{Author's note: any notes that aren't in these brackets {} aren't mine. If you're confused, read the second mini drama of Day 4. It's titled Cain's Dilemma}
"Wait." Cain said firmly, his voice echoing throughout the colosseum. Diana smirked again, about to make a snarky comment but stopped immediately once she saw the size of the portal that opened up behind Cain. It was a circular boi, with a radius of roughly 4 meters. Cain sent some of his mana in and began transmuting the stone inside into various components at once. Within a few minutes, a recliner rose from the portal which closed quickly after.
Diana stared at Cain in bewilderment and slight frustration. He just wasted a few minutes for a chair? Cain sat down in it and analyzed his creation. 'Hmm… pretty close to what I'm used to. Had to use real leather to keep the efficiency high and the stuffing wasn't done perfectly. Everything else seems to be good though.' Cain is snapped out of his thoughts when he hears Diana's outcry.
"Fight me without your spirits if you're a man!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, unsheathing her fire sword and pointing it at Cain. He stared at her, completely befuddled. "What does being a man have to do with wielding spirits? Whatever, I wasn't planning on using them for this anyways except for this recliner." Cain replied, leaning back and rocking back and forth.
The audience broke out in laughter, some stared in shock, others looked at the recliner with envy and curiosity. Diana's fury knew no bounds at that moment. Underneath the eyes of tens of thousands of people, being drowned by their guffaws, she felt extreme ridicule and embarrassment, despite not being the target of any of it.
Her grip tightened on the fire sword as she lunged straight towards Cain, aiming for his head. The distance closed within a few seconds thanks to the aide of channeling mana throughout her legs. When the tip of the sword was roughly a meter in front of Cain's head, he bent down and pulled the lever on the side of the recliner up.
The sword impaled the recliner, slightly singing the leather and almost lighting the stuffing on fire. If it wasn't for Cain quickly using the mana in his mana zone to isolate the sword from the recliner, then it would've gone up in flames.
The moment the sword impaled the recliner was the moment Cain lifted up on the lever and the foot of the recliner shot up. Diana mistook this action for a sudden attack and quickly retreated, leaving her sword inside Cain's chair.
Cain lifts the lever completely up and leans back, propping his feet up on the new foot rest that came out. As he leaned back, he tilted his head and neck slightly to his left so that the sword was on the right side of his face. 'Is it because Rex is merging with my soul that the heat from this sword is barely noticeable?' Cain used his mana zone to quickly sink the sword into the recliner, positioning it so the hilt would be behind his head and the flat edge of the blade near his back. Once it was devoured by his chair, he moved his head back to where it should've been.
---Dms: Cain and Bob--- (9ms)
Cain: How do I say this…
Cain: Can you create two portals to separate the sword into two segments? Have the lower segment be parallel to my lower body.
Bob: So you want me to make a hinge? Didn't you say you wouldn't use our powers?
Cain: Yep. It's either this or I bend the sword so it fits.
Cain: The seat warmer takes precedent.
Bob: A valid reason.
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---Dms: Cain and Rex--- (4011ms)
Rex: no pleaseee…. Let me enjoy the duel with no work…
Cain: ...I haven't even said anything yet.
Rex: It's instinct…
Cain: I just need you to check what temp the sword is at right now.
Rex: Fine…
<4 seconds later>
Rex: it's a good sword, roughly 200°F without any mana or inscriptions active to power it up.
Cain: Thanks.
Rex: That's all? :beg:
Cain: For now…
Rex: :Cry pain:
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A small flame detached from Cain's left arm and sneakily went inside the recliner. It circled about the edge of the hilt and the blade as two portals were created 2/3rds down the blade, towards the tip; the latter third being moved to under Cain. The flame dissipated after 2 seconds and the sword was covered in a layer of mana to regulate the heat to prevent lighting anything on fire. The small flame was what Rex used to measure the temp of the sword.
Roughly a minute passed since Diana thrust the sword into the recliner. During this minute she was staring at Cain's chair that seemed to have eaten her sword. However, something else was bugging her at the moment. 'I missed…? How? That bum doesn't even have a hint of mana yet he dodged an attack that B-rankers can't even see…' She attempts to comprehend how Cain managed to perfectly dodge her attack, refusing to accept the bitter truth that Cain actually had the ability to. Doing so would only confirm that despite having mana, he is better than her.
