Hello again everyone.
As said in the last update, this is the second-to-last "original" chapter. So, after this, you only have one more to go before you see Sigurd and the rest.
Friendly reminder :
Ishtar is the best ! = Text from the System
"Ishtar is the best !" = Talking
'Ishtar is the best' = Thoughts
*Ishtar is the best !* = Sound effect
Copyright Disclaimer: I don't own anything about this fanfic, except for its OCs. Everything else belongs to their respective creators, and they're the ones that deserve praise.
Chapter 5 : Where there's a blade, there's a way.
*Shiiing*
Sparks flew as our swords collided with each other. Despite mine being on top, I still grunted due to the force behind Eldigan's blow, who managed to easily push me back.
Not letting that minor setback hold me down, I, once again, ran towards him with my sword ready to strike out. I was prepared to be countered, blocked, dodged. Almost anything really. What I wasn't ready for was Eldigan suddenly disappearing and for my body to be thrown back a few meters aaway due to a strong force on my chest, literally knocking the air out of my lungs.
"Oooooofff."
"I think we can stop here for today." Sheathing his sword, Eldigan walked towards me. The only thing I could see as I tried not to cough my lungs out were his boots and his outstretched hand.
*Cough, cough*
"You didn't have to go that far, you know." Taking his hand, I gingerly got up from the ground, wincing due to the pain that came with the movement, which caused me to gently rub the now injured area on my chest.
"You're right. I didn't have to." His reply was curt, and having him agree with me so quickly made me promptly look at him with raised eyebrows. Smirking, he continued his sentence. "But I wanted to."
His last comment made me groan as I thought back on the discussion we had on the day we came back.
*Flashback*
"So you're back." Eldigan's voice was as calm as ever. Despite not having seen each other for more than a week, he didn't even spare us a glance as we came into his office, his eyes still focused on the piece of paper in his hand. "How did it go?"
"Well…" I started, plunging on the sofa in his office before looking through the window, my mind going over what happened a few days ago. I initially only planned on telling him of the results. However, I ended up telling him about everything. How we made contact with the mercenaries, the pirates, and how we managed to rescue everyone and even eliminate the leader of the cultists.
When I finished my story, my eyes automatically went to Eldigan, finally noticing that he was looking at me with a more focused expression than before.
"Was that too long?"
"Not particularly, no." He replied quite easily, leaning on his chair.
"I feel like I've distracted you more than anything else, though…" Getting up from the sofa, I started walking up to his desk to get a look at what he was working on and perhaps assist him in some way.
Somehow sensing my intentions, he held up one of his hands towards me, stopping me in my tracks.
"I assure you, you didn't. And even if you did, I think I needed it anyway. I've been working on this desk since early morning. Barely ate anything too."
"Then would you like to go and eat something ? I think I smelled something nice being cooked on my way here." And I think I saw Lachesis going that way too so we could eat together.
"That must have been Lachesis ordering the kitchen staff around about preparing a feast for your return." His expression then slowly changed into a smile, then a smirk. "I guess someone must've missed you after all."
Rolling my eyes at his implication, Eldigan couldn't resist anymore and had to laugh at my 'situation'. "Then are you coming or not ?"
"Sadly I can't. I've already been delayed long enough and I have to finish those for today." Shrugging, he threw a vicious glare at the papers strewn on his table. As if doing that would somehow make them magically disappear. "Plus, I think it'll be preferable for you if you were to dine with the person responsible for preparing everything."
"I guess I will then." Moving towards the door, I threw one final glance towards his table to see him already focused on his papers. "See you later Eldigan."
"Enjoy your meal." He said, already looking back at his papers with a focused expression.
"I will, thanks."
"Oh, Ray?"
As I was already out of the office, I had to poke my head in to hear what he had to say. "Hmm?"
"You should rest well today. We're resuming your training tomorrow at the earliest hour." The smile he had on his face as he said that wasn't doing much for my peace of mind. And come morning, I will painfully realize how correct I was to be apprehensive.
"At least this time there's nothing broken." I said as I lightly touched my chest then my stomach, wincing each time. "I think."
"I went through the report of Dave. You have indeed gotten stronger… Although your proficiency with the sword didn't really improve, as expected, your movements have gotten better. And your instincts have gotten sharper. It seems like that mission was a worthwhile experience after all."
It was rare for Eldigan to praise my fighting skills so readily, so at first I didn't know how to respond. However, there was something far more pressing on my mind right now. "Thank you for the compliment. Unfortunately, I have to go and find something cold for my soon-to-be swollen arm so…" I bowed to him again as I did before the training. "Thanks for training with me."
"Any time."
As I made my way towards the door of the training room leading to the hall, Eldigan's voice stopped me as my hand was resting on the door's handle.
"I've been hearing an interesting rumor lately, about a rather skilled gladiator that is being seen in the arena of late. Might be a good chance for you to test your skills on opponents other than my knights."
With Eldigan's words in mind, I opened the door and made my way towards the kitchen in search of something for the pain.
"Aaaahhhh." I sighed as the cool sensation of ice finally met my reddened skin through the cloth. It was not easy to find ice, most likely because they don't have any reliable freezing system. So I got quite lucky in finding a mage that could summon a bit of ice with magic. I did ask him to teach me how to do that, and he thankfully agreed, although the lesson was to be scheduled after my recovery.
As I was resting in my room, I wasn't really expecting anyone to come. Especially not at this hour where most of the people in the castle should be working. So it was quite a surprise to hear a knock coming from the other side of the door quickly followed by opening of the door.
"Hey Ray. How are you doing?" Dave's voice was as loud as ever, ringing quite clearly in my ears and removing any trace of sleep from my mind.
"Fine. I guess. How about you?"
"Just peachy." His quick response made me pause, which was suspicious to me at first, but I let it slide considering the pain and fatigue I was still going through. I wanted to sleep.
"What brought you here? Do you need anything?" I asked lazily, still rubbing the ice on my arm. It was not rare for him to be in my room per se, but generally he came here with a reason. Although said reasons were generally…subpar.
