Monday morning came on with a side of drowsiness and lack of motivation. I got ready for school, had breakfast, and then was out the door to go and wait for the bus, which picked me up as it always did, and when I was seated we were on our way. Ty was nearly asleep. He had been one of the ones partying hard last night, despite the fact that he'd lost the actual fight. I decided to let sleeping claw-wielders lie until we got to school, where I tapped his shoulder a couple times and then slunk off the bus when he stirred, softly smiling to myself. Rachel met me at the lockers with a quick hug, and we then got ready for our day at school.

“What did Ty say when you saw him?” she asked me.

“He was nearly asleep, so I settled for waking him when we got here and heading off the bus before I was late.” I said.

“Nice.” she laughed.

“Think we'll get extra homework in science again?” I grimaced as we closed our lockers and headed in for homeroom.

“Hmm... maybe she won't assign as much this week; and we got some good marks on that extra credit a while back, too.”

“Oh right!” I nodded.

“But on the other hand, your favorite teacher might give us some more instead!” she said, sticking her tongue out at me for a moment.

“Hahh...” I sighed as we reached our seats and sat down. Mathematics was what she was referring to, of course. “As long as I can make it through without completely blanking out I guess I'll be fine.” I said, and she giggled.

“Any plans after school?” Rachel asked then.

“Hm? Not really, why?”

“Wanna meet at that bookstore on Seventh and Landson for homework instead of a video call?”

“Oh, sure,” I returned enthusiastically.

“Great! Andrea's getting a break from her Monday routine so the three of us can meet up there about four or so.” Rachel told me.

“Nice... did they allow snacks there?” I wondered.

“Hmm... in the lounge area upstairs, I think, yes.” she replied. “Ah! Andrea spent this morning making cookie dough, so we'll have some of those along. Just get some drinks!” she then said with a smile.

“Oh nice!” I smiled back. The bell then sounded, and we reluctantly turned away from each other to focus on school for the time being.

The morning that had begun lethargically passed by quickly enough under the four lectures of Literature, History, Mathematics, and finally Science. Then the lunch break began, and the two of us scurried off to what had quickly become our favorite place in school: the club room.

It felt as if an eternity had gone by since we last saw the place, but it was just as welcoming and atmospheric as ever. The two of us settled in on our little couch near the table, and the others filed in soon enough. We spread out out lunches, and dug in.

“This just isn't the same. We've been spoiled by fantasy restaurants in a video game.” Ellie softly complained.

“I don't want to hear that from someone who gets free meals at Fun Castle.” I quipped back at once, and she snorted with amusement.

“'Kay. You win that round. Five points.” she said.

“Still...” Mary remarked, poking at her salad.

“Yeah...” Rachel agreed, eyeing her sandwich forlornly.

“Hmmm...” Anhe sighed wistfully.

“When we get to our summer vacation we can eat at all the fancy restaurants we can afford.” Andrea said to us.

“Did we ever talk about inviting our soon-to-be guildies along for that?” Mary suddenly wondered.

“You know, I can't remember, but that sounds like a nice idea.” Andrea replied.

“We'll have to ask them sometime after the tournament.” Ellie nodded in agreement. “Ah! That okay with you, Lana?” she then looked over at me with a sneaky grin.

“Hrrmm...” I sighed. “We'll see what happens, I guess...”

“I bet Belle will be the one more shocked when or if she finds out. She loves fawning over us, especially Lana.” Andrea said with a grin.

“True!” Rachel agreed. “And Sandra will probably crack up... not as hard as Ellie, maybe, but it seems like she would.”

“Ooh, true!” Ellie nodded. “Ah! Let's keep the game going as long as we can, though,” she said deviously, and the girls shared a small, evil-sounding chuckle--even Anhe.

“Hahh...” I sighed, returning my attention to lunch.

Once school was over and all the homework packed away, Ellie decided to take me home along with Rachel and Andrea, so we got home a bit earlier, promising to meet up at the bookstore as soon as we could. The old man, of course, had no problem with that, practically booting me out the door with excitement.

“Go get 'em, tiger!” he chuckled, and returned to his cartoons.

“Don't ever change, you goofy old man.” I smiled bemusedly as I started off, picking up my pace just a little bit so I would have time for my first stop.

