Johann’s second fight was almost … boring. A regular Mage firing out [Mana Bolts] and [Mana Spears], his output was plenty decent but compared to Mar’a the poor guy was woefully outmatched. He did his best but, well … he did his best.
Johann’s third match was much more interesting. Faced against a Rogue armed with a bow and far more arrows than what should have fit in his quiver, Johann found himself reminded of his shooting contests with Torin. With his high Agility and the fact that bows are almost always faster than spells Torin ended up winning every time but the constant practice helped Johann speed up his spellcasting immensely. Not enough to win, but enough get close.
Of course, Johann’s opponent didn’t have nearly as much Agility as Torin but he also wasn’t above a little dirty fighting. Participants in the Ranged Attacker tournament couldn’t hurt each other, but they could do things like target each others spells. Much like when Johann would target Mar’a’s spells the new opponent targeted Johann’s spells, detonating them before they could reach the target.
The tactic might not have been particularly sportsmanlike but it did show off his precision and accuracy quite well. Johann’s [Mana Bolts], fueled by Weather Mana thanks to his [Weather Attunement] skill, were much faster than the average [Mana Bolt]. To be able to accurately target and destroy Johann’s spells showed a level of skill that was likely beyond most.
It might even have been enough to win the match if Johann hadn’t changed tactics. Releasing his attunement Johann began attuning to the realm of plants. The connection came much quicker and easier than when he tried to attune to Weather, a benefit of having mastered the skill. As soon as he reached the optimal state he cast [Entangling Roots] at full power while fueling it with the Tier 3 plant mana.
The resulting spell was one he’d only tried once before. Roots the size strings grew into massive pillars in seconds, bursting from the ground in a cacophonous rumble before wrapping around the boss golem like a boa constrictor wrapping up a mouse. The other contestant nearly dropped his bow in surprise, staring at the giant roots with shock tattooed across his face.
With the size and strength of the roots the ‘non-damaging control spell’ became positively lethal. If the golem hadn’t been enchanted with a high level of self-repair then it would have been crushed into pieces. With the spell in place it meant that Johann no longer needed to worry about damaging the boss, a good thing since the single spell took almost a third of his mana in one go.
The sudden release of that much mana in such a short time strained his mana channels, the small spider web like conduits through which he channeled his mana from the small core resting within his heart to the rest of his body and outside. As an elemental, or half elemental rather, his mana channels were wider and more durable than most, but even they had their limits and Johann skated the edge with s spell like that.
The simple fact is that people aren’t meant to channel higher tier mana, the intensity and depth of the mana could easily burn their mana channels. If it weren’t for his Elemental nature and the fact that he’d been using [Mana Bolt] rather than a more mana intensive spell Johann would have likely crippled himself long ago.
Even with his advantages he wasn’t stupid enough to try any more attunement tricks for the rest of the match. Instead he went with his original tactic, machine-casting spells like it was his life’s purpose. Thanks to [Basic Mana Manipulation] and his increased familiarity with [Basic Mana Bolt] he could now produce a bolt with only four mana while still keeping most of the damage.
With over 200 mana left it meant he could fire out 50 [Basic Mana Bolts] before running out of mana. Of course, that wasn’t including the mana he’d regenerate in the meantime which, given the four minutes left in the match, meant he could eek out another 4 by the end of the match. Not that it mattered, 50 was already far more than he needed.
At least, that was what Johann thought. His opponent didn’t agree with the plan, the ranged rogue continuing to destroy his bolts with, if anything, even more enthusiasm than before. He could no longer take out all of them though, or even half, as he had to balance damaging the boss, destroying the adds and destroying Johanns bolts. With Johann rapid firing bolts at any adds he could see and a boss that was largely covered in massive gnarly roots the archer found himself slowly but surely losing the match.
He never gave up hope, continuing to keep up the blistering barrage of arrows. He tried several different tactics but in the end it was a futile struggle, Johanns roots were too powerful and his bolts too plentiful. By the end of the match he was leading by 8 points and the winner was clear to everyone who watched.