"Not particularly, no…" His voice trailed, his eyes looking everywhere but at me. He always did that whenever he was feeling guilty about something and needed my help to fix it.
I was not awake enough for all this.
*Sigh*
"Spit it out. What have you done again?" I asked as I slowly massaged my temples, already foreseeing the headache that was to come.
"Well, the truth is… I signed us up for a gladiatorial event happening today at the Arena." He admitted with a smile, his expression full of unbridled pride. But I couldn't help but be confused.
"But we aren't gladiators, though…?"
"I know that, obviously. Don't worry, it's an open event. Anyone can participate as long as they sign up and pay the registration fee." He brings out a piece of paper, a poster it seems, as he unrolls it. The main point on it was talking about a tournament organized at the arena and open for all. It was just as he said.
"And you couldn't tell me that yesterday? Or at least before I got trounced by Eldigan in training this morning?" I replied as I finally placed the ice down in a bucket I bought specifically for it as it was already starting to melt.
It was true, though. From what I've gathered on the poster, the tournament is to start in roughly two hours. I barely have enough time to wash up and eat something before going there. And I was still sore from the training session.
Scratching the back of his head, Dave looked once again to the side, voluntarily avoiding my reproachful glare. "It was kind of an on-the-spot decision. Before I knew it, our names were already on the list." I automatically facepalm, to which he quickly came to defend his actions. "But don't worry, this particular event is special."
"Special you say?" I asked skeptically, as if anything could make this situation any better.
"Yeah. Apparently, you can battle in groups of two and even three if you want. Or just you. That is entirely up to each participant whether to guarantee their victory by fighting in a group, or to test their skills fighting alone."
"I see…" The implications were pretty obvious, although it might not really be an advantage. "I assume then that you manage to sign up someone else who could aid us?"
"No." He replied almost immediately, and I had to force down the urge to facepalm yet again. "But, I stumbled upon the triplet on my way here, and apparently they too are in the tournament, so…"
We stayed in silence for several moments, most of which consisted of me silently wondering which trickster god was to blame for my current predicament. However, I had to admit I was a bit curious. I knew I was at least improving from the various sparring sessions Eldigan put me through, but how far did I really come from where everything began ? Eh. I'll figure it out once we get there.
"Let's just get this over with, Dave." I finally spoke, getting off of my bed and picking up the bucket with the still melting ice in it.
"Yeah. Let's go, partner. You won't regret it!"
'I'm already regretting it.'
This was my first time ever coming to the arena, despite all the time we already spent in this country. It was more of a personal reason than any sort of dislike for the place, I just didn't see any appeal to this activity. After all, if I wanted to fight or see people fight, all I had to do was visit the knight's training area in the castle. The atmosphere there was totally serious and rigorous, not like what was waiting for us inside.
"WOOOOAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
As soon as we set foot inside the arena, we heard the crowds cheering and shouting, urging the fighters to begin. The sound of swords clashing and shields bashing echoed throughout the arena as fighters battled for their lives, and some for their pride.
Four people were on the ground, seemingly fighting in groups of two. One look around the area told me that the arena was practically full of people in the stands watching the match intensely, and a great number of them were cheering for their favorite fighter.
The arena itself was a massive structure made of stone with high walls designed to keep the audience safe from the dangers inside, almost looking similar to a certain colosseum from back home. And from the faint traces of magic I could sense at specific points around us, they were most likely protection spells embedded all around us for added protection from what my magic studies told me.
"It seems like it's already started," said Dave as he observed the ongoing match. He then started walking towards the stairs towards our left. "Let's go get ready. I think it'll be our turn very soon." I dutifully followed behind him.
Down the stairs in a rather large room were other participants, most likely also waiting for their turns in this side room. An official came from time to time to announce which fighters were going next before making their way off to the fighting ground. The room which was once filled with tens of people was becoming more empty as time passed and people were eliminated.
A familiar voice rang out nearby, pulling me out of my thoughts as it grew closer. Promptly turning around, I saw three approaching figures with flaming red hair reminiscent of Fala's descendant.
"You guys." The triplet knights, Alva, Eve and Eva, each in full combat attire. "I see you're still in the competition."
It was Eve who spoke first with his usual cheeky grin splattered on his face. "So you guys are participating too? I guess this thing got a lot more interesting then."
"Indeed." said Eva agreeably.
"It doesn't look like you guys have already fought anyone yet." Alva's statement made me wonder why that was, too.
I looked once more around me and noticed that the number of people had considerably decreased. "I guess it'll be soon though?" At my words, the door of the room loudly opened, revealing a blond-haired man standing outside wearing blue armor.
He looked at the five of us slowly before focusing his total attention on me for a full minute. After that, he finally seemed somewhat satisfied and proceeded to find a spot to occupy and recuperate.
"Seems like one of us picked the short end once again." I turned around at that statement to face Alva, poking me repeatedly with his finger.
"Why would you say that?" I asked as I tried to swat his finger away from me.
"That man is the mercenary from the recent rumors, said to be undefeated in the arena. He's also the reason most of us decided to participate in this tournament." It was Eva who answered my question.
"I see." My attention went once more to the mercenary, observing him more attentively. Although there was not really much use for that. The color of his hair and armor were already revelatory enough.
'Observe.'
Name : Chulainn
Class : Mercenary
Level : 9
'As I thought.'
"Ray Aster! Your fight is next." The official finally called my name, forcing me to look away from Chulainn as I made my way to the door. "Will you be going with someone else?"
I looked at my friends quickly before shaking my head. "Just me." If I was here to train, then it'll be better for me to do it alone after all.
"Very well. Follow me."
We started walking through a rather long corridor, which finally led us to huge stairs. The official stopped at the base of the stair, turning towards me with his hand outstretched towards the exit leading to the fighting ground. "Up these stairs is the ring where your fight will occur. Take care not to die, and good luck." As soon as he said what he had to say, he went back the same way we came, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
*Breath in*
Steeling my resolve, I took my first step towards the ring, ready to find out if I was strong enough to achieve anything.
