CHAPTER 75 DISHONOR-BOUND
I stood there, completely unsure how to process the information given to me. What was I supposed to do?
Before I realized it, the battle in the cage was finished. The survivor raised his hands with a roar of victory. The crowd cheered, a small few groaning in disappointment at their chosen man losing the fight.
The announcer took up the focus as the surviving fighter moved out of the cage in my direction.
“Once again, Strong-Sword Leo prevails!” He gestured to the man who walked by me with a glare.
The crowd meanwhile was cheering him as he departed.
[Level 543]
‘Ping’ [Identify] Has leveled 9 > 10
Well, he definitely had a level up there. Third class was probably in the third tier at this point as well, it was pretty hard to gain levels when one of your classes was disproportionately underleveled in comparison. Or so I’d heard.
I ignored him as he walked by me. He isn't my concern currently. I needed to worry about whomever was up next. What level they were and how to beat them. Everyone I had seen so far was third tier. Which was great if I managed to kill them, not so much when I was being stuck in a cage with them and expected to fight to the death.
Lurks had said she would only intervene if I intentionally tried to get myself killed. And it was safe to assume she was reading my mind currently. I glanced up to the cubby where the leaders usually sat. Drikith wasn’t there this time, but Lurks was along with a couple of others.
She gave me a friendly knowing smile.
So that confirmed my suspicions. Which meant that I couldn’t fake trying my hardest either. Which meant, either give it my all and lose, or win and not be punished for it.
On the outside it looked like a win-win kind of situation. Except it wasn’t really, losing meant I died, winning meant I got to live as a sex-slave. Neither were particularly great options in my mind.
Unfortunately it was what I was stuck with.
“Up next we have another return guest! Some of you will probably recognize who it is given their exotic nature and the flashy show they put on the last time they graced us with an appearance!”
“Oooohh, I see some of you have already caught sight of who it is! That’s right! Lady Lurks has graced us with the presence of her new favorite pet elf!”
That description nauseated me. Did he do that on purpose, or did Lurks put him up to that knowing it would just piss me off? Glancing up at her again, her face betrayed nothing I could use on that front.
I made my way into the cage door opening on the side. This time I was actually in the presence of mind to notice there were two soldiers standing by it. Once I stepped in, they closed the door behind me and locked it.
“Last time he ended his fight in a single attack! Can he do the same today? Or was last time a fluke? His opponent is eager to find out! Let me announce, to my great pleasure, The Fist of Dalker!”
Huh, a nickname? So he was a regular I was assuming. Going off the name I assumed he was another pugilist type. Given how many of those I was facing recently I was starting to get used to their fighting styles and how to avoid them.
I stared opposite the side I was standing on waiting for the person that was announced to come in. When they did, I realized I was probably being played. Hard.
The man that came in was easily seven feet tall. He was also wearing full plate armor and held a tower shield along with what would probably be considered a greatsword for myself. Hell, even technically one for him, yet he was wielding it in one hand.
I couldn’t make out any features given that he was fully covered in armor from head to toe, but I knew one thing for certain. He was not a pugilist.
If he was I’d eat my shoe.
[Level 433]
I was glad I was in a better state of mind for this fight. I doubt I’d be able to handle it as easily as the previous person I fought.
“Well then, little elf. You got lucky facing someone who had just ascended in your first fight. I doubt you’ll find yourself nearly as capable as you think you are though, regardless of what your real level is. I will crush you like the insignificant shit stain of a slave that you are!”
At the same time it was a detriment, since it also meant I was in a good enough state of mind to process all the shit he was spewing.
Wait.
“Are you not a slave?” I asked him, frowning slightly.
He was silent for a moment, I couldn’t tell his mood since I couldn’t see his face so I wasn’t sure what he was feeling.
“That would be amusing, if it weren’t so insulting. I was planning on making your death painless, instead I plan to make an example out of you. Of why you should study your opponents before your fights, knowing your enemy is a valuable asset in a fight.”
Wow, this guy was tacky beyond all hell.
