Mirai shifted her grasp on the hilt of her sword, the familiar sensation of the leather against her skin bringing a small bit of comfort. She settled onto the balls of her feet, like her mentor had drilled into her, and like she had practiced a thousand times. Across the arena, her adversary also prepared, clasping its broadsword and both hands and touching it to its chest. The runes on its armor began to glow, brighter and brighter, shimmering with heat until flame burst out, engulfing its whole body. Clearly it was fireproof, but Mirai was definitely not. She tightened her grasp on her sword as the skeleton shifted into a fighting stance and began a slow shuffle towards her.

So that was the trick this round…

She could feel Edgar’s gaze on the back of her neck and she took a deep breath, finding her focus. The boy was smart, she could grant him that. He was clever and that could win fights, but he was still helpless, in a way. There was too much he didn’t know and too many bad habits he’d carried over from his life before. The way he only looked out for traps when he saw her doing it. The way his fighting style had so many openings. And—worst of all—the way he seemed to take nothing seriously.

Sigh…

Her mentor would grind him into the ground if they ever met. She shuddered at the thought of it. Something told her that he’d make a fine adventurer, just…

It might take awhile…

She cleared her mind and fixed her full attention on the skeleton, cross-stepping in a slow arc that brought her closer to it. First, she’d test its fire.

As she entered range, she struck quickly, landing a single blow that barely scratched the bones of its rib cage. The skeleton struck back, but she parried gracefully and danced away.

Glancing down, she frowned. On her sword arm, her bracer was singed and her skin was bright red. As she had expected, its fire could damage her even if she parried its attacks. Simply standing in its presence was enough for her to take damage. This was going to be a tough fight—the skeleton was designed to counter her sword skills—as she had expected.

She glanced up at the arena boss, who was smiling down at her and toying with its red coin.

She scowled and turned back to the fight. She began circling the skeleton, staying out of reach while she watched its movements, trying to get a sense for its timing, searching for opportunities to strike.

Its burning armor was formidable. As it swung and missed, she launched a [kick] at its side, but its fire scalded her leg. The skeleton took damage, but she took more—and gained the [Burning] affliction—a bad trade. She danced away, throwing back a [Weak Healing Potion] to heal her wounds and clear the condition, which threatened to steadily whittle her health to zero.

She had two potions left and another fight after this one. Probably an even harder fight, so she had to manage her resources. She tried to calm herself and find her focus again. Sweat poured from her skin under the skeleton’s heat. Her nerves began to rise.

Thanks to our enemies, the wheel that grinds mettle…

She recited her master’s mantra, beginning breathing exercises meant to steady her and calm her nerves. There had to be a path to victory. There always was.

Thanks for their power, and the ways to turn it…

She dodged backwards, stumbling on a bone.

Thanks for their weakness, and the ways to use it…

She picked up the bone and glanced from it to the skeleton.

Hmmm…

She threw it at the skeleton and the bone bounced off, but the fire didn’t destroy it instantly. An idea began to form in her mind…

If there’s a big enough bone, I could attack it with that… Maybe I could even knock it off the edge…

She ran around the arena, keeping an eye on the skeleton in case it came within range. On the viewers platform, she could see the undead frowning down at her and nibbling anxiously at his red coin. Edgar had a determined look on his face, but she could see his knuckles turning white gripping his knees.

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She found a few large bones and then finally the jackpot, a skeleton with long, intact arms. The skeleton was too large to be human—the arms themselves at least four, maybe five, feet long—but she didn’t fixate on it. The arms would be perfect for taking down the Burning Swordsman.

She plucked one of the arms from the skeleton and tucked it under her arm, like a lance. The fingers of the hand splayed out as if waiting for a high-five. She could hear Edgar snicker from the platform, but ignored him. She could taste her victory already. She had found her way and she felt electric as she lured the slow skeleton to its doom at the edge of the arena.

She wasn’t nearly as acrobatic as Edgar, with his crazy-looking, flipping tail attack, but she was plenty fast enough to outmaneuver this clunky skeleton. As it closed in and prepared to strike her, she dipped to the side and walked away along the edge of the arena.

