A.R. Dragonfly Vol. 2: A.R. Dragonfly, #2

By Joshua Piedra

One year after winning the inaugural Legacy of Champions tournament, Amber Ryann looks to return and take the championship once again! However, things will be different this time around. Amber has developed an intense rivalry with an online character named Khaine who has done nothing but torment her. If Amber is going to win the tournament, she's going to have to confront her biggest fears and her newfound rival!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joshua Piedra
• Release date: May 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223872665

Book preview

Preface

Hello and thank you for picking up Volume 2 of my series A.R. Dragonfly! This volume centers on the Legacy of Champions tournament so it’s a little more action-heavy than the first volume. Not many people think of a slice-of-life series having so much action in it but combining slice-of-life with other genres, such as gaming and eSports, affords me to venture into the action realm from time to time.

I know that there wasn’t a lot of romance in the first volume despite me labeling the series as a slice-of-life romance. That’s because the romance aspect is going to be a slow burn. I want to have things feel like they are occuring naturally between the characters and not force a situation onto them just because it’s expected from a genre label.

In any event, I hope you enjoy the Legacy of Champions tournament arc! There are a couple of new characters being introduced this volume! I’m excited to see the cast of characters grow! They won’t be the only new characters in the series as I have plans to add more in future volumes! It’s all part of the growing world of A.R. Dragonfly!

CHAPTER 1

TOURNAMENT PREPARATION

Amber Ryann is a nocturnal creature by nature. To her, the sun was a mortal enemy viler than any evil this planet could muster, fictional or non-fictional. The sun’s UV rays themselves were to Amber as kryptonite is to the Man of Steel. The fact that it was almost ten o’clock in the morning and she was awake was proof of that as Amber had, once again, pulled an all-nighter. After all, she felt that she had no choice. The stakes that she had wagered placed the heaviest proverbial anchor around her neck. The pressure was insurmountable and Amber knew that she did it to herself. 

Amber sat in her chair staring at her computer monitor, namely the icon for Blaze Auras. She rubbed her chin as if she were contemplating something. Amber had been presented with a rare opportunity. She had been granted the night off from work after she convinced Sebastian to sponsor her for the upcoming Legacy of Champions tournament. Sebastian’s father had pressured him to, not only, fire Amber but to also turn the store’s productivity around so that it would turn a profit. After everything Sebastian had done for Amber as a friend, she decided to reciprocate by winning the tournament and using her fame to bring attention to Things N’ Stuff. 

Amber continued to sit there in deep thought as if she were pondering a deeply-laid strategy to defeat the toughest of enemies. As she did, tiny beads of sweat began to form and drip down her forehead. Her foot began to incessantly tap on the floor sending a rapid thumping noise throughout her room. Her hand began to rub her chin harder and harder to the point where her skin began to turn red with irritation. She gritted her teeth and let out a low growl as if she were getting highly agitated. Finally, she snapped.

"Da hell am I doin’!? Why did I hafta go and talk about such a big game in front of Sebby like that!? I swore to win the tourney ‘an save the store but that means peeps are gonna know my real-life I.D.! I’m gonna get tons of fame an’ attention and on top of that, I’m probs gonna have to confront Khaine to get this job done! Even more on top of that, my damn job is on the line ‘cause Sebby’s jackhole of a dad wants my ass gone! Ugh… why did I even open my mouth like that!?’

Amber slouched down in her chair and let out a heavy sigh. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she had given herself a tension headache. She tilted her head up and gazed at the ceiling fan as its blades slowly turned. 

This ain’t like last time…, muttered Amber as she began to recall memories from just one year ago.

Amber stood up on stage in the middle of a large arena. There were giant screens plastered all over the place with two clear booths facing each other in the center. The entire circumference of the arena was filled from top to bottom with gaming fans. This was the inaugural Legacy of Champions Tournament and Amber had made it to the finals.

The tournament floor was set up in such a way where each opponent couldn’t see each other to prevent visual cues, tells, or distractions. Plus, despite the booths being clear and see-through, the booths themselves were soundproofed so that the noise of the crowd couldn’t disturb players during their match. Except for thousands of eyes being laid upon you, it was a perfect gaming environment and everyone got to enjoy the match via the multitude of television screens around the arena. 

Despite the enclosed space, Amber did well to hide her identity. She wore her black hoodie with the hood pulled up over her head. She hid her face behind a pair of sunglasses and a yellow medical mask with the words Game Over written in arched white lettering on the front as if it were representing a smile. Amber hid the rest of her figure by wearing extremely baggy clothing. Nobody could tell if she was a guy or a girl which was perfect for her condition. With this clothing shield, she felt that she could stand in the middle of a sea of people and not get nervous.

