Athiens is a planet much like Earth, but vastly different in terms of what is considered normal. It contains species that are otherworldly, such as elves, dwarves, demogres, dragons, and many, many more species spread all throughout the world. There are five continents on Athiens and the one we are at right now is the Ashia continent. In the Ashia continent, prominent nations are established here like the Elven Forest, the Dwarven Kingdom, Silis, Aglona, Igni Town, and Noblela.
“Woah. Thanks for the geography lesson, Clein, but what does this have to do with Zelke?” Isaac interrupted while staring at a wooden beam.
Clein frowned at Isaac. “I was just getting to that part. Bellagros is a continent south of Ashia. It is the homeland of fierce warriors who thrive in its blistering climate. Zelke was born and raised in Bellagros.”
If I’m remembering right, Zelke’s skin tone was on the darker side, almost like my skin color. If the climate there is hot, and he was raised as a warrior, it would explain his physique.
“Zelke was one of the few men the Warriors of Bellagros sent over to Craidol. Since their reputation is well known throughout the world, no one questioned the ranks they were given. Zelke was given the commander's position in my battalion.”
“The queen trusted them that much? Seems kind of stupid, if you ask me,” Isaac said casually.
Clein nodded at Isaac’s words. “They were extremely desperate. Rulers make choices that others don’t agree with. Aglona, the Holy Kingdom, is a nation that shouldn’t be taken lightly. With the help of the Warriors of Bellagros, the troops of Aglona were pushed back in a matter of days, all because of Zelke besting one of their prized commanders in a battle to the death. If I were to describe him at that moment as I watched from afar, he was like a blood-starved beast, relishing every second of his battle with his foe. After the commander was killed, the other troops were in disarray, and we easily dispatched those who were left behind. Aglona soon lost their momentum as they lost more and more battles until a peace treaty was finally formed, thus ending the conflict.”
Hm… That is a lot to take in, and it’s not even the tip of the iceberg. I could already feel a headache forming as my thoughts wander. Like, what was the spark that made Aglona go to war with Craidol, or why did other nations not step in?
Clein noticed I was struggling with what I heard, so he just sighed. “To sum it all up, Zelke traveled from Bellagros to fight strong opponents in Ashia. That’s why he entered this tournament last year and was a part of the war on Craidol. It’s in his blood. A warrior’s blood. With that in mind, I thought of one way that drastically improves your chances of winning.”
Isaac, who was bored just moments ago, now had his curiosity peaked. “Now you’re finally getting to the point. I was about to fall asleep. So, what is it?”
“Stalling.”
Isaac furrowed his brow at Clein’s suggestion. “Ah, I see. I understand what you mean. In a fight with him, study his every move, down to his mannerisms, and exploit any weaknesses you can find. Do that while stalling for time until you can come up with a plan.”
“Hold on,” I interjected. “That makes sense Isaac, but you’re missing an obvious fault. What happens if we can’t think of anything in the heat of battle?”
Isaac went quiet for a moment and answered in a way that was uncharacteristic of him. “I guess we’re screwed. Our chances of winning are low anyway. What can we newbies do to a veteran?”
I opened my mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. I couldn’t think of any kind of rebuttal to Isaac’s statement. There must be some way to beat him, though. We need that wish at all costs just so we can go back home. Even a small clue from the king is enough. Training won’t work since there’s not enough time, and cheating is out of the question as there’s a chance we’ll be disqualified.
As Isaac yawned beside me, I felt the floorboards creak as he stood up from his seat. “We’ll think about it later. Right now, I’m gonna go take a nap.”
He then thanked Mel for the food as he walked by the counter and was gone. Clein glanced at a clock near the reception area and rose.
“Would you look at the time! I have to go check on the horses to make sure they aren’t causing a ruckus again. They chewed half of someone’s hair before because they didn’t receive enough food. See ya.”
Clein’s footsteps retreated as he exited through the front door. I was now left alone at the table full of silverware and half-eaten foods, brooding about our little predicament.