I arrived at the bookstore with some fruit drinks in a bag, courtesy of a suggestion that Rachel made to me when I asked, and found her and Andrea upstairs. We set out our homework, and the cookies, and got to work. It was a grueling thing, getting through those math equations, but somehow I did it. Everything else was simple. Science, thankfully, had not given us work to do. But we were getting a mock-test in a week or so. Rachel and I reviewed a couple things after we got through the math, agreeing to do a more earnest study some time next week. And of course, the cookies were excellent.

“These came out better than last time.” Andrea remarked as we finished them off.

“Definitely.” Rachel agreed.

“So how do you think tonight will go, now that you've settled that old fight?” the red-haired girl asked me. I munched thoughtfully on the cookie currently occupying my mouth, pondering the answers to that question.

“Ironsides... I think I see a weakness that no one's managed to exploit yet, but that could still go either way.” I said.

“That reflect is almost a cheat,” Rachel said with a frown.

“Hmm, but I think I finally saw a way around it last night, maybe.” I shrugged.

“Good luck.” she told me.

“Thanks.”

“And then Maryn got paired with Myanihia tonight for a third time...” I said, and Andrea nodded.

“I remember. That was a shocker. Wonder if they goofed again?” she said as she leaned back a bit and took a drink.

“Who knows.” I returned.

“Think it'll go the same way?” Rachel wondered. I sat in silence for a moment or two before answering.

“I'm not sure. Myanihia doesn't seem like the type to keep repeating mistakes. They've probably figured something out by now to deal with her... but I hope Mary's got a plan to beat them.” I said.

“Probably.” Andrea said. “Oh, Anhe ended up paired with Mad Dog in the lists tonight.”

“Hyeck?!”

“Ehh!?” Rachel and I exclaimed at once.

“Y-yikes...!” I shook my head.

“No kidding,” Rachel agreed.

“Not that I want to discourage her when I want to try my luck...” I then mumbled.

“Let's cheer her on!” Andrea smiled. “I don't remember who Belle and Lysandra got paired with, though... do you two?”

“I didn't see,” Rachel shook her head.

“Hmm... I think Lysandra got paired with a rare one tonight, some guy who uses a pair of steampunk pistols,” I said.

“Oooohhh!!” the girls said at the same time.

“Not sure about Belle, though...” I said as I scratched the back my head.

“We'll find out when we see her, I suppose,” Andrea then nodded. “Ah! It got dark!” she exclaimed as she looked out the window.

“Six-thirty.” Rachel noted, looking at her phone.

“Should I walk you home?” I asked.

“If you like!” she smiled back.

“I'll do that, then.” I replied.

I walked them home first, receiving a small hug from Andrea and a kiss from my girlfriend, and then made my way home. On the way, I passed by someone wearing all black, kind of like Lysandra did, except they were more covered. I almost called out her name, but then realized I'd have to do some explaining, and I wasn't ready to do that on a dimly lit part of the streets. But... this feeling... I mused, turning subtly to look at them again. I couldn't be certain, but they seemed like... Myanihia.

***

After eating dinner and assuring my parents that allt he homework was indeed finished, I went up to my room to head into Panarena. The others were already gathered, and when I got on I was immediately roped into line for a return to the Dwarven restaurant -- which I wasn't gonna complain about one bit. We settled for a lighter platter this time, but we definitely had a few rounds of coffee and tea.

Tonight, since there were fewer matches, the tournament would start an hour later. We would likely spend most of our Panarena morning here until it was time to begin the matches again. We saw a couple of polls on the tournament odds pop up on the displays; at least one of them caught our attention.

Top Ten List for Projected Winners:

Rayna

Myanihia

Barbarianne

Ironsides

Mad Dog

Valkrysti

Lana Windstrider

Sun WuKong

Maryn Brightshield

Angelfire

“Hmm? No Lysandra?” I wondered curiously.

“What about me?” Anhe said sadly.

“Ah! You're not there either!” I noticed with a second look.

“Who's that eighth guy?” Lizzy wondered.

“Hmm... the name is borrowed from one of China's Eight Immortals,” Anhe said.

“Probably someone who's living the legend, then.” Ariana suggested.

“I agree.” Anhe nodded. “It would not surprise me if they had a style similar to my own.”

“Auras and martial arts, huh?” I mused.

“Come to think of it, wasn't he one of the early matches last night?” Belle asked.

“He could have been,” Healina agreed. “There was that Ghostlord player, too, that we noticed about forty minutes before Lana came on with Tyman.”

“Ooh, he was good.” Lizzy nodded.

“Necromancer?” I asked.

