Chapter 135: First rounds

 

It was the eve of the two days of intensive duels and Viv admired the result of months of training. From the brief campaign against the Hallurians to duels and physical practice at the Academy, she’d been tireless. All for the hope that it would pay off with her survival.

Her conduit and core were still at mage level because it was as much a matter of ‘arcane biology’ as it was one of inborn ability and effort. Those were the metaphysical organs that let her hold and draw mana. They only grew and developed with time, not just practice. Those placed a soft limit on how much Viv could draw at once but it was offset by her path bonus. It was because of them that a mage could not use their entire mana reserve on a single spell. Simply put, their conduits would burst, killing them on the spot. She had still made excellent progress in the span of only two years, and could hope to develop them further if she made it. The rest, well, she would have hoped that vandal would disappear. The Academy was charging her for every new door handle.

 

She had made some minimal progress of her mental stats as a side effect of complex casting, however this was a side, modest progress she had not really counted on. The fifth tier was already an incredible achievement in such a short time. It was also less important to focus on now as it would take years for her to attain the next one. The most significant progress was around the physical stats, which gained two each. She was the most proud of endurance.

 

That one had taken sleepless night of running and workouts while starving to achieve. Her body had grown temporarily lean and underfed to achieve that result, but the new threshold held many advantages. The most significant ones were improved survival against fatal wounds as well as accelerated healing, elements that would improve her chances. Magic would simply help her body function beyond the limits of what should be. Interestingly, she was now approaching the stats of a young warrior on the late second step, yet there were no doubts one would whip her with ease. She simply didn’t have the skills to back it up.

 

Her general skills showed progress in survival on account of a few short outings she had done around Helock as part of her training and athletics which generally helped her run for longer periods of time. She was pretty sure she would be a marathon gold medallist back on earth. Unfortunately, here, she was still lower than the average infantryman.

Those were her major success and sources of pride. Meditative trance meant that she could recover her mana in merely an hour or so from nearly empty, a vital skill if one were to fight several duels in a row. It was, of course, done on purpose to add to the contest’s complexity.

 

Mana mastery had progressed as well, affecting every aspect of her spellcasting from skill to efficiency to precision. Detection was also a factor. It allowed her to guess what a spell would do as it was casted, an essential skill to counter enemy offense. Acuity reflex had improved by one as well as her reflexes improved, but danger sense had not since she had never really been in danger. Her most impressive progress came from shield mastery. She had blocked so many different attacks from Sonagi over time, learned to do so without expanding too much mana, that she could now estimate how much effort she had to spend to block something. Of course, he still tried to trick her sometimes but then acuity reflex kicked in, giving her a second chance.

 

Sonagi really thought she was a frustrating foe to face.

 

The last measure of progress did not stem from her training, but from her grief. Nights were… difficult, especially since she spent a few evenings catching up on what her earthside loved ones had been up to. She had to sate her curiosity. Emeric had fortunately said little about his own life within Viv’s body, instead focusing on people she cared about. She didn’t mind. Earth Viv had married and born children but they meant nothing to her. They were someone else’s.

 

It appeared Emeric had cared. It made it even worse to Viv. She wanted to hate him freely and without nuances, a good old grudge that would end in a confrontation. Instead, Emeric had learned how to be less of a dick. Between this and his apologies, she felt slighted by someone who pretended he was good despite this heinous act. It frustrated her to no end.

 

Her mother was still alive and had gone to therapy. She had become a beekeeper in her old age, selling artisanal lavender honey at home and abroad. She was wildly successful and having a blast.

 

Her brother Damien was a law teacher in a university for talented kids from difficult backgrounds. He held many awards.

 

Her father had retired after a long career culminating as a secretary of state.

 

Everyone lived well.

 

Emeric even had a note on many of her friends, some she only remembered because he mentioned them. Her internet friends were doing well as well. Fraise had married and become a nurse just like she wanted. Gevaudan had turned out to be autistic, which she expected. Earth Viv gave him side gigs to pirate her company’s systems, paying him very well for the service which helped. He had succeeded three times.

 

It was… strange.

 

No one was missing her. They didn’t know. She was the only casualty of a game that had, in the end, benefitted everyone but her. Emeric had walked into her life and improved every aspect of it, for everyone. Better than she could have ever done with her own issues. Normal Viv didn’t have the skill and gumption to rise through the ranks to the position of general manager of a European military industry giant.

 

This brought a need for calm. Her meditation skill required her to move and that was not conducive to sleeping, so her best solution was to simply slip into the in-between.

 

It was a weird place. Moving here did not involve distance so much as thought and, for lack of a better word, context. Existence was reduced to orbs and errant streams of thoughts. A wall in the distance prevented her from moving too far from her starting point. She had examined it of course. As far as she could tell, those were the limits of the kiddie pool.

 

She did not quite like the implication.

 

Maybe the in-between hosted its own style of monsters, angler fishes gobbling souls and leaving behind the empty husks of vegetative bodies. She already had to fend off those who would kill her in the real world. Now there was a chance someone would go for her soul as well. In the meanwhile, the in-between was a nice enough place to explore and it left her feeling calm and refreshed when she woke up the next day.

