A Dragon's Curiosity

“Finally, it’s time for the advertised fight.

Remember to pay close attention, both combatants have reached fourth rank with aura and are known as very skilled with their respective weapons.

This is a great chance to broaden your horizons and experience what knights that surmounted the first great divide are capable of when they exert their strength.”

Tyne Pinewood dropped the stories of the past and ever so slightly straightened his posture to pay attention to the pit.

He had planned to take the two students to see this fight from the beginning, the storytime and previous fights were merely a way to kill time until the real highlight of the show began.

A confrontation between fourth rank warriors barely qualified for a peak combatant such as the [Eternal Warrior] to pay attention to them.

Compared to magicians, who could unleash their spells right from the first rank of their mana cultivation, nearly all fighters relied on body movement and close range skills to transform their aura into combat strength.

Once they passed the first great divide in cultivation, warriors gained the ability to project their aura out of their bodies, diversifying their techniques and granting a basic energy shield due to blasting raw aura against incoming projectiles, although it was highly inefficient without proper defensive techniques.

Spectating such a fight was bound to be helpful to the young ones he looked after.

“Did your friend make it out of the arena safely? Fifty life and death fights must have been quite dangerous and there can always be accidents.”

Aaren was not quite ready yet to let the story go and asked a follow up question, which made both Nisha and their teacher smile unintentionally.

“Of course, he could not have passed on his stories to me if he became another set of bleached bones in the bloodstained combat pits.

He did leave behind an ear, two fingers and part of his hair there, the priest said that too much time passed to recover those injuries.

So he looks slightly strange, but he always joked that at least his little brother survived the pits, otherwise he might have just jumped from the highest tower he could find.”

Tyne Pinewood guffawed under his breath and did not mind the question being a little redundant, while Aaren clenched his knees together and suddenly looked unwell.

Nisha had no idea what the last sentence was implying, but she had no time to ask for clarification because the crowd of spectators that left earlier to collect their winnings or place bets on the upcoming fights hurriedly returned.

The biggest fight of the day was about to begin.

“Sers and Seras, and all the other folks, are you ready for the coming event?

It’s an injustice to all arena enthusiasts and the esteemed knights that are willing to demonstrate their techniques and strength to us to call this a mere fight!”

Hyping up the spectators, the announcer went all out and shouted out loud despite the amplification magic array on his table.

Nevertheless, the man was a professional at his job and read the atmosphere of the arena perfectly, riling up the cheering crowd into a roaring storm of cheers.

The arena offered various benefits to attract higher ranked warriors and magicians to partake in the Arena League, but most of the knights living in Leandar had one reason or the other to not appear in the arena for the entertainment of the masses.

Nobles with a title higher than baron would disdain the compensation offered for the fighters, while court mages and knights part of an order did not lack training partners at the same rank as themselves.

Adventurers were split on the opinion regarding show fights, some disdained them as useless pretending, while others did take the opportunity to compete with pure technique against others.

As a result, the arena did not host a battle between cultivators above the third rank frequently, making this event all the more precious.

“Without further ado, let me introduce the esteemed guests that accepted the arena’s invitation!

On the left side, please welcome a frequent guest, as well as a frequent victor!

Give us a round of applause for Ser Felippe, who is fighting to defend his ranking this time around.”

It was unnecessary for the announcer to keep prodding the audience for more reactions, the stands already jumped to their feet and chanted the name of the knight.

“Slice and Dice! Slice and Dice! Slice and Dice!”

The chanting made the wood beneath the feet of the two students and their instructor vibrate.

“Why are they yelling that name? Isn’t he called Felippe? Is it his nickname?”

Aaren wondered about the discrepancy.

Normally, only very famous or extremely nefarious individuals deserved an informal title like that, as the public sentiment had to agree on it.

Those who did not meet the standard for obtaining a moniker, yet gave themselves one anyway often ended up as the target of ridicule.

“The arena likes to give their fighters a laber, similar to my own nickname.

Based on the way I fight, my staying power is extremely high for extended periods of time.

Hence, my teammates jokingly called me an undead, always moving my sword.

Eventually, the comments leaked out and my title became [Eternal Warrior] afterwards.

Most of the fighters here can get a moniker if they win some fights or have a unique style, but they’re more or less limited to arena spectators.”

Tyne Pinewood did not give much credit to those self created names, without the power to back them up, it was all hollow and empty.

Even with the amplification equipment, the announcer had to wait until the crowd calmed down a little bit, otherwise his voice would have been lost in the fanatic cheering.

“And opposite of him, we have a recent newcomer that took the pit by the storm!

A beautiful, yet dangerous flower. Let’s welcome her together, Elizabeth Silvercloud!

Within a scant few matches, she has risen through the ranks and is ready to fight for a place at the top!”

Although the response was not quite as fanatic, and the young lady entering the pit through the gate had not yet earned her own moniker, the cheering was not much lower than it was for Ser Felippe.

Since both fighters entered the pit, the announcer only reminded the crowd several times to pay close attention and some of the usual phrases to heat up the undecided individuals and convince them to put down a bet.

