Hisgard showed a look of surprise on his face.
"..How did you know?"
"Hah! It's really you! No wonder you're this good.. Alright, I'll tell you how if you win this game. Sounds fair to you?"
'Dammit, I'd never thought someone would recognize me outside the game.'
Hisgared pensed, this was turning out to be troublesome.
Hisgard was the name he used when he still played this game. He was the number 1 player, even amongst the pros in the top 10, he was still number 1, and Joker, was a close 2nd behind Hisgard.
"I'll get my revenge Hisgard, I'll never forget what happened in that championship."
"..If you say so.."
In that championship, Hisgard played with special methods that specifically countered the strategies of Joker's team, Hisgard and his teammates were nothing more than a rag tag team hastily assembled just for the championship, picked up from random ranked games.
Thus Joker was waiting for this moment since then, and only for this moment. He would use every method to make himself be the victor. Indeed, even using dirty tactics such as using hard-counters. Joker remained in a side bush waiting for an opportunity, and as soon as Hisgard came near, he attacked, as it stood Hisgard could now see Joker's champion, Loki.
"Loki? Do you even know how to play him?"
Attempted Hisgard at disrupting Joker.
"Were-Half? Do you even know how to play him?"
Retorqued Joker, unaffected.
This was indeed going to be harsh for Hisgard to win, he thought of multiple tactics to repel Joker, divert the frontline pawns.. fight him himself.. No. This wouldn't do. Hisgard knew it, the best way was..
"The ranged pawns." He muttered.
Repelling Joker due to the amassing damage onto him, Hisgard bought time to regroup. Now, he needed to get rid of Joker's pawns and use 'Lunge'.
'I will literally lunge myself at him and grapple him so that my pawns can finish him off, thankfully, he is still in the midlane so the towers don't have enough range to fire at us.'
Hisgard planned to terminate Joker with such a simple plan that one would call it foolish, however, even the simplest things can be great.
As a minute passed, Hisgard slowly but surely killed each of Joker's pawns one by one, of course, Hisgard took losses on his side, but no greater than the amount Joker took. Indeed, as it stood, Joker had no pawns remaining.
"You're dead, You don't have any pawns left and you're alone, you've lost, Joker. Admit it."
"Ha! I haven't said my last words!"
And he was right, Joker held an ace up his sleeve, another trick in his bag, one he unintentionally got, yet gracefully accepted.
'How? He used "Mind-Trick"? From that distance? And it worked? I was far beyond the 7 meters range! How?!'
Hisgard thought as he squinted his eyes and tightened his jaw, he had the right to be surprised, after all, 'Mind-Trick' as a stand-alone spell had no way of reaching that far.
"How? How did you use "Mind-Trick" from that distance?"
"To be honest with you, Hisgard, I got a "Book Of Arcadia" from the shop random chest. Legendary Item, I just got lucky."
"..I can't relate."
'Mind-Trick' in itself didn't inflict any damage to the opponent, however, it inflicted a status effect: 'Enraged'. This status effect forced the one affected by it to attack its closest target, be it an ally or enemy. Its duration, 3.5 seconds, couldn't be considered long, but in Egis: Tyrants, this was terribly long, as a single second could change the entirety of a fight.
As it stood, Hisgard needed to find a way to counter this precarious situation. There was only one way he could think of: He need to drag his champion away with one healthy minion while repelling Joker with the rest, otherwise, his end would be imminent.
And then, and only then, could he resume his plan.
"So.. Hisgard. What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to win."
"Hah! You're still using that egregious plan you had in mind?"
"Once I get something in mind, I can't let it go. You should know that by now, right?"
"Rough thinking, I've got to say, but that's what got you to Godly? Ain't it?"
"Correct."
While Hisgard appeared confident on the outside, in his mind, he was seriously doubting whether what he planned would work or not, Joker at this point knew of the premise of what Hisgard thought of, but not how he would execute it. Indeed, Joker had absolutely ruled out 'Lunge' as a possibility.
As 'Mind-Trick' finally wore off, Hisgard was left at about a third of his original health due to constant attacks from Joker, fortunately, he was able to stop himself from dying with the use of his pawns slowly piling up damage on Joker and Hisgard guiding his champion away from the frontline, leaving Joker with two thirds of his health left.
Now, all Hisgard had to do was use 'Lunge', thus catching Joker in between his claws and sealing his fate. All Hisgard needed was for it to connect. And it did.
