— Herdial Slayer —
A specially bred warrior. Mutated through advanced herbology developed by the Slayer's Guild to withstand monsters.
[Physique: ~100-300]
[Defense: ~100-300]
[Mana: ~10-100]
[Mind: ~20]
[Weight: ~200kg to 1000kg]
[Height: ~2m to 3m]
"Wrestling?" Hikari was amused at the suggestion.
Sheela's physique was impressive, but Hikari dwarfed it.
"Yup! You heard right."
Sheela replied confidently, hands on her hips.
"I don't know."
"Huh!? Are you doubting your master?"
"No"
"Hrmp, worry not, my good student. I have just the thing."
Sheela began channeling.
The ground around her rumbled.
Masses of sand lifted themselves off the ground in a spiral, coalescing around her.
The mass of earth grew and grew, gradually taking form until it became a golem the size of Hikari.
"There… what.. do… you… think.."
Sheela spoke through the golem's rumbling, low-pitched voice.
Hikari covered her mouth, trying her hardest not to laugh.
It was a ridiculous getup.
A stunning display of skill and mastery of her form.
But an incredibly impractical way to fight.
Not to mention the booming voice that makes it appear like the monster from a children's bedtime story.
"Not bad."
"This should make up for our difference in strength. Don't cheat and use your mana to harden your body."
Sheela pops her head out of her sand golem suit to speak normally.
"I won't"
"Good, now I'll explain the rules. The moment you touch the outside of the circle, you lose. Or if you can maintain a chokehold for five seconds, you win. The referee will make the call."
Hikari nods.
"He."
Sheela slips back into the sand golem.
The sand benders approached the center of the arena.
Moving in sync, they formed a shallow stone wall no taller than Hikari's ankles.
They would wrestle inside a tight ring.
Mana built up in the golem.
Glowing runes started appearing all over its body.
The air around its body stirred.
Hikari could feel Sheela's heart pumping beneath the thick layer of sand.
Her excitement.
The referee blew the whistle.
Sheela widened her stance, bent her knees, and took a low stance.
Hikari took her usual upright, relaxed stance, one foot in front of the other.
Gong! The referee rang the bell with a muffled hammer.
Sensing that her center of gravity was too high, Sheela stayed low and lunged towards Hikari.
Hikari twirled to one side, avoiding the brunt of her momentum.
Sheela grabbed one of Hikari's legs, dragging her along.
The sole of Hikari's foot skidded in the sand as it absorbed the force of Sheela's lunge.
Gong! The referee smashed the bell. "Half point to Hikari!"
Hikari was confused.
Then she saw the section of the shallow wall being kicked down.
"Sheesh, you dodge really fast. I thought I had you there."
"You startled me."
"He. That's the point. But you sure are slippery."
Sheela returned to her stance as the sand benders rebuilt the arena.
"Looks like I'd have to get more serious with you."
Hikari nods.
Gong! The bell rang.
Sheela lunged at Hikari again.
Hikari dodged.
Not repeating her previous mistake, she changed course and grabbed Hikari's left leg.
Hikari bent her knees, anchored on her right foot, and pushed Sheela back.
The sand golem wobbled on the arena's edge, struggling to regain its balance.
Hikari recovered her stance first and attacked, pushing Sheela out of the arena.
Gong! "One point to Hikari!"
"Man, you're good."
"I got lucky"
Sheela took her stance again.
It's subtle, but Hikari notices it's lower than before.
Gong!
Sheela hopped forward. Hikari bent down, arms extended, trying to stop her.
But she ducked her head lower, avoiding Hikari's palms and going straight for her leg.
Hikari tucked her leg back just in time, sending Sheela crashing into the sand below.
Hikari hopped toward her and crashed her bottom into her back.
"Five! Four! Three!"
The referee counted.
Sheela shrugged, trying to shake Hikari's heavy body off her.
But the giantess on top of her was too heavy.
"Gong! One point to Hikari." The round ended, and Hikari got up.
Sheela's sand golem collapses into a ball before reshaping itself back into a standing position.
"Sheesh, you really are good. I can't believe how nimble you are with that huge body."
"You too."
"Hrmp, look at you, not even bothered to take a proper stance."
