Chapter 47

I wondered, as I walked through the grand Colosseum if Roman Architecture was some kind of... constant. Another one of the 'four out of four' things on my growing list, was Roman Design. Thinking on it though, early cultures didn't have exact tools or the like, so 'what worked' was refined until it stopped working, or something new and revolutionary came about, like steel I beams, concrete and re-bar.

It was a short tour through the lower floor of the Colosseum, with my party wondering (but too polite to ask) why I was being thoughtful. After a few questions to the staff, we were directed down a corridor in the direction of the fighting slave and monster pens. Usa pointed the man we were looking for out as he travelled back towards the direction we'd come from.

The Arena Lord, or Master of Bets, or 'that guy over there who runs the place', looked like a retired soldier. It wasn't that he looked strong, or charismatic, or carried himself with an animal's grace with a dangerous air around him. No. He was...

Average.

Decently fit. A little taller than I was. A face that was unremarkable but also unmarred by scars or the like. Walked around like a guy who just got off work. Wasn't 'excited' to meet me, yet wasn't really that formal...

I think the only thing that really caught my attention... Well, two things. First, was that he was average in every way. In a world like this, everyone who had any kind of importance had some kind of distinguishing feature about them. Nice clothes, a fancy weapon, a silly smile that almost never went away, dangerous eyes, muscles that you could feel flexing on the other side of the room, battle scars... But not this man.

The second, was he had a distinctly modern object in his pocket. Something I wouldn't have expected to see in this world of early iron and magic. In the inside pocket of his vest, was a coil bound notepad and a pen. The pen might have been magical, I couldn't tell without touching it. But the little flip notepad was something I'd expect to see in a dollar store, not a world like this. And yes, that paper was lined, as in 1800's standard blue lined paper.

I took all this in, while I stood behind him, my party behind me, and he replied to my request with a not quite bored reply of, "You want to jump straight into the top bracket?" He looked me over, my 'combat blacksmith' outfit clearly not impressing him in any way. "We do allow magic in the 'Live weapons' bracket." He motioned to the Book Shield on my hip.

I looked around, then looked back to Usa. "No one nearby." He said.

So I looked to the Master, "I know you would like to see my ability out there, before you adjust the odds for the betting pools." He nodded exactly once. "But under your rules, I can't actually enter any bracket but the top one."

He gave me the raised eyebrow, and when I didn't flinch, he looked back to my party. They all nodded, and he looked back to me, "Why?"

"Don't announce it if you can help it. But I'm the Shield hero."

His expression froze for a second, then his mouth twisted into a smile. "Really?"

Again, my party nodded at him.

"Huh." The smile faded and he took out his notepad, "I see why Beloukas was so insistent on getting Nadia sober, and why she didn't argue when I asked her to be sober for today." He looked at me, scribbling something down, "That said, you'll have to pick a team of three. And fight a single round before I bring her out."

I gave him my own raised eyebrow.

He shrugged, "Your party is doing well, but without a good warm up for the crowd, there would be almost no profit. I also need time to get the messengers out on the streets to tell the potential spectators that 'The Ocean Storm' is fighting. If you don't do well in your 'intro' match, people will think you're just there to be beaten."

"How long do you need?" I asked.

"Two hours." He said, "Three if you want to attract more of a crowd. Four if you want something closer to a full house. Next week if you want a spectacle."

I considered that, and our ultimate goal of 'getting noticed' enough to prove to access the Hourglass. "Four then. We'll wait two for our intro match, then fight with Nadia around dinner time."

"Hmm, extra sales from the food stands..." His pen scribbled furiously, "Very well. Choose your team as soon as possible. Your party already has a bit of a fan base going, and knowing who's going to be fighting will help with visibility."

I turned around to look at the party. If I was going to fill the 'ranged support', then a pair of fighters would make the most sense. I looked over my shoulder, "Can the others I don't choose still get a match or two?"

"So long as they pass inspection. I'll have to say no to your... Bee?"

"(sad bzzz)"

"We don't mind trained animals, but poison is forbidden." He replied to Kunshu directly.

"(understanding, but still sad bzzz)"

"Okay then. Tetsu? Raphtalia? You'll be joining me. Melty? Think you can work with Usa and Clive?"

