[Sub-Quest Initiated: Duel of the Queen and the Pawn.]
Aven was the first to move. His movements were like water, flowing and dancing rhythmically in the sky, all while teasing Elian by wearing a smug face.
Elian tried jumping, swinging his stick at him, and Aven dodged without looking. He tilted his head, fingers flicking away the wooden stick like it was a joke at a rich kid's funeral.
"Ah, not bad," Aven muttered lightly. Leaning in as he pressed a kiss to the tip of Elian's stick.
Elian stared, dumbfounded. "What the hell?"
"Your weapon," Aven grinned. "It's very… humble. I like it."
The stick shuddered like it wanted to die from embarrassment.
"If you manage to hit me, I'll tell you more about the dustwalkers that took your family. But you can't, can you?"
[He's right. You really can't. But seriously, trade that twig of yours. It's embarrassing.]
Elian growled, ignoring the system, and charged again. He struck from the side this time, aiming for Aven's ribs. Aven backstepped twice, then kicked off the air and landed behind him.
Elian turned with a grunt, swinging wildly. Aven caught the strike mid-air, fingers curled loosely around the wood.
"This would hurt you more than me," Aven whispered.
He let go.
Tess, from behind, shielded herself from the Graveworm attack, hissing at her wounds. She snapped at Aven, shouting out his name.
Aven got distracted, glancing back at the mess of his struggling team without him.
Amidst all, Elian threw a punch instead.
It connected against Aven's face.
The impact cracked across Aven's cheekbone, forcing his head slightly to the side. His feet didn't move, position stiff. But Aven smiled with his bloody mouth.
He touched his face. Red bloomed beneath the glove.
"Well." He laughed once, "now that's interesting."
Elian's knuckles were bleeding. But it didn't matter. He stood there panting, chest heaving like a broken bellows, stick dragging at his side.
His system dinged.
[Congratulations. You have mildly inconvenienced a Queen.]
[+10 EXP]
[That's... surprisingly decent. I never doubted you!]
Elian rolled his eyes, muttering a few curse words. But he was proud. Finally managed to knock out the weird smug of a male Queen.
Elian wiped his mouth. "Bet that hurt more than you let on."
"You're delusional," Aven replied. "I like that. But I'll give that to you. Even though you cheated."
"I didn't cheat."
"Sureeee."
Elain held on to his stick, gripping it tightly as strong as he could, ready for another swing.
The Graveworm shrieked behind them, still causing chaos. Tess reappeared, cutting between them before they could dive into another ego-stained, pointless brawl.
She knew that Aven was the type to taunt and challenge classes even higher than him. But a pawn?
"Are you serious right now?" she yelled. "The worm's upgrading and you're playing tag with a Pawn?"
Aven sighed. "Can't a Queen have some fun?"
"Aven—!"
He raised his hand, his eyes mimicking a sly fox. A sliver of light stretched across his palm.
In a blur, his sword came down. It was a long edgy sword. Made out of his mana whilst glowing in purple flames.
Elian has never seen something like that.
Then the Graveworm monster split in two.
"Hunter Aven, you really shouldn't have done that." One of his team members called.
Aven barely shrugged, saying something like they were struggling anyway.
Blood geysered upward. The body collapsed to the cracked ground, spraying acid across the pavement.
Elian heaved a heavy breath.
[EXP Gained: 0]
[Contribution points: 0]
Suddenly, white light spiraled down from the sky. From above, floating on a platform of ice-laced strings, descended a woman clad in pale armor.
[New Arrival: White Queen – Jun of the Ivory Guild.]
Her entrance shattered three dented streetlights.
"Urgh, what are you doing here? This is not your territory." Aven smacked his lips in distaste. His face constricted into a frown. Elian found it hard to believe that a beautiful man could make such an ugly face.
The white pieces barely share a space with the black pieces, kept separated.
The modern world— which Elian belonged to, is the black chess pieces of the board.
"You're too late, Junny," Aven called lazily, singing an off-key note.
"I already got the boss kill."
Jun's eyes narrowed. "You always ruin things."
Her voice was colder than the wind behind her. She didn't spare Elian a glance.
"What's this?" she asked, gesturing toward him with a flick of her nail.
"Something fun," Aven replied. "But why do you care? It's not like it could fix the broken rift between us. Kindly leave. Like scram, shoo, vamoose… whatever language your folks speak."
"He's a Pawn?" Jun flatly asked, ignoring Aven's harsh words.
"Mhm, a stubborn one."
Elian glanced between the two, confused. Why are they talking about me as if I'm insignificant?
[Because You Are?]
Ugh, shut it.
Elian looked around, noticing the tense atmosphere, and how every other player stopped moving ever since Jun came in.
Jun's lip curled. "Then claim him."
Aven shrugged. "Not interested in pieces that follow rules. Leave."
"You're wasting time," she snapped.
"Then I'll claim him. And make him useful for my world."
The world pulsed, flashing the whole floor base and buildings in holograms of a chessboard.
A system alert burst red in Elian's vision.
[Alert: The White Queen has claimed this territory.]
[You are now in White Queen Jun's Domain.]
[You can't escape. Your Will stat Too Low.]
Elain hurriedly glanced at his stats.
[HP: 19/260]
[MP: 35%]
[AGI: 13]
[WILL: 2]
His body froze. It was like being glued to the ground. When he tried turning his head, he noticed others couldn't move either, engraved in terror. His stick fell from his hand, rolling further away from him.
Jun lifted a finger. Many strings danced from her hand. Long, silver and razor-thin.
Aven stepped back, gnashing his teeth. "Oh, Junny, what the fuck are you trying to do? This is not even yours! You have plenty of pawns to dispose of, and worst of all…" he drew up his sword. His eyes flashed purple.
"Why are you claiming a territory that's not yours?"
"It's not yours either."
Elian sighed heavily. The system only told him to be a 'Reject Hero' or whatever shit it's called.
Hey, suckerbot.
[Stop calling me that! What do you want now?]
Igained EXP from punching him, right?
[+10 EXP. Don't spend it all in one place.]
Add all EXP gained to Will.
[...You sure? That barely does anything.]
Do it.
[Will +10]
[New Will Stat: 12]
[Your Will stat is enough to break the White Queen's trance.]
[You can now move.]
His legs moved.
He launched forward, blocking Jun's path from striking Aven.
He wasn't protecting him. Not really. But it sure did look like he was.
His arm was reaching out for something, his other arm gripping Aven's shoulder, trying to get him out of the way.
He just wanted his stick back.
And Jun's ancient strings accidentally snapped, breaking and slicing through the air.
When Elian tried avoiding the impact, doing his best to duck, the strings cut through his chest as he unknowingly shielded Aven from the strings.
He glanced up, blood spilling from his mouth, staring at a wide-eyed Aven who was currently questioning his sanity.
I'm not protecting you! My stick—!
[You have taken a critical hit.]
Damnit!
[HP: 0/260]
[Quest: Die A Hero Reject.]
[Survive Five Fatal Encounters.]
[Progress: 2/5.]
[You are now legally dead. Again.]
[Resurrection Skill Triggered – Cooldown: 59 minutes remaining.]
Aven caught Elian's body before it hit the ground. Why'd he block me from her attack?
"...He moved," Jun said flatly. "It's not my fault he stupidly went between us two." Tch, what a waste of pawn.
Aven didn't spare Jun another glance. He stared at Elian's dead body. What a weird man.
"Maybe he's more than trash? And he sure is amusing… and dumb."