“Good citizens of Whitefinger City! For this match, we’ve got two newcomers to the arena! Both gladiators of the Chaff class, ready to tear…out…each…other's…throats!”

The first thing that Kalen heard as he stepped out into the blinding sun, was the trilling voice of a man overhead that boomed throughout the arena’s stands.

“Are you ready to see them try!”

YEEAAAAHHHHHHHHH

Kalen looked above the sands of the arena at the crowd roaring in excitement.

‘Like the people out on the street, they wear their fancy clothes even to an event like this.’

Kalen’s eyes betrayed a hint of disgust.

He could even see children sitting up there, counted in the stands among the audience.

Who would bring their family to this?

Was even bloodshed not too brutal for a child of the Empire to see?

“Gladiators! Are you ready?”

Kalen shook his head. He wouldn’t let his inability to understand the Empire distract him from this fight.

Looking at his opponent across the sandy arena, he copied his action in raising his sword.

“Good! Then fight!”

The announcer’s voice boomed, and at once both combatants were spurred to action.

Kalen moved to close in their distance in a straight line, not bothering to start circling his opponent. At least with a sword in hand, he was comfortable getting close.

Marshall had trained him in equal measure with all the swords at his disposal in Willowhearth, and while he preferred the longsword, the gladius in his hands felt similar to the common short sword.

Up close, he could see how large his opponent was too.

Beneath the iron mask, he thought he could see the flash of teeth as the other combatant suddenly pounced forward.

“DIE!”

Kalen’s opponent brought his sword down overhead onto Kalen, who deflected it in a cross-armed stance, bracing the flat of his sword with a bent arm underneath it as he absorbed the blow.

Doing his best to not recoil from the impact, Kalen rolled away.

‘He’s heavy!’

Kalen evaluated. The first strike of the match had come as a shock. Even if not skillful, his opponent had enough power behind his actions to break through Kalen’s blocks.

This fight would not be easy.

Kalen pounced off the ground after a moment of thought, taking the chance to strike at the other man’s open side.

TANG

“Damn!”

The gladius scraped across the other’s breastplate, though breaking through a bolt that held it together, his opponent had suffered no damage.

“So you’re a fast one, are you!”

Kalen’s opponent recovered soon enough, realizing his armor had blocked the blow. He spat in a cruel tone.

“Nimble fucker! Dodge this!”

Kalen’s eyes widened as the man’s frame picked up, swinging around with a kick as the blur of the man’s leg plunged into Kalen’s side.

OOFH!

Kalen raised his arms to his side just in time, but it didn’t matter.

The momentum carried behind the armored foot knocked the wind out of Kalen’s chest and sent him skidding across the sand.

No matter how he blocked, against a direct collision he was out of his weight class.

“Ha! Punk.”

Kalen’s opponent smiled seeing how far he rolled through the sand.

“This your first life-or-death fight? It shows. You might be quick with that sword, but you obviously can’t handle the pressure of a real fight.”

The man mocked him through the hold of his helmet, watching the boy struggle to lift himself off of the arena’s sandy ground.

‘This armor is too fucking heavy!’

Kalen cursed as he got to his feet.

In just a short minute, enough sweat had already accumulated beneath his helmet to drench the undershirt around his neck. They had barely exchanged three moves, and Kalen was already starting to feel tired.

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This was a real fight. Not a spar.

When every next move might cause your death, a man could fall to mental exhaustion before he even felt physically tired.

Kalen heaved.

Repositioning himself into a defensive stance, he tried to calm his breath again.

That last hit had been the first direct one, and now Kalen had a pulsing ache at his side.

“Tch, still trying to fight conventionally? You’re not even going to make this interesting, are you?”

The man spread his arms open wide, raising his helm above to the roaring crowd.

Of course, all this time the crowd had been watching.

They were loving every second of this, that much was clear from the constant noise.

While his opponent gloated, Kalen looked for open spots in his armor.

‘His armor should be the same as mine, but these swords are too weak to cut through the metal. It may be pig iron for all I know, but this sword is even worse. Below his helmet at the neck and the gaps at his elbows should be the best points to target, but how am I…’

WOOOSH

“Damn it!”

Kalen quickly ducked as an object flew over his head.