Her steps knocked dirt and rock off the edge, but she retained her footing. The skeleton took the bait blindly, continuing to follow her, getting even closer to the edge as they walked along the edge of the arena.

Eventually, she found herself in the corner of the arena and took a final breath, preparing to make her move. When the skeleton came within striking distance, she lept away from the ledge and then charged the skeleton with her improvised lance. The arm struck the burning swordsman in the chest, exactly as she had planned. The skeleton was stronger than she expected and its flames licked at her improvised lance. The bones turned black and began to smoke.

For a moment, the burning swordsman resisted and its heat bore down on her, but she pushed with all her might. With a final strain, she forced the skeleton’s back foot far enough that it finally slid off the arena's edge.

The burning swordsman toppled backward and fell into the abyss. Its’ fire burned bright as it fell, shrinking into a speck and disappearing far below. There was no sound of it landing on anything, but eventually she felt the warmth of its essence entering her core.

Mirai stepped back from the edge and fell to her knees, laying the arm down and thanking her mentor for preparing her.

She could hear Edgar shouting for her.

Ah, crap. I can’t loot it.

“Clever girl…” the undead muttered.

As if reading her mind, it waved a decomposing hand, which caused a rift to appear over the center of the arena and dump out a pile of smoking bones. Then, he made a second gesture, causing another mark to appear in Mirai’s row, in the second column. They each had to win one more fight. They were close.

She looted the corpse, finding 25 [Bone] and one [Essence of Fire (Heat)]. The smoking bones turned to ash as Edgar came down the steps, smiling at her.

“That was smart, using the arm like that.”

“Not a terribly elegant way to fight. I think my master would have laughed.”

“You did win, though. That has to count for something.”

“It helped me see some gaping holes in my abilities. I’m all close, hand-to-hand combat. Even my new armor piercing skill can’t help against magical defenses like that. I’ll meditate on it.”

Clink-clink-clink-clink, “time for the final round. Get ready, boy.”

She laid a hand on Edgar’s shoulder, peering into his eyes. She found a surprising amount of fire there. His happy-go-lucky attitude was gone. She squeezed his shoulder and he nodded.

“We’re going to get through this, Edgar. Remember to manage your resources, too. There will be more fights after this arena. This is only the first challenge of the rift.”

“One step at a time. If I don’t win here, those fights don’t matter.”

Mirai nodded, saying nothing. She moved away, climbing the steps to the viewing platform, but his words rattled in her mind. She wanted to tell him to be thoughtful, to manifest the victory in his mind. She wanted to tell him all the things her master would have told her, but she didn’t know how.

She realized the undead was smiling at her as she settled into position, “it is a heavy burden. I feel for you.”

“What is?”

“The boy. He’s like a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit. Everything from the way he speaks, to the way he thinks.”

Mirai knew the undead was trying to rile her up and wrote off his words. There was a magic in them, some sort of skill at work making them sweeter and hard to ignore. It reminded her of one of her mother’s associates at the guild, who had shown her a similar skill—perhaps the same one—preparing her for monsters like this.

She didn’t answer the undead’s provocations.

“He will die here. It’s clear you are carrying him on your back. He’s hopeless.”

Mirai remained silent.

“Damn you, we’ll see how smug you are when the arena is painted red and his soul belongs to me!”

Edgar was already in position on the arena down below, crouched and claws drawn. “Ready when you are, Mr. Boner, sir.”

The undead raised an arm, causing another rift to appear. This one crackled and sparked with purple energy, appearing stronger than the others. The purple goo appeared and formed into another skeleton, this one withered and hunched, clutching a staff and wearing the remnants of a traveler’s robe.

“I summon the unstuck wanderer!”

Monster: [Wanderer, Unstuck Between the Planes]

* Type: [Undead]

* Level: 2

Mirai caught her breath at the monsters level. She could see Edgar tense up as well.

“Fight!”

~~~~~~~~~~

* Check out the Stats Page for this Chapter here