“Yep, no matter how many times I stare at him, he reminds me of Solgen and Volken.”

I nodded my head at Isaac’s observation. Airon is most definitely an Apithien. I guess pale skin and gray hair with lavender eyes are what they usually look like. The man was also tall as hell. Maybe around six feet and six inches? The dude could be a basketball player if he wanted to.

Wait, why am I thinking about basketball? I should turn my attention to what he’s doing here. I’m sure Volken’s top priority is to look for Solgen. He wouldn’t bother to look for us, right? Did he send Airon to spy on us? It’s possible since Volken is the self-proclaimed leader of the Apithiens. If he sent Airon knowing we were here, does he think we’ll head back to Solgen after our business here? If that’s the reason, why would he make it so obvious? What’s his goal here…

The buzz of the announcer pulled me out of my contemplation.

“Airon has won his match in a dominating performance!”

Crap... I was too deep into my thoughts that I wasn’t watching the fight.

“Most of these matches have been boring so far,” Isaac grumbled. “All the big names are crushing their opponents without breaking a sweat. These NPCs need to be weeded out quickly…”

Do you hear yourself right now? You sound like you’re the main character of a story.

“The next match will be between Laila and Mander~!”

The moment I heard my name, I quickly made my way up to the top of the platform. My orange opponent stood before me with two swords strapped behind his smooth, orange slick skin. His pupil-less eyes blinked at separate times. I felt uncomfortable just staring at my opponent, so I tried to dissipate the awkwardness.

“Uh… hi?”

“Cease this frivolous small talk. We are here for one thing. To battle,” the Mander snarled. Its voice sounded like he was speaking underwater. I couldn’t take him seriously at all.

“May the sixth match of the day begin!”

Mander armed himself with his two swords and rushed at me. On his part, it was an excellent strategy. He sees no weapon on me and wants to keep it that way. Too bad it won’t work since I have the Inventory and all that. It wouldn’t even take me a second to pull out my rapier.

“Why do you seem so distracted?” Mander huffed. He swung his swords diagonally as soon as he reached me, but with my speed, it was easy to dodge.

“Distracted? I’m not distracted at all,” I answered politely. Mander continued his onslaught of sword swings, showing no signs of fatigue even while I’m evading them all.

“Where is your weapon? Are you mocking I, Mander?!”

He lunged one of his blades at my torso, hellbent on skewering me alive. I did a front flip over his head and landed gently. As soon as I touched down, I quickly kicked his back, connecting with it. When I pulled my leg away, I felt a sharp pain, like pins and needles were piercing through my leg. As I looked down, I noticed that a part of my shin was turning purple, and I let out a sharp gasp at the grotesque sight. While I was distracted, the salamander took that chance to take another swing at me. I noticed him last second and barely dodged in time as his sword grazed my arm. I retreated far enough to assess the situation.

“Looks like Mander belongs to the poisonous lizard family! We were fooled by his appearance! Even though he seemed like he would be part of the fire lizard family, he isn’t! Looks can be quite deceiving!”

So, it is poison! I was affected right when my leg touched Mander’s skin. Does that mean every part of his body is dangerous to touch or is it just a small area? I’ll play it safe and think it’s the former.

I took another glance at my leg, and sure enough, it was spreading, albeit slowly. I had about three minutes tops before my entire leg turned purple.

“You’ll have no time to rest!” Mander screeched, sprinting my way.

“…Training session is over, lizard,” I mumbled. A look of bewilderment flashed across his face while I reached out into the open air and pulled out my rapier.

“I could’ve ended this a long time ago. Sorry for using you as a training dummy.”

When the salamander was just a few feet away, I used that chance to move faster than his eyes could follow and appeared behind him. The salamander froze in place, unable to process what had just happened as I whacked him on the back of the head with the pommel. I lightly tapped his back with the pommel, making sure my skin didn’t get in touch with his. He fell slowly with a quiet thud.

“Okay, the match is over. I need some healing here!”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

I requested the healers come promptly. I swear... If I have to become an amputee because of this guy! Losing a leg is a death sentence in this day and age. I’d rather die than let Isaac carry me around like luggage if he was my only source of transportation.

Nevar bounded right next to me and gave me a quick smirk. “Did I hear that right? Laila has declared she was using her fight with Mander as a training session! Just how cocky can this person be?”

Okay, I see how it is now. This announcer is out to get me. First, it was sibling rivalry, and now he’s making it seem like I’m overconfident. I’m not like my brother at all, ya know?

The healers finally arrived and informed me they’ll have to move to a safer place. This only confused me more.

“Um, why can’t you just heal my leg here?”

The female healer shook her head. “Sorry lass. This will take a while to heal. Salamanders from the poisonous lizard tribe secrete a special type of poison through skin contact. We have the antidote available in the medical bay. The announcer also has to continue the fights. My partner here will carry you while I suspend the poison so it doesn’t spread any further. Come on.”

