The arena master squinted at the four of them. “What are you doin’ here? I know your type. Posh, run when you barely get scratched. Flying in here with your fancy artifacts. If you participate in my arena, you’d better not use any of your artifacts. Here to sign up for the nonmagical section?”
Jay let a bit of power leak out-he and his friends were quite good at keeping their strengths quiet, unlike most people-somehow, they were just more subtle, even Catherine.
The arena master stopped, and nodded. “Sorry ‘bout that, didn’t know you had strength t’ back up your words.”
Crystal shrugged, stepping past Jay, who was happy to let her step in front. “It’s partially our fault. We didn’t have any indication of our strengths out there.”
The arena master sat back in his chiar, and popped a box of cigarettes into his hand out of nowhere as he put his feet up on his chestnut desk. Opening it, he lit one on fire with his finger, ptting it into his mouth. He waved the box at them in clear offering, but none of them accepted. “Alright. Hit me.”
Crystal blinked. “Huh?”
The arena master pointed at himself. “Hit me with something. I have all my power put into defense, and besides, you don’t need to hit me at full strength.”
Jay tapped her on the back lightly, and she stepped aside. Jay nodded at the arena master and gave him a good punch, without using the onyx lattice within him. It hit a membrane a few inches past his face, and the arena master’s face grew a shocked expression. “I wish I was this strong when I was your age.”
He stood, raising his hand for a handshake, which Jay accepted, shaking his hand. “I’m Scott. Now, I’d put you all in the strongest category. Can you accept a match today?”
“I’m Jay. I can do a match right now, in fact. All of us can.”
The arena master nodded. “We have combatants you can face, people hired by us. So, if you defeat your opponents immediately, that’s fine.” They walked through a door, emerging into an indoor arena where two people were punching each other in the face, over and over again. The arena master waved at a few people, ignoring the scene below. “But if they’re not too much weaker than you, and you can draw it out a little, make a show, I’d appreciate that. And besides, if one of the audience gets hot-blooded ‘nough, they could decide to fight you themselves, and give you an actual challenge!”
Catherine spoke up. “I”ll go first.”
The arena master nodded. “You want me to announce a name?”
“Nah. But for further conversation, my name’s Catherine.”
“Alright.”
Scott grabbed Catherine, jumping out of the stands and onto the arena. She landed easily, not even bending her knees before walking along with Scott. The two fighters in the center were done punching each other, one of them turning in a circle with his arms spread wide in victory. “All right, all right, clear out!,” Scott shouted.
The fighter pouted before walking out of the arena through an arched entrance. The other one was picked up and moved out by a team of people in white suits that covered enough of them their genders weren’t obvious. The crowd roared as Scott’s voice was suddenly amplified somehow, and he started announcing. “We have a real treat for you, ladies and gentlemen! Here we have a woman participating in a platinum rank fight! Now, the last time we’ve seen one of those was around three months ago, and the challenger was absolutely trashed by our own Knuckle Jane!”
The crowd roared again, Catherine yawning in the middle of the arena. “Will this new challenger lose? Or will she win? And here she comes! Knuckle Jane has entered the arena!”
Catherine smiled as another woman entered the arena, massively bigger than her own small stature. Knuckle Jane stood a head over Catherine, and with nearly thrice the bulk. She wore two metal gauntlets, one on each hand, and slammed them together for a metallic clank. The crowd’s cheers grew to a higher volume than ever before, and Scott backed away. “Let the fight… BEGIN!”
Knuckle Jane sized up Catherine. “Gal, you don’t seem that big to me. Why don’t you leave and live another day?”
A sapphire hammer appeared out of midair, landing in Catherine’s hands. The hammer was prodigiously heavy, but she wielded it like a toy. Knuckle Jane laughed. “Gal, you think that toy’s heavy enough to hurt me?”
Catherine just smiled, before rushing forward with a single hammer blow. It tore through the air at immense speeds before crashing into Knuckle Jane’s side, sending her flying into the opposite wall of the arena, which she hit before crashing down, unconscious. The team of people ran out much faster this time, grabbing her and running her into the shadows. Catherine looked at her hammer. “I didn’t even hit her that hard…”
Jay sighed. He knew all too well how hard Catherine could hit, and she’d barely swung her hammer. This was looking boring. Scott looked surprised for a moment before recovering. “Will anyone from the audience dare to challenge the mighty woman who took out Knuckle Jane with a single blow?”
A dark-haired man leaped into the arena. “This looks like a good fight.”
Scott jumped back into the stands before speaking again. “Shadowblade Xed enters the arena! Can this lady beat him? If he wins, the rewards plus extra are his!”
Jay, surprised, turned to him. “There are rewards?”
Scott blinked at him. “That’s not what you came here for?”
Jay tilted his head. “Nope. Just looking for opponents to test ourselves against so we can grow stronger.”
Scott slowly nodded. “Alright. So. Each ranked battle gives you exponentially higher rewards, with platinum being the highest. If a challenger jumps into the ring, they have to pay for exponentially higher rewards as well, and they have to pay for rewards better than platinum if they jump in after a platinum fight. You get to pick your rewards, by the way, after your fight. Basically, you get points, and you get whatever things you can afford with them or save them for something bigger.”
