Ironblade was practically seething.
"Why are you pandering to him like this?!" he barked at Elera, his face contorted with jealousy and anger. "You can't just use guild invites as bait for your little playdates!"
Turning his glare on Rex, he sneered, "Hey, hotshot! If you think you're so tough, how about a round with me? Or are you all talk?"
"Sorry," Rex retorted coolly, "I don't swing that way."
Ironblade's face flushed a deeper shade of crimson. "You damn well know what I mean, you little twerp!" he snarled, his voice thick with suppressed rage. "Or are you too much of a coward to accept a proper duel?"
"Dueling? That's so ancient," Rex shot back, already turning to walk away, eager to disengage. If he truly needed to join a guild, he'd try his luck applying directly. 'The chances of a Prismatic class not getting into a decent guild must be pitifully low,' he mused.
"Hey! Hey, stop right there!" Ironblade bellowed after him. "If you agree to the duel, I'll give you 50 bronze coins!" When Rex didn't stop, Ironblade's voice grew louder, laced with desperation. "Fifty bronze to let me show you the immensity of heaven and earth, you hear me?"
Rex continued on his way, ignoring him.
Ironblade's shouts had now attracted the attention of a few dozen players who were looking on with amusement. Seeing their faces, and desperate to save his own, Ironblade bellowed, "One hundred bronze coins, newbie!"
Whispers rippled through the onlookers: "That's good money." "Wow, what's going on?" "Isn't that Ironblade from Void Keepers?" "Why's he offering a newbie 100 bronze for a duel?"
The increased offer drew even more spectators, a few of whom clearly recognized Ironblade.
Rex paused for a beat, then, deciding it wasn't worth the trouble, started walking again.
Ironblade watched, his fists clenched, as Rex dismissed him. Elera softly touched his arm. "That's enough, Ironblade."
But he was too far gone. He couldn't back down now; he'd look like a jobless fool in front of the growing crowd his outburst had attracted.
"Three hundred!" he screamed, the word tearing from him with a pained frustration.
Rex stopped. That got his attention. Three hundred bronze coins was serious money—with a 1:10 conversion rate, that was 3,000 Credits. 'Hey AI,' Rex thought quickly, 'duels don't result in player death, right?'
'That depends on the rules set for the duel, Rex.' A hint of a smile seemed to touch the AI's mental voice.
'Time to make some easy money,' Rex grinned, his back still to Ironblade, hiding his expression.
'Do you require my assistance in winning this duel?' the Cosmic AI inquired.
'Oh, you can do that too?' Rex asked, genuinely surprised.
'There are very few things I will be unable to assist you with. Please scan the opposing player with your skill 'True Sight' to further improve the accuracy of my analysis.'
Though the exchange between Rex and the Cosmic AI felt like a lengthy conversation, only a few moments had passed since Ironblade upped his desperate bid to 300 bronze coins.
Rex turned slowly to face Ironblade, activating 'True Sight' as he did.
+++++
Name: Ironblade
Class: Dread Knight (Rare)
Player Level: 9
Active Skills: NIL
+++++
'How come I can't see his skills?' Rex wondered.
'To view a target's skills with True Sight, the skill must either be currently in use, or you must have previously observed them using the skill.'
[ANALYZING AVAILABLE DATA...]
[SIMULATING POTENTIAL OUTCOMES...]
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]
'You have a 75% chance of defeating Player Ironblade in a standard duel,' the AI stated.
'Pffft! Are you sure you're not some kind of joke AI?' Rex couldn't resist retorting internally. How could a Level 5 newbie like him possibly defeat a Level 9 veteran with a Rare Class?
"Do you accept the duel or not, Newbie?!" Ironblade's voice thundered, impatient and arrogant.
"Let me think about it," Rex replied, then hastily urged the Cosmic AI, 'How can you be so sure I have such a high chance of defeating him?'
