"Ack!" Shun yelled when Yaoting pierced his stomach and lost a lot of mana at the last round.
Shun looked at the ceiling and stretched his body after returning to his booth. He sighed deeply and looked at the screen where his scores were recorded. Ten fat X marks lined up.
"I can't believe I didn't win one round," Shun muttered to himself before exiting the booth. Outside he saw Yami with a serious face glaring at him.
"Ying, you are here?" Shun awkwardly went toward Yami, who was leaning against the wall.
"I could ask you the same thing," Yami stated and crossed his arms. Waiting for Shun to explain.
"Ah, well. Yaoting invited me to have a mock battle here at the Warrior's lobby since there are no points involved if the official Combatant uses the booth," Shun explained and chuckled awkwardly when he saw Yami roll his eyes.
Yami was about to speak when Yaoting went out of his booth with a proud smile of victory. He went toward Shun and faced him, sparing a single glance toward Yami.
"Thank you for the mock battle, Shun," Yaoting chuckled and patted Shun's shoulder. "You can go now."
"O-okay," Shun answered awkwardly and watched Yaoting go ahead.
Yami stared at him and saw the little smirk on Yaoting's lips. That made Yami feel that he shouldn't let things go the way it is.
"What's your reason for asking a mock battle with Shun?" Yami stated and put both hands in his pocket as he stared at Yaoting.
Yaoting stopped walking and turned around with a small smile. "I just wanted to know Shun's skills since he was in the Tsuki branch and will become a Captain soon."
Yami's lips twitched upon hearing what Yaoting stated. He didn't like how Yaoting looked down at Shun even though his face tried to hide his real intention.
"He will become a Captain, yet his skills are only mediocre."
"I pity his squad members. He would bring them down."
"He can't even land a hit toward Yaoting, and he dared to become a Captain."
Gossips around them started echoing, which made Yaoting satisfied with how he was indirectly praised for his excellent skills by the words encircling the trainees.
Yami clenched his fist, but it wasn't his battle to fight. He didn't argue anymore and let Yaoting go when a notification appeared in his vision.
[!QUEST]
[REVENGE FOR PRIDE.]
[DESCRIPTION: WIN A BATTLE AGAINST YAOTING.]
[REWARD: LOYAL SERVANT'S ACTIVATION.]
[FAILURE: QUEST CANCELLED.]
'The reward,' Yami thought when he saw the reward related to the hidden quest that he couldn't open yet. 'It took a while for the system to give me a quest.'
Yami's mood brightened since he could finally activate his reward, but most of all, he could have a reason to fight Yaoting.
"Yaoting," Yami called with a huge smile and walked toward Yaoting, who looked back, annoyed. "Have a match with me."
Yaoting opened his mouth in surprise. He stared at Yami from top to bottom and noticed that he had the same badge of the Tsuki branch on his shoulder.
"Ah, you are in the Tsuki branch too. This is interesting, but how did you know my name?" Yaoting asked since he didn't introduce himself to Yami.
Yami ignored his question because he found it irrelevant to answer.
"Have a ten-round match with me," Yami stated. His smile dropped when he saw the mocked look on Yaoting's face.
"You're just a Warrior rank trainee scrambling for points, and you want an official Combatant to fight with you. You see, I have pride," Yaoting chuckled and waved his hand in front of Yami before walking away, but before he could take two more steps, Yami spoke again.
"Or you're just scared that you'll lose to a Warrior rank," Yami smiled smugly and watched how the trainees gossiped again. "You brought a crowd to witness you fight. It will be fantastic if they can watch another battle from you, Yaoting."
"You..." Yaoting glared at Yami and glanced around. Since he had pride and didn't want to be looked down on by others. He agreed, put his hand over his hips, and tilted his head to the side.
"Sure, I'll fight you. Don't cry if I beat you to dust. Let's go," Yaoting walked toward the booth before glaring at Yami when he passed by.
Yami smirked and was about to enter his booth, but Shun held his arm back.
"Ying, he's strong. Don't do this," Shun stated with a worried look.
Yami smiled and removed his hand. "I know. I have my own reason why I wanted to fight him. Also, I don't want anyone insults our Captain."
Shun was stunned and watched Yami's form entering the booth. It didn't take long before their names appeared on the massive monitor.
Everyone anticipated the fight since they were also curious about Yami's skills and abilities to fight. Especially since he was a trainee fighting a Legend rank Combatant.
"Good luck, Ying," Shun whispered as he sat on one of the seats and waited for the battle to start.
Yami sat on the chair and stared at Yaoting's invitation, which was different from the invitation he received from the trainees. It was black and had the Defender base logo; a shield with a sword in the middle.
Yami was about to accept the invite when Yaoting's voice was heard from the monitor.
"Do you hear me? I still didn't get your name," Yaoting stated on the other line.
"Yin Ying," Yami answered while pressing the microphone button.
"You know, I gain nothing from you in this battle since you're only in Warrior rank," Yaoting stated. He was trying to rub that he was in a higher rank than Yami.
"You can gain the pride that you beat two Combatants from the Tsuki branch, but that's if you will be able to beat me," Yami stated with confidence, which made Yaoting annoyed.
"Then let's see, who will be the victor in this ten-round match, Yin Ying," Yaoting stated firmly and chose the location for the virtual field. "Also, our battle will be seen outside in the lobby. A perk for fighting an official Combatant. Don't be ashamed if they see you lose."
Yami didn't reply and accepted the invitation. He went to the door and got his artificial body teleported.
( "Battle Stage: Cityscape A. Ten-round match in unranked war. Begin!" )