Chapter 51

We stood there. Every heart must have been filled with the same despair. We were a collective of miserable defeat.

Then I spoke, "Gideon, strike me."

Gideon snapped his head up. "As good as that might make me feel, it's not allowed."

"I have an idea, something that can help all of us, but I need you to hit me with everything you've got," I said.

Gideon was impassive. He stared at me. "If you have some strange plan to get me ejected, I'm not biting."

Lauren said, "I have a terrible feeling we're all getting ejected. Lance has found a way to shorten the competition. Even if one of us can take an orb here and get through the rest of us, Lance will just take it from them."

"That's exactly what I'm thinking," I said, turning back to Gideon. "Gideon, I need you to hit me with all you've got."

Gideon grew angrier, snarling, "Don't you get it, shopkeeper? I'm not an idiot. Whatever your plan is, I'm not stupid. I know you're serving yourself. Doing what you want will help you. We're competing. I'm not going to fall into your plot."

I felt frustration boiling over and roared back, "I have an idea to help all of us. Now hit me! You want to, don't you?"

Gideon's sword flared with energy, his eyes blazing. "Nothing would make me more excited, shopkeeper!"

"Then hit me, Gideon!" I shouted. "If the day is lost, then you might be wearing that suit for the last time. This might be the last chance in your life to feel the power of your CUT. Take a shot!"

The pressure cracked in Gideon. Maybe my words hurt him, provoked him, but he swung. His sword cut through the air with a ferocious hum. I flexed my SHIELD attribute, bracing for the impact. The blow was terrible, driving me to my knees, but my SHIELD dulled the worst of it.

I stood, my breath coming in ragged gasps, looking Gideon in the eyes. "Again."

Gideon's eyes flicked behind me, and I turned to see Magneblade standing there, not intervening yet, just watching, interested. I turned back to Gideon and screamed, "AGAIN, I SAID."

Gideon hit me again, his CUT blazing with energy. The force of the attack sent waves of pain through my body. I flexed my SHIELD again, absorbing the blow, my knees buckling but holding my ground.

Again, dammit," I snarled, my voice filled with determination. Gideon glanced at Magneblade, who stood there, his visored head cocked to one side, leaning forward with what I imagined was an amused expression beneath his visor.

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Gideon stuttered, "What are you playing at, Shopkeeper?"

"If you want a chance to be in the competition tomorrow, then hit me just one more time," I pressed him. Gideon hesitated, winding up to strike me again, but he was confused, his spirit wasn't in it.

"With everything you've got, try to send me across the room," I urged.

Gideon stammered, "What's the point in all of this, Shopkeeper? I don't know your game, but none of us is getting past Lance."

Katya spoke. Maybe she understood my thinking, her voice was high. "Gideon, quickly, do it, give him everything you have. I don't know how long the priests will let this go on without calling time. Hit him."

Gideon hesitated. Katya screamed at him, "Where are your balls? I thought you were a bull, not a steer. Hit him!" Her voice grew louder and more desperate, "HIT HIM!"

With a roar, Gideon finally unleashed his fiercest attack. His sword blazed with energy as he swung it at me. I flexed my SHIELD, feeling the familiar surge of power as it flared to life. The blow was immense, the force of it crashing into me. My HUD displayed the 1.9 for a moment before it faded, replaced by a bright, glowing 2.0. My SHIELD flared bigger and brighter than ever before.

I still felt the blow, but this time I barely staggered backward. The others stood stunned for a moment. I knew what they were thinking. I'd done it again, levelled an attribute faster than any of them.

Gideon stared at me, awe fading to distaste. He looked like he felt used, like I had manipulated him into helping me, his competitor, to gain an advantage. I held a hand up to him, urging patience, and approached a pedestal.

I forced my hand into the field. The pain was still there, intense and searing, and I could feel some damage being done, but my level 2 SHIELD protected me from the worst of it. The barrier felt like a viscous, burning liquid against my armor. As I pushed through, I felt the smoothness of the orb under my fingers. I grasped it tightly and began to pull my arm out.

It was hard, like moving through molasses, and there was a sensation as if a gravity within the pedestal was pulling me back. My muscles strained, the resistance growing, but then, with a snap, it released. I staggered slightly, my arm now outside the field, smoke rising from my armor, the orb secure in my hand.

Gideon's sword flared with energy as he advanced, determined to take the orb from me. The girls, however, did not follow his lead. They seemed to be waiting, understanding better what I was doing. Before Gideon could attack, I tossed the orb to him.

Startled, he nearly dropped it, fumbling with the orb before securing it. He just stood there, confused, staring at me.

My gaze moved from Gideon to Lauren to Katya. I said, "Only one of us can take the Griidsuit at the end of the Choosing. I know we are ultimately competing with each other, but the way today has gone, there is a very real chance that the suit will be Lance's, and we will all see our chances dissipate."

I looked at Gideon. "You allied with him once before to try and remove me from the competition. The Choosing seems to take no issue with us using diplomacy to help us succeed."

I glanced back at Katya and Lauren. "Zara is gone. At most, there are five of us left in the competition. Tomorrow will be a new day. If we can all remain, then tomorrow we can compete again and see the worthiest of us find their way to winning the Griidsuit. But for now, Lance is impenetrable. He found a way to use today's challenge for his own advantage, and as much as I dislike him, I commend his thinking, his ingenuity."

I returned my gaze to Gideon. "But now it's time for us to let our own inspiration give us a chance. Lance is better than any one of us right now, but I doubt he's anywhere near as good as any two of us, certainly not all four of us."

Gideon nodded slowly, understanding. His mouth beneath the half-helm seemed to sneer in distaste at the idea of allying himself with a commoner.