by M E Robinson
With a small blush, she continued, “The tournament organizers would like you to get healed for the award ceremony after the finals.”
“Of course...would you be able to lead me to the healers?”
“They’re just over here,” the maiden said, pointing to the room just beyond the door.
Climbing to his feet, Eric followed her out of the dark stone room into a well-lit room with wood paneling. Numerous beds covered the floor, each one coming up to waist height. A large projection covered one side of the wall, where a number of men and women wearing robes were gathered, discussing the final match as they waited for Eric to arrive.
“Ah, Cyera! You brought him,” one of the robed women exclaimed, catching sight of Eric and the young elf as they approached. Pointing Eric to one of the nearby beds, the robed watchers gathered around, taking out rosaries and wands as they observed his injuries.
“That Hydrus really did a number on you, didn’t he dear?” an older woman asked, fiddling with a large rosary in the shape of a teardrop.
Eric winced. “Yeah. He was pretty strong,” he responded. Doing his best to keep the emotion from his voice.
Seeing this, the woman gave him an apologetic look. “Well, you did your best. It was a shame you couldn’t win though; I’d imagine all the viewers in Novanalba were cheering you on.”
“Agreed! That Hydrus fellow is lucky he didn’t wind up down here. I would have given him a piece of my mind!” said an elderly healer impassionedly, leaning on his staff with an annoyed look as he gazed towards the projection, where Eric’s fight with Hydrus was being displayed.
A replay, Eric realized with interest, observing the magical projection briefly before turning away.
“I was really hoping you’d win,” the young elf said from the side.
“Sorry. I let you all down,” Eric apologized.
“None of that now. You did your best, anyone could see that,” the old woman said gently. “That…man,” she spat, “was just too strong. But I’m sure you’ll have your revenge. Those arrogant types always get their comeuppance in the end. Take it from someone who’s worked in the arena for decades.”
“And even fought in it for a while,” the elderly man said with a wink towards Eric.
“Ancient history, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the woman retorted, before turning back to Eric. “Now then, it looks like you’ve got primarily burn and slash wounds. Nothing too serious.”
Nothing too serious? What on earth did this woman consider as serious? Eric wondered incredulously. His body was covered with wounds, both large and small. His back and front both bore enormous slash marks from where Hydrus had managed to land full power strikes on him, and he’d received some fairly harsh burns from their final exchange.
As if reading his mind, the healer gave him a devilish smile.
“At least he didn’t use any acid attacks.”
Eric shuddered. “Thank the gods for that.”
This earned him a laugh from the gathered healers.
“Now then, we can heal you with armour on, but I’d like for you to give us your armour. We’ll have it fixed and returned to you before we’re done so that you can go out there and not look like something the cat dragged in. Your weapons on the other hand will need to be fixed by their original makers. Not to worry though, Novarena will reimburse you for the full price of any damages you’ve sustained to your gear while fighting in the arena.”
Looking at his weapons which he’d set next to the bed, Eric sighed. While the Quickwind Dagger and the falchion were both fine, having simply gotten a little too hot, his bow was another case entirely. The shattered and burned remnants of the once proud longbow lay alongside the ruins of his quiver, looking more like kindling than a once deadly weapon.
Craig is not going to be happy, Eric thought sadly as he gazed at the bow.
“You said they’ll reimburse me for anything that was damaged?” Eric asked, removing his armour and handing it to the elf maiden, who took off before she could turn an even deeper shade of scarlet.
“Yes.”
“Does that include my pride?”
With a much louder laugh than before, the gathered healers set to work. Casting a multitude of healing spells as they cleansed Eric’s body of the numerous wounds he’d received from Hydrus.
“Hydrus wins, Erick Kystfyr is eliminated,” Halfthur said mechanically, as if he was still processing the events that had just occurred. The crowd remained silent.
Slinging his greatsword over his shoulder, Hydrus walked back towards the tunnel, leaving the stage behind as he slowly left the arena. As Hydrus disappeared, Wavesun elbowed Halfthur in the ribs.
“I know you’re upset, but as they say in your circles, the show must go on,” he whispered.
With a jolt, Halfthur snapped to his senses. Giving Wavesun a grateful look, he turned back to the crowd. “There will be a brief delay as our finalists prepare for the last match. Don’t go anywhere, we’ll be right back!”