Jay nodded. “Alright.”
Catherine, below, hefted her hammer, waiting for Xed to make a move. He eventually did, apearing behind Catherine and attempting to stab her. However, Drake had tried that move one too many times on her in sparring, and she was reach, her hammer swinging towards him. Xed barely teleported out before he waved his hands and a bad duplicate of him appeared. “Ooh! Shadowblade Xed reveals his Shadow Double!”
Catherine barely blinked, focusing on the real one, even as they switched places and teleported randomly to try and confuse her. It was pretty obvious which one he was, with the amount of energy he gave off compared to his clone.
His clone tried to attack her, and she absently punched it, causing it to disappear into shadow, before swinging her hammer at Xed, who’d run right up to her which she was punching his clone. Her hammer swung at him, but froze right before hitting his head. “Yield, man. I haven’t even brought out my water yet.”
Xed yielded, showing good judgement on his part. Though it may have had something to do with the massive hammer being so casually stopped in midair next to his head. Exiting the arena, Jay heard him mutter something about a ‘beast’.
Drake entered next, appearing in the arena. He fistbumped Catherine, who appeared next to them, having been teleported back. A new contender walked out of the other side, wearing only a pair of white pants tied off with a matching belt. Muscles rippled under his skin, and he nodded to Drake as Scott announced the match start. His opponent was apparently named Tyson, without any titles. A bolt of shadow flew at Tyson, who stepped aside, waiting for Drake to close the distance.
Drake slowly walked in, a dagger held in either hand, before appearing behind Tyson, already swinging for his neck. Without turning around, one of Tyson’s hands snapped to the dagger, knocking it over his head. Jay narrowed. He controlled Force, just like him, and was quite good at it, too.
Drake’s next attack was simply off-course, and he teleported out of the next fist’s way, appearing on the other side of the arena. “Huh. An opponent worth fighting.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Tyson inclined his head. “Same to you.”
Then he rushed forward, a flurry of blows striking at Drake, who weaved between them. Tyson kept trying to steal his force, stopping his movement, but Drake pushed himself around with shadows, accelerating back into a full speed dodge the instant he was stopped. Tyson pulled a fist back, and all the momentum he’d gathered flowed into it before he struck.
Drake disappeared, and Tyson created a crater in the wall he was facing. Drake stood on the other side of the arena. Darkness slithered around him for a brief moment before the entire arena disappeared into sheer black. Scott pointed at the sky, and the air changed into an image. Tyson was standing, deflecting attacks from every direction, dodging daggers that came out of nowhere.
Then Jay felt the slightest pulse of Dream, and Drake was in four places at once, four daggers slicing at the same time, possible only with the application of the impossibility that came with Dream. Tyson hissed as the daggers cut him, wounds almost seeming to appear before the darkness let up.
Tyson bowed to Drake. “I sense that you could have poisoned me by imbuing your daggers with darkness, and so I grant you a win. Thank you for fighting.”
Drake nodded back, more lackadaisical. “No problem, man. Have a nice day.”
Tyson’s cuts healed as he walked out of the arena. “Would anyone like to challenge the man who defeated Tyson?”
No one stepped up, and Drake pouted. “Aw, c’mon. You scared of little old me?”
Jay chuckled, low enough that no one heard him. Drake just wanted the extra points Scott had told them they’d get if they fought a spectator as well and won.
A spectator jumped down, not looking too powerful. She held slips of paper in both hands, more all over her body in easily reachable places. Drake nodded to her, but she immedately attacked, throwing two pieces of paper. Somehow, they flew straight as an arrow, and exploded into flames when they reached Drake. He raised a hand, and darkness ate through the fire before it covered his entire body, making him look like he was a knight with armor made out of sleek darkness.
Jay felt the Dream that helped Drake alone, fueling the knight’s story. Drake could’ve just made the armor, but no, he needed to use the Dream to pull the world itself to his side, to make him a knight fighting for glorious victory. A lance formed in his arms, and he charged towards the woman, who threw out pieces of paper that turned into smoke like there was no tomorrow.
She was trying to obscure Drake’s vision? Drake, who used Darkness to regularly obscure his opponents’ visions?
It didn’t work out too well, and the smoke cleared to reveal her standing in front of Drake, holding a lance to her throat. Scott ended the match, and both Drake and the woman left the arena.
Crystal immediately jumped in. “My turn! Yay!”
Facing her was a man wielding a glaive. He nodded to her. “It will be an honor to fight you.”
Jay winced. He seemed quite nice, but he was unlucky enough to be matched up with Crystal.
A few agonizing booms later, Scott hastily called the match, and Crystal doused the fire coating the entire arena. The man was carried out by the white-wearing people, and Crystal hopefully looked at the crowd. “Anyone?”
No one responded, the entire arena silent. “Bah!,” she said, exiting the arena.
Jay jumped in, not expecting much from his opponent.
A silver-haired lady walked in opposite him, holding a scythe coated in silver flame. She spun it before rushing him, before Scott spoke.
