Osric stepped forward again.
This time he didn't hesitate.
Alice shifted lightly on her feet, preparing to circle as she had done throughout the fight.
But Osric didn't allow it.
He moved deeper into her space.
Closing the distance before she could reset the rhythm.
Alice's eyes sharpened.
She pivoted to the side, attempting to slip past him once more.
Osric followed immediately.
Another step.
Another advance.
He wasn't chasing wildly.
He was cutting off her movement.
Removing the angles she relied on.
The crowd began to murmur again as the change became obvious.
"He's not letting her move now."
Alice felt it too.
The space she normally used to dismantle opponents was shrinking.
Her next counter came faster.
A sharp jab toward his face.
Osric raised his guard and absorbed the strike.
But he didn't retreat.
His shoulder drove forward as he forced another close clash.
Alice twisted away and launched a quick kick toward his thigh.
The impact landed solidly.
Osric's leg shifted slightly.
But he stepped forward again.
Relentless.
Alice's calm expression finally tightened just slightly.
'He's forcing a brawl.'
Most fighters broke under her counters.
Osric was doing the opposite.
He was accepting the hits if it meant closing distance.
Another exchange exploded between them.
Alice struck first.
A quick combination — jab, elbow, knee.
Osric blocked the first two.
The knee struck his side, forcing the air from his lungs.
But he stayed in range.
Waiting.
Watching.
Alice moved again, preparing to slip past him and reset her spacing.
That was when Osric moved.
He stepped across her path.
Not with a punch.
But with his body.
Cutting off the angle she relied on.
Alice's eyes widened slightly.
For the first time in the fight, her movement stalled.
Only for a moment.
But it was enough.
Osric's fist shot forward.
The punch landed cleanly against her jaw.
A dull crack echoed through the arena.
Alice's body staggered sideways as her balance broke.
The crowd exploded into noise.
Osric felt a little strange.
'This is the first time I have hit a woman.'
Although it didn't feel right, Osric saw no reason to hesitate.
This was the first time that a strike hit her cleanly.
Alice tried to recover her balance, but Osric was one step ahead of her.
His fist came down at her lowered temple.
She only heard a ringing sound and collapsed to the ground.
The crowd grew even louder.
"Woahh!"
"He showed no mercy."
"Haha, that's what happens when a woman gets a big head."
"Are you stupid? She dominated him most of the fight."
"They were both amazing!"
Osric could finally catch his breath.
'I'm definitely done for tonight.'
He looked down at Alice, who was now being carried outside the ring.
'She was incredibly skilled.'
'I should look into her thoroughly when I get the information tomorrow.'
His thoughts were then interrupted.
"Well done Osric. Here's your reward."
"Thanks."
Osric didn't stick around this time.
He walked out without looking back.
As he walked out of the arena, Osric got what he was waiting for.
'Ding!'
'Nice.'
{ Challenge Completed }
+1 Agility
Close Combat (F) –> (E)
Osric immediately felt lighter as he was walking down the street.
'This is great.'
'Now that my stats are higher, I can feel the impact of them growing, more clearly.'
'And tomorrow I can test the upgrade in my close combat skill.'
Osric sighed when he thought about how busy tomorrow would be.
But he was also excited.
'Things are starting to look up.'
—
The next morning.
Osric only met up with William for a short while to talk about what happened yesterday.
He didn't have time to spar with him.
His next stop was the old library.
After giving the password to the old man again, Osric walked down to the hidden basement.
'I wonder how useful this information will be.'
Osric was a little nervous that he would spend so much money for nothing.
But it was a necessary risk.
He entered the same room again.
Both the muscular armed thug and the mysterious masked man were there again.
As soon as Osric sat down, the masked man took a big book out of his bag.
"Hello again. I have your information here. It is all in this book. Now all I need is the remaining 6 silver."
Osric reluctantly handed over the money.
The masked man handed over the book and Osric opened it quickly.
The first thing that he noticed inside the thick black book, was the fresh ink on the paper.
He was surprised by how organized it all looked.
'They have categorized all fighters by ranks inside their brackets, and further categorized them by multiple factors like age, experience and groups they belong to.'
'This will surely be helpful.'
Osric then skipped to the pages further back.
'There it is.'
'Alice.'
Osric was now convinced and satisfied.
"This is good. Thanks."
The masked man smiled behind his mask.
"Of course. It's what we do. If you ever need something else, don't hesitate to visit us again."
Osric didn't stick around after confirming what he had to.
'Let's go to the inn and study this thing until tonight.'
Finding recruits would still be difficult even with all this information.
There were no drawings of the fighters inside, so he had to rely on their descriptions and names alone.
'This is going to be exhausting.'
A lot of things would change for Osric and his party in this last month of winter.