“Pretty much,” she replied. “All eyes are gonna be on you three's fights, though, I bet.”

“Eh, maybe.” I shrugged. “There's a lot of others people will definitely watch as well.” I said, and then suddenly shivered as I remembered the person I had passed on the street about an hour ago.

“Lana?” Ari asked me.

“It's nothing,” I softly said, and she took my hand.

“I bet it's not.” she said astutely.

“Eh, just some person I passed on my way home. They reminded me of--” I told her, cutting myself off as the person in question entered the establishment. They approached our table calmly, stopping before me.

“Tough fight tonight.” they said to me.

“I think I have it.” I replied.

“You saw it?” Myanihia returned.

“I'm pretty sure.”

“Good.” they nodded. Then they turned to Maryn.

“Myanihia.” our Cymbroga shield-user said politely.

“Maryn. Two fights, two standstills... but I see you now.” they said, and then turned back to me as Maryn gave them a puzzled look. “Lysandra... will definitely challenge me, first. You'll have to wait.” they told me.

“Pretty confident of getting past Maryn this time, huh?” I asked them. The sound of a sword being yanked from its scabbard was then heard.

“Get out!” Lysandra's voice said in an unusually hostile tone. Myanihia turned to the door, and walked out without a word. Lysandra watched them with venomous eyes until they faded into the growing crowds, then sagged against the doorway as she sheathed her blade. I stood up, reaching a hand towards her. “What did they want?” she asked me.

“Paying their respects, I guess.” I said with a shrug. She came over to us then, and I pulled out another chair for her. She sat down, and I did as well. The werewolf girl took a few more seconds to calm herself down, taking a deep breath as Heali passed her a mug of tea.

“Sorry.” she said.

“You okay?” Ariana asked her.

“That person...” she began, taking a deep sip of tea first, “They...” she broke off again, shaking her head. “I'm not ready. But don't let them psych you out.” she said, to Maryn in particular.

“I won't.” the other girl replied.

“You're one of the few people I ever saw them get stuck on. I hope you finally turn the tables tonight.” Lysandra said to her.

“Me too.” Maryn gently smiled back.

“You really have something deep against them, huh?” Belle remarked.

“Beyond everything I've told Lana so far, yes.” she nodded. “Anyway... thanks, for the tea. I'm gonna go calm down some more in my hideaway to ready myself for my fight.” she said then, finishing the tea and placing a hand on Healina's shoulder, patting it gently before heading out.

“Who's she fighting tonight?” Maryn wondered, and I looked at the listings for tonight's match-ups.

Lysandra -- Rackham John Thatcher.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“Level one-hundred and twelve pistoleer,” I read under the guy's name, “No guild.”

“Oh right!” Healina recalled.

“Not often you see a gun of any kind in a fantasy game,” Lizzy noted.

“I can name about fifteen I at least tried out, but yeah.” I agreed.

“Let's finish up here and head over to the stadium soon, just to get some good seats this time.” Healina then suggested.

“Good plan. Top row sucks. I want to be near the action!” Lizzy said in agreement.

“Save seats for us!” Belle smiled.

“Of course!” Ariana replied.

It was a bit early still, so after finishing up our meal we wandered around for a bit more until finally arriving at the arena about a Panarena hour before the matches were due to start. The four of us who were still competing went to the main waiting area, while the other three scurried off to secure good seats. As we sat around waiting for the tournament to resume, I pondered my course of action for Ironsides, the indomitable tank with insane reflect abilities. The only reason it hadn't been nerfed had to be on account of something all who fought him so far had missed.

His fight yesterday had led me to two conclusions. One: the reflect only worked on certain kinds of damage, or perhaps it was a chaos reflect that he had gotten lucky with. Two: there was an intermittency to how often the reflect worked, or perhaps a duration, and his opponents had all been very unlucky.

Come to think of it... when he starts the duel, he does some sort of sword salute... was that just drama, or a necessary activation motion for the reflect? Didn't he do it right after he got kicked by that other person last night -- the kick that didn't reflect on them? And then they got overconfident, thinking the reflect was over. It was, but he activated it again with a more subtle sword-motion.

“La-na?” Belle said, grabbing my attention.

“Hmm?” I replied.

“Thinking about the fight, huh?” she said with a grin.

“True... I think I have a more definite idea, now, but you'll have to wait and see!” I grinned back.

“Ooh, a surprise!” Maryn said with a giggle.