My first two fights were relatively easy. I myself didn't expect it. I did panic a bit during the first one, but as soon as I noticed the gap in abilities between me and my opponent, I knew that there was no way I could lose. The second one went a bit smoother than the first, and I ended the fight in under three minutes.
Right now, I was near the stands with the triplets, waiting for Dave's third match to begin. Him, as well as two of the triplet, made it to the third round. Most of us fought individually, except the triplet, who had to all their brothers at times when their opponents called for back-up.
"Do you think he can win?" Asked Eve, to no one in particular, his gaze fully focused on Dave stretching in the ring.
His question was quite legitimate after all, since Dave's opponent during this round was none other than the arena's current champion himself. None of us had fought him yet, but we've watched his last two fights. His skills were, in one word, overwhelming. It was like he was in control of the fights from start to finish without actually trying that hard. And one particular fact was more daunting than any other : Until now, no one has ever actually hit him even once.
Still, I wanted to have faith in my friend. "Dave is resourceful. He has managed, more than once, to exceed my expectations. I believe there are good chances for him to win this match."
Eve hummed beside me, observing Chulainn rather pointedly. "He still seems as carefree as before. Let's just watch the fight. Even if Dave can't win, he can at least provide us with valuable insights into his opponent's fighting style."
His statement seems to convince everyone who decided to now observe the coming fight in silence.
At the same time, Dave finally seemed to have finished his warm-up. With his trusty axe in hand, he walked towards Chulainn who was waiting arms crossed at the center of the ring.
"Sorry for the hold-up." He lightly inclined his head forward as an apology, to which Chulainn just nodded.
"It's quite alright. After all, I wish to fight you at your best." He replied levelly, keeping his expression as relaxed as before. "I had the pleasure of observing your fights till now. Your style was extremely familiar to me, though I am currently unable to remember where I've seen it before."
To that, Dave simply held his axe forward, a sign of him ready to fight. "Then I guess you'll have a chance to see it up close."
*Chuckle*
"I guess so. Let's start then, the public is surely getting impatient already." He slowly removed his sword from its scabbard before holding it forward, the tip pointed towards the ground.
"Here I come!" Shouted Dave before half-lunging towards his opponent, starting with a vertical slash.
He was quick, that's for sure. His movements were also sharp and precise, something that you couldn't surmise from his combat style. Unfortunately for him though, his opponent was quicker. Way more than he was used to.
He easily dodged Dave's attack with a simple sidestep before hitting his shoulder with the pommel of his sword. Everything went on quickly and so fluidly it was like the entire thing was choreographed. Dave almost lost his grip on his axe, but quickly strengthened it up with his other hand before jumping backward.
The two fighters looked at each other for some time, preying on any opening the other has, then lunged simultaneously at the other, resuming that "dance" of hack-and-dodge.
"It looks like they're evenly matched." Eve's voice reminded me of the presence of others around me as my entire being was so focused on the fight. However his evaluation wasn't shared by the others.
"I don't think so." Alva then pointed towards Dave, as if indicating something. "Look carefully, you'll see that Dave looks more tired than his opponent."
"And he took far more hits, too." Added the last of the brothers, who was the quietest until now, causing me to speak up my mind too.
"If this continues like this, then… While it pains me to admit this so readily, I don't think he will win. Unless he has a trump card that he's hiding."
Silence then descended upon our group, with apprehension and a bit of fear slowly gaining ground on us. It was then that Alva walked forward and placed his hand near his mouth during one of the stalemate of the fight.
"Dave !" He shouted, "Do you need help ?" It was half-serious and half a joke, probably in order to help Dave relax a little in order to be more at ease during his fight.
He didn't look towards us, but he did hear us. "I've got it."
His brothers noticed Alva's attempt as soon as I did, with Eve smirking all the while despite the fact that he was frowning until now.
"Are you sure, man ? Seems to us like you're getting trashed." He taunted with a smile on his face.
"I said I've got it !" Still not facing this side, but the vein bulging on his forehead was an indication that he was very close. Just a single one left…
"We don't mind helping out, you know." Eva's casual comment seemed to be the last straw, seeing as Dave furiously turned around to look at us.
'Nailed it.'
"FOR NAGA'S SAKE, LEAVE ME ALONE !" The angry expression on his face, however, did not stay for long as he saw us, really saw us.
The four of us were looking him straight in the eyes, right arm stretch and fist pointing forward. If this gesture was to be put into words, then it'll simply translate into : "You can do it. We have faith in you."
"These guys…" He said with a slightly dumbfounded expression. He then turned once more to face his opponent, but I could catch on to the small smile that now made its way onto his face.
"You have good friends." Chulainn complimented, looking our way with a smile. Although I could feel that his eyes were somehow solely focused on me.
"Yeah…" said Dave before breathing deeply. "Shall we continue, then ?" He asked, pointing his axe forward."
"Gladly." Replied his opponent, though this time he was the one to make the first move.
In two short steps, Chulainn had zeroed on Dave with his speed. His sword was already moving impossibly fast towards Dave's stomach, but was met with the blade of his axe, stopping the blow and repelling both weapons backward. Chulainn tried to strike once again, this time from the other side and with a more diagonal angle than before, but the result was still the same. They went at it again. And again. And again. Then, perhaps at the ninth attempt, Dave was sadly unable to keep up with his opponent's lightning speed. He did try to block the attack, but he just wasn't quick enough. It is also quite unfortunate that the one attack he missed was the one aimed directly at his throat.
"Do you yield ?" asked Chulainn, having stopped his sword a few centimeters away from his opponent neck.
Dave only looked between the sword close to him and his opponent, then once more, and for a second I was wondering if he will still attack in this situation, but no, he thankfully dropped his weapon in an act of surrender.
Seemingly satisfied, Chulainn removed his weapon and placed it in his scabbard. Before heading back to his room, like he usually does after winning a fight, he extended his hand towards Dave, urging him to hold it and get up.
