Chpt. 50) Last Fight

The next day was spent recuperating from yesterday’s events, and I didn’t argue with Orrin when he insisted on rewarding me for helping him with his mission. I just requested a bunch of money, and I received twenty-five platinum coins later that day. Not bad for a day off. Then, as an apology to the twins for the traumatic event the twins went through, he agreed to track down some chakra for them. Much to Haze’s surprise, Leila and Shersha asked for my opinion on which chakras to get.

I asked them what they wanted, and they both said, “Somethin’ tha’ wuld ‘elp me, sister.” I then gave them a list of chakras I thought would fit the requirements. Leila chose the Ice-blade combination, Ice and Edge, while Shersha chose Dark and Creation chakra, making the Cloak chakra. I’m not going to lie. I only acted as a mouthpiece for Fangbao and Apollo, who gave me the lists.

Orrin agreed to procure their chakras and left us alone for the next two days. Then he returned two days before my fight and just after the doubles tournaments when Scarlet and Cami won a resounding victory. After a couple hours alone, the twins had two new cores, much to their delight.

As for what I did during those last couple of days, I spent them training at Nexus Academy. Or rather, just on their school grounds. The twins brought me there, and I had one-on-one lessons with Olli again! Man, I missed his hooting speech. And I did not miss how long-winded and slow he talked. But I learned a lot from him and got a few more high-level spells. Although I definitely have trouble remembering them. There are a lot of rune combinations and spell circle combinations that I have to remember.

But today is the day! I got out of bed early, fed Yuki, got dressed and ready by the time everyone else was getting up, and got some food at the Colosseum as usual. However, I was a bit saddened that Geoff wasn’t there to feed me this time. As I sat in a corner of the coliseum floor, people-watching and eating a breakfast sandwich, Orrin stepped in front of me and smiled.

I looked up with my sandwich in my mouth and slowly bit down with a soft crunch as my teeth dug into the toasted bread. We stared at each other for half a minute as I munched on my sandwich. “Enjoying your food?” Orrin asked.

I nodded, then swallowed, “Was Geoff one of the people you arrested the other day?” I asked without preamble.

“Which one?” Orrin asked, “There’s Jeff, Geoph, Geoff, and Jeph. You’ll have to be more specific as to which one you’re talking about.”

“The big one. Geoff.”

“Oh, Geoff!” Orrin said, now seeming to realize who I was talking about, “Geoff was an informant for us. He used the honest, clean money he earned to open a high-end restaurant. He’s doing just fine. In fact, he’s catering to the party the day after tomorrow as part of his reward for his help in taking down the organization. A sort of self-promotion reward to help boost his restaurant’s position in the city.”

“Oh,” I said, surprised, “that’s good to know then.” I took another bite of my sandwich and added through a mouthful of egg, “At leasht he’sh dowing well.”

“Yes. Now, I mostly stopped by to wish you luck in your fight. I can’t wait to see you in the final round of the tournament,” Orrin agreed and began walking away.

I quickly swallowed my mouthful of sandwich, nearly choking, and said, “Okay! Thanks! Bye! Good luck! And he’s gone.” I quickly finished my sandwich and got to my feet. My fight was about to start in half an hour, and I was going to spend it in the waiting room. I effortlessly weaved my way through the crowds of people getting food at the concession stands and went to the waiting room, sitting down, crossing my legs, and meditating on one of the benches.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I cycled my cores there for a few minutes, ensuring they were at maximum capacity, and soon heard something clicking on the concrete floor of the hall. The click-clacking got a little louder as it slowly drew closer, and I opened my eyes to look curiously at the entrance to the waiting room. I didn’t have to wait long as a tall, golden-scaled, tan-skinned woman with whip-like scale hair and ivory horns stepped into the waiting room from around the corner. Her blazing red eyes widened as she saw me, and I felt a smile slowly spread across my lips, “Hey, Drakara! Long time no see.”

