novelraw Chapter 6-13
Chapter 6-13
“Kerner, you tell me – is a dozen missing people a joke to you?”
“Sheeeit! DV, my man, you know that ain’t what I’m saying! Go ahead and tell the listeners what you’re working on!”
(loud sigh)
“Yeah yeah, fine. The night of February 4th a group of a dozen, two Tier 3s and ten in Tier 2, just fucking vanished on the streets of Nine. You’re probably thinking that shit happens all the time, right?
“You’d be wrong. Sure, bodies turn up every Wasted day in Nine. But this group is just gone. No bodies, no witnesses, nothing. Poof.”
- DJ Demophon Kerner with guest DV, on K-RAD LA, May 4th, System Year 453
Zaire was the next to be called down to the sand, before H’ruk had finished venting his anger at the Archer. I gave him a smack and told him to get busy cheering for the Earth Mage instead, and he begrudgingly complied. Zaire and his opponent both had dark blue robes, but the similarity in their looks ended there.
Clarice’s were heavily embroidered with silver designs, and even her leather armor components had a very thin layer of metal stuck to them, giving them a deceptive metallic look. From seeing her fight in Melee Combat though, I knew it wasn’t much sturdier than regular leather. I also knew that if there was anyone in our class who was worse in hand-to-hand than Zaire, it was his opponent.
Zaire’s robes were thicker, rougher, and his dark leather armor unadorned with any designs other than the Guild logo from his badge. He looked as calm as ever, though surely he too was worried about what kind of surprises Clarice might have in store for him.
crack!
The moment the signal sounded, Zaire summoned his staff and pointed it at the ground in front of him. I watched as he cast Earth Wall, creating a barrier at an angle between him and Clarice. He ducked behind it just in time to dodge her first firebolt, then placed another wall so that it formed a ‘V’ shape with the point angled towards the Fire Mage.
Then he crouched low, exposing only his head and a bit of his shoulders, with his staff resting on the wall. Two more firebolts scorched his protection, but as far as I could see from behind him they didn’t seem to do any damage to the sturdy wall. It was easy to forget how effective the walls were against an opponent of his own Level, since I’d seen so many bigger and stronger monsters break through them.
Clarice couldn’t intentionally target his head, and the twin walls protected his sides as well as his front, so she was forced to start running towards him. She was smart enough to realize that her only chance was to get to point-blank range where the four foot high walls couldn’t shield him.
A single spike was enough to take down her barrier, and then we found out where her investment in gear had gone as four more were stopped by a shimmering shield. Zaire had gotten much better at anticipating where to cast against a moving target, and Clarice lacked the reflexes or Dexterity to dodge while at a full sprint. Instead, she trusted her protection and tried to charge straight through.
It seemed like her gamble was going to pay off as she closed the distance, but my manaborn friend was ready. I knew he had to be nearly out of focus as his staff disappeared and he dropped into a low crouch, pressing his back to the wall with his hands ready. It was a gamble that paid off as Clarice’s reckless charge ended with her skidding to a halt right at the wall, thrusting the tip of her staff over as she looked down.
The Earth Mage’s waiting hands closed on her staff and he pulled hard. Fire splashed on the sand past him as he turned, struggling to wrench the weapon out of the much smaller Fire Mage’s hands. Clarice managed to cast again and again, at least one of the Spells slamming into Zaire’s barrier as he failed to keep the dangerous tip pointed away from himself.
Zaire got his feet set a moment later and put every pound of his size advantage to work. With a scream of rage, Clarise stored her staff just before Zaire tore it out of her hands. She stumbled back, trying to find some distance to summon it again. I shouted my approval as Zaire leapt over the wall and tackled her, their combined momentum carrying them to the ground with the Earth Mage on top.
I’d learned back in Sunland that if two equally competent – or in this case, equally incompetent – fighters grappled, the one who was bigger and stronger usually won. She thrashed uselessly below him, slapping and punching at his barrier. I wished I could see my friend’s face as first one hand, then the other, closed around the brunette’s slender neck.
I imagined his golden eyes looking down on the rich shitstain pinned beneath him, ineffectually trying to punch at his ribs with one hand. Her other scrambled for her belt dagger, but Zaire’s thigh had it pinned against her side. She couldn’t reach his face thanks to his longer arms, and her attempts to claw at his forearms and hands were defeated by her own leather gloves.
It took a surprisingly long time for the Earth Mage to choke Clarice unconscious, and my team and I cheered wholeheartedly all the way. As Thompson called a halt to the fight, I reminded myself to always stay on Zaire’s good side. My friend might be a terrible grappler, but he had heart. It was easy to forget sometimes that beneath his calm exterior was a will of steel and Earth.
We met him at the top of the stairs with cheers and hugs, and a small, relieved smile broke through his control. It only lasted for a moment, however, as H’ruk crushed him in an embrace that drove the air from his lungs. Once the brief celebration was over, it was time for the next match.
G’hala was the last one left, besides me. She strode down the stairs confidently, seemingly comfortable with the attention, as Wolf placed the dueling collar on her. Standing on the far side of the sand, her dwarven opponent looked tiny by comparison.
We’d speculated on why Gullen had chosen the large arena, since they were both melee fighters, and concluded that he had some kind of ranged attack planned. We had no idea exactly what it was going to be, however, so G’hala intended to charge him and close the distance as soon as possible.
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She hadn't mastered any Spells yet, not having seen the need until she got the wand. So while she could cast Lightning Bolt, it was somewhat slow and not entirely reliable - a terrible choice for a duel.