I laughed, “That’s cute. You seem to think that Lurks gives me the option to study my opponents before I fight. But that doesn’t surprise me that you need to do that. You seem like the kind of man that was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Everything in life was just handed to you and you coasted on the coattails of your parents. The second you have to do anything on your own you immediately start throwing your weight around to get what you want. Sounds about right to you?” I asked in a mocking voice.
All I saw was his grip tightening on his sword and his shield getting put in place in front of him.
I just smirked, I was actually somewhat impressed he wasn’t raging at me in return trying to get the last word in. It also spoke poorly of my chances, if he was able to keep calm after being so openly insulted by someone he viewed as inferior, that meant he wasn’t a carbon copy of a spoiled rich kid. It meant that he was someone with a superiority complex with the mindset to back it up.
Definitely a bad matchup for me.
On the other hand he was wearing metal, how lucky would I have to be for it to be unenchanted?
“Our two fighters have finished their posturing and you’ve finished placing your bets! Without further ado! Let the fight… BEGIN!”
A loud bang of magic signaled the start of the fight.
And neither of us moved.
We stood there staring at each other, unmoving. Not that I was just waiting. I spent time forming plants in the corners of the room and having them hand from the top of the cage, using [One With Nature] to spread my awareness around the arena and get a good view of everything that was happening.
I also used [Mana Sense] along with [Electric Sense] to try and see if I could deduce anything.
The latter got me back nothing other than the small margin of electricity that ran through the human body. It definitely gave me back that he had higher brain function. [Mana Sense] on the other hand gave me back a lot.
Every piece of gear he had was considered magic. His shield, his sword, his armor. Each of them glowing a different color to my senses. All of them were exceedingly dull, muted colors. But they were magic. The shield blue, the sword red, the armor various shades of blue and yellow.
If I had to take a wild educated guess, blue was defensive, yellow support style, and red potentially offensive. Just a guess though.
“You do not plan to attack me?” The Fist of Dalker asked calmly.
“I mean, if you’re just going to wait for me to attack first I’m going to take my time. Make sure I can end this quickly and easily.” I said with a shrug.
Once I had finished the flowers, which hadn’t taken long, I had moved to creating wooden tendrils. In various places around the arena. Or rather just under the surface of it, waiting and ready to pierce through the floor and potentially trip my opponent, or grab him and hinder him. I doubted any of them would be able to get through his armor, that would be left up to my sword.
I wonder if [Lightning Strikes] and its ability to go through resistances counted armor on that front?
Well only one way to find out.
“I didn’t take you for being such a coward, given how quickly you dispatched your previous opponent. But I guess that should come as no surprise from a slave.” He said with a scoff.
I just raised my eyebrow, “That’s rich coming from a man dressed up so heavily in magic armor he can barely move. Afraid of something hurting you?” I asked with a patronizing tone.
He charged with a roar.
Maybe he wasn’t as calm as I thought.
My first trap sprouted up to grab his leg.
And he just powered right through as if it wasn’t even there. Well shit. That wasn’t good.
I triggered the rest, but like the first one they did nothing to slow him down, let alone stop him.
He quickly bared down on me with his overwhelming size, I took a single step forward as he brought down his oversized sword in an overhead swing.
I activated [Enchanted Redirection] and brought my sword up in an angled horizontal posture. My arms were guided by the skill and as his blade met mine I stepped to the side to offset the blow and allow it to slide off my sword before trying to counterattack.
However as I moved to swipe at him from the side, he calmly stepped back out of the way and all of a sudden his shield was hurtling towards my face. I jumped backwards and time slowed down as [Dodge] activated. I landed and moved to just barely let the shield pass me by, but all of a sudden his body flared up with mana and electricity that flowed down his arm and ended at his shield.
Before I could even try to dodge I was flung across the cage and slammed into the other end nearly 80 feet away. During the tumble I had felt several of my ribs crack, or at least that’s what it felt like and sounded like to my ears. I place my wooden hand over my stomach activating [Nature’s Touch] to try and heal them. It took a few casts but I managed to do so. My opponent wasn’t even trying to close the distance.
He shook his head as he stood up, “I don’t know what Lady Lurks was thinking letting you compete, you’re not even a proper fighter. You have no experience, no training, your sword skills are still in the first tier despite you being in the second. Embarrassing.” He said while shaking his head.