Hikari scratches her cheek in embarrassment.
"Ha! Fine. Fine. Seeing how you are so clueless. You should keep your stance low so that your opponent can't easily knock you off balance. You noticed, didn't you? The moment I lunged, you still tried to bend your knees. I guess you're so good that you didn't need it, huh?"
"Oh."
Sheela took her stance.
Hikari mirrors.
The sand benders restore the ring.
Gong! Hikari braced for impact, but none came.
Instead, Sheela held her stance: forward-leaning, low center of gravity, well balanced, with no obvious weaknesses.
A tense stare-down.
Sheela shuffled her left leg.
A small, deliberate step, minimizing the temporary loss of balance.
Then she shuffled her right leg.
She gained a bit of territory.
Hikari mirrored.
The two moved closer and closer, locked in a tense stare-down.
They shuffled until they were within an elbow's reach.
Then, they clashed. Their collision sent a shockwave through the arena.
The referees raised a sand barrier to block the wave.
When the dust cleared, Hikari and Sheela were locked in the center of the arena.
A crushing force, enough to crush a steam tank's armor, built as they gradually ramped up their power to match each other.
The referee signaled to the sand benders, who scrambled to build sand mounds to soften the blow.
A mound exploded, splattering sand in all directions and creating a brief sandstorm.
Hikari was the one standing.
She breathed heavily.
Sheela's last push took its toll.
She had not had to exert herself like this in a long while.
Hikari was starting to feel as though she had been cooped up in the RazenHeir estate for too long.
"Ahh… that was a good match."
The sand moved.
Sheela dug herself out.
Her attendants brought her water.
"It was."
"That last attack. I should have known fighting you with brute strength was a bad idea. I hope this little request of mine wasn't too much."
"More."
Sheela's eyes lit up. She held her breath for a moment, then released it as if off a springboard.
"Really! Well... if you insist! I think my dear student hasn't had enough of my teachings. She still has loads to learn from me. I think some more wrestling sessions would do nicely!"
Then Sheela leaned in toward Hikari and stared her in the eye.
"You promise?"
Hikari nods.
"Good! I'll see you around then!"
Sheela turned and started to slide toward her tent.
Her cauldron was boiling.
Her meal was almost ready.
"You lost."
The sand bender flinched.
Sheela's face turned so red that the underlying tanned skin was no longer visible.
"I heard from Rey."
"Eh!? Hey, are ya really gonna rub it in? That stupid brother of mine, I'll make sure to give him a piece of my mind when I get back. Fine! I lost every round this time! It won't always be like that. Soon it will be your turn, you rotten tomato, overdue grain, burnt marshmallow!"
Even Hikari was taken aback by Sheela's barrage of positive energy.
"I didn't mean it."
Sheela took a moment to suppress her exasperation, pouting, before reluctantly replying.
"Fine, I'll do it."
The sand on the ground began to shift.
A ring of pillars rose around them, giving them privacy.
Sheela slowly buried herself into the ground.
Her kneecaps disappeared into the ground,
then her legs followed, then her hips.
Her head soon passed Hikari's kneecaps, then down to her shin.
Finally, only Sheela's head was popping out of the ground.
Her eyes were level with Hikari's bare feet.
Sand coated her skin, stuck there by her sweat.
Up close, Sheela could see the crevices between Hikari's toes stuffed with damp sand.
A foul stench filled her nostrils as the toes wriggled excitedly in front of her nose.
"Ugh! Your feet stink!"
"They do"
Hikari began a little dance with her feet, lifting one ankle at a time to tease her.
She wriggled her sand-caked toes.
Sheela winced as tiny pieces of sand, coated in her sweat, peppered her cheeks.
"Sheela lost to Hikari~."
Hikari teased.
"Sheela.. Lost to… Hikari … "
Sheela echoed. Her voice was flat.
"Hikari beat Sheela~."
"Hikari … beat… sheela… "
"Hikari won three to nothing"
"Hikari… won.. Three.. To… nothing.. "
"Hikari won three"
"Hikari… won… Three"
"Sheela lost three."
"Sheela… lost… three…"
"Sheela won nothing."
"Sheela… won… nothing…"