Ex rank talent Awakening: 100% Dodge rate

[Guilds remaining: 16]

[Congratulations to the 16 guilds for successfully passing the first phase of the event. The next phase of the event shall begin tomorrow.]

[The next phase will include 4v4 battles between guilds, with guild masters unable to participate. It will follow a knockout system, with the winning guilds advancing to the next round.]

[The second part will feature 1v1 duels between the guild masters, also following a knockout format.]

[The list of the final 16 guilds will be announced soon on all broadcast stations. Be prepared for it.]

Kyle logged out of the game, feeling quite pleased with himself. He had nipped the bud before it could bloom. In a good mood, he took a bath, enjoyed a well-prepared meal, and then sat in front of the TV, eagerly awaiting the announcement of the 16 qualifying guilds. He didn't have to wait long—an hour later, the list was broadcast live across all major stations.

[16 Qualifying Guilds]

Argus Guild

Hedj Guild

Nyxon Guild

Golden Lion Guild

Steel Heart Guild

Rose Guild

Abyss Guild

Eagle Guild

Red Dragon Guild

Terror Guild

Twin Snakes Guild

Righteous Guild

Phoenix Guild

Pirate Guild

Immortal Guild

Dark Star Guild

Kyle couldn't help but tremble with rage when he saw the last name on the list—Dark Star Guild, the guild under Nemesis. How are they still in this competition? he wondered. Struggling to contain his fury, he called for a servant and demanded a rebroadcast of the event, intent on discovering the reason Dark Star hadn't been eliminated.

***

"That's a shame. Guess your teammates were dead weights," Cain muttered, sounding utterly bored.

Nemesis, however, didn't even acknowledge his words, his face calm and unreadable. Instead, he checked the rankings and saw that 21 guilds were still remaining. This should be over soon, he thought with a sigh.

He wasn't worried about being eliminated. The reason? It had to do with Healer, the guild member on his team. Healer—the moniker for Dr. Ezekiel. Yes, the same Ezekiel who had been manipulated into killing his parents.

Nemesis hadn't killed him, nor his family. Instead, he had—well, invited them to stay at his massive secret base. After uncovering the truth that Ezekiel had been coerced due to his family being held hostage, Nemesis had chosen not to kill him. He might have been ruthless, but he wasn't devoid of morality. Killing Ezekiel after learning the full story wouldn't have been revenge—it would have been murder for satisfaction.

Whether out of boredom or curiosity, Ezekiel and his family had started playing the game. Surprisingly, they had all been blessed with talents that would make anyone envious. Dr. Ezekiel's talent was an S-rank ability—Resurrection, allowing him to revive two people after death, including himself, with no cost. The cooldown? 24 hours.

This was why Nemesis had been so bold in rushing off alone—his team had backup lives, ensuring they wouldn't be eliminated. Unfortunately for Kyle, he was discovering this far too late.

"Well, guess I'll have to crush him myself," Kyle muttered after reviewing the footage.

***

[Day 2 of the Event]

[4v4 Battles]

The 4v4 battles were intense, filled with physical clashes, tactical maneuvers, and displays of sheer skill. As expected, Dark Star triumphed, with Jessica showcasing her full strength. Of course, thanks to Healer's double-life ability, their victory felt unfair to the opposing guilds.

The excitement among viewers soared to an all-time high as the final and most anticipated part of the event began: Guild Master vs. Guild Master.

The first match?

Guild Master of Argus—Odin vs. Guild Master of Red Dragon—Fang.

ODIN VS FANG

"Well, it's my time to shine," Odin muttered. All guild masters had already logged into Apocalypse, as requested by the system—automatic disqualification was the penalty for defaulters.

The opponents were chosen at random, and the selected guild masters were teleported into the arena.

[Guild Battle Event]

[Guild Leader vs. Guild Leader]

[Odin - Guild Leader of Argus Guild vs. Fang - Guild Leader of Red Dragon Guild]

[Rules of Competition:]

1. You lose and are disqualified when HP falls to zero. There is no form of surrendering aside from that.

2. All abilities and weapons gained so far can be used. Good luck.]

The robotic voice of the system announced.

"I am Fang, guild master of Red Dragon Guild. Odin of Argus Guild, do not be saddened when you lose—it's only natural," Fang said confidently, taking out his greatsword from his inventory.

"Great, finally someone I can fight without being 100% certain of losing. Damn that Nemesis," Odin muttered.

