Stephanos rose up from the system's holding cell, his hammer balanced over his shoulder. He wore no armor, but his magic sash and belt protected his upper body as well as steel. Not that his skin needed much protection.

Since the early stages of the tutorial, the raw power of his class had proven more than a match for the common monsters of the eastern continent, and all but the most powerful players in Catal. Now he would prove himself in the arena, earning not only the prizes offered by the alien overlords, but by the emperor.

The ruling council of man had promised wealth, position, and elevation to the inner circles for successful gladiators. Stephanos had never had much diplomatic skill, unable to work his way into the confidence of powerful men to rise to where he belonged.

But here in this world, he could do it with raw power.

He looked out at his randomized arena—tall trees, rocky ground that looked sloped, like the side of a steep hill. He climbed up the small rise and reached the top of a grassy peak, giving him a clear view of most of the area.

It was largely cluttered with the same trees, and Stephanos smiled. If his enemy were some kind of stealthy class, he could simply wait on the hill for the time limits to kick in and shrink the arena, forcing a confrontation in the open. If it was a ranged or caster class, he could use the trees for cover.

"Here I am!" he shouted, arms wide as he turned and looked around the battleground. "Come and get me!"

Then he waited, eventually hearing some noise coming from trees to his east. He smiled and gripped his hammer, thumbing through his powers.

Granite Barrier protected him from basically any attack, no matter the power, slowly regenerating over time to be used again. It had surprised a great deal of glass cannon style killers who meant to strike hard and first, only to find Stephanos completely unharmed.

He watched, and waited, hearing the sound come closer and closer. Finally a big...cat came bounding from the trees, its golden eyes locked as it sprinted straight at the rise.

Was it some kind of pet? A shapeshifter? Stephanos didn't know much except that he was going to cave in its skull. He could have thrown his hammer but his aim was average, and the beast moved too fast and too low. He waited.

The animal reached him and lunged, fearlessly (and quite stupidly), straight into his swing. The sound echoed down the rocks, but the animal didn't smash away as expected. It was heavy and hard, and even as Stephanos struck it with his Mighty Blow, its speed and weight carried it forward, straight into his chest.

He caught the beast but stumbled back, Granite Barrier flaring as the thing's claw raked his face. He was forced to drop his hammer and hold it back as it tried to bite his throat. The damn thing was heavy, and felt strange, too hard to be flesh. He growled in rage and pushed it, hardly believing how strong it was.

But he was slowly gaining the upper hand, turning the thing over as he forced his weight down to hold its front legs, wrestling to keep his hands away from the thing's bites. It tried to rake him with its back legs, too, which was a problem. He finally smashed his head into the thing's face, cracking its jaw. Pain lanced through his forehead, reminding him it wasn't just flesh and bone.

He pulled up and swung the damn thing away using its front legs, tossing it maybe five feet and summoning his hammer before it scrambled and attacked again. He struck a glancing blow as it came in, spinning away as it raked his thigh.

So they danced, hammer against claws, for two, then three more charges. The cat growled and leapt at him, and he struck it down and tried to avoid getting raked.

Pieces of the beast were now littered all over the hill. The black 'fur' was crumbling to reveal some kind of statue-like body beneath, like the open wounds of a creature made out of clay. What in the name of God was this thing? Had the overlords decided to have players face monstrous foes?

Twice more the cat-construct leapt, and twice more Stephanos smashed it down. His second blow broke its body, the front and back disconnecting as the beast literally snapped in two. Then crumbled.

Stephanos released a roar and looked to the sky, holding his hammer in the air. He'd lost a lot of blood. His belt and sash and defensive powers worked well, but the beast’s claws had been sharp and powerful enough to tear his exposed flesh, crackling with some kind of magic. His legs dripped crimson streaks down his feet to soak into the ground. He felt a bit light headed, and in considerable pain. But he'd won.

"Well done! Truly impressive!"

A voice called from the trees, and Stephanos spun to find a young, blonde haired man watching him. A chill ran up his spine.

He realized this must be the owner—that it was no monstrous beast he’d fought, but the creation of a powerful wizard. Had he been more green in the ways of player combat, he would have despaired.

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Instead, Stephanos began to relax.

The thing had been so powerful. This wizard could only be some kind of pure pet class, basically useless personally, all his might tied up in the beast now destroyed.

"Your creation fought well, summoner," Stephanos said, walking slowly towards his enemy. "I will end you quickly."

The man seemed confused, then shook his head.

"Oh no. Let’s keep going. You're a wonderful test." He stepped back as a flying little...ball shot over his shoulder, coming forward before 'opening' to look like a drone.

“Martial class, Master,” it squeeked in a cheerful voice. “The hammer is innate. And probably throwable, so be careful.”

Two more humanoid constructs came out of the trees and stood before the summoner, and for a long moment, Stephanos was lost for words.

“How?” he finally said, having never met any summoner with this kind of power.

