Heron fingered the spear he was given when he asked for weapons. It was a solid construct made of flexible wood for the shaft, and tough metal for the head. It wasn't the Empire's collapsible spear but it was a suitable replacement. On his left arm was a buckler that was barely three inches wider than the span of his wrist, strapped tightly on his forearm. He rotated his wrist and made some test strikes with the spear, and was satisfied that the shaft didn't scrape against the buckler's edge when he slid the spearhaft across his palm.
The waiting room was bare, and he wasn't the only one inside. His supposed opponent wasn't there either, so that was fine. His match was designated to be in Arena 54, and it would start soon. Well, the exact time depended on when the fighters slated before his match finished early or not.
After a few hours of observation, he gleaned much from the fights. After examining the rules and regulations of the Arena of Challengers, he had his plan to earn gold coins to open the Gate.
The initial entry fee to fight in the arena was five silver coins, but afterwards, he was able to bet a gold coin. A victory gave him even return, but every victory afterwards in a consecutive, nonstop battle, earned him double for every round afterwards, to a limit of thirteen matches, which should pay him four thousand ninety-six gold coins. With their current funds and the results of Yuriko's hunting, it should give them enough gold.
That was the Gauntlet of Skill, where no external spells were allowed. However, before he could qualify for it, he had to win five matches in the other arenas. The fights could be won by the opponent forfeiting, becoming unconscious, or death.
No, he wasn't playing with his life. His hours in the stands told him that most combatants were not more than Magi level. Most were significantly weaker, though he had not witnessed anyone challenging the Gauntlet, so he didn't know the calibre of his foes. Still, even if he didn't reach all the way to the end, as long as he won ten fights in a row, it would be more than good enough.
Now was his debut match, though he was rather uncomfortable with his gear, or rather, lack thereof.
Gladiators, as the fighters were called, weren't allowed to wear armour, otherwise the matches would be extended unnecessarily. It was a fight of skill, after all, not of wealth. The weapons were those provided by the arena, too, though he thought he spotted a few gladiators with better gear.
At the moment, he was bare-chested and wore a conical steel cap and a pair of pants. He opted to wear boots instead of sandals since the sand annoyed him. The match coordinator had offered him a leather loincloth, but he had steadfastly refused. Ah, he could barely understand her heavily accented Wojan anyway. When he kept shaking his head, the woman huffed and stalked away.
He shrugged as he spun the spear around to familiarise himself with its length and heft. It was a bit longer than the collapsible spear, and about half as heavy. It was also a bit more fragile and wasn't at all enhanced by any kind of Arcana Weaving. Hmmm.
Heron went over to the weapons rack and took a short sword to strap on his belt, a sidearm just in case the spear broke. Although…he could layer his Anima over the weapon to protect it. It would be obvious though, and would be against the rules, wouldn't it? Besides, he'd like to advance his skill, maybe even reach for an Ennoia with weapons.
Hmm, but which weapon? He was using a spear now, but he had not forgotten his roots. His first Facet was being able to create solid air shields. He'd progressed upon that path until he reached Journeyman, and had worked with his shield throughout the long stretch of the Rumiga War.
"Fighter Heron, please enter the arena." The same woman who'd been bugging him about wearing a loincloth called out from the entrance.
Heron nodded and strolled out of the waiting room. He emerged out onto the arena floor and glanced around. The arena numbers were displayed on posts set on a corner of each small arena and he quickly found 54. By the time he reached it, his opponent arrived at the same time.
The man was clad in a loincloth and exposed his heavily muscled body, though it was covered in scales. The lizardkin warrior carried a glaive in his hands hands and his tail was flicking to and fro nervously. So nervous that when the woman called for the match to begin, the lizardkin froze for a long moment.
Heron simply took a stance, left foot forward, and left hand in the middle of the spear shaft, while his right was near the bottom. He waited for the lizardkin to come. The nervous warrior jolted, yelled out loud, and rushed him like a fool, his glaive held up over his head. As soon as he came within reach, he swung mightily overhead.
Heron sighed, sidestepped and thrust with the spear. The glaive hit the sand beneath him and sprayed his trousers with grit, the spear point striking one of the leather straps across the lizardkin's chest. He had surreptitiously covered the tip with his Anima, and the hit knocked him back several paces. The scales underneath the strap shattered and blood seeped down his scales.
Before the glaive warrior could do more than blink, Heron took a step forward and slammed the lizardkin's temple with the shaft a couple of inches below the spearhead. His foe dropped like a sack of potatoes, unconscious.
The woman referee blinked at the abrupt end, muttered angrily, and declared him the winner.
"You want another match," the woman asked, "or are you aiming for the gauntlet?"
"The latter, if possible."
"Hah! Then do you want this quick?"
"It would help."
