"Your prize?" Kaelsu's tongue lingered on the first word, thick with disdain. "If you think he's that much of a prize then fight me for him."
He meandered between the fox and the opposing summoner, his body forming a barrier. Junwoo lay still behind him, breathing shallow.
The man cackled. "Fight you for him? Why would I even bother?"
"If you win, I'll give you my account."
That caught his attention.
Kalesu flashed open his inventory for him to see. The shimmering panels listed his hoarded collection: limited pets, rare weapons, event achievements, seasonal mounts, a museum of trophies only a completionist could accumulate. The summoner's expression flickered with greed, curiosity and envy.
Kaelsu was slow but thorough. It even annoyed Junwoo at times.
The man rolled his shoulders, he was visibly amused. "Okay, okay, not bad. Fine. I'll fight you for it."
A pointed finger raised from the slender summoner. "However, if I win you need to release this guy."
"Yeah, yeah, I know what a wager is, dumbass." He shifted his position and tried to come face to face with the out of action pet. He was blocked and pushed back by Kaelsu, he growled and dropped to meet Junwoo at eye level. "You just gonna sit there or are you gonna get your ass up and fight?"
"Leave him out of it." Kaelsu was firm and stood his ground. "He is incapacitated."
His throat ached, the invisible tether that bound him to his master tightening again. He wanted to speak up, the hold on his mind was starting to weaken. An ache seared his muscles, exhaustion from his struggles. Each attempt at forcing out words made his vision blur at the edges.
<
The illuminated screen stared Kang Min in the face. The room was void of light, except the blue hue emanating from the screen. His fingers lingered on the mouse, barely adding any pressure to the buttons. Something inside him churned with a mess of emotions: fear, anger, anxiety, pride and… excitement?
Kaelsu accepted the duel invitation from the opposition and a box popped up prompting both players to place their wagers. While Kaelsu couldn't put his account information in the box, he emptied his entire inventory in there as a gesture of goodwill. The other side of the box had an icon of a golden fox — no doubt it was Junwoo's monster icon. Hovering over it, it read Jiuweihu, Lv 99.
Kaelsu caught his breath. He'd already reached max level during the time he was gone. Even now the system still recognised him as a monster.
3…2…1…
His items were now locked; greyed out and ready to be transferred.
A metallic plink echoed in his speakers. The battle had begun.
An ambient light dimmed as the system sealed the battlefield. Monsters from both sides materialised and circled around their summoners in a defensive stance as they awaited their first command.
Kaelsu had the first move. All he needed was one monster; his drake. He didn't feel the need to summon more, but his fingers itched at his keyboard. His original plan started to crumble, he needed to deviate. Thankfully, he had a backup plan for this. Kaelsu wasn't the best at puzzles or riddles. However, strategy was his calling, his battles were clean and instinctive.
The air thinned as the exit sealed behind them, leaving the two in the enveloping darkness. Cutting through the echoed black was the sharp glint of crimson eyes. Kaelsu was determined to give this Chimichoo.. whatever his name was… a reality check.
The Summoner's pet of choice was his already summoned dragon-like monster with obsidian scales. Wingless, with claws like daggers able to pierce solid metal with ease. It was dark in colour, perfect for disguising in the darkness.
The enemy summoned his own monster: a valkyrie.
The light that accompanied her appearance was blinding, with pristine feathers scattering like snow.
She was a large humanoid creature with a single-handed longsword and a burnished golden shield. She was tall and clad in armour emblazoned with a ruby crest in a pattern that Kaelsu couldn't recognise. Her hair, blonde locks that stretched down to the backs of her feet, barely touched the floor as she floated just above the ground.
Kaelsu stopped for a moment, 'Why would he summon a valkyrie in a low-ceiling room?' He thought to himself. He pondered whether his opponent was an idiot, or had some unknown strategy.
The valkyrie struggled. She squinted her eyes, desperate to find the drake in the pitch black. She tried to gain a height advantage, but was limited by the low ceiling of the room. Her flight ability - her only real edge in the fight - was useless in this match. Yet, the summoner didn't feel the need to adjust.
"Firestrike," Chimichooroo commanded. "Light up the place so you can see it." His words had an air of confidence as they left his lips.
