Chapter 160 A Friendly Competition*

When Rassa woke up the next day, it was already evening. The storm had lasted a good four hours before it had calmed enough for the crew to retire once more. Even then it was not like they got much sleep with it still raining. Rassa retired about an hour after sunrise as his replacement came. Apparently the crew had the morning off to rest and recuperate.

The storm had not been that bad compared to some of the storms they'd ridden out over the years, but that didn't mean it was any easier to recover from such a battering. As such, the competition was suspended until the following day.

The watch was much easier the next night, there was no storm to speak of, though it was a little overcast and windier than normal. Rassa barely felt the chill. That was winter coming, and with it would come bigger and more dangerous storms than the one they'd experienced the night before. It was likely that Jeremiah would spend at least four months in the Southern Continent in order to avoid the worst of it. Rassa didn't mind that, the Southern Continent was a big place, bigger than Eldovia at least. There was a smattering of at least ten different countries, the enormous Sumaka Desert that was itself as big as a country, and of course the Fairy Forest. Plenty to see and explore. Rassa entertained himself with thoughts of the Southern Continent that night.

The next day, the competition didn't start until after lunch, and by that stage, the top 50 were all ready and raring to go.

Again, names were selected randomly from a hat, Ebony being the judge for the fights. Surprisingly, Aegin was called up first. His opponent? Jeremiah.

The Captain took up a pair of wooden training staves that were meant to imitate swords. Aegin grinned and took up another pair. They both stepped into the ring and Ebony declared the fight's start.

Aegin didn't wait this time, he dove forward. He was much nimbler than Jeremiah, his youth giving him the advantage, but Jeremiah was not one to look down on.

Their weapons clashed in a repetitive rap as they traded blows back and forth. Occasionally Aegin would get impatient and add a kick or a punch, but Jeremiah wasn't going down easily.

"You're not bad, kid," Jeremiah grinned as they fell into a stalemate for the third time, "Little aggressive though".

"Just impatient," Aegin replied with a growl as he pushed Jeremiah back then spun to trade blows again.

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Movement was hard in such a small circle, and more than one time they came close to stepping outside only to dance away from the edge. Finally, with a feint to the head, Jeremiah kneed Aegin in the back of the leg. Aegin's balance crumbled for only a second, but it was enough for Jeremiah to push forward, only for Aegin to surprisingly release the grips on his weapons the grab Jeremiah's arm, flipping the older man over onto the deck. It was a surprise upset as Jeremiah coughed and chuckled in surprise.

"Quite the instincts you've got, kid," Jeremiah groaned as he sat up, his feet had been just outside the circle and hence he'd been declared the loser, "A lot of fighting men would think abandoning their weapon is a bad choice. It's good to see that you can take the opportunities given to you and turn them around to your benefit".

Aegin grinned, "Hope I didn't hurt you too bad, Captain".

He helped Jeremiah to his feet, and the Captain in question chuckled, "I'm old, but I'm not quite that old that I can't take a hit".

Jeremiah graciously moved to the sidelines with Aegin and the next fight was called out.

There were a few more rounds before Rassa was called up to fight, this time against the Quarter Master, a hard looking man named John.

"Alright kid, let's see what you've got," John stated.

Rassa was not opposed to fighting bare-handed, and he stood still as he faced John. He knew that he couldn't let too much of his Vampiric abilities show, as not only would it scare the crew but it would also be incredibly unfair. John, who was not quite as bulky as Tank but still a large man, was nothing more than a mouse in front of Rassa. Still, Rassa would show a bit of civility if it would save him the pain of explaining himself afterwards.

John didn't move quickly as he advanced, he had a strong and determined gait though. Rassa stood ready, and stepped forward so that he was at least a metre from the edge of the circle as John threw the first punch. Rassa moved ever so slightly, allowing the fist to glance off of Rassa's palm before Rassa turned and hit the inside of John's elbow.

John gave a look of surprise. He had heard of some tribes in the west using this style of fighting, but he had yet to see it himself. A style that focused more on the redirection of the opponent's strength than strength itself. As the two traded blows, it became evident that Rassa was a proficient fighter, there was nothing that John threw at the young man that Rassa couldn't counter.

When Rassa drew too close to the edge of the ring he would duck and spin out of John's reach, situating himself safely back in the centre.

The battle became a drawn out one as John tried to get more creative with his movements only to be thwarted by Rassa's own careful and calculated movements. Eventually, John began to move slower, until Rassa took the opportunity to duck inside John's guard and deliver two quick punches to his torso that immediately winded John and made him stumble to the side, catching himself on his hand...a finger just outside the ring.

"Rassa wins," Ebony declared.

John chuckled as he stood, "Where'd you learn that technique? I thought you hadn't left Eldovia before coming onto this ship".

Rassa shrugged, "I had a well-versed Master".

That was putting it mildly. Vampires lived for a very long time, and while they didn't actually fight that often, they all thoroughly enjoyed it. Hence, when they found a new technique it had been all the rage until everyone was versed in it. The technique Rassa had shown however was not as popular. Only those who would frequently face opponents stronger than themselves had bothered to learn it. Vampires possessed immense strength as it was, what was the point in learning a style that didn't make use of it? Rassa's training hadn't missed a thing however, and Rassa found himself quite liking the style as Victor had before him. Not because they frequently faced opponents of higher strength, but because it allowed them to be somewhat lazy. Victor especially had liked the style. Rassa, who had yet to meet opponents who were stronger than him, had had less of a chance to use it. This competition had given him that opportunity. It really was advantageous to someone who wanted to hide their true strength.

With that fight said and done, the top 25 participants were ready and waiting for the next day's events.