I was in front of my opponent in a flash. He hadn't even moved by the time I was rearing my spear back to thrust it forward. I smiled at the obviousness of my superior speed, and I wished my opponent could see it. He still hadn't moved even when I thrust my spear forward directly toward his heart.

At the last moment, he pivoted his body slightly while blocking with his spear. The force of his parry sent my spear rebounding away and my body wide open for attack. He didn't even bother to capitalize on the situation. Rage seethed in me that he thought he was so much better. I didn't care if I failed to finish the fight quickly; I redoubled my effort to take him out.

I repositioned my stance and continued to strike out with as many chained attacks as I could muster. To my chagrin, Arthur barely moved as I stabbed forward. In every attack I attempted, the tip of my spear was met with air while it was almost always easily parried.

I didn't understand how there was such a difference in skill. I practiced my strikes for countless hours. They were powerful and steady. Plus, our strength and speed had to be similar. I was sure he was at a much larger robot compatibility level, but with my cultivation, it should have been equalized. Arthur also cultivated his internal De, but it seemed low when I sensed it. The ease of his ability to counter me was infuriating.

The fight had barely started, though, and I was determined to make him pay for his hubris.

I jumped to the side to attack from a different angle. While moving, I felt the painful thud of his spear's shaft across my back. The power sent me stumbling forward. I managed to stop myself from falling at the last moment.

Without looking, I flung my spear in a horizontal arc behind me. I hoped to catch Arthur unaware when he was sure to follow up on the blow. For whatever reason, my blind attack was unsuccessful, and my spear sailed unobstructed through the air.

I spun with the attack to face my opponent. I was prepared for any attack he might send my way. My eyes widened when he stood in nearly the same position as before I attempted to flank him. The only difference was that he was facing me.

"Fight me seriously," I bellowed in rage.

I attempted a wide swing of my spear as I leaped forward. I was rewarded with the world swimming and sparkles dancing in my vision as Arthur effortlessly blocked my swing and countered with a devastating elbow to my temple. My goggles covered that spot, which was why I wasn't rendered unconscious.

"Your skills are a joke, and so is the fact that I am being forced to fight you," Arthur said, his voice cold and even. "I didn't think you had any chance to defeat me, but I thought I would give you an opportunity. Unfortunately, you have been found wanting. Still, I'm bored now, so I will give you what you desire."

My head was still swimming as I saw Arthur switch his stance. It was an unknown position, with his spear arm held high behind him and his legs wide. I shook my head to clear it and prepare for his attack.

It didn't matter.

He wasn't faster than I was by much, but it was more than I thought at the beginning of the match. I could follow him as he closed the distance between us. I lifted my spear to block from the position it appeared the spear was coming from, but then it came from the opposite side.

The back end of Arthur's spear cracked against the side of my head, shoulder, and thigh. They happened so swiftly that It felt like the blows were simultaneous. I crumpled to the ground from the onslaught. I turned over to roll away, but Arthur's spear sunk deep into my chest as soon as I was on my back.

An electric current seized my muscles as pain blossomed like spring across my body. The red lights of the Augmented Reality system were the flowers blooming after the rain. The light penetrated my closed eyelids, which were scrunched tightly from the agony. I don't know how long the pain lasted. My previous experience with the system's punishment didn't prepare me for the situation since it was focused on my head, and I had been knocked unconscious.

Relief washed through my body like a healing flood when the pain finally subsided. I opened my eyes to catch a glimpse of my opponent. He had apparently already finished his post-fight interview and was heading off the stage.

"You should be good now," the medical professional said. "Just take it easy for a little while. I don't think I've ever seen the system take so long to end the shock."

He helped me stand, and I was thankful he was there. My legs were shaky, and I took a moment to get my bearings and head off the stage. Unlike the times I won, I didn't wave to the crowd or look for the fluttering silver of hair.

When I returned to the locker room, I went right into meditation. I had to clear my head and emotions. I was in a tough spot then. I needed desperately to win my next fight to advance uncontested as the third-placed fighter.

My final opponent was named Richard Dickson. I didn't want to, but I uncontrollably chuckled at his name. I suppose laughing at his name being Dick Dick was good for my nerves, though. I shrugged the humor away anyway and focused on what I had learned from my previous fight.

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I thought I was decent with the spear but was woefully mistaken. Arthur was on a completely different level of skill. Setting my anger aside, the match was like a toddler fighting against an adult. After the tournament, I would have to dedicate more time to training my skill. I was sure that I could find a good program through CoreLink.

With the money I would get from the tournament, I would have extra time to practice since I wouldn't need to work too much for living funds. Of course, once I got to the capital, my first mission was to get in touch with my mother. Hopefully, that wouldn't take up all my time.

After analyzing my previous fight, I began thinking about my next one. Dick Dick used two short swords. It would give me a significant reach advantage. However, I'd still have to watch out for double the attacks.

I only saw one of his fights, but it was against Hadrian, so I could not see much. I decided that I would just play it safe with the opponent. I didn't want to risk losing again and missing my chance at making it to the capital.