Jay’s own flames shot out of his body, forcing her back before the silver fire spread to her own body. She ran through his fire, seemingly unaffected.
The revolver firing superheated bullets did affect her, though, a single bullet going right through her and breaking bones.
Jay’s hand turned back into a, well, hand, and the woman was carted off, some of the people doing the carting looking quite fearfully at him.
Immediately, someone from the crowd jumped into the pit, and Jay’s hairs rose. “I, part of the Monsters as Men, will fight you now.”
Crystal immediately started whispering to Scott, who answered. She linked to Jay and sent him all the information she’d gotten. The Monsters, whenever they fought, would always fight to the death, so he should kill her, for she’d be trying to kill him. Every fight the Monsters joined, they won, though none of them had ever fought the strongest combatants, so perhaps they were targeting the ones they thought they could kill.
The Monster opposite him looked like a normal woman, wielding a spear and nothing else. But he sensed the Nightmare lurking around her, trying to take over the arena. Let her waste her energy. Just keep control of the space around you.
Jay’s Aura extended, keeping the space around him clear of Nightmare, though he gave up the rest of the arena. His opponent jabbed, from the other side of the arena, and Jay saw a spear of Nightmare fly at him, invisible to normal eyes. He stepped aside, a burst of fire cleansing it from existence. His hand, once again, turned into a revolver, and he let Amon have control of it while he watched the rest of the arena. She started shooting, each bullet easily dodged, while Jay cased the arena.
Crystal, from above, sent him another message. “Jay, get serious. You want her dead as fast as possible, so she doesn’t have any kind of chance to hurt you.”
Jay hesitated. Did he really want to show the full extent of his power right here? You don’t have to show everything, if you’re getting serious. Fight to kill, though.
Jay’s onyx lattice activated as twin blades of the same gem appeared in his hands. He sped at his opponent, coming to a halt directy in front of her. A burst of Aura caught her momentum, stopping her in place, as his swords came in, bisecting her. As he cut through her, he let loose a blossom of fire, singing the first few notes of a Song of burning, hungering for more.
He left a burnt, blackened skeleton behind, and jumped back up onto the stands. “Can we get our rewards now?,” he asked Scott, who slowly nodded. “I… don’t see why not! But the thing is, I don’t believe we’ll have any opponents who can match you four.”
Drake shrugged. “Tyson was pretty good.”
Scott shook his head. “It was evident you weren’t trying. Especially when you faced that lady afterwards and made that dark knight armor. If you wanted to, youd’ve wiped Tyson off the map.”
“Maybe.”
Scott led them through his office, where they’d first met him, to a massive vault door which he pulled open wth ease. “This baby only opens if I or a few other people are touching it.”
Inside was what Jay could only call a treasure trove. The interior was massive, aisles of shelves everywhere, each shelf filled with items, all of them labeled with point tags. “Alright. Now, for simplicity’s sake, I averaged your points and gave each o’ you the same number. All of you have five thousand of ‘em. Go for it, what ye waitin’ for?”
Jay walked down each of the lanes, examining each of the items. There were items with runes of power that could instantly create castles, or destroy them. There were swords that could cut everything. Jay almost snorted at those. Amon, at the height of her power, could cut everything and some extra just to rub it in, with a single swing. Oh, and she could cut nothing as well. And chaos itself. Stop it, you’re making me blush!
None of these objects were very useful to him, until he found a single sapphire. It sat alone, labeled ‘The Storm’s Sapphire’. Jay grabbed it, returning to the entrance. It was worth four thousand, but… it called to him. It held significance, just like the onyx Void had gifted to him.
Scott stood, looking at his choice. “Good decision. The Storm’s Sapphire is one o’ the most valuable gems ever. You’re essentially a rich man now, kiddo!”
Jay shook his head. “No, not really. This is going to disappear quite soon.”
Scott quirked an eyebrow, then shrugged. “Not my business.”
They kept each other quiet company as the rest browsed the shelves. Drake brought back a vial of liquid darkness. Catherine took a ruby, the counterpart to his sapphire, though it didn’t call to him as the sapphire did. Crystal snagged a piece of petrified wood, as much stone as it was wood.
Scott tallied up their points, then nodded at them. “You have a couple thousand points left. Wanna use ‘em?”
They all replied ‘no’, one by one, before returning to their hotel.
They had improvements to make.
“How likely do you think it is that there’s an upgrade material for each of us in that vault without Void having something to do with it?”
Jay met Drake’s eyes, the two of them preparing for their upgrades in the massive living room of their suite. “Negative fourteen percent.”
Drake nodded. “I think he wanted us to find something right off the bat, and knew we’d consult an oracle, who would know that this way was best.”
Jay shrugged. “Man keeps helping us beyond the grave. Couldn’t ask for a better teacher, actually.”
Drae nodded, taking his cloak off. It shimmered into view now that it was off of him, the woven Moonstone reflecting and refracting light, creating a dazzling view. “Yeah.”
Jay lifted the Storm’s Sapphire, tapping it on his ring. “Alright, I’m doing it now.”
“Same,” Drake said, about to pour the liquid darkness on his cloak.
“Here we go.”