Just as Marta had, the Defender waited until they’d both joined Thompson’s Squad before he revealed his secret. A bandolier of throwing axes appeared in his hand and he slung it over his shoulder. The instant the fight started, he snatched the first one out of its holster and hurled it at the onrushing Shaman.
G’hala batted the first axe out of the air with her spear, but another was right behind it. She dodged at the last possible moment, her barrier flickering as it caught a bit of the blow. The third axe curved slightly in mid-air, hammering directly into her barrier, and the fourth one slipped past her block as the homing arc deceived her. Her barrier shattered, the axe grazing her arm and drawing a bright line of blood down the green skin.
She had covered two-thirds of the distance now, but the dwarf was circling to the side, forcing her to slow down as she turned. G’hala took the next axe straight into the meat of her left forearm. It sliced deep, actually sticking into the bone, and she staggered momentarily. Gullen’s final axe glanced off her upper arm, cutting deep into the limb as she used it to shield her body.
I was so tense I could barely breathe, but my friend wouldn’t let her wounds stop her. Her opponent finally summoned his shield and mace as she came to a halt about fifteen feet from him, blood streaming from her arm. Her spear vanished for a moment, and she reached up with her right hand and ripped the axe free, then hurled it at the dwarf so hard it seemed to tear through the air.
It took a moment for me to realize that her bellow hadn’t been a wordless challenge. Oh fuck, she just used Balance on him, since they’re in the same Squad right now! But what about…
My glazed flicked to Thompson, but she gave no indication anything was wrong. Gullen, however, reacted very obviously. The thrown axe smashed into his shield just before it fell from his suddenly badly-cut left arm. The crowd watched in amazement as the fight went from completely one-sided to dead even in an instant. I was sure most of them had no idea what had just happened.
With both fighters down to a single functional arm, G’hala used her huge range advantage to great effect. Her spear would be far too heavy for me to use with one hand, but the orc’s immense natural strength let her compensate. She thrust again and again, making it impossible for Gullen to get close to her, then mixed in a few brutal spinning cuts. The momentum of her body turning gave her strikes tremendous power even with just one hand on the shaft.
One of the whirling strikes powered right through his hastily-raised mace and smashed into his right shoulder. His plate armor bent under the impact and his weapon went flying through the air. A moment later, she spun the other direction, her spear blurring as it cut the air. The dwarf ducked, trying to get underneath the arc of her strike, but he’d been stunned from the previous impact a moment too long.
His dodge was late, and the blade of the Shaman’s spear smashed directly into his head, a red light flaring around him as the dueling collar activated. The powerful enchantment stopped her blow so suddenly that the blade shattered, leaving the dwarf standing there in shock. G’hala looked at the jagged end of the thick wood shaft for just a moment, then drew it back and thrust directly into his chest. The blow sent him staggering back with a visible dent in his chestplate.
The dwarf scrambled towards his mace, but he had no chance against G’hala’s legs, which were twice as long as his. She battered him with more quarterstaff-like blows until he finally collapsed, at least one arm obviously broken.
As the signal to end the fight blared out, the Shaman stalked to the center of the arena, raising her broken spear with a deafening shout of triumph. Cheers exploded from our team and much of the crowd and she basked in the attention for a moment before Thompson’s voice cut the celebration short.
“The match is over! Recruit G’hala violated the rules by using a Skill that targeted a member of the audience, therefore this fight is a draw!”
This time it was our team that erupted in shocked anger. As the crowd turned to her in surprise, not understanding what had happened, the Head Instructor gave a curt explanation.
“Recruit G’hala’s Skill transferred part of her injury to her opponent, and attempted to transfer it to me as well. This violates the rule against injuring a bystander! The result is a draw!”
We hurled a torrent of creative cursing at her – but were at least smart enough to keep it to the Comms where she couldn’t hear us. Most of the crowd was on our side now though, seeing how the other team was trying to buy their wins with fancy equipment we couldn’t match. Listening to the angry mutterings from the students around us took at least a small part of the sting out of Thompson’s decision.
So far my team had officially won two fights, with two draws and a loss. I wanted to count G’hala’s fight as a win, but Raylan had lost unfair and square before Marta had gone too far. That made it three wins and two losses in my mind. But to me, the most important fight was still the one against Yuri. My entire Squad wanted him to suffer after what he’d done to both Tara and me. The walk back to the small pit felt far longer than I remembered.
I could feel my heart racing as I strode down the stairs to the sandy floor of the arena. The roaring of the crowd faded into a blur as I stared with loathing at the black-armored, black-haired, black-hearted asshole across the sand from me. He was wearing his usual gold embossed black leather, but had on steel boots that I didn’t recognize.
Squad Invite: Kiara Thompson invites you to join her Squad
I accepted the invitation as Wolf fastened the dueling collar around my neck. Just like the training ones, the thick leather fit snugly, constantly reminding me of its presence while not quite interfering with my breathing. As I stared down the spoiled rich Assassin facing me, I had no idea what items he would pull out – but he didn’t know my strategy either.
I hadn’t shown anyone at the school my infusion, other than Wolf – in private. Even the orcs hadn’t seen it in action, but now it was time to reveal that little secret. I was going to find out if my gun, Levels, and forty feet of distance would even the playing field against Yuri’s obscene wealth and scumbaggery. Scumbaggery is a word, right? Whatever. Let’s get fucking this started already!
Yuri Kalmár