Rose watched the target leave with the guards and his attendants. The boy, Nero Walker, was nothing like she expected. She couldn't decide whether he was an overconfident idiot, or he just didn’t understand what was going on. She felt kinda bad for him. But then she remembered that cruel smirk of his.

She decided that he knew exactly what he was doing. Rose looked around the room, and while everyone was talking politics, and strategy, she thought back to what Nero had actually said. He was planning on killing those who wanted him dead. At the time, she had thought he was joking. But his eyes weren’t laughing. His smirk was cold. He truly believed he’d win.

Looking around, she saw that Ulric had pulled Caleb off to the side of the room and they were having a quiet conversation. Caleb looked excited and ready, while Ulric was as serious as ever. With a sigh, Rose decided to take a seat at the table everyone was ignoring. While being discreet, she listened to the city lord berate her son.

Lord Cosgrave hissed, “You’re not listening to me, Derek. I understand what you’re saying, but you're not thinking things through. Yes, this is legal. Yes, you have backing from the capital. Yes, the boy will die. Just because all of that is true, doesn’t mean that the royals won’t be upset, not to mention the mage council. You have to realize that the head of the mage council is currently in Dorchester’s mage tower, acting as the court wizard. He is only here for Nero Walker. What do you think he’ll do in response to us allowing the boy to be killed while under our protection?”

Derek Cosgrave had a stubborn look on his face as he replied, “What CAN they do? The law is clear. They have no recourse. They can’t legally sanction us. Lord Cranston planned this too well. You said the boy was dangerous, and now he will no longer be an issue. I don’t understand why you are so angry. I thought you’d be proud that I solved the problem, and even gained us an ally in the capital.”

Rose thought that the Cosgrave heir had a point. All he did was allow another house to play their game in Dorchester. He lost nothing, and gained allies.

Lord Cosgrave’s daughter spoke up in a harsh whisper, and Rose leaned in to hear what she was saying. “Brother, you aren’t considering all the ways that we can still be hindered. Without the mages, our eyes are blinded. Without the royals, our hold on Dorchester will rely solely on our own strength. A thousand small things you take for granted can be taken from us. Not to mention the real threat that you are both ignoring,” she said.

Lord Cosgrave looked curiously at her daughter and asked, “What real threat? Mrs Salvatore? She will be difficult to deal with, but as long as we raise Mr. Walker to nobility after his death, her teeth will be pulled for the most part. She will have served as a proxy to a fallen house. House Salvatore won’t stick their neck out for her.”

Shaking her head frantically, Deidre Cosgrave said, “Not Mrs. Salvatore. Nero Walker. Remember what we saw in the Noble War. Remember that he lived, and five mercenaries didn’t. Ask yourselves, what if he wins?”

Both Lord Cosgrave and Derek were silent. Derek looked confused, and Lord Cosgrave rubbed her chin in thought.

Rose leaned back in her chair and looked over at the general standing next to the lord from the Tower of Law. They were whispering to each other, and both of them were smiling. Although she couldn’t hear what they said, they both looked like they were in on a private joke.

She was getting the feeling that things were going to go very wrong, very soon.

When she had taken the apprenticeship with Ulric, it was for hunting. She had known that he was a member of the Assassins Guild, but he said that it would be years before she would have to choose her path. She was a hunter. She liked facing worthy prey in combat. But, this political crap was not what she signed up for. If she did nothing, her path would be chosen for her.

Standing up, she walked up to the lord from the Tower of Law. “Excuse me Lord Bennings,” she said.

The general and Lord Bennings both turned to Rose, and Lord Bennings answered, “Yes? Is there a clarification of the law that you require?”

Shaking her head, she replied in a quiet tone, “I was just curious if my name is on the paperwork for this challenge.”

With a curious tilt to her head, Lord Bennings replied, “Why do you ask?”

Sighing, Rose replied, “I’m a hunter. I was just training to be a hunter. I’m not liking the fact that I’m being pulled into these political games. I looked into that boy's eyes, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want him knowing my name. In fact, I’d like to know if I sever my relationship with my teacher, will I still be associated with his actions?”

The general chuckled. Lord Bennings smiled and replied, “If you remove yourself from your current employment situation, then I will ensure that you will no longer be listed as a member of the assassination party. Does that answer your question?”

Rose sighed in relief, “Yes it does. Thank you m’lord.”

With a slight bow, she turned to walk away, but was stopped by the general.

“After you end your apprenticeship, come back. I’d like a word if you don’t mind. I’d like to offer you an opportunity that could help us both,” he said.