Nisha also focused on the combatants and forgot the remaining questions she had about Tyne’s friend and his career in the arena.

Ser Felippe was the typical light armored warrior. He had a mix of leather and chain armor, the metal chains reinforcing his vulnerable areas and the leather allowed for greater ease of movement.

The reduced weight of the leather armor also allowed faster movement, explaining his moniker Slice and Dice.

He focused on speedy movements and rapid attacks with his two shortswords.

As an experienced arena fighter, he played to the crowd and waved his hands to acknowledge his fans and admirers.

Every time he turned towards a direction and did a short little bow, the cheers exploded again and heated up the atmosphere.

Based on Felippe’s raised fists and his mannerisms, the man was quite clearly used to such displays and learned how to play to the spectator’s expectations.

Slung across his bags, one longer and one shorter longsword rattled against each other while he walked towards the centre of the pit.

Opposite of the gate he entered from, a similar iron lattice fell down after Sera Elizabeth Silvercloud set foot into the pit.

Dust and sand swirled in the wind as the pretty young woman moved towards the middle of the arena, ready to meet her adversary.

In her hands, Sera Elizabeth carried a delicate silver bow made from an unknown material.

The weapon could not have been bigger than three handwidths, making it a tiny piece of artwork than a real threat.

Nevertheless, the lady coming from the Silvercloud house was not to be underestimated.

From her past records, the small bow was not to be underestimated, especially since her performance so far had almost only wins, with a scant few losses when the Sera had not elevated to the fourth aura rank yet.

Looking around placidly, the lady did not play to the crowd like her opponent or acknowledged the cheers welcoming her.

Her eyes always judged the conditions that might influence the battle, the ground, her foe and other small factors.

Once her eyes landed on Ser Felippe, her gaze never strayed from him, locking on him like a snake poised to strike in front of its prey.

Nevertheless, the disdainful and cold treatment enticed some of the crowd to cheer even harder, a truly puzzling reaction.

Stopping around twenty steps apart, the combatants met each other for battle.

Felippe unsheathed his weapons and smirked as his eyes wandered up and down along the figure of the woman opposite of him.

Seeing that the anticipated fight was about to begin and the confrontation already started, the crowd quieted down and focused on the combat pit.

Sera Elizabeth’s eyes chilled even further at the wanton way her opponent let his eyes linger over her figure, but she did not give in to his provocation.

All his transgressions would only fuel her combat strength either as anger or sweet vindication when she shot him full of arrows like a pincushion.

Keeping her bow in the left hand, the lady reached for the small quiver attached to her belt on her right upper leg.

Similar to the small silver bow, the arrows were coated in a metallic sheen and matched the size of the weapon.

Although their modest size made them look unassuming and more or less like toys, the Sera was still rather imposing with an arrow knocked on the string of her bow.

Felippe could not get enough from leering at the woman alone and took a step forward.

Staying true to his arena persona, he cocked his eyebrow and taunted his opponent.

“Are you trying to make it to the upper ranks of the league?

I can tell you that it’s still too early for you after you ranked up just recently, try again when you trained for a while.

But if you joined me in private for a … discussion, hehe, I would not mind sharing the benefits of a top ranker with you.”

Despite the rather sleazy words, the spectators still cheered and supported the renowned arena fighter, the banter before the fight was just as exciting as the dazzling techniques that came afterwards.

“Are you done yet? If you are not interested in fighting with your swords, then concede instead. Try to avoid becoming a coward.”

Sera Elizabeth did not fall for the provocation and raised her stance, ready to shoot at a feather’s drop.

“Oooh, the pit is heating up. Without further ado, the fight is now officially started. Give your favourite combatant your encouragement, this is going to be a true clash of champions.”

Not willing to give up such a good opportunity, the announcer also chimed in, officially starting the fight.

The more the fighters in the pit struggled and clashed, the more profits the arena raked in from bets and viewers.

For confrontations between peak cultivators from the fourth rank and upwards, the managers had to do their best to promote the fights as much as possible.

Only if glory and rewards waited for the victors would more powerful cultivators consider participating in the arena league, creating a positive reinforcement cycle.

With more advanced fights, the spectators were liable to bet more and spend more money to enter the arena, which in turn boosted the income of the arena and the rewards they could prepare for the winners, a strong attraction for more powerful fighters to join.

As such, conflicts between contestants were a lucky break for the announcer, who did his best to magnify the conflict.

Not that he really needed to needle Sera Elizabeth into attacking.

Right when the arena bout was declared officially started, the lady loosened the arrow on her string and jumped backwards, increasing the distance between herself and Ser Felippe.

Bow users mostly preferred a mid range to long range distance between themselves and their target, and her hope to win laid in a simple strategy.

Keep the dual wielding sword fighter away from herself until she managed to wear him down with a constant stream of arrows aimed at his weak spots.

Felippe similarly knew about his lack of response to long range attacks and dashed forward in short bursts of strength, underlining his moniker as Slice and Dice.

The peak duel in the arena officially kicked off.