Fang, a huge man with a solid muscular build, a bald head, and a mustache, had awakened the A-rank talent Partial Dragonification, which allowed him to gain dragon wings for flight, granting him an aerial advantage in battles.

Odin, his eyes turning gold, used his observation talent on Fang, gaining quite a hefty amount of information. Well, since Fang's talent was lower and his level was lower by five, it made it easy for Odin to analyze him. This is how it's supposed to be, not like some nasty OP player, Odin cursed in his mind.

[Begin!]

"Haaaaaaah!" Fang yelled, rushing toward Odin. "Rock Breaker!" he shouted, utilizing one of his skills.

[Rock Breaker – Strike downward with your greatsword, causing 1.5x strength damage with a 20% chance of stunning the target. Cooldown: 20 seconds.]

Odin dived to the left, dodging the attack.

"Wind Slash!" Fang shouted once more, following up his failed attack with another.

[Wind Slash – Swing your sword in the desired direction, creating sharp wind lethal to struck targets. Damage: 4,000. Cooldown: 20 seconds.]

Odin, utilizing his eyes, analyzed the attack and deftly dodged it.

Annoyed, Fang chased after Odin. "Stop running like a loser and fight like a man!"

"Brave words to say," Odin replied, brandishing his dagger. He ran toward Fang, dodging his attack and swinging his daggers diagonally.

"Cross Cut!"

[Cross Cut – Swing both daggers diagonally, slashing the opponent with red aura. Damage: 500. Cooldown: 10 seconds.]

Fang, unable to defend himself in time, was hit by the attack, reducing his level 23 health—which was originally 23,000—by 500, making him the first to lose HP.

"Damn you," he cursed at Odin before stabbing at him with his greatsword. Odin, of course, dodged the attack.

The battle was fierce, with Odin gaining the advantage—but not by a large margin. Fang managed to score small victories of his own.

With his HP drained to half, Fang decided to go all out. Having engaged Odin for a while, he realized he fell short. Using his talent, he grew wings and soared into the sky.

"Hah! There's no way you can hit me now!" Fang shouted, a smirk etched on his face. "Now, face my ultimate move!"

Fang, his smirk turning cruel, activated his job class's ultimate skill, Berserker.

"Berserk Mode!" he declared, the aura around him turning red as his body grew bigger.

[Berserker – Go berserk and become two times stronger for two minutes. Cooldown: 12 hours.]

Odin, looking at the airborne Fang, couldn't help but complain, envy in his eyes. "No fair, he has a job class ultimate skill and I don't. Credits to Nemesis for that. I'm going to kick him if I lose because of this," he muttered.

Fang, now in Berserk Mode, flew down at extreme speed toward Odin, his wings assisting in increasing the momentum of his descent. Holding his greatsword downward, he shouted his next skill:

"Meteor Descent!"

[Meteor Descent – A combination skill that allows the user to descend like a falling meteor, causing 10,000 damage to an enemy. Shockwaves are also created, dealing additional area-of-effect damage (10% of the actual damage). Cooldown: 3 hours.]

Odin was unlucky and got hit, taking 5,000 HP in damage. The attack was halved because he managed to escape the point of impact, only being grazed by the greatsword.

Flying backward due to the force, Odin slammed into the shield surrounding the arena, coming to a stop. "That was awful," he muttered.

"I knew I should have gone ahead with a job class, but I had to listen to Nemesis," he complained. But deep down, he knew Nemesis wouldn't stop him from gaining a job class if there wasn't a good reason.

"Well, let's not get distracted and finish this," Odin muttered, looking up at Fang, who had quickly flown back into the air where he was safe.

"Well, he was right. We should be prepared for all situations against all enemies. It seems training with him paid off in the end," Odin grudgingly admitted that the torture sessions had been worth it.

Taking a chain from his inventory, he spun it like a cowboy before throwing it, successfully catching Fang, who was trying to escape.

Yanking the chain with full force, he pulled Fang out of the air, bringing him crashing back to the ground.

"Much better—I was getting tired of looking up."

(A/N: I made changes from Top 20 to Top 16 because, well, finding a way to create a knockout system with 20 was extremely difficult. Also, I changed Black Star Guild to Dark Star Guild—I fancy the latter more, but if you think otherwise, do let me know. I skipped the first stage of Phase Two (the 4v4 battles) because I believed you wanted the guild masters' battles more. However, if you still want the 4v4, let me know, and I'll add it.)