I started laughing again, I laughed until there were tears in my eyes.
“Why do you laugh? Your life is at stake here.”
I let out an amused sigh as I managed to contain the rest of my mirth.
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“You’re completely misunderstanding what’s happening. I’m not here because I enjoy fighting or I’m gonna get some glory out of beating people here. I’m here because Lurks likes humiliating me, I’m here because she gets off sexually on my suffering. I don’t want to be here. I’m here because I don’t have a choice, not because I’m a capable fighter or anything.”
He stood there for a moment, most likely trying to process this new revelation that I had gifted to him.
“I see.” He said finally, “I’ll admit I didn’t think of that when you first appeared. Most fighters here, even slaves, fight because of what they might receive from these matches. I had not considered that there might be fighters that would be forced to participate.”
He then turned to face me, his posture changing as he stanced up once again. “I apologize for not taking this seriously. Out of respect for your predicament, I will end this as quickly as I am able.”
His shield slammed down in front of him and he prepared for another charge.
“May you find peace in death and joy in your next life.” He said solemnly before his heavy footsteps started pounding across the arena.
Well fuck.
I immediately fired off [Paralyzing Blast] three separate times, each shot eating into my mana. Every single one of them hit his shield and did absolutely nothing.
I growled in frustration before darting around the side of the arena. Despite how huge and clunky he was, he had a lot of speed. Something from his classes potentially boosting his speed? I wasn’t sure.
Lightning sparked off my feet as I cleared the outside of the cage. The Fist came to a stop in the center of the arena as he waited for my next move.
I just started pelting him with singular bursts of [Chain Lightning]. They hit his shield causing him to grunt slightly as the electricity burst over the entirety of his armor. But whether it actually did any meaningful damage was uncertain.
I started focusing my [Parallel Minds] to handle different aspects. One of them I dedicated to fully handling barriers, several I devoted to analyzing my opponent, the last few I gave miscellaneous tasks like observation through my skills, while my primary mind handled moving and attacking. I was still struggling with how to properly assign them, but I think I was starting to figure it out now.
I activated [Lightning Aura] and it exploded around me violently before settling down slightly giving my body and sword a purple hue as I sparked with volatile amounts of electricity. I quickly dashed in from his backside, closing the distance near instantaneously.
Just as quickly he turned around his sword swinging at my midsection. With my observation I had seen him preparing to swing despite him hiding the attack and I dropped into a three-point stance to dodge the attack. Once again he followed up with another shield-bash. This time I was ready and in conjunction with my barrier mind, I jumped.
I rotated in the air above him my feet coming into contact with one of my own barriers before I hurled myself back down to the ground just barely managing to land on my feet as I cut up his back activating both [Lightning Strikes] and [Second Strike], as I finished my swing and was met with a resounding clap of thunder as a return stroke was initiated in the familiar mirror pattern of the triggering attack.
This time he let out an actual growl of pain as he countered with another horizontal swing causing me to dance backwards out of reach. But with expert skill he didn’t allow me to get too far away, realizing his advantage was to keep pressure up on me he followed my steps closely swinging seemingly haphazardly. But his calm demeanor said this was anything but a reckless flurry.
I did my best to parry and redirect his attacks and stay out of the path of a follow up shield-bash, or in some cases kicks and punches with his sword hand.
Each blow that I blocked, shook my arms causing them to go slightly more numb from the force of the blow. He was strong. That was kind of obvious given his armor and choice of weapon, it really sank in how strong he was with how hard he was hitting.
And his sword was well made, not even getting chipped from hitting the sword Illesea had given me.
I stepped backwards to avoid another horizontal swing only for my foot to catch on something and I started falling. My observation mind saw it too late to dodge, but a piece of the rocky ground had cupped behind my foot catching it.
I was realizing far too late, that he wasn’t using all of his classes. One of his classes was earth based. His sword came hurtling down before I had even finished falling to try and impale me through the stomach.
