Chapter 30:

The three of us quieted, and the other two men looked on as the announcer's voice rang throughout the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, warriors and mages!" the announcer proclaimed. "Although you are fearsome in your own renown, I'd like you to take a moment to consider our headline for the morning. Two of the most fearsome combatants this arena has ever seen. Both are certified over level 50! Any other time, they would be the headline of a week-long card. But these two beautiful mages have something of a personal score to settle. Hence the short-notice fight. We are always willing to put on the best display we can. In return for the protection of the arena, they have agreed to put on a show for you all here. Now..."

The man paused as if to make sure everyone was paying attention. I could have heard a pin drop in the arena as everyone held their breaths for what seemed to be a huge deal.

"We sure got lucky to see this," Astrid whispered to no one in particular.

"From the east entrance, a close-quarters fire specialist wielding a pair of daggers is none other than Aslaug, the Destroyer, Scourge of Worlds! For any of you who haven't read about her deeds, make sure to pick up the latest summary report of her last excursion. In stores now!"

"From the west," the announcer roared, "Is the reigning, defending Champion of the Skies, the Storm mage, Siggy Servl! She needs no introduction, standing undefeated at 74 and 0 in the arena. It's said she hasn't had to run a challenge dungeon with a party in decades. This time, has she finally met her match?"

There was no referee or anything to go with the announcer's words. The second the announcement finished, the shields around the arena popped up. I could feel the hum of magic and see a faint distortion in the air where the dome enclosed the two combatants.

Siggy floated up in the air, lightning crackling from her fingers as winds buffeted her clothes and hair. She said something that didn't make it through the sound barrier.

No response came from her opponent. Aslaug twirled her daggers calmly, licks of flame flickering around, and dashed forward. She moved at a speed that my eyes couldn't track. One second, she was starting to move; the next, she was behind the Storm mage, plunging a dagger towards her back, but a gust of wind full of water sprayed against the fire and the dagger, pushing her back and sending her tumbling. But she landed on her feet, braced against the side of the dome, the wind working against gravity to keep her upright.

Then, in a flicker, she was gone again. Lightning blasted but missed as she sliced towards the unprotected side of the Storm mage. Then the Storm mage finally moved. She twisted, twirling in the air, not just dodging sideways or vertically but rotating as if gravity just didn't apply to her. As she smacked aside the dagger and reached out to touch the forehead of the fire mage, right before her finger made contact, a gout of flame pushed it back, channeling the electricity into the ground around her.

The audience had been silenced for the first quick exchange of blows but erupted into cheers and roars. Bjorn leaped to his feet, hands cupped to his mouth, hollering. Even Helga and Astrid cheered. I couldn't help but watch in awe as the opponents continued to fight. This was only level 50. How much of their speed was magic, and how much was its stats?

Clearly, they were using magic as a supplement to every single movement. Still, it wasn't nearly as simple as it looked. They were anticipating each other's moves and countering them. They must have studied each other before, as many things they tried completely halted them in their tracks.

I could feel the buzz of magic flashing. They were always casting something, one thing or another. Still, bursts were common during the exciting moment that had happened so far. Besides the daggers, I didn't see them use any items, and it was impossible for me to tell who was winning. Only superficial damage had been inflicted on each of them, and both were healing incredibly fast due to probably higher constitution, but maybe also healing magic.

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I could tell that the Storm mage, Siggy, had significantly higher mana expenditure. She was using a lot more power and seemed to be coming off slightly ahead in most of their exchanges, but Aslaug wasn't losing in any manner. Whatever magic power she seemed to lack, she made up for in pure physical stats. She moved with a fluid grace that reminded me of a stalking cat but struck like a viper. Meanwhile, the Storm mage was more like a hummingbird flitting here and there. The motion was only seen in short, sharp, jerky movements as her whole body was moved rather than her moving her body.

Clearly, she was relying more on magic. Still, if this was the height that people would get into for Valhalla Proper, I could only imagine why Loki thought it would take me a long time to get out of there because I was a long way from this. I was good for a human. These... This was just inhuman. And these weren't even melee specialists.

The bout continued for some time. Finally, the Storm mage was slowing down, low on mana. But Siggy wasn't alone. The fires of Aslaug were completely extinguished. And her motions weren't supported with mana as much as they were at the beginning of the bout.

The fight was slower, and damage was taking longer to heal, but clearly, the scales were tipping. Once the magic was completely drained out of both of them, Siggy would be rather helpless. Her feet touched down for the first time since the fight started, and she actually started to move her body rather than use the winds to move herself. She fluidly dodged several strikes but was nowhere near as fast as Aslaug.

She took a slash to the forearm and then the leg, and Aslaug pounced. But then an explosion of electricity flung her back into the wall and pinned her, manacles of lightning wrapping around her legs, arms, and throat. As Aslaug floated up off the ground, an outpouring of magic eclipsed even at the beginning of the battle. I couldn't help but respect the devious ploy, feigning weakness the entire fight.

Could she have won going all out like this in the beginning? Maybe. But now that Aslaug had no magic left, there was little she could do as the electricity ripped her apart. Silence reigned in the arena for no more than half a second before thunderous applause shook the stands and nearly burst my eardrums.

***

As we walked out of the arena as a group, the mood was somber. Each of us knew how far we had to go before we even started to gain any respect here. Those fighters might be at the top, but the gulf between who we were and who we could be was unimaginable. The standoffishness of Astrid and Helga, though, had lessened slightly, as if they didn't feel themselves so superior to us, having been here for longer than we did. They might have a couple of levels on us, but what did that really matter when it came down to it?

As we walked, Astrid spoke up. "I think we would be willing to work with you, and if this goes longer term, one of our requests will be that we work together to bring Lagertha through the main challenge in the next couple of months. Even if it means carrying her while she finds a group and gets back on her feet. I have heard too many stories of people getting punished and then never quite making it back to where they should be properly."

I looked at Bjorn and Jonas. "I don't think we have any objection to that," I said.

"As long as you are willing to go through many, many times," Bjorn added.

"Good. Now let's go make some coin and run the dungeon if that's okay with you," Astrid said.

I nodded, feeling a moment of hesitation as I pulled out the knife Loki had given me. With a smile, I responded to Jonas and Bjorn's interested looks by simply saying that I managed to find a weapon last night. They chuckled, but the two women looked a little confused. I turned to address them.

"As I said, I thought the three of us could carry these two lugs along until we managed to buy everyone weapons. I'm not saying that they won't contribute, but I imagine they won't be much use."

Bjorn and Jonas groaned at my gentle ribbing, but Astrid and Helga surprised us. They exchanged a wary look with each other before sighing and reaching down to pull a knife out of their belts. Astrid handed one to Jonas while Helga held hers out to Bjorn.

"If you break it, you're getting me a new one," Helga told Bjorn as she reluctantly let go of her backup blade.

Bjorn gave her a slight bow over the knife. "Of course, of course."

I wanted to run my hand down my face in exasperation, but I restrained myself.

"Okay, well, we might as well get started," I said as I headed toward the challenge entrance just across the square.

"Oh, just so you know, we have a few friends that should be getting out of the Lesser Hall soonish. And when they do come, we'd like to help them as well," I mentioned to Astrid.

"Sure, as long as it doesn't interfere with our training times," Astrid shrugged.

With that settled, we made our way towards the challenge entrance, ready to face what awaited us in the dungeon.