by Andrew Rowe
My time training with Meilin remained focused on trying to apply my Body of Iron technique to individual parts of my body. I got a bit better at it, but generally, if I had enough time to react to an attack, simply getting out of the way was easier. I had to fight my instincts if I wanted to stand there and try to block with mana instead, and that made the training difficult.
Meilin had an equally difficult time with her own enhancement mana training, finding it frustrating to work with a type of magic that was so much weaker than her own. She mentioned that she was doing some research on disabling attunements, but she still seemed reticent to test it.
As the week continued, Meilin’s mood improved little by little. We started trading little tricks — I showed her how to focus enhancement mana into a blade-like shape for improved cutting power, and she taught me some new techniques for countering invisible opponents. By the end of the week, I felt like our rapport had improved considerably. With her improved mood and confidence, she sent a letter asking her sister to meet and talk, but she didn’t get an immediate reply.
Honestly, I had a fantastic time with the practice. Those few days were some of the best part of my experience with the whole tournament.
I couldn’t spend all my time just training, though, as much as I enjoyed it. I also participated in five smaller point bidding matches, which rapidly turned into a popular idea after the arena had announced my plans for the big public one.
In each of the smaller matches, I fought with a different outfit, my mask, and without Dawnbringer. Reika was more than happy to sit in the stands with Dawn and yell encouragements at me.
I won four out of five, with a net gain of sixty points and about six hundred silver. My one loss was to a Wayfarer who managed to teleport me out of the arena, causing a ring out.
That was something I really needed to figure out a counter for before my final matches.
I watched Reika’s matches just like she’d watched mine. Once I’d come up with the idea, she jumped at the chance to do the same thing, and ended up fighting in even more matches than I did. None of them had the same level of hype, but she won all eight of the matches she did, earning herself an extra hundred and sixty points and about a thousand silver imperials in the process.
At the end of the week, I was at six hundred and sixty-three and Reika was at eleven hundred and ninety-four.
I had a big decision to make. I could have spent three hundred points on one of the cheapest reinforcement elixirs and seen if it worked, potentially providing myself with an advantage. Maybe even two, but that would have risked not having enough points to cover a possible loss in my big match if I didn’t make a lot of points in the next round of the tournament proper. I also could have bought a magical item that could improve my odds.
I chose not to do the former because the risks of making myself sick if the elixir wasn’t compatible with my physiology were extremely high. It also wasn’t efficient. If I planned to get multiple elixirs in the long-run, the package deal was much better, and I couldn’t afford that yet.
Moreover, I was still acclimating to Dawnbringer’s bond improving, and I wasn’t sure I’d even notice the effects of a single reinforcement elixir. It’d be better to try one when I didn’t have any immediate obligations — like at the beginning of a week — and when I had a better idea of just how much I was benefitting from Dawnbringer’s bond.
The latter option was more tempting, but part of my opponent’s requirement for their thousand-point bid was that they remain anonymous until the match actually began. I could have tried to look into that or contested it, but I found the mystery exciting, so I chose not to.
Ultimately, I chose to continue saving my points — but I did have money to spend.
I couldn’t find anywhere that would sell reinforcement elixirs for silver alone, so that wasn’t an option, even if I was willing to risk making myself sick by drinking one. Six hundred silver was enough to buy a couple Carnelian-level items, though, or one low-end Sunstone one.
There were a few appealing options.
First, I considered buying something that would generate a fake shroud. That would make me less suspicious as a contestant, and if it actually improved my defense, it would be extremely useful. Ultimately, I decided against that for a couple reasons. First, it would have required being custom made, and I didn’t have the time to get that done before the match. More importantly, I strongly suspected my aura would interfere with it. My destructive aura had a habit of breaking barriers, and I didn’t think a fake shroud would operate any differently. It would be worth testing eventually, but there was no time for that before the match.
Second, I considered a fire resistance item of some kind. Two of my strongest opponents — Lady Hartigan and the wielder of Soulbrand — had fire-based attacks that were too strong for me to completely deflect with my own flame shaping. That was a high priority to pick up eventually, but I didn’t want to gamble on my opponent being a fire user for this particular match. I wanted something more generally useful for any situation.
Third, I considered something to increase my physical abilities further. I was ultimately going to be fighting several other sword fighters, and increases to my strength, resilience, and speed would all be advantageous.
I definitely wanted something along those lines eventually, but the one match I’d lost had illuminated a key weakness that I needed to deal with immediately — magic defense.