“Mother fucker!” Drakara exclaimed and rubbed at her temples with a clawed hand, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m just waiting for my fight in, like, twenty minutes or so,” I answered simply, then asked, “What are you doing here?”

Drakara sighed and said, “I’m waiting for my match that starts in twenty-five minutes.”

We both froze as though saying it out loud made everything clear. My smile broadened, “Oh, so we do get a rematch.”

“It appears so,” Drakara agreed and walked over to plop herself down on the nearest couch.

I stared at her momentarily and asked, “Are we allowed to be in the same waiting room if we’re going to fight?”

“No,” Drakara answered immediately, “but I don’t give a fuck. I’m sitting here and nowhere else.”

“Huh,” I cocked my head, letting my ears flop to one side, “Okay then,” I hedged and we sat there in awkward silence. The quiet dragged on for a minute, two, five, then I got bored of waiting for something to happen, and I asked, “Are you ready for another ass whooping like last time?”

“HEY! That fight was a draw, and you know it!” Drakara growled.

“No, I’m positive I won. After all, my team is going to the team battle finals.”

“First off, that’s because your team beat my team and not because you beat me! And B, fuck you!”

I laughed at her reactions and kept stoking the fire, “Aww, is the little lizard nervous?”

“I am not a LIZARD!” Drakara yelled and got to her feet.

“So you are nervous?” I teased, not letting her yell get to me.

“I’m—” Drakara tried to protest and only glared at me as her scales took on a slight red tint on their tips. “Fuck you,” Drakara cursed as she crossed her arms and sat down again.

I chuckled and was about to keep poking fun, like a little brat, when someone interrupted me. “That’s enough,” I turned to see Haze standing in the doorway, “Don’t antagonize your opponent. It may lead to unfair advantages.”

“Unfair, how?” I asked as Haze walked into the room.

“Well, for starters, it will either throw them off their game enough that they make mistakes,” Haze explained, “which then puts the advantage on their opponent. Or it will piss them off so much that the person who spent the time making insults will have no chance of winning.”

I shut my mouth with a sharp snap at the last explanation and decided to change the subject. “So, what brings you here, Master?” I asked.

Haze chuckled and put her hands on her hips, which now sported a golden belt on the black gi, “I’m here for your training.”

I cocked my head at this and asked, “What?”

“You remember the last fight you had to win within a certain time limit?”

“Yes,” I answered, not liking where this is going.

“Well, this is the same deal, but with a few differences,” Haze began, and I groaned. She ignored me and began to lay out what I needed to do, “you need to survive for four minutes and thirty seconds without throwing a single punch. Only blocks are allowed.”

I gaped up at my Master and asked, “What the fuck!? Why?”

“And!” Haze raised a finger to silence me, “You can’t cycle your cores until you reach that time.”

“WHAT!?” I exclaimed and got to my feet, “But I will lose if I do that!”

Haze shrugged, “If you lose, you lose. That’s all on you. You need to stop relying on your abilities and spells and learn to fight without them. With the number of cores you have, it shouldn’t be too hard.”

I gaped at my Master in profound astonishment and had trouble bringing myself to ask or protest anything else. “Umm,” Drakara raised a hand, and Haze and I turned to her as she asked, “Was I supposed to hear that?”

“Yep,” Haze said with a wicked smile, “Do everything you can to beat her in four minutes and thirty seconds. That’s going to be your only opportunity to win.” Then Haze turned on her heel and waved over her shoulder as she left, “Good luck, Drakara. Stay alive, Zeana.”

I gaped at Haze’s back as she left and sat on the bench again, still slightly stunned. After a moment, Drakara mumbled, “Wish I had a master as hot as her.”

“What?” I asked, catching what Drakara said.

“What?” Drakara asked, within a microsecond of my question.

“Did you just say what I think you just said?” I asked.

“No,” Drakara said nervously, “What do you think I said?”

“That you think Master Haze is hot.”

“Well, you heard wrong,” Drakara said, and the tips of her scales turned slightly red again.

***