Chapter 24
Soul song
We arrived at Eikman’s around eleven and found him waiting impatiently for our arrival.
“Where have you been? It’s almost noon. We’ll be lucky to get anything done today.” Eikman said. Then he huffed in frustration and crossed his arms over his chest.” I had to laugh.
“Calm down, Eikman. We’re here, aren’t we? Come on, let’s go. Start up the Array.”
“It's been ready since nine.” Eikman hollered back at me, then stomped off to ensure the settings for the Array were correct as we entered the training yard. I shook my head at the retreating man as I began stretching. I was determined to do more today than just get beaten into the ground.
My fight with the Array started rather ordinary, or as ordinary as fighting a magical training dummy could be. I even felt like I might have finally found a rhythm. I felt like I was kind of holding my own this time. Of course, that's when the Array changed its tactics.
I was starting to gain some confidence. Janet and Eikman were cheering me on, and my last series of strikes put the Array man on the back foot. I was a god of battle, and this was my realm. I got ready to send another volley of strikes at the Array man when a blast of fire shot at me, and I had to change my attack plan to a defensive one instantly.
I spun on a dime and dived to the side to avoid the fire racing towards me. I only partially dodged the flames and felt my left foot cook. I couldn’t help it. The feeling of the flesh of my leg popping and sizzling like chicken in the fryer. It was just too much, and I was definitely not a god of anything. The pain was everything, and I screamed.
Before I knew what was happening, I was on the ground. I felt my breath being driven from my lungs as a foot connected with my chest. I was barely aware of what was happening as I went flying through the air, entering unconsciousness the moment I hit the ground. The last thing I remember thinking before the darkness took me was, “What the fuck was that?”
I woke up to Ekman’s ugly ass face looking down at me.
“Oh, good. See Janet, he's fine.” Eikman reached out and offered me a hand to help me up. I ignored the proffered hand and slowly got back to my feet.
“What the fuck was that? Did that thing just fire-blast me? You didn’t tell us it could use abilities.”
“Didn’t I?”
“No, you fucking did not.”
“Language Travis! Well, you must have forgotten because I must have told you. I remembered that it had that feature this morning, so I turned it on. No need to beat yourself up over it, Travis. Happens to the best of us.” Eikman said and patted me on the shoulder as if saying, it's okay, I understand.
“What? No, Eikman I… never mind.” I figured the argument wasn’t worth it, so I just gritted my teeth and said,
“Of course, how could I have forgotten.” Eikman then gave me a strange look.
“What? I agree with you. Don’t look at me like that.” Eikman was giving me side-eye, and it was pissing me off.
“Well, of course, you didn’t remember. I never told you about the ability settings. Maybe you should go home and rest.” Oh, My God, I’m going to kill him. Breathe out then in Travis. Out then in, wooosawww wooosawww. I walked back over to Eikmans porch. I sat down on the edge as Eikman took his chair. Janet was walking towards the training Array. She cracked her neck as she readied herself. It was her turn now.
Janet had been just as pissed off as I was when she found out the Array man could use abilities, and Eikman had somehow forgotten to mention it. Then, she eventually saw it as another obstacle to overcome. I inevitably came to the same conclusion, and my anger had been tempered.
Once training was done for the day, Janet and I had a new batch of bumps and bruises. We had been running ourselves ragged every day, training and pushing ourselves to the limit, and it was showing. Before we headed to our new place and could shower and pass out, we had decided to sign up for more fights in the Coliseum.
Turned out you could sign up for more than one fight at a time. So Janet and I each signed up for five, which was the limit. Our fights were separated out over ten days, with a rest day between each fight day. You could only fight once a day unless it was in a tournament or something. That was fine. Five fights were plenty to get excited about, and Janet and I were very excited. Reinvigorated a bit, Janet and I went out and had a nice dinner at a small shop near where we were staying. Overall, it was a good night.
The following day, we met up with Eikman for training as usual. Janet and my fights wouldn’t start for a few days, so we buckled down even harder on training. When the day before our run of fights would start had come and gone, a wave of anticipation hit me. To distract myself, I spent the evening working on my new Mana technique.
The last time I messed around with it was right before Janet and I got jumped. I had kind of forgotten about it as a need to train, to gain power as fast as possible, hit me after the mugging. There was potential in what I was trying to do. I knew there was. It was just incredibly tedious and time-consuming to practice.
It was maybe 10 o’clock, and after a good meal and a long day of training, Janet passed out, but I couldn’t sleep. I just kept tossing and turning when I lay down. I felt like I should be tired. Sleep should come easy, you would think. Even back on Earth, I had this thing about sleeping before a big event or things of the like. I would try and sleep. I would lie down and eliminate all distractions, but sleep wouldn’t come.
So, instead of just laying in bed for hours, not sleeping, I decided to do something to occupy my mind, and maybe, if I was lucky, I would get tired and pass out. I could only hope. That’s how I ended up sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed practicing My little Mana manipulation trick. When I had last practiced in my drunken stupor, I had managed to form a Mana mist around my right hand, but even that had demanded a level of concentration that had been almost impossible drunk.