Johann turned to his opponent to find that he was already walking towards his exit portal. Johann shrugged, unsurprised that the ranged rogue didn’t want to talk. If anything Mar’a was the exception, but then again their entire match had been exceptional. Johann hoped she was okay, the girl had made an impression on him and he hoped to meet her again one day, maybe for a rematch. But that was in the future and he currently had the present to worry about.
----------------------------------------
Gloria tapped her foot nervously, checking the straps of her armor once again. She’d already made it into the guild, her victory against Mervin the Dense Idiot had secured her place, but if anything it made her more excited for the match. The next two fights would be against not only the best the trials had to offer, but it would also be her first against fellow guildmates. People that she might end up knowing for years to come, that she would be able to fight many times.
These weren’t just potential friends, these were potential sparring partners. The sheer level of appeal that the thought had pulled Gloria up short, making her wonder for a moment if perhaps she enjoyed fighting a bit too much. Then the portal opened up and all thoughts of introspection fled.
The arena was the same the previous ones, their entrance into it was not. This was a battle between the final three and the Adventurers Guild weren’t averse to creating a little excitement. When Gloria stepped through the portal it was to the roar of a crowd. Looking around the once empty stands were suddenly full of people, or at least they appeared to be. The crowd was a projection similar to the one they would see of her, both placed so that they would look as close to reality as possible while still keeping interference at a minimum.
Since the fights from now on would mean little cheating was almost worthless, but almost was not completely. There were still plenty of bets placed on the fights and even though the Adventurers Guild didn’t care about some piece of scum cheating for a few extra gold, they did care if said piece of scum tried to hurt one of their newest recruits to do so.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Ladies, Gentlemen And All Those In Between, Welcome To This, The First Match Of The Tanking Tournament Final. So Far We Have Seen These Incredible Trial Participants Fight It Out To See Who Would Enter The Adventurers Guild And Without A Doubt The Three Winners Were Each Deserving Of Their Place!”
“Of Course, We Could Leave It There, But Who Would Want That? I For One, Would Love To Know Who Is The Best, Who Is The Champion Of Champions! So Without Further Ado, Let Me Introduce Two People Who Need No Introduction.”
“At One End Of The Arena We Have Gloria Megrathin, Having Already Earned The Nickname Of Steel-Clad Banshee Thanks To Her Performance In Her First Match.”
“At The Other End Of The Arena We Have Rosa Pankhurst, A Powerful Woman Who Has Dazzled The Crowds With Her Displays Of Resilience And Tenacity.”
“Who Will Win When These Two Clash? Lets Find Out!”
With that the barrier fell and Gloria saw her opponent Rosa Pankhurst for the first time. Rosa was tall, annoyingly so, standing at just over six foot with pitch black hair and violet eyes that almost seemed to glow. She was wearing scale armor and wielding a large bearded ax in her right hand and a buckler shield with a sharpened edge.
As Gloria was sizing up her opponent Rosa was sizing up Gloria in return. The shorter woman was decked in plated leather armor and carried a targe shield and a mace. The fact that even her shield could be used as a weapon lent credence to the nickname, though the calm steady gaze she held certainly didn’t seem to agree.
The two continued to walk towards each other in a steady pace until they stood four feet apart. Neither said anything, they didn’t need to. Though they had only just started down their paths both had the souls of warriors, and when two warriors met on the field of battle they never needed words, they spoke with their actions, each clash conveying who they were in a way that words never could.
After a moment of peace they sprang into action. Rosa slashed downwards with her ax only to be met with Gloria’s shield. The clang as steel met steel rang out, masking Gloria’s grunt as she bore the weight of the swing. Taking a half step to the right she tried to deflect the ax away while swinging her mace in retaliation but Rosa skipped backwards.
Stillness returned to the arena as the two tanks stared at each other. From the exchange both woman could tell that they were evenly matched, neither having a significant advantage in Strength or Agility. The revelation had both smiling as they understood that the match would come down to pure skill. Both woman enjoyed those kind of fights the most and seeing the fighting spirit in the other merely heightened their enthusiasm.
