As I stepped through the door, the clang of metal on metal reached my ears. I followed her to the end of a hallway, and entered the arena. It looked like a smaller version of the Roman colosseum, but instead of carved stone it was made of highly polished wood. An open dirt area sat in the middle of the arena, with rows of benches to one side and racks of weapons on the other. A few people were training in the center, with a few others resting on the benches. Kinley walked over to a man leaning against the weapon racks, calling to him.
"Ravir! I got a beast for you to test, I think you and her are a good matchup!" Kinley said. The man glanced over, and I took a good look at him. Light metal armour covered his chest and back, with clawed gauntlets and armoured greaves protecting his hands and feet. A set of leather breeches covered his legs, and a mask covered his face. It was carved in the stylised likeness of a wolf, with two slits for his eyes. His hair was salt and pepper, with his golden eyes peering from behind the mask. I caught a whiff of his scent and had to stop myself from laughing. He smelled of dog, trees, and earth. I recognized it immediately. A flicker of recognition lit in his eyes as he saw me, but he gave no outward signs.
"Alright, are you the beast? This should be fun, but let me tell you the rules first. If you win or not, you can join the guild. Your performance decides your rank within the guild, and if you win you get a reward. If you lose, you get nothing. I have yet to have someone beat me, so I am hoping you can change that." He said, his deep voice smooth with a rumbling edge. I nodded, grinning at him. It came out as more of a menacing snarl. He waved for me to follow him, and guided me to the center of the arena. The training had stopped, everyone taking a break to watch our battle. We took our positions, with me spreading my wings slightly and him readying his claws.
"Ready? Start!" Kinley called. I cast [Mana Claw] and [Razor Bite] as we rushed each other. Our claws clashed, and sparks flew. I launched back, casting [Smokescreen] and [Thermal Vision], dodging through the smoke as I attacked repeatedly. He spun and twisted, trying to dodge but unable to see or hear me. I conjured a single pillar with my [Aegis], launching him upwards and throwing him off balance. I used [Windburst] and appeared above him, using it again to slam him into the ground. A startled silence crept over the room as I landed gracefully, folding my wings as I sat near him.
The entire sequence had taken less than thirty seconds.
Ravir groaned as he dragged himself out of the crater he had made as Kinley called the match. I stepped forward, helping him up.
"Well met, Alpha." I whispered to him. His mask had slipped, and I could see his sharp canines as he grinned, fixing the mask.
"Good to see you as well, cat. Or, Vira, was it? Anyway, I lost spectacularly. I am very glad I didn't choose to fight you back then. I would have been eviscerated in moments." He said, trying to find his balance on his shaky legs. I chuckled, shaking my head.
"Quite the opposite, actually. Back then, I was completely out of mana and only knew a single spell. If we had fought, I would have been the one killed. Hells, just a few days ago I almost died to an abandoned mana trap. A mana trap. The kind that will break a leg and possibly cripple you, but nothing life threatening. Almost killed me. These four helped me heal, and here I am." I then recount the past few uneventful days as he listens, the others staring on in shock as we chat and catch up with each other like old friends. They look back and forth between us, increasingly confused as I, the 'random beast', and Ravir, the most antisocial person any of them knew, casually talked and laughed like we'd known each other for years. We were eventually interrupted by Corin regaining his wits.
"What in the fires of Crakin's forge is 'appenen 'ere? One of ye has no way to speak normally, and the other is an antisocial prick wit' a temper, and yer just chattin' away like a couple o' ninnies at a market stall!" Me and Ravir pause and look at him before looking back at each other, bursting out in laughter. This only served to confuse the others even more thoroughly, before Ava piped up.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
"Corin has a point, Vira. Do you two know each other, or are you just so similar that you became instant friends?"
I nodded.
"Both, actually. I have met him before, but we didn't talk much. Once you fight someone, you get to know them on the level of people who grew up together." I explained. Marcus nodded in agreement.
"If it is a good natured duel, it is not uncommon for the participants to become fast friends afterward." He acknowledged. Ravir agreed with him as well. Turning back to Ravir, I began smirking slightly.
"That reminds me, I believe I recall something about a reward if I won against you?" I said, jokingly nudging him in the shoulder. A good natured, long, suffering sigh hissed from behind his mask.
"Yes, I did say that, didn't I? Alright, I will teach you one skill of your choice that I know."
I stared at him, at a complete loss for words. Even I knew that skills were kept close to oneself, and only shared to close friends. And him? I could guarantee that he had some strong ones. Kinley went visibly pale upon hearing this, and the others cheered. I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Now, here is my skill list for you to choose from. Please, do not take very long."
A transparent blue window appeared before me, with an ungodly amount of skills to choose from.
==================
Skills:
Elemental Magic Lvl 3
Language Comprehension
Hunter's Instinct
Sword Mastery Lvl 9
Brutal Frenzy Lvl 16
Craftsmanship Lvl 5
Brawling Mastery Lvl 20
Absolute Dominion
Dread Howl Lvl 20
Tracking Lvl 12
Blink Lvl 3
Blade Dance Lvl 1
Stealth Lvl 7
Rampage Lvl 2
Carving Lvl 5
Leadership Lvl 16
Sewing Lvl 2
Battle Sense Lvl 4
Mana Manipulation
Mana Sense
Dimensional Vault
==================
That is WAY too many skills for one person to have, and that isn't even mentioning his spells! The look on my face must have been priceless, judging from my friends' suppressed laughter. Kinley was still frozen with a look of terror on her face. Ravir was standing next to me, tapping his foot as he waited.
"Well? Chosen yet?" He asked. I nodded.
"[Dimensional Vault] please." I replied. He nodded, casting the same spell he had when he gave me [Smokescreen]. I felt the rush of power as the skill was added to my menu, and I checked its description.
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Dimensional Vault: Grants access to a subspace dimension that can have items stored inside, no living creatures can enter the subspace. Can only hold a limited amount.
==================
I grinned. This was a profitable day indeed. I joined the guild and got an inventory skill, all at once! It was worth the trouble of fighting Ravir. Time to go have a look around town before it gets dark.