Jack used Shooting Dash. Ursa was surprised by the sudden burst of speed. Jack's claw weapon punched into Ursa's body when he was still dazed.
Unfortunately for Jack, Ursa's shadow form triggered the small chance that caused Jack's punch to just phase through without causing damage.
Jack didn't fuss about the misfortune. He used his second dash to move away. This time, it was Vivian who was surprised when Jack suddenly appeared before her. She instinctively put her shield to defend just as Jack's punch came striking.
It was a normal punch, but Vivian was still blown away by the impact. She again wondered how a beastmaster could trump her strength to such a degree.
Jack used the third dash to get back to Ursa, which caught him off guard again. He wasn't aware of a movement skill that allowed a player to zip around multiple times.
Ursa wasn't so fortunate this time, Jack's punch landed squarely on his stomach. His back bent from the impact. He felt all the air inside of him was forced out. His HP also went down more than half. Jack's mana-fueled normal attack was not less damaging than a mid-level skill.
Jack sent a second punch that should finish Ursa but Ursa vanished. Jack then ran at high speed to the side where there was nothing. The crowd was confused about what Jack was doing. They then saw Vivian frantically trying to chase after Jack.
They didn't see Ursa, who had turned invisible after using Vanish. Ursa's original plan was to sneak onto Jack while he was invisible and backstab Jack with Assassinate Soul. But when he saw Jack run toward him at high speed, he immediately ran away.
He at first thought that his invisibility didn't trigger, but then he noticed he couldn't see his arms while running. He looked back and saw Jack was still behind him, enclosing. That gave him the scare of his life. He tried to increase his speed as well as made a few zig-zag moves. But when he looked back, Jack was still there. Very close now.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt'How the hell my speed loses to a beastmaster?!' Ursa bellowed in his mind.
Vivian knew his partner's predicament. She used Paladin's ranged skill, Holy Hammer, to hinder Jack. But Jack simply swiped his arm when the hammer came. Not even looking. The hammer was destroyed when it came into contact with Jack's hand.
Ursa, who kept looking back as he ran, didn't notice someone else come into his path. By the time he noticed, an axe had sunk deep into his stomach, depleting his remaining HP.
"Hey! I thought you are staying back?" Jack said to Four Winds who had finished Ursa.
"I thought you are done training?" Four Winds asked back.
"Never mind," Jack made a U-turn and was now running at Vivian.
Vivian was at a loss. Her battle plan with Ursa had always been putting her as the enemy's main target. Ursa was too fast so most enemies would have no chance but to come at her instead. Even if she died, she had the paladin's Rebirth. This would give Ursa the chance to trigger his Eye for an Eye skill, just like how they did in the first match.
This was the first time that Ursa became the main target and was killed first. She was still at a loss when Jack arrived. Jack's claw weapon burst into flame as he swung it. The flame strike hit Vivian's shield and blew her away.
She was still staggering when Jack resumed his pursuit. She used Heaven's Shield to stop Jack's advance while at the same time executing Heaven's Fist.
The large fist slammed Jack from above, but the fist simply passed through him. Jack used Flash Step to dodge the fist and shifted to Vivian's back. Vivian had seen Jack use this skill in the first round so she suspected Jack teleported to behind her. She wanted to turn back but Jack was too fast for her. Jack's fist repeatedly struck her back while she was still unbalanced.
Without being able to escape, her HP bar was quickly emptied by Jack's repeated punches.
She returned to life with her rebirth, but Jack and Four Winds were already waiting next to her.
She died again a short moment after. She revived the second time, but outside the arena this time. Ursa was there beside her.
"Who the hell is that person?" Ursa asked her.
Vivian only shook her head. "Cipher Flight has all the best players. No wonder they are the number one guild in this country. Sigh... We have done our best. It's not our fate to become one of the rulers of Verremor. Let's just watch the rest of this tourney."
Makadi announced Jack and Four Winds as the winner. The two walked out of the arena as the finalists from block A. Makadi called the next four combatants to decide the next finalists.
The representatives from the Giantkiller tribe and Spiritcrier tribe walked into the arena.
"Begin!" Makadi announced.
As before, Kilio moved in front of Roho to protect him while he started casting a spell.
Mkulme brandished his karambits and made a gesture at Tumwa, who nodded. They were not facing low-level outworlders this time. They couldn't get careless by fighting one against two.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmTumwa's body dashed to the side at high speed. After zooming a certain distance, she dashed again in another direction.
"Shooting Dash!" Jack recognized his own skill when Tumwa displayed it.
The shooting dash brought Tumwa behind Kilio and Roho, effectively rendering Kilio's protection useless.
Mkulme didn't give the opponents the chance to react. He charged forward with the energy shell around his body.
Kilio, who saw Mkulme's approach, activated Sacred Flame on his maul. He then swung that heavy weapon. The flaming maul crashed into the energy shell that came with Mkulme's charge. The impact stopped Mkulme but also threw Kilio back.
Tumwa, who had positioned herself behind the opponents, made a throwing motion. Multiple flying knives flew out.
Everyone expected Roho to cancel his casting to stop the knives. Instead, he lifted his free hand which was wearing a glove with a power stone. A magic shield formed. The flying knives were stopped by the magic shield while the spell formation on the staff in his right hand continued to form.
'He has dual casting talent, like Duke Alfredo,' Jack thought.
The spell formation was completed and three treants appeared. These treants ran toward Tumwa, who was strangely grinning.
All of a sudden, a large creature appeared beside Tumwa. It was an Armored Basilisk. The basilisk was a level 75 rare elite. The basilisk's eyes shone and one of the treants turned into stone. It then ran forward and crashed with the other two treants.
Jack smiled after seeing the scene.
Four Winds, who saw his expression, asked, "Why are you smiling?"
"Perhaps we still have a slim chance of winning," Jack replied.