“This… was not what I was expecting…” Leone muttered, staring at the building in front of him and Azim.
“The building’s name does understate some notable details about it,” agreed Azim.
Standing proudly before the two adventurers was a giant rectangular building, made entirely of large, red, stone bricks. There was an array of windows that lined each side of the building, forming an iconic stripe of black across the red mass.The front doors were wide and grand as if they were meant to both be thrust open dramatically simultaneously. Though, of course, they were so heavy that one could only do so if their strength was beyond superhuman.
For such a large structure, the design of it was rather simplistic, even somewhat basic. And yet, the adventurers could tell that this place was a well-known icon, one that tourists frequented and champions dreamed of fighting in. The building took up an entire block, allowing passersby to marvel at it from 4 different streets. And it was a marvel, truly.
Azim and Leone stood in awe for a few moments, Leone mostly while Azim just waited for Leone to be ready to enter. After letting a few dozen cityfolk pass them by and go inside, Leone finally steeled himself and marched forward. Azim simply followed in his footsteps, putting up his hood when Leone advised him to.
When the two first walked in, they were greeted by a huge map layout of the interior, which was on display for all newcomers to see. From the graphic, Leone noticed the design of the building was somewhat similar to the fight club he had found in Appilus. Rather than 1, there were several arenas within the Brick House. There were 4 small ones that lined the corners of the building and 1 center stage arena placed in between all of them, which happened to be double or triple the size of the other four. It seemed that the main arena was reserved only for high-profile events, while the more casual shows took place in the lower four. “Woah…” muttered Leone.
Not only was the place bigger than the one in Appilus, it was much more bustling. It likely had to do with how it was more public and less underground, but the liveliness and atmosphere of their surroundings was palpable. Dozens, if not hundreds, of people were chatting around them, sharing how excited they were or who they were rooting for. People were carrying drinks, snacks, and even event merchandise. Azim took everything in, not sharing any thoughts, but saving thoughts of his own for his back brain. The robot appreciated taking in as much about this new world as possible, even the parts similar to his own, even if he could not admit it.
Azim pointed out an information booth nearby, and the two went to ask what exactly was going on. After a few minutes, they learned that today was the Semi-Yearly Newcomer Free-For-All. Twice a year, contestants were placed into one of the4 lower arenas and left to duke it out all at once until there was one victor in each arena. After 4 winners were found, the 4 would have the honor of fighting in the main stage, reserved only for high profiles. The larger stage, winning participant pool, and reduced participant count all raised the stakes of the final battle. Whoever won in the final match was given a prize of 4 gold chests and an enchanted item of their choice. Most importantly, no one with a magic level over 20 was allowed to compete, including halfway through the event. If you developed your strength to the point you were over-leveled in the middle of the contest, you would be automatically eliminated.
“Alright, two participant tickets, please!” declared Leone confidently.
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With only a few minutes before the first part of the event started, Azim, Leone, and every other participant were getting ready for battle. Azim was fighting in the northwest arena, while Leone was fighting in the southeast. Their placements were chosen at random, so Leone thanked Viyona that they were not placed in the same arena. It would have sucked, he thought, to be pitted against one another so soon, leaving there no opportunity to have a proper battle on the main stage as finalists.
The rules were simple. Magic was allowed, and so were weapons, enchanted items, spell bottles, and everything else.Each participant had a charm placed on them, which would trigger upon the target potentially receiving a fatal wound. If such were to happen, the charm would teleport the participant out of the arena and they would be out of the match. This clever safety precaution allowed participants to go all out, for there was no need to hold back if no one’s lives were in any real danger.
Each arena would go one at a time, that way spectators were not forced to choose a match to watch and instead could enjoy them all. The first match was in the southeast: Leone’s arena.
Stepping into the square ring, Leone surveyed the few dozen contestants surrounding him. Participants had entered from all four sides, so everyone was equally accessible to one another. Some were already brandishing their swords and spears, while others were likely saving them for a surprise attack. Some were psyching themselves up, chanting a prayer or incanting an initial spell, while others, which Leone figured Azim would do, stood perfectly still, not revealing anything about themselves in the slightest.
An ever-present gong sound rang throughout the room, signaling the start of Match 1. Immediately, half the participants went wild, either charging into the center or assaulting the combatants next to them. The rest held defensive, keeping the ones that attacked them back and leaving those that rushed to the middle to duke it out amongst themselves. Leone, of course, was in the former.
“Defense Switch!” chanted the young wizard, treading carefully toward the middle with a raised guard.
Despite his impulsive nature, Leone recognized the chaos of the fight before him. With everybody against everybody, the young man would have to be careful, and that meant having boosted dexterity… greatly boosted.
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He took out his hidden knife, realizing he was leaning into it a lot more in the past few days than he had in a while. Ah, whatever, he thought. It’s reliable.
Interrupting his thoughts to himself came a rather angry gnome berserker, who charged at Leone with an axe in each hand. The gnome screamed as he rushed forward, apparently thinking that the best way to get the drop on someone was to announce one’s presence as quickly as one could. Leone threw a Wind Cutter slash his way, but the gnome rolled to the side and dodged it. Just as the gnome was getting within closing distance, a third combatant jumped in the fray as well.
Leone ducked at the last possible second as the elf woman’s elongated saber flew past him. He doubled back onto his hands and leapt away from the two strangers, who both seemed more concerned with him than each other. Maybe they were working together? Or had a temporary alliance? It didn’t matter to Leone, either way, he was still going to be the one walking away from this ring.
