There were several people sparring inside the ring, but a legitimate duel must have taken priority as they were ushered out without complaint. Bixby and I entered after them, and I tried to appraise my opponent before we began. Before my eyes, his gear changed and the foppish garb was replaced by a chainmail shirt, along with leather leggings and gloves. The man had a rapier and a long dagger belted to his waist, and an oversized floppy hat on his head that made him look ridiculous.
In accordance with the parameters of this duel, a death ward is in place. Should a fatal blow be struck, healing magic will attempt to compensate for the damage.
A standard loadout for this tier is available in your armory. Do you wish to utilize your standard loadout, or enter battle the way you are currently equipped?
The only thing different from what I was carrying to what was in my loadout was the mace. There was no way I was going to give up my new weapon, so I chose my current gear. Bixby gave a snort of derision when he saw that I had nothing but the clothes on my back and the simple weapons on my belt.
“Are you ready? As the one who was challenged, you have the honor of starting the duel. Do be quick about it, I have other things to do today,” Bixby taunted.
“Let’s go,” I said after pulling my mace off my belt and holding it in the two-handed grip my basic skills upgrade had taught me. The dagger would have looked cool in my off hand, but I had no experience fighting with two weapons and would prefer to stick with what I knew.
In an instant, Bixby drew his sword and dagger, twirling the blades as he stepped confidently toward me. Readying a Psionic Jolt, I was shocked to see a blast of flame erupt from Bixby’s mouth. The attack caught me by surprise, and while I was able to dodge some of the blast, the flames hit my left arm and hip, burning through my clothes, and sticking to my skin.
I lost the spell I had been forming, and before I could even think about starting a second cast, Bixby was on me. His attacks weren’t all that quick and he seemed to not be all that skilled with his blades. The only problem was that even as unskilled as Bixby was, I wasn’t much better.
His first strike was easily parried with the head of the mace, but his dagger slipped through and pierced my ribs. Fluid began to fill my lungs and I knew it was a bad wound. I coughed up blood even as I thrust forward with my mace.
It was one of the tricks I had learned from my basic combat skills scroll. Most opponents expected you to use the mace like a hammer, which was its intended purpose. Thrusting the weapon caught Bixby off guard, and he gave a painful grunt as I drove the weapon into his gut. Bringing the weapon back for an overhead strike, Bixby grinned through his pain and beat me to the punch with a thrust of his rapier.
The blade slipped through my ribs and hit something important inside. I dropped to the ground, losing control of my mace, and fighting to stay conscious. Focusing all my will, I targeted Bixby with Psionic Jolt. The spell was cast just as Bixby cast one of his own.
My last view before the flames engulfed my head was Bixby falling to the ground and giving a girlish scream as he dropped his weapons and held the sides of his head. I tried to hold on a moment longer, wanting to see if Bixby was out of the fight, but he struggled to his feet as my vision faded. I had a moment of excruciating pain before the relief of healing magic washed over me. The pain relented and I lay on the sand covered ground trying to catch my breath. Before I could do or say anything else, a compulsion came over me.
“I beg your forgiveness for my churlish behavior. You are clearly my superior and I acknowledge your greatness,” my body forced me to say as the parameters of the duel forced me to grovel and beg Bixby. With the groveling component satisfied, I turned into mana vapor and my vision faded.
You have lost your duel and your current balance of summoning points is insufficient to pay your debt, the balance owed has increased to 10 summoning points. The 2 points you currently possess will be given to Bixby Bartimus and the balance will be deducted from your future rewards. If this debt is not paid over the next three summoning’s the victor is entitled to an additional 2 summoning points of interest.
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Your challenger, Bixby Bartimus may no longer challenge you to a duel directly and you will be protected from the effects of any similar items used by others during your next visit to Somhagen.