"Be proud, you are strong. It was a pleasure fighting you today." His smile seemed genuine enough, even from a distance where we couldn't hear much of what they were saying. Then,
a second later, Dave took hold of his hand to get up, picking up his axe before making his way towards us.
He looked tired. He was sweating, and breathing a bit more quickly. The calm look on his face changed as soon as he got to us.
"RAARRRGGGGHHHHHH !" It seems like Dave was not as accepting of his loss as I thought of him. "I hate to admit it, but he's strong. I'm not sure whether I would've won even if the fight went on any longer." He said, suddenly serious. He threw another glance towards Chulainn, but the mercenary had already retreated to his room. "Be careful when you fight him." His comment just reminded me of what I already knew. But his fight though… seeing his fight was way more useful than any advice right now.
With a nod, Alva and Eve, those already qualified for the fourth round, took charge of helping Dave to his room. Eva and I stayed back, seeing as our fights have not yet been announced. But the only thing I could think of at the moment was if I would have to fight Chulainn, and if yes then how was I going to get out of that with a win.
The tournament proceeded in an even more unexpected manner.
My third match was against a fairly strong opponent who, for a moment, made me think about using my magic to get the edge. However, Eldigan's reproachful voice quickly broke that line of thought.
For his part, Eva quickly dispatched his opponent in an impressive demonstration of brutal efficiency and in less than half the time it took me to defeat mine. I almost felt sorry for the guy.
"You really had to go so harshly against that poor guy ?" I asked him after his fight, to which he simply shrugged and responded rather nonchalantly with a "I'm just stronger, 'is all." statement.
The fourth match started more quickly than any of us expected it to, and what came as even more of a surprise was that my opponent for this fight was to be one of the triplet, Alva.
It was hell.
Contrary to his brother, who exhibited calm and precise moves in order to carry out each strike perfectly, Alva's fighting style was way faster. His movements were quick and sharp, and I was forced to only defend at first against such an onslaught. Thankfully, speed was also one of my strong points. Slowly, but surely, I started to be able to follow more and more of his strikes. The fact that his fighting style retained, at its core, the same basis as all the other knights of the kingdom, including Eldigan, made it even easier. I started slowly pre-empting his moves, meeting them halfway before they reached me. It wasn't easy, but the look of shock on his face made it well worth it.
The fight ended a few minutes after that. Maybe out of fatigue, of frustration, or even just a simple mistake, he committed himself too much in one of his strikes. Dodging such a move and disarming him soon after came almost naturally to me, and the fight was over then and there.
We made our way to the area where our friends were waiting to console Alva about his loss, saying stuff like he'll be the one to win next time, and congratulating me on my victory whilst noticing the progress I 'seem to have made'. I was barely registering what they were saying anyway.
Two fights later, it was the turn of Eve to fight. He proceeded towards the center of the arena, waiting for his opponent to be announced. The man that walked forward made us all stop talking for a moment as he made his way towards Eve. Soon after, as if he was waiting just for this exact moment, Eva also started walking towards the center of the arena before standing at his brother's side.
"It seems they'll be fighting the strongest contender earlier than they could've hope." Alva's voice, a low baritone in this arena full of hysteric shouts, managed to make its way towards Dave and me. "Well, we were expecting him around the semi-finals at the very least."
"So you're saying you already had a plan in case one of you guys were to face him." Dave was the one to ask what the both of us were thinking. Although Alva didn't respond immediately, it was like he was debating whether to tell us or not. Even I could see the hesitation on his face, but it didn't last long.
"After your fight with him…" He finally started talking, slowly, looking towards the ground even as the fight was already under-way. "It was painfully obvious, even to us, that we couldn't hope to defeat him if we went at him one-on-one." I was surprised that the triplets admitted this easily, what with their knight's pride and whatnot. "So we agreed on one thing. To fight the next rounds alone, until one of us has to face him, then the others will jump in too, essentially changing a one-on-one situation into a three-on-one." Ah. That makes sense. Chulainn may be strong, but even he will have some difficulties facing opponents as skilled as the triplets when they charge at him three at once. Especially this late in the tournament with the stress and fatigues accumulated, even uninjured. But…
"There's only those two now, though." I look at them again, catching sight of the moment when Eva blocked Chulainn's sword, leaving his brother the space he needed to launch an attack of his own. "But even then, they may still have a chance, right ?"
"I don't know." Alva's immediate reply and icy tone made me wince. "To be honest, I wasn't even certain of our victory if the three of us charged at him. Now…" The three of us looked towards the sibling fighting. At the moment, they seemed to be evenly matched with Chulainn. Whether it was a good thing or not remained to be seen. However, I couldn't help the feeling of cold sweat going down my back as I continued to watch. And It seems like I was not the only one to have noticed that something was wrong.
"He's getting faster."
"What ?" Alva turned his head towards Dave with an incredulous look, silently asking him if he was serious.
"I mean, It's not really noticeable, and he's faster than he was when we fought, but… The speed at which he's going right now, I feel like he's still managing himself." The uneasy look on Dave's face didn't help Alva, who just turned his face again to look at the fight, this time more intensely. After a few seconds, he muttered "Unbelievable".
As Dave said, the speed at which they were fighting was increasing second by second. More importantly, Chulainn wasn't on the defensive anymore. Rather, it seemed like he was slowly gaining more ground on the duo with each clash of their swords.
Their swords were becoming more and more difficult to follow. Eva and Eve were in almost perfect sync. Each time one of them was unguarded, Chulainn tried to capitalize on that and hit them at that precise spot. However, onr brother was there to protect the other. What was concerning was that the frequency of that happening was increasing. At one point, after the siblings made a particularly well-timed parade and counter-attack that forced Chulainn to jump back a few meters, they looked at each other and nodded before charging simultaneously at their opponent from both sides.
"It seems like this will be the final confrontation." Alva's voice brought us out of focus for a few seconds. I couldn't even tell how much time, in seconds or even minutes, we were watching their fight, as if we were hypnotized. However, it wasn't over yet for Eve and Eva.
