The atmosphere of the arena was electric. Hundreds had gathered to watch the evening's power card duels.
Blake kept an eye out for any familiar faces from Cedar Creek, but he found none. He figured that if others had escaped from Cedar Creek as well, they might be able to tell him where his parents were. Small communities like that tended to stick together.
His body ached from the four hours of hard manual labor. All he really wanted to do was go back to sleep, but catching a glimpse of Clay Atlas, the City Lord, who apparently appeared before every duel night, was not something he wanted to miss.
The hum of the crowd around the arena felt like a mix between a live MMA fight, and a nightclub where everyone was ready to party. People walked around with drinks in their hands, right out in the open.
The scene felt like it should take place in Las Vegas, not the wilderness of Colorado.
The city had laws about certain things, such as citizens having to contribute in some way, but it felt like, aside from that, almost anything was on the table. Except duels, of course. These had to occur in sanctioned dueling arenas, and only at sanctioned dueling arenas.
Blake wondered what the purpose of that was. Did Clay Atlas think that allowing people to generally have freedom to do whatever they want would make them happier?
It would certainly make them more pliable if they were able to live a lifestyle they wanted.
Foreman Barnes had said to Blake that basically any kind of payment was on the table for overtime and extra duties. It obviously included accommodation, food, and power cards, but would it also include substances, and maybe even firearms?
Blake had seen a couple of people carrying openly. He’d even seen someone with a massive sword strapped to his back. The sword had a large flame motif on the scabbard, and Blake wondered whether it was something system related.
If the system was okay with people having swords and other weapons equipped, then it didn’t really make sense if Clay Atlas put laws in place to stop that from happening. It sounded like the system itself was the law now, and whatever was permissible within the system, was permissible within society.
Blake pushed toward the front of the crowd gathered around the arena. He had hoped he’d bump into Harry, but he was sure they’d catch up sooner or later. Bookies walked through the crowd, looking to take bets on the outcomes of the fights to come.
Tonight’s ticket had three duels scheduled. The first two were between lower ranked Challengers. The third was between two Rank 3 Challengers and had some buzz about it.
Suddenly, the lights in the arena dimmed. A hush fell over the crowd.
A massive screen materialized above the arena from nothing. Clay Atlas, the City Lord of New Meridia, had arrived, live from the top of Atlas Tower.
He was probably in the mid-to-late forties, with gray hair and a scowl that was chiseled from granite. He wore a tailored brown suit, and when he spoke his voice came out in a deep rumble.
“Good evening, citizens of New Meridia,” Clay Atlas said, his words echoing through the arena. “Tonight, we gather to witness three power card duels, and to see which of our Challengers will rise to the top. But let me remind you all that the arena is not just a place of competition. It is a symbol of our city's strength and unity. And as City Lord, I am proud to say that even though our city is young, it is getting stronger day by day.”
He paused for a moment and appeared to be scanning the crowd. Blake wasn’t sure whether he could actually see out from the screen that materialized in mid-air, but who knows what was possible thanks to The System.
Clay continued. “But let me remind you that our city is not just about power and strength. It is about justice, and fairness. Any Challenger who violates the rules of the arena will be dealt with. All competitive duels must take place here, in front of the people of New Meridia. Practice bouts can occur elsewhere, but any duel with stakes must happen before the eyes of our city. Any citizen who tries to disrupt the peace of New Meridia will be dealt with even more harshly.”
The crowd erupted into cheers, and Clay Atlas raised his hand for silence. “Let tonight’s duels begin! And may the best Challenger win!”
Clay Atlas disappeared from the screen, and the lights in the arena brightened once again.
The night’s duels were officially about to begin.
The first fight was between two Rank 1 fighters. Another large display appeared above the arena as two combatants appeared at either end of the arena. It showed their names as Nakamura and Regis.
Nakamura wore a trench coat that billowed out around his legs as he walked, and Blake was a little envious of that coat. Regis looked like a middle-aged math teacher, complete with jacket with patches on the elbows, a short, cropped mustache, and large coke bottle glasses.
An announcer’s voice blared out across the arena. “Welcome to tonight’s duels, ladies and gentlemen! We have a fiery lineup tonight, beginning with Kenji Nakamura, and Wilfred Regis! Will youth defeat wisdom? Or will experience reign supreme? Let’s find out!”
The countdown began. The very first card that Nakamura played formed into a circular bladed weapon that he expertly twirled around.
“Here we have Nakamura with his signature weapon, the Flame Chakram! This deadly weapon can deal damage in close quarters, and from afar!” the announcer said.
Regis played his first card a moment later, and a flame shield erupted from the back of his arm. Nakamura threw his chakram at Regis, but he deftly blocked it with the flame shield that billowed from his arm.
“Regis with the coveted Flame Shield card, which is almost impenetrable aside from heavy earth element weapons, due to the fire damage it deals to attackers!” the announcer enthused.
