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“ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?”

The voice of an overly muscular NPC continued bellowed over a crowd of excited players. Suddenly, the man stopped shouting. Two large gates on opposite sides of each other opened up. The NPC began to speak once more. “I AM BURKO, THE GREATEST COMMENTATOR IN THE HISTORY OF THE AINCRAD DUELING LEAGUE!”

Burko stopped for a moment to clear his throat. All of the yelling he was doing could not be easy. He stood there for a moment, on a platform floating above the big, hexagonal arena. Beneath him was a plot of smooth stone that looked like a pretty perfect spot for combat. Finally, it was time to introduce the contestants.

“I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE TODAY’S FIRST CHALLENGER: RICO! THIS PLAYER IS NEW TO THE ARENA. LET’S SHOW HIM A GOOD TIME.”

The crowd cheered as Rico made his way into the arena. The gate shut behind him, but the crashing sound was deafened by the roar coming from the stands. Burko continued, announcing the next fighter.

“NEXT, THE WOMAN WHO NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION: OUR UNDEFEATED CHAMPION, LEXA!"

It seemed as though the stands had doubled in spectators. Lexa entered the arena as well, the gate behind her also dropping. Her long, blonde hair glowed in the sunlight. It was no wonder she was getting so much attention; Lexa appeared to be a goddess.

Morningstar was one of the few people who stayed completely silent, watching the fighters intently. Who would win? Compared to Rico, Lexa seemed like just another player. Rico was a giant of a man with a colossal longsword. Lexa was a petite girl with a rapier. She didn’t look like she could hurt a fly. The fact that she was ADL’s reigning champion puzzled Morningstar.

Burko took a deep breath before announcing that the duel would commence immediately. Almost instantly, Morningstar realized the woman’s strength: her speed. Lexa went on the offense as soon as they began, zooming towards Rico with no intention of slowing down. The burly man swung his blade, but Lexa was able to dodge it with ease. Now behind Rico, the blonde drew her rapier and stabbed it straight into the man’s back a total of 6 times. Then, she stepped back.

Edited by Morningstar
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Just like that, the fight was over. In under a minute, Lexa had won. Morningstar sat there, eyes wide. The woman hadn’t even used a sword skill and she’d managed to do that much damage in so little time. Rico walked away from the arena, visibly as shocked as he was. 

“LEXA REMAINS OUR CHAMPION. IS THERE ANYONE IN THE STANDS WITH THE COURAGE TO FACE HER?”

Nobody moved. The crowd had gone completely silent, waiting for someone to step up. A minute passed and still, not a single soul was interested in fighting the woman.

“DO NONE OF YOU HAVE THE WILL TO FIGH-"

“I’ll do it,” Morningstar stood up, unsure of what he was doing. The people around him gasped, but he wasn’t listening. This woman interested him and he wanted to find out more about her.

The man made his way down a set of stairs until he reached an elevator that brought him down into the arena. He noticed Lexa gazing at him from the opposite end. It wasn’t an aggressive stare; she seemed curious. Morningstar dropped the hood of his green cloak, revealing his face to the crowd. He ran a hand through his light brown undercut before drawing his sword. Much like the everyone else, he already knew the outcome of this fight.

He had no chance against Lexa.

“Very well. Our next challenger is… MORNINGSTAR!”

Edited by Morningstar
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Unlike the other two swordsman, he received a total of zero cheers from the spectators. They were still too shocked to even speak. The match began and Lexa attacked in the same manner as before. Her rapier was still tucked away. She sprinted towards him with full speed.

Morningstar didn’t move quite yet. He was watching carefully, the same way he had been in the stands. He knew what was coming, so he made sure not to swing his sword. He wasn’t going to make the same mistakes as Rico. Before he knew it, Lexa was but a foot away from him. Her hand went to her blade as she rolled behind him, but her expression looked concerned. The brunette gripped his long-sword tightly with both of his hands, feeling nothing but the weight of it as he began to turn. Lexa pulled out her rapier and went for the exact same sequence of stabs she had used earlier, but Morningstar was prepared for it. He slammed his blade right into Lexa’s, causing her to stumble backwards.

Morningstar had ruined her first attempt at ending the fight, but she was far from finished. She caught herself and lunged at the man, but he was able to successfully block and dodge every stab she threw.