"Take this !" They shouted, at almost the same time, as Eve thrust his sword towards Chulainn's neck, prompting him to move his sword in order to guard against the attack. As if waiting for that precise moment, Eva moved his sword on the opposite side, but aiming at his opponent's arm rather than his neck for a more decisive victory. Their combination was flawless. Really. I couldn't picture their opponent getting out of this situation unscathed. But… he did. Against all odds.
"What the he–." Dave's incomplete sentence perfectly complemented Alva's wide-eyed look. It was safe to assume that I too was in a similar stance. In front of our eyes, the Isaachian warrior just did something impossible.
Dave was the first to find his words yet again. "Did he just… knock Eve's sword out of his hand with pure brute strength, snatch it midair and use it to block Eva's sword AND knock said sword out of his hand too ? All of that in less than three seconds ?"
"I thought I was hallucinating what I saw."
"Good to know that none of us have eye problems too." I said, serenely, reviewing the scene in my head as slowly as I could. "The fact that he struck Eve's sword so strongly that his own sword flew out of his hand means that he was aiming for this particular outcome. I'm more surprised by the fact that he got the angle to pick up the sword in the air right in that short time. And that speed…"
"I think it is now safe to say that none of us are a match for him in a contest of speed."
I nodded my head once, seeing as I was the only one left among us who might be fighting him again. The sibling fought well, but seeing as they were now both disarmed, it was painfully obvious who the winner of the fight was.
Both Eva and Eve made their way towards the stand where we were right now after picking up their weapons. Seeing as none of them were wounded, they didn't have to be directed to the medical ward to get healed.
Eva looked dejected, like he couldn't accept the end results. Eve, to his credit, looked much more calm than his brother. But calm was his usual default state, so it was difficult for any bystander to gauge his current feelings. Probably only Alva and Eva could understand him right now.
We stood in silence for a couple of minutes. The last battle of this round was going to start soon, but none of us said anything. Alva then opened his mouth with his eyes still fixed on the arena.
"You guys fought well. Good job,"
Alva the Mischief king. The jokester of the group. The comic relief. He actually sounded serious and sincere when he said those words. All we could do was to look at him briefly before returning our attention to the fight that was already beginning. Of course, none of us paid much attention to it. I myself was already thinking about my next match. There was a fifty percent chance that I'll be facing Chulainn in the semi-finals, so I couldn't relax. In fact, I think my situation got worse.
The match ended quickly. It was not as captivating as the sibling's fight, and as such it didn't garner as much attention from the public despite it being a quarter-final match. The victor was a woman with dark skin. She was one of the local gladiators, so the public probably expected as much already.
The next match was also announced soon after. As I feared, I was set to fight against Chulainn in the first semi-final match. The organizer gave us ten minutes to get ready and even a room to prepare ourselves individually. I guess the treatment really was different the higher you rank.
"Do you have a plan ?" Dave and the trio were in my room with me. We've been discussing for the past minutes about the fights they had against Chulainn, but we more or less had the same opinion.
"You already know you can't overcome him with speed." Eve looked at me, thinking back to his fight and how fast Chulainn was moving.
Dave stepped forward and looked at me silently before pinching the bridge of his nose. "You can forget about technique too. That guy moves as if he's been doing this his entire life." He said with a defeated expression, then muttered in a more small voice. "Which he probably has huh ?"
"What about strength then ? If he can move that fast then surely he's been prioritizing his agility and dexterity at the detriment of his arm strength." Eve's eyes shined for a moment at Eva's reasoning, which made sense to most of them. But Dave just shook his head.
"Forget it. I fought that guy directly. He may not be that strong, but he should be strong enough to fend off any hope Ray could have in a contest of strength."
I groaned at that, thinking that there was no easy solution to our problem that could be found, and time was ticking even now. It was then that a voice surprised all of us by finally speaking.
"What about using magic ?" Alva's comment was slow and deliberate. The eyes of everyone in the room fell on him as if surprised that the guy could make sense. Eve was the first to reply.
"Magic you say ?"
"Certainly, it is a weapon tournament, but magic wasn't strictly forbidden. Although the use of it would be frowned upon." Eva then looked at me as if asking for my opinion.
During that time, Dave continued to look at me without saying a word.
I couldn't give any reply. Certainly, I could probably tip the scales in my favor if I were to use the skills I had, especially the magical ones. But was this really the right way ? I didn't think Eldigan sent me here with that in mind.
However, before I could decide anything or voice my opinion on the matter, someone knocked at the door and told us that the time was up and that I had to go to the arena.
The triplets started moving outside, followed by Dave. As I crossed the door, I stopped midway as something suddenly caught my attention, making me sweat profusely.
"You have got to be kidding me !?"
A new new quest has been created !
Title : The sword is mightier than the pen !
Type : Sub Quest
Time-frame : Thirty minutes
Description : You've made it to the semi-finals ! After facing and defeating countless strong opponents, you now have to face off against the greatest challenge of this adventure !
Objective : Win against Chulainn.
Rewards : 1 000 Gold Coins, 1 000 EXP, Increase standing within Nordion, Increase relationship with Chulainn, ???, ???.
Failure : Minus one level, ???
Status: In progress…
It seemed like the system couldn't let me chicken out on this one. If my situation wasn't so dire right now I'll probably be laughing.
'I mean, a whole freaking level ? Seriously ?'
I was slightly angry. Even as I made my way to the fighting grounds with a dumbfounded look, I just couldn't forget about the system alert.
'How can a sub quest be so harsh ? Don't they have any conscience ?'
In front of me, Chulainn was slowly getting ready. His sword was already at his side but he didn't come forward. He simply stood there and looked at me with what seemed like a concerned expression.
"Are you okay ?"
"I'm fine." I shrugged off his concerns with a wave of my hand, taking out my sword before slowly moving towards the center of the ring. He immediately did the same. The referee asked us if we were ready, to which we both replied in the positive, before shouting for the match to begin after he retreated a few steps.