I had looked up how to get there a couple nights prior, and it was a long way by caravan. The path was a circuitous route due to the numerous monster-infested areas along the way. The train was not only faster than robot-pulled caravans but also cut through many portions of rugged terrain. I was interested in how they did that without needing to stop continuously from monster attacks, but I hadn't had the time to look it up.

The knock on my door, indicating it was almost time for my fight, sounded in the room. I stood and stretched my muscles to release the tension and aches from all the matches. Walking through the tunnels, I felt a mixture of apprehension and relief. The former was due to the fight, but the latter was because it would be my last tournament fight.

I stepped up on stage. My opponent was already up there with his two swords in hand. He ignored me as I stepped up; he was busy swinging his swords in a flurry of complicated patterns. I manifested my spear, refraining from doing it the way Arthur had. I felt it was too soon and would be seen as a blatant copy. While I essentially would have been copying, it wasn't because I wanted to look or be like him; I just thought it was awesome.

Maybe when I get to the capital and have a chance, I'll try a cool pose while it manifests.

I nodded to myself in affirmation.

When my spear was firmly in my grasp, I gave it a few practice swings. I thought putting on a small show for the crowd might be good. Truth be told, I was kind of enjoying the whole experience. My decision turned out to be good because the entire stadium seemed to erupt in applause after my combo of thrusts and swings. It also gave me a little more confidence after my scathing loss to Arthur.

As the fight started, Dick Dick rushed forward. I decided to rush forward, too. I didn't want to be at a disadvantage by being closer to the edge of the stage. We met in the middle, and I swiped my spear horizontally to keep him from getting too close.

He stopped a few inches shy from the tip of my spear. I followed my initial swing with a series of attacks aimed at different points to throw him off. I didn't expect it to do much, but it appeared to have even less of an impact than I had hoped. He expertly blocked and parried my attacks with flowing sweeps of his blades.

"I'm going to destroy you worse than Arthur did, you amateur," he snarled. I couldn't tell if he was legitimately angry or if he was trying to rile me up. My blood boiled, but I ensured it didn't show with my fighting. Instead of it causing me to make mistakes, I used his taunt to be better.

While his use of swords was impressive, it was a far cry from the skills of Arthur. I had yet to use all my strength and speed in the attacks. I didn't even bother to answer; I just stabbed toward his face.

Dick Dick blocked with one sword while spinning and slashing with his other. I ducked below his swing and moved out of his range. I continued my probing attacks, and he continued to parry. We did the dance a few times before I got tired. Not physically tired; I still had a lot of energy left. No, I was tired of the fight and felt I had enough information to finish it.

Dick Dick was a good swordsman, but I had him outclassed in that instance. Like the other fights, the combination of my cultivation and spear's reach had me at a different level. I had hoped to get a better fight. I was eager to improve after the embarrassing match against Arthur, but I wouldn't learn much from Dick Dick.

"Tired already?" my opponent ironically asked.

"More than you know," I replied.

I jumped a half foot forward, so he was into my range and thrust out toward his stomach. As I expected, he blocked with his right and twirled around to strike again with his left. In the short time we had been fighting, he had become predictable.

Unfortunately for him, my first thrust was a feint. I pulled the spear back before his sword could make contact, and my spear was parried. My opponent continued his movement. I could see the worry on his face as I pulled the spear back, yet he continued his movement but didn't have the choice to stop. It would have been worse if he had tried to arrest his momentum in exchange for doing something else. I did notice that he attempted to use his spin to put some distance between us, but it wasn't enough.

While he was grimacing and spinning, I was already stabbing forward again. The tip of my spear stabbed into his back, creating a large red circle on his body. He yelled from the pain, but it wasn't a deep enough attack to end the fight. I didn't let up, though.

I managed two more stabs before he finished his turn. The pain and attacks forced his attack to falter; all he could do was stumble further away from me. I contemplated gloating but decided it wasn't the right time.

His leg was exposed, and I swiped at his back tendon, once again connecting. His entire leg lit up red, and he fell to the ground with a yell and thud. I still didn't gloat. I merely capitalized on the situation and jumped forward to stab him again to end the match.

I stepped back and waited for the mandatory after-fight interview. I didn't have much to say about the match, and I decided to keep my responses about my opponent polite even though I felt Dick Dick wouldn't do the same to me.

The questions were similar to my first time, but the interviewer did mention the next tournament in the capital, but he didn't ask any questions; he just wished me luck. It was good to know that I didn't have to fight anymore, and I secured my spot. It was difficult to hear everything he was saying, though, because the crowd was so loud.

The roaring crowd made the interview last slightly longer than it should have, but it was still over quickly, and I moved to the exit. I was smiling broadly behind my mask and proud of my accomplishment. I was one step closer to finding my mother and learning why she had left. I had to focus on that for my father; I couldn't let my despair swallow me like he was swallowed by the cavern.

I didn't look up as I walked into the bowels of the arena.