Speedmage Tournament

24TH GEAR - JUST ONE STRIKE!

24TH GEAR - JUST ONE STRIKE!

Beep! Beep! Beep!

It's been going on for a while now. Vincent has been teleporting Checkpoint Towers from one to another. The audience is just stunned with mixed emotions of amazement and fear written on their faces. They never would have thought that the Speedmage Champion will go all-out against a loser guild like Merry Knights. Nobody uttered a word.

The score is overwhelmingly 3:34.

"Vincent the Teleporter is not just a legend. It is a real title for a real person. My big brother is born with such talent." Justine said.

"Is this... the power of the Speed God?" I muttered.

Sweat ran down to my face as I watched Checkpoint Towers have their lights on and off every time Vincent touches one.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The score is now 3:42. There are only 2 minutes left. It won't take a genius to conclude that this battle is long over ever since Vincent unleashed his teleports.

But just when all hope was lost...

"I refuse to give up!"

It was a loud shout from the Triangle. I immediately saw the source of the voice: it was Flu. She has finally stood up back on her feet by using fire incantation to melt the icy ground. Her eyes glowed sky blue as she looked towards me.

"Flu..."

"Vincent the Teleporter is awesome, that is why I refuse to give up! He deserves his title and his crown as the Speedmage Champion. I will admit my defeat in this Speed Battle, but I will not go down without a bang!" Flu said with a determined smile.

Flu's words somehow sparked something inside my heart. She is right. No matter if we win or we lose, this is a Speed Battle. We are supposed to have fun while playing it! Isn't it even the motto of the Merry Knights, to have fun in Speed Battles?

I touched my mic and finally talked.

"You're right, Flu. We already fought the Speedmage Champion, so we have nothing to lose!" I said.

"Coach!" Flu's eyes brightened and her smile widened.

"All spells have their weakness. All we have to do is to find it and execute a counter-offensive!" I said.

"Roger that!"

I used my Mystic Glasses and focused my eyes on the disappearing and reappearing Vincent the Teleporter. I can see a faint mana trace from him connecting to the Checkpoint Towers-

No, it is slightly off. The mana traces a little downwards, to the mana sword Vincent stuck earlier when he first touched the checkpoints. I smiled and realized one definite thing.

"Flu! Go to the 1st Checkpoint Tower and watch out for the mana sword next to it!" I said.

"Got it!" Flu nodded as she dashed towards the 1st Checkpoint Tower.

While Flu is racing toward the target position, I looked at my pocketwatch and timed Vincent's teleportation. He disappears for 0.15 seconds and reappears after 0.15 seconds. That means it takes him 0.3 seconds to touch the Checkpoint Tower and score a point. That's an awful split-second chance for us to stop him.

"One, two, three, one, two, three."

I counted every time Vincent teleports from one checkpoint to another. He can rotate and make 3 points in 0.9 seconds max. There are times when he takes a break and gasps for air and mana, which takes 2 to 6 seconds. We can't attack him on that 2 seconds as he always chooses the farthest Checkpoint Towers to rest.