I let them sleep for the night since they were both exhausted. As I lay down on my very large bed, I had a few thoughts.
Even though my body didn't require sleep, I actually wanted to sleep. The events of the day were more than I bargained for, and it was only going to get worse from there on out.
That's why I needed my pawns to level up faster. Now that both of them had sufficient power, it'd serve my ends well. It seemed it'd be interesting, their fighting each other.
"At least I have something to look forward to tomorrow," I smiled.
It was going to be entertaining.
"Root" I called.
"Better make the appropriate preparation before tomorrow" I said to myself, giving root certain commands and specifications, relevant to the next day's fight.
After I was done, I shut down most of my body functions, resulting in sleep. The next day was going to be a big day after all.
[The Next Day]
"Both of you, take your positions. You begin on my mark" I said to the two slaves who stood opposite each other, ready to fight.
They both had determined looks on their faces, which meant that I could expect an interesting match.
"Begin!" I declared.
[Earlier That day]
That morning, after waking and freshening up, I decided upon the venue for the combat session.
"A pocket dimension?" Shamac asked me.
"Yeah" I told him.
I explained to them about where they would fight.
There was no way they could fight anywhere in the city. Plus, I couldn't transport them anywhere far away with Hex, and even if I could, I was currently avoiding using Hex for now.
"We'll use a spot within root" I said to them.
They still looked confused, and so I to explained further.
"Root contains a near infinite space. However, not every space within it is a treasury. There are other spaces and sections within it. For example, where I placed that snotty royal, Phobio in." I explained.
He should be enjoying himself quite well where I put him, or maybe not. Anyhow, he'd be useful to me later on, so his stay in root wouldn't be for long.
"So, we'll be entering, your ring?" Talia asked, looking unsure about the whole idea.
"That's one way to put it. Well then, off you go!" I said.
"Root" I said.
I dragged the two of them into root, placing them in one of its fields which I had designed the night before. Since I knew both of their races, I needed to compensate for their strength and weaknesses and ensure they were not handicapped in order for them to fight at full strength.
I designed the place to be filled with nothing but earth and grass for miles, I also made it dark out, making a false moon and dark clouds, a perfect replica of the night. Of course, I made enough lightings with the stars, so there should be no problem with visibility. That way, Shamac wouldn't be at a disadvantage, since he was only able to use his power well in the night.
As for Talia, fairies are a race naturally blessed with Aspects, allowing them to communicate with and coax the Aspects in their immediate surrounding. Mostly they communicate with nature, that is, the earth. Putting those things into consideration, I designed the space they were in.
"Woah" Talia said in awe, looking around her.
"One would think we're actually in the real world," Shamac muttered.
"It depends on what you actually consider to be real." I said, also appearing within root myself.
"I just realized this, but, if you're here, does it mean there's no one with the ring currently? How are we supposed to get out then?" Talia said, looking worried.
"Relax. This is merely a projection of myself. My physical body is still with the ring." I said.
"O-Oh." Talia said with an awkward laugh.
I smiled at her sheepishness, looking at both Shamac and her.
"As I was saying. This is a 'real' world as well. It is a world within a vast pocket dimension. This means what generally applies in the world you know is present here. The concept of pain, exhaustion. Even Aspects. Everything has been perfectly mimicked. With that being said, I don't want you to hold back. In the case of any severe injury I am here, so knock yourselves out." I said to the both of them.
They both nodded, having a look of resolve on their faces.
While they were both trying their hardest to hide it, I knew that the both of them felt threatened by the presence of the other. Talia felt that Shamac would become my new favorite, since he seemed to be more useful, powerful and subservient. While Shamac, who initially didn't seem to care for Talia, has recently started feeling threatened by her. Due the vast amount of power she gained yesterday, she may become more of a valuable asset than he.
How funny.
While I said that this was a combat session for them to show me their abilities, I knew it had a different meaning to them. This was a competition, and the result of this battle would determine who the more useful slave was. Well, this worked to my benefit anyway. This meant that they wouldn't hold back.
Time for some entertainment.
[The Present]
Shamac materialized his shadow, causing it to rise. The blackness hardened and turned into sharp and spiky extensions. He launched the sharp edges at Talia, who quickly dodged them. She did a back flip, dodging the barrage of attacks that came her way.
I was surprised. I didn't know she was this agile.
"How about this then?" Shamac said.
He increased the numbers of the sharp edges, sending them in all of Talia's direction, cornering her. She saw the shadows approach her in a swift manner. Left, right, forward, behind. They were coming from all directions.
"No you don't" She said.
Suddenly, the ground quaked. The earth moved, defending her from all sides. The shadows collided with the hard earth, causing it to shatter. However, this gave her enough leeway to avoid the shadow attacks.