“Hmm... I think I know what you are going to do... be careful, though.” Anhe told me.

“I will.” I said to her. Can't get much past the girl who used to solo group quests, huh? “And good luck to you, too... getting Mad Dog seems like a short straw got drawn for you,” I added.

“I will just have to improvise a bit!” she smiled back. “Ah! Who are you fighting with tonight, Belle?” the youngest of us then asked the blue-haired pixie.

“Some glitz of a wizard who got full of himself after accidentally soloing a high level dungeon in Ur-Pom.” she said with a bemused shrug.

“There's a word you don't toss around very often.” I remarked.

“Ehh... you'll see when the fight starts.” she said.

“Nice.”

“Oh, there's Sandra,” Maryn then said as she spotted the other dark-haired girl standing idly in a corner, perfectly disinterested in everyone else.

“And that guy in the classic gunman-style outfit over there must be Rackham.” Belle said as she pointed him out to us with a nod.

He was the very image of a “steampunk cowboy,” complete with hat. His twin guns were basically modeled on flintlock pistols, but they had the functionality of more nineteenth century guns in that they could hold at least eight shots, from what I knew about the few varieties of firearms in this game. Actually, come to think of it, the hat was almost more pirate-like than cowboy, a wide brimmed thing with a couple of fancy feathers in the band. He had a few skull accessories as well, especially his belt-buckle and longcoat buttons.

“Hmm... maybe I'll look into basic firearm skills sometime myself...” I mused aloud.

“That'd be handy for you in an emergency.” Belle nodded.

“Oh definitely.” I returned. “Ah! The announcers are on,” I said, and we put our conversations on hold for the time being as the five GMs announced the opening of the third round.

***

As soon as I saw Belle's opponent, so many quips came to mind about his outrageously glitzy and flamboyant outfit that I can't even begin to describe for fear of losing my sanity, that I didn't know what else to do except settle for a very uncertain half-smile. Maryn seemed amused by the outfit, and Anhe had a similar reaction to me.

“Looks like clown-town had another closing sale,” Maryn eventually said, and the three of us giggled.

Belle made short work of him, and was soon on her way to meet the others. Angelfire's round was pretty flashy as well, with another fire-mage of her caliber thrust onto the stage with her. She barely overcame him on account of the fact that she used a sword as opposed to a staff, subduing him with a ferocious yell. I saw a brief glimpse of Rayna's match also; it was over before it really even began, to tell the truth. One second the countdown had finished, the next the her opponent's avatar was disintegrating.

“Ho-ly...” Maryn said in amazement. A twinkling sound was then heard; it was me.

“Well, here goes nothing...!” I said as I was whisked away. The girls waved, and then I was in the pre-match waiting area. I could see Ironsides on the other side, his helm obscuring any reaction. Out of mischief, I made a face at him, pulling an eyelid down and sticking my tongue out. No reaction. Tch... boring. I'll try that thing, then... I mused.

After another minute or so we were placed in the arena, and the countdown began. I would have one chance at this. I took out my bow, queuing up the skill Bombastic Strike, a knockback that interrupted inductions no matter how short. As soon as they called zero I fired, and right in the middle of his sword salute, which I was mostly positive activated his reflect, he staggered back.

NOW!!

I entered Shadow World, activated Shadow Speed, and then did the thing that Myanihia had suggested I try on Ariana: I started Doomstrike, then, just before it landed, I activated Crimson Heart-stinger. And oh. My. Gawd.

He went down in a single blow.

The entire stadium gasped in disbelief when he went down and I didn't die from a reflect. I myself was taken aback, suddenly feeling myself all over to ensure I was actually alive.

“W-wow!!” Ricklelopes exclaimed. “There's someone who should be bumped up on the forum lists for best assassin!”

“And there goes the seemingly unbeatable Ironsides!” Wandreada announced as the onlookers began to cheer.

“Hmm, hmm, that was a good show.” Lumpstein nodded. That was likely the most heartfelt compliment I would get from that curmudgeonly Santa knock-off of a Dwarf.

I was then teleported off the stage and into the back hallways again. A message of congrats came from Ariana, who also told me where to find them in the crowds. I promised to be there soon, and started off. Just as they had hoped for, the girls had found a front row seat; I joined them, and Lizzy gave me a high-five.

“Now that's being an assassin!” she said to me with a wide, beaming grin.

“Thanks!” I smiled back as I sat down with them, Ari immediately taking my arm and using me for a pillow.