As soon as I read the confirmation of my defeat and the high cost that the defeat would bring, I was transported back to Rico’s Place. I wasn’t sure what I expected, it wasn’t like I had much in the way of combat skills, but it felt bad, really bad to lose to that guy Bixby. At least I had gotten off a Psionic Jolt into his face before I lost.
About the only other consolation was that I had completed all the shopping I had wanted to do while in town. Taking some more time to look around would have been nice, but the duel put an end to that. I needed something to do to calm down, and then I remembered my armory.
I wasn’t going to go skulking about and miss out on having my new weapon ready when I was summoned again. Inside Rico’s Loot I found the mace and grabbed it. My chair was also in there, but I’d deal with that after I finished up in the armory. It was nice having an extra room in my place, and once I had a ton of gear, it would be fun to work on different loadouts. The mace went into my current loadout, even with the addition of the weapon, I was well within the maximum gear rating.
Tier 0 loadout.
Current/maximum gear rating: 25/125.
Currently equipped:
1. Simple Dagger (5).
2. Simple mace (10).
3. Psionic Jolt (10).
The mace was categorized as a simple mace, the same as my dagger. I didn’t expect much with it being a used weapon, but I already liked wielding it better than the dagger. Much of that had to do with now possessing the skills to wield it properly, but it just felt more like a real weapon compared to the other.
With my armory taken care of, I had to get my last new purchase squared away. Inside Rico’s Loot, I could see my awesome new rocking chair. Whoever created this thing must have been to the Cracker Barrel restaurant a few times, as it was a pretty close copy of the ones from the restaurant.
When I went to grab the chair, I noticed what might be a problem. The opening of the loot chest was pretty wide, but not wide enough to pull a rocking chair out of it. As soon as I touched the chair, my problem was solved. Much like the targeting array for Psionic Jolt, a new one appeared in my vision. This time, I could select where I wanted my chair to be placed.
I chose a spot near Rico’s Loot where I could keep an eye on the space where the summoning portals opened. With its position confirmed, the chair appeared right where I had selected. Giving a test drive, I carefully sat down, finding it as comfortable and sturdy as I had hoped. I was soon rocking away as I considered my next moves.
Armor was going to have to be the next purchase when I hit tier one and was welcomed back to Somhagen. I would also need to earn enough summoning points so I could learn how to use the armor effectively. As long as I could avoid any stupid duels, I should be able to shop to my heart’s content next time.
Thinking back on my interactions with Bixby, I could see where I had made a mistake. Oh, he was a complete jerk with his actions, but I didn’t need to goad him the way that I had. Next time I was granted a chance to visit Somhagen, I was going to make the most of it and not let my pride get in the way.
There was another goal for me to reach, one that would free me from being a summoned being. I had to get a million summoning points, which seemed like an impossible task. Considering that the points granted as rewards improved with each tier and rank, the amount I would have incoming should help. I’d also have to be frugal with my spending. I’d need to get the right gear, spells, and whatever else I might need to keep pace with the tier and rank I was summoned to, but other spending would need to be kept in check.
Maybe buying a rocking chair was a bad idea and a waste of summoning points, but it was proving its value as a thinking chair for me. Other decorations, a bed, or snacks and the like would have to take a back seat to the real goal, getting free from this whole thing.
Thinking about it further, did I want out? One of the main problems with being summoned was the whole naked thing, and now I had finally unlocked something to fix that. Sure, I was often subject to a horrible death when summoned, but I was fixed back up good as new right afterward. The money I could make in the future would far surpass what I could earn back in my job as an insurance adjuster.
Silver might only be $20 an ounce, but gold on the other hand was sitting around $2000 an ounce, a huge difference. I was probably pretty far away from getting gold as a reward, but if I could find someone in Somhagen to exchange my silver for gold, it could be done. A hundred copper coins equaled one silver coin in that place. Was the ratio the same for silver to gold coins? If it was, I could really be onto something. The portal opening next to my reward chest let me know that planning time was over, and now it was time to earn more rewards.
You are Summoned!