"Why don't you get off that… weird contraption… and fight like a man!" Diana hollers at Cain, wary of his recliner. In her mind, it had to be because of this weird chair that he was able to dodge her attack. Cain looked at her like one would look at a nonsensical child. "Why don't you go get me some food like a woman?" His reply silenced the crowd momentarily before they started roaring with laughter.
---Dms: Dresil and Cain--- (10ms)
Dresil: Don't you think that was too far?
Cain: So she can holler about me not fighting like a man but I can't say she should cook like a woman?
Dresil: …You'll break her mind at this point.
Cain: Anyways, where did you put the remote?
Dresil: The remote? Oh… hehe
Dresil: Did you check inside the chair?
Cain: Ooh, good point.
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Cain turned around inside his chair while Diana was still processing what he said and overcoming the humiliation. He put his arm inside the crack of the chair and gathered mana to create a TV remote with everything except the electronics inside. Since the remote is only going to be used as a prop and have nowhere to connect to, making the electronics would be pointless. To keep the buttons from sinking inside the casing, tiny springs were placed under them.
Cain flipped around and sat in the chair properly. Diana was raving insults and trash talking, attempting to get Cain to leave his recliner. He crossed his legs and lifted his arm, pointing the remote at Diana. Seeing his laidback actions made her furious, but she was also cautious of the unknown object in his hand. She attempted to insult his pride, the one thing she knew that most men wouldn't tolerate. "Stop being a coward and--"
"And mute." Cain pressed a button on the remote and a magic circle that cancels all sound appeared over Diana's mouth. "Finally… some peace and quiet." Cain leaned all the way back and relaxed, completely forgetting that this was a duel. Diana was left there flapping her jaw and trying to articulate words, yet not a peep could be heard. The audience was once again stunned.
In their eyes, Cain used an artifact just to silence someone, something that not even nobles could afford the luxury of, not to mention the question if an artifact that exists merely to silence someone. They were clammed-up, dumbfounded, unflappable, astounded, amazed, and any other words that exist for this situation. It was just… an immaculate moment.
Well, everyone was speechless except for Dresil and the party. They were enjoying the show with some nice snacks and popcorn. Unfortunately they didn't have soda since Cain was busy having fun and Dresil didn't have time to perfect transmuting liquid with mana.
Diana had never been so embarrassed in her life. It didn't matter if it was Cain's intention or if the audience was even directing anything at her. She wouldn't be able to overcome the shame of being played around with in front of nearly 100,000 people for a long time. Perhaps if she didn't care about appearances and reputation, and actually trained like a normal adventurer, things would be different.
The shame and embarrassment continuously built up, the audience's gazes seemed to be focused only at her. Her shame built into frustration which led to rage. Diana unsheathed her wind sword and swung it in a wide vertical arc, producing a wind blade. "Take my strike if you dare!" Although there were no sounds, it was evident what she was trying to say.
The fluctuations in the mana and Diana's sudden movement dragged the reluctant Cain from his relaxation. He just stared at the oncoming wind blade cutting a path through the arena, debating whether or not he should just leave it there or get rid of it. A sudden idea struck his mind, but he quickly erased it to prevent Dresil from finding out; she'd never approve of this. Cain lowered the lever, consequently lowering his foot rest, and left the recliner.
He slowly walked up to the blade, each step drawing suspense from the audience. Four empty bags of popcorn were at the party's feet and Rex was being used to cook 2 more while they ate the same amount. Most of the audience leaned forward, anticipating every second with excitement; many audience members felt knees in their backs and complained about the sudden nudge.
When the wind blade was about 2 meters away from him he lifted his left hand to the side and said, "Stop…" The wind blade instantly stopped in its tracks, confusing some of the audience. Before they could register that Cain put his left hand out to the side instead of in front of him, he said "Hammer time." A hammer materialized near his left hand and Cain caught it the next second.
Every single member of the audience was stunned. Silence echoed throughout the arena… except for the laughter of Dresil, Rex, Bob and some other people. They were the only ones who could've gotten this reference to a song from Earth. Cain noticed the extra laughter and immediately added a special note on their tags.
Although the crescent blade of wind appeared to be at a standstill, it was slowly moving a few millimeters per second. Cain didn't want to risk such an interesting specimen disappearing if it stopped moving completely. He knelt down to inspect the blade of wind up close, his actions once again silencing the crowd.