"Would you like to take one at a time?” asked the young man. “Or maybe I should...no, no I think both makes sense. I'll typically have two, won't I? Yes. So off you go!"

The spear and shield armed warriors advanced, looking much like Greek warriors of antiquity.

Stephanos stopped thinking, knowing it didn’t do any good. He growled and charged. He deflected one thrown spear with a renewed Granite Barrier, the other sticking in the ground a foot off target. He swung his hammer down with a vicious blow, again sending an echo bouncing through the arena as he struck one warrior's shield.

Unlike most things Stephanos struck, it cracked, but didn't break. The statue-men drew smaller blades and circled stabbing.

Stephanos fell back and kicked one away, smashing at the other as he took a savage thrust to the chest. The blade managed to pierce his defences, slicing flesh and deflecting off his ribs. It also fucking hurt.

He knew he had to kill the summoner, or perish. He made a show of turning for another round, then spun and charged down the hill towards his true enemy, hurling his hammer.

Which stopped.

"No, no, that’s not what we’re doing" said the wizard, somehow holding Stephanos back with nothing but a raised hand, his hammer hovering uselessly in the air. The pressure released a moment later, except the wizard floated up as Stephanos reached the ground where he'd been standing.

"You coward!" he roared, turning back and re-summoning his weapon as the statue-men came lumbering towards him.

The wizard laughed like he'd said something funny, which only enraged him more. He swung and tried to fight a withdrawing battle, his strength draining quickly. He knew he was still losing blood. His legs felt heavy, too slow to react. Once or twice he smashed the constructs, even managing to break a shield before he stumbled and fell.

The shield-less construct grabbed his shoulders with its free hand before he could rise, and the smell of arcane power filled the air. It was followed by unbelievable pain, and the smell of Stephanos' burning flesh.

He cried out in rage and tried to push the thing off. The other stabbed him in the side. He grabbed its sword-arm and fought both constructs, staring up at the smiling, floating summoner with pure hatred.

"I'll find you," he croaked, as the damn things stabbed and burned him to death. "I promise you, wizard," he growled. "I'll find you in the real world. And when...I...do..."

He sagged to the ground, and lost the strength to speak.

* * *

Becky cried out in panic as she caught herself at the edge of the building. She had no time to think about the drop, though she considered trying to put down a wall beneath her somehow. But it wouldn’t work. She had to be quick.

She spun and ran straight sideways down the edge, rather than back at her opponent and that awful knock-back power. She'd almost been blown off the fucking skyscraper a half dozen times now.

The woman couldn't actually hurt her, that was clear. But Becky also had no real way to get at her opponent. She'd been hoping to run the bitch out of mana, but she just didn't ever seem to. Or even worry about it.

Those little flashlight rays seemed endless. Becky had tried hiding behind the warehouse buildings, jumping out and getting a surprise hit before her opponent realized she was there.

But her enemy must have been some kind of 'support' class, because she had her own shield that seemed powerful enough to absorb Becky's hits without much of a problem in the short term. And after a swing, maybe two, Becky always got blasted the hell away again, and potentially more than once if she didn't keep her feet and scramble off.

But things were about to change. Because Becky's Reflecting Blast was damn near charged.

"Just one more round," she said, wiping some sweat from her eyes. She positioned herself in the center of the building, then slowly made her way in the inner circle until she found the other woman.

They matched stares, both obviously weary. But the bitch definitely now saw herself as having the upper hand, and hadn't forgotten the taunt at the start.

Becky charged like she didn't know what else to do, and got blasted.

She tumbled back, then charged again, and got blasted again to within fifteen feet of the ledge. Her Reflective Burst pinged, and she turned and again ran down the edge.

She re-centered the fight, waiting in the inner circle for her enemy to pick a side and wait for her. Just as before, the woman obliged.

No doubt she thought it was just a matter of time before Becky stumbled or didn't move fast enough, getting blasted for a third time and flying off the edge.

Not this time, she thought. This time y’all go bye bye.

She charged just as always, having to get within about ten feet before the knock-back power could affect her. She was pretty good by now at judging the distance. Exactly one step before she got blasted, she released her completely knock-back charged Reflective Burst with a flick of focus.

It was like a silent bomb went off. Whiteish blue light flashed and swallowed the world in blinding brightness. The only thing Becky heard was the terrified shriek of her enemy, a colored image of the woman's clothes as she launched like a rocket, sailing off the skyscraper with a scream.

Becky didn't bother to go look. About fifteen seconds later, a trumpet blared, and the system's voice boomed across the sky.

[Duel complete. Congratulations, victorious player! This counts on your official tournament record. You have earned: 5 points!]

Becky slumped and put her sweaty forehead to the handle of her mace. She was definitely not telling Mason how close that was, and how much she really didn't enjoy heights.

Next time, she hoped it was just some mindless murderer trying to kill her. That she was getting used to.