Slowly, the crowd began to stir, whispers and murmurs filling the air as the audience discussed the last match. With sad looks, the rest of Riptide let out weary sighs.
“Anyone else want snacks?” Mark asked. “I was gonna grab some kebabs for Ulfir, but I can wait till after the last match.”
Whining pitifully, Ulfir peeked out from Mark’s tunic. The wolf pup had grown significantly in the past few weeks, now barely able to fit inside Mark’s clothes. His fur had also grown more lustrous, giving off a crimson light as it gleamed in the sun. Seeming to sense his owner talking about food, Ulfir turned his eyes upwards, giving Mark a big lick as he turned wide eyes towards his owner. Absentmindedly, Mark pet the pup, running his hand through its fur as it growled contentedly.
“Yeah sure, I’ll come.”
“Me too.”
Unable to deny Ulfir his snack, the rest of the group agreed to go find food. Standing up, they left Griffin alone to watch their seats as they went off in search of a nearby meat vendor. As they made their way back to their seats, Gio finally broached the topic they’d all been thinking about.
“Even Eric lost to Hydrus. Do you guys think Jun stands a chance? I mean, he dominated that other guy,” he commented as they sat back down.
“Jun holds grudges - dude probably pissed him off. I know I’d be pissed off if I had to look at that smug mug of his,” Ryan replied, passing a shank of skewered meat to Griffin before taking a bite of his own.
“True.”
“I hope Jun can win. Hydrus looked terrifying against Eric just now,” Griffin commented, raising the skewer to his mouth.
Making his way towards his friends, Eric frowned as he heard this. Even after his talk with the healers, his loss to Hydrus was still far too fresh a wound for him to simply laugh off. Briefly contemplating whether or not to rejoin his friends for the final match, his mood quickly picked up as he saw the opportunity to surprise them.
“We talking about me?” Eric asked, appearing behind them and causing Griffin to jump in fright, nearly dropping his skewer as he rounded on his grinning friend.
“Damnit Eric, don’t sneak up on us like that,” Griffin complained.
“Sorry, were we talking about me? I heard my name.”
“Yeah, we were just talking about how Hydrus murdered you at the end there,” said Ryan with a teasing grin.
Eric rolled his eyes. Having just spent the last five minutes watching a replay of his defeat as he got healed, he was probably more familiar with the intimate details of his loss than anyone else. “I almost had him. Hydrus is seriously good. I feel he underestimated me a little early on - if he’d used his stronger skills at the start, I’d have been in trouble.”
“‘He’d have been in trouble’, he says after losing,” Griffin remarked dryly.
“Well, more trouble anyways,” Eric said with a laugh.
“What do you think Jun’s chances are?” Rob asked, turning the conversation back towards the upcoming
fight.
“Low.”
“How low?” Rob pressed.
“Hard to say. Hydrus isn’t going to take Jun lightly after what he did to Barns. He’s going to come out of the gates at full power,” Eric analyzed. “I also feel Jun might have a problem once Hydrus gets into melee range. Jun hasn’t spent much time practicing his martial arts or other melee skills in game. He’s certainly better than the average player, but that’s nowhere near good enough against Hydrus. Facing him is like facing a boss monster that can read your moves. You need to be really good just to land hits on him. Even though I got off a lot of damage while he was closing in on me, the moment we started fighting in melee range, he was doing way more damage than me,” Eric said with a shudder.
“So you don’t think Jun’s going to win?”
“I didn’t say that. But no, I feel being an archer will put him at a disadvantage against Hydrus,” Eric admitted.
“Well, I hope he wins. Someone needs to put that Hydrus douche in his place,” Ryan said with a frown. This received a chorus of agreements from the rest of the group. Conversing softly, they anxiously waited for the final match to begin.
“Mister Halfthur, the participants are ready,” a redheaded elf said, sticking her head into the announcer’s booth to inform them.
Exhaling softly, Halfthur ceased the conversation he’d been having with Wavesun as he cast the voice amplification magic on himself once more. “Alright folks, this is it. The final match of the tournament. On one side, the tyrannical leader of NRG, Hydrus! This man has rampaged through the tournament, destroying his opponents with a practiced ease. With the exception of his last fight, Hydrus has been in complete control of every match he’s fought in,” said Halfthur, introducing Hydrus as he made his way back to the stage, where he was met with a hail of boos.