Chulainn didn't lose any time. As soon as the signal was given, he lunged towards me at a speed I've scarcely seen before. He was even faster than Eldigan… But just by a bit.
*Shiiing*
His sword met mine as I parried his strike at the last second. Seeing that, Chulainn simply smirked as he rotated slightly before attacking from the other side. Yet again, his sword was deflected by mine before it could make any contact with my body.
At the same time, at the stands…
"So, what do you think ?"
"About ?"
"About Ray obviously. Do you think he has a chance ?"
Dave was chatting with Eva while watching his friend fight the same person who eliminated him. He couldn't easily get rid of the uneasiness in his chest and sought reassurance from the composed knight.
Eva for his part simply watched the fight a bit more before opening his mouth.
"He's amazing…"
Dave got hopeful for a moment. A light shined in his eye for that split second and he even got reminded of the past. However, Eva wasn't done with assessment.
"...amazingly bad." Alva snickered to the side at his brother's evaluation before voicing his own thoughts.
"I know what you mean. That guy's unbelievable. And I don't mean that in a good way."
Dave could only frown before focusing back on Alva's comment. "How come ? I thought he was following Eldigan's training schedule ?" He got more and more confused as he remembered Ray coming back from training completely drenched in sweat and bruises almost every day.
"He is. Everyday. I sometimes even join him as a sparring partner."
"Me too." Eve added helpfully, but it seemed like his focus was still on the match. Eva waited for a while in case his brother had anything more to say, but upon noticing that he didn't he simply continued with his explanation.
"Watching him fight everyday, I've noticed something. Ray has good physical abilities. Especially his speed and dexterity, they match what I'll expect from an Isaachian warrior…"
"But…?"
"His fighting style is a complete mess." Eva pointed his chin towards Ray and Chulainn fighting, as if telling Dave to just "take a look and you'll notice it too".
He didn't wait for Dave to reply and simply brought out the rest of his explanation.
"It's like, how should I put it, he knows what he wants to do but his body does something else ? No. Rather, only the body knows what to do and Ray is content to help here and there." He said hopefully, but even he wasn't sure if what he said made sense or not.
"Like a puppet moving on its own and its master just holding the strings for him to stand upright." Added Eve as an analogy, to which Eva lightly nodded.
Dave looked at them for a bit, carefully thinking of his next words. "So you're saying, he is moving, fighting rather, through sheer muscle memory ?"
Eva thought for a bit about his question before nodding once more. "There's also the fact that Isaach's fighting style and Agustria's one are completely different. That should explain some of the times where he might have miscalculated the strength behind a blow, the left from the right in a movement technique, this sort of thing."
He looked back once more to Ray before adding. "But I definitely feel like something is wrong. Like his mind has forgotten what he has to do but his body didn't."
Dave thought about it for a while more, thinking that perhaps Eva was not completely wrong. 'He told me that he's lost his memory. Maybe that has to do with that.' This thought solidified the feelings in Dave's chest. 'He can't go on like this. It's fine for now, but as things get more and more difficult he might face dangerous situations. I can't have that happening. Not now.'
Thinking that, Dave promised himself to start seriously looking for solutions against memory loss starting tomorrow. However, his thoughts got sidetracked as a sudden noise got a hold of the entire arena.
'This is bad.'
It hasn't even been ten minutes yet, but I was already in a very bad state.
I was panting furiously, sweat covering the entirety of my upper torso. My fight was more taxing than I originally thought it'd be and my stamina was almost depleted. The only source of comfort I could find was that Chulainn was in a similar state.
"..."
Although not panting as much as me, he still showed signs of fatigue. This meant that I still had a chance.
"It's impressive." Chulainn suddenly spoke, his panting having stopped enough for him to talk and he was even standing upright without having to lean on his sword anymore. Unlike me. "The way you move I mean."
I cocked my head to the side, unsure of where he was going with his words. "It reminds me of my own actually. At least the basics. It's like our fundamentals are one and the same and we then went on to learn different things." Maybe because I was Isaachian too ? I remember Dave saying that we had a fighting style unique to us due to history and geographical position. "I wonder…" He said as he slowly approached me, raising his sword more and more. "Which would win between our two divergent styles !?"
He then started running towards me. In less than a second, I found his blade coming down on me in an overhead strike. My arms reflexively moved upwards to counter the strike, but the strength of the exchange was such that I was slightly pushed down. I also heard a cracking sound, like wood breaking itself. Or rather, a bone?
I didn't have time to investigate the origin of the sound as Chulainn kicked me strongly in the side. My body got thrown leftwards, biting the sand. I hurriedly tried to get up, feeling the intense pain throbbing in my abdomen before it quickly subsided due to the adrenaline. I glanced at my sword and confirmed that it was indeed showing signs of being close to broken. With one or two of the ribs in my abdomen in a similar state, it seemed like my pride wasn't the only thing that'll need mending after this.
Chulainn walked slowly towards me, his sword hanging to his side. He didn't even try to raise it as he continued his advance. Perhaps he was right in doing so. I was badly battered. Bruised and injured. My sword was also very close to its breaking point. There was no need to continue fighting anyway.
'Yeah… Maybe I should just give up now.'
Right ? Even if I were to surrender here, nobody could ridicule me. After all, being among the best four in your first ever tournament is an accomplishment in itself.
'I'm tired…'
I wanted to just lie down right there and hope Dave and the others would bring me back to my room. He was a lot stronger than me anyway. I mean, he won against Dave and two of the triplets fighting in tandem. I'm not sure I could've pulled off any of those.
'But still…'
I wanted to try one more time.
'I need…to bring it up…'
At the very least, I didn't want to give up just like this.
[The System is reacting to your tenacious will.]
I wanted to look at the others proudly and say I tried my best.
'Them too…'
I wanted Eldigan to praise me, and Dave not to worry so much.
'The future…'
[A new skill is being generated !]
And more importantly, if I wanted to change the tragic future of Eldigan, I needed more strength than I currently had.
Chulainn stopped a few centimeters in front of me. His usual smile was gone, replaced with a more serious look and something shining in his eyes. "I acknowledge your efforts."