I was sober now, well, mostly sober. The wine at dinner had been an excellent vintage, and I could not resist indulging a bit. Like I said, though, I was mostly sober, so my practice session was a bit better than last time. I was about two hours in and seeing significantly better results. I could now fully encapsulate my arms and legs with the invisible Mana mist without a sensory overload. My torso and head were still proving troublesome, however.
Maybe it was the density of Mana pathways in these areas. Every time I attempted to do so, a white noise staticky feeling would fill my head, and I even almost blacked out from one attempt. I took a break at that point, munched on some snacks, and drank a little wine from a bottle in my bag. It was that break that gave me a breakthrough.
I was just relaxing, finally starting to actually feel a bit tired. I was deciding whether or not to try and pass out when I noticed something. As I sat there relaxing, small amounts of Mana were seeping out of my pores and turning into mist. I wasn’t even doing it consciously. When I focused on it and tried to stem the flow, it stopped, but it wasn’t easy.
Then it hit me. It was like taking a good poop. No, wait, hear me out. When you’re pooping, if you push too hard, you'll probably give yourself a hemorrhoid or something, but if you relax sooner or later, everything will work its way out. That is if you're not constipated. Well, this trick worked very much the same way.
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Suppose you tried to push your Mana as hard as you could. Really trying to force it out. The Mana would only become more challenging to get the Mana to do what you wanted. On the other hand, if you relaxed, the Mana would move much easier.
As I tentatively attempted my new methodology, I was immediately met with success. I was so excited that I jumped up from where I was sitting and did a little dance. Silently, of course, I didn’t want to wake Janet. The only problem with my little break-though was that I was now fully awake, almost vibrating with excitement. I sat down again, ready to fully indulge in my new discovery.
Only an hour later, I could call the Mana mist up at will. At first, it would take a few seconds for the Mana mist to manifest and encapsulate my entire body, but after that hour, I could do it almost immediately. It was freaking cool as hell. After that hour, I also felt exhausted and had a full-on headache. It was 11:30 when I dragged myself into bed, pulled the covers over my head, and passed out.
The following morning, we dressed in our armor, ate, and headed out to the Coliseum. My fight was first at 10:30 in the morning, while Janet's was scheduled for 1 o’clock. In no time, Janet was wishing me luck, and then I was heading down into the underbelly of the Coliseum. The pure efficiency of the place stunned me even though I had already seen this once. The second time was no less awe-inspiring. My opponent today was unknown to me, but they should be around my level, and that was all the encouragement I needed. Against someone at my level, I was pretty confident I could win.
Standing before the doors leading into the arena, I watched the light. I thought about my new Mana technician and whether or not to implement it in this fight, and I decided against it in the end. It wasn’t ready, and I could win without it. I could win this fight. I was ready. I was fucking pumped up now, and as the light turned green and a chime filled the air, I punched my fist into my palm and grinned.
“Let’s do this,” I said softly into the air, and then I walked through the open doors and into the arena.
The roar of the crowd was the first thing that hit me. Then, it was the lights of the arena, but as my eyes rapidly adjusted, a figure came into view. It was my opponent, and wait a minute, goddam it, and his fucking trainer. What the fuck was this shit? I was starting to feel like Eikman was shirking some fucking trainer duties. This was bullshit.
As I approached the center of the arena, my opponent and his trainer did likewise. I was so focused on my opponent that I didn’t notice a referee had entered the arena until he was standing at the center, awaiting our arrival. I stopped walking when the referee raised her hand and told me to. I was about twenty feet away, and my opponent was likewise.
The referee began to explain the rules just as last time, and I took that time to inspect my opponent. He was seven feet tall and looked like one of his ancestors must have been some kind of dragon or lizard. The dragon man had a humanoid figure, but thick black and green scales covered every inch of the man. His body was that of a bodybuilder and covered in glistening black, almost purple scales with a face made up of primarily draconic features.
The tail added a whole new element to our fight, and it seemed to be prehensile. The dragon man wore nothing but pants and metal shoulder pads while two swords swung on either side of his hips. His trainer seemed to be of the same race but was barely six feet tall and nowhere near as ripped. Fuck, okay, the referee was almost done with the rules. It was time.
The dragon man's trainer shared a last few words of wisdom with his student and then left the arena. The magical shields that protected the crowd and the referee during the match sprung into existence, and my opponent and I took our starting positions. The referee was saying something, but I was barely listening. I was completely focused on my opponent. Then I heard the words I had been waiting for. Let the fight begin.
The referee dropped his hand, and my opponent and I moved.
Sparks flew as Teremnocal met swords in a fierce, bone-numbing clash. We broke and soon were slamming steel against steel once more. This guy was good. He was fucing fast and strong as hell. I felt like I was fending off a speeding train with every hit I blocked. I released a Quick Strike rapidly, sending strike after strike at the dragon man, forcing him to either block or retreat out of range.
The dragon man chose the latter and retreated. I then followed up my Quick Strike with a charged-up Shadow Spear. I thought I had the guy until a dragon head made of red light superimposed itself over the dragon man's body and bit down on my Shadow Spear, obliterating my attack.
