"Is that really necessary?" Alex asked, pointing at the arrow aimed at him. If he wanted to eliminate her, he could have done that the moment she showed up. With the arrow's path in view, it was a simple task of evading it and closing the distance.
"I'll be the judge of that," Abigail said, not lowering her guard one bit. While Alex and Etha duked it out, destroying everything around them, she was busy amassing some eliminations. No one knew the exact number the second hour would require, and she did not want to be too far behind the likes of Ethan and Alex.
'He's already at 1897 eliminations and I'm only at a 1089. The gap in our skills is no joke.' Abigail thought, glancing at the badge on Alex's chest. It was almost too easy for someone like him to amass such numbers. As an archer and not much of a melee fighter, she was somehow disadvantaged.
If she gained too much distance, her arrow could be spotted before it hit its mark, increasing the chances of it being dodged. If she fired too close to her opponents, whoever was close by could pinpoint her location and send an attack that could take her out. Also, as more students were eliminated, the exceptional ones were becoming more visible and difficult to eliminate.
No one who made it this far was weak. 'Well, when compared to him, we're all the same.' As she observed Alex, she noticed his bleeding left palm. Noticing her gaze, Alex glanced at it and looked back at her.
"It's nothing serious… I'll be fine in a couple of hours." Alex gave an answer even though he could have remained silent. He raised his left arm to show the bleeding was close to stopping.
"I still don't know your name." Alex inquired, lowering his arm. Although the arrow was still pointed at him, he felt no threat at all. Besides, he could easily evade it if necessary. 'I don't think it would come to that…'
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking for mine?" She countered and while true, in this case, not sure much. Who didn't know who he was? He was probably the most famous first year in the academy and ever since his image made its way into the network, not a single person interested in the events around Alex didn't know him.
Alex simply smiled at her question. "Come on, we both know you already know that" The second hour was almost over and even though they did not know the number needed for the next round of elimination, Alex and Abigail were confident their numbers were enough.
"…"
Abigail was silent for a moment before replying, "Abigail Reed."
"Mm. Well, Abigail Reed, it's a pleasure to make your acquittance. And I can assure you, my words from earlier were true. Your actions woke me up from my growing arrogance and I just wanted to say thanks. That is why I have no intention of eliminating you. In fact, I wanted to ask if we could move together.
"I can help you increase your eliminations," Alex said and gave his proposal. He had no reason to do what he was doing, but he just felt like it, nothing more, nothing less. Of course, a certain someone watching this was not happy with his actions, something he would learn about once he was out.
"…"
Abigail became silent for a while. The proposal was good, and she was the one who would benefit the most. Even with the arrow pointed at Alex, she was not naïve to think she had another shot at taking him out. Also, his reasoning for proposing this was shallow, 'But what reason would he want to do this if he could easily eliminate me?'
Once she had the answer to that, her response was set in stone, but she needed to ask something else, "Aren't you afraid that I would eliminate you once I get the chance?"
Her question was a sensible one. This entire battle was set up for students to fight amongst themselves. And while there were groups fighting together, those were usually students who had no confidence in their combat skills or going far in the battle royale.
Alex shrugged and replied, "True. But let's be honest. How far can you get before you get yourself eliminated?
"Your archery skills are impressive, but I believe you've already noticed. The class of students remaining after every elimination are not going to go down easily. I can also tell you're not much of a melee fighter. So, while you could take me out, the points you'd be carrying after is going to make you a hot care once found."
Alex gave his reasoning as to why she would not stab him in the back. Of course, he was being optimistic, and he knew that. Another thing he didn't say however was that as the battle progressed, he was going to be having a harder time. He had noticed something that was not mentioned, but he felt that it would happen.
The continent was too large and as more students were eliminated, the students would be too spread out. 'Chances are the continent would be shrunk as more time passes.' He thought in silence waiting for Abigail's reply.
Indeed, as more students were eliminated, the students would become spread out and this would reduce the chances of students running into each other. However, if the continent was reduced in size, the students would be forced into a smaller space. The sieving stage wasn't called Battle Royale for no reason.
The conclusion would be a proper battle royale. Alex knew he would be in a really tight spot once that happened and he needed someone to watch his back, even if it was from a distance. And the best way to do that was to gather as many points for said person.
"Fine," Abigail said after thinking things over. She lowered her bow but still kept the arrow nocked. They were still in a warzone after all. Alex came out of his thoughts and nodded, "Good choice."