Reincarnated Avatar; I got 2 SSS-Rank Unique Skills

"It's the 3rd battle of the Individual Battle round". Eli Castor started.

"And now, for Phoenix Rising… it's Rahze, their lightning-fast and tempo-breaking Combat Mage. The Arcstorm Disciple. And he's facing none other than the quiet genius of Echelon. The man who doesn't speak unless it's to crush dreams, Caleb the Tactician".

Vera chipped in. "You'd think this would be another mage duel, but this isn't just firepower vs firepower".

"Caleb's a summoner, a battlefield conductor. He turns fights into warzones. And we've seen Rahze dismantle formations with pure aggression. This will be mayhem with rhythm".

With a shimmer, the Twilight Raven melted away, a new arena taking its place… The Gilded Crucible.

It was a golden coliseum scarred by thunderstrikes and charred summoning circles. Pillars rise and collapse in loops.

The battlefield constantly shifts, with storms crackling above.

The round started.

And from the onset, Rahze wasted no time.

Carrying the weight of 2 losses on his shoulders, the Combat Mage streaked forward with Thunderstep, instantly closing the gap and firing off a Shock Spiral from his palms.

Caleb didn't move. Instead, he calmly lifted one hand.

["Come".]

Tonight, all the Echelon players seemed to have made it a goal to taunt and rage-bait their opponents.

But Caleb never actually referred to his opponent.

Rather, he referred to his friends, his summons.

From a summoning circle, his first minion burst forth as soon as he said 'come'.

His first summon was a Titanfang, a plated rhinobeast with arcane tattoos.

It took the spiral full on, hooves scraping against the floor, but doesn't fall.

Rahze dashed again, this time trying to leap over the Titanfang and attack the Summoner directly. But Caleb was already on his second incantation.

["Now… Warden".]

A glowing green sigil erupted behind him...

And from it a Guardian Golem entered the field, crashing its fists into the arena with a taunting roar.

Summoners rarely played alone in individual battle duels. Because for them, one of their biggest problems was completing the input to complete a summoning before their opponents rush them to death.

After all, their skills were the longest and most complicated to activate.

And yet, somehow, locked in already, Caleb was doing it so smoothly and efficiently with no help.

As soon as the Guardian Golem appeared, Rahze was forced to kite, dashing in figure-eights as the Titanfang charged and the Golem taunted him .

But this was Rahze.

He may be no Stinger of War, nowhere as famous, but Rahze was quietly one of the most brilliant performers in Phoenix Rising's 4-season trophy-full run.

With a burst of Arcane Pulse, he dashed vertically off a collapsing pillar, raining Arc Bolts on the Golem. It cracked.

And then, he shifted again, Aether Dive into a teleport behind the Titanfang.

A chain explosion combo followed, combining Electric Bind plus Storm Spear.

The Titanfang was finally eliminated.

Caleb's HP was at 84% while Rahze's was at 71%.

Caleb wasn't flustered by the death of his summon.

"You want speed? Let's go faster".

Back screen, his fingers flew through his keyboard like a mirage, and then he summoned four at once.

He summoned a Blazetail, an Inferno Fox with burn damage; a Drenchleap, a slow Aquatic Hare but with the stun skill; an Ironbrat, a Metal Imp that reflects spell damage; and Wispshade, an Illusion spirit that confuses targeting.

Rahze now had to fight on four fronts, and the pace shifted.

The Combat Mage didn't hesitate though.

He moved, obliterating Blazetail with Arcstorm Discharge, but Ironbrat reflected half the spell back at him.

Wispshade cloned Caleb three times, warping Rahze's targeting.

Drenchleap caught him with a water surge, slowing him, just as Caleb finally finished his lengthiest skill input this game…

BZZZ!

{Eternal Warden=}

An Awakened level Summoner skill.

The Undead Knight rose.

Lumbering. Unstoppable.

Rahze was at 29% HP now, while Caleb was still at 58%.

The Combat Mage was cooked, but he didn't show it. Recklessly, Rahze charged in, going all in.

Activating his ultimate, Storm Requiem, he channeled a supercharged orb of electric-fire in the tip of his battle lance.

["Let's end this… Tactician."]

Caleb's fingers flicked.

The Eternal Warden charged.

Rahze released the orb. It crashed into the Warden, a direct hit!

…but the Warden didn't fall. Not yet.

It tanked an Awakened level Combat Mage skill head-on.