Melty looked up to the two boys. "I am confident I can, yes." She said, getting a nod from them, "Thank you."

"Okay then." The Master nodded, "Ring name?"

"What?" Melty asked, surprised.

"Well, we have the Lightning Rabbit, The Vanishing Blade, Iron Bow and The Lucky Dragon." He motioned to each of the party. "So what about you two?" He made ready to write something down.

I looked to Melty, and waited. I already knew my 'ring name'. After a moment, a bit of mumbling to herself, "Aqua Queen." She said, putting a hand on her dagger/wand, the aquamarine gem in the pommel catching a little light.

"Not bad. Water mage? Hmm... Allowable weapon for third bracket..." He wrote that down, "And you?"

Of course my reply was, "Demon Fox."

For the next couple of hours, while Melty, Clive and Usa fought in the 'lesser arena', the rest of us watched from the stands. Raphtalia, the best big sister in the party, explained the rules of the top bracket. They were pretty simple. First and foremost, unless you were fighting a captured monster, killing your opponent was frowned upon. It happened occasionally, but (surprisingly) the crowd usually wasn't here for that.

They wanted a show! Skill! Magic! Struggle! Someone getting beaten within an inch of their life, then coming back and clawing back a victory! This was part of the problem, since not everyone (like my party) understood or cared about 'putting on a show'. They were there to do their best, and that's what they did.

The 'death matches' were reserved for blood feuds, or two great merchant houses settling something that their money couldn't just buy. Oh, and yes, heinous criminals were usually put into a match with impossible odds (like a half dozen very hungry Knight Dragons/Filolial), given a blunt sword, and told that if they lived, they would be able to fight until they died in 'normal' matches. If they refused, they would just be hanged. (This, by the way, is where those bandits ended up after they were saved from getting hung).

Anyhow. The only rule past the 'heavy suggestion' to not kill your opponent (unless it was advertised as a death match), was no poisons. You could use magic all you wanted to hinder your enemy, but no poisons. Of course, when I saw one of the rookie team's opponents shoot someone in the stands, I figured out why they'd restrict a weapon that could be 'indiscriminate'. No one needed a thousand spectators dying to a toxic gas attack or something.

(Just because this is going to be a long chapter of combat... Let's check on our warm up team.)

Melty was a little nervous. She tried not to let it show, but even as the announcer called out her name after the 'Lightning Rabbit' and the 'Iron Bow', she felt a little knot in her gut (and a bit of regret) at the name 'Aqua Queen'.

Usa however was once again far too perceptive, but this time it was welcome. "Don't be nervous." He said, actually getting in on the act and waving as few spectators that were up in the stands cheered for him. "If you think of it like our morning sparring, except change the face around a little, it's really just that."

She didn't want to let the perpetually nervous rabbit show her up, so she took a deep breath, clapped both her palms to her cheeks, then joined in on the waving. "What position should I take then? Ranged? Support? Healer?"

Clive and Usa shared a moment of 'hand talking'. Something Kodori had taught them before she joined, it was only slightly more complex than what they used in combat.

"If you can, just use water. We all rely on our mobility, so unless you're sure ice won't hinder us..." Usa explained, "I'll be sure to keep my magic to a minimum, since you'll make it more effective."

Melty hadn't thought of that, though, it also made her feel a little silly, since her and Usa had done the same thing to the Tyrant Dragon.

"And their opponents! Fresh from the desert mountains on yet another mission to keep monsters off Zeltobe's streets! Three of your favourites from the Crag Cracker Mercenary Brigade!"

Across from Usa, Clive and Melty were three mean looking dwarves. Wide shouldered, huge muscled, armoured in light armour but armed with heavy pickaxes, they looked like they really could live up to their company's name of 'Crag Cracker'.

The arena they were in was fairly small, but the circular stone platform gave the two teams enough space to spread out a little, and organize into a 'favoured position'. Usa, a little out of character for him, stood in front, while Melty stood in the back. Clive took the middle spot on their half of the circle, his borrowed bow ready to receive and arrow.