[Dodge] Having just barely come off cooldown, activated and enhanced my senses. I moved one of my observation minds over to helping with barriers, and placed several barriers in between me and the sword. At the same time I curled into a ball and placed a barrier at the soles of my feet and then pushed with all of my strength throwing myself across the arena and tumbling across the ground. I managed to roll in a way that I caught myself with my wooden hand and used my momentum to fling myself off the ground and onto my feet.
Breathing heavily I looked down and saw my tunic was slightly torn from where his sword had nearly pierced me.
I rubbed my hand over the spot, but thankfully there was no injury.
The Fist yanked his sword out of the floor and turned to me.
“I must say that I underestimated you. You’re only just into tier two, but I can see now how you defeated an opponent much stronger than you. You have amazing intuition and use your high speed to your advantage. However, you must be running low on stamina and mana at this point. You’ve fought valiantly, but you must’ve sacrificed your stats in other areas to have such amazing speed at such a low level. And unfortunately you can’t maintain your abilities at the rate you’ve been using them.”
I ignored him and tried to come up with another plan of action. I was running out of little tricks to use to escape him. In fact the only reason I was even escaping his deathblows at all was because I had [Dodge] which was enhancing my speed a ton to be able to dodge him.
I felt the ground rumble around me and I focused on my opponent again.
“I’ll try to end this with our next exchange, you’ve put up a valiant fight and can be proud of your efforts against a much stronger opponent. But struggling any more is just humiliating to yourself and drawing out the inevitable end to our fight.”
The ground pooled around his feet before it started climbing up his legs in a rocky version of my [Nature’s Protection] skill. Eventually he was completely encased in a rocky suit of armor that was actually pretty intimidating. I wasn’t really getting through his armor before now, but with this?
I was really fucked now, wasn’t I?
Actually, there was a skill I hadn’t tried out yet had I? I knelt to the ground and activated [Lightning Storm] I felt my mana channel into the skill and waited.
And waited, I felt my mana disappearing but it wasn’t going anywhere that I could see? What was happening? The skill was activating, it was taking the mana. But it wasn’t forming a storm cloud… Wait. Was it forming at ground level in the sky?
I stood back up, “Well fuck.”
My opponent tilted his head slightly, “What were you doing?”
I scratched my head, “Well I have a skill I hadn’t used since getting to the second tier, so I figured it would be an all or nothing gamble. Except I guess it can’t form underground, so it’s basically useless here.”
He nodded sagely, “‘tis unfortunate, but such is the way of skills that emulate the weather. They need a foundation to be built off of. It would take a mage of unprecedented power to be able to form a storm of any kind underground instead of using the canvas of the sky to their advantage.”
“Well, if you have no other tricks to try, are you willing to let this end?”
I scoffed, “Hell no, if I don’t struggle to the very end Lurks said she’d intervene and make my life worse than hell.”
He stopped before nodding again. “I understand, then be on your guard. For we shall resume!” He roared while charging, each step shaking the entirety of the arena.
I grit my teeth in frustration. How the fuck was I supposed to win this? I ran forward before throwing myself to the side to avoid his sword swing. I rolled across the ground quickly correcting to my feet and fired off [Chain Lightning] into his side and quickly followed behind it by landing a strike in the same spot and activating [Second Strike]. All to little avail.
I could tell he was easily shrugging off the attacks. Any damage to the rock armor was quickly repaired. I also had to be extremely careful where I stepped to avoid being tripped up by his grabs, much the same way I tried initially at the start of our fight. Except he could actually trip me.
Over and over I dashed in, unleashing attacks that he just didn’t have time to fully retaliate against. Each attack I put all of my strength into, lightning splashed over his form with every blow I rained down on him. At this point I was fighting a war of attrition. A fight I would most likely lose. But I was going to lose fighting my best.
I turned back in for another swing activating [Lightning Strikes] and [Enchanted Accuracy]. The attack landed.
And his rock armor exploded off of him where my attack landed. My primary mind was in shock, one of my sub-minds immediately took control and activated [Second Strike] landing heavy damage again on his back knocking off more armor.
The Fist let out a yell of pain from the attack, but still managed to try and attack back and push me out of range of attacking again.
