Nil silently cursed the arena construct. The change in tournament format didn’t make sense. It was supposed to be a simple three-way final, but the construct neededlessly complicated things. He was confident that if there were no point system involved, Nil would’ve breezed through the match. He had the speed to overcome Rattler and the power to break through Lily’s defense.
The Death Gauntlet had taught Nil that Apocalypse Arena had a two-fold purpose. It wasn’t just a method for Summoned and Seed Worlds to get resources and grow stronger. The construct used the matches to purge Cursed Ones from fallen worlds and fight back the Void. Besides giving mortals superhuman abilities, the power seeds also existed to purge corruption. The Cleansing was a mass-scale event to do the same. Nil didn’t understand why the entry events needed to be more of the same.
The first couple of Bronze Gauntlet fights taught Nil to carry water. He ended up in a sweltering, arid wasteland for the first. Meanwhile, the second involved a stupidly vast arena with lots of room for hiding and sneaking around. Nil ended up spending an entire day trying to hunt down his opponent. He brought a cheap waterskin with him again and washed out his eyes and face straight away. The cool liquid also soothed the irritated skin on his face.
As far as Nil could tell, none of the snake’s venom managed to get in his mouth or nose. If any got in, he had several minutes before their effects got bad enough to put him down—or so he hoped. Nil needed to act quickly. He didn’t recall seeing the snake in any of Butch’s matches. Some match recordings featured him shooting venom out of his hands. Now, it was clear that the man hid a spirit companion within his clothes and had it spit at enemies.
Doesn’t matter. Take out Lily.
The point system initially relieved Nil. He had sparred with Lily before, and defeating her felt well within his reach. Facing her in the arena was an entirely different game. She reminded him of Emily, and the thought of genuinely attacking her concerned him. So, he thought that the point system would help him win without having to fight the young woman. Now, he had no choice but to change tactics and take her out.
Energy Instinct told Nil that Lily was en route to the next densest Cursed Energy signature in the arena. The last time Nil spoke to her—just before he left Golden Aegis—she had mentioned picking up a detection ability with her Iron Ascension. The rock armor significantly limited her vision and hearing, after all. Nil assumed she had a sense of tremor, but now he suspected otherwise.
Lily’s Bronze ascension earned her the nickname Geode. She appeared to have gained the ability to compress her armor into dense geometric shapes, grow minerals within them, and shape them into weapons or spikes. It made her look like the inside of a geode instead of the blocky pile of rubble that she used to be. Now, as Nil pursued the woman, it seemed she had somehow attained a Silver Ascension Token and further advanced her ability.
Instead of lumbering forward, weighed down by the immense weight of her armor, Lily raced toward the next Cursed One. Her speed matched Nil’s when he supercharged speed to his Finesse’s limits. The ground rippled like a wave under her feet, and she rode it, speeding forward. When obstacles appeared, she burst through them, barely losing speed.
She can’t change direction.
“Meatball!” Nil called.
The Ironroot Whelp took a couple of minutes to catch up to him. Rattler Butch had successfully evaded her, proving his sneaking prowess. She eventually found his scent, but the man had already forfeited it by then.
“I need you to find the biggest Cursed One and lead it away,” he instructed. Meatball obeyed while Nil pursued Lily. He had no trouble catching up to Lily when he added Anti-Friction Lattice and Expend-powered bounds and leaps to the mix.
It came as no surprise when an Expend-powered blow did nothing besides destabilize Lily for a moment. She ignored Nil and carried on toward her target. He had hoped she’d turn and try to fight him but was left disappointed. An Expend blast had a similar effect. He destroyed most of her armored left leg and knocked her off course, but she almost immediately righted herself and kept going.
The ground almost appeared liquid under her feet and slithered up her leg, patching the damage. Lily was little more than an average brute when Nil first met her. She had become far more with every subsequent upgrade. He still hadn’t figured out what boosts she received to her primary ability with each ascension. Lily still had secrets, and that worried him. Nil had hoped to face her in direct combat and disable her, forcing a forfeit, but now that felt like a waste of time. She was far too driven and focused on the strategy. Nil needed to cause serious injury even though she was a former ally and friend.
Three-finger blade came to the rescue. A single slash removed an arm. Nil opened a giant chest gouge with the next blow and used the final remnants of crimson Source energy to destroy a leg. The stone armor collapsed into rubble, finally losing its stability.
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Nil’s heart leaped into his throat. Lily wasn’t in the armor. He guessed the better weapon shaping and growing crystal ability were all a part of her core power seed’s progress. The tremor sense came afterward, and she somehow kept her Bronze Ascension ability a secret for the ticket tournament’s sake. Lily had gained the power to either puppet her armor or give it instructions and send it in another direction.
Clever girl.
The speeding armor was a distraction. It was a mistake for Nil to assume that others wouldn’t hide abilities and strategically use them when it mattered most. He just never expected someone to get to the finals of the ticket tournament while hiding a tool as powerful as mobility or armor control. He had no idea where Lily had gone and didn’t think she was stupid enough to continue toward the Cursed One ahead. An announcement confirmed his suspicions.