Their adversaries on the other hand, put two in front of Usa, and one behind, the dwarf slinging his pickaxe over his shoulder and instead swinging an obsidian topped mace, a casting focus if Melty ever saw one.

"AND LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!" The announcer roared, trying to make up for the lack of spectators with his own volume.

The opening move started with Usa stepping forward, his backup whip of braided leather snapping out towards the face of the one on his weak side. The dwarf hesitated, the reach of Usa's whip unfamiliar, but the one on his right took two running strides forward and tried to snatch the end of the whip out of the air, extending his pickax towards the whip as it snapped near his fellow's face.

Melty, unsure of what to do, had her choice made for her as a lumpy ball of mud arced over the three in the middle. Directed by the one with the obsidian mace, the little water mage nearly lost the fight right there, but a growl from Clive snapped her to attention and she jumped backwards.

Clive's reply was to try and shoot the earth mage, but as he lined up the shot he had to stop as Usa and his two opponents tried to get the whip away from the other two.

Melty saw her opportunity, even as Clive was frustrated by clever positioning from the enemy team, she put her hand on the pommel of her little dagger, focused her energy through a summoned magic circle, and with a slurping gurgle, a jet of water pulled itself from the air and tried to slam one of Usa's opponents off their feet. It wasn't strong enough!

But it was enough to get the man to back off, giving Usa enough time to pounce in his direction, his whip zipping through the air, once, a feint, a third time, another slap of water passing next to him, then finally Usa managed to loop his whip around a leg, and pull with all his might.

Clive tried to keep the recently drenched dwarf occupied with arrows, but again the caster in the back raised his mace, as if to signal victory, but instead raised wall of mud and arena stone, Clive's next two arrows 'slurp'ing into the barrier.

This time, Usa had to back of for real, as the soggy dwarf dashed around the mud wall and got the rabbit between him and Clive again.

Even with only one arm, Usa managed to use his greater reach and footwork to keep from getting overwhelmed, but then one of them, even after taking an arrow to the shoulder from Clive, swung his pickax at the mud wall, sending a spray of mud, bits of rock, and a lot of grit into the air towards Usa. Unable to help himself, the Rabbit had to stop his defensive dance to cover his eyes, but then the other one was on him.

And that's when Melty dazzled the crowd with a double casting, one hand throwing out a brief torrent of water, the other chasing it with a spray of frigid slush. The spell was imperfect, anyone who knew the spells would have expected water, then killer icicles, but the effect had the few who were watching standing up and cheering. Buying Usa only a few seconds, the one who had tried to take advantage of his moment of panic, suddenly looked like a great frost dragon had sneezed on him. For a precious few seconds, the dwarf was turned into a thinly frozen statue, with icicles trailing sideways off his body.

The one who had tried to blind Usa ran forward, but an arrow stuck itself into his leg part way there. The caster in the back had to defend his wounded fellow, distracting Clive with a hurled glob of mud, But that was fine. Even one armed, Usa only needed a moment against an immobilized opponent.

With a flick of his wrist, his whip looped around his body. Hand free, he gripped the dwarf's wrist just as he broke free from the thin ice, pulled him forward and drove his knee into his side. Stiff leather armour compressed into the dwarf's short ribs, and with a wheeze he curled up and was pulled the rest of the way to the ground by a combination of Usa's arm and a half turn in place so Usa could get momentum.

With both Usa and that one dwarf on the ground, she had a clear line of sight to the one in the back. This time she kept it simple, using a basic 'water blade' spell. In an effort to spare their caster however, the second dwarf got in the way, grunting as the pressurized water slammed into him. But having broke cover, Clive replied by sticking another arrow into him.

Seeing one of his team down, another with three arrows sticking out of him, and facing down a talented water mage, the one with the obsidian mace tossed down his weapon and went to one knee in surrender.

"AND IN A WILD DISPLAY OF MAGIC AND TEAMWORK, THE NEWCOMERS TO THE ZELTOBE ARENA TAKES ANOTHER MATCH!"

Melty huffed as the overzealous announcer called out their victory. That wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, and yes, that did seem like a... more dangerous, but still familiar 'morning sparring'. While she got control of her breathing and let her adrenaline crash, Clive came up to her.

