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Donson Hazat looked at his opponent with some hope, unlike all the times he had seen Luke Ironcrest training, he had been using a sword like he had wielded it while still in the cradle, but what could possess him to switch weapons at such a public and high profile event? Donson did not know, but he hoped it was pure hubris, only then did he think he may stand a chance of winning and not be illuminated in the first round.

But all that aside, he was not going to underestimate this opponent and raised his shield before nodding to the referee to show he was ready.

“Fight!” the referee shouted as the flagged pole from between them was lifted, and before Donson could take his second step forward, Luke zoomed across the stage and stabbed directly at his shield.

The initial impact of the strike to his shield had little effect, which was to be expected of the enchanted shield his family purchased for him, but weirdly enough, Donson was forced to take a few steps back to steady himself when he felt like his shield was being pushed back by a spring.

After studying himself and looking at Luke, he noticed that Luke’s spear was wobbling a lot more than the spears he usually saw, but that was besides the point for Donson, what Donson felt now was confusion.

‘How did he muster so much strength to move me even with my enchanted shield?’ Donson asked himself as he gave a side glance to the borders of the stage where he knew an array would be, if the borders of the stage glowed red, it would have indicated that Luke had used either magic or aura, but there was no light.

“Well blocked, I have not tried this spear in live combat before, do help me put it through its paces.” Luke said softly enough that only Donson and the referee could hear before his hands and spear became a blur.

Strike after strike rained down on Donson as he blocked, parried, and dodged as best he could, but defend as he might, many glancing blows made their way through, causing red colored streaks to be displayed on the mana shield overlaying Donson’s body.

At the moment, the enchantment on the bracelet did not deem the “damages” he had suffered lethal yet, so he was still in the fight, but he also knew that he could not take much more of this before the real mana shield deployed.

It may not happen very often, but Donson had heard of cases where the enchanted bracelet’s mana shield deployed due to the so-called “death by a thousand cuts”, so he redoubled his efforts to avoid getting hit while keeping an eye out for an opening.

After a few more avoided strikes, just as Donson was getting used to the attack pattern and just as he slapped Luke’s spear away with his sword, Luke quickly drew back his spear, planted the butt of the spear on the ground, and did a small pole vault the transitioned into a dropkick to Donson’s shield.

And just like most hits to his shield, the initial blow was mitigated down to manageable levels, but Luke was not done yet. With the spear on the ground and feet on the shield, Luke had the leverage to squat on the shield and kick-off, knocking Donson on his butt.

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As Donson rolled backward and scrambled to his feet, expecting to defend against a follow-up attack, he looked up and saw Luke at his starting position and gritted his teeth, “What are you doing?! Are you looking down on me? Why did you not follow up?”

Donson was expecting an angry or mocking reply, instead, all he got from Luke was a shrug, “Don’t take this too seriously, that was just a warmup, and if I finished you off too fast, it would not look good for both of us… well, maybe only you.”

Luke then readied his spear and said, “Now that we are done with the warmup, let's get on with the real stuff.”

Donson gritted his teeth and knew he had to take the initiative and go on the offensive, or else he would be stuck at Luke’s pace, and Luke having a longer reach did not help either.

Just as Donson charged, he saw Luke spinning his spear in a circle in front of him, the red tassel drawing a small circle in the air and making it harder to focus on Luke’s body movements, and just before Donson got into spear range, Luke did something too fast for him to see, and the next thing he knew the spear shot at him, curved just over his shield and scored a “cut” on his shoulder that he knew for a fact, from drilling with private instructors, was covered by his shield.

But seeing as he was not “dead” yet, Donson decided to ignore the wound and go for a disarm by putting his sword on the spear shaft and sliding it along to hit Luke’s hands.

Donson may not have trained with many spear users in his life, but he knew one thing as fact, getting in close to a spear user when the pointy end had passed him put Donson at a massive advantage, one he was not going to squander, especially with this opponent.

That is why Donson was in utter shock when Luke dodged to the side before his sword could reach his hand, and Donson felt the enchanted bracelet pulse, covering his body in a mana shield bubble.

“Winner! Luke Ironcrest!” The referee announced as the crowd roared once again.

***

While I was basking in the cheers of the crowd, I checked the condition of my spear. There was no damage on the blade or the socket, as for the wooden shaft, I can see the enchantment was doing its job, there are no deep gouges, just some narrow dents from where Donson chopped at my spear, nothing that could not be buffed out by steaming the wood.

All in all, I was very proud of the performance of my spear and may even take it out on quests if I have the time for it.

As I turned around to shake hands with my opponent for a match well-fought, I found him looking around his whole body for something. “Err… What are you looking for?” I asked.

He then looks at me with anger and confusion, but mainly confusion, “Where did you hit me to end the match when all these cuts did nothing?”

What? Did he really not feel that? Well, I guess that is the point of the mana shield, otherwise, he would have been a dead man, and I guess I would not know because I have to get hit in the first place to know what it feels like.

“Well, I don't think you would be able to find the damage mark because you cannot see the back of your neck. When you were about to hit me, I dodged to the side, and since my spear was so close to your neck, I just slid my spearhead across the back of your neck, effectively “killing” you.”

It was then that the referee cleared his throat to remind us to get off his stage, as one, me and Donson did as we were instructed before entering the Pit, we bowed to the royals, and then the other three cardinal directions before leaving the stage.