Saber in hand, the elf rushed at Azim with bursting speed. The young man’s reflexes were good, but not better than the woman’s, who seemed to have hunter instincts. The tip of her stretched saber jabbed Leone’s shoulder just a moment before he could duck out of the way, causing him to flinch from the pain. Seeing this as an opportunity, the axe-wielding gnome charged forward again, winding up both arms behind him. He jumped up with surprising might coming from his stubby legs, coming to eye level with Leone as he swung his bold weapons. Leone had to act fast.
Holding his knife-wielding hand across his chest, Leone made the two fighters think he was preparing some sort of attack, causing them to be on their guard. He was, though not an attack they were expecting. His left arm still free, the young wizard fired a Spark down low, under the saber and out of view of the elven woman. Striking her in the side, she reactively flinched and pulled her saber back, freeing Leone just as the gnome came crashing down.
Leone lurched to the side, avoiding the stubby man’s two-axed strike, before following up with a side kick to his ribs. The gnome tumbled a couple of meters, giving the young man just enough time to focus on the elf. Turning back to her, he put up his left hand as if to fire another Spark, causing her to duck low. Leone instead threw out a slash of light from his dagger. The elven hunter leapt into the air over the wave, leaving herself perfectly exposed, or so Leone thought.
He fired Spark for real while the elf woman was in the air, but she deflected it with her elongated saber. Panicking, Leone brought up his knife just in time for the two blades to collide, knocking him off balance. The wizard and hunter exchanged blows back and forth, though the elven woman was clearly maintaining the offensive while Leone was struggling to keep up the defensive. Several of her slashes her starting to slip through, nicking the young man across the cheek, along his hand, and his lower side. They danced around together in circles, the hunter doing her best to poke through his defenses.
Keeping up with the swift woman was already hard enough, but there was still more to remain aware of. In between every few clashes of weapons, Leone would try to get a sense of where the gnome was, who circled around them, waiting for a window to get in close and finish off the young man. When Leone’s back was finally turned to him, the gnome found his opportunity. He charged forward, leaping toward Leone with a twist, causing him to spin rapidly like an angry top as both of his axes blurred together.
Knocking back the woman’s saber a final time, he held his knife across his chest, signaling a Wave Cutter a second time. The eleven hunter paused her assault and put up her guard, preparing for another potential misdirect. But it never came. Instead, Leone started to swing the blade back, spinning out of the way as he did. The woman’s eyes followed him as he jumped out of the way, taking a moment too long to realize the gnome was now coming right for her. She held up her saber in a desperate defensive stance, but it was too late. The gnome bulldozed through her weapon, his spinning attack coming within an inch of her. Yet, right as it made contact, just as all the fighters were warned about, the eleven woman disappeared into a quick-dissolving array of light, bright and yellow. The gnome flew right through it, landing behind where the woman had just stood.
Pulling himself together, the stubby man realized who he had hit, and more especially, who he hadn’t. Before he could even turn around, he heard the word “Spark” and was stunned. He felt the discharge hit his lower back, immobilizing him and leaving him vulnerable. With the gnome teed up for him, Leone rushed forward, following up his spell casting with a swift stab of his dagger in the gnome’s back, causing him to dissolve into the same yellow light that had just enveloped the elf. With that, the young man had just defeated his first two participants of the match.
The victory, as well as the adrenaline, was starting to get to him. He caught his breath for a moment, pulling himself together before asking himself, Alright, who’s next?
The answer to his inner monologue was a sturdy punch to the back that sent him flying across the ring. He skipped across the floor, tumbling through knights and wizards, amphiomes and terrams. When he finally stopped flying, he thought to himself, What the— That was with Defense up… who was that?
Slowly, the young man rubbed his face and opened his eyes, looking around to see just where he had landed.
Still on his knees, he looked up to see a girl about his age standing just a few meters away from him. As he picked himself up, he noticed she was looking at him, too. She had dark skin, though not as dark as his. She looked human, too, with black hair that was dyed blonde. She wore padded leather armor and oversized, baggy, beige pants. She was dressed kind of like Iman, Leone thought. He wondered if she was a musician, too, or if that was just a coincidence. The garb that did stand out as unique was a velvet green shawl draped over her shoulders, with ornate engravings lining the trim.
Their eyes locked with one another's. Leone was unsure what to think of the girl. She then waved gently at him, each individual finger giving its own little “hi” to the young man before her. Still awestruck and unsure of who she was, or if he should be wary of her, he awkwardly put a hand up to return the greeting. She smiled. And then she lifted a finger.
Glowing from her fingertip was a ball of light the size of a marble that quickly expanded to the size of a golf ball. A second later, a condensed beam of light shot out from her fingertip, aimed directly at Leone. Reflexively, he waved his knife across his chest, deflecting the laser and sending it flying off in another direction of the ring. The laser hit some poor participant unaware of the incoming projectile, and they were turned into yellow sparkles instantaneously. Leone realized that if he had been even a moment too late with his dagger, that would have been him. This beam was an instant loss, and he was not capable of dealing with it right now.
He looked back at the girl, only to find that she was still looking at him, smiling. She had not said a word, and yet her finger was still raised, pointing at him. Instinctively, the young wizard bolted back from where he had come. He was sure when the time came a bit later in the match, he could focus on her, but right now, he had to focus on staying “alive”.