Ting
[You are the first to discover the Pusean Underground Arena
+20 Fame
+10 Infamy
A loud noise could be heard coming from inside as Blitz and Bumpy entered. Inside was a stadium-shaped arrangement, but with rows of benches, with people standing,shouting, and holding slips of paper. In the middle was a large platform, but it quickly dawned on him that this was some type of fighting arena, and everyone’s attention seemed to be focused on the fight that was ongoing. Two men were engaged in combat, there was blood everywhere, and dismembered body parts were strewn across the floor. One of the combatants held a shield and a serrated short sword, and was advancing on the other, who held a claymore. Both men were clad in heavy armor, with helmets hiding their faces.
Blitz watched as the two men slowly began circling each other, and were using their feet to remove obstacles at their feet. The crowd was in an uproar, with people shouting “Kill him!” The man with the claymore then struck out with an overhead chop, aiming downwards. The man with the short serrated sword and shield easily jumped backwards, then, moving to the side, he lunged to stab his short sword at the claymore wielder. The claymore wielder expertly rolled out of the way and instantly sprang up. This seemed to be an even match.
The men began circling each other once more, the man with the sword and shield, feigned a stabbing attack. The feign seemed to have worked, as the man with the claymore swung wildly and missed. The sword and shield user, sensing his opportunity, rushed in and bashed the claymore wielder in the face. The sword and shield user’s shield dazed the claymore user. There were sounds of Ooh's and Aah's coming from the crowd, as the action was building to a fever pitch. The claymore wielder was now immobilized and knelt on one knee, in the hopes of regaining his form, but, his weapon was loose in his hand. The fighter with the shield seized the opportunity and stepped on the claymore, knocking it to the floor.
The now empty-handed claymore user brandished a knife from his boot and swung it upwards at the short sword user, who backed away with a laugh. The claymore(no longer lol) user, was still on his knee. Wiping his face, he sheathed his knife and tried to reach for the claymore. However, the shield user was ready, and quickly ran in, and in one motion, kicked the claymore wielder in the face with his boot, knocking his head back. Then, using the claymore user’s knee,he jumped up high, aimed the short sword downwards, and with the aid of gravity, buried it accurately between the man’s neck and shoulder bone. The attack was well-placed, for the armor worn by the claymore user had straps on either side, and thus, it was a weak point.
The man's eyes and mouth opened wide in shock. He then spurted blood out from his mouth, as the sword and shield user viciously yanked the serrated sword from the man’s neck. Blood, bone and tissue matter was sprayed across the arena; the claymore user tried in vain to apply pressure to his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but it seemed to be a pointless effort. The crowd was hysterical, cheering and roaring. The short sword user began walking around the arena with his shield and sword held up in the air, shaking them in a victory parade around the bloody arena. He then paused at a row of seats and looked up. The crowd went silent instantly.
Located above was an old man with an eye patch, who sat in a chair and was wearing an obsidian robe. He was flanked by two men in hooded attire. The man gave a thumbs down, and the crowd cheered once more. The sword and shield user nodded and calmly walked over to the claymore user, who was beyond help. With a swift stroke,the claymore user’s head was severed from the torso, his arms flailing wildly, his legs kicking out madly. The crowd found it funny as the head began a mini tour of the arena floor and decided to park itself facing Blitz; the eyes were blank and staring into the void, one of them was filled with dirt, and Blitz was sure he saw tears welling up in the dead man’s eyes.
“Hey, what's your name?” Bumpy shuffled over and shook Blitz from his stare down with the severed head. Blitz had to tear his eyes away from the head, and looked at Bumpy who shouted at him again over the noise of the crowd.
“What.. Is.. Your... Name?” Bumpy shouted once more.
Blitz nodded and answered,“Blitz. The name is Blitz.”
Bumpy nodded, then hobbled over to a fat man, who was clearly taking bets and distributing pieces of paper, when the ring announcer began speaking.
“Well, well, I guess someone lost their head tonight. Ha ha ha,” The crowd laughed as the announcer jumped into the center of the ring and kicked the head out of the way.
