How the competition started was normally with a speech from Paukena the Pumpkin Queen of Fayha, but this time around she's busy with what is going on. Then it goes on to determine your rank by fighting the monsters collected. Then fights from how you ranked in two different brackets then the winner of both fights to win the entire competition.
I was in the first group up against the monsters. Herika was the second and Ezree was off swandling money for a tour of the place and providing paid commentary since the Queen was gone.
The arena was split into three different sections with a football field radius. The stands stood higher above the dividing walls so you could watch at least two fights at once. Spectators were allowed to move around and find a free seat. Today obviously the seats weren't filled, but people still came full Fayhain's personality. All the groups had around one hundred people combined. The entire big grand competition that lasts multiple days would be finished in one day and maybe forever if the sea swallowed the city.
Heika was on the other side of the wall. It wasn't that I didn't recognize anyone.
"Oh, it's Heo?" Angel asked annoyingly.
"Yeah, thief. Don't think I forgot how you robbed me of the expensive metal!"
"Haha, what do you mean?"
"Applestone obviously! I went to Applesteel recently and found out how much applestone really is. It was in the thousands!"
"Oh you went to where I was born, haha."
"Why are you laughing?! You so clearly robbed me."
"Are you serious? Did you not know that applestone is very common but rare in weapons?"
"I can give you it back, just after this competition if you don't believe me. Actually here." He grabbed his phone from his jacket pocket and showed me his first search. It said applestone was actually dirt cheap. Hell, some dirt is more expensive than it. I scratched my head and turned to the other person I recognized. It was Lynix. The annoying girl from when we first got to Fayha.
"I saw there were only weak low level adventurers showing up for the competition this year, I didn't expect bugs too."
"Hello too, Lynix." My teeth grinded together.
"Hello bug, where's your side kick?"
"Yeah, where is Stella? On the other side?"
"I told her not to compete."
"Oh, where is she in the stands?" Angel started scanning the closest row.
"I told her to not come out with the disappearances."
"Woo-" A loud air horn initiated the beginning of the competition. "Don't drop out in the first round."
They both walked away, Lynix more skipping. They both drew weapons, Lynix the same scythe as before, Angle drew a curved sword from his hip that I didn't even notice talking to him. Both weapons were dark black and radiated power.
I summoned Paukena's sword. It was harder using the refine skill to connect the weapon back together especially with the pumpkin falling off and it being intangible. But the sword was fixed eventually. I must have gotten stronger from fighting Delusion but didn't turn the experience into magic points yet. I quickly did before the fight started feeling a rain droplet on my head.
Monsters started being brought up from the ground and let loose. Quickly overwhelming the amount of participants. I went for the closet hole, which released a horde of goblins. Too used to these guys. I out ran the group of them. I ran through and out of the horde, counting heads. These were stronger than the ones before even close to that dungeon keeper I'd argue, but I was stronger now.
One used goblin slash on me. Its speed only then out-pacing mine. It's nasty looking sword swung at me. Our blades touched, my weight threw it backwards. I threw my sword recklessly behind my back and performed the goblin slash. I blitz even faster than he went, my sword struggling to move, but pulling from behind my back and across the air in front of me. The goblin was cut with half of its body hanging off before flashing away into magic.
After the horde was another monster I had fought before. A Derstboil. This one was near the strength of the one me and Stella fought. Me and Stella. If she wasn't blocking the majority of those attacks with her shield, I would have died.
The derstboil was a yellow color similar to the last. It pounced around the arena on all four of its legs. It didn't have any human features. Only wolf ones, where they breed this monster, was far away from any real humans to kill. We saw each other, I think. The top part of its body where a head should be looked at me and then it stood up on its hind legs.
It shrieked and the small red extremities stood up on its body. It hurled itself towards me. When I swung it slid to the right and my blade passed effortlessly through the fur. It twisted its body and punched me in the right. I swung the sword, the connection of us meeting pushed my feet back in the dirt a few feet.
I swelled magic in my sword, igniting it with a blaring heat. The flame shot out five feet off the blade. I swung it down the opposite direction of its fur and instantly ignited it. I already found out that weak ones are susceptible to my fire. Must be old, smart enough to dodge to the side so my blade doesn't go against its grain. I spun the blade extinguishing the fire. The retreating flame hit the spalling body parts and finished off the derstboil. It's already so much fun.
…
Ezree's point of view
"One, two and five hundred dollars easy, heheh. And the fights haven't even-" A loud horn blew. "Oh, might as well go look down for a while. I wonder if Herika will use her glitch horn god thingy here."
I sat down overlooking both arena one and three. I used a bronchial skill to watch both fights. My four eyes were crossed watching both fights. Heo had just butchered a group of goblins. Herika was dodging attacks from a dungeon keeper. Ouuu, wow. I didn't know they could be taken away from their dungeons. Are they as strong?
Herika punched each thrown punch from the keeper. Matching blow for blow. Her hands turned red and started to bleed. The derstboil was built for melee combat. Multiple of its limbs coiled around one main limb for each arm and leg. I sure hope Herika knows how to get through this.
The skin on her hands finally ripped off completely. She staggered with pain, before matching another punch. This time the arm was destroyed from her punch, green particles rippling around her.
She flew back sliding across the ground with one hand on the floor. She flicked one hand and an axe appeared. The keeper was wailing from its lost arm. Herika swung in the air, whiffing her attack entirely. Her body distorted the space around her and she landed on the back of the keeper cutting it in half down the back.
She finished it off but kept her momentum running towards another. She threw the next monster off balance with gravity pulling them together. The monster was a fox, and a fierce one also. It stabilized itself and shot fire. Herika couldn't dodge the attack so she forced the gravity around the fox to be pushed down. Way less of the fire hit her. Only really charring her clothes. Her hair puffed up.
She didn't look like she enjoyed it. The horn she used while fighting Heo reappeared. Oh…
She twisted her axe in her hand. The fox shot more fire at her. Using her axe, Herika patted the fire away and towards the ground where it turned to magma. Herika kept spinning her axe once she was close enough she delivered the fox multiple shallow cuts. She wasn't pushing the axe all the way in for some reason. The fox became furious and clawed at Herika. Herika threw her axe down at the paw.
The fox cut down its own paw on her defending axe. It howled and just spewed as much fire at the ground as it could. It would have worked if Herika wasn't able to use gravity magic and easily dodge over the fox's fire. The frightful fox shot fire out for what felt like an hour, before stopping and looking around for Herika. Herika used that chance to increase her weight and cut the head off the fox on her way down. Oh wow. They both can fight for real. I caught Heo flicking the fire off his sword and finishing the remaining limb of the derstboil she fought.
I accurately described the fight to the people who paid me for the qualifiers. Knowing what these two are actually doing is going to fork in more cash.
"Hehehe." I started to laugh a bit before stopping myself.