“That was that thing, wasn't it? That Myanihia told you about?” she said quietly.

“It was, yeah.” I replied softly.

“It was really cool!” she smiled.

“Definite cool!” Belle nodded in agreement. “Just as good as Rayna's fight, in terms of being a shadow-warrior.”

“Agree!” Heali said. “Oh, we got some snacks, too,” she added, passing me a pretzel.

“Heh? Oh, sweet! Thanks!” I replied as she smiled back.

“I was surprised when I found that little stand,” Lizzy said. “And of course I couldn't resist them once I saw how cheap they were. Ten for ten gold? I'm sold!” she remarked as I eagerly munched on the treat.

“So we ended up with fifty...” Healina said with a bemused look.

“Pffft!” I almost choked from laughing.

“Oh look, there's Anhe!” Lizzy then said. I finished up with my current pretzel, and then focused my attention on the stage where Anhe, and then Mad Dog, had appeared.

“What do you think she'll do?” Ariana asked me.

“Hmm... I don't know too much about her auras, but I guess she'll try a defensive retribution, or possibly a healing one... maybe even speed,” I pondered. “She can do up to three at once, too, so she might try some sort of combination.”

“Come on, Anhe!” Belle called out in her tiny voice.

As soon as the match started, I saw our staff-wielder activate two auras. One was definitely a healing aura. The other was one I didn't recognize, but I soon saw what it did when Mad Dog shifted to his wolfish self and swiped at her. He yelped, and jumped back with burn damage.

“Hm! That's the Holy Retribution Aura, if I'm not mistaken!” Lumpstein commented.

“Creatures of darkness and shadow beware,” Forseti nodded.

“And she's using the Sustainment Aura also -- and now activating a third!” Athena said.

“Mad Dog's more wary now... what's that one?” Forseti wondered.

“Ho-ho!” Lumpstein clapped as Anhe snapped into action, delivering speedy and accurate blows to her opponent with her staff. “Divine Wings!”

“She's definitely got a chance,” I said, “But Mad Dog isn't in the top ten of his player-type for nothing... he won't go down without a bitter fight.”

“Definitely.” Belle nodded.

It was fair to say that their fight commanded most of the attention at the moment. Anhe's auras kept her sustained and resilient to Mad Dog, but the latter was practically fearless even with her Holy Retribution on, and he had a lot of health to whittle down. Still, for all the damage that he was doing to her in turn, Anhe's healing aura made up for it quickly, and she remained absolutely calm in the face of that ferocious adversary.

Win, please win! I silently pleaded.

Slowly but surely, she ground his health down to about twenty percent. Her victory was becoming more and more certain. But now that Mad Dog had been fighting with her for nearly ten minutes, I saw a cunning look in his eyes.

Oh no.

Upon a sudden, he feinted, causing her to jump back defensively while she readied another strike. And then he let loose with a skill he had not yet been forced to use: a long, spine-chilling, heart-stopping howl that numbed our friend to the point where she dropped her staff and trembled, falling to her knees.

“The Howl of the Void...” Wandreada remarked solemnly.

“The ultimate werewolf cry.” Forseti nodded.

Mad Dog strode over to Anhe, who was still overcome by the debuff. He growled, giving her a grin before running her through with sharp claws. Her health was drained down in a matter of seconds, leaving him as the victor. The crowds cheered, and Mad Dog let out a victory howl. I felt my heart sink.

“I'm gonna go get her,” I said to the others.

“I'll come too,” Ari said, and the two of us dashed off to find Anhe.

We found her sitting on a bench, trying to compose herself after the shock of defeat. Ari and I approached her softly, and then she looked up at us. Tears wanted to come out of her eyes, but they were held back. She forced a smile, and slowly stood up. Ari and I exchanged a glance, and then rushed forward to hug her. None of us said anything, we just held her in our arms as she clung to us in turn, hot tears now streaming down her face.

I don't remember how long we stood there. Eventually, the tears stopped coming, and she looked up at us with a smile. We smiled back, the three of us walking arm in arm to where the others were. The crowds were still cheering loudly, and when we reached our friends they hurriedly sat us down.

“Just in time!” Belle said, coming to rest on Anhe's lap. “Lysandra's up now!” the pixie told us, and Anhe softly smiled.

“You like pretzels, Anhe?” Healina asked her.

“Huh?” the younger girl wondered, and then smiled again as she saw one being passed to her. “Oh, thank you.” she said, accepting it happily.