“Aaand the winner is, the crimson warrior! This win takes him to five consecutive victories so far - can anyone stop this new dynamo, he seems set to challenge the arena cha--.”
The announcer stopped short as the fat man taking bets called him over and whispered something into his ear. The announcer then smiled and walked back to the center of the arena.
“Well, well, well, do we have a treat for you slumdogs.” The crowd began to cheer and began shouting in unison, demanding to know what it was.
The announcer replied,“We have a new face entering our illustrious brotherhood. He’s been training at the Pusean temple under Abbot Fung himself, and judging by the looks of it, he has the body that says this is true.”
The announcer was looking directly at the man next to Blitz. However, it turned out that his eyes were bad, and he was really looking at Blitz.
“Wait, what?” Blitz looked over to Bumpy, who was smiling and calling him over. The crowd was clapping and patting Blitz on the back, pushing him towards Bumpy, and the entrance to the arena floor.
Blitz finally got pushed next to Bumpy and asked,“What the hell did you do?”
Blitz looked at Bumpy as though he wanted to strangle him. Bumpy calmly responded,“Don’t worry about it, it’s a piece of cake. You have a better foundation than him. You can even use weapons here so its OK. Plus, all you have to do is survive for five minutes and you’re in.”
Blitz replied, “I’m in? I’m in what? What are you talking about?”
“Look, stop worrying, just run around the arena a lil’ bit until the time is up and you get a bunch of money. And you get to be on the roster.”
“On the what? The roster?”
---
Ting
- Ring Entrance -
You have been forced into the Underground fight arena. You must survive for five minutes or defeat your opponent. You can choose any weapon to fight.
Difficulty level: D
Quest rewards: A spot on the roster
You cannot refuse the quest
---
Blitz blinked in shock at the message on his screen, “What do you mean I can’t refuse?”
Blitz thought of logging out, but then remembered how the three monks had waited for him to log back in. He relaxed his breathing and calmed himself. Alll he had to do was move around the arena and stay away from the ‘crimson warrior’.
-
You have accepted the quest
-
“OK, here’s the plan. You go in there and move around for a bit. Run around him and stay alive for five minutes.”
Blitz, now with a calm expression on his face, looked at Bumpy and said, “Sounds easy enough.”
Bumpy was shocked. He watched as Blitz walked into the arena and went to the side. The crowd started cheering loudly. Blitz tried to tune out the noise, and in so doing, a message popped up.
--
New stat: Focused Mind
-Focused Mind-
Your attention is solely on your target, your mind is clear and sharp, you can see clearly now.
Unable to put points into this stat.
--
The crimson warrior wiped off the blood and gore from his armor, wiped his feet and nonchalantly re-entered the arena. The crowd went wild, then the crimson warrior raised his sword and shield high once more, and roared aloud. This garnered more cheers from the crowd. He then pointed his sword at Blitz, who was trying to stay calm. But upon remembering what the sword had just done, he panicked and lost focus. His heart now beating rapidly, he was struggling for control when the announcer signalled the beginning of the match.
The crimson warrior turned his back to Blitz and began shouting at the crowd, whipping them into a frenzy. Then with his shoulder heaving, he turned back to face Blitz. He faked a charge, which got a rise out of Blitz, as he flinched and ran to the side. The crowd and the crimson warrior laughed.
Blitz, at this time, had one thought going through his mind, ‘Survive.’
Jumping to one side, Blitz almost tripped over a severed arm on the floor, but regained his balance just in time. The crowd seemed to be in a jovial mood, as they were laughing at the hijinks happening on the arena floor. Blitz was trying to keep a mental clock for when the five minutes would be over, and then maybe he could get out of the ring unscathed. However, it seemed the crimson warrior had other plans - he made a horizontal slash with his sword, aimed at the upper body of Blitz, who leaned back out of the way, then quickly rushed to the other side of the arena. He turned to face the crimson warrior, who, to Blitz’s amazement, was just turning around
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“Whoa..” Blitz uttered these words as the warrior turned around to face him. Blitz immediately had a thought, and his eyes widened. If what he was thinking was true, then what he was about to do would further drive home the point.