Shamac looked taken aback by the sudden development, but quickly regained his composure.
"So, you can control earth" He said to her.
"That's not all I can do" She said, raising her right hand which glowed green.
Suddenly, plants sprouted from the ground, forming tentacle-like leaves. They surrounded her, dancing around her in a coordinated fashion. This way, it looked similar to Shamac's shadows.
"I'll be able to handle those troublesome shadows with this" She said.
"You think those can defend you?" Shamac asked, slightly irritated.
To compare his shadows to some overgrown plants, how insulting.
He launched his shadows once again in her direction. However, immediately they got close enough, the tall vines around Talia parried them, countering the force of the shadows with their own.
"W-Wha...?" Shamac looked surprise.
"Did you really think they were normal plants?" Talia smiled triumphantly.
"I've coated them with my Aspect, making them as strong as steel. They are also able to immediately sense danger and react to it. None of your attacks will reach me" She said.
Shamac gritted his teeth. If what Talia said was true. It meant that her vines were a perfect counter to his shadows. He refused to accept that.
Launching more of his bladed shadows at her, he sent them flying at even higher speed than usual. However, each of them were dealt with by Talia's enhanced plants. The plants and shadows slapped at each other, attacking and defending together. They both seemed to be equally matched, however, as they attacked each other, Shamac found himself at a disadvantage.
"My plants are more than your shadows" Talia declared.
She launched some of her plant whips at Shamac, who was defenseless, thanks to sending his shadows after her. His eyes widened as he quickly recalled his shadow back to himself. He barely made it in time, as the shadows immediately parried the attacks of the plants, causing them to withdraw back to Talia.
"Tch, almost got you there" Talia said in disappointment.
"I see." Shamac said, with a dark undertone.
"Looks like I need to take you more seriously." He added.
"Form: Spider" He muttered.
Immediately, his shadows hardened and curved, producing sharp ends. He brought out 8 of the shadow limbs and glared at Talia.
"Let's try this again, shall we?" He said.
Launching the crooked and pointed shadows to Talia, he had a wide grin on his face. Once again, Talia launched her plants to counter the shadows. However, as they made contact, her plants got battered, causing them to get destroyed.
"What?" Talia let out in surprise.
The shadows meanwhile, were still approaching Talia at high speed. To compensate, Talia quickly brought out more vines to stop the shadows. The plants rushed towards the shadows, but the result was the same. They got ripped apart, no match for the shadows.
H-How?" She panicked.
She hurriedly dashed back, creating more distance between her and Shamac. The spider limbs chased after her, but she relentlessly dodged them. The impact they made on the ground, and the destruction they caused around her was immense.
"W-What are those things made of?" She thought within herself.
As she created more distance, the shadows stopped abruptly, unable to reach her.
"Tch" Shamac let out.
The drawback from using the form: Spider, was distance. While it was incredibly denser and more powerful, its range wasn't as far as his regular shadows and other forms.
"Return" He called them back.
Talia breathed heavily, sweat dripping from her face. If not that the shadows stopped unexpectedly, she would have been hit. And judging from the density of the shadows, able to destroy even her plants which were as hard as steel, she was right to have avoided them.
So far, her entire body functions were enhanced by the Aspect essence she absorbed. Even though most of the essence had been sealed off, since she couldn't handle it, she was still able to draw out more power from within the pool within her. Thanks to the cocoon's effects, she had 8 seals within her, due to the 8 extra wings essence within her, and this limited her powers and allowed her to moderately use them.
However, it was clear that her base form won't be able to beat Shamac. In that case.
"I should be able to handle the power of one more wing" She said to herself.
"First Seal break"
Immediately, a massive surge of energy built up within her, generating a bright light and pressure that wasn't present before. Shamac covered his eyes in order not to be blinded by the brightness, and raised his shadow as a defense against the surge of energy which Talia released.
After a moment, the light dimmed, causing Shamac to look to the direction of Talia in order to resume his fight. However, what he saw made him shocked beyond words.
"Y-You..." His mouth opened in surprise.
Her fairy wings flapped slowly, as she flew, raised above the earth. Her brightly colored white wings glowed in radiance as she smiled, looking down to see Shamac.
"Ah, I've missed this view. Everything below me. Even you, Shamac" She said to him as she watched him from her elevated position.
He couldn't reply her, but he had a frown on his face. His shadows wouldn't reach her from her newfound position and due to her mobility.
"Looks like I can handle this much after all." She thought to herself with a relieved look.
She then turned to Shamac, who looked above him with a glare on his face.
"Let's finish this" She smiled, regaining confidence.
After so long, she finally regained her ability to fly. Of course she would be excited.
"I'll test my newly acquired powers on you" She declaredFrom where I sat and watched, I smiled at the sight before me.
Looked like the fight had just begun.