'Your current base physical attributes surpass his, as a Prismatic-grade class. For each level increase, you gain 3 attribute points. As a Rare-grade class, Player Ironblade gains only 1 attribute point per level increase. Based on this, my assumption is that he has advanced his attributes by approximately 9 points, whereas you have advanced yours by 15 points from your base stats.'
Rex stood frozen for a second, processing. Ironblade, misinterpreting his silence as fear, scoffed. "Stop being such a wimp and make a decision already!"
Feeling a surge of confidence following the AI's explanation, Rex no longer just wanted to survive the duel; he wanted to win and exploit the situation as much as possible.
"I don't think it's a proper duel if there's nothing substantial to win," Rex said, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Pah! You're a proud fool!" Ironblade spat angrily. "You really need to be shown the vast difference between a clueless newbie and a Void Keeper! Fine! If you win, I'll give you 1 silver coin!"
Gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd.
"As expected of a Void Keeper! He can throw down a silver coin without batting an eye!"
"He can say whatever he wants; there's no way a newbie can possibly beat him."
"Yeah, Ironblade loves showing off. Didn't know he'd stoop to using a newbie to make himself look good, though."
The spectators weren't shocked by Ironblade's bet; they were certain he was going to win. He was a Void Keeper, after all, and the benchmark for even being considered as a member of the almighty guild was a Rare-grade class.
"Five Silver Coins!" Rex shouted, deliberately naming an exaggerated amount. He'd studied a little about bartering in preparation for Cosmic Ascendance. His taunt was a calculated attempt to needle Ironblade into raising the stakes further out of sheer irritation at his audacity.
"Hahaha! You really are an annoying brat!" Ironblade seethed. "Fine! Five silver coins! But if you lose, you join our guild and give me half of your signing package!"
More excited chatter erupted: "What did I just hear?"
"Is that really the penalty for losing? That's a reward!"
"I'd gladly give up my entire signing package for a chance to join the Void Keepers!"
"What a lucky dude! I wonder what he did to get the Void Keepers' attention in the first place."
'AI, is there any way for me to increase my chances of winning this duel even more?' Rex asked Cosmic AI. He really wasn't in the mood to join any guild right now; his taunt had come back to bite him.
'If you were to set the rules of the duel yourself, your chances of winning would stand at 99.9%,' the AI responded promptly.
"Deal!" Rex declared, a confident smirk playing on his lips. "But I set the rules of the duel." The AI's analysis sounded almost too good to be true, but it was time to put his 100 Gold purchase to the ultimate test.
Before Ironblade could answer, Elera quickly pulled him aside. "You have to be careful," she whispered urgently. "I couldn't view his class grade. The chances of him being an Epic grade are high, and he's already Level 5. His attributes could already be similar to yours if that's the case. Be careful!" she warned.
Ironblade, however, barely registered her caution, a smug smile touching his lips. Elera hardly ever showed him this much concern, despite them often working together. He'd use this duel to prove his value, to show her he was far more capable than she gave him credit for.
"Fine," Ironblade announced, turning back to Rex with an air of magnanimity. "I'll let you set the rules, but I have to review them to confirm they're fair."
Ironblade then led him to a designated duel room within the Dome hall. Fighting within the main Cosmic Hub establishments wasn't allowed; duels could only be initiated in these specialized rooms. Under the Cosmic AI's guidance, Rex tweaked the rules:
>Maintain Current Player Level
>Standard Weapons Only (No Personal Gear Advantages)
>1% HP Loss Rule (First to reduce opponent's HP to 1% Wins)
Ironblade scanned the rules, then adjusted a single one with a smirk:
Maintain Current Player Level -> All Player Attributes Fixed at 10.
This rule change meant all their attributes—strength, agility, intelligence, everything—would be artificially set to a fixed value of 10 for the duration of the duel.
'What are my chances of success now?' Rex asked the AI, a little concerned by the change.
'Your current chances of winning the duel are approximately 100%.'