The match didn't start right away. All the participants chosen by the system as the most suitable for wielding the "Dual Blades" skill had about an hour of free time to prepare for the tournament. Judging by what I saw, no one seemed particularly worried, except for those who were scheduled to go first, pacing around and trying to look particularly intimidating: "Don't approach me, or I'll devour you alive."
As for Asuna, Sugu, Klein, and myself, we were resting as we were scheduled to fight our opponents somewhere in the middle. Liz was excluded from the game since she used a hammer, the same went for Agil and Sinon. I wasn't sure why Silica wasn't chosen, but they all promised to come and cheer for us today anyway. I wonder who I would personally have to face? It seemed like I didn't have any issues with particularly strong opponents in ALO, so all I could do was sit and mentally go through all the players. I didn't feel like doing anything else at the moment.
However, the only strongest opponents with whom I will clearly have a tough time are currently sitting next to me and chatting happily with each other. Asuna, whose multiple strikes can catch me off guard, Leafa with her wind attacks, and Klein with his strikes that often pass straight through armor. Hm... Perhaps he's using some kind of enhancing magic, but either way, I don't know for sure.
Undoubtedly, I have noticed many glances directed at me. Many wanted to challenge me to a duel, but in the end, it will only happen with randomly selected players who, under pressure from everyone else, will want to give a beating to "this-too-bold-and-handsome-Black-Swordsman-who-takes-too-much-on-himself". Naturally, I didn't give any reason for such flattering reviews of myself, but rumors spread on their own. Went and picked up Excalibur: "cheater, payer, damn lucky guy, die". I walk in a group with Asuna, Sinon, and other girls: "womanizer, libertine, beast (from the girls' perspective), lucky bastard (from the guys' perspective)". And so on. To be honest, I'm having a fun time in ALO.
However, this cheerful life is occasionally marred by drops of tar that you don't even want to think about. And the glances range from playful and teasing to openly hateful. This doesn't add much comfort either, but I've already gotten used to not paying attention to it.
By the way, for the past few minutes, I have literally felt someone's gaze on me, but as soon as I turn around, the owner of that gaze immediately disappears from sight. I don't know where I got this from, but it gives me the feeling that the gaze was filled with curiosity and almost childlike interest. And once again, I turned around, but there was no one behind me or in the near field of vision. My detection skill didn't help in this case, so all that was left was to catch the owner of that strange gaze red-handed.
Smirking, I turned away and fixed my gaze on the center of the arena, where the first players had entered. A salamander and a sylph. Eternal antagonists, it seemed they were even purposely chosen to heat up the audience with a fierce battle between two opposing sides.
The sylph was in a cloak with a long sword in hand, while the salamander, on the other hand, was dressed in tight-fitting clothes and had a slightly shorter sword. They weren't particularly impressive to watch, but out of curiosity, I kept an eye on their movements. Good guys, but not fast or skilled enough to defeat someone like Asuna. Sorry guys, but you probably won't make it to the semifinals.
There were about two hundred participants in total, which wasn't a small number, so we would have to stay here for a while. Thus, for an hour and a half, we cheered for the players, chanted their names, and discussed strategies for the fight. Players came and went, and finally, it was time for the elite among the inhabitants of this world to enter.
During the tournament, the deadly penalty was simply suspended, so even high-ranking individuals could test their skills against other players. And so... onto the arena stepped the impressive, long-haired beauty, leader of the Sylphs - Sakuya, wearing her ever-present, very long katana on her belt, which she skillfully wielded, by the way. The girl walked to the center and politely waved to all the spectators with a smile. Her opponent was the heavily armored, red-haired Eugene - General Salamander, who only nodded politely to the audience. Why him, with his two-handed demonic sword Gramm? Perhaps we will all find out later, and for now, all we can do is speculate.
Their fight didn't last long, although Sakuya fought valiantly. Unlike me, who found a loophole, she possessed incredible agility despite her outstanding figure, which one simply couldn't help but admire. By the way, I noticed how the other girls looked at her with a hint of envy. Do they really think that nature unfairly rewarded them? I highly doubt it.
Returning to the battle in the arena, I only caught the moment when both warriors struck each other with their weapons, but General Eugene's sword attack proved to be stronger, and Sakuya's health bar dropped into the red zone, nearly reaching zero. The general held his sword to her throat, watching her expectantly, and the proud leader of the Sylphs sighed and calmly sheathed her sword, thus acknowledging her defeat. This was much more interesting, as new ways of fighting with rare weaponry were being revealed, which undoubtedly should help not only me but also many other players who are as agile as Sakuya.
Meanwhile, other players started entering the arena, and lazily, I began assessing their parameters, exchanging glances with Klein, considering the possible victories of one or the other player.
Another hour passed, and there were already quite a few players in the arena, but finally, someone caught my attention. Klein whistled in admiration, while the girls murmured excitedly. As for me, I eagerly looked ahead at the girl with dark skin and her hair tied up in a high ponytail. In her hand, she held sheathed weapons, a classic slightly curved katana, but behind her, on her belt, there was also a smaller-sized weapon - a wakizashi. I didn't particularly understand all this, but I should at least know these basics since I diligently learned kendo in my childhood, thanks to someone.
But the most interesting thing was that this girl seemed to be the leader of the Spriggans. Her nickname was quite simple - Gabriel. A captivating smile on her face, sparkling dark eyes, and an occasionally flickering tongue running across her lips. Is this our leader? I leaned back on my comfortable seat, slightly disappointed. I was expecting something... different. I can't even formulate the thought properly.
Her opponent, on the other hand, was another slightly more petite girl. Long dark hair, big gray eyes, and a bright open smile were the complete opposite of the snake-like smirk of my race's leader. She was dressed in a strange black outfit, interestingly decorated with white lines in some places. As for her weapon... It rested in its sheath behind her back, intriguing with its black hilt. This player gave me a mixed feeling. It was as if her entire figure was entwined by the thinnest yet very strong threads of Spriggan illusion. I caught myself thinking that I already wanted to fight her, with the same feeling I had about the Zekken.
Lost in thought about her, and mostly about her sword, I almost missed the beginning of the fight.
"Kirito-kun, look!" Asuna called me excitedly. It seemed that something was bothering her too. Glancing at the arena, I finally understood what it was. The swift, precise movements and the abundance of jumps in battle were very reminiscent of my own style!
"Hey Kirito, is she some kind of fan of yours? She's executing your moves so flawlessly..." Klein scratched his chin, his gaze transfixed from one dark-haired beauty to another. To some extent, I understood him, but I wasn't interested in that aspect.
"Yeah, no kidding, even too much," I absentmindedly replied, recognizing movement after movement.
But the climax was something completely different. Jumping back about ten meters, Gabriel quickly opened her menu and... unleashed several magical spheres towards her opponent. Odd, considering Spriggans don't have attacking magic, only illusions.
But in the next moment, the dark-haired girl, who turned out to be an Imp (how did I not notice the signs before?), smirked maliciously, her sword resting on her shoulder gleamed, and with an incredible acrobatic feat I had never seen before, she "cut through" all the spheres.
"K...K...Kirito-kun!" Asuna exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock.
"Brother..." Suguha, knowledgeable about my insane style, also recognized all the movements. Slightly altered, but still mine.
Every single move and skill, including the "Spell Blast."