The Gamer's System

Chapter 272: Time and Time Again

The gamer didn't waste any time. He placed the maximum amount which he could release on his next skill. Even Vardus flinched after feeling the sheer power behind it as Zeke casted:

"Blaze of the Fire God!"

The flames were so great that even Zeke's allies got burned to death. Most of them did in fact. However, this was not without reason. After all, the gamer knew exactly what his opponent would cast after this.

[Time Reverse]

Everything went back to the moment before Zeke casted the skill. Vardus made haste and activated [Emperor's Time]. Making sure that Zeke was heavily damaged before time resumed. However, due to the [Blood King's Curse] Zeke could not be affected by the same withering effect made by the [Time Eaters].

The gamer placed a gamble on this. That, the curse would also work against the [Time Eaters]. And as time resumed, he was glad that his hypothesis proved to be true.

"Here catch!" Zeke threw the Blood King's halberd at Vardus.

It was quick and sudden. And this was to be expected because, through [Gamer's Mind], Zeke was able to perceive all the events that were rewinded. He remembered them all and had no trouble discerning what was real.

Yet Vardus was not aware of all this. For all he knew, the enemy was simply quick to act and thus, he made the [Time Eaters] block the halberd. This failed yet again as the blood king's weapon destroyed all the orbs.

The Grand Monarch was able to dodge this at the last second. Pivoting his body to the side as the halberd caught nothing but air. Or so he thought.

"Weapon Blink." Zeke reappeared to the position of a nearby [Conjure]. The gamer then grabbed on to the halberd that came at his direction.

Just as Vardus looked at his direction, Zeke used the same skill again. Swapping places with an arrow fired by one of his [Conjures]. An arrow which flew directly on top of Vardus. Zeke used [Overdrive] and, before the Grand Monarch could even realize the trouble he was in, the gamer has already come down on him. Tearing off one of his arms in the process.

"You won't be using this anymore." Zeke held on to the arm as he wore a triumphant grin on his face.

Vardus stopped time yet again. He decided to just tear away the heart of his enemy who has finally roused his anger. And he did. His swords stabbed through Zeke's chest and because he wanted to see the shocked reaction of his enemy, he made time move in that position.

Zeke coughed blood and even twitched a little bit. Yet the reaction was far from what Vardus imagined because, Zeke still had the same smile on his face. Before Vardus could even understand why, both he and the gamer were bombarded with skills. Finishing off with the same [Blaze of the Fired God] on maximum output.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Zeke laughed like a maniac as he burned together with the Grand Monarch.

Vardus couldn't get out of range because, Zeke was holding on to his arm. The grip was so strong that it even crushed his bones in the process. More skills were on standby, waiting for the moment when [Blaze of the Fire God] stopped. And because of all the danger presented in the situation, Vardus had no choice but to reverse the flow of time even greater. Back to the moment when he released the [Time Eaters].

"Back away guys! That thing is bad news!" Time began moving properly again at that point when Vask was giving warnings to everyone.

"Why? What would happen?"

Zeke didn't wait for the replies to come nor did Vardus. The two of them battled right there and then, leaving everyone else confused about the sudden turn of events.

"Do not group together. It'll just give the [Time Eater's] more opportunity to take you down." The gamer instructed as he casted [Blaze of the Fire God] once again. Vardus body was already staring to collapse at that point and Zeke could also feel the dwindling amount of [Chaos Energy] within his opponent.

"Looks like some effects to linger on you even if you turn back time." Zeke mentioned and, this was the first moment where Vardus looked shocked.

The Grand Monarch was forced to focus his [Time Eaters] on the said spell but, Zeke wasn't about to allow his attack to be halted by this. The gamer began moving around the battlefield as more [Time Eaters] followed him. So much so that the elites were given less trouble dealing with them as Zeke had a monopoly on the said orbs.

"How can you move that quickly?" Vask asked; without even knowing that he already provided Zeke with a ton of data about Vardus.

"Can we leave the petty stuff for later?" Zeke said as [Shadow Dived] over and over again. Confusing the [Time Eaters] which automatically followed his trail.