“On the other side, Riptide’s last man standing will do his best to put an end to Hydrus’ journey. Shin’s had a similarly strong showing, having seemed to be in total control of every match he’s fought in. His match against Hydrus’ teammate might just have been the most one sided domination since Hydrus’ own match against Tanix Reveil back in the round of thirty-two! Please, give it up for Jun Shinzir!”
As Jun appeared on stage, the crowd slowly began to stir, as if realizing that not all hope was gone. After all, Eric might have lost, but there was still one member of Riptide left. NRG hadn’t won yet. Slowly, cheers began to fill the arena once more. Although they weren’t as clear or as strident as the chants for Eric had been, it was clear that the crowd supported Jun.
Emerging onstage once more, Jun gave the audience a wave, as if to reassure them that he would take Hydrus down.
“Jun looks confident,” Ryan observed.
“When is Jun ever not confident?” Eric retorted.
“True…”
As Jun and Hydrus squared off, Halfthur shouted for the fight to begin. Without hesitation, Hydrus charged forward, using Orc Charge right away as Jun began to loose arrows towards his charging foe. Jun’s ability to find openings in his opponent’s defenses exceeded even Eric’s, and it showed. Arrow after arrow found their way past Hydrus’ greatsword, lodging themselves in his armour as he charged.
Rather than slowing down and attempting to deflect Jun’s arrows, Hydrus sped up, ignoring the arrows as if their effect upon his healthbar was of no concern to him. As Hydrus closed in on Jun, he lowered his body, the crimson glow surrounding his feet transferring to his sword as he swung savagely towards Jun.
Jumping backwards, Jun avoided taking the brunt of the attack, his healthbar decreasing slightly as Hydrus’ blade left a shallow cut on his stomach. Not missing a beat, Jun fired an arrow at Hydrus, taking advantage of his opponent’s miss as the momentum of his swing left Hydrus wide open. Hydrus let out a roar at this, transitioning his swing into a spin.
Caught unprepared, Jun was unable to avoid the greatsword this time, as it slammed heavily into his side. Coughing up blood, he was sent tumbling across the ground, rolling to his feet as Hydrus attempted to follow up on his strike. Nocking another arrow to the bow, Jun attempted to find an opening, but Hydrus’ defense was airtight. No matter how Jun tried, he couldn’t find a way to hit Hydrus that didn’t leave himself open to a counterattack from Hydrus’ greatsword.
“Jun’s struggling,” Eric commented.
“Yeah. Hydrus isn’t letting him gain distance. His arrows are strong, but Hydrus’ greatsword is stronger,” Ryan replied.
True enough, Jun was in trouble. Hydrus stuck to him like a leech, refusing to give him an opening to inflict damage. While Jun was doing a good job at avoiding Hydrus’ strikes, that was mainly because Hydrus was doing his best to limit the openings he created. Unlike Barns who’d attacked with abandon and paid the price for it, Hydrus was using a more measured approach, slowly cornering Jun as he eliminated his options one after another.
Taking yet another glancing blow, Jun frowned. Hydrus was gradually accumulating damage against him, despite him only using basic attacks and the occasional Savage Strike. Bending low, Jun loosed an arrow at Hydrus’ leg, forcing him to use his greatsword to block. Stringing another arrow, Jun activated the skill he’d used to finish off Barns. As a golden glow appeared around the arrow, Jun fired it towards Hydrus’ chest, before he could bring his greatsword up to bare.
As the light-infused arrow struck Hydrus in the chest, he used a skill of his own, his greatsword taking on a crimson glow as it cut towards Jun. Unable to dodge the blow, Jun was forced to take the strike head on, his healthbar decreasing drastically as he tried to put distance between him and Hydrus.
Not giving Jun the chance, Hydrus pursued, his greatsword flashing in the sun as Jun’s healthbar continued to disappear. With a frustrated look, Jun fell, having managed to remove ninety percent of Hydrus’ healthbar. While it was an incredible number, a testament to the skill and perseverance Jun had shown, in the end it wasn’t enough.
