I can never tire of the sudden decisions of both Markus and Dwarven, as I find myself stuck inside an arena facing Elanor. The elf's face shares the exact dry look painted on my face while forcing a fraudulent smile. He did not want to have a part of this frolicsomeness, but here we are contending each other until one of us concedes.
After Cece had jumped and attacked me, the two officials, Markus and Draven, yet again thought of something ludicrous.
"Why don't we begin the magic lessons at once!" The teensy man said while stroking his dishevelled beard, thinking to himself he had made the right verdict.
My body immediately jolts backwards, hitting a nerve at the carelessness of the words from this dwarf. Therese, who also has the same look, hides behind Claire while intensely shaking her head from left to right.
"Leave me out of this!" She said, but her efforts and words were all hollow to the eyes of the King.
"The mock battle will begin in a minute!" Markus' words echo through the field while cheering from both sides on top of the theatre.
"Elanor," I call out, waving the shiny stick that Grer lent to me. "Please be gentle!"
The scraggy elf raises a brow, unsure of what to react to the hidden meaning behind my phrase. I swear I disgusted the elf when I had declared that, but let us leave that trivial matter for next time.
"I suppose your gaiety about this battle," Elanor retorted while gradually prepping his quiver and bow. "A stick against a wooden recurve. This might be an elementary squabble." while letting out a tedious sigh.
As if on command, Markus fires a shock wave above the air, signalling the start of our match. With the loud noise coming from afar, my body hurriedly runs to the side.
'I need to study his movements,' I told myself while surveying the areas he might hide. However, much to my dismay, Elanor stands his ground and pulls the strand of his arrow. After a split second, the dart launches towards my direction.
Miraculously, my body bends over and eludes the incoming bolt. I presume these instincts heightened my senses compared from my preceding life because of the status points that I have.
By the time my feet land on the ground, another set of arrows flies in my direction, this time occupying a much larger space than earlier.
'I cannot dodge it!' my entire head screams while examining the four darts drawing closely in front of me.
Suddenly, a block of water conjures on my fore and deflects the hovering and speedy shafts. Each of the projectiles falls off on the ground, making Elanor and the audience vividly surprised.
"Interesting," the long-eared elf utters while arranging his shafts once more, this time including six more bolts on the string.
"Eat this, goblin!" He shouts and fires the rapid arrows with no reluctance.
I focus my body and materialise a puddle of water beneath my feet, activating my skill 'Water Jet' for the time being. Paying more attention to the darts, I notice that the hexadic shafts propel in different directions as if controlled by someone else. Averting my gaze, I discern Elanor staring carefully at me with a smirk curling upwards on his lips.
"I see what you did there!" I spoke and returned his snicker and rushed rearwards to the wall.
Sensing the arrows nearly approaching me, I hastily cut my speed and changed my course of direction, taking a quick turn on my left. The darts follow suit and curve at the west at the same time.
Using the speed that I have and the water jet on my feet, I put my body into a full stop and maintain my stability, mid-air, with the help of my skill. Afterwards, my figure abruptly shifts in a different direction and forces myself to drift over to my right.
Confused, the arrows hurdles in an alley loop and eventually crash against each other from their sense of direction. Some shafts that could not swerve at their flanks rammed against the soil, breaking them into miniature twigs.
Gliding again, I pursue my enemy at a great rate and aim my stick at his arms. I wanted to deal at least minimal damage to the great elf representative while taking any experience that I can during a battle.
Fluttering towards my target, I notice Elanor has yet to move a muscle, let alone rile up another set of bolts. I do not know whether the condition that I have favoured me or the sly elf had set up a trap.
Pushing through my limits, I continue soaring at a tremendous speed and slash the target with my melee weapon. At my side, I notice a sinister figure dash through my shadow, but I pay it no mind and pursue my strike.
Alas, I have thought wrong.
My slash ended up hitting nothing but air, disrupting my balance, and caused me to trip over to the side. I glanced back and saw the petite figure of the elf pulling the string of his quiver and discharging a separate arrow.
"He who draws the last attack shall win," Elanor whispered while taking one last look at my petty self.
Everything happens in an instant as I witness the shaft pierce through my chest, creating a pond of blood on the ground. My body violently choked due to the internal damage hitting my lungs and my arteries near my heart. At that moment, I thought I had to kiss my life goodbye. After all, I do not deserve to live in this world for a second time.
I gently close my eyes and accept my fate and recall the kind and merry memories I have had with Markus and the others.
"Therese?" The last and prominent image that I saw was Therese's exalted smile, excited to see me like the time when I first rescued her.
A searing pain intensifies around my chest, not because of the arrow stuck between my ribs, but having to leave this realm and Therese behind.
"Get up," For a second, I thought that my mind had hallucinated and heard a recognizable voice calling out my attention.
"You're still alive," The mysterious sound escalates. "I am tired of this job of mine,"
I slowly peered my eyes open and saw the uninterested look of the elf that had defeated me with a deadly yet slick trick behind his sleeves. Who would have known that a bow outmanoeuvred me in close quarters while intentionally sticking to his post for the entire mock-battle?
"How?" I asked him a question.
"It was nothing, really. I noticed you were not paying attention to your surroundings, and I had to take that advantage." He replied while returning to the seat where Markus and the others are waiting for his presence. I, who would still take part in the next course of the battle, stay on the grounds and patiently wait for the following contestants.
