A steady beat could be felt reverberating down the corridor as the dragon priest led the contestants down a long hall. Several other groups had melded into theirs, causing the number to bloat to about three hundred. Aerin hadn’t seen the rest of the assessment after hers was done, so she was surprised to see so many others had passed. The world, even among the Draakin empire, was so much larger than she had ever imagined.

Boom

Ba-dum

boom boom

BA-dum

The sound of drums began to become louder and quicker as two colossal gates opened, revealing a giant flame at the center of the arena.

“When you enter, spread out around the edge of the arena. Be no closer than five meters from another combatant and await my signal,” the Dragon priest said. His voice bellowed over the drums.

The cheers of the crowd slowly overtook the drums as they entered. The brightness of the sun temporarily obscured their vision as they emerged. Aerin felt her heart begin to beat faster in anticipation. While she was never formally trained by a master, living in the rural villages meant monster incursions happened frequently, forcing her to have fought alongside other warriors of her village more than once. Even if she couldn’t win, she was certain she could hold her own at least a little bit. All she needed to do was impress even a minor noble to sponsor her, and her family would see immense benefits.

It didn’t take long for all the young combatants to spread out. Aerin decided it was best to stick near the entrance as everyone else spread out. She observed where everyone was going and who was eyeing who. On the way up, they grabbed weapons that were available of every type. Aerin was simple; she had simple leather gloves with some metal studs on the knuckles and forearm guards, along with a light pair of steel toe boots and shin guards. All the weapons were enchanted so they wouldn’t inflict deadly wounds but would essentially stun the limb or body depending on severity. If it would have been a deadly hit in real life, your body would go limp, and the medical teams would take you off the field.

Closing her eyes, Aerin took a deep breath as the countdown began. Each beat of the drum to ten rang deeply. Opening them slowly, she looked at her surroundings.

CLANGGGG

The final drumbeat followed a sharp gong sound.

Without a single moment's hesitation, a female drake with a one-handed sword charged at her. A simple horizontal strike at her ribs came flying out, which she blocked with her forearm and swept to the side. Her opponent did not wait and sent another flurry of blows at her.

With each blocked blow, a swift counter followed in an unending sequence. Dodging beneath a sweeping strike, Aerin retaliated with a lightning-quick upward kick to the chest, toppling her opponent backward. Lying on her back.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Aerin cheered in her head as she rolled onto her feet and immediately kicked her sword from her hand and sent three strikes at her face. Feeling the solid connection of the metal studs with her face, she knew it was over. The girl couldn’t stand up even if she wanted to.

In the midst of the chaos, duels unfolded in every direction. From her peripheral vision, a menacingly large mace hurtled toward her skull. Aerin instinctively did a back-handspring and put her back up against the wall of the arena. A large, burly-looking youth with only a drake tail approached; he was at least fifty percent bigger than the average Draakin, as the mace he swung easily around was at least twice the normal size.

With a roar, he charged, closing the distance faster than a person of that size ought to. Aerin pushed off the wall and tried to keep him moving sideways to keep his momentum from building.

Spinning around, he sent his tail flying to strike her, followed by his mace. Aerin jumped and ducked, trying to find an opening, but nothing revealed itself. Even if she closed the distance, she didn’t have the sheer strength to do enough damage to him.

“Stop moving, you whelp!” he roared as he lifted his mace overhead to bring bearing down on her. But as soon as he lifted his mace, a spear connected with his ribs, causing one of his arms to go numb as if he really had been struck. With his grip strength suddenly halved, he dropped the giant mace, clutching his side.

Aerin didn’t bother looking at who threw the spear; she immediately jumped up and sent out a hook kick to his chin. The strike connected, sending him collapsing to the ground.

“150 combatants remain!” the Dragon Priest from before bellowed.

Already half? Aerin was surprised how quickly half the combatants were eliminated, which gave a lot more space to breathe and think before engaging.

To her side, a soaring dragon-blooded fighter dove gracefully, seizing the spear in a swift, seamless motion. Without casting a glance her way, he maintained a low trajectory, effortlessly veering in mid-air to intercept yet another airborne combatant. Aerin made a quick mental note to keep an eye out above. Since she didn’t fly herself, it almost slipped her mind to keep an eye on those who could.

“Looks like the special one doesn’t have a Princess here to protect her anymore.” From above, a familiar sneer of the black-haired boy who had previously reprimanded her in the waiting room. Descending rapidly with a long, slender sword in hand, he alighted a few meters away, a smug grin adorning his face. "You’ve done well to make it this far despite your low birth, but your run ends now."

Propelling himself forward aided by the powerful thrust of his wings, he closed the distance with astonishing speed, surpassing even the swiftness of the previous drake. With scarcely a moment to react, Aerin hastily raised both arms to parry the impending strike, the impact hurling her forcefully backward against the arena wall. Aerin’s eyes widened, a sharp gasp escaping her lips as the breath was forcibly expelled from her chest.

Taking a few quick breaths, she braced herself onto one knee and looked at the approaching boy. Standing up, she clenched her fists again, but this time her left arm was completely numb. "He broke my forearm with that blow."

Another decisive swing came at her, and she dodged to the side, narrowly missing it, before sending a few kicks fruitlessly at him as he parried each one expertly. Aerin spun around attempting to catch him off guard with a spinning back kick, only to get her leg blocked by his own and simultaneously letting his sword strike her back.

A jolt of searing shock rippled through her entire being, setting every muscle ablaze before an eerie numbness enveloped her. Collapsing onto the dusty ground, the boy smirked. “Don’t be surprised; there never was a chance of you winning this thing.”

Aerin’s vision faded to black as the pain from the shock finally caused her to let go of consciousness.