'It appears to be made of wind attributed mana that's flowing in different directions constantly…' Cain looked at the hammer in his hand, then at the blade, then back at the hammer. He tossed the hammer through the side of the blade out of curiosity; his mana zone catching it on the other side and bringing it back to his hands.
He grabbed the hammer while standing up, inspecting what was left of it. The wooden handle was shredded to bits and laid scattered on the floor. The metal head was covered in deep gashes coming from multiple directions, barely being held together by the remaining metal and mana zone. 'Interesting, I wonder how it fares against cutting flesh…'
Cain dispersed the metal head into mana and lifted his right sleeve over his shoulder and attempted to deactivate all mana reinforcement in a 1 centimeter wide gap on his upper arm, just below his shoulder. However he ended up deactivating it in a 5 centimeter strip and it faded outwards; the depth for both instances was the entire arm. After ensuring that the reinforcement was deactivated, he cut off all sensation to his right arm.
Cain walked forward with his right arm parallel to the ground; the wind blade sliced it completely once it made contact and as Cain continued to walk forward. His arm was caught by the mana zone and most of the blood was isolated with mana nets, preventing contaminants from entering. Cain still allowed the blood to flow out from the wound to prevent any unnecessary suspicion that his arm was a fake.
Note: This happened immediately after his arm was completely cut off, before it fell even a millimeter.
---Dms: Cain and Dresil--- (8ms)
Dresil: CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dresil: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!!!!!
Cain: Hmm? Just experimenting with some stuff.
Dresil: Don't
Dresil: You
Dresil: Ever
Dresil: Use
Dresil: Yourself
Dresil: As
Dresil: The
Dresil: Subject
Dresil: Again!!!!
Cain: Ok, ok… I'll put my arm back on.
Dresil: :Rage:
Dresil: That's not the point!
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The entire audience was too shocked to even be upset. Diana, who was about to make another move, was frozen in place by his brazzen act. Veronica dropped her popcorn and almost yelled in fright and rage. In fact, everyone was itching to yell at Cain for chopping his own arm off. Who in their right mind would do that?
Before they could say anything however, Cain walked backwards and stood in front of the blade as his blood returned to his shoulder and his arm was lifted to its original place. His muscles, skin, and even the bone healed almost instantly. Cain fixed the nerves in his right arm, allowing the senses to send signals again.
He felt a dull pain, similar to getting a fracture, from where the cut originated. Cain inspected the area and found the bone wasn't completely healed, but still in the bone remodeling phase. He swung his arm in a multitude of directions and even stretched it out some. During this time, Dresil was calming Veronica down and reassuring the party members that this was planned.
'Huh… Guess I need to work on that technique still. The veins, muscles, and skin are all perfect though. Nerves need some work, but eh, I can do that later. The magic circles on my skin were maintained for a little bit using a lot of mana from the mana zone, despite being broken. All in all… a pretty successful experiment.'
Cain smiled slightly and immediately perfected the healing of his upper arm; the nerves needed some touching up, but it would pose no problems for the next month. His smile sent chills through everyone's spines. To them, Cain was no longer human. Veronica and the other party members were finally calmed down during this time. Diana was starting to shake lightly in fear of this… being.. before her.
Cain lifted his right hand towards the wind blade, seemingly trying to grab it. Veronica stared at Dresil while sweating slightly and her breathing starting to rush. Seeing that there was no reaction from Dresil, Veronica assumed this was also another part of Cain's plans and calmed down somewhat. Her eyes remained fixated on Cain's arm, not daring to blink fearing that she might miss something.
"Let's end this, shall we?" Cain states while grasping the crescent blade. He used his mana zone to disperse it completely, but to the spectators it looked like he just shattered it with his hand, the same one that was just cut off. Too many things were happening all at once for Diana, and with Cain's last statement she thought it would be better for her reputation to put up a fight instead of surrendering immediately.
Diana lunged at Cain the moment the blade was dispersed. Cain also did the same, however his speed was vastly different. Within fractions of a second, he was already in Diana's personal space, his right fist closing in on her face. The ground beneath where he stood cracked and the wind bellowed outwards.
---Group Chat: Cain, Dresil, Bob and Rex--- (12ms)
Dresil: *sends image*
Rex: *sends image*
Bob: *sends image*
Cain: Pffft, can't even fight seriously with you guys here.
