The noise crashed in like the tide: cheers, gasps, curses, the whole coastline roaring back to life.

  Virtune’s voice threaded through it, calm again but shaking slightly.

  "And that is how you answer a probably Epic rated skill with timing, precision and one hidden trick. Orion advances to the Top 8. Remember the name, folks: Black Ranger's no myth!"

  I stood there, chest heaving. Kaelith lay on his back, breathing shallow, barely getting through the mask. For a long second, neither of us moved. Then he lifted a hand and I clasped it, hauling him upright.

  He laughed once, dry, almost fond.

  "Didn't think you had something like that up your sleeve."

  "Didn't think it would work, to be honest," I answered.

  He wiped the blood from his chin and nodded toward my weapon.

  "That bow... nasty piece of work. So much poison. And I bet the spider web things are also because of that?"

  "The last Silk Shot, yes. The traps I got from an uncommon rune."

  "Well, it was a really good fight," he said. "I hope you win."

  "You do?"

  "Well, I still have my teammate in, but I'm rooting for you too. I haven't lost a single fight up until now. You were the first to beat me, and that's impressive. Especially since a lot of our crew are also pretty good."

  "Well, this was my hardest battle yet."

  "I know," he smirked.

  With that he turned and walked off through his fans, who fell silent as he passed.

  I put away my bow, breath finally steadying. Around me, the sand still smoked from the duel, blackened and glassy in places where the fire had burned it too hot.

  Top 8.

  I looked up toward the scaffold. Virtune gave a small salute before turning to the next pairing sheet. The wind shifted, swaying the waves gently.

  Every step forward now meant fighting someone who could make that look easy.

  The beach had gone quiet for the first time all day. The midday sun burned above Oakenlight, bleaching the sky into a soft haze, and for short while even the gulls stopped calling. The first four rounds were done, I was officialy part of the top eight.

  The fight against Kaelith challenged every cell of my body.

  Godsrealm was not Valhalla. The difference between the two games was like the difference between night and day; the way I felt my body here was unlike anything else I have ever experienced before. And I'd lie if I said this didn't make a difference in what I could do; in Valhalla stats and gear didn't limit my performance but here, I was still adjusting to the new system. I was good at it, but the difference between me and other talented players was much smaller. For now.

  The crowd had thinned to a dull buzz while the Association's workers reset the arena ropes. Only the sound of hammers, surf and distant laughter drifted up from the food stalls that had sprung along the edge of the broadwalk.

  I found a stretch of shade under a broken mast the Association had repurposed as a resting spot. I sat on one of the barrels next to the bench, loosened my gloves and pulled out the food I had bought from Sheila before coming to Oakenlight.

  I felt the delicacies recharging all of my energy after the very first bite.

  A shadow loomed over me, massive and strangely familiar.

  "Are you taking a nap mid tournament?" Stone dropped down beside me with a grunt, armor creaking.

  "Lunch break," I said, smiling. "I need some rest between clearing the rounds."

  He chuckled, unwrapping a steaming food box. "Yeah, fair enough. I saw the end of your last match. That rogue was a demon."

  "Yeah, one mistake would have ended me," I said and I meant it. Kaelith, especially with that Blade Dance skill, was not someone to be taken lightly in the future. "Did you fight as well?"

  I didn't remember Stone's name on the brackets specifically, but I saw Sylph there.

  "Pvp's not my field. Yet. I'm built to hold the line, not chase kills in the sand. I'll let the likes of you and Sylph do the fancy footwork," he grinned.

  Speak of the devil.

  Sylph had appeared not far from us, sliding down the slope of the dune with a lazy grace that reminded me of a fox, his bow across his back, his dark blonde hair fixed into a bun. "Hey guys!"

  He joined us for the lunch hour.

  "You still in?" I asked. He and Stone exchanged a glance.

  "Boy am I. You should have seen me," he said. "I sent that cocky archer, Lorrando flying."

  "Really?" I let out a laugh. I wanted to be the one to teach that hawk-nosed bastard a lesson, but another ranger was good enough for me.

  - Yeah, top 16. You know him?" I shot him a glance that said more than words ever could and he grinned. "Stone saw it. Two steps into the match he started mocking me over the archery competition while spamming his skills like there was no tomorrow."

  He took a break to roll his eyes.

  "I let him burn the cooldowns then pinned him with chained auto attacks. It was a close fight for a while. He is good. But God, he is so arrogant. After he lost tempo he started complaining about the floor being bugged or something."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Stone snorted. "Sounds like him."

  "Yeah," Sylph said, stretching his shoulders.

  I nodded. "So he's out for good?"

  "Gone," Sylph's grin widened. "Knocked out by yours truly. The crowd even booed him when he started mouthing off after."

  "Deserved," Stone said.

  "Long time coming," I agreed.

  We might have only been playing the game for a week at this point, but these two guys were quickly warming up on me. As for Lorrando, one incident was enough for me to bury him completely.

  The conversation paused as another pair approached; El Verdugo and El Rafael, both from Los Asesinos. Verdugo was already mid-smile before he reached us while Rafael looked like he had fought the full weight of the ocean.

  "Hermanos! If it isn't Carpa's survivors!" Verdugo declared.

  "Technically, I'm from Dryhollow," Sylph mentioned.

  "Everyone from the Woe raid is honorary Carpan, amigo!" the berserker pat him in the back.

  "Are you guys still going strong?" I asked them.

  "Rafael is," Verdugo sighed. "I got knocked out by a very impressive lady."

