“What is that?”

“Did he really go into the dragon’s fang bog?”

“It’s cute! Dad, can you catch me one for my monster partner?”

“Poor boy’s outclassed by Edbert’s monsters.”

More and more commentary flowed from the stands as Edbert and his heartrox began to circle Totlelong and I.

As our opponents moved, I flicked over the analysis of Fragarach the Totlelong and her techniques. Despite being lower leveled than liefviathan, she had one more technique - though I was not sure why.

[[Techniques:

Bayou Blitz – Creates a field of boggy water temporarily in the region it is in, spread out as if a tidal wave. This water can be used to increase the movement speed of a water aligned monster, and the technique user’s master. Non-water aligned opponents have their speeds reduced with this technique’s terrain on the field.

Dragon Breath – A dual typed technique which has the primal alignment and one additional alignment based on the type of dragon using it. In the case of this Totlelong, the technique has an additional water typing.

River Wrath – A technique which requires an area to be water filled. Spiked shell portions filled with pressurized water are broken off and regrow quickly to create a minefield of explosive naval mines which cause water and physical damage to any who it successfully strikes.

]]

It meant I had a terrier sized alligator turtle-crocodilian hybrid that was functionally a battleship; but only if I could get her set up with a proper amount of liquid aid Or at least, I hoped that would be enough of an equalizer, as I analyzed the fiery fae cave lion monster in front of me and realized it was already past level fifteen.

A nine level gap was not going to be easy to deal with, even with the ability to hit it in its weakness, and this only increased as the system gave me another message.

[[You have been targeted by the skill “Noblesse Oblige” You receive a health point of damage for every strike that lands upon your monster partners. The timer for this skill to drain is presented in your vision.]]

With the menacing, cocksure grin that Edbert displayed to me, I couldn't deny that he might have been the source of the skill. In fact, part of me was sure that he had to have been the source. It fit his MO and if it was from someone else, surely Marlie would’ve noticed, right? That kind of blatant interference had to be against the way Octahedrite supervised duels were meant to be carried out.

Whatever the case, it didn’t matter if it was him, or not. I had to worry about it either way. So I needed to focus. So without another word I called out my first command to Fragarach the Totlelong.

“Rach! Let’s begin with a Bayou Blitz!” Here’s hoping that the stuck up noble and his cat both hated swampy water equally.

Immediately after the command was given, the crocodilian-turtle monster let out a noise which was like a hybrid of a chirp and a growl and then pulled its limbs back into its shell. As it did, a blue-green glow built up at every one of its shell’s five openings. The glow transformed into torrents of water, which built up in speed until Fragarach was spinning like a top and I found myself buffeted by the current of water and kelp like debris that came storming from the shell.

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Across the way, I could see that even with distance, Edbert and his Heartrox were being buffeted just as hard.

A storm of questions and conversations came from the crowd above.

“What was that?”

“An interesting technique.”

“He’d better not let that damn turtle out near my ship.”

“Don’t like a little bit of chop in the wave, Donny?”

They were focused on me, but I couldn’t be distracted. With every sentence I tried to push myself forward and fought to keep from bowling over from the water current. Even as the barrier around the arena kept the water in, it magnified the intensity of the movement, and by the time that the turtle had finished the water around us was hip deep.

As my partner finished her watery technique, I tilted my head to Edbert. “I hope you like the water, Bert.”

“Bert? Do not familiarize my name, you outworlder peasant. And my mother is the Duchess of the Highwater Isles, you’ll learn soon enough who moves better in this. Veil St-”

Before he could finish the words, I had Fragarach using yet another technique.

“River Wrath, now, Rach!”

The alligator snapping turtle-crocodilian hybrid gave me a sidelong glance before a nod and immediately its shell’s points began to glow with that same eerie blue from when it summoned bayou blitz. As soon as Edbert had finished the word ‘step’ in his technique and prepared to close with me I already had my staff ready and Fragarach the Totlelong’s shell pressure built until twenty glowing blue points rocketed off its shell and were replaced by dull gray points.

Even as the two techniques finished, I prepared a defense with my staff. As Edbert came at me once again with a strike of his long sword, I parried. Then I slapped out with a counterattack, and we began a stomping dance through the water. Thanks to the technique, his considerable speed and agility were negated, no matter what his knack stat might be outside of this field.

On the edge of the arena where Heartrox stood, wisps of ethereal steam showed itself while the lion-like monster attempted to find shallow water or dry places to step upon.

With the movements going, Totlelong simply tried to stay near me, and I gave it no commands. I was too focused in my struggle against Edbert, and it was thanks to that I was sure he had not been the one who hit me with that skill. If it was, he’d strike Totlelong instead and ignore any chance of me being able to block him.

Instead, my alligator snapping turtle hybrid monster was landing claws and scratches upon him, slowly biting into his HP even when I could not. With every attack it struck out at Edbert with, the nobleman’s lion let out an enraged roar and tried to push forward.

As it did, it found itself pelted with the shrapnel and pressurized water of the mines created by river wrath, and that only enraged Edbert, who struck at me more.

At least he cared about his monsters, I suppose. At least he had one redeeming quality. To which I struck him again and again, parried again and again. As he got faster, I wished I could give orders quietly, thinking how easy it would be to launch him if I could get Fragarach the Totlelong behind him and shove him over.

With a tilt of its head, the turtle seemed to acknowledge me before moving to do exactly as I had wished. Fluke, new ability, or otherwise I wouldn’t look a gift turtle (?) in the mouth and instead just shoved as hard as I could into a parry before flipping my staff in my hands and ramming the butt of the staff into Edbert’s chest plate.

Which caused him to stumble, and his Heartrox to rush forward frantically. The two collided with each other, and for a second I thought we had won this match with ease. Because they collided and came together with a splash and series of explosions from the mines.

Which is, of course, when I found out something else I had not been taught yet about the monster partners of Hekatondrona.

Edbert and his Heartrox were swallowed up in an eerie gray-green light, and their individual silhouettes began to disappear and merge into one, much larger one.

I really shouldn’t have skipped the tutorial, I learned this each and every day.