Rose’s eyes widened in surprise. Dorchester’s general wanted to speak with her? Well it’s true what they say, ‘Paths are winding, obstructions temporary, so keep moving forward’. Nodding to the general, she walked over to Ulric to let him know her decision.

-----

Nero was walking down the hallway to the arena with an easy smile on his face. The guards were flanking him, and Nick was blathering about strategy and how to ‘seize the essence’. Bill, the guard, was walking next to him with a smile. All in all, Nero felt like he was walking to the cage with his posse.

Nick was waving his hands, trying to force Nero to listen. “Nero, this is important. You have to take control of the essence quickly. Your opponent won’t have a pillar, but just because he doesn’t have abilities doesn’t mean you aren’t in danger. Cho-”

Nero stumbled and interrupted Nick, “Hold up. How can a guy that old not have a pillar. I thought people got their first pillar at level 10?”

Nick looked at Nero in confusion. “He can’t be more than 20, you think that is old? And people don’t level at your speed. By law, your challenger can only be within a level of you. So he must be no higher than level 8. Wait… who do you think you’re fighting?” he asked.

Nero kept walking while trying to figure out what Nick was talking about. “The big assassin guy. I’m not fighting him?” he asked.

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Bill the guard started laughing. “Sorry, don’t mind me. I’m not here. Continue,” he said and gestured for them to ignore him.

Nick sighed and said, “Nero, you’ll be facing the young man who was standing next to him. Now listen closely. He will be using blades, are you sure you don’t want a sword and some armor?”

Nero was elated. He was fighting the little guy. Now that he thought about it, that seemed wrong. Ignoring Nick’s question, Nero asked, “Isn’t that a little unfair?”

Not understanding what Nero meant, Nick said, “You’re allowed armor and weapons. The man is a trained killer. You don’t think they’d force you to fight him with your bare hands, do you?”

Nero decided that it wasn’t worth arguing about it. After all, if the young man wanted to kill Nero, he had it coming.

As they were nearing the end of the hallway, the doors were open and Nero could see a large stadium. It looked like they were walking into the Roman Colosseum, but broken up into little fighting platforms. Each had a hovering screen showing what was going on in the mini arenas. There were thousands of people in the stands, and a large center platform was raised in the center. Above everything was a hologram that put the Jumbotron to shame.

With his awe evident on his face, Nero absently followed the guards as he looked around. Nick was shouting instructions, trying to get Nero to pay attention. It was obvious that Nick thought Nero was in trouble.

The guards led Nero up some stairs and onto a very large, flat, stone arena. They pointed him to a colored section and Bill wished him luck. As they left, Nero half-heartedly waved goodbye to them. He was busy staring at the crowds, and looking down at the fights that were happening on the little platforms below.

Nick grabbed Nero’s shoulders and forced Nero to look at him. “Nero, please listen to me,” he begged.

Nero, seeing the concern on Nick’s face, forced himself to pay attention. “Nick, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. You’re worrying over nothing,” he said.

“Just make sure that you focus everything on disrupting your opponent’s local essence field. If you don’t take control of it, you’re dead. Do you understand?” Nick asked while squeezing Nero’s shoulders.

Nero gave him a soft smile. “Nick, I need you to listen to me. This isn’t a fight between a swordsman and a mage. It’s a defended position with a cannon, being charged by a guy with a knife. Don’t worry. But I need to know if there will be a shield around the arena. I don’t want to hurt anyone in the crowd,” he said while gently prying Nick’s hands off his shoulders.

Nick seemed to deflate. “Yes Nero, there is a shield. Good luck. I may not have known you for long, but every moment with you has invigorated my life. Your passion and enthusiasm have left their mark on my path. Vera and I will remember you for the rest of our lives. Rest assured, Vera won’t stop until you are avenged,” he finished with iron in his voice.

Nero gave him a confused look. Glancing over, he saw that the skinny guy was already waiting for him near the center of the arena. Turning to Nick, he gave him a hard slap on the shoulder and said, “Worst pep talk ever. We’ll have to work on that for next time. Tell Vera thanks for placing the bet, and she should stay near the place to turn it in. This won’t take long.” Nero then walked off toward the small circle he assumed was his starting position.

Nick watched his friend walk to his death with such confidence. ‘What a remarkable young man,’ he thought as he hurried down the stairs toward the observation nook for aides and attendants.

Nero walked calmly, and kept his eyes on his opponent. All the while, he was compacting more and more essence into his shield. He made sure not to stress himself, but he hovered near his limit. Seeing his opponent grinning while holding a sword and knife, Nero couldn’t help but shake his head.