With a pleased sounding grumble, he gave her a pat on the shoulder, then motioned towards Usa. The killer rabbit was helping his opponent to his feet slowly, his face twisted a little in pain.

"Tend to him first." He said, "My armour stopped his pick, but I still felt it." Usa motioned to the poor dwarf with the arrow collection. "The arena healers will heal them, for a price. If you wanted to show mercy..."

Melty nodded, spotting a couple of robed people jogging towards the six of them. She considered not healing them, but reminded herself that Kodori was trying to build a good reputation.

"Hold still." She told the dwarf as he tried not to move and aggravate the simple barbed arrows that had gotten through his stiff leather armour.

"Heh, owe you one then." He said, gripping the shaft of one arrow and giving Melty a nod.

(Kodori)

"Good." I said, looking down at Melty as she glowed over the wounded dwarf. "I knew she'd get along with those two."

"Poor Usa." Raphtalia said, "He didn't even use magic though..."

"He didn't have time." I shrugged, "But with skill, he kept ahead of two others. If this were the top bracket, he'd be able to use his other whip, and cast magic while attacking." I shrugged, "Clive was on point too. All clean, all non lethal."

"The Boss is really good at teaching!" Tetsu said, hugging my arm, "Oh oh! Um... wait..." A pause and a little head tilt, "He's asking if you've practised at all."

"A little." I nodded, "But this Nadia woman seems to have all the marks for a good fighter. Our first match will be as... basic as we can make it. No showing off."

"Ohhhh! I like surprises!" Tetsu grinned, manipulating my arm so I'd give her a headpat. "I forget most of the words... Look weak, pretend you're strong..."

"Something like that." I nodded, "One of the things back home, was hiding what you could really do until it mattered. No point in going at full power all the time. If anyone wanted to fight you, then they'd know what you could do already. Oh, remember, don't use your magic claws."

"I won't!"

Raphtalia smiled at the byplay, "I think I see it now... You really do act like a mother."

"What? Didn't believe me?" I replied, feeling a little tingle crawl its way around my horns.

She shook her head, "It's not that. I... didn't understand." She pointed at me, "But that just means I get to stay as the big sister!"

"Very well." I nodded. "In that case, you get to take over headpat duty." I nudged Tetsu towards Raphtalia, "Time for an equipment check."

Choices, choices... I had a few options here, as the three of us waited in the 'ready room'. Since this was a planned fight, and we weren't being forced to participate, we actually got to wait in a nice room. While I'd been in the stands, I did see one of the four who'd been 'rescued' from hanging get tossed into a fighting pit.

Well, not really. He was raised up from a pit in the ground, all very dramatic like, with his arms chained to the platform. Only when the platform had stopped moving, did the chains come off so he could pick up a sword and buckler. It didn't help him much, and he was eaten by a small pack of alligators.

Anyhow. Choices. I did have armour. It was even nice and clean! But doing that might ruin the look I had adopted. The Shield was going to stay as a Book, and I would cast from it as I had been. There was a lot of stuff I'd only used once or twice, mostly to make sure it worked. One thing this world had going for it was options when it came to magic. Of course, being 'the Shield' meant my offensive magic power was crap, but...

"Uh oh. She's doing that thing again." Tetsu flopped over my back, resting her chin on my shoulder in hopes of headpats. Of course she got them, "Heehee... why are you laughing?"

Raphtalia looked my way, "We're not in the workshop... well, that hardly matters..." She sighed.

"Well, for the past few days, I've been making things. And a lot of the stuff Melty sold was stuff we'd already made. Considering almost all of it sold... Why shouldn't I go into the arena with all kinds of enchanted items?" I made a show of cracking my knuckles, "Speaking of..." I zipped through the Shield's inventory and took out a bracelet. This one had a polished bit of onyx, about the size of a 500 yen coin, sunken into the brightly polished steel.

"Oh, that's shiny!" Tetsu commented as I handed it to Raphtalia, "What is it?"

"It's kind of like what I did with these." I took out my 'infinity gauntlets', both of them looking like they wanted to shield their eyes from just how shiny they were. "It's a spell storage device. If you cast the spell now, you can skip the words later."

