When Silent Acacia appeared on the arena floor, his opponent was already waiting for him. Instantly a surprised voice reached his ears:
"It's actually you, Acacia?"
Silent Acacia's eyes widened as he heard the familiar voice. He immediately studied his opponent.
It was a male human wearing a billowing, light armor somewhere between a mage's robes and an assassin's garbs. He held a double-tipped sceptre in one hand and a small, bright, magic crystal in the other.
But what was more important was his face. It belonged to a middle-aged man, adorned with small scars telling of countless battles. A light stubble grew on his neck. His eyes held an unshakable gaze.
Silent Acacia was unable to recognize the other party. He could only ask C for the name of his opponent.
"Jack Hill?!"
Suddenly a light lit up in Silent Acacia's mind. He was pleasantly surprised. Jack Hill was an old acquaintance, maybe even friend, of his.
One shouldn't judge the man by the mature appearance he likes to give himself in games. In reality he was only twenty-two years old. When Silent Acacia joined his old school, Jack Hill was one year away from graduation.
The man has always been more mature than others and liked to take care of his juniors. When Jack learned of a new prodigy joining the school, he was happy to teach him some tricks. Thus, Silent Acacia and Jack trained together a lot.
During that time Jack advised Acacia not to join TCTT after graduation, and he himself also didn't do so.
"Haha, Acacia who would've thought that we would meet here?"
"Indeed! It's nice to see you again."
"Same, same. I'm glad you're doing well."
Silent Acacia smiled with the joy of meeting an old friend as a lot of his lingering nervousness dissolved like smoke.
Unfortunately, the two weren't given much time to catch up. The caster in the sky finally finished talking. The arena changed, placing the contestants in a forest clearing. Three seconds counted down and the fight officially began.
"Let's go, show me what you got!", shouted Jack as he immediately widened the distance.
Silent Acacia grinned and summoned his winged tiger pet, Korn. The pet had also reached level 39 and was an extremely precious asset, especially in fights against players.
Many spectators immediately shouted with sparkling eyes:
"It's that tiger again!"
"So cute!"
"I should've become a hunter!"
"Why can't we all use pets? I don't even need it to deal damage..."
After its first appearance in Hotpot's fight, even Korn had gained its own fans. Some players gritted their teeth listening to the cheers, thinking that even Hotpot's pets were more famous than them.
Silent Acacia didn't hear the commotion. He was fully focused on Jack. Both fighters instantly attacked.
An arrow and a magical sphere shot through the air. They crossed in the middle, almost colliding with each other, showcasing the precise aim.
Silent Acacia and Jack reacted almost simultaneously, jumping out of the way.
[Stance -21]
Silent Acacia's breath quickened. When he looked back where his opponent just stood, he noticed that Jack had sought the protection of a towering tree.
The young hunter narrowed his eyes and readied his next arrow. He frowned faintly, noticing his set effect which had triggered.
After dodging an attack Silent Acacia was granted an increase in attack speed for three seconds. But if his opponent didn't show up, he couldn't take advantage of the effect.
Jack Hill naturally didn't know this. He hid behind a tree, preparing a skill with a short cast time.
Suddenly Jack's ears twitched. He heard a faint movement and instantly knew what was happening. Korn was attacking from the side.
A black streak flashed by. Jack abruptly took a step to the left, still using the tree for protection. The bark splintered and a deep claw mark appeared on the tree, etched for the rest of its life.
A whistling sound rang through the air. Jack felt a stinging on his neck, realizing that the next arrow was on its way.
But his skill's cast finished with a perfect timing. With a calm face he swung his sceptre. Instantly four walls of earth broke out of the ground, surrounding Korn.
The poor tiger's round eyes widened, and it frantically tried to flap its wings. But it was already too late. The earth walls trapped the tiger, their tops pressed together tightly and Korn disappeared from view.
"Not bad..."
Silent Acacia couldn't help but praise his friend. But he was still confident. His arrow was already on the way and there was no way for Jack to dodge.
"Damn! You know flash step"
Suddenly the young man cursed as Jack Hill turned into a few sparks and flashed behind a nearby tree.
