Battle Room #15 looked like the training arena Drayek had built for me back home. But grander… Larger… And with a dozen rings of seats stacked above the fighting arena for audiences to sit and watch a duel.
I tried to count the number of metal seats circling the arena but got frustrated once I’d counted close to 100. There were probably 2 or 300 seats meant for eager onlookers as duels commenced in Battle Room #15.
Great. 300 people get to watch a Tier 4 destroy me, assuming the seats are filled. I stretched out my limbs in my Tier 2 armor and shook my head. No, I can’t think that way. Nic and I have a plan.
I checked for probably the 100th time that my spear was tucked safely into my back sheath, then circled around myself to further study my surroundings. For Nic’s and my plan to work, I needed to know the terrain well. That’s why I arrived 10 minutes earlier to the battle room than what was requested of me.
No dark corners to hide behind, and the only exit at either end of the arena was the double doors I’d entered through. The rest of the doors that led out of the battle room stood behind the stacks of audience seats. So, no hiding behind doors, which I felt sure wasn’t allowed anyway.
A silver-colored metal rack of swords, spears, bows, and other weapons–some I’d never seen before with lights blinking on various spots of shiny metal–stood just next to the double-doored entrance of the arena. There were dozens of weapons, and the rack’s length continued three times as long as the weapons rack Drayek and I had had in Edrona. And, for some reason, Headmaster Bohin had said procuring my own weapon was required–even with the availability of so many others. Maybe they wanted to see I was equipped and ready–that I knew how to handle a weapon in the first place. And, by having a weapon, that was a good sign that I might know what I’m doing.
Next to the long weapons rack, I found three metal buckets filled to the brim with clear water. Nic was really trying to help me, after all.
I marched the length of the arena, now studying the different obstacles someone had set up within the oval-shaped fighting area. Some of the soft-looking towers, all colored a deep red, that acted as obstacles stood tall; Others stood short and acted as a platform for someone to stand on. But none of the obstacles were wide enough to fit more than one person on top or behind.
So, I had some objects to utilize when defending myself against Cinthara–some things to put between the two of us.
Lasting one minute might seem like a short time to most people, but a lot could happen in 60 seconds of a fight or battle. What type of power did Cinthara have? She had easily healed me just hours before, but I had seen similar Skills belonging to healers in Edrona, like Korin. All Nic had told me last night was that she would be much stronger and much faster than me, that the only chance I had was to not fight and avoid getting hit by her weapon or any of her spells.
The double doors swung open behind me. I quickly turned over my shoulder and straightened to attention.
“No need to act so startled, boy.” Headmaster Bohin strolled into the room with a skip in his step. “Just calm yourself. It’s not time for fighting yet.”
I tried to relax my tense shoulders and allow myself a reprieve at Jaeke’s insistence, but my efforts proved ineffectual. My trembling fingers and quick breathing betrayed me with any sense of calm.
“Isn’t today exciting?!” The headmaster clapped his stubby hands together, and the sound echoed continuously through the entire arena, reaching my ears at loud volumes about three separate times.
I opened my mouth to agree, though I’d be uttering a lie. I had to admit, however, the adrenaline that sent a buzz through my fingertips offered me some pretense of thrill. But anything I might have said in response to the headmaster was interrupted by the sound of someone banging the double doors open.
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Cinthara marched through the open doors with her pointed nose thrust high into the air. Her long curls had been tied into a single tight braid that wrapped around her shoulders and fell over her waist like a platinum-blond scarf. The color of her hair blended in nicely with the pearly white color of her armor. She sidled in next to me, hands folded protectively over a rapier tucked into a thin golden-colored sheath. She didn’t offer me even one glance, though the kindness she had shown me by healing my chin had just happened that morning.
It made me further question our earlier encounter altogether. Couldn’t we be civil with one another? Honorable, respectful opponents? But I didn’t have the liberty to worry about whatever went through Cinthara’s head at that moment.
I brought my eyes back to Headmaster Bohin as he began speaking to us:
“I appreciate both of your punctuality this afternoon. Within the next two minutes, some teachers and students will come into the battle room and settle in for a show.”
The headmaster’s smile grew so grotesquely big. I found myself shuddering at his words, the reality of an audience coming to watch me, a weak Tier 2, fight a Tier 4–a Tier 4 that was a beginner in all their eyes!
This’ll be great.
“There are only two rules,” Jaeke said with a sing-songy lilt to his voice. “One, no leaving the room during the allotted 60-second-length duel. Two, do not give one another any killing blows.”
He gave Cinthara a pointed look. Her face merely hardened while my stomach clenched in trepidation.
As the headmaster had said, trails of people chaotically filed into the seats. The excited chatter set my teeth on edge, and I could feel dozens of pairs of eyes studying and judging me. Cinthara didn’t seem fazed. Her eyes were closed, and she muttered incomprehensibly under her breath.
Jaeke retreated to a wider chair in the center of the right side of the battle room. As he walked away, he gave Cinthara and me an energetic wave, but I couldn’t help but feel like the gesture acted as an official “goodbye” wave for my sake.
He settled into the chair that looked more throne-like than the simple gray seats intended for the rest of the audience.
“Will both parties please take their places on either side of the arena?” the headmaster’s voice bellowed.
I proffered Cinthara a friendly smile and subtle nod, but she ignored me. Sighing, I withdrew to my side of the fighting ground. She did the same, spinning around herself so quickly that her braid flew behind her like a whip.
After our simultaneous marches, Cinthara and I faced each other. We stood at least 200 feet away from one another, but I could still see the determination in her furrowed brows and tight lips.
She’s going to do everything she can to make sure I don’t succeed, I realized. But why?
“On my command…” Headmaster Bohin lifted an arm, black robes falling over his lap like a dark wave. He nodded to a scrawny man seated just below him.
The man pulled out a large, slender black device with glowing numbers, like the clocks they had on this planet, but the numbers only read “60.” As soon as the device came into view, Dex informed me it was a timer for the duel.
Cinthara slid her rapier out from its sheath, and I procured my spear from behind me at the same time.
Jaeke threw his arm down. “Begin!”
As soon as the timer ticked down to 59 seconds, an explosion of pain erupted through my entire jaw. I cried out, falling to my knees and dropping my spear. I had never felt pain like this. It felt like searing hot flames licked at every nerve in my jaw, especially where Gregory had punched me that morning.
How? Why? My thoughts tumbled within my head in disarray. Gregory had only punched me; why would–
My breath hitched in my chest. Cinthara. Her healing spell–it had done something to me. Somehow, she had been able to offer me temporary healing that faded off to not only bring back the pain but increase it by at least tenfold.
My vision went dark from the pain, but I gritted my teeth and searched for my fallen spear with a shaky, panicked hand. I had no time to lose. My hand gripped the smooth shaft of what could only be my spear, and I held it out in front of me defensively, not knowing what else to do. How much time had passed? Five, six seconds?
“Codex!” I thought to my AI with great effort. “Where is she?”
“She is five feet to your right, Rayden.”
I threw my head to the right, ignoring the burst of stinging pain that coursed through my face by doing so. As I desperately searched for any sign of light or my vision returning, I caught sight of a swarm of essence threads hovering in thicker clumps in one particular spot. They shone before me like a beacon in my otherwise dark world. And they were attracted to something.
Before I could think to draw in the streams, the swarm lunged at me, forming what looked to be the outline of a small person’s frame. Cinthara.