Raphtalia took a moment to fit it over the leather of her bracer, exactly how I'd intended it to be worn, and admired it. "This is..." I know she wanted to say 'pretty', but instead she surprised me with, "I get it... Something light, something dark. Like my elements?"

"Well done." I smiled, getting a happy tail swish from her, "I should have asked Melty if I could borrow her trinket... Ah well." I went through the Shield some more, taking out a few other things. "Bracelet for amplification. Necklace for extra mana. Another bracelet to help sustain effects, though I don't know if it will work with the Shield yet..."

"You mean like that glowing thing I jump on all the time?" Tetsu asked, holding one of my hands so she could admire all the sparkly gems on it. "Oh, this makes me feel tingly all over..."

"Yeah. Those have a set limit on how long they last, even if they aren't destroyed. But if I could make it last longer..." I trailed off, examining each gem of the gauntlet with my 'in built' appraisal skill. "You know, if it weren't for all of the problems we've been dealing with, and me being away from home. I'd almost be having fun doing this." I looked to Tetsu, "And when we get back to Melromarc, so long as we don't have to burn it down or something, I'm going to get you to that nice tailor lady."

"More clothes?" She pouted.

"Same clothes with better material and enchantments." I corrected, my ears twitching as they caught a noise out of place.

There was a tap on the door a moment before it opened, and the Master of Bets entered. "Almost time... What are those?"

"What? These?" I held up my hands, "I'm an artificer, so I'm going to show off."

He paused, squinting at me as if all the gems were hard to look at, "Huh... I don't see any problems. I suppose you aren't going to reveal who you really are then?"

"This isn't the first time I've been in a fighting pit." I grinned, "What's it look like out there?"

"Since it's your warm up match? Well, people are interested but not quite enthusiastic yet. I've lined up some talent for you, but you've been marked. When I was looking for a team to put against you, I had a volunteer. Never a good sign."

My wrists tingled, and I could already guess who it was. "Well, suppose now there won't be any complaints when we win this time."

I could tell he knew I was reading between the lines, and he nodded, "We'll save the fancy introductions for later. Down the hall to the left."

My two companions for this fight were like night and day. As I walked behind them, Tetsu was practically skipping with each step. Happy-go-lucky, not a care in the world. Raphtalia on the other hand, was already a heartbeat away from drawing her blade, her mind already in combat as it were.

It was like watching Mikoto, my favourite not-ninja from back home, and Amani, the less worldly version of Aisha.

"Hey." I said, getting them both to look over their shoulders at me with almost identical 'huh?' expressions. "We're here to win. But try to have a little fun." I stepped forward that half step, wedged myself between them, and put an arm over their shoulders. "Remember. You fight people..."

"Hunt animals. And kill monsters." They said together.

"If we lose though..." Raphtalia started.

"Then we lose." I said, "But if you keep thinking 'what if', you'll set yourself up for failure." I gave them both a friendly shake, let go, then pushed them ahead again, "Think 'what now'."

"Now we go punch people in the butt!" Tetsu cheered, getting a quiet chuckle from the guard at the massive double door we were fast approaching. "Hello Mr. Guard!"

"Hey Lucky Dragon." He wasn't really a guard. Sure, he was armed and armoured, but when you dealt with wild animals in a fighting pit, you didn't want to be part of an accident if they got loose. "Just waiting for the signal."

He motioned to a little bell on the wall. I looked at it, and noticed a little string tied to the clapper. As if it knew I was looking at it, it dinged once. In reply, the guard gave the string two tugs, then put a hand to the door.

"I got money on you, so don't lose." He grinned.

We stepped onto the sand, and yes, it was just as grand down here, as it was looking in from the stands. I could hear an announcer, his voice magically amplified, introducing the fighters as we entered.

"From the Gate of the Rising Sun! We have three combatants from the Faubrey Shipping Conglomerate!"

Across from us, I spotted at least one face from the... incident, and he was armed with a sword and shield. But alongside him, was a musclebound wolf man with a silly plank weapon that was sword shaped, and a wiry looking fellow who was swinging around what looked like a sling, and had a double bandoleer of pouches over his chest.

