“I wanna fight again”, said sternly to Rick

“Oooh, I love the enthusiasm kid, but are you sure, it is quite dangerous some would say, I mean some die in there, some become slaves and some lets just say they wish they died”, The slimy bastards grin was large enough that a damn dentist would tell him to close his mouth

“I don’t care, same payment as last time”

“Mmmm, without the loss bonus, I needed something to stir up the crowd so I needed a fighter now well, I have enough fighters now”, he reached out his hand

“Deal” I extended shaking his hand

I walked down into the training area where I saw Sheila half asleep just like last time, I walked over and began wrapping my hands

“First wrap your wrist, then palm and finally each individual knuckle” , The healer said half asleep

“Uhh, thanks”, that feels better than last time, my heart won’t stop beating, is this normal?

“It never gets better”, she said

“Huh?”

“The fear, the anxiety or whatever you want to call, I’ve seen hundreds of fighter and no one, No One, goes in there without an ounce of fear…unless your crazy”, I guess she noticed me clutching my chest.

“Thanks for the words of encouragement” I said

“They were words of warning, this place will be the death of you”

“So why are you here then?”

“Because I get paid dumbass, no risk to me whether you win or lose”, she nonchalantly

“I’ll take words to heart”, I said approaching the dome

“You better, here's some advice though, never take a deal from Bruno”

I didn’t catch those last words, I wish I did though

“Ladies and gentlemen, today we have a returning fighter, and oh he gave us a show yesterday and now he wants more!” the announcer screamed

The crowd screamed, I guess I never described this place, when I said thunder dome I meant it, it was dingy, muddy and any other synonym that goes with those words and the people watching, they looked like normal people. This was worrying, Why?, that was because they were normal people, they turned into screaming maniacs, shouting out every human atrocity known to mankind. All this so some poor bastard could beat each other senselessly.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Now his challenger has been here before, will he win, likely not, so sad, that’s enough talking on end, let the bloodbath begin!”

We both entered, he was frailer than the last guy, don’t let it give you confidence. We slowly approached each other, I went in for a jab and he did the same only difference mine landed.

The punch sent him back a few steps, I can’t let him recover, I went in for another punch and there it was the, the very thing I prepared for, the tackle.

As he about to grab my legs I intercepted him reaching in my pocket grabbing the oh so great sand that I had specially prepared incase this happened again, you see this was the deciding factor in my last fight but then I didn’t know the power sand, no now it is called pocket sand, I painstakingly searched the streets for the most groutiest and rough sand I could find to fill my pockets and oh it worked.

The pocket sand hit his eyes at an unparalleled speed, giving me enough time to slam my knee into his face, leading up with punches, I can’t describe it, ever since I got the bare handed skill my punches just flowed, one landing after the other, like a well oiled machine.

Before I knew it my opponent was sprawled on the floor, the crowd was silent, they had just witnessed the marvel of pocket sand, how could the say anything after seeing that marvel.

I reached for the sky and screamed “Pocket sand!!!”

The crown went crazy, this feels good, no this feels great, ha ha ha

“Well ladies and gentlemen, today we witnessed a spectacle, will he back, no one knows!”

I left as the announcer was talking, time for payment

Skill acquired: Pocket sand lv1- Today the power of pocket sand was acquired, only the lonely walk this path, what will it be next beach sand, mountain sand or just a pile of gravel found on the street. Only a pocket sand connoisseur can decide.

“Good work kid, here’s the payment as promised, will I be seeing you again, the crowd seem to like you”, Rick said as he handed me a silver coin

“Same time tomorrow?”

“You betcha”, I hate that damn smirk

I passed Sheila on the way out, as she used healing magic on me she said something about not letting winning go to my head, who cares she says, this was the first time in my life I was actually winning at something, I’ll be damned if I stop now

The next few days passed in a blink of an eye, I fought a lot, so much so that I earned the name “Sand Bandit”, this pocket sand skill somehow gave me laser focus precision on throwing sand, people tried to block to avail of course

I wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows though, I lost a few fights as well, luckily Sheila offered to heal me, maybe she felt bad for me or had a crush on me, I know that sounds stupid but hear me out I’ve been single my whole life so I don’t know I tend to get my hopes about this sort’ve thing.

Anyways, things are finally looking up, I was saving up some cash to enter the adventures guild, It required 10 silver coins to register but with that I could take quests and earn back that cash like its nothing.

Almost there, the past few weeks were hell but now I can see the light at the end of this horrid cesspit of a tunnel.

I walked into the arena looking for rick when I heard someone call out to me

“You must be the sand bandit”, the man dressed in a surprisingly well fitted coat said

‘Ya, who’re you” I cautiously asked

“Name’s Bruno, Bruno Delmar, I have a proposition for you”, He said with a smile that somehow triumphed Ricks