Eventually Ander started to feel a bit guilty about giving the man so much trouble, and started to be more amicable. He got himself a couple sets of clothing that were more comfortable, but he didn’t want to spend too much money on stuff like that. Instead he conceded to the new style the world seemed intent on forcing upon him and got work, really fighting clothes, that were in dark colours. He got a heavy coat to wear under his armour, reminiscent of a gambeson, as well as a flowing cloak with a deep cowl. At first it seemed that the cloak would get in the way of his fighting, but it had been suggested when he admitted some control over wind and water. Apparently its odd construction could allow for better manoeuvrability when using wind and water control abilities.

Ander was surprised that they had such knowledge, as wind and water control were usually spells. Apparently abilities that dabbled over the edge of spellcasting were not as uncommon as he had thought. Several of the advanced skill courses attempted to upgrade martial arts skills into ones that had some degree of elementalism. They were rare and epic skills however, and few managed the transition. Getting a legendary skill was something that happened both rarely and extremely unreliably. Getting a spirit of some sort to give themselves up to become a skill was rare and difficult to accomplish, though Ander’s view was skewed on that.

When he was finished he was left cloaked and armoured, and he admired himself in the mirror for a moment. They had really done a good job. Apparently skills made manufacturing a much faster process than on earth, and they were able to get him his stuff in a very short amount of time. His bill came out to 5,000 contribution points, and so he wrote a cheque for 6,000 for the service, and a bit of an apology for his behaviour. With that done, he exited and started to make his way down the road.

Ander was struck by how busy it was in the town. When he had first entered the pit, he had thought it was all about fighting and gaining levels. And while fighting and gaining levels is what drove the economy down here, there were all kinds of support roles people could be trained for. He was pretty good at fighting, and due to his legendary skills he could fight far above his level. But he was starting to wonder if he should take Karsish’s advice and follow The Path. Or maybe even take the Arc. Learning a trade could be fun. He had two years down here before they would kick him out if he didn’t choose to leave sooner. There should be time to learn all kinds of things.

Ander stopped at an open air restaurant, where he could see an older man directing a half a dozen apprentices. The older man was obviously a Pit Instructor helping teach the aspiring cooks amongst the hatchlings. Ander purchased a plate with an odd kind of meat he couldn’t pronounce, as well as some root vegetables he had never heard of. Despite this, it tasted wonderful. The spider meat was edible, but it was far from what you might consider fine cuisine. Ander supposed that this meal couldn’t be considered fine, but it was quite good. He considered trying to find a legendary cooking skill, but simply chuckled at the thought. He would try to upgrade his cooking skill, but not to legendary. He hadn’t discovered the limit of how they were changing him yet.

After he finished his meal, he finally decided that it was time to speak to Sir Argvald. He needed to know what that championship was all about. Ander approached the main administration building, but as made his final approach, the doors opened and Cormal walked out. The two stared at each other for a long moment.

“Ander Nightshade. Have you come to return what you stole? Or maybe you came to pay restitution for the men you slaughtered?” Hot anger was boiling up behind Cormal’s eyes, and Ander did his best to diffuse the situation.

“I came to speak to Sir Argvald. He will be unhappy if I keep him waiting.” Ander said. He hoped that he could use Sir Argvald as leverage against Cormal.

“Not to worry. He just entered a meeting that I am sure will be quite long.” Cormal said. “My people have been quite angry with you, and I have to say, I agree with their sentiments. What do you plan to do about that?”

“Nothing, Cormal. Your people have repeatedly attacked me. I have paid the price for killing your men at a thousand points per person.” Ander glared at Cormal.

“You have paid the administration, but you have not given restitution to me.” Cormal said. Ander did his best to hide his nervousness, and started to slowly unleash his fear aura.

“What do you want in exchange for the lives of your men?” Ander said.

“I want your life.” Cormal said. “Your continued existence is an insult to everything I have tried to build.”

“What?” Ander nearly shouted. “Do you expect me to drop dead on your order?”

“No, don’t be an idiot.” Cormal sneered. “You have entered the championship. When we fight, you will agree to have the match made into a death or disablement type duel. I will execute you then.” Ander stared at Cormal, who seemed so supremely confident. The man had several years of training on Ander, and a legendary skill. He had every reason to be confident. But Ander had advantages of his own.

“Deal. When the time comes we will fight to your death or mine. But I make one demand. If I win, your men will no longer come after me.” Ander felt proud of the stipulation. It would make sure that his remaining time in The Pit was far more peaceful. He didn’t like the smirk that crossed Cormal’s face.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“It is a fool’s request, but I acquiesce.” Cormal said, and he and the group of Crimson Stars members who had followed him out of the building left.