I was a little taken aback that my attack was so utterly destroyed, but I wasn’t allowed much time to be shocked because the dragon man was charging at me. He then activated another ability that must have been similar to Janet's I’m so strong ability. Because as the large man drew closer, his muscles visibly grew. My eyes widened, shocked once more, and I had to Step Lightly away to gain space.
This guy’s power had just exploded, and he was strong to begin with. That dragon head made of red light had disappeared after eating my Shadow Spear, but I didn’t know how often he could use that ability. It seemed pretty strong to just cancel out my move like that. So hopefully, he could only use it a few times, but I was totally fucking guessing.
I had been forced to use a few Setp lightly in a row to actually get some room. The guy was so fast, but I got a little space. That space, however, was being eaten up rapidly, and I needed to get back on the attack. I stood there, watching the dragon man charge at me and catching my breath momentarily. I let him get almost within striking distance, and then I moved.
I activated multiple abilities in quick succession. First, I activated Step Lightly twice to appear behind the dragon man. I then activated Quick Strike and then Channeled Pin Point. The dragon man ate a Quick Strike to the back and let out a bellow in pain. The next thing I did might have seemed odd to someone watching in the stands, but I had a plan.
When I activated and channeled Pin Point, I was using it to help me aim Quick Strike, of course, but I was also using the ability to help me time my next move. As I watched the dragon man back, I saw the moment when his muscles contracted, indicating he was about to turn around and strike.
Seeing this, I cut my Quick Strike short, dropped Pin Point, and activated Step lightly retreating. As I dodged the strike I had anticipated, I activated Step Lightly again and darted in with a Shadow Spear charging. I timed it so the dragon man was fully extended and exposed from his last attack.
When I struck, I felt a massive power wash over me. It almost disrupted my attack as the bright red dragon head made of light made an appearance once more. This time the dragon man had fucked up the timing. I hit the dragon man in the chest, and as I did, the dragon head made of red light that had been forming dissolved into the air, the ability losing its cohesion. I managed to just catch the look of shock on the dragon man's face right before my attack sent him flying.
I had finally got him, and I darted after my air-born opponent with Step Lightly to try and push my advantage as far as I could. I apparently hadn’t hit the dragon man hard enough. Almost as soon as he hit the ground, he was back on his feet and ready to go. I wasn’t expecting this at all.
Maybe I was being cocky or overconfident, but when the dragon man hopped back to his feet after what I thought was a nice shot on my part, I was completely caught off guard. So when I suddenly found myself too close to effectively use my Teremnocal, I knew I was in trouble. A sword through the chest and a tail whip to the face that sent me flying confirmed that.
Oh, that one hurt. I almost blacked out, but I forced myself to focus, and the darkness faded, replaced with pain. Fuck that was a bad fuck up, but there was no time I had to get back up. I would lose if I stayed here. I pushed myself back to my feet, and luckily, depending on how you looked at it, the dragon man had done me a favor. He had hit me in the face so hard that I had flown almost halfway across the arena. In doing so, he had given me more time to pull myself back together than I think he intended.
Oh, yeah, the guy looked pissed off. He first started walking, then running at me once more. It was time to stop fucking around and end this. I was hurting, and I didn't know how much longer I could fight in this state. As the dragon man came at me, I tightened my grip on my weapon and gritted my teeth. He hit me like a truck when we met, and I was pushed back. We exchanged ruthless blows, but every exchange left my arm tingling, and it felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. If anything, I was losing, and my chest was killing me, maybe literally. Then, out of nowhere, the dragon man's attack speed increased again, and desperation appeared in his gaze.
Something was wrong, well I mean right for me, wrong for him. As the dragon man’s attacks intensified, I began using a mix of Step Lightlys, Pin Points, And Quick Strikes just to keep up. The dragon man gave me no time to charge a Shadow Spear, and I barely held it together. He was throwing everything he had at me. With my Mana close to bottoming out, I couldn’t block every strike, so my wounds accumulated.
My breath caught as I was stabbed in the leg and then slapped across the face with a tail whip, but that’s when it happened. All at once, the dragon man's muscles shrunk, and he looked like he was about to pass out. The dragon man gritted his teeth, and I saw him trying to fight through his weekend state.
Even in my weary fucked up state, I saw this as my chance, and I struck. I darted forward, darted being generous. I used the dregs of my Mana pool to cast one more Step Lightly. Then I struck out twice in quick succession with the butt of my Teremnocal, and that was all it took. The dragon man dropped to the ground, knocked out cold.
I stood there for a moment, panting and bleeding over my downed opponent. Then, the cheers of the crowd hit me. When it did, I was surprised I didn’t notice it sooner. The crowd was full-on losing their shit. There were definitely more people in the stands than had been at the start of our fight. So, I guess we drew a crowd. Fuck yeah.
It made sense to me. The dragon man and I both put everything out there in this fight. We both pushed ourselves to the edge. Even standing there bleeding and barely conscious, I couldn't help but smile. This had been the best. Fighting someone like this was just exhilarating. No, it was more than that. It was like my soul was singing. My body was beaten to shit, but my soul was shining with a sense of pure joy. I needed more of this.