"And from the Gate of the Setting Sun, two of the new rising stars, the Lucky Dragon and the Vanishing Blade. And not only is she their boss, but also the team's artificer! Introducing, the Demon Fox!"

There was a bit of cheering, a few boos, a chant or two of 'Blade! Blade!' or 'Dra-gon! Dra-gon!' But that was okay. The two of them had earned that in the last couple days. My job for this match, past that of making sure we won, was to 'wow' the crowd a little. Show that I wasn't just 'their boss' that rode on the fame and ability of her minions. But Their Boss for a Very Good Reason.

"Rising Ready?!" The announcer asked, getting a nod from the swordsman, silly plank weapon guy and the one with the sling. "Setting Ready?!" Raphtalia, Tetsu and I nodded, each of us getting into a fighting stance. "Begin!"

(Zooming out)

Raphtalia started forward at a run, one hand on the sheath of her blade, one hand gripping the hilt. Tetsu likewise zipped along beside her, laughing as she brought her hands up, ready to pounce. Behind them both however, Kodori lifted the chain bound book to just under eye level, let it open itself naturally, and started casting. "I am the source of all power. Hear my words and obey!"

Across from them, the more traditionally armed man with sword and shield made ready to intercept Raphtalia, his shield braced solid to his shoulder, sword ready to counter. The brute of a wolf man didn't lift his weapon, but instead made ready to intercept the charging mini-dragon with it. Behind them both, the wiry man with the sling got his weapon up to speed, and with a 'whir-snap!' a ball of lead zipped between his two companions towards Kodori.

The crowd expected the initial clash to be one of sudden standstill, while the faster working ranged attack would interrupt the caster on the challenger's team.

But they were only two thirds correct. Raphtalia drew her blade, a shimmering black length of exotic steel that only stopped after it had cut half way through her opponent's shield, and only because he brought his own blade up to slow it down. To the left, the massive (compared to the little dragon-newt) wolf man caught Tetsu in mid pounce, the little beast girl clinging to the wide blade of his sword with a vicious if somewhat theatrical 'rawr!' as she tried to claw at his face from around it.

But instead of Kodori getting her pretty face scuffed by a ball of fast moving lead, she caught the projectile as if it were a casually tossed ball, and without missing a beat finished her spell. "I bring icy fury before me!" A half dozen killer icicles forming around her, then slashing through the air towards the guy with the sling.

The crowd cheered as the man had to dodge and roll to avoid the ice, but they were even more impressed by the rough looking man loading another stone in mid roll, getting his weapon up to speed again a moment after getting to his feet, and letting fly a heartbeat after that.

Raphtalia and her opponent ignored the exchange of ice and lead, but only because they were too intent on untangling their weapons so they could exchange strikes again. With a rasp, Raphtalia's blade finished its journey through the metal of the man's shield, but she had to hop backwards to avoid a slash from its owner.

To the amusement of the crowd, The Wolf and the Dragon seemed to be fighting around the blade of the silly plank weapon. In an effort to not get his eyes clawed out, the Wolf had slammed the point of his blade into the sand, and met the Dragon with his own claws and teeth.

Behind them, Kodori took a step to the side, a whizzing ball of lead just missing her shoulder. "I am the source of all power!" She started again, her hand flipping a page of the great book. Across from her, the man made ready to dodge, but instead of the (relatively) slow icicles he was expecting, "Connect us with the sky's wraith!" A lightning bolt lanced out from her hand.

The crowd gasped as the man lit up with sparks, screaming a distressed sounding 'ai-e-e-e-e-e' as the electricity played over his body. A dual element caster? That was rare!

A moment later though, Tetsu cried in pain as the Wolf finally got a hand on her and flung her to the sand like a ball. The crowd booed as he tried to follow up with a stomp, but the mini-dragon rolled aside just in time, the heavy boot making the sand ripple around it.

Raphtalia's opponent, in a desperate move, flung his poor shield at the girl in an attempt to make a little space. It worked, buying him a moment to leave a thin slash on her side, but she was already spinning away from the blow and his sword hardly marked her.

