“Use whatever means you want, but from here I’m not going easy on you. I won’t release those restraints until you land a hit on me.” Shishou says as he takes a stance I haven't seen him use before

He looks serious, deathly so.

“I couldn’t even land a hit on you without them, it will take me days to do so with them!” I say as I try again to stand

“For your sake, you better hope not. The tournament requires you take place in a ceremony a few days prior to the first match. They will be deciding on your opponent then. If you don’t take part they won’t enter you into the final roster... in other words, you will be disqualified.” Shishou explains with a malicious smile

“What?! Why didn’t you say anything before?!” I let out in surprise

“Simple. You wouldn’t have put on the shackles.” He continues

...I already gave my word that I would fight in that tournament. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth to break a promise. I want the chance to test my strength against those fighters as well.

“Fine. How long do I have?” I ask

“Until noon tomorrow.” He answers as the smile drops from his face

“Fal-Kei-Tera Earth manipulation!” I say

I raise a pillar of stone beneath my right hand, gripping the top hard. I raise it high enough to pull myself from the ground, though I can hear it beginning to crack under the pressure.

I have a few ideas, but I can’t use my trump cards right away. I have a long timer, I might as well use it to take this slowly.

POW!

“Gurk!” I can’t help but let out a sound of pain as the air is knocked out of me by a strike to the stomach

“I’m not going to make this easy either. Come at me or I will strike instead!” He yells out in a commanding tone as he regains his former stance

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He’s going easy on me, that much is easy to see. He easily could have knocked me back onto the ground at the very least. Regardless that strike hurt a lot. I don’t know how many of those I can take.

“Fal-Kei-Tera Earth Manipulation! Tei-Meta-Tera Golem Form!” I yell out attempting to thrust my hand towards the ground

Admittedly it was more of a wiggle in its general direction.

Two golems that look neater than I remember them being in the past rise from the ground. They both have a surprisingly large single arm. Did I make them wrong somehow?

“Ohoho? Is this why you are such a poor fighter? The first sign of difficulty and you pull out something else to fight your battles?” Shishou mocks

I don’t respond though. In part due to the fact that standing is becoming such a struggle that I am forced to grit my teeth.

I send my golems in to keep him busy while I move forward. I doubt they will land a solid hit, but even shishou should take a second or two to get through them.

SMASH!

...or not. Just as soon as it charged in he shattered the first one with a strike to the chest.

Are they just not that sturdy?

The other seems doomed to repeat the fate of the first as it charges in and Shishou prepares to attack again.

KRTch ch ch

To my surprise though he remains standing. The second one defended against the attack with its bulbous arm. Though the arm shattered to pieces the rest of the golem remains standing.

So that large arm is meant to be some kind of shield then? That gives me an idea.

“Fal-Kei-Tera Earth Manipulation! Tei-Meta-Tera Golem Form!” I say again summoning another

I need to pay attention to my mana as well. Golems aren’t cheap. I hope I have enough left for this.

“Tei-Meta-Ai Transmute!” I say focusing on the newly formed golem

As soon as I say the words it’s as if instructions pop into my head. It’s a magic that works similarly to earth manipulation. It not only allows me to change the form of the object at will, but also the material for a much higher mana cost. It seems like I will just squeak by with iron.

Shwashwashwa

A faint light pulsates around the golem as he slowly becomes a dull grey.

“I’ve never seen that magic used in such a way... this is beginning to prove interesting,” Shishou says with a battle-hungry smile

Tong! TONG! Tong!

Shishou charges at the golem immediately, striking it repeatedly. Whenever he does, a new dent appears on the golems surface.

It should take him a while to take care of that one, so I should get moving before then. It’s becoming slightly easier to move as well now that I’m getting used to it.

With what would have been a powerful kick I slide my foot forward slightly. I repeat with the other foot to move myself forward slightly. It’s slow and takes a lot of energy, but it’s movement.

Taaaaang

I hear the sound of a sharp chime as I see a part of my iron golem land next to me.

“That was fun, I hope you have enough juice left to make some more.” Shishou teases with a look of victory

Sigh

He really doesn’t plan to make this easy, does he?