The crowd was losing their minds over the back and forth between Righty, Lefty, and Icarus.
The chant 'Dance with him! Dance with him!' began to ring out all over the station as the spectators found themselves absorbed in the battle.
Lefty and Righty ignored the commotion, choosing instead to focus themselves entirely on the opponent before them. Knowing that if they made a single mistake, it would likely be their last.
Icarus stood ready, his spear held in both hands, his feet shoulder-width apart and knees bent. It seemed a very traditional stance, but the truth was it was the stance with the most options available to it.
Attacking and defending together was the hallmark of the Spear Sovereign combat system in which Icarus trained. And while the tip of the spear was the most lethal the goal of the combat system was not the fastest kills at the expense of safety. No, this system was far crueler than that.
It flowed endlessly and seamlessly between attack and defense and oftentimes would change between the two mid-strike. An example would be the seamless transition from pinning Lefty's sword into a spinning spear sweep to deflect Righty, ending on a spinning back kick aimed at Lefty's head.
All of which happened within 1.5 seconds one form flowing into the other. Facing off against Icarus was like facing off against the tide. It might not take you out all at once but the relentless and unyielding nature of its force would eventually brake you down.
As Icarus waited for the two men to act his face never lost its smile. He was truly enjoying himself for the first time. Even when he took vengeance on what's his name he didn't feel this good. And fortunately, Lefty and Righty didn't make him wait too long for the fight to begin again in earnest.
Performing a similar move to Icarus the two men launched themselves at him with frightening speed. Their trajectories form a sort of X with Icarus in the crosshairs.
They had performed this pincer move on many other opponents before and none of them had an effective answer for it aside from dodging the blow entirely. There once was a man who attempted to block their attacks, but so synchronous were the blows that there was no time delay to take advantage of. One would have to block both of them at once to be able to stop it, and the force and skill required to do so was immense.
That was why what happened next caused a deep sense of fear to be born in both of their minds.
Icarus stood still, smiling at the two men as they rapidly closed in on him. Just before their blades could reach him Icarus spun his spear clockwise so quickly neither of them could see it accurately.
All they could feel was their momentum being swallowed up and stifled before they came to a dead stop before Icarus, Their blades now crossed with Icarus' spear in a strange three-way knot.
When Icarus had spun his weapon he was able to strike both swords simultaneously, the head of the spear striking Righty's sword while the but of the spear struck Lefty's. So precise was Icarus' technique that he was able to draw both blades towards the center point and lock them in place against the haft of his spear in an X position, similar to if one was wielding two swords and desired to block an overhead strike.
Icarus applied a cross-leverage force on the blades to keep them locked together and against his spear by continuing to exert both downward and rotational force. After bringing both men to a dead stop Icarus savagely headbutted Righty causing blood to spray from the man's nose as he tumbled backward letting go of his sword as he fell.
With Righty no longer holding on to his blade the locking force was broken as it no longer had the proper leverage. So Icarus continued to rotate his body around the axis of his left leg, causing his right leg to be brought forward and around in a strange parabola with his heel striking Lefty across the face.
The blow caused Lefty to do a front twist flip and land on his back nearly knocking the wind out of him. But thankfully he was able to retain his grip on his blade which he used to strike against Icarus' ankles but missed as Icarus did a simple back step to avoid the blow.
Heel kicking himself to a standing position Lefty quickly kicked Righty's fallen blade backward where Righty was able to collect it. Righty didn't bother to try and stem the flow of blood from his nose, instead, his eyes glinted with steely focus intent on returning the favor.
Both men realized that Icarus' skill was far beyond any they had previously fought. He was the first one able to actually stop their pincer attack and even counter once he did so. Moving to stand side by side the two men readied themselves for another attack, this time choosing to approach slowly instead of rushing in headfirst.
Icarus allowed them to approach feeling the thrill of a good fight for the first time against a real opponent. The sparring bot back at the compound didn't count in his book, and not just because he got his but kicked by it nearly every day.
Once within range, Lefty and Righty engaged in a series of exchanges with Icarus that could only be described as cinematic. Icarus wielded the spear with unparalleled skill deflecting each and every strike sent his way, meanwhile being able to counterattack with his feet and head landing several solid blows causing both men to be covered in bruises and small fractures.
Towards the end, Icarus was even able to use a question mark kick to hook his foot behind the neck of Lefty and drag his face into the ground while he used the tip of his spear to strike Righty's sword arm causing a deep puncture wound that bled like a fountain.