The crowd cheered again, as the one with the sling managed to throw off the effects of the lightning quickly, his hands feeding another item in from his array of pouches. But with a smile that was almost cruel, the Demon Fox flipped a page again, "I am the source of all power. I bring protection and strength to my companions!"

Ice, lightning and now support magic? The crowd was working past 'surprised' and going right into shock as Raphtalia and Tetsu glowed with the buff spell.

But then, Raphtalia was engulfed in a blast of black smoke as the one with the sling let fly not at Kodori, but the Raccoon Woman. Seeing his chance to regroup, the swordsman jumped backwards out of the smoke, nodded thanks to his teammate, then rushed towards the Wolf to back him up.

With how much trouble the little dragon was having with the Wolf's longer reach, the two might have overwhelmed her. But then Kodori snapped the book closed with a heavy 'thump', and extended her free hand towards the black cloud of smoke. One of the gems of her gauntlet went dark, and with a sudden whoosh of air, the cloud vanished.

Oddly enough however, so had Raphtalia.

Tetsu, despite her overzealous and highly energetic fighting style, backed away from the two oncoming fighters, her small body evading the massive hands of the Wolf, and her gauntlet covered hands swatting away a strike from the swordsman. For a few seconds, the game of weaponized tag went on, but just as it seemed Tetsu would be caught, the swordsman bringing his blade down on her...

"I am the source of all power." Kodori started, as the swordsman's blade was suddenly sheered off just above the crosspiece, Raphtalia's body bleeding back into reality beside Tetsu. Kodori didn't finish the chant however, her words hanging in the air as she slapped her hand to the sand. With a violent eruption, the wiry man with the sling was engulfed in a pillar of sand. His last shot went high into the air, just missing a spectator, but then Kodori continued the chant, "The sun upon the desert sand!"

The crowd cheered as the one with the sling started to dance and flail around as the sand he had been covered in became scalding hot. His two team mates couldn't help him however, as Tetsu pounced on the now blade deprived swordsman, and Raphtalia jumped after the Wolf.

(Kodori)

We sat in the waiting room again, the quiet of the stone around us helping me focus on cleaning the sand out of my slippers and focus on fussing over my team mates. Both of them only had tiny injuries, hardly worth a healing potion.

Of course, I still made sure they had a little, though in Raphtalia's case, it was a tiny smudge of healing salve over the cut she'd gotten. Tetsu was just bruised in a couple places, but even after the adrenaline crashed, she was just hungry.

"Think we impressed them enough?" I asked them.

"I hope so!" Tetsu said, "That was a lot of fun! Though... can I have one of those swords?"

I imagined Tetsu with an appropriately sized silly plank weapon, "Maybe." I then hoped she'd forget about it later. "Ah, I think..."

There was a tap on the door, and just as before, the Arena Master entered. "Not bad." He said, not even saying hello. "I'll admit, I didn't expect that. Dual element casters are rare, but what you did was... unique."

"Boss is amazing." Tetsu said, of course leaning on me so I'd return her praise with headpats.

"I'm guessing the Shield lets you do that?" He asked, motioning to the Book Shield.

"Kind of. I'm really just reading off the pages and supplying magic. Instead of casting it all on my own." I also managed a proper (for this world at least) use of Senjitsu, the sand effect not feeling a little to the left, but right in the middle of my 'spirit', like it should.

"Well, you got a lot of attention. The people are filling the stands as we speak." He replied.

"Good." I nodded, "Think we're ready then?"

Raphtalia nodded, "This new sword is... I wonder if I can even sharpen it properly now."

"Dragons have the best teeth!" Tetsu laughed, pawing at Raphtalia's tail with a 'rawr', making the Raccoon girl squeak in surprise.

"What's it like out there?" I asked.

"Hear for yourself." He said, placing his hand on the stone wall and activating... something.

Slowly, as if someone were turning up the volume, I could hear people cheering. "Wow..."

The Master shrugged in that totally average way, "Most fighters like a quiet room before a bout. You seemed the type. But for those who'd rather hear the people, I have this here." He tapped the wall again, and this time I could feel the enchantment in the stone more clearly as the sound faded.

"I think I like the noise." Tetsu said, doing a little excited hop from one foot to the other.

Both Raphtalia and I said, "Of course you do..." At the same time.