As Nero stepped into the circle, he said, “Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not going to end well for you.”

Caleb’s smile widened and he spread his arms out to display his weapons. “I’m going to take my time. I would have fought you for free, just to be able to get my name on the arena board. By the end of the day, everyone will know who I am. I’d apologize for what I’m going to put you through, but I don’t talk to dead men,” he said.

Nero could feel a shield form over the outside of the arena. As it went up, the crowd quieted as the sound was blocked off. In seconds, they were inside a clear dome of silence. Nero was fascinated. It felt like a wall in his psychic senses. He could no longer extend his psyche past the edge of the arena.

Nero looked over at his opponent and replied, “That’s some solid trash talk. But just to be really sure, I’ll ask you one more time. Do you really wanna die today?”

Above them, hovering in the air, a timer appeared. It was displaying large gold numbers, while a strong, yet feminine, voice counted down from 10. The numbers were turning more red as they reached zero. Nero looked over at his opponent and watched him hop around and sneer.

Standing there calmly, Nero waited for the countdown to reach two. Just as he was about to start his spell form, he decided to wait. There might be some rule or something. It was better to wait for the fight to actually start.

When the countdown hit zero, the woman said, “FIGHT!”

Like a dog being let off the leash, Caleb shot forward while spinning in the air like a top. As his sword slashed, the tip hit Nero’s neck. As he landed, Caleb spun in order to hamstring Nero. Completing his maneuver, Caleb continued past Nero and rolled to a stop while turning to face Nero’s back.

Nero hadn’t moved. He was using his psychic field to keep himself in place, so the strength of the strikes wouldn’t send him flying like Jennings had. Caleb’s blades had slid across his shield without causing any damage. In fact, Nero barely registered the impacts. He had expected more from the cocky assassin.

Not in a hurry, Nero focused on the spell-form he was carving into existence above his right hand. Turning slowly, he faced the crouching assassin while the variation on the plasma spell Arch-Mage Jennings taught Nero a couple of hours ago completed. Where Jennings had used a spell-form to collect heat, hydrogen, and lightning; Nero had adjusted it to only pull in 'light essence'. While Jennings had imparted his center on the essence, and forced the plasma to become an extension of his will; Nero just collected and compacted light and then aimed it at his opponent. There was so much light essence around that it was easy to grab more than enough for his needs.

Caleb was shocked that he had missed. He was sure he had felt his blades connect. Crouching, Caleb watched as Nero turned to face him. Seeing that Nero was casting something, he shot forward. Or it’s more accurate to say that he was about to shoot forward.

Nero had carved, charged, and fired his spell in less than 3 seconds. As it was light essence, the moment it transitioned into coherent light, it was already boring a fist sized hole through Caleb’s chest. Nero wasn’t using his will to fire it, he just directed it. He didn’t have to force his will through Caleb’s psychic field. He just shot a laser at him. The fact that mages didn’t create environmental effects like this to bypass psychic fields was just another reason why Nero thought they were all idiots. Even if a person had some natural essence protecting them, it was much easier to bore through it with a laser than trying to engage in a battle of wills. Or at least that’s what he took away from his ONE magic lesson.

Jennings said that mages summoned and threw rocks, caused area of effect fireballs, hurled lightning from the heavens, created pillars of fire, and webs of razor sharp steel. But no one had made a laser pointer.

Watching a confused Caleb reach up to touch the large hole in his chest, Nero looked at him with sadness in his eyes. The young man’s essence field wasn’t remotely strong enough to stop his laser. Nero had never been a physical bully, and he didn’t like feeling like one.

Caleb’s eyes met Nero’s, and Nero saw the instant the man realized that he was dead. Moments later, the lights went out, and Caleb collapsed. Nero felt awful. This wasn’t combat. This wasn’t a victory. Nero was going to have a long talk with the assholes that sent this poor guy to die for their pride.

As Nero stared at Caleb’s corpse, the arena shield went down. The stadium was much quieter than it was when the shield had gone up. Nero wasn’t close enough to see faces amongst the crowd, but he felt like the place was holding its breath. A hologram appeared in the same place where the timer hovered earlier. It said, “Winner: Nero Walker.” The lady’s voice narrated, but this time she sounded a little confused.

Nero gave one last glance at Caleb’s body, then started looking around. He didn't see a referee, or anyone else for that matter. He coughed into his hand to clear his throat, then loudly said, “Um… he’s dead. Challenge completed or whatever. Anyone wanna point me toward the exit? Maybe bring me a sandwich? I skipped lunch for this.”