The valkyrie spun her sword in a circle, a vortex of flames coiling around her. The air crackled and roared as her blade caught fire, releasing a cyclone of heat. Pockets of fire littered the ground, scattering light and ash. The dark corridor suddenly glowed in warm streaks of orange and red.
Immediately, Kaelsu reacted. "Now!" His heart was caught in his throat, along with his words. His grin widened.
Kaelsu's drake burst from the shadows with its teeth bared and its body glowing with a new hue. The fire started to shift and soak into the drake, which instantly exploded into steam as it came into contact with its rough scales.
A thin veil of rushing, bright blue water coated Kaelsu's pet.
While the opponent, and the valkyrie, were in shock from this turn of events, Kaelsu took advantage. His hands flew across his interface and entered an instruction: to exterminate the valkyrie that loitered.
Kaelsu's next words came out in a hushed whisper. Talons swelled with a bubble and lunged, swiping at the angelic form. The valkyrie flinched back, trying to take flight, but the ceiling blocked her escape; no sky, no escape. The blow landed hard. Water-drenched claws slammed against her guard, shattering the shield in two. Two cleanly cut chunks of metal fell and embedded themselves into the ground.
Metal screamed. Two fractured pieces embedded into the floor with a clang. The ruby crest on her armour, once burning bright, flickered and bled out into faint red steam.
She staggered back, her armour hissed from the temperature shock.
The drake held one main advantage over the valkyrie: its passive ability. Despite its damage being generally lower, the drake held a special ability. It could change its affinity based on the last ability used by the enemy. In this case, water washed over the drake as its elemental affinity changed.
The drake's tail whipped around, drenched in a torrent of a clear, blue liquid, and smashed into the valkyrie's chest. The impact threw her into the wall, cracking the solid rock with a thunderous clang. She dropped onto one knee. Her sword scraped along the ground creating sparks as it carelessly slid with her.
The summoner took a moment to examine the enemy pet's nameplate and health bar.
[Valkyrie - HP: 60%]
Damage was low, not enough to make a huge impact on her health.
"You think this is over?" An enraged throaty cry came out, and a high-pitched chime echoed. The valkyrie's body pulsed with white light. Her health bar jolted upward as healing particles danced around her form.
A visible drop of sweat formed on Kaelsu's forehead.
"Not a problem," he muttered with a pseudo confidence. He clicked his tongue when he watched a ball of light form in her hands. A vibrant red emerged from the light and a new band of metal was forged for the winged monster.
Across the field, the rival summoner grinned. "What's wrong? Losing your momentum?" He turned to face his monster, who looked back awaiting orders. "No more elemental attacks," the other summoner called out and pointed at the drake.
His subservient companion nodded and straightened her composure. Wings flapped delicately and she raised her arms to her side. She charged at the drake with her sword aimed forwards, the sharp edge cut through the air.
Too slow to dodge, her sword came into contact with the overgrown lizard, slicing at its chest to leave a large open gash. The blue tint to his scales from the watery shield had given away his position. The drake was no longer invisible.
A debuff appeared on his nameplate: Bleeding -10 hp/s.
"Enough games, finish it!" The valkyrie slashed again, then again… and again for a combo hit.
"Guard!" The drake curled into itself to defend itself against further attacks. However, his health bar whined and turned red. Only 10% left.
"Shit, this isn't good." Since when did valkyries do that much physical damage?!
Kaelsu was about to switch out his party and swap to a more defensive monster to give him a chance to heal and think, but a streak of warm light flashed across his screen. Hot wind from the rush singed the ends of his hair as fiery embers tore through the air past him.
Before he could register the hastened skill, the monster armed with sword and shield was engulfed in a violent burst of flame and smoke. The explosions swallowed her whole, and wings could be seen collapsing, small feathers protruded from the choking haze.
"What did you just do?!" The adversary asked. He stumbled backwards and shielded himself from the ashen fumes.
Kaelsu looked back to the source of the outburst. Standing propped up against a wall with one arm weakly pointed in the general direction of the fight, Junwoo bathed in an amber radiance that lit up the darkened room.
"I'm… not…" his throat burned with each word that wrestled its way out. "Your…" his hands trembled in trepidation. He took a shaky breath, and a shaky step as he tried to stumble forward. "Pet."