“Gotta eat 'em all.” Lizzy said, stuffing another one into her mouth. “Ooh, here we go!” she said as the counter for Lysandra and Rackham's match went to zero.

He opened up with an attack from both guns, then fired one after the other at her as she narrowly dodged several of his shots. One hit her in the side, another in the shoulder, and a third grazed her cheek. He then tried to reload, but then Lysandra rushed him, gripping his shoulder with ferocious strength and running him through, then yanking the sword out and lopping off his head.

“Th-that's not usually how bringing a sword to a gun-fight works,” I nervously laughed.

“Tell me about it. How anti-climactic can you get?” Lizzy grumbled.

“One-shotting a knight with deadly reflects one-ups it, I'd say.” Healina remarked.

“Ah-heh-heh-heh...” I softly giggled.

“Oh, true!” Lizzy nodded. “Pretzel!”

“You've had twelve already, save some for the others!” our healer retorted as she snatched the bag away while Lizzy made a grumpy pout.

“T-twelve?” I wondered in amazement.

“I'll show you pretzel eating!” Belle declared, switching to human form and quickly donning an outfit so she could enjoy a few herself.

After several other interesting fights, including one with Timidator, who outlasted his poison-mage opponent spectacularly, the final fight of the day came up. Maryn appeared on stage to loud applause, and Myanihia appeared with her moments later. There was something different about Maryn at the moment, I thought, and my eyes narrowed as I gazed at the scene carefully. Then it struck me.

“N-no shield!” I exclaimed in disbelief.

“Huh?!”

“You're right!” Ari and Lizzy also exclaimed.

“She must believe that trying to outlast him isn't the way to go this time.” Belle observed.

“Hrrmm...” I sighed, nodding in agreement.

“Well, this is a shocker; the girls in that guild never fail to astound me!” Lumpstein remarked from the commentator's stand.

“A shield-user without her shield. Prioritizing attack this time, I suppose,” Forseti said.

“That's on us for pitting them together for a third time.” Athena said.

“Ehh? The last time was Janus' fault, not ours!” Lumpstein retorted.

“Ahh! Tee-hee!” Athena giggled.

“And the countdown is almost at zero... here we go, folks!” Ricklelopes said.

Just as the countdown ended, Maryn leaped into action with a two-hander she had been practicing with, bringing it down in a swift Relentless Cleave. Myanihia coolly dodged to the side, trying their luck with a Double Backstab, but Maryn whirled around and deflected it handily, forcing them to leap back a moment before engaging again. Our shield-user had a surprising amount of Dexterity, apparently, swinging that sword around in precise arcs to counter Myanihia's efficient strikes.

After a couple minutes of this, the assassin entered Shadow World. But Maryn, unfazed, started a skill known as Whirlwind, holding her sword out with a strong grip and spinning about in a deadly tornado that would force her opponent out of hiding if they got too close. Myanihia eventually reappeared--on the far side of the stage, I might add--and then Maryn halted the skill to face them again.

“Whew!” Lizzy remarked.

“Right?” I agreed.

Then the two combatants lunged at each other again, exchanging a furious series of blows and strikes. It looked like one of those old swashbuckler flicks from way back. I could see their health bars going down, but not by much. They haven't actually landed any blows on the other, but there's the occasional swipe on the edges happening, I guess, I mused. Maryn then executed a delicate but deadly series of sword-forms that drove her opponent back across the stage in a beautiful battle dance.

“Get 'em, girlfriend!” Lizzy hollered.

“Woo!!” Heali whooped.

“Maryn!” I cheered, and several others among our friends cheered as well. I could see Lysandra on the other side of the stadiums, her gleaming eyes unblinking as she watched the fight intensely.

“She's got good energy this turn around,” Ricklelopes noted.

“With that momentum, Myanihia can't get much of a blow in edgewise.” Forseti agreed.

“Bah, if this ends in a draw again, so help me--!!” Lumpstein grumbled.

“Oop! First major strike of the duel has landed!” Wandreada announced.

Maryn had broken down Myanihia's guard and slashed them for major damage. The crowd erupted in a cheer. Myanihia seemed surprised, insofar as that word could be used to describe the reaction, but nevertheless played it cool by backing off and entering Shadow World again. Once more, Maryn activated Whirlwind. This time, however, from a random corner of the stage, a small object hurtled towards her at deadly speed, interrupting the attack. Maryn's health bar turned green.