Lefty had the presence of mind to attempt to hack at Icarus' feet while he kissed the ground forcing Icarus to retreat, but deep in his heart, he knew the fight was over.
Both he and his companion were covered in wounds, exhausted, and coming up quickly on the expiration of their talent's activation time. They had been fighting Icarus for what seemed like hours even though in truth it was only about 15 minutes.
Looking at the two men so obviously defeated left a bittersweet taste in Icarus' mouth. He had been thoroughly enjoying the fight, the two men had come very close to injuring him on multiple occasions but his training and advanced techniques were just too much for the men to over come.
Raising to his full height Icarus saluted the two men with his fist over his heart. A gesture of respect for the two men who finally gave him what he was craving. "Thank you, gentlemen." He said softly but loud enough to be heard. "Thank you for dancing with me. I pray you find success in your future endeavors."
The words had scarcely left his lips before he shot forward once more like an arrow loosed from a bow. Despite the intense battle in which the three men engaged Icarus seemed to be nearly unaffected by it.
The higher one's attributes climb the more resilient the body is, and the quicker it recovers. With Icarus' 10.0 vitality score, his body was already superhuman in terms of recovery and stamina. Not to mention the 10.0 control score was every bit about stamina conservation as it was strength utilization.
The two men before him only had a score of 5.0 in each of those attributes meaning they were simply outclassed, and could not endure the continuous expenditure of energy such a high-level fight required. That being the case the two were unable to react in time when Icarus shot forward for the final blow.
The crowd was on the edge of their seats wondering if this would be the end for the two men who had fought so valiantly.
*WHACK!!*
Both men collapsed instantly as Icarus appeared behind the duo and struck them in the back of the head with the shaft of his spear. Looking at the now unconscious bodies of Lefty and Righty Icarus felt a swell of melancholy. "I had so easily killed those weaker than me when challenged with murderous intent. I wonder why I am unable to kill these two when they also had attacked me with intent to kill."
Icarus was left to ponder the implications while the crowd chanted his name, and shortly thereafter the end of the 5th round was called as the final 10 from this batch had emerged victorious.
Icarus' batch was the last of the 10 to finish so with his group now completed the top 100 rank 1 gladiators were now selected. They were brought together on a central platform after the arena blocks went away.
Standing before the millions of spectators Icarus felt a swell of pride that he had made it this far. 'I did it...mom...dad...Gaius...I really did it.' His eyes grew misty as he thought of his late parents, he considered Gaius as a second father figure as the man had taken him in and given him a home when he had nothing.
At this moment he felt like their sacrifices finally had some meaning, he proved beyond a doubt that they weren't wrong to put their faith in him. And he would give his all to continue to prove them right for the rest of his life.
It took a few minutes for the crowd to settle down enough for the Consul to be able to speak.
"Congratulations gladiators!" He began, his portly belly making waves as he shouted to be heard. "You have proven your mettle in a gauntlet the likes of which few have ever survived. You have shed blood with honor and brought glory to the gods and Rome. But now comes the final test." He paused here for dramatic effect, attempting to raise his own public image by being a good speaker, but the whiny quality in his voice made it impossible to listen to him without being annoyed. And the crowd found itself simply wishing the man would get to the frakin point and move on.
"Each of you will be given a seed number which will represent your overall performance so far, and your prospective performance going forward. Those with seed numbers 100 and 99 will fight the first elimination match beginning in 1 hour. So please rest well, and once you return remember what you fight for. You fight for honor...you fight for glory!.. you fight for the gods!!. YOU FIGHT FOR ROME!!!"
As expected the crowd erupted into wild cheers when the Consuls speech finished. As much for its effect of heating their blood, as their happiness the speech was finally over.
Returning to their respective waiting rooms each of the remaining gladiators began to rest and recuperate in various fashions. Icarus for example simply chose to meditate and cycle his vitality in accordance with his control training. Doing so always seemed to calm him down and restore his energy.
It was during this meditation that he received a system message that brought a deep frown to his otherwise handsome face.
*Icarus originare Lupus, you have been assigned the seed number 85. Please continue to fight honorably.*
'Only 85?' Icarus was fuming, no one had so much as scratched him the whole time. Jaw set and blood pumping Icarus was chomping at the bit to show them just how much they were underestimating him. 'We'll just see who's seed frakin 85!!'