Jenn wasn't sure what to make of what they said, although she had a suspicion that the part about those in these fights getting killed wasn't as rare as they were making it out to be. Which meant that if she wasn't careful, she could get killed as well. Especially since she could see that many around her looked like they knew right where to strike in order to do the most damage, even if the weapon they had wasn't meant to do whatever it was they might have in mind.
"The test will commence with the battle royale of the fifty slaves you see before you. Though, in addition to these slaves, we'll have an assortment of others that you will also be able to bid on. Each of them will have their own appeal, just like the ones in the arena before you," the person continued, making Jenn wonder how long she might have to wait at that auction before she might learn her fate in regards to that operation. "When a slave's bone has been broken, starts to bleed from more than just a small cut, or knocked out, they will be out and not allowed to continue fighting. Any direct attempt to continue attacking them at that point will result in a swift execution for the slave engaging in such behavior. Mages are also nearby in the event of serious wounds that could turn fatal."
Especially since she couldn't say when it'd be her turn on the auction block. Although, since this was a battle royale, Jenn suspected the better they did, the later their time on the block would be.
A loud rumbling horn sounded, making Jenn wonder if it was a signal or something else. So, when the others around her reacted fast and started swinging their weapons at others, Jenn was still standing there, her weapon at the ready, while others were charging directly at her. Jenn had only a couple of seconds to react before she saw them swinging at her. She didn't think about it, so when her prism knife blocked the attack, she couldn't help but be surprised with how her blade rang and she had reacted without conscious thought.
While she wasn't as fast to react as the others had been, she still was able to raise her blade and block a strike that came from a blunted axe from her left. Jenn lifted her right foot to kick the girl in the chest, catching her off guard, while their weapons were still grinding against each other.
When the girl fell back, Jenn heard the whooshing sound of something coming through the air and ducked instinctively. She felt more than saw something go over her head, making her want to drop to the group and weep in relief that it didn't hit her.
However, she knew she'd be giving whoever attacked her a second chance at it if she did that. So she rolled to her side, not looking in the direction as that attack had come from, partly hoping someone else would engage them and distract them from her.
She didn't want to deal with that person right then. At least if she could help it.
As she tried to catch her breath, she lifted her sword to block another strike from her left, but also had to throw herself backwards as a spear was jabbed from straight in front of her, only making contact with her skin. Which let her know that if it hadn't been blunt, it would have likely made a deep cut on her chest between her breasts.
Jenn felt like the world was spinning around her, though not in the way it felt when she got dizzy. More like her mind was struggling to catch up with what was happening around her and she couldn't say for sure if she'd be able to succeed in that effort.
Part of the issue was how it felt like everyone seemed to be focusing on her. As even as she retreated from the spear, the boy who had been wielding the sword that had come in at her left moved with the girl wielding the spear, ignoring others who would have been easy for them to eliminate.
The only consolation was that they seemed to be the closest to her, from what she could see as she occasionally glanced behind her. She couldn't be sure how long she should keep this up, since she had no guarantee that her legs would outlast those chasing her, which she could count at least five behind the two closest.
However, no matter how long Jenn continued to run away, they pressed on in their pursuit of her. So, not sure what else to do, as she felt like her mind was starting to get used to what was going on around her, she reversed her course, and went straight for the two. She couldn't help but wonder if this was a mistake or not, but unable to see a better alternative, she knew she had to let the chips lie where they fell.
While she didn't expect to have a high chance of making it through this, she saw this at least as the highest chance of her surviving this chase.
The closest two were caught off guard by Jenn's sudden charge, and the one with the spear caught the hilt of Jenn's sword in her face, dropping her to the ground, blood spraying from her nose as she screamed in pain. Jenn did her best to not let that get to her, since that girl was the one who had been pursuing Jenn. Which left Jenn no alternative but to put an end to the matter.
Yet, before she could do anything to the boy with the spear, Jenn found herself surrounded. Not that she didn't expect that. It just meant that she needed to create an opening for herself. She just wished she had an idea of how to do that.
Before anything else could be done, to her, she quickly kneed the boy who had been with the girl who was now on the ground and connected her knee with his groin. While she wasn't sure if it would have the same result of putting him out of the fight like the girl, she at least knew he wouldn't be a threat for at least a few moments afterwards.