They continued to test each other for a minute until they could draw their next cards. At the one-minute mark, a flaming sword appeared in Regis’s other hand, and Nakamura played his next card to no apparent effect. Regis began slowly inching toward Nakamura with his shield raised and flaming sword at the ready.
Blake watched the mechanics of this fight with great interest. Nakamura had a ranged weapon, which should have given him an advantage, but Regis managed to counter this with a shield of the same element.
Blake wondered whether two similar elements canceled each other out. If both the weapons and the shield were made of fire, was that why the shield was blocking the attacks so efficiently? Or was there some kind of resistance mechanic in place that Blake didn’t quite understand just yet?
He found it interesting that there only appeared to be two types of elemental cards in play in this system. Every single person who had power cards seemed to have fire cards, earth cards, or a combination of both.
The only exception so far that he’d seen were the facility cards. It was possible that the city card that Clay Atlas used to create the city, if indeed that’s what happened, may have been element free as well.
No way could a city this large have sprung up in the wilderness from nothing without some kind of assistance from the system. For it to have appeared and attracted so many displaced people from across Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, word must have spread about the city very quickly.
Stolen novel; please report.
There was just something not right about this whole situation.
As the flight continued on, Blake powered up his phone again to check whether there was any signal yet. Again, the words NO SERVICE blinked at the top of this phone.
Communications to the outside world were still cut. He still didn’t know what had happened, aside from the coming of the system throwing the whole damn world into chaos.
Eventually Regis crossed the distance between himself and Nakamura, and forced Nakamura to back up until he was almost at the edge of the arena. Flame shield in hand, Regis slammed Nakamura backward and over the barrier at the edge of the arena.
For an aging math teacher he was surprisingly strong.
The yellow barrier around the arena turned red as soon as it was broken, and an alarm blared.
“Well, would you look at that! The opening favorite, Kenji Nakamura, was defeated by ring out!” A cheer rose from the gathered crowd. “Wilfred Regis is the winner of our opening duel! Congratulations, Regis!”
The display above the arena highlighted Regis’s portrait and declared him the winner. Music played from somewhere nearby, and it was some old person song that Blake had never heard before.
He found it a little strange and wondered whether the system had allowed Regis to choose his own victory song for public duels. As though his assistant detected Blake’s thoughts, she spoke words in his head.
‘Once you set up your public dueling profile, you can choose a whole number of different options for how duels work for you. The higher your rank is, and the more dueling achievements you accrue, the more customization options you get.
For example, Regis has unlocked the ability to choose a particular victory song by winning 10 duels. You can go and review the next available achievements at your leisure if you like.’
Blake made a note that he would do that, but wanted to see what was going to happen after the duel concluded.
Nakamura and Regis joined each other on the center of the arena stage as Nakamura handed over one of his cards to Regis. He physically summoned one of his cards, and Regis took it. After the exchange took place, they each went their separate ways.
The system didn’t announce what Nakamura forfeited to Regis. That was probably a good thing in the long run for the winners.
If people knew exactly what cards the people had won from dueling, it would de-incentivize playing to win. If you had to reveal all the cards in your arsenal, people could deliberately build their decks in a way that would counter yours.
Of course, just like any real-world card game, power cards had only a finite number of possibilities and strategies were allowed by a particular deck structure, so eventually a standard would emerge of how people played the game. People would work within that structure and formulate the best strategies to give them the best possible chance of success.
But there was one element to this that didn’t factor the cards in at all. The majority of these cards required a person to wield them.
Blake’s card manifestations, however, did not.
Well, at least they hadn’t so far. He had a pretty good idea that there was something different about him that made his cards act differently.
If dueled Blake anyone in public like this, he’d probably come under scrutiny for having cards that nobody had ever seen before. Such attention would probably be trouble.
Or it could be a very good thing, if he could take people by surprise and earn even more cards. If he could break the status quo, he’d be in a position of power.
The very next duel was between a pair of Rank 2 Challengers, and it immediately felt different to Blake.
Each of these Challengers came onto the Arena Stage wearing a stylized outfit. The announcer introduced the first fighter as Nessa Ashcroft, and she wore the type of clothes that you would wear to a fitness boot camp or CrossFit.
The guy at the other end of the arena was introduced as Clint Bartock, and he looked like he was about to go hiking in the mountains. He wore serious hiking boots, cargo pants, and a long sleeve button down shirt with a wide brimmed hat.
Clint was the very first person to play a card in this match, and the effects of that card made Blake’s eyes wide with shock. The ground in the center of the arena began to shift and move as the earth rumbled.
Great spires of stone erupted from the ground all over the arena battlefield. These stone spikes were too big to try and impale something with, but Blake figured that was not the purpose of them.