After that the fight became a blur. Both Rosa and Gloria forgot about the trial as the joy of the fight filled them. Like twins separated at birth finally meeting after years the two of them were thrilled to find someone as battle-hungry as they were. Ax and mace, shield and shield, the two clashed over and over as the crowd cheered on, completely ignored by the two fighters.
Of course, just because they enjoyed the fight didn’t mean they lost sight of the goal. Both had already revealed and made heavy use of their trump cards. For Gloria, her shields ability to store and release energy meant that Rosa had to try and avoid hitting her shield not only so she could damage Gloria but also so that she wouldn’t get her own attacks thrown back at her.
Rosa’s trump card came in the form of an uncommon enchantment that caused whatever it hit to become stuck to it. Usually used in climbing gear Rosa made excellent use of it to trap Gloria’s mace whenever it struck her shield which in turn made Gloria start to avoid hitting her shield as well.
With both of them constantly avoiding each others shield the fight devolved into a competition of feints and footwork, each one trying to outmaneuver the other in an endlessly complex battle of wits that was not unlike a chess match. Sadly the fight was also like a chess match in that it was somewhat boring to watch.
After a minute of this both woman separated once more. Gloria locked eyes with Rosa, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Even though both of them had only made contact once or twice the sheer exertion of the constant shifts in footwork and feints had left them both out of breath.
Once they were both ready Rosa began lifting her ax to resume the fight when she was stopped by a look from Gloria. Understanding the question in Gloria’s eyes she tilted her head in thought before giving a slight nod in agreement.
What happened next was a shock to the audience who knew nothing of what had transpired between the two woman. Both warriors slowly but surely hung their weapons on their belts and undid the straps on their arms before lifting their shields and throwing them aside.
Ignoring the exclamations from the crowd both tanks immediately grabbed their respective weapons off their belts and leapt at each other, screaming their fury as their weapons clashed. Rosa lead with another overhead swing which Gloria managed to redirect with a well aimed swipe of her mace. Trying to hit Rosa on the back swing she was instead met with an armored fist crashing into her chest.
The blow was strong but thanks to an agile pivot Gloria managed to bleed off some of the force into a spin, letting her turn the momentum into a powerful sweeping kick into Rosa’s side. The kick didn’t do much damage though as Rosa managed to disperse a lot of the force with a sideways roll. The two ended up once again separated by a few feet but they definitely didn’t stay that way.
Over and over the two clashed. By the three minute mark Rosa ended up with fractures on both arms and her right leg and Gloria had more cuts and slashes than she had fingers and toes. Both had exhausted every tactic, trick, maneuver and crazy idea they could and now they were spent, both physically and emotionally, and neither had enough health left to last another ten seconds.
The two stood there, both barely able to stand but refusing to collapse,and prepared themselves for one final clash. With a yell that declared their unrelenting and unyielding will the two charged at each other. When the dust cleared both woman were left standing a few feet from each other, their backs toward their opponent. The audience was left in silence, everyone on the edge of their seats in suspense.
Gloria did not hear what happened next. She didn’t hear the announcer talk about the amazing match or the brilliance of the two warriors. She didn’t even hear him announce her victory. All she could do was repeat the last exchange in her head over and over. Turning around she found Rosa already walking towards the exit portal.
“Wait!” She shouted. When Rosa turned around, a small smile on her face, she asked just one thing. “Why?”
Rosa didn’t answer but her smile became a grin as she turned and walked through the portal, leaving Gloria confused. The Rakshasa turned and walked through her own portal, her mind still replaying the last exchange over and over again. No matter how she looked at it she couldn’t figure it out.
In that moment Gloria and Rosa had leapt at each other, ax and mace moving almost in tandem. Almost, but not quite. Rosa’s ax was just that tiny bit faster, it would hit first. In that moment it seemed as if time itself had slowed down, both woman hanging almost as if suspended in mid-air as their weapons closed in on each other. Gloria saw that her mace was slower but she accepted it. She had gone all out and to lose now would be okay, at least she lost while giving it her all.
And then Rosa slowed down. Gloria saw it, but she couldn’t explain it. For some reason Rosa held back at the last moment, she let Gloria win, and Gloria couldn’t figure out why.