The crimson warrior was looking at Blitz. He threw off his helmet in obvious frustration, as he had wanted to end the fight in that stroke. The crimson warrior had pale white skin and a scar on his left cheek, he had blonde, shoulder-length hair. With a menacing look in his eyes, the crimson warrior raised his hands and started shaking the sword and shield in the air. The same way he did when he defeated the claymore user no less than thirty minutes ago. This action now garnered more loud noises from the crowd. He advanced towards Blitz a bit more slowly this time, determined not to let him escape again.
Blitz watched as the crimson warrior approached him much more ponderously, with a determined look, the kind a predator gives its prey. Normally, a stare like this would cause panic in any opponent, but Blitz was immune to it. He had a vision and a goal in mind, and was focused on seeing if what he thought earlier could be actualised. Blitz began walking towards the warrior to meet him, stepping lightly.
The crimson warrior stopped momentarily, obviously perplexed at the sight of this physically strapping, bald, thick-bearded guy who lacked any real combat experience, was advancing towards him. He smiled at this and was glad that this newcomer was going to accept his death like a man. He thought he would at least give the newcomer a warrior’s death. He picked up his pace, and pulled back his sword to do a stab.
Blitz saw the sword pull back. And then, as if in slow motion, the sword came towards him. He grinned, as the experiment had proved to be fruitful. He easily dodged to the right and shoved the crimson warrior from behind. The crimson warrior’s momentum increased as he stumbled and fell to his knees. Blitz laughed, which caused the crowd to laugh at the crimson warrior. However, what Blitz was laughing at was the fact that the realisation of the last three weeks of chores had come in handy/ He now had a deeper appreciation of water jus and firewood, not to mention the broomsticks.
--
Ting
You have learned a new passive skill
-Footwork (Going around)-
Pivots, side-steps, lateral movement. Pivots around an attack or two but takes too much energy to move your entire body when your opponent is only moving his arm. Moving around your opponent is a great way to use angles and to simultaneously attack and defend. Drains energy and/or stamina.
--
The crimson warrior, now on his knees, was furious. The humiliation he suffered at the hands of this newcomer was embarrassing, to say the least. Now the crowd - his crowd, were laughing at him.
Standing up. the warrior turned and pointed at Blitz,“You.. You run like chicken. Stand and fight me.”
Saying those words, the warrior threw down his shield. He began taking off his chest plate, which then fell to the earthen arena floor with a thud. He kicked them to one side. He lowered his stance and started tossing his sword from his left hand to his right hand continuously.
Then he spoke,“Look, I make easy for you. No shield, no armor, like real men. Now you fight. And die.”
Blitz, not wanting to push his luck anymore, held up his hands in resignation. He turned and looked back at Bumpy on the outside of the arena, and said,“The five minutes are up, aren’t they?”
Bumpy looked at Blitz, his mouth open, and nodded.He then replied, “Erm, yeah.. Yes! The time is over announcer, he survived the five minutes. He did it.”
Jumping into the ring, Bumpy hobbled over to Blitz and lifted his hand up. The announcer, who was transfixed by the action, then ran to the center and spoke up,“Yes, the time limit has been reac--”
The announcer was cut short by the crimson warrior, who interrupted by shouting“No, match not over. Fight must continue. I ask fight to continue by challenge champ right.”
It seemed that there was a rule where, if you won five consecutive matches, you had the chance to fight the arena champ for your chance to claim the title, and along with it, the money. However, you could forfeit the right to challenge anyone, as per the challengers’ right.
The crimson warrior looking up at the ‘VIP’ box, and addressed the one-eyed man seated in the chair wearing the obsidian robe, “Old Man Fox, let fight continue. Must teach newcomer his place.”
The crowd was silent, as everyone awaited the decision of ‘Old Man Fox’, who signalled one of the hooded men next to him, and whispered something into his ear. The hooded man then walked down to the arena floor, called over the announcer, and whispered something in his ear.