****
“The Chimera wyvern is but a pile of bones. It seems like the locals of the Wyvern Zone had a feast. Absolutely disgusting.”
With a wave of my hand, the bones of the Chimera were illuminated with a faint blue glow of mana. Mana use was indicated by color, with lighter colors signifying less recent use and darker colors signifying more recent use. The mana traces left behind are about a month and a half old. Whoever killed it was far away from the Chimera. A bow perhaps?
“Oh? What’s this now? It’s faint, but there are two mana signatures I sense. It wasn’t one person, but two of them? Looking at the trace, it seems to trail east of here. If I remember correctly, these ants called it… Igni Town? I should make post haste and inform the madam of my findings after I sort this out. It’ll take me around three minutes to reach my destination.”
Not wasting any time, I ascended high into the sky and flew eastward. The scenery slowly changed around me from valleys and trees to pools and geysers of lava. As expected, it didn’t take long before I spotted the town. Looking at it from above, it paled in comparison to the Pillars’ pocket dimensions. As I drifted through the sky, I saw a glint of metal in the corner of my eye, and I reacted quickly by turning my head.
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“Now… Who threw that?”
I spotted the culprits standing firmly in front of the town gate, gazing upwards at me. One had on a full suit of silver armor, but his head was exposed, and he leaned on a cane as he slowly made his way forward. The other had a tall frame, and her skin was so pale it almost glowed in the light. Her hair was a striking shade of gray. What she was wearing was the opposite of her peer, fitting a white leather long coat. When I peered into her eyes, I sensed her unbridled rage.
“Who does that little pissant think she is to stare at me with those defiant eyes?” I spat. I descended slowly at them, but kept my distance high above. They had no right to be level with me.
“Took you long enough to arrive here. I can smell the stench of the Pillars radiating from your ragged clothes,” the female ant gibed.
“Already slinging insults at him, Solgen? The lad only just arrived,” the older one chuckled.
“So what? That little pet over here is their personal shit wrangler.”
“When have you become so crude? It is unbecoming of a lady…“
How dare you speak of the Pillars with that foul mouth! With just a single thought, I can compress my mana into a single point, causing it to either be powerful enough to desolate an entire small town or blow someone’s head off. For showing such blatant disrespect to the Pillars, only your death will be adequate reparations!
I lifted my hand and unleashed a shimmering orb of my mana with a sharp snap of my fingers, directed towards the pair whose attention was completely focused on each other. Upon impact, a shockwave of sound traveled outward, causing a jarring boom. The blast wave blew my clothes in every direction, and my slick hair was flattened against my face. The buildings crumbled to dust as the flames engulfed them, leaving behind a charred landscape of ash.
“That should take care of them. No one should be able to withstand that amount of force, but I’ll go down and check after the dust and smoke clears.”
I didn’t have to wait long as something surprising happened. The silhouette of the two I thought had died from my attack appeared behind the cloud. After the smoke cleared, the two appeared to be unscathed and stood tall, their clothes rustling in the light breeze.
The old man grimaced, dusting off his armor. “My… That was certainly an explosive entrance. Not even a word was spoken to us, and he just casually tries to blow us up. It’s a good thing we evacuated the whole town ahead of time or else everyone would be dead.”
The female ant glared at me as a twisted smile formed on her disgusting lips. “Was that your best attack, lap dog? Who would’ve thought that servants under the Pillars were this weak?!”
The veins in my neck bulged as I glowered at the two. “Impudent maggots. I have tried to give you a quick and painless death, but you have crossed the line. Your death will not be swift as I slowly torture you and feed you to your maggot brethren.”
“Oh? I would like to see you try,” the geezer said as he squeezed the tip of his cane. Cracks formed and snaked downward, and the wood exterior shattered. The old man’s cane was no longer a cane, but now a curved sword with a wooden hilt. As for the woman, she retrieved her weapon from its sheath. The weapon in question was a saber of one meter. The blade was captivating, with its black and blue hues reminiscent of a night sky dotted with stars.