His opponent had suddenly turned around while Kalen was strategizing and whipped his sword in his direction.

‘He’s abandoning his sword!’

Kalen couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His opponent laughed as Kalen looked to where the sword had fallen, before running forward to close the distance.

‘He’s switching to melee?’

Kalen jumped back as a fist came for his face.

“Stop moving you little fuck!”

‘Pugilism may suit him, but it's a poor choice when I’ve still got my blade!’

Kalen narrowly avoided another fist as the man continued to close the distance.

Kalen had less experience in hand to hand combat, and could fight far less aggressively while avoiding his opponent’s jabs.

But still, sooner or later he would be given an opportunity to strike.

‘THERE!’

Kalen ducked beneath an outstretched fist, lunging forward at the exposed neck of his opponent.

“Ha!”

But the man was expecting it, and turned his head just out of the way in time.

Kalen suddenly felt a large hand grip around his wrist holding his sword, before a shadow came around from the side of his head.

BANG

Kalen’s opponent slammed his gauntlet into the side of Kalen’s helmet, knocking it off and throwing him down into the sand again.

In his other hand, he held the gauntlet that had been around Kalen’s sword hand, still gripping onto the gladius it had been holding.

TWINGDINGDINGDINGDING….SNAP!

Kalen looked up from the ground at the smiling expression of his opponent beneath his helmet. His face now exposed for the arena to see. Kalen had been disarmed.

“Ooh, what’s wrong? Lose something, did you?”

His opponent continued to mock him over the sensation of his head swimming.

Kalen raised a hand to the side of his head, bringing his fingers before his eyes he saw they were covered in a green slime.

‘Is that…the grease?’

Kalen wobbled as he stood up again.

Without the helmet obstructing his face, he was able to see better in the daylight at least.

Yet from the bash to his head, his vision was fuzzy, and he could barely make out the figure of his opponent as he walked toward him.

“Just a kid, huh?”

The man cocked his head.

“It’s just as well. I’ll save you from living a long life in the confines of this arena!”

Kalen’s eyes widened. His vision cleared just in time to see a metal-clad fist hurtling toward his head.

WOOOSH

Kalen jumped away, missing it just in time.

“Still got fight in you?”

‘Why is he so talkative?’

Kalen bobbed his head as the man jumped forward again, throwing a punch over his shoulder.

‘I have to figure out something! He’s clearly trying to kill me in one shot now, but soon he’ll get tired and start going for body shots, seeking to disable me. I don’t think I can avoid him if he tries that.’

Kalen looked around the arena at the items that had been cast aside.

His opponent had knocked his helmet completely off at the same time he had disarmed him.

He had snapped his gladius in half as soon as he had gotten a hold of it too, confirming Kalen’s thought that the equipment they were given really was shit.

That left his opponent’s sword as the only weapon left in the arena, but it was over by the gate Kalen had emerged from, as it had landed there after being thrown at him.

“Ah!”

Kalen moved to dodge another fist thrown at him, but couldn’t move fast enough this time before it grazed his neck.

Kalen leapt backwards, bringing his hand to his neck where blood had been drawn.

‘Would the curse help at all? Can I get close enough to try?’

Kalen suddenly had a thought. Though he was unsure of it at first, as he didn’t know how long it would take to affect his opponent.

Would it be enough to kill a full grown man?

Kalen didn’t even know.

But that was the only option he had left, as the man was now closing in, and the remaining sword was still half an arena away from him.

‘Fuck! I’ve got to get his skin exposed to make contact.’

Kalen released his neck and ducked under the next punch. This time instead of moving backward in defense, he slid underneath the man’s frame, grabbing his leg.

“Ah you little-!”

His opponent shouted as Kalen buckled one of his legs, sending him down into the sand with him face first.

As quick as he could, Kalen immediately jumped on the man’s helmet, tugging with all his arm strength to pry it off of his head.

“Get the fuck off of me!”

Kalen pulled the helmet off from the man just in time, as a moment later he was shaken off from his opponent, battered away like a house fly.

Kalen retreated back to a safe distance, tossing the helmet in his hands over to the opposite side of the arena.

It was out of play now, there was no chance of him reaching it again if Kalen was cautious.

‘There! With his skin exposed to air, I have a chance!'