"Oww!" Amber cried as she held her head in her hands. It seemed that she managed to survive Jude's ability after falling into a tree before landing.
She sat up from the ground, which was now cold and damp.
"What the heck was that?" A heavy moan escaped her as she struggled to stand up straight.
Why the hell is the ground so wet? Suddenly, she felt a tingling sensation on her head, as though something were crawling around in her hair.
"EEEEEEK!!!!" she shrieked, impetuously attempting to brush it away.
Eventually, a small spider flew out from under her hair, landing on the bed of grass she stood upon. She winced at the sight of it scurrying away.
Grass? Am I in a park? Amber scanned her surroundings while catching her breath.
Although it was much foggier around this area, she could see lots of green spaces around her, and a fountain that flowed elegantly within the center.
"Huh? What is that thing?" she watched a tiny blue glow travelling quickly through the mist.
"Hello!? Is anyone there!?" she yelled into the mist, hoping to hear the voices of any of her comrades.
However, there was no response.
Well, that's strange…
A few seconds later, she felt something soft fall against her nose and quickly flinched, thinking it was another bug.
But she began to calm down after realizing it wasn't.
Snow?
Amber looked up at the clouds, and watched as small clusters of snow slowly began to fall from them effortlessly.
This means that the ice hat's spawned, right?
For a moment, she wondered whether that blue light she saw might've been the ice hat, but at the same time, she felt that such a stroke of luck would be quite unlikely this early into the game.
Regardless, she continued forward into the mist, searching for the blue light.
…
Meanwhile, Wolf, who had been knocked into the ground, began tumbling over while rolling his body to evade the incoming rubble that followed.
After finally coming to a stop, he was able to recover on his feet, staring at Mel who stood only a few meters in front of him.
"Mel, are you alright?" he asked her, feeling guilty for charging into her during the wave.
"Your words of concern are exceedingly unnecessary…" Mel replied with harsh indifference, "especially since they are directed toward an enemy."
She began to draw her sword.
"May told me about what happened to Barshall… about what you did to him."
She paused for a moment.
"The same person who served you and your family with unwavering loyalty–the same man who looked after you since you were a child, trying his best to make you feel less alone... You took his life away. I thought he meant everything to you."
Wolf assumed that he could awaken a feeling of remorse within her, forcing her to relive the experience of killing Barshall.
For a moment, it seemed like it was working, but that moment was just far too brief to hold any real significance.
"You don't understand anything, do you?" she devilishly chuckled. "My master is the only person who truly gives my existence any meaning.; he has freed me from all unnecessary things tethering me to this senseless world... Everything apart from you… Wolf." She pointed her sword in his direction. "But I will use this opportunity he has given me to finally become worthy of existing by his side. I swore to him that I would put an end to you, Wolf, and I intend to fulfill that promise without fail!"
Wolf equipped his dagger and assumed a fighting stance.
"If that's how you truly feel, then I guess there's nothing more I can do."
His resolve became clear; Mel was gone, and no amount of words could change that.
His only option now was to communicate using action.
They both charged at each other and their blades violently clashed before tiny flakes of snow were sprinkled over them.
…
Amber–after noticing the blue light once again as it flashed in the distance–began to chase it down through the fog, passing several trees around the park.
"Wait!" she cried to it, wondering what could be causing such luminescence.
Fortunately, the speed at which the blue light was travelling began to slow down, allowing her to finally catch up to it.
"What is this?" Upon reaching the source of the blue light, she discovered a cerulean orb that was hovering in the air right in front of her face.
It gave off such an attractive glow that caused her to idly gaze at it in awe.
Is this thing supposed to be part of the game? she suspected. What if it has something to do with one of the rules Jude left out?
"Are you really part of the game?" As she muttered her thoughts out loud, the blue orb began to dance around as though it were reacting to her words.
"YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?" Amber backed away in shock, causing the orb to start moving around up and down.
"I-Is that a yes?"
The orb began to move again, more frantically this time.
"Alright... are you supposed to take me to where the ice hat is?" she dubiously asked.
The orb began to twirl around her head energetically before moving away slowly.
"Is that also a yes?" Amber asked again, but she received no response as she quietly continued to follow the orb. "Hey! I hate surprises, you know!"
Maybe separating from the others was a good thing, she thought. Since there's more of us spread around the district, we'll have a better chance of actually finding the ice hat.
As Amber travelled deeper into the park, she was beginning to near the 500 meter limit.
…
Bang!
As the Viper fired his weapon, Jude arched his body backwards, barely dodging the Void Bolt.
He chuckled hysterically, planting his hands on the ground while throwing his legs in the air.
In his handstand position, he kicked the Viper's weapon, sending it flying upwards out of his grasp.
Using another card ability, 'Dash', Viper soared after it while bouncing through the air.
Once caught, he instantly turned his body, aiming Venum toward the ground before firing off a burst of bolts, which Jude was able to evade one after another.
"Gale Cutter," he chanted, as a sharp arc of wind swiftly projected from his card, slicing through the air as it targeted the Viper.
He used his 'Dash' ability to dodge it, flinging his body to one side, but a second arc of wind approached almost immediately after, causing him to dash into the side of a building.
Viper then used Gravitation Defiance to shift his direction of gravity so he could stand upon its walls.
However, Jude gave him no time to recover, as he released another arc of wind in his direction.
Viper responded by flipping off the building as the attack sliced a piece of his cloak.
Still flipping through the air, Viper was able to aim Venum precisely, firing off another powerful bolt that exploded on impact.
BOOM!
Jude was able to keep his feet planted against the ground, however, he was still blown away by the explosion, his body dragging upright against the ground as he covered his face.
Immediately after landing on the shadowy ground, Viper warped himself before rising out of Jude's shadow, shooting him in the back of the head with another bolt that exploded on impact.
This time, however, Jude's body wasn't blown away.
"Lucky me," he said, as the explosion's smoke began to clear around him, revealing his uninjured head.
Not even a single hair follicle had been singed off.
Jude turned his body 180 degrees to face his opponent. Viper attempted to distance himself from him, however, something restricted his actions. Similarly, Jude was unable to proceed with his next attack.
"Hahaha, it appears we've activated one of my traps." Jude laughed as he gestured upward.
The Viper tilted his head up to see a radiant object occupying his view.
This trap, belonging to Jude's wide arsenal, was known as 'Patrolling Lights'.
From above the two, three spherical objects–resembling eyeballs–were suspended in the air, two of which projected a cone of warm light that captured Jude and Viper in its intrusive gaze, freezing them in place.
They both stood facing one another, unable to move.
"Although this is the effect of my own ability, I have no control over who the lights target, or how they move. For two of them to target each of us at the same time… What are the chances?" Jude chuckled again, amused by their rare predicament. "Perhaps we really do have some time to catch up on things after all."
Viper remained silent, patiently awaiting the very moment he would be released from this prison of light.
"Oh? Would you look at that…?" Jude smiled ear to ear, watching the small white flakes slowly melt as they reached the rugged earth. "It's already begun."