"Really dude? "Lunge"? That was your plan? And then finish me off with your pawns? I guess it kind off worked because you left me at low HP with "Lunge"..
But didn't you forget something? The fact that Loki counters Were-Half for a reason."
That reason being the 'Dissociate' spell from Loki, replacing himself with a clone, removing any status effect such as being 'Grappled' by 'Lunge', and teleporting Loki a short distance from his original location.
However.
"Oh, yeah. That's why I bought these "Climbing Gloves" since it blocks any skill or spell book uses while a grappling skill is under effect."
'Climbing Gloves' was usually considered a trash item, available to purchase at anytime, due to the incredibly small amount of champions having some use of it, nevertheless, Were-Half was one of those champions.
Joker sighed, annoyed, he threw his hands up in the air.
"Guess I'm getting killed, 30 seconds to get my towers, my pawns will get decimated and I can't control them while I'm waiting to respawn, I've practically lost."
"Good game."
"Was it? Only reason I lasted this long is due to my champion pick and my legendary item."
"That may be true, anyhow, I quite enjoyed this."
Hisgard had in fact appreciated this small bout, it had been long since he played Egis: Tyrants, and the taste of victory always left a sweet taste in his mouth. Leaving a small yet perceptible grin on Hisgard's face.
Loki has been sent to hell!
As the game declared Joker's demise, Hisgard advanced onward, crumbling Joker's defenses, destroying the single tower, and reaching Joker's base. And now..
Were-Half has won the game!
"I'll get you someday, Hisgard."
"In your dreams. Now.. Tell me."
Hisgard was now more interested in how Joker recognized him.
"How do you know my name?"
"I instantly knew it was you due to your style of play, you've got this distinct playstyle that just irritates me, you know?"
Joker looked thoughtful, looking straight thru Hisgard's brown eyes.
"Hisgard. People are after your crown. Not only in this game. But everywhere. Every game you'll play, you'll get challenged, chased, hunted, by people yearning for glory and fame. It's only a matter of time before you'll face another who challenged you.. and lost. Like me."
As Joker said, Hisgard remained the 'King'. In not one of the games he used to play as he been overtook, overthrown, surpassed by another, he remained number 1, at the top of the rankings, even after all these years.
"..If that's the truth.." He sighed, slightly annoyed, yet feeling a burning sensation in his heart. "Alright, I'll believe you. But just so you know, my 'crown', my Top 1 ranking, is something only I can achieve."
"Ahaha! If you say so. By the way, every pro, every gamer and every streamers, are all moving to a new VR game, called Viadium, 500 Million players daily, you should take a look at it on the Anima you won."
'That's right.. the Anima..'
Hisgard thought, having forgotten about it due to his focus pertaining to the 1v1.
"Hm. I'll do that then. Thank you."
As Hisgard left, agreeing on how to do things with the shop owner, Joker was biting his lower lip, his hair falling over his face, with a single tear sliding down his cheek. He shall not lose again. Be it to Hisgard, or to anyone else for that matter.
As Hisgard went back on his to work, he realised upon arriving that he was late, by quite a big margin.
There, he met his childhood best friend and coworker, Leo.
Leo was a straightforward, joyful man, with a bald shiny head, piercing eyes, and slightly tanned white skin.
"Chris! There you are! It's unusual for you to be this late!"
"Yeah Yeah.. It's just that I got stuck in a 1v1 with Joker and won an Anima because of it."
Leo looked astonished, as though processing the information, he appeared frozen.
"Leo? Hello?"
"Huh. Neat"
Leo's brain overheated. Those 2 words were the only thing he was able to pronounce.
"Anyhow! Chris. When we finish work. We will absolutely play Viadium. I will not take "No" for an answer."
Leo said with a surprisingly serious look. Leaving Hisgard- No. Chris, a bit surprised.
"Hah. Alright then, I'll see you at my apartment tonight, it should've been delivered there by then."
And so, as Chris and Leo went to work, the Anima was personally moved by the shopowner and a moving company he called, as the Anima was transported to Chris's apartment, the sound of someone tinkering with electronics could be heard in the back of the transport truck, the Anima, was being tinkered with.
As Chris and Leo finished work and went back to the former's apartment, they found the Anima, a capsule, like those sleeping pods, already available to use plugged in Chris's apartment.
Indeed, it was time to dive into Viadum.