image [https://i.imgur.com/WupCxxl.jpeg]

Cycle finished!

Gain 200 copper bits.

Extra Delicious effect removed.

2 new Crankscouts created.

Crankscout camouflage improved.

South Arena

Near the middle of the southern side of the Board lies the South Arena. One of the Four Arenas, the South specializes in team combat.

…Only to sit down on the stone floor and grumble.

Randomness my well padded wom-butt!

Will was, once again, sitting in the familiar stone waiting room of one of the four arenas. That this was the South Arena, and that it was his first time visiting it, didn’t reduce even a little bit from the air of familiarity he was feeling.

The only difference between this waiting room and the previous one was that Miss Drill was sitting next to him, looking as if she’d never been banished by the East Arena to begin with.

Team combat, huh? I wonder how that would work. It can’t just be Miss Drill and me, since I’m fairly sure not everyone has minions. Which means that I’ll probably be teaming up with other people. On the other hand, if Miss Drill is here now, it’s likely that she can join us.

I think it’s time to use Offensive Aura. Having the extra damage for everyone on my side has to increase our chance of winning.

Will quickly took out the skill shard, used it, and transferred it to Miss Drill. There was no change to the skill from level one to level five. The only difference was the extra range, but that extra range would make the skill a lot easier to employ.

He was considering adding the Fire aspect to the Offensive Aura when the door opened, and in walked an elf.

He was tall and thin, and was wearing an expensive looking three piece suit. Like the other Arena Managers Will had seen, he was holding a clipboard, and was holding a monocle up to his right eye while he was consulting it.

“Greetings, contester, and welcome to the South Arena. Might I enquire as to your moniker?”

In a move that utterly surprised Will, Miss Drill pointed to herself, looking confused.

“Please keep control of your associate, sir. I did not say ‘monkey’. I said ‘moniker’.”

Ah, yes. Sorry. I’ve never seen her do something like that. I’m known as Will the Wombat, in the arenas.

“Will the Wombat. Let me see… ah, yes. I have you here. Two wins in the East, one in the West, and a default in the North. Tsk. That default doesn’t look good on your record, Mr. Wombat.”

Yeah, well, it’s not like I could pass that obstacle course. I’m not built for it.

“Nevertheless, sir, an attempt and an honorable failure would have looked better than a default.”

OK, look. I’m not trying to be the king of the arena here. I’m just here because this world has me moving randomly, and because I want some things from the arena shop. I’m not about to make a clown of myself by trying to run a gauntlet I have no chance of passing, OK?

The elf sniffed derisively at Will’s words.

“I hope you don’t let that defeatist state of mind impact your performance on the sands, Mr. Wombat. Your partner in today’s altercation is in it to win it, as they say. He does not deserve to lose the fight because you can’t be bothered to make an effort.”

I can make the effort, Mr?

“You can refer to me as ‘Manager Manfred’, Mr. Wombat.”

OK, Manager Manfred. I can make the effort. I’m just not going to make it if there’s no chance for it to matter. I did win those three fights, you know.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

The elf sniffed in disdain again.

“We shall see, Mr. Wombat. Follow me, and we shall see if you can really put in the effort.”

Without another word, the elf turned his back on Will and walked out into the corridor.

Will, of course, followed. It was obvious that he wouldn’t be able to get much more out of the elf. It took a few minutes to reach the entrance to the arena sands, and Manager Manfred just silently pointed into the waiting room and walked away.

With another sniff, loud enough that it could probably have been heard by the spectators.

Of the North Arena.

Shrugging at the manager’s behavior, Will entered the room.

“Will, old chap! I’d say that we have to stop meeting like this, but how else would we be meeting?”

Inside the room stood a large monitor lizard, wearing bright red-striped yellow leather armor. A large flanged mace head was attached to his tail, and his claws were tipped with blackened steel.

Hello, Jeremy. It’s good to see you again.

“And we’re on the same side this time! Maybe I’ll actually be on the winning team now.”

Oh, come off it, man. I’ve seen you run the Gauntlet, and I know you took first place there.

“Come on, mate. You’re ruining a good bit of Drama for me here!”

OK, sorry. In that case, yeah. You’re definitely on the winning team now!

“Much better! Say, old chap, what did you do to get a bug up old Manny’s nose like that? He wasn’t even close to this stuffy with me.”