I knew that Dawnbringer had mentioned generating some kind of magic resistance aura around me, but it hadn’t proven sufficient to stop a teleportation spell. If I ran into something like that again — or something like a paralysis spell, or a sleep spell, Xiaofan’s poison cloud, or anything else that was severely incapacitating — I couldn’t guarantee that Dawnbringer’s protection would be enough to stop it. Anything along those lines could provide an instant win for my opponent. I needed a counter to that.
There were several types of items that provided defenses against spells. Many of them were based on shadow magic, creating a field around the wearer that nullified incoming spells. While that did sound effective, I was worried that an item that had the opposite magic type of Dawn’s would cause her harm if the mana flowed through me into her.
Instead, I went with redundancy.
I purchased a Ring of Spell Deflection, an item that could temporarily generate a field of light around the wearer that would — in theory — cause incoming spells to refract off it.
The effect was very similar to Dawnbringer’s Radiant Dawn spell, but with a few key differences. First, it would cover my whole body, making it a more effective defensive tool. Second, it was much weaker. I couldn’t expect it to work against high level spells; it might reduce their effect, but it wouldn’t stop them entirely like Dawn could. And third, it took a full day to recharge after all the mana from the ring was expended.
Yes, Corin, I know your items recharge a lot faster. You don’t have to look at me like that, it was still a great purchase.
My hope was that if I used the ring long enough, I’d pick up the ability to generate a deflecting field of light on my own. And if I couldn’t, maybe Dawnbringer could figure out how to copy it, by experiencing the ring’s power when I used it.
It was hardly foolproof. I’d need to activate the ring before getting hit with the spell, and I couldn’t keep it active constantly. Just activating the ring would burn through the mana inside it rapidly, depleting it in about sixty seconds.
Still, with a new defensive tool, I felt much better prepared when the day arrived for the next round of the tournament.
Chapter XV – Dragon’s Dogma
There’s always something exciting about facing the dangers of the unknown. It’s a feeling unlike any other, where my heart races in anticipation of the latest traps and deadly opponents that I’ll face.
From the way Reika was grinning and skipping on the way to the test, I could tell she felt the same way.
When we reached
the waiting area, there were far fewer people waiting for us this time. By the time the round was ready to begin, there were only eight contestants in the chamber. There would be others competing on different days and times, and I also knew there were multiple entry chambers for this round, but it was obvious how much the previous rounds had reduced the competition.
It’s that half person we’ll have to watch out for.
I snorted.
Joking about half people aside, I guessed there were probably sixty-four people left, making exactly eight groups of eight. That would make it easy to continue trimming down the group into halves with each subsequent round — thirty-two after this round, sixteen after the next, and then eight for the finals. It was possible they’d go with quarters at some point instead, but sixty-four people made for clean brackets going forward.
The arena workers didn’t give us as much of an explanation as usual. Instead, they simply told us that we’d be on our own in this round — there were no teams — and that we’d learn the nature of the test after we got inside.
I’d gotten a little bit of warning ahead of time from Lia, but she just told me that this test would be much more “elaborate”, and that there would be lots of “choices” involved. Not a lot to go on, really.
Truthfully, I liked it better that way. The dangers of the unknown always excited me.
I was rearing to go. That was, of course, when arena attendant sheepishly approached me with some news. “Keras Selyrian, I’m afraid there’s been a minor change.”
I blinked. “What sort of change?”
“Due to a minor logistical issue, your match has been delayed. You will be participating in the next round, starting at eighteen bells.”
Reika and I turned to each other. She spoke first. “That means...”
“...We’re in separate matches now.”
I had mixed feelings about that.
Going in with Reika would have meant that we had the chance of finding each other and teaming up.
It also meant we could have ended up fighting against each other directly.
Both of those things excited us. If one of us eliminated the other, it would have just added to our rivalry for later. And, of course, it had to happen eventually.
It wasn’t like we were going to let anyone else beat us, after all.
But the delayed match did have advantages. “Eighteen bells. That means I have time to watch this match before my own?”
The attendant nodded. “Yes, with hours to spare. And as an apology for the adjustment, we’ve prepared a private viewing box for you.”
Reika wrinkled her nose. “Then you’ll get an advantage over me in your match.”
The attendant turned toward her. “At this stage in the tournament, each of the individual challenges is distinct for each round. Your scenario will be completely different from what he faces.”
“That sounds...very complicated. And expensive.”
The attendant sighed. “I saw some of the financing paperwork for one day of this tournament a while back...you have no idea. It’s mind boggling.” He shook his head. “Anyway, my apologies. If you’ll follow me, I can take you to your viewing box?”
“Just one moment, please.” I turned to Reika, reaching out with a hand. “Hey. Good luck in there.”
“Good luck?” She snorted, but grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I don’t need luck. It’s not like there’s going to be anyone in there that can challenge me.”