The announcer’s voice came across the arena. “First off we have Bartock playing an environment card! I believe this is the Stone Fields card which completely changes the arena and litters it with sharp stone spikes! These are almost impossible to climb, difficult to break, and interrupts any line of sight attacks that Ashcroft might have up her sleeve!”
Ashcroft’s card exploded into white light, which sunk into her skin. Aside from that, nothing else really happened.
“It looks like Ashcroft has played a hidden effect card. There are many of these that could be used as part of the system, and it’ll be interesting to see which one she has chosen to play!” the announcer said.
Clint stalked between the stone spikes, looking for Nessa everywhere. The cameras that tracked Nessa’s movements had completely lost her.
“Where has Ashcroft disappeared to?” the announcer said in a dramatic voice. “We all know that there’s no such thing as invisibility cards as part of this system, but she could very well be using some kind of camouflage card to blend into her surroundings. Bartock had better be on the lookout, or he might be on the receiving end of a surprise attack!”
After a minute passed, Clint pulled his second card and played it. In his right hand appeared a flail with a boulder strapped to the end. His arms and shoulders grew visibly stronger as well.
“Here we have Bartock with the Stone Flail card! This deadly weapon has a deceptively long reach and is devastating for anyone unlucky enough to be on the receiving end,” the announcer said.
Clint spun his flail around as he stalked between the spikes of this stone field, eyes darting around, scanning for his opponent.
Blake had absolutely no idea where Nessa had disappeared to. It was like she had turned invisible, but according to the announcer that was impossible within this system.
If she was camouflaged, then where was she camouflaged? Against some of the stones? Maybe she was camouflaged in the ground of the arena?
It didn't take too long for Nessa to launch an attack. As Clint hunted for her, the ground beneath his feet began to rumble. Hard stone ground gave way underneath him, converted into quicksand in an instant.
Nessa still hadn’t revealed herself, but Clint struggled against the sand as it started to swallow him inch by inch.
“Ashcroft has played a trap card!” the announcer cried out, and a chorus of shock and alarm rose from the gathered crowd. “Bartock has used two of his cards now, and there might not be a way for him to get free! Can he pull out a surprise self-rescue with his last card?”
The spiked boulder head of his flail disappeared into the liquid sand. Within moments, the quicksand passed Clint’s knees as he sank further and further.
Clint grunted as he drew his last card, but it turned out to be useless in his current predicament. The moment he played the card, a stone shield appeared on his arm.
He was already struggling, and the appearance of the stone shield knocked him off balance and sent him sinking down further into the sand.
“Bartock’s last card is a Stone Shield! It’s not going to help him out of this pickle though, and it looks like this might be the end for Bartock!” the announcer said.
Bartock did have one last good idea though.
He took the shield from his arm and placed it down onto the surface of the quicksand. He tried to climb up onto that shield to get out, redistributing his weight. But the quicksand field was too wide for him to be able to get out.
“With Ashcroft only having three cards, that means that Bartock has drawn as many cards as he can during this duel. Will he continue on? Or will he forfeit?” the announcer asked, and a cry of ooooh went through the crowd.
Clint struggled against the quicksand. He made a desperate effort to swim through it toward the edge of the affected area. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep him from sinking.
There was no coming back from this, and if he didn’t tap out soon the sand would swallow him.
A moment before his mouth slipped beneath the quicksand, he called out. “I forfeit! Nessa wins!”
“Did you hear that folks? Bartock forfeits!” The announcer called out, and the screen declared Nessa Ashcroft as the winner.
At that moment, the camera panned to one of the stone spikes near the edge of the arena. Nessa slowly removed itself from the stone spike. Her skin had taken on a texture just like rough stone, which blended into her surroundings perfectly.
“So that’s where Ashcroft went!” The announcer said. “She didn’t leave the location where she began the duel, but her Stone Camouflage card hid her from view perfectly. If you don’t know what the Stone Camouflage card does, it allows the user to blend into any stone surface and remain hidden until they are found or launch another attack. You might be wondering why the Quicksand trap card didn’t break, and that’s because it’s technically not an attack card! It is classified as an environment card, which doesn’t trigger the attack clauses on other cards! What a turn of events! Everyone give Nessa Ashcroft a round of applause! And what’s this? Well, it looks like Nessa is now eligible to take her Rank 3 challenge. Everybody give it up for Nessa Ashcroft!”
The crowd went wild.
Someone standing next to Blake elbowed their friend in the ribs. “See? I told you she was going to wipe the floor with Clint.”
The friend shrugged. “Hey, I only put 20 credits on Clint to win, so I didn’t lose that much.”
“Well I put 500 credits on Nessa to win, because I’d seen her fight before. So I’m going to go and collect my winnings!” The guy ran off with a massive smile on his face.
The announcer’s voice boomed out across the arena. “Clint Bartock has surrendered one of his cards to Nessa Ashcroft, and now it’s time for our main event! Give it up for the very first Rank 3 match between Challengers here in New Meridia!”