Poison dart! I realized.

“So they were rattled by it before, but this time they were confident enough to try that, huh?” I mused aloud.

Maryn staggered for a moment, but kept her footing. A fierce grin came to her face. Defiantly she charged her opponent again. Another flurry of blows and strikes began, Myanihia coolly defending while Maryn's health slowly but surely continued draining. Her slash had taken out a third of his health in one go. If she could just break down his guard again... wait. That's that the poison was for, wasn't it? He doesn't have to launch any major attacks, all he has to do is wear her down and force her to become more aggressive, I realized.

“Don't fall for it, don't fall for it, don't fall for it...!!” I said softly as I stood up, gripping the railing overlooking the arena.

For the better part of five minutes, Maryn kept her composure. But her health was now getting much lower than Myanihia's. She jumped back for a moment, dizzily landing, and then she rushed again, enacting another series of deadly strikes with a yell. Then Myanihia used Shadow World for a third time as he dodged out of the way, using her brief moment of surprise to land a critical strike on her that brought her down to ten percent health. She spun around, trying to slice him in half, but thanks to the poison she ended up in a dizzy spell again, falling to her knees. Maryn planted her sword in the floor, trying to use it to stand back up, to no avail.

Without a word, the mysterious reaper walked up to her calmly, and ended the fight with a final poison-slash, bringing her health to zero. Her avatar disintegrated, and the crowds fell silent for several moments before scattered cheers broke out. I saw Lysandra wince, and then she left the arena.

“Let's go.” Lizzy said, and the rest of us nodded, leaving the arena ourselves -- but not before we grabbed our bag of pretzels.

***

“To the victors, and to the vanquished!” Wildeye said in toast that night as we all gathered again to celebrate. We echoed the toast, and our Monday after-party kicked off.

Sky Belle officially joined our guild that night, satisfied with her progress in the tournament. She flew around the lively tavern in a happy tizzy, singing as loud as she could with the band who was on stage.

“I wonder when someone else will decide to join.” Ariana wondered as the two of us watched her with a smile.

“Probably tomorrow or the day after,” I replied.

“Hmm... after her fight with Myanihia?” she said.

“I'm not even gonna try and get them this turn around. She's definitely challenged them by now.” I remarked.

“True. She must be as upset about Maryn's defeat as we are.” Ari agreed.

“I'm glad Maryn herself isn't too glum,” I returned, looking over to where the older girl was. She and Jannie were chatting each other up, along with Winnie, Tabitha, and Angelfire. Magisteria also came to join them, bearing a round of drinks for the table.

“True!” my partner smiled. Tyman then came up to us, giving us both a five and then taking a seat with us.

“Yo! Who you gonna challenge, Lans?” he asked me.

“Hrrmm... I haven't decided, yet.”

“Want my advice? Take that monkey boy.” he suggested.

“Monkey?” I wondered blankly, and then I recalled from a book I was reading that the Sun Wukong of Chinese myth was referred to as the Monkey King. “Sun WuKong?” I asked to clarify.

“That's them.” Tyman nodded. “They took down a lot of our guildies in the prelims, and a couple more in the actual tournament--to say nothin' of all the ones they messed up in that damn labyrinth thing.” he said.

“He's either got some wild skills or some serious levels on you guys,” I replied in amazement.

“That's what Wild and I were thinking.” he said. “But he's only ninety-three, so it's gotta be some mad skills.”

“Hmm... is his style similar to Anhe's?” I asked.

“Huh. It is, kind of, but he's more wild about it.” Tyman nodded back.

“M-more wild...?” I returned uncertainly.

“Get some re-watches and look, sister-man.” he said, clapping me on the back as he stood up to rejoin the main festivities.

“I'll do that.” I nodded, and Ari waved as he gave her a thumbs-up.

“What do you think?” she asked me after a moment.

“Well, it certainly sounds interesting,” I had to admit. “I kind of wanted to go for Rayna or Mad Dog, though...”

“Hmm... I'd wait a bit to fight Mad Dog, for Anhe's sake.” she suggested.

“Ahh--true...” I agreed. “All right, if Rayna's not challenged--oop, she is,” I said as I looked at the line-ups that were emerging on tomorrow's schedule. I quickly looked for Sun WuKong's name, and sent them an official match challenge. Moments later I got an affirmative response. My challenge had been accepted, and was now being registered as my fourth fight in the Grand Tournament.