The arrow aimed for his heart through Alex’s back. His echolocation barely catching its blur. The sound of the arrow was masked over the ongoing fighting. Alex twisted his body. The electricity within him twitched and sparked to move him as fast as possible. His arm caught the arrow instead.
Alex grimaced as the arrow punched through him. He quickly filtered his pain through his magic. The throbbing lessened and he inspected it as fireballs shot his way.
On instinct his lightning shot out faster and precisely to the center of each of the fiery orbs. They shattered blasting heat closer to the attacking mages. Alex adjusted his senses to inspect the wound. He saw his active muscles in all their liveliness. Each were moving between a state of tension or relaxation depending on how he moved it. Luckily for Alex the arrow had passed cleanly through his arm leaving behind the bleeding hole. Alex could move his arm a little bit but doing so would be a slow process if he wanted to twist his forearm or bicep, which now had a small hole in it. With his magic sense he felt the mages preparing more attacks and returned his full attention to the pair.
While he wanted to find where the arrow had come from the battle was too chaotic and the archer had yet to fire another arrow in his direction. Alex slid one of his daggers out using his uninjured arm and slid back into a fighting stance. Quickly he sent out a pulse using his echolocation. For now, he was alone with the two mages. No one else would disturb them for now.
Another blast of fire came his way and Alex worked his magic and moved to deflect it. At the same time the second mage showed their powers. Stone spikes rose from the ground and rushed toward him. In his efforts to dodge the spike, Alex’s armor burned slightly. The earth mage brought up a barrier to protect himself and Alex’s counter was deflected perfectly.
The mages were enticed by their small victory and new attacks followed. The mage sent a beam of fire toward Alex while the earth mage sent sharpened stones through the air. Alex’s magic was less effective against the stone. The energy dissipated rapidly after finding nothing to burn through with its superheated energy.
He channeled his lightning magic through the blade, sending electrified sparks to dance along its edge. The blade crackled with energy, imbued with the power of lightning.
As the sharpened stones hurtled through the air, Alex realized that his lightning magic was less effective against the solid earth projectiles. He needed to adapt quickly. His armor couldn’t always protect him and eventually would fail, and he would be forced out of the arena.
Gritting his teeth, Alex knew he needed to turn the tide of the battle. He decided to take a more strategic approach. Instead of attempting to directly counter the mages' attacks, he focused on manipulating the battlefield itself. With a concentrated effort, he summoned a surge of lightning magic that coursed through the ground, causing the earth beneath the mages' feet to tremble and crack. The lightning followed the path of his foot as he stepped forward. The sandy ground ate up his lightning and crystalized as he shot lightning through it.
The mage controlling fire was momentarily thrown off balance as the ground shook beneath them, and their next blast of fire veered off course. Seizing the opportunity, Alex leaped forward, his dagger still crackling with lightning. He slashed at the air in front of him, creating an arc of lightning that shot toward the fire mage. The electrical surge engulfed them, leaving them charred and incapacitated. A moment later the man disappeared from the arena. Alex looked at the mage with a grin.
“I am proud to announce that the fighters are halfway through,” the announcers voice boomed. “50 competitors are left in this exciting round. Remember, only thirty may remain.”
Alex, the mage, and many other competitors looked up to the announcer watching over them narrating their battles. Their numbers had dropped significantly and only in a few minutes. Alex lowered his dagger slightly. The previous battles had started to tire him out. He wiped the sweat from his brow.
The earth mage, now enraged by the loss of their ally, redoubled their efforts. They summoned massive stone boulders from the ground, launching them toward Alex with incredible force. Alex's lightning magic flared to life once again as he redirected his focus, using his lightning to shatter the boulders mid-air, turning them into harmless fragments.
It cost him a lot of energy to do so. The lighting he wielded was not a blunt force that could shatter the stone easily.
“Your friend is gone. You can meet up with him after the fight. Do you really want to continue this alone, or do you want to try and survive a little longer? I will wait until the final 30. Can you defeat me before then on your own?”
“You kicked out my friend. I will make sure that you don’t make it out of the qualifiers. You scum,” he hissed.
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Stone rose around the mage as a protective armor. It slid into place like metal plates around the man.
“This event is the Singles’ tournament,” said Alex. “There is no two people in first place. Go to the Dual event for that crap.”
The ground trembled and cracked, fissures spreading like veins through the battlefield. Alex's armor was slightly battered. He checked his battery’s storage. It had a quarter left. The earth mage charged forward with his stone armored body.