  "You could have put up a fight hermano, if you didn't keep staring at her," Rafael teased.

  "Just wait until you face her colega," he swung the Battleaxe of Ur'Ka on his back. "She's a little demonio."

  "Who was your opponent?" I asked. Whoever it was, she was in the top 8 and if she beat Verdugo, I will definitely have to take her seriously.

  "Hermosa Seraphina," he answered. "Swashbuckler from Shadowreach. Rápido. Very fast."

  I hadn't met many swashbucklers yet, I barely even knew their basic skills.

  "My opponent was Djon from Dryhollow," Rafael said. "Strong fella, but I don't think anybody can get through this armor, por ahora."

  Truly, his armor did look quite impressive; matching pieces, golden accent, fit for a Paladin for sure. In fact...

  "Don't tell me this is what Danzaburou was talking about?" I started thinking out loud.

  "Ah you know Danza?" Verdugo asked. "Yes, his crew made Rafa's armor. All of Los Asesinos poured gold together for him, so we could have an unbeatable tank and a strong candidate for the competition."

  "How come it wasn't you who got armor made?" I asked.

  "What kind of leader puts themselves first, amigo?" Verdugo grinned. "Besides, our materials were only good for heavy armor anyway. Not something I could use. This axe, however," he kissed his weapon. "Magnifíco."

  "I'm happy you put it to good use," I smiled.

  If Rafael's armor was truly the set that was supposed to be better than mine, he was also going to be a serious candidate. His skills weren't half bad, from what I remembered from the Woe raid, either. And not to mention...

  I took a glance at Rafael's weapon. Emerald Bane. The level 15 Epic sword dropped from the Woe of Riverhear. I could perfectly recall the skill attached to it.

  It was more suited for large scale battles than 1v1 fights, but it was still a huge AoE attack I had to be potentially wary of.

  "So we have, what? Two people from Carpa representing us?" Stone asked. "Rafael and Orion, we might actually have a chance to bring it home, right?"

  "What happened to me being honorary Carpan?" Sylph feigned offense.

  "Sorry pal, Dryhollow's that way," Stone laughed.

  "We have three, actually." I heard a familiar voice behind me.

  Cyrus, robe sleeves rolled up, approached with Scale at his side. He looked as composed as ever, the kind of quiet that turned heads, while Scale seemed like he got his much needed rest after his Kaelith fight.

  "Who are you, amigo?" El Verdugo asked.

  "My name is Cyrus, and my friend here is Scale. We are from Carpa as well. Nice to meet you," he said, turning to me. "We have had the pleasure to meet Orion before. May we join you?"

  We made space on the benches for the two of them, and they digged into their lunch as well.

  "You said there are three from Carpa still in the tournament?" Sylph asked.

  "Yes, I'm also in the top 8."

  I was not surprised. I took a look at our little group, and while every single person here was talented, just from what I have seen, Cyrus still stood a notch above the rest. He might actually be stronger than me at this point, I thought.

  "Orion..." Scale turned to me. "That was a really good fight against Kaelith."

  "Thanks. It was really close," I said.

  "It was, but you never lost composure," he smiled. "I'm not sure who the others are in the top 8, but Kaelith was definitely top 8 material."

  It was an understatement. Kaelith had almost won against me, and although I didn't have to use Woe's Last Grasp in the end, I was pretty close to bringing my ace out. That rogue was honestly probably worthy of being in the top 4.

  Sylph whistled. "Well, from what I've heard, it's a good thing Orion handled him before he made it."

  Stone grinned. "The Black Ranger saving the day, huh?"

  "Stop it," I smiled awkwardly.

  At this point an Association representative had brought us a parchment with the top 8 on it.

  Athos, Blue, Cyrus, Orion, El Rafael, ProDG, Seraphina, Sylph.

  "Alright, Carpa's on top!" El Verdugo said. "Three of us, plus an honorary one."

  Sylph gave him a high five, then asked. "Who is this Blue?"

  Cyrus answered without looking up. "Arcanist, from Oakenlight. Has some interesting water and ice spells from what I have seen. Her control is exceptional."

  "What about this... ProDG? Is it supposed to be Prodigy?" Rafael pointed at another name.

  "Lancer from Dryhollow," Sylph said, shaking his head. "Really good, too. I fought his group two days ago for an Elite. I was outnumbered 3 to 1 so I had to retreat, but he was talented. I heard Crimson Court is actually thinking about offering him a future Guild Elder position just so they can recruit him."

  Scale grimaced. "That bunch again."

  "Wouldn't surprise me," I said, remembering the forum posts. "They are going all around Tidemark, trying to score good players."

  "Speaking of good players," Verdugo said. "Don't sleep on Seraphina. You guys will see, she's the devil. Be careful with her! And try not to stare, it's hard to dodge that way!"

  Stone barked a laugh. "You don't seem too upset at losing to her."

  "I don't mind losing against the strong," Verdugo grinned. "And it's a bonus if it's a treat to the eyes, too. I regret nothing."

  Rafael shrugged, and we laughed.

  The laughter faded into the soft rhythm of waves. For a moment, we just sat there, eating, drinking and watching the ocean.

  "Alright, then," Cyrus said. "Let's go, get ready. It's highly likely we will face each other soon, so good luck everyone!"

  Stone raised his cup. "To the ones representing Carpa!"

  Rafael followed suit, grinning. "?Salud!"

  I lifted my own cup, the metal cool in my palm. "To Tidemark's finest!" I said quietly.

  The canteens clinked, and the wind carried the sound over the sand and out to the sea.

  And for us, another round waited.