The pressure came on immediately. In a loose line we filed out of the ready room, heavy-stamping, weapons gleaming, and climbed the dozen steep steps up onto the high arena floor. A few of the other combatants wore heavy suits of armour that rustled as they walked, and as they took to the stage they roared battlecries or bashed weapons to shields. Hrunja the massive bear-person behind me beat her chest with a massive hand.
The noise of the crowd was ecstatic — hooting and howling. Over the noise I heard a seemingly sourceless announcing voice booming overhead:
“Welcome, one and all, Mistas, Missuses, all gentlefolk, to the Horizon Arena! Prepare for an electrifying morning bout — make some noise for these heroic gladiators!” The crowd erupted in cheers and pumped fists, and the stage rumbled as nearly a thousand feet stomped on the ground in frantic rhythm. The announcer continued, voice echoing off the stands:
“Get HYPED for this morning bout — from the frozen tundras of the north, heart as cold as the glacier that birthed her, we’ve Hrunja the Frost-Born!
“Rising from the scorching Breathing Sands, quick as a flash and deadly as a sandstorm, we’ve seen him a half-dozen times the past few months. Always ready to dish out some serious hurt, give it up for the Sand-Striker himself — Go’leb of the Desert Blitz!
“Our very own Pekk of the Agile Staff, moulded by the dark wilds of the jungle! Watch out as he dances between enemies like a shadow in the trees, he’ll be on you before you know it!
“And we have not one, not two, but THREE new challengers this morning! First up, Patrick, a newcomer who, when asked about his signature fighting style, asked whether he could bring his ferocious Muckie with him — sorry, this Arena is only for people.
“Second, introducing himself as someone deft as a jungle, with claws just as sharp, it’s Sikari from the sticks! Raised amongst the twisted canopies of Grense in the Korr Jungle, this hunter has promised to not only bring down his opponents — but do it with style!
“And last but not least, gentlefolk, spot his grand spear and steady gaze, a stranger to our land but by the way he carries himself, and those steely blue eyes, he’s clearly no stranger to battle — Talbot!”
After each introduction, the crowd went wild, hooting and howling. Then the announcer took an audible, sharp inhale of breath and bellowed out again:
“On this glorious day, blow your chest out and stamp your feet — this . . . is . . . THE HORIZON ARENA!”
The cheers and roars reached a crescendo, every eye in the place was wild and fixed on us as we made a circle in the centre of the stage, facing out towards them all.
“LET’S SEE SOME BLOOD! FIGHT!”
With that, the crowd almost instantly quieted and movement RUSHED all around me as combatants either turned to each other and instantly dropped massive swings of weapons or leapt away to find ground.
Immediately, Hrunja was on me, raising an enormous bronze battleaxe in both hands above her head. Feeling fresh, I dodged to the side with [Vigour] and the weapon crashed down onto the earth, throwing up a cloud of gold dust.
“YOU HEARD VOICE. CROWD NEEDS BLOOD!” she yelled and closed the distance again.
In a fractioned moment I reached deep into the quick-flowing stream of energy within me and grasped desperately at the surface: [Battle Tactics] almost leapt out at me. The pump from my heart to every extremity took me like a nicotine rush and my vision exploded in colour. I felt a fire light in my chest — my body screamed VIOLENCE.
She raised the heavy battleaxe again with a grunt. I felt the sickening, savage grin pass across my lips and my eyes went wild furious as instead of dodging I ran at her, met her massive body with my own. Our Stats not too dissimilar, but her’s definitely winning out, I burst another [Vigour] through the muscles in my legs and charged my shoulder into her chest.
Her stance was broken instantly, her arms were thrown back and the weight of her battleaxe in one hand made her stagger.
At a lightning glance I noted there were half a dozen other fighters locked in combat with one another. Some part of me knew I shouldn’t exert myself too hard at the outset, but the pressure of the crowd and the massive form of the bear-barbarian facing me down gave me a shock and buzz that I couldn’t shake.
Still splayed wide, I saw her eyes glint fury and she bared her teeth — a cloud of blue-white frost gathered in her maw and spilled out as she heavily breathed out a growl.
With a precisely-timed [Weapon Mastery] I stabbed my spear forwards before she righted herself. With a stunning instinct she threw her head down, crashing her helmet into the spearhead. I TORE a thick line across it and my weapon caught one of the spikes. It tore free and spun off the side of the arena.
The barbarian barely reacted — her [Glacial Fury] Special fully kicking in — just stood fast and spread her legs wide, then rocketed forwards, meaning to meet me with her own charge. Her free paw shot out in front of her, thick, sharp nails glinting.
The Skills still rushing through me, I brought my spear back and held it with a tight grip in both hands in front of me and braced for impact. The bear-paw lashed out, grabbed the haft of the spear as her body pushed through and collided with mine.
The wind was knocked out of me and I was thrown three yards back. Cold spit followed through the air but with the last gasp of my improved [Vigour] pulsing through me I managed to weather the blow, twist and land on my feet, skidding backwards. I stopped a few inches before the edge of the stage and wobbled to keep my footing.
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Both suns beat heavily on my exposed neck, arms and legs and I was already steaming with sweat. The stands didn’t let the winds through, even as high up as the highest tier of Ith-Korr was, and the heat radiating from the manic crowd was stifling.