He tossed me those words as if they were my last words I will hear. Maybe they were.
As he raised his sword to place it beside my neck and make me surrender, a sudden fire burned in the pits of my stomach and spread rapidly in the rest of my body. I moved my hands quickly, bringing my sword up to strike him one more time.
"AAAAARRRRGGHHHH !"
Unfortunately, he seemed to have expected even that.
Swiftly bringing his sword up, he blocked my last ditch attempt quite easily, causing the blade to finally break in half. But, perhaps not expecting this much strength from a
near-unconscious man, his sword went flying out of his hand. I could see that he didn't expect this as his eyes widened for a brief second.
As if by instinct, my body moved in a way that told me it wanted to capitalize on this last and ultimate chance. But I knew my remaining strength wouldn't be enough to bring him to his knees. I couldn't even stand straight right now.
'Should I…try it then…'
That's when I sensed something else flared inside me, however it was different from before. Magical energy surged through my body, almost on its own. I could feel the wind picking up around us and knew that I would soon launch my spell. He was still shocked and unarmed, striking him now and this close might be enough to knock him out too. I knew that, but…
'No…I…can't…'
Thinking that, the mana inside of me immediately started to calm down. I could see the last shred of energy I had left disappear from my body as well and I was gradually losing consciousness.
The last thing I heard was Chulainn's voice and the alert sound of the system.
The last thing I saw was him moving towards me and the system window appearing in front of me, with a message that I couldn't read.
I heard voices.
My mind was foggy.
I couldn't think straight for a while, and even trying to do so only brought in more pain than what I was currently feeling.
As time continued to pass, the number of voices decreased. They also became clearer and more focused, so much more that I could actually hear some of what they were saying.
However, the only words I could grasp in that state were "injured", "very lucky" and "recovery".
Time went by in that dream-like state. It was sometimes nice though.
It happened only once, but I could feel a warm sensation passing through my body from my hand. I didn't know what it was or who caused it. Just that it was pleasant and lasted for a short time.
A while later, my body finally seemed rested enough and my mind was cleared. I groggily opened my eyes, slowly taking in the sights around me. The first thing that became apparent was the familiarity of the room I was in. Truth is, it'll be surprising if I didn't recognise this room, seeing as it was the one I've been using in Eldigan's castle for the past year.
The second thing that became obvious was the time. A candle on my night-stand was burning and the sky outside my window was pitch-black, signaling that it was already night. There was also a bucket and a piece of cloth on the floor near my bed.
The third thing that crossed my eyes was the person sitting on the chair beside my bed. He was busy reading a book, something I've very rarely seen him do ever since I first met him.
I tried to move around a little, but the pain that started to spread inside my body made me abandon that idea for the time being. Dave, who seemed to have finally noticed the situation, quickly closed his book and placed it on the bed.
"Ray ! Are you okay? You're feeling better right?" He asked nervously, leaning forward a bit too much to my liking.
"I–argh" I tried to open my mouth, but my voice didn't come out as I wanted it to. My throat was dry and itchy. Thankfully, Dave noticed that rather quickly.
"Right. Water. The healer told us to give you some as soon as you woke up." He poured a bit of water from the canteen into a cup and presented it to me.
I gulped the entire thing down in one swing, feeling my throat ease itself a bit afterwards. I gave back the cup to Dave and looked at him meaningfully. He immediately grasped what I was trying to say and refilled my glass with more water. It was after the fourth cup that I finally felt rejuvenated enough and my throat was also not as painful anymore.
"Thank you." I bowed slightly towards him, to which he simply grinned and gave me a thumbs up.
"You know, you got us worried for a second there." He placed the canteen still containing some water and the cup on my night-stand before sitting down once more. "They way you just lost consciousness but... Your respiration became slower and less rhythmic. I almost feared you were dying. Your bleeding abdomen certainly didn't help."
"What happened ?" I asked him quickly, curious about what happened after I got knocked out.
"Well, after you fell down, the referee proclaimed Chulainn the victor." That much was obvious. "Butt he didn't leave immediately." Huh ? "He just stood there silently watching as
you were being carried to the medical ward." That was certainly strange. Why would he do that ?
I thought to ask Dave that question but refrained myself immediately. He wouldn't know the answer anyway. But something else came to mind, a question which he could perhaps answer.
"What did the healers say ?"
"That you were simply exhausted."
"Huh ?" So he's saying, I lost because I got tired ?
"You just overworked yourself and pushed your body to its limit without rest." He leaned back on his chair, crossing his arms as he tried to remember all that the healers must have said. "Apparently, you didn't heal yourself even once during the fight." Ah. "You even went to fight against Chulainn with one of your ribs almost broken too." That happened ? I wasn't sure. It did feel like my chest was more painful before then, but I thought it was just muscle soreness. "I mean, how crazy do you have to be ?"
"?"
"Sure, they don't help with mental or physical fatigue, but why didn't you get any healing done ? Or at least medicinal herbs ?"
I could only scratch the back of my head as he asked me those questions. When I thought about it, I didn't have any particular reasons not to do all those. But at the time, I didn't feel any strong need for them either. Rather, I felt like doing those would take time away from watching the other contestants fight.
"Ah." As if just remembering that, my gaze once again rested on Dave who was waiting for me to say what I had to say. "How did it end ? The tournament I mean."
"Aaah. That. Obviously, Chulainn won." I wasn't much surprised, really. "But he had a really hard time in the finals though." That took me by surprise however.
"What happened ?" I was having a hard time imagining that Chulainn being at a disadvantage in a fight.
"Something similar to you I'll say ? He was not injured, but his movements were rather sluggish compared to his fights against us."
"Wasn't it because the opponent was considerably weaker ?" I tried to find a logical reason behind what Dave was telling me, because he seemed to sense my intention and quickly shot me down.
"No. I'm not underestimating Chulainn's skills, after all I fought him myself. But his opponent was no pushover either. Someone who made it to the finals of a gladiatorial tournament wouldn't be weak."