A faint laughter came from Jack's mouth:
"Did you think only your Hotpot can use flash step? You're underestimating me. That's not what I taught you."
Silent Acacia furrowed his brows. Before he could do anything else, Jack Hill suddenly showed himself, aiming his sceptre at his younger friend. A jet of water was unleashed without casting, heading straight for Silent Acacia's chest.
The hunter inhaled sharply and instantly dodged to the side.
[Stance -16]
Such a low stance cost. That skill can't do too much damage.
Just as Silent Acacia was analysing his opponent, Jack's next skill already arrived.
F*ck!
Acacia was caught off guard. Jack had perfectly anticipated his movement, proving impeccable timing. A spear made of wood aimed for Silent Acacia's position, almost impossible to dodge.
Jack only miscalculated the tiniest bit as he didn't anticipate Acacia's high movement speed. The hunter reacted instinctively and managed to throw his body to the floor at the last second.
[Stance -23]
A chill ran down Silent Acacia's spine. He glanced towards Jack and saw the mage already about to unleash another spell.
Is this his tactic? Many skills, quick to cast but low damage?
Silent Acacia's thoughts spun but he didn't dare to stay in place. He swiftly got to his feet and sprinted towards the side, hiding behind a tree as well.
While a momentary silence lingered between the contestants, the audience was screaming in excitement.
Jack Hill also had his own fans, which fought against Dream Avenue for the upper hand. The arena was boiling after the quick exchange of attacks where one mistake could spell defeat.
Silent Acacia's friends were at the edge of their seats as well, feeling extremely tense. Seeing Silent Acacia make it to safety they finally felt relieved.
"Great. Now Acacia only needs to wait until Korn is freed and he can win this!", cheered Cyclone. But Liam shook his head.
"Acacia needs to act, or the mage can use skills with longer cast time."
"Eh, do you think he still has those?"
"I guess so. This Jack Hill looks quite skilled. He should be well prepared."
"That guy is not bad. But Silent Acacia is better!"
"Well said.", agreed Silver Blade from the side.
"Go! Acacia!"
"Babe, show us what you can do!"
The friends cheered loudly even though they knew that Silent Acacia couldn't hear them. Meanwhile Jack Hill acted as Liam expected, beginning to cast a more powerful skill.
The mage's eyes were transfixed on the tree which Silent Acacia hid behind. Suddenly he seemed to notice a movement in the grass next to the tree.
Acacia has shown a camouflage skill before. Did he use it? Or am I too cautious? Do I cancel my spell, or do I continue?
Jack's thoughts raced. He swiftly came to a decision. He decisively cancelled his cast and calmly studied his surroundings, expecting Silent Acacia to hide somewhere.
Up in the air the caster's voice echoed through the arena, sounding exhilarated to cast such a tense match:
"What a move from Silent Acacia! Throwing leaves to attract the opponent's attention while escaping towards the other side!
But Jack Hill is impressive as well! Expecting Silent Acacia to hide from view he decisively cancels his spell. But unfortunately, he doesn't know that the hunter is creeping behind his back!"
Silent Acacia moved carefully, not daring to make the slightest sound. His body was obscured but not entirely invisible. Being detected would spell his doom.
But he was quite satisfied with his move. Finally, he got a clear line of sight on his opponent. In his vision a small target appeared on Jack's shoulder, caused by Acacia's [Stalker] skill.
The hunter took a deep breath. He nocked his arrow, narrowing his eyes.
Suddenly everything happened instantly. Silent Acacia used his ultimate [Mark of Death] and his [Ensnaring Arrow] simultaneously.
Silent Acacia didn't aim for the target. Instead, he sent his arrow at a tricky angle, making it difficult to dodge.
Jack's instincts screamed. He shot around, instantly spotting Silent Acacia in the distance. He wanted to use flash step but this time he was a hint too slow. His flash step was not yet at a level of perfection.
Silent Acacia and Jack's eyes met. They had friendly smiles on their lips but sparks erupted from their eyes.