Shooting my eyes back up I saw the polar-bear woman had fallen back a few paces and was rolling her head around, scrunching up her eyes; reeling with the second impact to her already overburdened neck. That frost built up in her mouth again, denser than before, then she bounded, on four limbs at first, then righting herself onto two straining legs, straight towards me. Her massive tongue lolled out of her mouth and she was panting hard — overheating, just as the Analysis Card had told me. I knew she was near her limit.
// SYS : Your use of [Battle Tactics] has upgraded the Skill to Level 2. You can now utilise [Battle Tactics : Metavision]. //
In a flash I found the new point of crimson red light glinting in my inner stream and reached for it. [Battle Tactics : Metavision] transformed the flat stage into a geographical heat-map of potential pit-falls and bumps. Activating the second level of the Skill also gave me a little glimpse of the purity of mind that I was used to from the first: I saw two of the fights were getting close to ending, one jungle-folk — the newcomer Sikari — was on his back being jabbed at by another with a Quarterstaff — one of the veterans, Pekk — and a human-looking guy — Patrick — was being chased down by a desert-folk brandishing a heavy Iron Mace above his head — introduced earlier as Go’leb.
Clarity forced through against the stars spinning in my vision. Over the rush of blood, I heard the announcer call:
“And it looks like that’s it for Sikari, Mistas and Missuses! May this be the first of many beatings he receives in the Horizon Arena!”
The improved Skill sapped more energy than I’d expected, but beating my chest and taking a massive breath in, I managed to ready myself. First, I shifted over a few yards to where my new Skill presented an opportunity, then I took a wide stance and extended my spear. As she powered on, I beckoned her to me with my left hand like he did in that American black trenchcoat film. Five yards between us.
That INFURIATED her. She roared a true animal-roar and her eyes lost what precious little intelligence they had. A one-track beast, she hurtled across the dirt, swinging her battleaxe in a wide arc.
Three yards.
Forget saving my resources — the crowd demands better!
One yard. Her heavy furred foot met a mound of dirt and she missed a step, the other coming down hard, momentum carrying her forwards in an awful twist of her body. I ducked frantically, throwing my whole body as low as I could while keeping my sandalled toes gripped hard on the ground, then another [Vigour] sent electricity to every joint and I launched myself to the right.
I knew I was past her. I knew Hrunja would throw herself off the stage with her momentum. But there was a fire in me and an ITCH up my spine. My spearhead flashed viciously across me and I cut deep through white fur and thick skin as she tumbled wildly over the edge.
She fell a bloody mess on the floor, winded, overheated, thoroughly spent.
I put my hands to my knees for a moment and breathed the dust in deeply, then raised my spear to the sky and shouted:
“HURRAH!”
For a moment I wondered if that’d translate at all, then the crowd kicked up a storm of frenzied screaming and howling, stamping their feet. The announced boomed over it all:
“Who would have guessed it! What a blindside! Talbot, in his first bout ever in the Horizon Arena, has defeated the favourite to win, Hrunja the Frost-Born! Mistas and Missuses, all gentlefolk, a hand for Talbot! He has given you your blood!”
“Talbot! Talbot!”
That . . . was overwhelmingly addictive. MORE.
Without wasting another second, I set off sprinting towards the other combatants, reaching into my pouch for the Analysis Card as I did. Of the six others that had taken to the stage, only three now remained. The man bearing only a shield was still running like a maniac from the desert-folk, and as I glanced, the jungle-folk gave the poor prone guy another final whack on the head, knocking him silly, then stepped over him to survey the battlefield and, seeing the state of things, joined the chase.
Name :
Gobblebobble the Sand-Striker, Level 9
Stats :
Str 10, Dex 11, Con 10, Mnd 5
Skills :
Survivalism Lvl 4
Weapon Mastery Lvl 1
Vigour Lvl 1
Special :
Desert Blitz
Inventory :
42 Copper Coins
Weakness :
Clumsy in humiliation
Home :
Breathing Sands, Barbican
Name :
Pekk of the Agile Staff, Level 8
Stats :
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 8, Mnd 6
Skills :
Shadowcraft Lvl 2
Weapon Mastery Lvl 1
Special :
Jungle Leap
Inventory :
11 Copper Coins
Weakness :
Blind in right eye
Home :
Ith-Korr, Barbican
Name :
Patrick, Level 4
Stats :
Str 7, Dex 8, Con 11, Mnd 6
Skills :
Beast Mastery Lvl 3
Vigour Lvl 1
Weapon Mastery Lvl 1
Special :
Animal Empathy
Inventory :
Cloak of Camouflage, 16 Copper Coins
Weakness :
Panics when disarmed
Home :
Ireland, Earth
// SYS : Something has changed. It seems your use of the Analysis Card has attuned you further with the destinies of the New Worlds, and has developed a new ability. You are one step closer to achieving your ambitious capability. //
Ah, that mysterious ambitious capability, again . . . Wonder what— No, I can’t think about that now!
Pushing down my excitement at seeing another person from Earth for the first time in what felt like forever, I kept running and steeled my nerves. Everything made a bit more sense. Patrick wailed, tears streaming, head on a swivel and eyes fixed on his pursuers, clutching his shield loosely as he ran. Pekk and . . . Gobblebobble were gaining ground.
[Battle Tactics] sang through my senses again. My limbs felt heavy and movement was getting rough, but images swam in my mind of utter victory. I had enough left in the tank for what I had planned.