Then before she could do anything else, attacks came from all around her. Jenn gritted her teeth to try and endure the pain while dis what she could to block some of them, but as blade grazed the back of her head, she felt lights pop in her vision and she knew she was in trouble.
So, she charged a young woman who looked like she was at least a year older than Jenn, and pushed her back. When Jenn stopped moving forward, she let the young woman fall to the ground, while swinging her sword behind her.
She hadn't expected her blade to hit anything, but when she felt it collide with something, she glanced behind her and saw another girl on the ground, looking like she'd just been knocked out.
Jenn didn't let that small victory distract her from the others who seemed to be focused solely on her. Even the young woman in front of her was quickly climbing back to her feet. So, Just swung her sword and felt bone crack as her blade struck the young woman's thigh.
Jenn felt more surprised that she had the strength to do that much damage than she was at her having broken the young woman's bone.
Still, not letting herself think about what had just happened, Jenn pushed forward, not sure what else to do. She knew she couldn't let them surround her again. While she could deal with bruises that she was sure were going to appear later from most of the hits that had landed on her, she still felt her head aching from where it had been struck. The lights that had appeared in her eyes from that blow were almost gone, but she wasn't going to let it stop her.
Suddenly she saw a young woman who was having trouble fighting five opponents. One on either side of her. She looked like she was maybe two or three years older than Jenn and somehow familiar, but Jenn didn't think about that. She wasn't going to be distracted by idle thoughts.
So, while she couldn't say if this was a mistake or not, she charged in and swung her sword at the young woman's opponents who were attacking her from behind and knocked two down in quick succession. The first going down as Jenn's blade struck her back, resulting in a few popping sounds that Jenn was confident were breaking bones and the second from Jenn slamming the hilt of her sword at the base of her skull.
Jenn then put her back to the young woman, hoping she'd get the message about how Jenn thought that they should fight. Though, even if she was able to talk, she doubted it'd be an easy thing to do, given how much was going on around them.
At first it seemed to go rather well. Even with those who had been ganging up on Jenn earlier, both Jenn and the other girl were able to fend them off rather easily. In fact, Jenn was surprised at how she was able to move. Not just dodging by twisting herself, but how her feet were moving. In a way, it almost felt like a dance, and she knew precisely where to step to be the most effective.
If she had been able to move like this when she'd fought the deer-kin by herself, she doubted that she'd have had such troubles with them. She might not have gotten hit with an arrow. Though, she really didn't think it would have made much difference overall then. Especially since at that time she didn't have a weapon that she could recall.
Those who surrounded both of them were steadily getting whittled down. Jenn was starting to think that they'd be able to survive this part when she suddenly felt something hit the back of her skull from behind. Lights flared in her eyes as her shock kept her from doing anything else. As she fell, her consciousness fading, he briefly saw the young woman whom Jenn had save turn back to face the others that otherwise surrounded her.
Somehow it was that moment that Jenn realized why her face was so familiar. It wasn't even from having seen the young woman before. Rather, it was that she saw her in the dream she'd had about Beth being killed. Jenn wasn't sure if that held any significance, but what she could remember was that she thought of that young woman as a friend. Only, if they did become friends, that was still in the future.
However, as Jenn's world began to darken all around her, she saw someone swinging their sword to strike the young from behind, with force that could potentially cripple her if it strikes the wrong place, given how blunted those blades were.
So, without thinking about any consequences, aside from what might happen if she doesn't do this, Jenn immediately pulled on her magic through her focus that no one had yet commented about and created a shield of pure magic.
Whether it was too hastily done or she just wasn't that good at that kind of magic, the person's blade shattered the shield as it passed through and struck the young woman on her back. She fell, with a gash down her back where the tip of the blade had made contact.
If anything else happened after that, Jenn didn't know as darkness enveloped her entire being. While she couldn't help but wonder about what might have happened, she also felt a peace she hadn't felt in a long while. The kind of peace where nothing mattered and she didn't have any worries whatsoever.