I inched a little closer, glaring daggers. “You want to fight me? The Enforcer? Loyal servant of the Pillars?”
The two looked at each other and laughed. This only angered me further.
“Fight you? Don’t make me laugh. This will be a beat down, and you won’t live to tell the Pillars what transpired,” the woman proclaimed.
“I would like to see you try,” I hissed. The mana traces don’t end here, meaning the culprits are further along. I’ll deal with these ants and continue my investigation. This shouldn’t take long.
****
It is now the day of the tournament. The officials posted the bracket all over the stadium walls. When I laid my eyes on one of the posters near the front entrance, I was pleased with where I was placed. Me and Isaac were on different sides, so we won’t face each other in the same division. However, the bad news is that the competition in Isaac’s division is way fiercer. It contained Doukur, Zelke, Tholdred, and some guy named Airon who placed sixth with a whopping 26 points. As for me, the only noteworthy people are Myra and Lycaon. The person I’m matched against is this guy named Mander, who’s a bipedal salamander. Isaac’s reaction to the standings was as followed:
“This seems unbalanced as shit when we compare each other’s side. Why did I get all the strong folks? I’m not complaining, though. Works better for me.”
“Isaac, you got Zelke and Doukur. No pressure, but it’s all up to you to defeat Zelke if you were to cross paths.”
“It’s when, not if,” Isaac corrected. “We’ll meet in the semis. I’m not worried about Doukur in the slightest. He’ll make me sweat a little, sure, but it won’t be much of an effort.”
“Haw-haw! Are you sure about that?”
And with impeccable timing, Doukur just so happened to be walking by us and overheard our conversation. Isaac looked up at the giant standing in front of us.
“I will not dispute your strength in combat. I have seen what you are capable of with my own eyes. Just don’t go crying home to mommy when I beat you,” the demogre mocked. His provocation only seemed to annoy Isaac as his face contorted, but it was only for a moment, and he went back to being straight-faced.
“I-“
The intercom blared to life, interrupting Isaac. “Attention challengers! Please make your way to the arena!
“Come on Isaac, let’s go,” I said while pulling his arm.
“I’m not done with him!” Isaac protested. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him to the arena. I could tell he was gonna say some dumb shit to Doukur if I let him continue speaking with the demogre. He should save the trash talk for later.
We followed the line of participants to the arena as Isaac and I chatted about our competition, coming up with ways to defeat them. We even betted who would beat who in the first round. Before long, all 16 participants arrived at the arena. Nevar was in his usual place, wearing a black suit that matched his feathers.
“It is the day you have been waiting for! It is now time for this year’s gimmick! I hope you didn’t lose sleep over it because that would be bad for your health!”
Nevar’s joke elicited a wave of laughter from the crowd. He gave a small chuckle back and continued.
“We have thought long and hard about what it would be. It had to be special, and entertaining, of course! But most of all, it had to be equally fair to the competitors. With that reasoning, we have concluded that…”
Everyone was on the edge of their seats, hanging on to his every word, hoping to hear something new arise.
“There would be no gimmick! It’ll be a clean, 1v1!”
Alas, that one sentence put a damper on everyone’s excited mood, as if someone had thrown ice cold water on their heads. But like the professional he is, Nevar predicted this would happen.
“Ah! Before you say anything, we would like to give a reason why it’d be best to go traditional this year. Since we have a lot of strong, talented individuals, wouldn’t it be boring if they couldn’t go all out? Enabling a restriction on this year’s cream of the crop is like removing the wheels from a carriage! It loses its sense of purpose!”
I don’t think that was the right analogy to use, announcer…
“That makes sense!” a participant shouted.
Someone actually agreed with him!?
“Thank you for your understanding. With that out of the way… Drum roll, please!”
The massive audience happily obliged and stomped their feet in rhythm.
“Our first fight of the day will be…”
Who’s it gonna be? Myra vs Fenris? Zelke vs Florithe?
“…Doukur versus Tholdred!”