Viv had never seen such a crowd except, perhaps, during a demonstration match, She had certainly not seen the arena filled this early in the afternoon. The rafters were filled with thousands of people laughing, jeering, talking, and hawking wares. The cold didn’t bother anyone with most wearing warm clothes and the rest using heated stones. From her lodge in the ‘belly’ she had a perfect view of the sands below, and the gates leading deeper inside the complex. The belly of the arena hosted contestants and had a direct path down so they could go from spectator to spectated in only a couple of minutes. Reinforced partitions separated her team from that of others, a leftover from the bloodier vendettas back when gladiators would kill each other on sight. The true lodge of the ruler faced her at the other side of the massive space, its occupants shaded by a permanent tent structures that blocked view coming out and arrows coming in. Pinpoint blazes hinted at braziers burning perfumed herb. Waiters and runners came in and out under the vigilant gaze of Helock’s elite battlemages.

 

“I heard that my father is there,” Sidjin whispered.

 

“You hadn’t seen him since…”

 

“No. He wasn’t there when I was arrested. He didn’t come to see me in jail. At all. The last time we talked was, gods, at a party? Before the— officer killed my merl friend.”

 

Viv hesitated, then squeezed Sidjin’s hand. They might not be in the best terms right now but that was no reason not to offer sympathy. She thought he might be angry or refuse but he returned the pressure. It was hard to tell where they stood with how different their cultures were.

 

“Oh, it’s about to start!” Rakan exclaimed.

 

He leaned forward in his seat to watch the first team of contestants walk in. The opening match would oppose Shaya’s team to the first of two twins. Shaya was Sidjin’s sister and one of the three real challengers, at least the way Viv could see it. The twins were an offshoot from the main branches, children of the first prince’s siblings. They did not really expect to win. Rather, their performance could lead to agreements that would benefit their family.

 

The arena’s only morbidly obese individual walked out from the main lodge. Viv recognized Deos, the master of ceremony, his already fantastic girth clad in garish raiments under a gaudy plume hat. Viv judged he was barely short of being visible from orbit.

 

“Welcome,” he said.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

 

His voice resonated strangely over the field. The sound effect was not intimate but overwhelming, dominating all other conversations in an instant. It roared and strutted. It promised violence.

 

“Welcome to the bloody games, welcome to the game of death that will decide the fate of a city! Welcome, to the Glastian successions!”

 

A thunderous din of approval answered. Deos stretched his hands.

 

“Over the next two days, princes and commoners will clash across the bloody sand for the favor of their champion under your gaze, my dearies. Spells! Blades! Scorching fire and unyielding walls, majestic life and devouring darkness will score gashes over our most ancient of fields. Two days to win a crown ladies and gentlemen. Two days… to clear the competition.”

 

Another roar, this one carrying a lust for vicarious violence.

 

“For while the champions fight at the front, the rulers scheme at the back. What matter of plot will we be seeing, my dearies? What sinister tricks will our friends deploy? I cannot wait. And without further ado, let us give a warm welcome to the first two teams! Sidna of Feroe and Shaya of Glastia!”

 

The first two to come in were the bone-clad Viziman woman from Shaya’s team and an old mage with blue robes. Viv watched the fight with middling interest. She identified the old mage as a war councilor and the bone lady as a bone witch, somewhat unsurprisingly. The duel was rather long. It was clear that the mage knew his business contrary to what Viv had expected. He almost maneuvered the witch into a corner thanks to a careful and deliberate use of blue and brown mana. The arena turned into a swamp while he remained dry and mobile but the witch found an answer. She could create and mold bone using life, black, and brown mana, something Viv judged to be impossible. Nyil once more made a mockery of basic physics. Eventually, the witch made herself long stiletto boot things to run after the mage. The battle of attrition turned to her favor and, eventually, he forfeited. The shame made his aging face crimson.

 

Viv thought he did ok. A war councilor was not a duelist.

 

The next duel opposed mostly normal mages and was unremarkable. The third pitted an arcane blade from Vizim on Shaya’s side to another from Glastia. To Viv’s moderate surprise, the twin’s mage blade won handily. He used brown mana to mold the terrain and though he did not attack often, each of his movements were precise and graceful. He was young too, a sign of clear skill. The fourth candidate proved inadequate, however, and the match ended three to one in favor of Shaya. Viv noted that the princess herself had not participated despite her martial style. She suspected only Sidjin would risk himself in the arena.

 

Deos did not wait to introduce the next duels. The first stages would all be played one after the other.

 

The following round opposed Prince Aldus’ group to the four blade mages. As a favorite of the competition, he brought a full complement of battle casters, probably elites taken from the wall. They made short work of the opposition without a single upset and the blade mages were sent packing, defeated but unhurt. The casters even went out of the way to salute their opponents.

 

As the last of them walked back to the changing room, Viv and company were walking down to the entrance.

 

“I want to tell you something,” Sidjin said.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I made you our first.”

 

Viv almost froze on the steps. The first was exactly what it implied, the unspoken leader of the fighters and their best member. She had trained against almost any style so that was not the issue, The issue was the message it sent. Sidjin presented her as his trusted second.

 

“Sidjin? You’re telling the whole world you think I’m a better duelist?”

 

“The truth is that Sonagi is a mercenary and I am not as flexible as you are.”

 

“That is not the whole truth.”

 

Sidjin looked at her, mulling over his next words.

 

“I want you to represent us because without you, there would be no competition at all. I’m aware that Rakan’s situation has dug a rift between the two of us. I do not want this to invalidate everything that happened, everything we did for each other. Be my first, please.”

 

“Why, yes of course. I just… thought we might have discussed it. I accept the gift in the spirit it was given, however.”

 

“That is the issue between us these past days. We see the spirit but we do not feel it, yes?”

 

“No, not this time. It’s a big deal. It’s almost like you’re presenting me to your father.”