This time I was the one who didn’t let up. I kept up the speed. No. I moved even faster. Pouring every last ounce of mana and strength I had into the small amount of hope I had.
I saw a chance, a small chance that I could break through his armor. I was going to take it, or die trying. I was faster than him, but that’s all I had. I was only keeping up with his superior strength and sword technique simply because I was that much faster than him.
I planned to take complete advantage of that.
I kept circling around him using every ounce of mana I had to tearing away his rock armor over and over again. I had been just above half mana before I saw the opportunity I had now. Each use of [Enchanted Accuracy] ate another 1000 mana. Which meant I only had nine or ten uses in total. Now I was down to 4 or 5.
Nothing for it then.
I pressed in my aura exploding outwards as I closed the distance almost faster than he could react at this point.
I stepped under his counterswing with a wide stance and positioned myself just passed him with my blade held by my side and behind me in both hands. I then stepped forward and heaved the blade into his waist with every last bit of strength, speed, and mana that I had.
I poured roughly 2000 mana into [Lightning Strikes] bypassing essentially 100% of his resistances. I felt the mana quickly drain from my body and disappear into my blade. Lightning exploded off the wooden sword, crackling with ferocity as it connected with him and I activated both [Enchanted Accuracy] and [Second Strike].
The explosion that emanated from the strike I connected to him was enough to launch me away from him, preventing me from giving a return volley of blows that I had intended too. I tumbled across the arena slamming to a stop against the bars that made up the outside.
I quickly launched myself to my feet, only to stumble slightly. I looked down and saw several red stains appearing on my chest and stomach, from where rubble from his armor had embedded itself in me. I looked at my mana…
Mana - 2356/19060
It wasn’t in good shape. I pushed through the pain, looking up. My opponent was still alive. He was on his hands and knees, his rock armor gone and a huge portion of his plate armor was broken away, twisted, blackened metal was all that remained in the area that I had hit him at.
I grinned. I was so close. Just a little more.
I ignored the injuries I had and launched another [Chain Lightning] at him and followed closely behind it. It felt like the mana from the attack was pulling me along with it, guiding me, enhancing my speed even further than I should’ve been capable of. I allowed it too. I followed it closely and allowed it to bring me to my opponent, who still managed to react faster than he should’ve. But not quickly enough, I hit him with a powerful swing, my sword melding with my own [Chain Lightning], the skill swirling around my sword combining with it to increase its strength and cleaving through my opponents armor and his arm.
My momentum carried me past him, but I just turned and repeated the same thing going the other direction. Guided by the mana of my skills, I flashed with near impossible speed, even to my senses and cut through on his other side landing another devastating blow. I did it one more time cutting through one of his legs as he tried to stand, making him fall back down.
I landed past him once more and turned to try and dash back the other way only for my [Chain Lightning] not to activate.
I tried several more times before looking to see my mana.
Mana 150/19060
…
Not enough to even heal myself anymore.
I looked at my opponent with two of his limbs removed from his body.
I looked down to see a steady trickle of blood landing on the ground beneath me.
I wasn’t in a particularly good state either.
I looked back up, my opponent breathing heavily but otherwise not moving.
I approached him slowly, keeping an eye out for any tricks.
There were none.
“I admit…” The Fist spoke, he breathed heavily as his blood painted the floor beneath him.
“I underestimated you heavily…”
I sighed heavily, myself.
“I don’t think you did. I fully expected to die fighting you today.”
He didn’t reply.
“What’s your name?” I asked him, my voice deceptively calm.
For a long moment I feared he may not tell me.
“Adam Kleese, The Fist of Dalken.” He replied.
I nodded, “I’m Alexander King, The Last Elf of Nalthien.”
He nodded silently.
“You fought well, Adam. I wish we could have met another way. You’ve treated me with more respect than most here, so thank you.” I whispered quietly, trying not to let my emotions show.
I raised my sword and swung downwards through his neck.
‘Ping’ [Sword of Valor - Level 433 / Shield of Solitude - Level 393 / Earth Embraced Warrior - Level 383] Has been slain. 10 ability points have been granted for slaying an opponent one tier above you.
‘May you find the honor in the next life that I couldn’t give you here, Adam.’