For the entire duration of the fight, Morningstar continued to watch her expression. She looked completely calm now, as if she knew that the fight would be over soon; as if she knew that she would be victorious.

The man sidestepped Lexa’s blade and moved out of range. He was running out of energy. Exhausted, Morningstar smiled at the woman. “Now I see why you’re the champion,” he told her.

“You haven’t attacked once yet. What’s your game?”

Edited by Morningstar
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The man didn’t respond. Instead, waited for her to rush back into the fight. As he predicted, Lexa did. For a moment, he thought that everything was over. Her rapier was only inches away from him when he made the decision to give a final swing.

“AND THE WINNER IS…”

Nobody in the audience moved a muscle. They were all starry-eyed at the two combatants. Morningstar gave a weak grin.

“LEXA!” Burko shouted.

Finally, the crowd went wild. As always, the champion was the winner. She remained undefeated. Lexa pulled her rapier from Morningstar’s chest. She was fast enough to stab him and duck his sword simultaneously. She was an incredible fighter.

According to Burko, this was the last fight of the day. Morningstar watched as Lexa strode away from the arena, her long, beautiful hair waving in the slight breeze. He’d never admit it, but part of him hoped that this would not be their last encounter.

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The next day, Morningstar decided it was time to leave the safezone for a while. He was dressed in his usual attire: a brown leather jacket with a green cloak draped over him. The plains that covered the first floor were nearly empty. He saw the odd boar roaming around, but nothing that would be too troublesome. 

He followed a dirt path until he was eventually met with a dark, dense forest. Without hesitation, Morningstar entered.

Inside, it was surprisingly peaceful. He heard nothing but the chirps of birds and leaves rustling in the wind. He took a seat next to a massive tree—he thought it was oak, but he didn’t actually know anything about trees so there was a good chance he was wrong.

Then, he heard footsteps.

Startled, Morningstar reached for his blade. Was he followed? He didn’t recall anyone leaving the walls with him. He stayed silent and waited, hoping that they would pass by without a fight.

As quick as a lightning strike, something sharp pierced the tree, nearly hitting his head. Thankfully, he was able to move before he was fatally wounded. Rather than staying and dying, Morningstar weaved through the forest in an attempt to escape. He leaped over logs and tumbled past trees, however he was failing at losing the stranger. 

He took a look behind him, but could not tell who they were; a hood covered their face and made it hard to see. Morningstar sighed. There was no other option but to fight until the end. “I guess this is it for me,” he mumbled, lifting his blade in self-defense. Then, something happened that confused the brunette. Right before ending the fight once and for all, they stopped.

Suddenly, he realized who it was.

Edited by Morningstar
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“Lexa.”

As he said it, the blonde pulled down her hood. “Hey there,” she started, “I believe you called yourself Morningstar, am I right?”

“Yeah.” He was confused and it must have been noticeable because, for a second, she looked like she was going to burst out laughing.

“I’m going to call you Star. Morningstar’s way too long.”

Nobody had ever shortened his name to “Star” before. It annoyed him a little bit, but he avoided speaking against it. “What’re you following me for? Do you do this to all of the people you beat in that arena?”

“Of course not! I’m not a stalker,” she replied, putting her rapier away, “Unlike the rest of the people I beat, you interested me. Are you in a guild?”

Star laughed. Him? In a guild? "No. I've got nothing to offer a guild. Besides, the 'Solo Player Life' isn't all bad."

"Shut up. I'm also a solo player and I know that it gets tough. Walk with me."

She began to walk in the direction they had come from; the exit of the forest. While he was enjoying the forest, he thought he'd enjoy the company even more (so long as she refrained from killing him, of course). Morningstar followed behind the woman, eventually returning to the start of the forest. She must have had a reason for rushing into a dark, spooky forest to find him.

The sun had reached it's peak. Clouds were nowhere to be seen; instead, the gorgeous blue sky covered everything above them. His gaze dropped down. Nothing but grassy fields and small hills. Occasionally, there would be a tree or two sitting randomly in the grass; however, they were nothing like the ones in the forest behind them. Lexa was a few steps ahead of him. Her pace picked up when she spotted a fair sized tree on top of a hill. It had the perfect amount of shade to cover the two of them. So, they sat.

"Hey Star," the blonde began, "the reason I went looking for you is because I'm starting a guild."

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