And then, it threw its massive claymore imbued with Caleb's mark.

WHOOSH!

It cut through the air like a divine decree, and then…

It cleaved through Rahze mid-evade.

---<VICTORY>---

Rahze collapsed, sparks and smoke rising from his armor.

Caleb simply turned away even as Wembley Stadium exploded for the third time this game, already dismissing his summons.

["Too loud."]

He typed in chat to end the game.

What a moment to be an Echelon fan!

[Echelon: 3 points]

[Phoenix Rising: 0 point]

Echelon claimed a clean sweep in the individual battle round.

And all of a sudden, Phoenix Rising were in a very real danger of suffering a 2nd flawless victory this season against the same opponent.

The commentators? It was a commentary explosion in their booth.

Eli Caster was stunned. "Three out of three! It's a clean sweep in the individual rounds! Echelon are unleashing hell today!"

Vera Nacht was filled with hype. "That was an orchestration of destruction. Caleb didn't duel. He composed a requiem".

"He didn't just summon, he conducted the fight".

While Wembley Stadium turned into a cauldron of noise, the commentators yapping on about Echelon's dominance, the broadcast cut to the Phoenix Rising observation deck.

The observation?

Tension. Thick enough to cut with a blade.

The once-raucous Phoenix Rising player booth now stood eerily still, faces locked in stunned disbelief. It wasn't just a sweep.

It was an exorcism.

Rahze's controller, Dylan Armitage tore off his headset, his chest rising and falling in short, sharp bursts.

"I… I couldn't see half the board," he muttered to himself. "It was like fighting fog with fists".

He punched the Warstar console; not in rage, but in pure frustration at being outclassed, not overpowered.

As for Gabriel? He was silent for a long while, but then he finally broke the tension.

"…They've changed".

"This isn't the same Echelon we fought in the league". He smiled bitterly. "I can't explain it. They're more driven this time. They're here for revenge".

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, lips pressed into a grim line.

"Noah is playing like he wants to burn something… maybe us".

But then, he slowly stood up, clapping once, sharply. "Heads up". He called.

Everyone looked toward him.

"You're not broken. You've just been reminded".

"Echelon's hungry. That means we fight differently in the 3 vs 3 battle rush. We play tighter. No more individual heroics. We clamp".

"They may be 3-0 up, but this war ain't done".

"If we're to stand a chance of making a comeback this game, we have to win the 3 vs 3 battle rush. We must win!" He said with eyes blazing with fury, passion, and conviction.

"Let's go get the game back!"

And then, the moment of truth was finally here.

"This is it!" Eli Castor started. "The rematch of last 2 year's 3 vs 3 battle rush in which God Noah's Cyber Squad won. They won but lost the final in the end".

"Tonight, it won't follow the same script though".

"If Club Echelon win the 3 vs 3 battle rush, automatically, they've won, crowning them as champions of this season's Warstar RPG Champions League".

"It's the moment of truth".

"Phoenix Rising are down 0-3 after the individual battles, and if they don't claw back momentum right now, this final could become a coronation!"

Vera Nacht continued. "Three players per side. One on one eliminated sequence. Whoever wins keeps going, with the HP they had left. A real test of grit, mechanics, and pressure. And first up… the two anchors themselves! Lord Doom vs Dain Ironvalor!"

"Yes, you heard me right".

"Tonight, Echelon are finally breaking their usual structure. Lord Doom is going to anchor the 3 vs 3 battle rush tonight".

[LOADING…]

[SECOND ROUND: 3 VS 3 BATTLE RUSH]

[Lord Doom vs Dain Ironvalor]

Gabriel just lost against God Noah, and yet, unbroken, unbent, he was ready and raring to go again. He wanted his win. He wanted his revenge.

Gabriel still couldn't accept the fact that in his peak, an aging Noah could still dominate him so much. He's won against him 3 times this season, but Gabriel still believed that he could claim the victory on his 4th try.

'I must win!'

'I have to win!'

The crowd in Wembley erupted.

Two titans met mid-arena like gods of war, their aura clashing in the singular biggest rematch in English Warstar history.

Dain Ironvalor's divine armor radiated golden light, his shield burning with Righteous Flame.

On the other side, Lord Doom countered in shimmering gold and white Aether armor, his battle lance, Aetherforge glowing with pulsing red lines.

And then, it started.

The first clash sent a shockwave through the arena.

KABOOM!