All around him, the dust Han had created was blown away by the blast. He clicked his tongue, annoyed at having to deal with such opponents. Quickly glancing at each of them, the heavily armored player with the artillery was moving away, likely in an attempt to get him back in the effective range.

"Do you think I'm just going to stand here and let you get into position?!" Han yelled in his mind, taking a quick glance at the moving player. Making a dash towards the player, he immediately had to jump backward in time to see a thick beam streaking by, leaving behind arcs of energy that were quickly diffusing in the air.

Glaring at the player holding the weapon at their side, he said, "I was going to wait to deal with you after seeing your teammate reposition themselves, but I see you're adamant about being first to die."

Compared to other beam weaponry, this player's weapon was firing faster than typical ones in that class. "Ability to apply pressure and a modified weapon, either this person improved their skills from previous games, or they picked up a new player. Could this be why they seemed to have changed their playing style?" Han wondered, thinking about how their Assassin was able to locate Ruby so quickly.

Giving up on trying to hide from them, Han decided to just push ahead.

Seeing Han running in a zig-zag pattern, the three guards seemed to understand what was happening with the mid-range player motioning with their free arm at the close-range player. The close-range player was getting into position, though keeping in mind not to get in the way of the mid.

Smirking at their movements, the idea of having the close-range be in front to greet the guest made sense, but Han kept his eyes on the mid. Keeping track of the time that passed, he knew that the mid should be able to fire soon. The fact that the mid-range didn't shoot a blast, likely, meant that this player was waiting for Han to get entangled with the close-range player. It wasn't the most creative move but was effective considering the current circumstances.

He wouldn't be fooled by the close-range player's positioning, giving off the vibe that the mid-range could fire at any moment, knowing that the best opportunity was when Han reached them. Keeping up the motion of his movement, he just focused on running as fast as he, reasonably, could to not alert them.

A thumping noise was felt in his chest, dealing with such a gamble. Feeling adrenaline coursing through his veins, Han felt himself running faster but still within the limits of a player. Abiding by rules he placed on himself, there was a curious thought going through his mind thinking about if this was what professional players felt like in his original world. In professional sports, there would be rules that discouraged specific actions that players could take to win a game. His powers felt like paying off a referee or using performance-enhancing drugs, which was why he restricted himself. The feeling of wonder of whether he would be able to win against the other team was a feeling he began to enjoy, though he did admit to cheating once in a while. Just like players that knew that grabbing a helmet or using their elbows was against the rules, but knew that it wasn't likely they would be caught.

Getting closer to the two players, Han started to mouth the distance between him and the two players. Understanding that the close-range player wouldn't be able to attack him until he was within the range of the drills, Han only gave slight attention to the close-range and focused on the mid-range.

The mid-range was moving their shield to follow where Han was going while paying attention to their teammate in front. When their weapon was pointed at the close-range player, they lowered the barrel to not accidentally hit them.

Han grinned at how they failed to notice such a glaring weakness. As he made his way closer to the two players but still out of reach of the close-range player, Han made his move. With his weapon, he stabbed the ground to help him instantly halt position. Using the momentum, he spun with the sword as an axis once then stopped when the sword was between the close-range and himself.

Treating the tip of the blade like a shovel, he flung several buckets worth of dirt in the direction of the nearby player. Compared to the dust cloud he previously created, this was almost purely a dirt cloud. It completely obstructed the vision of the close-range player and allowed Han the opportunity to dive forward to the side of the player as they were waving both of their weapons in the air.

Completing the roll, Han returned to a standing position and dashed towards the mid-range player who was likely startled by his strategy. His mind blanked when the player in front of him wasn't looking confused as they held their weapon, but instead positioned their tower shield in front of them.

"Why are they...?" Han said out loud, just as it clicked in his mind. He spun to look behind him in time to spot the close-range player sticking both of the drills towards him but still outside the range of the weapon.

Both drills opened up to reveal rings of nozzles. A half a breadth passed before flames gushed out.

"Piece of shit!" Han yelled, understanding the meaning of the mid-range hiding behind their shield.

Judging by the spread of the flames, there was little that he could do to avoid the fire. Unless he could increase the speed of his movement or teleport, there wasn't enough time to get out of the path of the flames.

Not taking up any more time, Han quick chucked his weapon at the shield. He didn't try to pierce the defensive weapon, but instead just made it lean against the shield. Without thinking, he ran up the blade and for the first time was happy that it was so wide to allow him to pull this move out of his ass. Reaching the top of the shield, Han jumped over the sword seeing both sides of the shield already engulfed in flames. His legs were feeling a little roasted, but the suit took most of the damage.

Han enjoyed seeing the mid-range player look up, not moving an inch, and he wondered if they had a stupid expression on their face. Seeing the way they were bracing themselves, Han purposefully aimed his right foot to land on player's right ankle. There was soon a satisfying crunch as his body weight destroyed the joint.

A spasming motion of the player let him know that they were in intense pain and likely screaming inside of the helmet.

It was at that moment that Han noticed that there was something different about this player. Dodging the attacks from the long and mid-range players didn't give the opportunity, but being so close, he noticed the outline of breasts and natural curves of a feminine nature.

"Oh shit!" Han felt guilt pile up inside of him, as he understood that he just destroyed a woman's ankle. Even though she was his opponent, Han felt a natural sense of fault due to using such a savage attack on a woman. In the past, he would finish off the female players he had fought against, so this was the first time he had to watch a woman in extreme agony.

"Set the communication, so the player in front of me can hear," Han asked Julia, the AI of his suit.

"Connection has been established, though this line is only one way until the player accepts," Julia said to him.

Han nodded his head, understanding the limitations of his actions. "I just wanted to say that you were a great opponent and hope you forgive my savage methods," Han said to the woman.

