The ground shattered at their feet as both Geralt and Sally launched themselves at each other. The entire arena shook and the audience fell silent.

You could hear a pin drop whilst I watched anxiously from my perch behind the low wall at the front of the tiered seating area.

Sally slashed down a blow so fierce that the wind force created from it blew my hair back. Geralt intercepted, blocking the lightning-fast attack like it was child’s play.

As the two swords clashed together the arena shook once more. So this was what a silver rank battle looked like. I was impressed and more than anything, I wanted to possess that kind of power myself.

If I could one day be that strong, I’d have no problem protecting myself against cultists and monsters and pretty much anyone else who wanted to harm me.

More importantly, it would be the first step to one day bringing my wife and unborn child here. Not that I knew for sure if that was even possible.

The crown glinted ominously on the alter in the centre of the arena. Despite the fierce battle brewing right next to it, it didn’t budge an inch.

As the two swords clashed together, a stalemate of seemingly inseparable talent ensued. Sally smiled and took one hand off her hilt, moving it to the top of her blade.

With movements that flowed like water she leant into the blade, forcing Geralt’s sword back towards him. Then she pushed down on the top of her blade, using her entire bodyweight, and cut before spinning away and creating distance. All in one flowing movement.

Geralt grunted as his shoulder was sliced open and blood began leaking out of the wound. Back on earth a wound like that would be a finisher. It’d likely kill a person. At the very least they’d need immediate medical treatment and surgery.

But to Geralt it was a mere flesh wound as he grimaced slightly and pressed on. He launched himself at Sally as she spun to create distance from her last attack.

She jumped back at the last second, narrowly avoiding a powerful strike, then dashed back into the fray with a myriad of slashes which ripped multiple minor wounds into Geralt’s toned stomach.

It was a close fight, but she was winning. I watched in awe as it all played out in front of my unblinking eyes.

“Ha! Not bad Sally of the Gob Gob Tribe.” Geralt pronounced. The arena was so quite that we could hear every word. “I didn’t expect much from a catonid but you’ve put on quite a show.”

Murmurs began emanating from around the arena as the crowd took in what had been said.

“How did he see through our ruse?” Panda exclaimed in a shocked tone.

“To be fair mate, it was a pretty ridiculous charade. We don’t look anything like goblins.” I replied.

Still, Panda’s charisma skill had worked on the others, as proven by the shocked voices whispering all around us. For Geralt the Wandering Ronin to be able to see through it must have meant his stats were pretty high.

“If he fights on par with Sally then there was no way my charisma skill was going to work on him.” Panda said, still enthralled with the battle below. “My stats scale with yours and you’re way weaker than he is.”

“How do your stats and skill work?” I asked, it occurred to me that I knew very little about how my familiar operated.

“I’m a non-combatant daemon familiar. So in place of the strength stat I have a charisma stat. My intelligence and charisma are both my highest stats and the others are… adequate I guess.

“In this current incarnation I only have two skills. One of them allows me to quickly research and retain knowledge. You know, cause I’m a sage and all.

“The other allows me to attempt to convince other people of things by pitting my charisma stat against theirs. Of course, most people and monsters don’t have a charisma stat. It tends be included as part of their intelligence.

“Which is why you believe everything I tell you, you dimwit.” He chuckled. “Joking aside, I can’t actually use my manipulation skill on you. It doesn’t work since you’re technically my master.” He added, still keeping his eyes glued to the arena floor.

It was useful to know more about how his skills worked. That meant that as I got more powerful, so did he. I wondered if he’d unlock more skills as I grew.

It could be useful if he could develop something to help me in combat, even if it wasn’t directly related to fighting.

“What was that about this incarnation?” I asked.

“As you know I’ve been alive a long time and served other masters. I incarnate each time, starting at the level they summon me at and growing alongside them.”

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“So does that mean you know what other skills you’ll develop?”

“Nope, sorry kid. It doesn’t work like that. I get different ones every time and it’s related to how your powers grow and work too. The only constant is the sage skill because, as I may have mentioned, I’m a sage.”

That was a shame. Though it was worth a try just in case. I guess I’d have to wait and see what else he could do.

I turned my gaze back towards the arena where Sally and Geralt found themselves in a sword-locked stalemate once more.

“If you knew I wasn’t a goblin then why did you allow me to enter this tournament.” Sally asked through gritted teeth as the two tried to force each other back.

“I wanted to fight you.” Geralt replied with a lecherous smile playing on his lips.

As Sally opened her mouth to reply, Geralt took the opportunity to kick her in the stomach. She doubled over and was launched across the arena, slamming hard into the stone wall which crumbled around her.

As she peeled herself off I could see a Sally shaped hole where she’d landed. She’d completely annihilated that part of the wall. I could see through the hole to the stairs which presumably led back to the hall.

She wiped some blood from her lips and glowered at the hobgoblin in front of her.