“Mr Nightshade.“ A familiar voice called from inside the administration building. “I think we have some things to discuss.”

“I agree.” Ander replied as he turned to see Sir Argvald standing in the doorway. “Why did you allow that?”

“Because, Cormal is a hot headed young man who needed to blow off some frustration at a major setback. Besides, I sincerely hope he kills you during the championship.” Sir Argvald said. “Come in. we can speak with more privacy in my office.”

. . .

Sir Argvald’s office stunned Ander, but not for any sort of beauty, but for the extreme austerity. It looked nearly abandoned, like a vacant house. There were few exceptions to that rule. The desk had some sense of life to it trapped within the extreme order of perfectly placed pens, as well as a coat hanging over the back of his chair. Sir Argvald gestured to a seat for Ander, and proceeded to sit behind the desk.

“So. What did you want?” Sir Argvald said.

“ I want to know why the hell I have been signed up for this championship.” Ander said.

“It is simple. I signed you up because you are a rising star amongst your clutch, and that should not go to waste.

“Bullshit.” Sir Argvald’s face darkened.

“I have a duty to my lord father to see that the children are trained properly. It is my duty to make sure proper steps are taken to challenge those children who seem to go above and beyond.” Sir Argvald said. “Therefore under my rights as the Pit Overseer, I order you to participate in the Championship.” Ander gaped for a moment before getting himself back together.

“And what if I don’t.”

“My colleagues and I will come and arrest you. “The punishment for insubordination is quite changeable based on my discretion. It will be, say, 2 million points?” Sir Argvald smiled.

“Why.”

“Because Ander, I have very few ways of getting rid of you. The championship provides two. The best for all involved is for Cormal to kill you. But if you win instead, you will be taken straight to the surface where I have no doubt Sir Mattheos is waiting to fill his conscription quota.” Ander sat stunned.

“What the hell, I thought you were honourable. This is devious to the extreme.” Ander said.

“Be careful what you say. I told you my plan, and have made no attempts to blindside you. I do hope you resist so I can deal with you myself, but that is up to you.” He stopped then and grimaced. “My honour dictates that I grant you a potential boon. If you win the championship, I will give you an additional prize.”

“And what will that be?” Ander demanded.

“The secret of metamorphosis. Becoming a Noble. I wish I could offer something less, but that is all I have that is worth you walking into such a deadly situation.” Ander’s brain froze for a second. Did he say metamorphosis? Ander had worked hard to ignore his, deficiencies, but this topic brought his awareness back to himself in a very uncomfortable manner. But beyond that, being a Noble brought far more benefits.

“If you have the secret, why haven’t you used it?” Ander asked suspiciously.

“We all have our places in life. Mine is to be a servant to better men, and that is how I like it. Your’s is in a coffin. I am doing my best to make sure you get there.” Sir Argvald hesitated again. “Still, if you win, I will give you the secret. I may want you dead, but I want to preserve my honour more.”

“It doesn’t seem honourable for you to constantly declare how much you want someone dead.”

“Maybe it isn’t. But I have found myself with two conflicting obligations. One is to protect the children in The Pit, and the other is to protect you.” Sir Argvald spoke the last word with acid in his voice.

“I am no threat to The Pit.” Ander said.

“Oh really? You won’t simply decide to murder all of them because you got a little pissy?” Sir Argvald was starting to get worked up, and Ander was starting to wonder who the hotheaded one was between him and Cormal.

“Not unless they try to kill me. Then I will kill every one of them.” Ander shook his head and stood up. “I am not what you think me to be. I do not make a habit of murder. But I will not hesitate to make an example of those who try something foolish.” Ander started out of the office.

“Ask the secretaries about the particulars of the Championship.” Sir Argvald said. “You don’t want to miss something.”

Ander left the room in a huff, storming down the stairs and to the front desk. They gave him the information he had been hoping for. The championship was a yearly event which gave people the opportunity to compete. It was single elimination, with nine rounds in total. It meant that there were over five hundred spots to fill, and they had no problem filling them. Most of the duels were to first blood, or even just to first point. It made the championship a harmless game, mostly. At request of both participants, the safety restrictions could be done away with, making it a death or disablement duel.

Such duels did not happen often, but when they did they were always quite the spectacle. This was what Cormal wanted, Sir Argvald too for that matter. They wanted him to agree to the duel that was actually dangerous to his health. On top of that, Cormal had resources that Ander couldn’t dream of. Both in money and knowledge. Still, Ander bet that he and his four legendary skills could take him down. Ander highly suspected that Cormal would throw a lot of money at the problem to make sure he won, but two could play that game.