In another part of the room, Lady Antonia Hartigan smiled.
***
Sitting in the audience was a very different experience from being inside the arena.
I had a pretty nice setup as an apology for the change. The “private” box wasn’t truly private — they had me in a small observation room with about a dozen other people, none of which looked like other competitors. Based on the fancy clothing of the people present, I suspect they jammed me into a noble’s box that still had some extra space in it.
The box itself was about a dozen feet in each direction, with posh chairs and a table holding an ample supply of refreshments in the back. At first, it looked like it was open on three sides, but as I approached I realized that it was simply surrounded by glass-like crystal walls. This provided an excellent view of the main arena itself, as well as the rows and rows of bleachers with ordinary tournament watchers below.
Seeing the stands from above gave me a better idea of the sheer scale of the venue. There must have been thousands of rows of people watching the match. The magnitude of the event was awe inspiring.
No kidding. I’m exhausted, and I haven’t even had a chance to fight yet.
As I approached the glass to get a better look at the main arena, I realized that wasn’t what I was expected to focus on. Instead, there were several tremendous panes of crystal suspended over the arena, each of which was displaying a titanic image showing one of the areas for the upcoming round.
They’re like Jonan’s scrying mirrors, only on a much larger scale. I don’t know if he’d be amused by seeing someone using his idea for entertainment or upset that he hadn’t thought of it first.
While the match hadn’t started yet, the crystals were already showing several interesting scenes.
One depicted something that looked like the interior of a stone building with torches lit on the walls — most likely something meant to resemble an elemental temple or spire.
Another showed a mountain road with several caves leading into the mountainside. The crystal’s image moved as I watched, apparently from the viewpoint of someone or something that was floating above the mountain. As it shifted, I realized the mountain trail went up for what must have been miles, before finally reaching a flat section that held the nest of a titanic bird with wings of flame.
A third crystal showed what looked like a small town in flames, with monsters roaming the streets and hunting the hapless inhabitants. I had a moment of alarm at the sight, but I tried to reassure myself that none of these things were real — the people in that city were likely just illusions.
Contestants fighting each other is a little different from throwing in helpless civilians.
Sure. We know and accept the risks.
Hm. An interesting quandary, but one that we’ll have to discuss another time. The match is about to start.
I might have approached the other people in the box to talk, but announcements for the match started almost as soon as the attendant led me to my seat.
The voice came from seemingly all around us, clear as the crystals in our view. Some potent sound sorcery must have broadcast the announcer’s voice to the individual boxes. I was impressed.
The initial announcements were, appropriately, in the Edrian language. I watched the images on the crystals while I waited, then after the Edrian language announcements concluded, a voice spoke in the Velthryn...er, or rather the Valian tongue.
“Citizens of Edria and honored guests, we now begin the third round of the Tournament of the Sacred Sword. This round represents the mid-point of our competition. In previous rounds, we have significantly narrowe
d our field of competitors, and those that remain have demonstrated tremendous skill.
“This round and subsequent rounds will be vastly greater in difficulty, in order to provide proper challenges to the skilled competitors that have lasted up to this point. In addition, each phase of the third round will be completely different, meaning that contestants that are fighting on different hours or days will not gain a significant advantage by watching the previous matches.
“The current challenge takes place across three areas — the Burning City, the Fire Temple, and Firewing Mountain. Contestants who used points to gain a small advantage will be allowed to choose where they begin, otherwise they will begin in a random location. Contestants who purchased a large advantage have been given an item that provides resistance to fire magic, which will be common in this challenge.”
I didn’t regret failing to purchase any advantages, but it was good to know what they meant for this match. They’d be different from my own challenge, but it was useful to know what some people were getting from buying advantages.
The announcer’s voice continued.
“Each area has opportunities for challengers to gain points. In The Burning City, challengers may save civilians from the flames or eliminate monsters. In the Fire Temple, points are awarded for defeating monsters, solving puzzles, obtaining crystals, and for reaching the flame crystal at the end. And on Flamewing Mountain, rewards are given for defeating monsters, retrieving treasures from the caves, reaching the top, and successfully retrieving eggs from Flamewing’s nests.”
The crystal ahead of me switched to an image of a gigantic burning bird — a phoenix. As the crystal’s viewpoint moved backward, I got a sense of scale; the creature was taller than the sparse, burned-out trees on the mountaintop. If I had to guess, it was probably at least twenty or thirty feet tall, and with a wingspan of a greater length. We had firebirds back in my homeland, and up until I saw this thing, I’d assumed they were one and the same as phoenixes. After noting Flamewing’s size, I had to adjust that assessment.