"Hmm." His words were sound, and I could easily see the logic behind them. But I just couldn't accept it like that.
Dave just looked at me in silence before adding something, almost like an afterthought. "Right, I also noticed. He seemed to favor his left side more than his right."
"He did ?" That was were I hit him last in our fight. But I thought…?
"But that's just my opinion. Don't mind it too much." Having said that, Dave got up from his chair and walked towards the door.
"Ah, I almost forgot." He turned around suddenly as he was close to the door. "The doctor said that you should rest for around a week, with no strenuous activity. Then the week after, you gradually start working out. He said that, if all goes well, you'll be back to your usual workout schedule in three weeks."
"Isn't that a bit too long for just exhaustion ?" I couldn't believe my ears. Three weeks ? I wasn't as if I was at death's door.
The flat stare Dave sent me dissuaded me from voicing any more complaints as he slowly explained my situation. "You also broke two ribs, remember ? The healing managed to patch them up, but it'll take time for a complete recovery."
It seems I had no choice in the matter however. "Three weeks it is then." I sighed dejectedly, but Dave simply smiled, seemingly happy with himself.
"You also got some visitors while you were unconscious." He added lazily, his smile still in place.
"Who came ?" The only people I could picture were the triplets.
"The trio for one. Then, at the arena's medical ward, that girl called Sylvia stayed with you for a while."
"Sylvia came to visit me ?"
"She sure did."
I was surprised. Sure, we bonded a little bit during the festival, but for her to barge in the arena just to see me was a bit…
"Apparently, she was already at the arena watching the fights. She saw you getting carried away in a stretcher while bleeding so she got worried and started looking for you. I stumbled upon her on my way to look for the healers and ask them when it was possible to move you. I recognised her so I brought her back with me. She stayed with you for quite a while."
"Hmm."
"Huhuhu. What else. Ah, Chulainn also stopped by."
"He did that ?" My already wide-opened eyes widened themselves a bit more at that. Why would Chulainn come and visit me ? I could only wonder. "Did he say anything?"
"He did." Dave looked miffed for a second, as if he was still put-off by something. "He said that he had fun for once and that he looks forward to your next meeting."
I closed my eyes after he finished talking. A fleeting sensation passed through my body and a memory came to the front of my mind.
["I acknowledge your efforts."]
'So I didn't dream that part.'
I was glad for some reason.
I stayed silent for a few more seconds before sighing deeply. My eyes opened once more and I turned around to look at Dave again. "Was that everyone ?"
"In the medical ward, yes."
"What do you mean ?"
"When we brought you back to your room, two more people came to visit. Or rather three ?" I got puzzled at that, thinking for a second that the triplet came a second time. But judging by Dave's tone it didn't seem to be them. He saw me thinking it over in my head and quickly spoke out their identity "It was Lady Lachesis and Lord Eldigan. They were with Ares."
"I didn't expect them to actually stop by. "I couldn't notice it, but a smile had already appeared on my face.
"Yes. Although Lord Eldigan had to leave quickly, lady Lachesis stayed here for a long time. In fact, if it wasn't because Ares started sleeping and needed to be put in his crib I doubt that she would've left when she did.'
"I see. Thank you for telling me all that." Nodding at my words, Dave turned around once more to face the door. He grabbed the handle and opened it, but stopped for a second before throwing in a last comment.
"Lord Eldigan also had a message. He said : "Good work." He closed the door behind me, leaving me alone and in silence, with my thoughts for sole companion.
I stayed in bed for a while doing nothing, just staring at the ceiling. My mind, however, was rapidly thinking back on what happened today. The training this morning, Dave signing us up for a tournament, fighting our way through it, each of us gradually losing, and finally me being brought here.
'That reminds me.'
Thinking back on the last thing I saw before losing consciousness, I quickly opened up the system windows and a flurry of messages appeared in front of me.
Quest Update !
Title : The sword is mightier than the pen !
Type : Sub Quest
Time-frame : Thirty minutes
Description : You've made it to the semi-finals ! After facing and defeating countless strong opponents, you now have to face off against the greatest challenge of this adventure !
Objective : Win against Chulainn.
Rewards : [N/A]
Failure : Minus one level, Minus two points in Strength
Status: Failed
Status
- Name : Ray Aster
- Level : 7 (00/100)
- Class : Magic Swordsman
- HP : 750/750
- MP : 600/600
Going through my stats, I quickly noticed that I had indeed lost the mentioned number of Strength points. However, at that moment, something else was on my mind, and I remembered a message I heard before losing consciousness.
Skills
- Indomitable Will (NEW)
I could only smile as I saw that blinking messaged thinking that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't all for nothing.
{ Preview }
Next time in Fire Emblem : The Holy War… Bitter farewells and… A prelude to a very gruesome tale.
A bunch of children were running towards Ray.
? : It's Ray !
Ray : Oh no…
Noticing the fast approaching mob, Ray did try to run away, but one of them was already clutching his leg after he silently approached him.
? : Mister !
? : Mister Raaaay !
? : Yaaaaaayyy !
They launched themselves in perfect sync on the poor swordsman who was unable to dodge and was flattened against the ground by a mass of small bodies. The only trace of him left was him arm protruding fom the bodies and his fingers twitching ever so slightly.
Lewyn : I think he's broken.
{ End Point }
So here we are with the end of this chapter. It was one of the most difficult one to write, truth be told, as I had to think about different ways to make the fights more interesting. I still think I have a lot to improve in that area, and I hope to do so as soon as possible.
Here we see Chulainn, before his actual appearance in the game, and in all his glory. He has been a gladiator for a very long time after he left Isaach, so his original fighting style must have changed accordingly. The same could be said about Ray and his own due to his life as a mercenary, which is why Chulainn was curious about the result of their fight.
The skill at the end will be properly introduce at a later chapter, when it's importance will be more significant. But I think most of you should've already guessed it's use.
Well, I think that will be all for this chapter. The next one is already pretty long, longer than any previous one actually, AND I still haven't finish writing it.
See you then.