The match itself was fierce. Amber’s Dragonfly ended up taking on a Dark Knight/Holy Warrior hybrid by the name of Versaithe. This class combination had weak normal attacks, heavy-hitting finishing attacks and could extend the battle through the Holy Warrior’s healing as well as the Dark Knight’s life siphoning abilities. Amber kept inflicting as much damage as she could during the match but the healing capabilities were tough to get through. It became a war of attrition until Amber went on a do-or-die all-out offensive which caused Versaithe to spend almost all of their energy bar healing. With his resources depleted, Amber made quick work of Versaithe.

Post-match, the two shook hands and when it was time for the interview, Amber simply declined, snagged her grand prize check, and bolted out of the arena to the sounds of confusion and laughter from the crowd. The scene became so infamous that it garnered over a million views on YouTube in the span of a weekend. 

Back in reality, Amber remembered that match and replayed it over and over again in her mind. With Khaine’s skill, she knew that there was an extremely high chance that he would make it to the final round. Amber, herself, was confident that she would make it as well; meaning that she was going to have to face him one more time. Amber had become quite complacent with her number one spot to the point where she began glossing over her opponents. That ego is what put her into her current position. It was the source of all of the mental anguish she had sustained ever since coming across someone who had become her rival.

Even if they didn’t cross paths in the tournament, she realized that there was still a chance that Khaine’s handler would still try and seek her out to find out who she truly was. Just from the messages, he had sent her in the past, she had a gut feeling that Khaine is the type of person that wouldn’t let his curiosity suffer in vain. 

There were so many different aspects to this tournament running through Amber’s head all at once. She realized her emotions got the best of her when she made her vow to Sebastian but Amber wondered if she was truly ready to take on this monumental task. To ask someone with Amber’s condition to put themselves out there in such a way was almost unheard of, yet, Amber did so without thinking to say she didn’t partially regret it, would be a huge understatement. Amber continued to stare up at her ceiling fan as the blades whirled around in an endless cycle.

Zuruzuru Zuruzuru… muttered Amber quietly to herself as if she were in some sort of hypnotic trance imposed by the whirling blades of the fan. Suddenly, Amber slapped the sides of her cheeks and leaned forward, instantly regretting that decision as all the blood rushed back into her head, causing her to spin for a moment or two. Once she was composed, she grabbed her mouse and stared right at the Blaze Auras icon on her desktop.

Welp… the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Doesn’t matter where I start. Just gotta jump in and begin.

With that, Amber double-clicked the Blaze Auras icon and launched the game. The hours began to pass one by one. Amber had beaten every single opponent put in front of her. She had been awake since 5 pm the previous day and fatigue was starting to get the best of her. Even when she wasn’t fully awake and barely concentrating, she found herself beating her opponents with ease. Then again, nobody was as high of a level as Amber was except for Khaine and he was nowhere to be found online. The game matched her up with lower-level opponents as best as it could but none of them posed an actual challenge to her. Sometimes, she got matched up with the same opponent over and over again causing them to instantly concede the match. Doing that never rewarded any experience which tilted Amber a bit.

After a lengthy session, Amber leaned back in her chair and gazed at her character stats. She had reached level 68, which was still far below Khaine’s level of 75. She even wondered if Khaine had gained any more levels since they last met. His lack of challenges was equivalent to a deafening silence… one that would drive any person insane after some time. Suddenly, Amber’s eyes snapped open as she had come to an abrupt realization.

Whoa… am I like… obsessed with Khaine or some junk!? Pssh… Nah. Why would I obsess over some buttmunch like him? Jus’ ‘cause he beat me a few times? ‘Cause he slung some shade my way? ‘Cause he stopped challengin’ me out of the blue? Shyeah right… I ain’t obsessed.

Amber may have said that out loud but as soon as she did, it was as if reality had settled in. The look on her face changed to one where it was as if she caught herself in her lie. She scratched the side of her cheek as a single bead of sweat rolled down her forehead.

K… so maybs I’m jus’ a little obsessed… Friggin’ chode.

Amber summoned whatever strength she had left and risen from her chair. Her fatigue settled in and she stumbled around a bit. She regained her balance and took a deep breath before shambling into the kitchen to get some fuel to keep her inner fire burning. She glanced over at the copious amounts of strawberry-flavored Pocky boxes, her eyes lighting up as if she had just found the motherlode. She grabbed two boxes and shambled back to her room. She plopped down into her chair and