The male healer mumbled an incantation I didn’t recognize. Soon enough, I was floating, a feeling reminiscent of a drifting cloud.

****

Are they taking my sister to treatment? I guess the poison is harsh. I should go follow them just in case…

“Zelke and Florithe are about to go head-to-head!” The bird head howled. I stopped in my tracks when hearing the word Zelke ring out and turned around.

“If Zelke’s fighting this time, I should stay and watch. Pretty sure Laila would yell at me for not analyzing him. Yep, I can see her face clearly. I’ll just stand here and watch.”

The fighters Zelke and Florithe were eyeing each other, not making a single move. Florithe had a head full of soft, brown curls, with two small horns just visible between them. She was sweating profusely, her hand clenched onto her weapon. While she would take one small step forward, it looked like she had gotten shocked by something powerful and would quickly retreat, instantly eliminating any progress. Zelke, on the other hand, looked bored out of his mind as he waited for the girl to come to him instead. The audience grew restless as the minutes ticked by.

“They aren’t doing anything at all!”

“Are they scared of each other?”

“You daft? Florithe is the one scared here. Just look at her trembling!”

“The suspense is killing me. Who will make the first move?”

Sounds like they have mixed reactions. They should shut up and keep watching.

After another minute of a stare down between the two, the victor of the match had finally been determined.

“…I give up,” Florithe announced. She hung her head low in a sulking manner. The crowd, after hearing her announcement, protested.

“That’s it? You didn’t fight at all!”

“Is this tournament rigged or something for Zelke? He’s strong, yes, but there’s no way he’s going to breeze through this whole thing without unsheathing his sword, right?”

“C-Calm down, ladies and gentlemen! I’m sure there’s a reason Florithe forfeited…” Nevar tried his hardest to convince the unpleased fans, but I wasn’t interested in what he had to say. I tore my eyes away from the pitiful scene and looked around the stadium.

“That was a waste of time… I should’ve gone after Laila after all.”

I crept back into the stadium and found myself in the waiting room. I had to ask around where the medical bay was located. The female snake lady from before kindly gave me directions and even guided me to the correct destination. The hallways of the stadium were empty since everyone was in the stands watching the fights. She led me to the front of polished marble doors with a sign Medical Bay painted red on top. When I stepped through the door, the pungent smell of alcohol mixed with the sharp scent of soap filled my nostrils. An array of beds were stationed on each side of the wall, most of them vacant. One area had a medicine cabinet of jars and flasks. Another had a metal door. Probably a different room. On the left, I spotted my sister. Laila was sitting upright, her bare legs dangling over a flat hospital bed. Laila’s pants had been rolled up and her leg had returned to its original color.

“There you are! How’s the leg?”

Laila looked up and waved at me. “It’s fine now. They had to inject a special antidote into my bloodstream. It took a lot of willpower to not think about the worst outcome if they weren’t able to heal my leg. Before I left the arena, Nevar said Zelke was up. How was the match?”

She rolled down her pants while listening to me speak.

“It was uneventful. He just stood there, watching his opponent shake with fear. As far as I know, there was something holding his opponent back, as if she was being repelled by a mysterious force.”

“A mysterious force?” said Laila, slipping her shoes on. She abruptly got up from her bed and tapped her foot on the ground. “We’ll have to find out what his deal is in the quarter-finals, right?”

As if on cue, the pair of healers from before popped up from the room with the metallic door. The female healer peered down at Laila’s feet and smiled.

“I see that you’re back on your feet. The toxins should be out of your system by now. You’re good to go. Isaac, they have informed us you’re up against Doukur.”

A wide smile was plastered on my face. “Looks like it’s time to drop that demogre a few pegs down. Gotta show him who’s boss!”

I can feel myself getting fired up. All that shit talk I’ve been saying to him wasn’t just for show. I want him to go all out against me. All the training I did with that hellish witch will not go in vain.

“What are you standing around here for? Get to the arena already,” the male healer growled. My shoulders slumped at his unneeded hostility.

“Alright, I’m going, jeez.”

****

“Get ready for one of the year’s most anticipated matches! The battle between Doukur and Isaac!”

The first thing I’m gonna do is punch him in the gut.

“Will our big fellow find this match easier than his other fights? Or will he finally get a run for his money?!”

Next, a swift kick to his head.

“What about Isaac? We have yet to find out his strength! Just what is he hiding beneath that cocky exterior?”

After that’s all said and done, I’ll give him a good ol’ teabag and whisper GG into his ears. Wait, would he even know what it means?

“Let the battle begin!”

Screw it, I’ll find out later.

“I have been waiting for this moment!” Doukur bellowed out. “After your little show in the preliminaries, I hoped you would be a strong opponent! Show me what you are made of, little pup!”

The demogre sang out a war chant, stomping his feet in a thundering rhythm. His friends and family joined in from the stands.

“You done yet, big guy?”

Doukur nodded and grinned wickedly. “Yes, I am. Now, let us fight to our heart’s content!”