The announcer then ran back to the middle of the ring, “We have been most lucky today, yes, indeed we have.. Our honorable brother Fox has decreed that the match continue until one person is unable to fight.”
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Ting
- Encore -
The crimson warrior has issued you a challenge. You must accept. Old Man Fox commands it. Quest rewards from the previous quest, to survive five minutes, will be added to this.
Difficulty level: Unknown
Quest rewards: A spot on the roster
You cannot refuse the quest
Bumpy turned to Blitz and shook his head, resting a hand on Blitz’s shoulder,“I’m sorry about all this. You’re in this mess because of me. If you hadn’t followed me, you would've been back at the temple by now.”
Blitz looked at Bumpy, and then flashed a glance at the crimson warrior, who was grinning and nodding his head.
“I guess, I’ll have to think of something - Seems easy enough.”
Bumpy looked at Blitz as though he was crazy. He could see the look in Blitz’s eyes, as though he had a plan. Bumpy secretly hoped it was a good plan, because they needed all the luck and plans they could get. Both of them needed it right now.
He then whispered to Blitz,“Well, try and make it as quick as possible. The longer you try and tango with him, the more his experience will get the better of you.”
Bumpy and the announcer cleared out of the arena, and Blitz looked at the crimson warrior, who was still grinning in delight, as he went back to lowering his stance and tossing his blade from hand to hand. Then he instantly jumped forward, trying to get a reaction from Blitz, who stood still watching the warrior. The warrior was not phased by the lack of a reaction. He smiled as he began to circle around the arena.
Blitz followed suit and began circling the warrior as well. Blitz was now watching the warrior, looking for any opportunity he might see to end the fight as quickly as possible, when suddenly, the warrior charged at Blitz. The crimson warrior began to zigzag, while still tossing his weapon from hand to hand, in an effort to confuse his opponent. Blitz was now forced to take two steps back, as the warrior leapt into the air.
The warrior was in the air with both his hands up, the sword in the left hand, which he quickly tossed to the right hand, and was coming down with a downward strike aimed at Blitz. Blitz watched everything as though it was in slow motion, the man was aiming for a slash that would cut from Blitz’s left shoulder, cleaving all the way across his chest. As the man descended, Blitz noticed the warrior had left his abdomen open for attack. Was this a ploy, Blitz wondered, discarding the thought and knowing he had to end it quick. Blitz instinctively side stepped from the sword trajectory with his new footwork.
“Huhn.”
Then, Blitz delivered a punch into the warrior’s exposed midsection.There was a dull sound and a crack, as the punch hit home. The warrior was seemingly wrapped around Blitz’s right hand, like a car wreck around a tree. And then, Blitz finished the rotation on the swing, which sent the warrior sprawling across the arena floor, the warrior’s leg twitched momentarily, and his mouth was foaming.
There was a deathly silence. Then Blitz finally moved, and the crowd went crazy.
--
Ting
Quest complete
You have received 4 gold
You have gained a level
You have gained a level
Strength rises by 1 point. (+1 STR)
Agility rises by 1 point. (+1 AGI)
Vitality rises by 1 point. (+1 VIT)
Fame rises by 20 points. (+20 FAME)
Life rises by 100 points. (+100 HP)
--
Blitz looked at his fist in awe, and then at the warrior stretched on the ground. Then, he was suddenly lifted into the air by someone, that someone being Bumpy, who was grinning like a cheshire cat. Blitz couldn't contain his excitement, and was happy with his performance. And with the crowd cheering on, he felt as though he was on top of the world. The crowd went silent, as Old Fox stood up and walked out of the arena, signalling for the crimson warrior to be removed. Two old men scuttled into the arena and dragged the warrior off by the legs. Blitz smiled at the irony.
“That was a peach, man. You did it. I can’t believe it.”
Bumpy was more excited than Blitz at the outcome of the match, obviously because he was going to get paid and would be able to pay back some of his debts. Bumpy went over to collect the winnings, and they split the money 50/50. Bumpy also made sure that Blitz’s name was entered on the roster for the fight schedules.