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Due to being on the sudden receiving end of memes, Cain laughed slightly; his fist immediately stopping centimeters from Diana's face. The wind brought from his punch blew her back several meters; the force of the wind even shaking the barriers around the arena slightly.
'This should be enough of a warning to potential enemies right? Oooh, the barrier changed somewhat, is something going to break?' Cain tried his best to recover from the memes while analyzing the changes in the barrier. Those memes were just too perfectly timed and fit the situation so well. It didn't help that Cain was trying not to seem psychotic for laughing seemingly out of nowhere.
During Cain's attempted recovery, Diana landed and tumbled on the ground for a good meter. She sat her sore body up and stared at Cain in disbelief. Despite being an A-rank adventurer, all she ever did was rely on her magic swords and thus only trained her body to the minimum. Even then, she had been undefeated among the A-rankers she fought. (Note: she only fought 3 out of the hundred or so in the guild)
Yet, low and behold, a man with supposedly 0 mana strong armed her into a defeat with merely his physical strength. And his punch didn't even make contact with her. It didn't help that Diana mistook Cain's examination of the barrier behind her to be him staring back at her. And so Diana's nonsensical thoughts continued, her cheeks blushing profusely.
The hairs on the back of Cain's neck stood on end, an indication that only came when he detected roaches while sleeping. In other words, something unpleasant was about to happen. He looked at Diana and instantly realized what was going on through her head. 'No pleasee…. Why is she blushing… heck no. GET ME OUT OF HEREEEE.'
---Group Chat: Cain, Dresil, Bob and Rex--- (11ms)
Cain: *sends image*
Cain: Bob, I need a portal, asap.
Bob: Where to?
Cain: Anywhere but here.
Dresil: Master, you still need to go with Maddison and get your card updated.
Cain: Oh ye, that's right. Tell her I'll be waiting at the guild then. Bob, send me there pleaseeee.
Cain: Also put the recliner in a storage dimension somewhere.
Bob: Understood.
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A portal opened up behind Cain and he immediately went in after dispersing Diana's mute. "Wai--" The surprise that her voice was back caused enough of a hesitation to allow Cain to escape. Another portal swallowed the recliner during this time. Dresil coordinated with Bob to send a clone of hers to Maddison and update her on Cain's plans. Maddison takes this opportunity to inform Dresil that the Dean wants to meet him.
Maddison fled through the exit to get to the Dean as soon as possible and update him on Cain's whereabouts. Another receptionist appeared from where Maddison left; her job was to record the finances, audience count, and manage the vendors of the colosseum. If she had an official title it would be Colosseum General Manager.
It was quite a stressful job, especially during moments like these when the audience count unexpectedly soared. Thus she was known to be quite rough on the edges and strict. The second receptionist picked up the microphone Maddison dropped and announced: "Let's wrap it up, people. Oh right, for any dimwits out there, the victor is Cain!"
Shortly after, the audience filed out of the colosseum while Dresil bid farewell to the party and left through a portal; the mini Bob and Rex dispersed shortly before. Maddison arrived at the Dean's seat on one of the upper platforms around this moment. She informed him of where Cain was and that he agreed to meet them. The Dean sighed in relief; the meeting was quite rushed due to the urgency so he was afraid Cain would decline.
"Well, it looks like this where we part ways, Rick." The king beside Alarick, the Dean of the Adventurer's Guild, offered a handshake. Alarick left his chair and accepted the handshake. "It looks like we won't be able to meet each other for a while, Your Majesty."
"Oh, come on, Rick. We've known each other since we were shitting our pants. There's no need for the formalities." The king chuckled slightly remembering the good times. "One of the only places I can completely relax and not have to deal with any of the noble's bullshit is by your side." The king sighs slightly. Those nobles really were a pain in the ass.
"My King! Please watch your language, you're still a king." His trusted attendant and personal guard admonished him. "How are you even here Mace? I would imagine the Royal Family has a lot to do with the upcoming invasion." Alarick started to pack his things while asking this question, his curiosity finally reaching the peak.
"Oh I just tossed the work to my attendants once I heard you were coming to watch a ranking duel in person. I've got to say, this was quite interesting. That fellow might play an active role in the upcoming invasion." The king also gathered his things and prepared to leave. The Dean and the king continued to talk while exiting the colosseum. Alarick informed the king of his plans and meeting with Cain during this moment.