However, like all good things, that sensation didn't last. What Jenn first became aware of was a throbbing pain on the back of her head, that seemed to encompass from the bottom of the back of her neck to the top of the back of her head. Why that was the first thing she felt, Jenn didn't care. All she cared about was how much it hurt.
The next thing she became aware of was a light shining over her. Not the sun, but rather as her eyes focused, she realized it was a lamp close to the top of a wall, making the lamp out of the way of anyone passing by it. Jenn could see someone looking down on her, but she didn't recognize them and wasn't sure if she should care who they were. Not that they stayed there long. Almost as soon as she noticed them, they walked away, out of her field of vision.
At that point, she became aware of whispers nearly. It took her a moment to make out what was being said, though she couldn't see who was talking. Even the thought of turning her head the slightest caused the pain in the back of her head to flare up and threaten to pull her under again.
"…don't know. How is anyone supposed to know if someone can use wild magic?" someone asked, sounding rather incredulous.
"Doesn't matter. Everyone knows that wild magic is random. It can't be controlled. Otherwise, why wouldn't she have created that shield earlier? Not that it did much to begin with. It shattered with the first strike and still took out that young woman," another voice added.
"It's hard to say what might be done about that," a third voice chimed in. "That entire fight seemed like it was over too soon. Shouldn't they have taken longer?"
"You know as well as I do that these are often like that," the first voice commented. "Some focus on who they think are stronger, or more of a threat, and take them out first. Then the ones in charge will pick off the others so they're the last ones standing-"
"What are you three doing?" an authoritative voice boomed interrupting the first person, making Jenn's head flare in pain from just the sound, which only added to the pain caused by her involuntary reaction to the surprise. "If you have time to chat, you have time to check on your patients. If any of these slaves die because you didn't pay attention to them, you'll have to pay for them yourselves. If you can't, well… I'm sure you'll fetch a nice price."
Jenn didn't like the sound of that, and even though she had a feeling those three would as soon as stab her in the back as talk with her, she couldn't help but feel bad for them right at that moment. It wasn't that she liked them or thought they could be potential allies, but rather she could appreciate their position. Where they were only avoiding being slaves themselves by a thin margin. Or at least Jenn assumed that they weren't slaves.
She knew she still needed to learn more about the way things were done in this world. Things that others seemed to know without being told, simply because they understood this culture where to her it was still rather foreign.
While she'd like to know how well she did, she also wanted to see Cithis and Haln. While she knew it wouldn't do anything for her current situation, and maybe even worry those two more than they should be, she couldn't help but want to hold them in her arms. To at least feel the comfort of their presence by her. Like they actually were her own children.
_
Beth wasn't sure what she had expected when she had entered the crowded stands over the arena. Hesha was with her, while Ralph, Wes, and Feon were doing their thing in the city, trying to earn more for their 'save Charlie' effort.
Beth wondered what the others would think of what she'd started calling it in her mind. She doubted they'd be very amused, but she still liked to think of it that way. Hesha and Feon might not understand why, but she was sure that Ralph and Wes would.
The fight, or test as others had referred to it, was already underway. Beth was more surprised that this was how the 'test' was conducted. Which, she'd only learned about when they'd arrived in the city a matter of hours ago.
She couldn't say what she expected to find, but if Charlie was down there, she wasn't sure if she wanted to see. Especially since Amelia's father hadn't really taught them that much self-defense. All he'd done was shown them a few maneuvers, aside from basic strikes and blocks, to try and ward off an attacker.
With this, Beth wasn't sure Charlie would survive very long at all down there. Not with what little they'd been able to do themselves. Which meant that she could only hope that Charlie wasn't in fact down there and she'd already been sold off and they'd need to just track her down.
Assuming Charlie was the girl in the rumor in the first place.
Fortunately, the 'test' had only just started. So, she was able to have a brief unobstructed view of all those participating in the 'test.' Each individual was spaced out so when they started, it was easy to make out each person.
What Beth hadn't expected was that all of them would be naked, though she tried her best to hide her surprise. She had a feeling it would make her stand out more than anything right then.
As she looked at the people starting to fight, Beth suddenly wondered if the positioning of each person down there was calculated. As the arena was rather large, easily a hundred yards or more across, though Beth wouldn't be surprised if it was twice that.