Not wanting to prolong the experience for her, Han moved both hands and grabbed the woman's helmet. With a quick twist, her body jerked and then went motionless. He used a slight boost to prevent her from being able to resist him, which is likely considering death isn't something a person usually accepts willingly, even if it would end their pain. Seeing her body fall to the ground lifeless, Han looked at the woman that soon brightened by the flash and vanished.

Considering where he was located, Han knew that this wasn't the time and place to be lost in thought. On either side of the shield, the flames had ended. Quickly, Han grabbed the shield that the woman had been using. Inserting his arm into it, he grabbed the handle inside of the shield and pulled it out of the ground.

Moving the shield out of the way, Han saw the player with the flame-thrower drills look startled by how their body flinched.

"Yeah," Han said to himself and quickly aimed at the player and fired the beam weapon. Immediately, the close-range player had their head removed, and the body flopped to the ground. Not waiting for the flash of light, he quickly searched for where the long-range player was located.

Considering the amount of time that had passed, he was happy to see that the player was still trying to get into position. The irony was how the long-range player was within the range of his new weapon.

Looking down, Han saw that his weapon was fairly undamaged from the heat of the close-range player's attack. Reaching down, he picked up the sword and held it in his free hand. Even though the shield was an excellent weapon, Han still felt more comfortable with his sword. He didn't have to wait for a sword to be charged up before using it.

Feeling like he had taken up too much time, Han refocused his attention on the long-range player. He didn't want to let the player get out of the effective range of his new weapon. There was still time before it was fully charged, so he dashed towards the player.

He hoped that the player wouldn't notice him, considering their shield was down while they were moving. "Julia, put up a countdown to when the weapon can be fired," He commanded the AI. Up in the corner of his HUD, Han saw a clock indicating the number of

seconds remaining.

"I guess I wasn't wrong about this weapon being modified," He murmured. "Usually, these types would be measured in minutes until being ready, but this weapon measures it in seconds."

Going in a straight line, he kept his eyes on the player, feeling like any moment the player would turn around. Even though the shield wouldn't last that long against him, dealing with the energy shield wasn't something he was looking forward to. At any moment, the monsters could show up if they weren't stopped by the Crowd Controllers so he couldn't dawdle.

"Master, the weapon is fully charged," Julia announced, her voice sounding calm though there was a hint of anticipation and excitement in it.

Grinning, he slid to a stop and in one smooth motion, raised the shield and aimed the weapon. To help him, Julia had positioned crosshairs to assist him. She even showed him the path the beam would follow in the corner of the HUD.

The air was ripped apart as he fired the beam. It traveled across the ground and soon was gone, leaving behind the typical crackling in the air. After the last remnants of the beam faded away, there was a silence in the air.

Turning his head, he watched as the shield around the opposing team's door was dropped.

"Let's end this," Han said to Julia.

---------

"And Team Felicitas WINS!" One of the announcers yelled out. "With a splendid performance of the team lead, Han smoothly carried his team to victory. What do you think, Henry?" The announcer asked his co-host.

"Exactly, Bill! There were a few moments when I thought Han would have been killed, the time the enemy Assassin tossed the grenade and when the Guards pulled off a fantastic surprise attack with the modified drill. I'm sure Han was as surprised as I was when those drills turned out to be flamethrowers." Henry answered.

"Considering how it looked like Han still received damage even after his quick decision making, I doubt anyone else would have been able to make it around that shield. The mid-range player was likely waiting in wait if the player managed to get around the shield. If Han had gone with the typical strategy, I don't know if he would have been able to react to the encounter with that player after receiving so much damage." Bill commented.

"And landing on that player's ankle! Just watching that I could feel the impact of such a savage attack. Let's see that in the instant replay!" Henry said.

The monitor changed to a close up of Han's foot landing on the opposing player's ankle and moved to show a better view of the spasmic movements of the player.

"Ouch! Just watching that again is painful!" Bill made an overly dramatic flinching motion.

"Good thing the player won't have to deal with having a crushed ankle once they're revived," Henry remarked.

"Exactly, Henry! With Team Felicitas winning the first round and moving to the next round, what do they have to look forward to?" Bill said, turning to his co-host.

-----

"That was a pretty intense game," Jackie commented to her team and Jae-Hwa as they sat in one of the more popular bars inside of the facility.

"I told you that this game is awesome to watch," Lulu yelled out, waving her mug of beer in the air and proceeding to take a swig of it. "The way Han landed on that person's ankle. I couldn't have done it better." Lulu shivered in excitement. "Hearing about this new team, I was hesitant to expect anything, but Team Felicitas is definitely worthy of their reputation inside this place."

"It's surprising that things have turned out this way," Lacy remarked.

"Yeah. I didn't expect The Wire to be able to function to this degree, allowing the teams from other universities and various sites to compete." Amanda said.

Jackie saw the look in Amanda's eyes and nodded her head. "Rumors are floating around that this Battle of the School and Nationals after it is to get people hyped up for the World Championship. A girl I talked to said that they received some kind of update through the system and the higher-ups are being quiet about it. The last time the higher-ups were like this was when this school location received the update in the system that connected us to the other sites."

"I wonder if Cherry State's teams will be able to get all the way and compete in Nationals?" Lacy asked. "What do you think, Jae-Hwa?"

Jae-Hwa blushed at the sudden question. "I'm not sure. I hope Team Felicitas is able to make it."

Jackie grinned at seeing Jae-Hwa's expression and how she didn't mention Cherry State as a whole. Looking at the others at the table, it seemed that everyone else noticed such wording and grinned.

Turning to face the monitor again, she laughed to herself and enjoyed the commentators going through and explaining the two teams competing in the next match. As she lifted up the mug of beer to her mouth, she felt like her current mission was going to be an easy and enjoyable one.