Zeke was intentionally making himself look weak and slow. This would inevitably make the opponent lower his guard and, once Vardus does this, Zeke will have the opening he needed.

Yet this did not erase the fact that the [Time Eaters] were annoying. He could just easily destroy them with his halberd but, this would just hint his opponent that he could retain memories from rewinded futures.

"Let's see. We need that opening."

Zeke was waiting for Vardus to activate [Emperor's Time] again. It was the only thing hindering his plans from moving forward at that point. However, Vardus was still a bit cautious of him and, if this was so, then there was no way for him to come close as time would simply be stopped before his attack reaches Vardus.

"Any of you guys free?" Zeke activated the [Voice Chat], using only the [Thought Channel] which allowed all of his thoughts to be heard by the group.

"What do you mean mister Zeke?" Quinn asked, dodging a [Time Eater] merely by moving around in a repetitive pattern.

"Well you see, I need him to use one of his skills. And that requires that he's put under pressure."

"So we need to attack him is that it?" Jake said, also doing his  best to keep on avoiding the orb that seemed to always be on his trail.

"Yes that is exactly what I mean! Barrage him with your skills but keep a safe distance. Remember, those orbs aren't supposed to hit you no matter what." Everyone gave their approval to the command; changing the mood of the battle entirely.

The attacks of the elites came down like a vicious storm on Vardus. Just like what the gamer thought, he was already at his limit and it won't take long before everything was squeezed out of him.

Instead of activating [Emperor's Time], Vardus simply continued dodging. It was a complete mistake to do so because, most of the skills thrown by Zeke's team made contact with the body of their enemy. Even with the reinforced defenses, Vardus was still heavily damage and was still accumulating so in that point.

Zeke on the other hand, watched carefully. He didn't make it obvious but even with his continuous dodging, his vision was still locked on Vask. And as soon as the Grand Monarch began the motion path needed for the skill, Zeke activated [Overdrive].

There were a few things which the gamer could do at that point. One of them was to create enough distractions in order to be hidden from the opponent, just enough for the skill to finish.

With [Gamer's Mind], the computations came quickly. Giving Zeke a rough estimate on the best route. Hence he [Shadow Dived] one last time; within the same interval of [Emperor's Time] being activated.

Vardus was uninterested in the other fighters. He could easily deal with them later on. The only worry he had was against Zeke. The gamer who could react no matter how crazy the events could be after [Emperor's Time] or [Reverse Time] activated.

However, as Vardus looked around, Zeke was nowhere to be seen. The gamer was not on his previous location, nor could Vardus even see him anywhere. Time was rapidly draining from his skill but, not even Zeke's shadow could be found anywhere.

"Is it possible? Could someone actually be capable of reading my moves? Me, the Monarch of Time?" For the first time in the whole fight, Vardus finally spoke. Yet his voice was caught by nothing but the wind as time was still paused.

"Where is he? Where is that bastard?" He furthered, slowly getting back his personality. Something that was left out by Pier's abrupt transformation.

He searched as quickly as he can. Looked through every possibility and, even strained his body as he forced the skill to extend. However, Zeke was still nowhere to be found. And as time resumed, Vardus felt a chill run down his spine. A sensation he never felt even back in Gaia.

He looked at where it came from and saw the [Chaos Dragon] Horizon. The creature breathed out flames aimed at the Grand Monarch. This was met by the [Time Eaters] which Vardus entirely focused on bringing down the monster. Thinking that his senses would calm down after it gets defeated.

His [Time Eaters] would easily cancel out the flames. It could cancel out almost everything after all. And he was right. The flames were being sucked in by the orbs. But not the thing that was inside it.

Zeke emerged out of the flames. Burned but resolute in continuing his attack - shattering the [Time Eaters] in not less than a single second. Within the suddenness of it all, it was Vardus' turn to feel like time was too slow as he saw everything unfold without being able to react fast enough.

With a single swing of his halberd, Zeke Elwood sliced the strongest Chaos Monarch in two.