Heh. It’s that North Arena thing again. I’m just about as far away from being athletic as you can get, so I defaulted out of the Gauntlet run. And now, apparently, I’m a defeatist and going to drag you down with me.

“He’s such a character, old Manny! Apparently, I am a ‘determined and have a winner’s disposition’, since I never quit a fight.”

Yeah, that sounds like you, all right.

“Anyway, we’ve got a few minutes until the fight should start. What say we talk a bit about our skills and strategy before it starts?”

We can do that. But don’t you want to keep your skills a secret for the next time we’re on opposite sides?

“That’s your defeatist attitude speaking, old chap! A winner doesn’t care about holding on to trump cards! But seriously, mate. Worry about the fight in front of you, not the one that might be in the future.”

Heh. Good point there, Jeremy. So what do you want to know?

We’ve seen each other fight, so we know about most of it already. It’s just the new stuff or the stuff that hadn’t come up yet that we need to discuss. Like that monkey standing there. Haven’t seen that one last time we’ve met.”

Yeah, that’s Miss Drill, and she’s new…

Will spent a couple of minutes filling Jeremy in on his and Miss Drill’s skills. The lizard listened attentively, nodding his head when Will was done.

“That’s a good setup there, old chap. Makes me really happy we’re on the same side here. Now, as for me, you already know about my Leap Attack, right?”

Jeremy, it turned out, had fewer skills than Will, but the ones he had were often higher leveled.

By the time Manfred’s voice announced the beginning of the match, the two had worked out a seemingly solid game plan for their fight.

As much as any game plan can be made without knowing who their opponents were going to be, at least.

“Welcome, spectators! Welcome to the South Arena, where skill, tactics, and teamwork shine through! Today, in our bronze tier match, I would like to welcome four new contestants to our illustrious arena! All four are veterans of at least one of the other arenas, but all are equally new here! From the purple entrance, please welcome a brilliant new talent. He’s had some downs, and he’d had some ups, but he always keeps on going! Jeremy, the All Devourer!”

Jeremy nodded to Will, and then walked proudly into the arena sands, to the sound of at least a little bit of applause.

The lizard, true to form, waved all around him and strutted about as he walked.

“From the green entrance, please welcome another promising fighter. This is only her second time in one of the arenas, but she already has a win from the North under her wing. Amelia Swiftwing!

From the gate on the opposite side from Will, a bird flew into the arena. She was large, with a wingspan of about half a meter and about seventy centimeters from head to tail. Her head was grey, and had dark streaks running from her beak to behind her eyes. The tops of her wings were chestnut brown with black spots.

She wasn’t wearing any armor, but Will could see the sun gleaming off her talons, showing that she must have had weapons similar to his own steel claws.

Perhaps a bit uncharitably, Will couldn’t help but feel that the praise regarding her win in the North Arena was a bit misplaced. The Gauntlet couldn’t possibly be all that difficult for someone who could fly.

She got about the same amount of applause as Jeremy. Which is to say, very little of it.

“From the green entrance again, please welcome another strong challenger! He’d fought in the West, and he’d won in the East! Even his name is a testament to strength and humility! Robert, Just Robert!”

Will knew that name. It took him a minute to place it, but as soon as the leather clad chimpanzee walked into the sand, the name clicked. Robert was one of the contestants during Will’s West Arena debut. He was a type of rogue, and had a very good stealth skill which let him just disappear from sight, even if you were looking right at him. He was also a very good shot with the bandoleer of throwing knives which crossed his chest.

More sporadic applause welcomed the ape into the arena.

“And last, from the purple entrance again, Will the Wombat!”

Will didn’t, even for one second, doubted that the lackluster introduction was an intended slight. It seemed like Manfred wasn’t even trying to hide his opinion of Will.

Not that it seemed that anyone actually cared. Will received the same amount of minimal applause as the other three contestants. Perhaps there was a tiny bit more interest in Will, since the wombat was accompanied by Miss Drill. But if there was, it was too small a difference to tell for certain.

“For the sake of our new contestants, I will reiterate the rules of the fight. This is a team battle, which means that it’s a team victory. The first team to have both fighters incapacitated will lose, and the opposite team will win. However! The prize for winning in the South Arena depends on the winning team’s condition! If both fighters are still standing, each will be awarded a hundred XP and twenty bronze tier tokens. If one of the fighters had been incapacitated, however, the prize will be halved! So guard your teammates, and show us that you can be more than mere brutish thugs! May the best team win, and fight!”