“Another Cursed One down! Geode Lily’s score is now ten! This is going to be a close one, ladies and gentlemen.”
If Lily took out the monster worth four points next, she’d win even if Nil found her before the last Cursed One died and defeated her. So, he sped after it, cursing himself for being stupid. He didn’t know what he could’ve done better, but his teenage opponent had essentially played him. Nil wondered whether Wilson Luduses had teachers who taught strategy or Lily was far smarter than she seemed.
It took Nil a couple of minutes to get to the strongest remaining monster in the arena. His spirit companion seemed to understand his attention and led it to him. It resembled a minotaur and also breathed fire, creating a glowing trail in Meatball’s wake. A silver Source Barrier divided the fire. It floated around the wedge-shaped construct and superheated the surrounding air, leaving Nil’s lungs stinging. Then its axe struck the barrier, and the sudden stop made the Cursed One lose control of its charge.
Nil let the flailing limbs strike him a couple of times. The monstrous strength helped push Brutal Battery’s stores to full. Then, he executed it with a blast to the face.
“Well, this is interesting! Godpuncher Nil just took out the second-strongest Cursed One in the arena, pushing his point count to nine. Only one target remains, and it is worth only one point. If he gets to it before Geode Lily, we’ll have a draw, and they’ll have no choice but to duke it out to declare a victor. Meanwhile, if Geode Lily wins the race, the match will end without the need for a further confrontation. Who will walk away with the world’s fourth Cleansing ticket?”
I hate you.
The arena construct frustrated Nil. The first few rounds of the tournaments involved simple one-on-one matches. Then, in the quarter and semi-finals, Cursed Beasts and Cursed Ones were added, respectively. There was no victory condition affecting them. The individual who ended them gained a few hundred credits and either Schema Tokens or Nexus Market vouchers. It made no sense to change the tournament's parameters at the final minute.
Nil couldn’t tell whether it was him overthinking things, but it almost felt as if Lily was prepared for the match, suggesting she had information he didn’t.
None of that matters now. Fucking focus.
The final Cursed Energy signature proved significantly weaker than the rest and took a couple of minutes to find. It almost felt as if the arena construct had anticipated the final point becoming the clincher and wanted the fighters to struggle to find it.
Might has progressed to Bronze 8!
The sudden growth surprised Nil. Given how much Nil had used and focused on Energy Instinct during the match thus far, its ascension to Bronze would’ve made more sense. Nil didn’t have the luxury to give it much thought. He took off at a sprint, investing heavily in Expend and Toggled Supercharging. He slid with Anti-Friction Lattice whenever possible.
Meatball fell further behind with every step, but Nil also got closer to his target. His heart seemed to beat harder in his chest, and the sides of his head throbbed. Nil’s breath became ragged. It made no sense. Regularly ascending and descending the Onyx Dragon Academy’s mountain had significantly improved his strength and stamina. The fight hadn’t lasted long enough for him to lose breath. He drained the last of his water without slowing down.
Much to Nil’s relief, he found the Cursed One first. It looked like an oversized alligator, standing at approximately eight feet tall. Nil didn’t bother manifesting a Source Weapon or using an Expend blast to put it down. An empowered punch did the job. He first crushed the skull, then ripped the heart out, relying on Galvanized to protect his arms.
“Damn,” a gravelly voice said.
Nil spun around, ready to fight. A figure of geometrically cut stone and crystal stood before him. Unlike the armor Nil had just fought, the one before him carried more detail. The way the segments joined, and embellishments around the hip and shoulder joints reminded Nil of water lilies. The exposed brow and eyes helped him confirm that it was Lily he was dealing with and not another decoy.
“I thought the golem would keep you busy for longer,” Lily said. “I didn’t want to have to fight you.”
“We had the same idea,” Nil replied. He wasn’t sure why, but his voice warbled as he spoke. It wasn’t just that his throat was dry. Stringing words together proved challenging. “You clearly had more tricks up your sleeve than me. Silver Realm power seed?”
“Roger.” Lily’s eyes betrayed amusement. “This is going to hurt. Isn’t it?”
“You could always surrender.” His knees wobbled.
“No can do. Sorry. I really need that ticket.”
“So do I. Just surrender before I maim you. Alright? You remind me of Emily. I’d rather not chop something off.”
“Win or lose, should we have a drink afterward? It’ll be nice to catch up.”
“Sure.”
As Nil took his first step, he was sure Rattler Butch’s poison had found its way into his system. His skin felt clammy. The world turned blurry. Everything felt weak, and his stomach churned. Nil gave it his all anyway and lost in the end. Nil just didn’t have it in him to continue after a couple of minutes and declared as much. He collapsed on to his bottom and sat there panting. Lily respectfully pulled back and let him forfeit.