"Alright, go back to the waiting room and I'll call you out soon."
Heron shrugged and did as the woman bid. A few of the gladiators inside eyed him warily, but he didn't mind. Instead, he practised some spear forms and wished he could fight a spear master. He normally sparred with Yuriko to improve, but he was long used to her style. Besides, now that she had her flying sword Ennoia, she was starting to get sloppy with melee. It was just that she was much stronger and faster than he was, so it wasn't too apparent.
Ahh, he should remind her, but over the journey, she had been a bit too preoccupied with whatever she was thinking about. Hmm, besides, mastery with the sword was not mastery with the spear.
Half an hour later, Heron was called out again. This time, his opponent was a bit more competent, but still outclassed by his skill, not to mention his physique. He purposely slowed himself and tried to enjoy the fight, but it seemed pointless after the first dozen exchanges. He ended up knocking the guy down and forced him to surrender with the speartip at his throat.
Even the next couple of fights were the same, and the last fight, the fifth one that would qualify him to face the Gauntlet, was easy. By then, it seemed he'd gathered a following. People in the stands were watching him and cheering. Some tossed flowers, coins, and a rare few, cloth undergarments. Really, these people.
"Congratulations," the woman referee said. Or was she a fight promoter? "You wanna work for me? I'll pay you a lot!"
"Ah, no thanks. I only need gold to travel through the portal. With my companions," Heron admitted.
"That's going to cost you, lad," the woman said. Now that he had a better look at her, and the fact that she wasn't insisting he wear a loincloth, Heron noted that her tanned face was quite comely, and her robes clung to her figure, aided by belts and some other accessories. Huh, he hadn't noticed her wearing those before.
"I know, that's why I want to challenge the Gauntlet."
"Well, you'll have to do that tomorrow. It'll take that long to set things up. Where are you staying, I'll send a runner for you."
"I'm not sure, actually. My companions headed to the Adventurers' Guildhall. I imagine an inn nearby."
"Huh, you're an adventurer?" The woman looked surprised and upset. "Why didn't you say earlier? Adventurers can't compete with gold on the line!"
"Uh…"
"Goddess! Don't say anything else, you'll cost me my winnings. It's a good thing I didn't know or I'd be held up for collusion!"
"What? You bet coins on my matches?"
"Just a little bit. Now shoo, unless you're fine going through the Gauntlet without earning anything."
"But…who would challenge it, then?" Heron asked curiously.
The woman gave him a pointed stare. "Gladiators are freemen or warslaves. I'd taken you for the former since you were dressed so shabbily." She huffed.
"Ah, well thanks for letting me know. I would have wasted my time." he grunted.
"Fine, fine. Go."
It had been a bit of a waste, Heron decided. The gladiators had not been a challenge at all. He went to the dressing room and put on his other clothes before he left. It was already midafternoon and he had no idea where to go, or where to earn money. Perhaps he should have followed Gwendith's lead and gone to the guild?
Ah, but first he cast a Sending spell aimed at Ryoko, "Where are we staying?" he asked.
"Meet Saki by the Adventurers' Guildhall by evening. She'll bring you to the house we rented."
With some time to kill, Heron wandered off to the Green Light District. The bit of exercise and the heat gave him a dry throat so he wandered over to one of the street vendors who were selling coconut water. Most of the trees growing in the city were coconut trees so he only spent a copper pence for the fruit. The vendor peeled and prepared it for him while he waited, then gave him the fruit along with a couple of sticks to peel the meat off from the inside. He gulped down the coconut water and carefully used his Anima to help him get at the meat. The sticks were barely useful.
Thirst quenched, he just wandered around until he confirmed where the guildhall was, then wandered around some more.
While he walked, he pondered what path to take. Yuriko revealed that she needed to touch another Ennoia before she advanced, so he needed to do the same lest he become stuck at the threshold.
Spear or shield? Offence or defence? Which one did his beloved need from him? She had powerful defences, and she could easily attack at range. Her melee skill, while a bit stagnant now, was sure to improve once she got past her slump. Gwendith seemed keen on copying Yuriko, too.
Ideally, he would be the shield for his beloved, and probably for friends, too. But sometimes, defence wasn't enough to turn the tide. While he knew he wasn't Yuriko's match, it galled him that he had to rely on her to defeat foes who were too powerful.
He also already touched the Ennoia of Winds, so he had to connect it to his new Ennoia. Wind spear seemed to match, but he had always used solid air to defend. Why must he choose?
"Huh. Why do I have to choose?" Heron muttered, "Can I not use both? Attack and defence at the same time? But what kind of Ennoia would it be?"
Heron nodded, but he was still far from certain. One thing he did know was that he had to fight to clear his doubts, so he might as well go through a mission to earn coins while training.