Using the wall to launch herself this time, she flew at Geralt like a missile and stabbed her sword straight into him. He dodged at the last second, but her sword went straight through his shoulder all the way to the hilt.

He grunted and slammed his elbow repeatedly into Sally’s back as he tried to throw her off. He lifted his sword with his free arm above her head.

I found myself shouting, “Sally, watch out!” but she didn’t need my assistance as she jumped back, leaving her sword skewered through her opponent’s shoulder, just a few inches from his heart.

Geralt used the space created to wrench Sally’s sword from his shoulder with a deep growl of pain. It must have cost him a lot of HP as he was looking worse for wear now.

However, he now held both of their massive swords and wielded them together. His own sword was held in his good hand and Sally’s drooped, held by the injured side.

Still, she had no weapon and he had two. He grinned maliciously at her.

Sally quickly began looking around for something and then her eyes stopped on a single spot in the arena. She dived towards it and rolled, grabbing Gerald’s axe.

The dwarf shaped dead goblin lay nearby. Geralt had finished him almost the second the battle royale had started.

“This isn’t my preferred weapon, but it’ll do” she said smugly as she took a few test swings. Her entire body was enveloped in a glowing red aura.

Geralt smiled and his body glowed as well as he watched her. “Very well, then I guess it’s about time for me to wrap this up.”

“What are they doing?” I asked Panda hurriedly.

“It’s a warrior skill called Berserker it seems they both have it. Basically, it makes them stronger and feel less pain. It can also make them angry and reckless. It doesn’t run out until their mana and stamina are empty. It’s a powerful skill that drains both of those stats very quickly.”

I watched on as I felt a powerful pressure surround the arena. The two were glowing intensely and it was hard to watch them. They were blinding.

Then they both leaped at each other and I lost track of what was happening.

They moved so fast it was a complete blur to me. I could barely keep up with any of it as they clashed all around the arena at the speed of sound.

I had no way of knowing who was winning, until suddenly the glowing stopped and the two of them stood panting and facing each other in the middle of the arena.

Geralt was doubled over, unable to lift either arm, he panted like a dog as blood dripped from a myriad of wounds which covered his entire body.

Sally, on the other hand, barely had a scratch on her. Though she panted all the same. Had she won? It was hard to tell.

They stood there for an agonisingly slow second. Then Sally’s chest burst as blood splattered from a deep gash which appeared to form from her left breast to her right hip.

She fell to her knees and then face planted the floor. She’d been defeated.

And the winner is…

“No!” I found myself screaming before I knew what I was doing.

I had my bow in my hands and an arrow nocked. I aimed at the swaying half dead hobgoblin who seemed like he might keel over any second. I pulled back the drawstring and shot, anger coursing through me.

It exploded from the bow string with more power than I’d ever used before, draining half my stamina in a single go. I didn’t have time to think about that though.

It penetrated the back of Geralt’s head and exploded out the front of his face.

His body dropped to its knees and fell to the floor as gore leaked out all over the sandy arena floor. I heard the notification and knew he was dead. It was followed by a few others that I didn’t have time to check.

I vaulted over the wall and rushed towards Sally as she bled out. She was unconscious and in bad shape. She wasn’t breathing but I couldn’t tell if that was normal at her level.

Pulling out a basic health potion, I tipped her head back and poured the entire thing down her throat. The wound closed slightly but refused to heal fully.

I didn’t know what to do, was she dead? Was there nothing I could do to help?

Panda moved to join me as I heard the jeers from the crowd above. The goblins began throwing stones and rotten fruit they’d somehow gotten hold of.

I didn’t care, I had more important things to deal with, like keeping Sally alive. I wouldn’t allow her to die.

“Kid, we need to go now!” Panda shouted as he half climbed, half fell from the balcony.

I ignored him and started tapping Sally’s shoulder’s begging her to wake up. I was dead without her. But more than that, she was my mentor and I didn’t want her to die.

“Kid we need to go now!” Panda said, running towards me.

“What do I do, she won’t wake up?” I screamed at him.

“I don’t know, carry her or something. We can deal with that later. Right now we need to get out of here before we get killed.”

“They won’t kill us, we’re in a safe zone.”

“That didn’t stop you did it?”

“That only worked because the safety feature was disabled for the combatants in the arena.”

Gobtta had told us as much when he’d visited our room the previous night. My initial plan had been to provide ranged support whilst Sally fought. She said no. She told me it was too dangerous and I wouldn’t do much harm anyway.

The way the system managed to enable combatants to fight in a safe zone was to revoke their safety temporarily. It was the same when I duelled Giles.

“Read your notification. You’re being punished!” Panda shouted.

The punishment! In my haste I’d completely forgotten about it. I opened my notifications and there it was.

*WARNING*

You have broken the safe zone rules.

It’s punishment time bitches!