25 days until the E grade advancement tournament.
Jay launched an elbow up the inside before a green scaly forearm shifted to block it. He returned to his grapple and tried to grab a hold of his opponent’s slippery neck.
“Nice block!”
Fox leapt off the ringside bench and pumped his fist in the air. Jay’s focus didn’t stray far from his opponent. Today’s sparring partner was a lower-ranking member of Fox’s alliance named Reese. The reptilian martial artist also wanted to practice close-range grappling, so they’d paired up for a morning of training.
The slick scales coating Reese’s head, neck, and shoulders were a pain to grapple, so Jay had to adapt his clinching style for his slippery opponent. His first strategy used hooks and locks to avoid having to grip with his hands. But Jay quickly had to discard that strategy.
Reese’s arms didn’t simply look like snakes, they moved like them too. It felt like they had no elbows and could shift around Jay’s arms in any direction. Pushing back against Jay's attempts to claw enough space for an attack.
Reese’s agility made him nearly untouchable in a close range battle.
So Jay got closer.
He drove his shoulder into Reese’s chest, pressing their bodies together so neither fighter had room to breathe. He slid both arms beneath Reese’s armpits, before clasping them behind his back. When Jay got this close to his opponent, it almost didn’t matter that their arms were free. Controlling their body was worth far more than powerless swings with no leverage.
Control alone could never win fights, but Jay didn’t need it to.
All he needed was an opening.
Jay jerked Reese aside, abruptly releasing his hands and creating a pocket of space. Jay still clung to the reptilian’s shoulders, but he eased the pressure off his chest.
Even with Eye of the storm, Jay’s eyesight was almost useless at such close range. They were already locked together, and Jay had a much better tool for the job.
Electric blue sparks coursed down Jay’s arms as Eye of the storm encompassed far more than his optic nerves. Reese clutched at Jay’s arms to reclaim control, but the more his arms pressed into Jay’s; the more information Jay earned. On the frontlines of an ultra-close-range battlefield, Jay’s body saw far more than his eyes ever could.
While Jay’s inflexible arms put him at a biomechanical disadvantage to his opponent, his stormforged body more than closed the gap.
Reese coiled his left arm around Jay’s, snatching the dominant inside position.
Jay let him in. He moved his right-hand grip onto his opponent’s shoulder.
While Reese focused on attacking Jay’s arms, he forgot about downstairs. Jay switched his stance, positioning his right foot just outside Reese’s lead left. Jay’s body shifted too, cinching all the remaining space on his right flank.
And carving open a path for his left.
Jay fired his left elbow at his opponent’s head.
Reese easily blocked the strike.
That was only step one.
Jay’s arm twisted and straightened. His palm wrapped around Reese’s ear. Jay dug his nails into the man’s scaly neck.
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Both Jay’s arms clung to his opponent. He couldn’t attack with either of them, and they didn’t give him much control.
But Jay didn’t need control.
He needed leverage.
Jay yanked Reese’s head downwards. Brilliant white replaced blazing blue as electricity forced its way into Jay’s muscles, amplifying their strength at the expense of perception.
The instant burst of power forced Reese’s head towards Jay’s rising knee.
The reptilian shielded his face.
It didn’t help much.
Jay wasn’t going easy.
He slammed his knee into Reese’s scaly forearm, driving through to his head. Jay broke off the grapple while his opponent reeled from the attack.
If they were in the coliseum he would’ve followed up with a punch, potentially ending the fight. But Jay was training, not fighting. Reese was his partner, not his punching bag.
“Nice fight!” yelled Fox, joining them in the ring while forcefully clapping his hands. “Nice work. Reese, good defence. You made him work for it! Next time, be more aware of the entire battle, not just your arms. Jay, great awareness and positioning! Your footwork really helps you set up attacks. Don’t settle for anything though. You let him get a good grip before the finisher. If Reese was a bit faster, he’d have countered before your knee connected.”
Jay nodded at Fox as he caught his breath. He didn’t always agree with the advice his temporary coach gave him, but there was no use arguing.
He took in all the information he could get.
Don’t forget. Next month, you’re fighting him too.
Jay waved both gladiators goodbye as he stepped out of the ring, Fox was giving Reese a rather animated display of how he should’ve defended Jay’s knee. But they both stopped to wave back before returning to the lesson.
Reese wasn’t the strongest training partner Jay could find. He was only rank 541, and offence was his only ranking in the top half of E grade, but his flexibility made Jay think more about his attacks. It was a useful challenge and taught him to rely on things other than raw speed.
Besides, it was hard to find good sparring partners when you could only promise half a day of training with them. So one of Fox’s juniors would have to do.
The early afternoon sun bored into the back of Jay’s neck as he walked out of the Rangsit fighting gym. One of the less prestigious, but more importantly less expensive, training spots in Gladiator’s. Jay ran back to the avenue through as many alleyways as he could. Hunting down shade in the man-made ravines.
As much as he wanted to spar all day, he had some stuff to take care of first.
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For a city-state built upon fights to the death, there’s a surprising number of scholars living on this island. Some come here to further their Harmony, others have far simpler reasons. Where better to flee than an island in the middle of the ocean with thousands of gladiators here to protect you? Even the bravest of assassins shy away from the watchful gaze of the Second Chance Coliseum.
Sign a deal with the coliseum and your safety’s secured.
As long as you don’t leave…
There’s an almost universal design language for I’m better than you. And as soon as someone tells you you’re a genius you stick to it like your life depends on it.
The almost empty tram skated Jay though the alabaster terraces of Scholar’s Avenue. Subtle hints of gold on each building stuck out to him as he rode away from the pavilion.
He was here to for an expert, or so he was told. Maybe the people here knew their stuff, but that didn’t mean they had to be so obnoxious about it.
Just a short trip, go in there, find Arlie’s, get out, and go somewhere with normal people.
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Jay unfolded the paper in his pockets, he squinted at Akira’s poorly scribbled directions and half wished that his friend had included them in the ‘travel guide’.
He walked along Scholar’s Avenue for a few minutes, admiring the immaculate, yet nearly identical, buildings lining either side of the boulevard.
The residents walking along the avenue had the decency not to stare, but Jay caught most of the sideways glances they tried to hide from him.
Just like the buildings they strolled past, the pedestrians here all wore muted whites and greys. Their loosely layered robes were elegant yet unremarkable. Dressed in a bright red tracksuit, and holding a giant blue shield, Jay knew he stood out like a sore thumb. He let out a quiet sigh as he turned off the avenue. The district’s oppressive uniformity felt almost unnatural, like an imposed conformity, built to weed out those who didn’t belong.
To be fair to Scholar’s Octant, it wasn’t all bad. The further Jay walked away from the avenue, the more life each building showed. Splashes of colour reintroduced themselves to the buildings’ façades and golden filigree made way for decorative murals and hand painted signs.
It was a far cry from the kitsch of Reveller’s, or the abject uniqueness of Mystic’s. But it was something.
Jay navigated his way through the sprawling arteries of Scholar’s before finally reaching his destination. ‘Arlie’s Antique Emporium’.
He took a deep breath, gripping onto his shield and remembering the sensation he’d felt mid-fight.
Time to see what this guy’s all about.