Still, this total square of a man didn't smile. He did however step aside, "Do you want the side entrance, or the platform?"

"The opposite of our opponent." I said.

This got a smile, though it was even less noticeable than Ryuu's smile. "To the right then."

(Time for some fireworks.)

"NA-DI-A! NA-DI-A!"

The chanting of the crowd rocked the very stones of the stadium. Feet stomping with each syllable, hands waving little banners, people waving around little black and white glow rods... The crowd was clearly showing its support for their champion.

From the east side of the arena, a titanic iron and wood double door started to swing open, and the announcer started to rip into the magic rod in his hand (Kodori would later write this down as 'three of four worlds had a microphone shaped object).

"TONIGHT!" The crowd quieted down, though the stomping and waving did not abate, "We have a special match! Stepping in from the Gate of the Sunrise! A beauty that is only matched by her combat prowess and ability to drink an entire tavern under the table for a week straight! You all know her name! You all know her style! The Ocean Storm! NADIA!"

"NA-DI-A! NA-DI-A!"

The chanting started again as the door finished opening as if a massive gust of wind had come through to blast them apart. A magic lantern focused on the person entering. With her pure black/white skin, fighting robes trimmed in silver, incredible figure, and now holding a twin forked spear made of blue metal from end to end, she walked into the arena with purpose.

Striding with a dancer's grace, her long black hair and dress swaying, she waved to the crowd. To most, her smile and grace was provocative and sensual. To anyone with a hint of combat savvy, she was a predator who had weaponized everything from her looks to her armaments.

The announcer gave the crowd a few extra seconds to cheer as Nadia stopped about ten good paces from the edge of the arena wall, then a couple of seconds more to fall to silence as Nadia herself slammed the butt of her spear into the sandy arena floor, looking across to the still empty half of the fighting pit. The predator was awaiting its prey.

"For the past few days..." The announcer's voice was low, as he himself were stalking the challengers, "This team of four has been working their way up the ranks with a purpose. The Lightning Rabbit. The Iron Bow. The Vanishing Blade. The Lucky Dragon..."

With a sudden clank of chains and a slam of iron, a square pit opened up in the arena floor across from Nadia.

"Now, they are here to fulfill that purpose, with their master enchanter, the creator of their weapons and armour, the driving force behind the force of nature these four have been in the short few days they've been here. Tonight, with the Vanishing Blade and Lucky Dragon at her side..."

From the pit, a platform rose from below with the clank of chains and gears. First to appear were a pair of raccoon ears. Serious faced, straight shouldered, Raphtalia's eyes were focused on Nadia the instant they could see her. Beside her, Tetsu started jumping up and down, waving to the crowd even as they remained silent.

Behind them both however, was the body of a huge black fox. Curled up and filling most of the empty space, it seemed to be sleeping. But suddenly, it vanished like smoke, and a figure stood up behind Raphtalia and Tetsu. Wearing what could only generously be called 'work pants and some bandages', she took a massive book that had been chained to her hip, held it out in front of her, and opened it with her other hand, the gems on her gauntlet sparkling in the spotlight.

"The Demon... Fox..."

The crowd, most of it at least, was silent. Then a small but robust cheer came up from one section in the stands. Led by a absolute titan of a man in well worn armour, with a dozen or so others around him, they waved hastily made banners, a fox resting under a flaming cup painted or stitched on them.

"Fox! Fox! Fox!"

The rest of the crowd directed silent animosity towards Frost and his mercenary band, but only silently, since anyone with a lick of sense knew better than to mess with the Frost Ragers.

The three challengers stepped off the platform, the announcer at least being fair and letting the small fan club in the corner chant for exactly the same amount of time Nadia's crowd did.

"Nadia! Ready?!" He called out, the favourite slamming the butt of her spear into the ground again. "Challengers ready?!" Tetsu stopped waving to everyone, Raphtalia put her hand to her sword's hilt, and Kodori turned a page on the book.

"FIGHT!"

NOTES!

Still more fighting to go!

Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!

aKAQg4bnYu for the discord!

And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.

And! I'm looking into getting some story themed merchandise made. Join the Discord to find out more!