Hello again. I don't have much to say. This is quasi filler chapter. Hope you like it. Reviews are amazing things that allow you to tell me how i am doing with my writing. please write one. Thank you. ~The Defied~
DISCLAMER: Radiata Stories is owned by Square-Enix and Tri-Ace. It's their game, I'm just writing a parody of it.
Chapter Four: Selection Trials Round Two: To Climb a Ladder
Jack slowly got up shaking with exhaustion as the adrenaline from the fight began to wear off. He'd taken a serious beating, but he had won.
Jack poked his ribs experimentally and winced. At least one broken rib and three others cracked. After another minute of self appraisal he determined one undeniable fact.
He'd gotten lucky.
Very lucky.
Looking down at Ridley, he realized how little damage he'd actually done in comparison to the walloping she'd dished out on him. Shaking his head he knelt down and gently picked up the unconscious Ridley with a grunt of pain and walked back to the waiting room. He looked back to find one of the guards recovering their weapons. Once they were back in the waiting room Jack layed Ridley down on one of the unoccupied benches.
He frowns as the topic of the talk they had had in the hallway floated to mind. I wonder how she'll take losing in the first round. Even though she's good enough to be a knight, will she think she got in on her own skill or her father's say-so? He scratches his head and turns around. Either way I just hope she doesn't decide to vent any frustration on me.
Roth was standing behind me, a bemused smile on his face. "Playing the chivalrous knight are we."
Jack sat down, slumping against the wall in exhaustion. "Yeah, well I figured it would be better to carry her back in here instead of letting one of the guards do it."
Roth just rolled his eyes and threw Jack a bottle full of green liquid. Jack catches it and Reads the label.
Herb Extract DX
Cures anything but the most life threatening wounds.
"Where'd you get this?" Jack asks, removing the stopper on the top of the bottle.
"I picked up a few of them at one of the stores in town before showing up. Apparently the extract holds a bit of a magical charge that heals wounds and restores energy to the drinker. The more concentrated the extract the more charge there is in the solution."
Jack eyes the concoction. It looked no different than the other herb extracts they had back in the village. Shrugging his shoulders, he chugs the green solution.
At first nothing seemed to happen. He was about to tell Roth he'd gotten ripped off when he noticed that the pain was gone. He wasn't tired either. In fact he felt no different than if he had just gotten a good nights rest. No warm rush, or buzz of energy. It just happened. He stood up to probe his wounds to find them all gone.
"Don't do anything crazy though Jack. It only puts you back up to one hundred percent. It doesn't make you any stronger than you already are."
Jack sat back down. "Okay."
Both Jack and Roth looked over as a guard walked in with Jack's and Ridley's weapons. Or what was left of them.
Jack's sword was snapped in half about six inches up the hilt, where Jack had deflected Ridley's last blow. Ridley's axe wasn't doing much better. The axe head had snapped completely off the shaft of the axe. The axe head itself had a large crack across its surface. The force required to do something like that is frightening.
Jack took the broken weapons from the guards, and set them down next to the bench Ridley was laying on.
Roth looked from the weapons to Jack and back. "What did you do to those things man?"
The guard came out and called for two other candidates to enter the ring.
Jack looked back at Roth a weak smile on his face. "I got lucky. That's what happened." He looked back at the destroyed weapons.
Very very lucky.
After another two rounds it was Roth's turn to fight. He was up against the guy in the apron named Dan.
During his fight some guards came in to take Ridley to the infirmary and to give Jack a new weapon. Roth came back in two minutes later, the winner of his match. We sat and chatted about our fights as the rest of the preliminary battles finished up. Next came the semi finals.
Roth was pitted against Daniel, the short guy in maroon armor with the axe. Jack was up against Paul. Neither one was much of a match. It took Jack about five slashes, a thrust and all of thirty seconds to finish up his match. It didn't even take Roth that long to finish Daniel.
Roth walked back into the waiting room, a smug look of victory evident on his face.
Jack walked over to Roth putting his fists on his hips. "Well don't we look all high and mighty?"
Roth chuckles and pats Jack on the shoulder. "Well hey all that is left is the finals, and then I win."
Jack jabs Roth in the stomach. "Hey don't think it will be that easy. You are fighting me after all." Roth just laughs and shakes his head.
A guard walks in. "Would the final two candidates Jack Russell and Roth Cosfeeal please step into the stadium."
The two look at one another as they walk into the stadium, smiles evident on their faces.
"You ready for this Russell."
"Anytime you're ready to fight Roth I'm ready to kick your ass."
They got to the center of the stadium and pounded fists. They positioned themselves opposite each other as the official in the white robes read off the rules. For this fight Roth had traded out his one handed sword for his more favored two handed version. The official confirmed that they understood the rules, then stepped back.
"Ready" The official raised his arm.
The two tensed, the years of hellish training under a crazy old man were about to be tested. It was time for the two of them to finally settle who was best. It was time for a long awaited battle. "Begin" shouts the official slashing down his hand.
Okay that was chapter 4 hope it wasn't too bad. I would like to thank everyone that reads this message for reading this far. This entry is far far far from being completed, but is still makes me feel good that people were willing to read this far. ~The Defied~