Alex sent out a rapid grouping of echolocation pulses and readied himself. He rolled out of the way as the mage arrived. The earth mage continued forward further past where Alex had stood. It took a while for the earth mage to slow down. In the end the earth mage used a conjured barrier to redirect himself and spin around faster. Alex just grinned again when the mage turned to him.
A swordsman attacked him from behind. Alex’s powers caught him before the full sneak attack could be completed. He sent out a quick flash of light stunning the man long enough for Alex to dodge the strike and trip the swordsman. With his uninjured hand Alex sent the swordsman flailing to the ground toward the mage.
When the earth mage moved out of the way Alex sent out a smaller bolt of lightning aimed for the eye holes the mage had built for himself. He cried out in pain dropping to the ground not quite out of the game. Alex moved to finish off the pair when he sensed something off.
An arrow flew by striking the swordsman. He vanished from the arena. Less than a second later Alex was hit by an arrow. It impacted his kidney through his back. It was Alex’s turn to drop to his knees. Alex coughed up some blood and hurriedly surrounded himself with a constantly shifting shield of lightning. When the third arrow came it shattered against the energy.
Alex used his mana to sense out the location of the archer. His remaining energy went toward keeping the shield up and staying conscious. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay in the match.
There wasn’t many archer left in the Single’s event which made it easier for Alex to pick out who had attacked him. It was the woman he had seen carrying the long bow. Its tall size was easily pulled back as she fired on others who were also In the midst of battle. She had already turned her attention to other closer fighters which were more likely to endanger her. Alex tried to put weight on his legs and stand back up. His uninjured arm held his bleeding wound.
He looked upward to the earth mage now standing above him. The stone around the mage shifted so that a large, spiked ball was at the end of his fist. He brought it down on Alex once then a second time. Alex was knocked to the ground. He was barely conscious when the injuries vanished.
“Time is up,” said the announcer. “Those still in the arena are welcome to join us in the arena tomorrow for the next part of the qualifying rounds. Thank you again for your participation and giving us a wonderful show. Now if you can exit the stage we have other rounds to get to and battles to watch.”
The crowd cheered and they watched the group leave. Alex stood up slowly as he adjusted to the magic that helped to reset his body to a healthy state. The earth mage in front of him had already disengaged his magic and was walking away. Alex started to shake off the phantom pains as he followed.
“Well, that could have gone better,” Alex thought to himself. “I need to hurry out of here and find Finn. More time would be nice. I’ll be here tomorrow though. That is what matters. I made it through if just barely. Now I know some of the remaining fighters and who to be weary of when we next meet.”
Alex funneled out of the coliseum with a few others. Some stayed inside and turned to the stands to watch the rest of the fights. He wished he could join them and watch for upcoming competitors. He was on a time limit however and needed to get to a new dungeon. The need to level up was clear. Not just for the coliseum events but for the future as well.
“There you are,” said Finn. His head popped up among the crowd around the outside of the coliseum. “You want to get out of here right?”
“I do,” Alex answered.
“Do you have anything else we should do while we are here, or can we leave the city?” Alex shook his head. “Great. I’ve got us some horses at the nearest gate. From there we will have to travel a bit but by late evening we will be able to enter a dungeon spot I grabbed.”
“Did you get the name of the dungeon? Rewards?”
“It is called the Tall Tower. No listed info that was for free and no listed rewards, but I was assured that this dungeon would be suitable for us with rewards for our power and paths,” said Finn.
“Is that it? No description of how long it is or what situations we might face?”
“I gave the office my requirements and our information as climbers, and they listed the Tall Tower as the best available. It was noted as being completable within the timeframe that you are under. You might be rather sleep deprived by the end, but I will get you to level 28 but more likely 29 before the next qualifiers.”
When the pair reached the gates Finn approached the stables that were connected to the wall. The stables were bustling with activity as stable hands hurriedly tended to horses of various sizes and breeds. Finn exchanged a few words with the stable hand, who then led them to a pair of sturdy-looking horses, their coats a glossy chestnut.
"These two will do just fine," the stable hand assured Finn. "They're fast and can handle the terrain between the cities."
Finn nodded in agreement and helped Alex mount one of the horses while he climbed onto the other. They wasted no time in setting off towards the city's gates, their horses picking up speed as they left the bustling streets behind.
They continued their journey in silence, the sound of their horses' hooves against the dirt road filling the air. The setting sun painted the sky in shades of orange and pink, casting a warm glow over the landscape.
By the time they reached the outskirts of the forest where the Tall Tower was said to be located, the evening had descended, and the stars began to twinkle in the darkening sky. Finn led them deeper into the forest, following a narrow path that seemed to wind its way towards their destination.