus thought. "I dont know how I'm going to win this." He continued wracking his brain for ideas. after about a minute or two with neither contestant moving he finally took a step forward. "I think I have a way"
Damien opened his red eye no one had seen him open the eye with the scar during any of his fights so far. In fact he had barely used his ability on his other opponents. Thaleus was determined to make him give it his all despite the power gap. "Expand" Damien had made the first move causing the distance between him and Thaleus to widen by about 20 meters. "He's wary of my Time Lapse it seems" Thaleus thought. "Looks like I'll have to create an opening myself"
Thaleus jumped up in the air and flipped around mixing Time Warp to move faster back down while also using "Titan Flash Strike" to hit the ground with all his force. The ground groaned with impact before giving way creating cracks that went to the edges of the arena many large rocks broke from where his point of impact was. He picked one up and hurled it directly at Damien covering his field of view. Damien's opened eye widened as he realized what Thaleus was doing. He stood up and casually punched the incoming projectile causing it to turn to dust. This revealed a second boulder just as large as the first hurtling right behind it. "Shit, it's too close." Damien dove to the side rolling and came up. Thaleus was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile after Thaleus had thrown the first rock he had picked up a second one and thrown it as hard as he could, as soon as he released he readied his Time Lapse barely catching the second thrown boulder before it left his radius then time warped to latch onto it. The boulder carried him with it. He used his feet to lightly kick off the boulder right as it passed the dodging Damien. "Time Lapse" he was 4 meters away from his opponent but in the air. he flipped his body as he reached his target and used "Fractured Twist Kick" *FWAP* the sound of flesh hitting flesh resounded as Thaleus's foot met the side of Damien's head "Ugh" Damien grunted as he was lifted off his feet. Thaleus wasnt done yet though he flipped around again using "Titan Flash Strike" he punched with all his might right into Damien's ribcage. "Blergh" the breath was knocked out of Damien as the combined weight of both these hits sent him towards the arena wall. Thaleus's time lapse kept him at a slowed pace so that he could do more however. Thaleus warped to him now hitting him in his neck, back, left arm, and right leg with Ripple Touch before letting Damien fly towards the arena wall. "WHAT THE FUCK DID HE DO TO ME" Damien panicked as he crashed into the wall he couldnt move his head from its sideways position and it was taking him forever to stand upright in a defensive position. He looked at his health bar *800/1000 -3 health every 5 seconds internal damage detected*
"It seems I really can't hold back." Damien opened his other eye. "Wormhole" a hole opened up behind Thaleus sucking him into it before disappearing. "Portal" another hole opened up next to Damien planting Thaleus there disoriented. Damien swung his fist as the portal was closing. Thaleus warped backwards but was still grazed on the cheek by Damien. *FWOOSH* Thaleus was still flung forcefully to the other side of the arena. "AAAHHHHH" *BOOOOM* Thaleus hit the wall so hard his body was stuck 380/500. "Fuck i can't handle a full hit from him" he thought as he struggled to disconnect himself from the battered wall. Damien was finally released from Ripple touch and rushed towards Thaleus. All that everyone else saw was an afterimage as Damien crossed the arena instantly. "He's Fast" Thaleus thought as he barely freed himself from the wall. He warped behind Damien as he threw another punch. "Implode" The punch hit the wall for a second everything within 3 meters was sucked into the area of contact before exploding out. Thaleus again found himself flying through the air. This time Thaleus was able to turn himself firmly planting his feet on the wall he focused all his ki and mana into his feet and pushed off. The wall caved from the power in his kickoff as he launched himself he reached Damien instantly using "Blink Punch" Damien threw his fist as Thaleus left the wall and their punches connected causing a shockwave through the arena. There was a clear winner as Thaleus was launched back against the wall he came from. *BOOM* Thaleus hit the wall and slid to the floor. *100/500 -2 health per second detection of severed limb*. Thaleus's left arm had been destroyed up to the elbow. He struggled to his feet and checked Damien. At least he didn't come out unscathed. *680/1000 -3 health every 4 seconds internal damage detected* "I'm not done yet" Thaleus said weakly. his left eye started to glow and if you looked closely the clock hands on his eye had stopped. *Ding* *Threshold Skill temporarily unlocked requirements met*
*Epoch's Domain: A dome is created by Epoch with complete control over time for all inside the dome for 8 seconds.
distance: 10 meters
cost: 500 mana
cost: 250 stamina
one time free use*
Thaleus smiled weakly as Damien launched himself at him in an attempt to finish him off. "Come at me then." Thaleus took a defensive stance amd waited until Damien's fist was inches from his face. "Epoch's domain"
he didnt have much stamina left but he had one last trick up his sleeve. He touched his stump to his fist using "Ripple Touch" speeding up his arm. then he proceeded to use "Blink Punch" 5 times in quick succession three times in the face and twice in the throat. then as he could only use normal attacks from here he attacked all of Damien's vital areas as fast as he could for the next seven seconds. Since he was already able to move as fast as he wanted in his domain and Damien couldnt react no one in the audience could see where Thaleus went as he was moving in a circle as he attacked. It was as if he had disappeared and left Damien in a state of a suspended punch. Epoch's Domain ended and finally they saw an exhausted Thaleus on one knee in front of Damien. As soon as ge appeared Damien's body convulsed violently while being lifted off its feet and flung back to the wall from which he had been.
*Dark Sceptor
health: 0/1000*
[WINNER: THE CLOCKMASTER]
*Ding*
*Special quest completed*
*Instant level up*
*choose passive skill:
Foresight
Ageless
Borrowed Vitality*
*60 skill points added (40 for level up 20 for special quest)
*ding*
*Hidden quest completed*
*Win Colliseum Tournament*
*instant level up*
*free item choice from store*