“Hydrus Mortang wins. Jun Shinzir is eliminated, making Hydrus Mortang the winner of today’s tournament,” Halfthur said with a despondent voice.
Chapter 39
In the end, Hydrus had won. As Halfthur announced his victory, the audience began to boo once more; however, their hearts weren’t in it, resulting in a rather anemic jeering of the tournament winner.
Grouping up, those who had made it to the top thirty-two headed down to the stage, where Halfthur, Wavesun, and Alistair had assembled to hand out the prizes. As Jun, the final member of the top thirty-two, appeared, Alistair stepped forward to address the fighters.
“The tournament has now concluded. I’d like to thank you all for participating. Although I know you each have your own reasons for joining this tournament, in the end, it is Novanalba that will benefit from your actions tomorrow once we sweep up the goblin scourge threatening our lands. I’d like to remind you all that you are obligated to join the elite platoon. Any that don’t will be blacklisted by the Lunbrengur Militia. Those who are members will be dishonourably discharged and will find themselves discriminated against across Novanalba. We will leave from Vindammer Town tomorrow at noon. You’ve been warned,” Alistair told them stiffly.
Halfthur coughed. “Right. Thank you, Alistair. Now then, what I know you’ve all been waiting for - prizes! As we showed you earlier, there are thirty-two prizes in total. Prizes will be chosen by each of you in order of your position in the tournament. Tiebreakers will be determined by the rank of whomever defeated you. Kyp for example is third place and gets to pick ahead of Barns as he lost to Hydrus, the tournament winner, while Barns lost to Shin, who came in second. Now, I know you all really just want your prizes. So, without further ado, let me call the tournament winner, Hydrus Mortang, to the stage.”
Walking forward, Hydrus waved to the crowd, earning himself a few more jeers as he walked over towards where Wavesun, Halfthur, and Alistair were standing. Offering their hands, Alistair and Halfthur both shook Hydrus’ hand halfheartedly before directing him towards
Wavesun to select his prize.
With a flip of his wrist, a glittering arc of items erupted from the bracelet on Wavesun’s arm. With deft movements, Wavesun caught the items, somehow managing to catch each item and place it down gently before any of them could hit the ground. The items truly did seem to be worth having fought for. There was a glowing sword, a breastplate with runes engraved across its front, four different books - whether skillbooks or otherwise, Eric couldn’t tell - a mace, a spear, a bow, and many other interesting looking items.
Considering briefly, Hydrus picked the runed breastplate as his prize. With a grim smile, Wavesun offered him his hand to shake. Accepting the handshake, Hydrus’ face contorted as Wavesun pulled him in close.
“I know Alistair wants everyone to participate in the assault tomorrow. However, I’m warning you now. If I ever see you again outside the walls of Vindammer, I will kill you,” Wavesun whispered, still smiling broadly, as if he was just congratulating Hydrus on his victory.
“Doesn’t seem very noble of you,” Hydrus replied, ignoring the crushing pain in his hand as he sneered at Wavesun.
“This is your only warning - take your friends and leave Novanalba,” Wavesun said, releasing Hydrus.
Wringing his hand slightly, Hydrus returned to the group of fighters, inspecting his breastplate as he whispered with Barns and Grott.
“In second place, Jun Shinzir!” Halfthur called out.
Jun selected a skillbook with a golden cover. Looking closely, Eric could make out the image of a flickering torch emblazoned on the front cover. Wondering idly what Jun had selected, Eric was forced to put his curiosity aside as he was called up.
“Well done, Corporal Kystfyr, you’ve done Tonbura proud,” Alistair muttered as Eric shook his hand.
“Well done,” Halfthur echoed, giving Eric a firm handshake as Eric moved towards Wavesun to select his prize.
Looking over the items, Eric debated heavily on what he should take. Each item had a status window that appeared when he looked closely, offering a short description of the item. After a few moments of perusing the various items, Eric managed to narrow his selection down to three choices. The first was the glowing sword. The description showed that the sword had various enchanted properties, including an increase to the wielder’s speed and dexterity, both beneficial properties for Eric’s fighting style. The second was a spellbook with the words, “Flame Trap” emblazoned on the cover. The third was another spellbook, although this one didn’t seem to contain a spell, but rather a mana technique. The cover had no words on it, but merely an image of a wild beast rising from a wave.