"What a remarkable display of power, I must say!" Draven states while pounding the large barrel filled with brew on the floor.
"Our next competitors will be Grer and Izz paired up against Cece, the crimson fox!" Despite their constant arguments, Draven announces Cece's name together with her adventurer title. People in this world, according to Markus, have their own accomplishments. Some would receive bountiful rewards by completing such quests in the adventure guild, which I have yet to pay a visit inside the Kingdom and gain crowns such as 'dragon slayer' or 'hero' to boost their status. Only the adventurer guild can give such medals to their members and gain immense strength, such as the status points that I have.
Grer is the only person-goblin that has a thrilled look on his face when tasked to battle against Cece, the mature fox lady that has two watermelons for her breasts. Every goblin's instincts would thirst for sexual interactions with any beautiful women they could find, such as Cece. Hence, his eagerness to mate is beyond the roof. I can simply see his 'thing' peeking over to Cece's direction, wanting to say hi.
Disgusting.
"Do we need to do this?" Izz asks while anxiously looking back and forth to Markus' direction and Cece's aggressive stance. Despite her bulky look, she was still a soft goblin at heart that does not want to hurt anyone with no accountable reason. However, because of some unforeseen circumstances of offering some extravagant sweets after the match, she reluctantly agreed to spar with the rest.
"Start!" Markus sounds the alarm, making both team's advance at once.
Grer, who was the fastest person who I have seen, instantly rushes behind the demi-human and reveals his set of pointed wooden sticks.
Cece, who has the same idea, blinks out and moves away from the arena.
But, as we further watch the battle, Grer seems to have the upper hand to race against time.
"That goblin is faster than he seems." Markus remarks alongside Elanor, who was also watching beside him.
Therese snuck her head out from the arms of her mother and perceived the fight from there. She was also admirable that Therese did not escape the stadium in spite of the countless chances she could have had during the battle of the goblins.
"Wow," The princess lets out her disbelief that the humorous glutton for a goblin exceeds everyone's expectation in terms of speed.
Cece knew all along that some people excel more than she could, but was not aware that a mere green sprite would be the first one to achieve her acknowledgement. Regardless of her blinking ability, which consumes a gigantic amount of arcane in her arsenal, she was no match against the raw haste of the male goblin.
Yet, somehow, Grer cannot land a strike against her body. Exasperated, Grer impedes all of his senses and uncontrollably lashes out bombarding attacks at the sleek fox. However, each of his strikes, even now, keeps hitting her afterimage.
"Why aren't my sticks landing!" Grer glowers at her whilst continuously spreading his attacks, this time trying an unorthodox move.
The hideous goblin throws three of his sticks on the arena nearest to the battlefield. He then uses the range of his branch to settle the fight there with a plan at the back of his mind.
Curious, Cece allows his preparations and waits for him to do something out of the ordinary.
After aligning all the hazel poles on the ground, Grer's speed enhances three times than before and grants him the ability to teleport to the sticks' present location.
[Congratulations! Your party member Grer! unlocked a new skill]
The system interrupts my view, showing a new prowess that Grer had recently invented.
[Shadow step lvl 1] {Arcane consumption 5 per melee weapon}
Unlock skill!
-allows the user to increase his/her speed in a limited time or as long as one of the 'blades' of the user stands (15 seconds duration). It grants the user the ability to teleport himself/herself to the designated place where the player placed the sticks.
{Maximum weapons for relocation (3)}
In the end, his efforts did not matter as Cece counterfeited the impeccable expertise and karate chops Grer's head. Her hands instantly knock off the dexterous goblin, making Grer unable to fight.
Izz, who could not catch up to their movements, suddenly feels chills around her spine the moment she sees her brother's body finally collapse on the floor.
Cece, hoping to end the battle, flickers at Izz's flank and mimics the way she chopped Grer out of the arena. However, the moment Cece's hands hit the neck of Izz, a deafening crack resounds through the arena, making everyone speechless in the setting.
"Please don't hurt me," The green titan sprite utters while twisting her arm and aims to punch the deft fox. "I don't want to hurt you."
Biting the edge of her lips, Cece holds her grimace inside, not wanting to show any weakness in front of her enemies. "Neither do I, kid." She said while letting her arm to rest freely on the side.
"A broken hand," I commented, and paid attention to Cece's condition of what had truly happened during the event.
"The crimson fox wasn't able to damage Izz," added by the elf while nodding to himself how terrifying the match could have become during a war.
Markus continues to watch the arena, carefully studying each of their movements for improvements. Elanor had said that Markus knew exactly the strengths and flaws of every martial art he saw. Thus, making him a formidable enemy in the front lines.
Just as the battle should have begun, Izz suddenly plummets on the ground, immobile, akin to the other goblin. It was just then we had realised that the attack Cece had launched was enough to make her tough body unconscious in return for a broken arm.
Whilst holding her right hand, Cece raises her left palm and secures victory over the two goblins. Markus, the announcer, states the winner and immediately calls for any herbs that can help Cece heal her wounds.
'Healing magic isn't a thing in this world' I assume to myself, noticing that potions and herbs were the only items they consume when they attain such injuries.