Chapter 309: Pauper's Final

Chapter 309: Pauper's Final

It took over an hour for the tournament fight to get approved. Dallion found it beyond annoying that in a world with instant communications, arguably even faster than those on Earth, it took so long for something simple. Strictly speaking, everything that was necessary was for someone on the tournament committee to create an echo in an item and then have the contestants go at it. However, when nobles were concerned, nothing was as simple. No one dared do anything that would displease powerful interests, so soon to opening day. Instead, the unfortunate person in question had gone through several people, each more important than the last, until finally someone from the Lord Mayors household had given the green light.

Finally, after a lot of excuses and half a dozen plates of fruitthe preliminary tournament began. One thing that became obvious was that it was very different from all the ones Dallion had participated in until now. In the past, the first were almost casual: both participants would enter in the tournament item, have a quick battle under the keen eye of a selected echo, then return to the real world and have the result noted. At present, the echoes were five, two of which everyone knew well.

Ah, Gola, so reliable of you to have another go, the echo of Lady Marigold said. Youve become a feature of the festival. A few more years and people will gather just to see your preliminary.

You honor me, my lady. The man bowed to the echo.

And a charmer, as usual. Its a pity that youll have to go against this pup. Hes done a lot in a short amount of time. It wont be easy for you.

The good things in life are always worth the effort. You told me that, my lady.

Yes, I did, didnt I? the noble mused for a few moments. It was during your first official appearance. It caused quite a stir, at the time. Even the countess noted how unusual your case was.

The praise didnt bode well for Dallion. All illusions he had that facing a double digit would be a walk in the park were quickly put to rest. He had only met Lady Marigold once, but he had come to the conclusion that she was extremely good at determining someones worth. The fact that she had said the fight wont be easy for Gola suggested that she favored him against Dallion.

Standing close to the old noble was another echothat of Constanza. The girl was already treated as a potential noble, given tasks to learn the ropes of ruling the city one day. The remaining three echoes were those of committee members. They stood a respectable distance away, focusing more on the battle to come.

Are you feeling up to it, Dallion? lady Marigold asked. This is a big occasion. While the fight cannot be compared to the arena experience, it is considered the final of the preliminaries. The fact that you got here is no small feat, not that I had any doubt that you would.

Thank you, my lady. Dallion bowed as well.

Just one request, if I may, the nobles voice hardened. You are allowed to use any skills and weapons at your disposal, but I would greatly appreciate it if you didnt use any familiars.

There it wasthe first unofficially official restriction. Dallion knew that, he even had imposed the restriction on himself; after all, there would be no familiars in the real world, so there was no point in acquiring a false sense of security. Even so, hearing it from the noble suggested something more at play.

Of course, Lady Marigold.

Constanza took a step forward, standing in front of her great aunt. If she were to take her rightful place among the ruling class, she would be required to fight and defeat people of Dallions current skill and pretty soon.

Ready when you are, the old noble said.

Applicants, take you places, one of the other echoes said.

Good luck, Dallion whispered before going to the indicated section of the field. His opponent did the same.

All sound vanished from the realm. Each fighter focused on one thing alonetheir opponent.

Begin!

Both opponents summoned their weapons. Dallion went with the armadil shield and harpsisword. His opponent immediately split into three instances: two charged forward with a spear, while the third had summoned a bow and fired an arrow at Dallion.

Your health has been decreased by 5%

First blood had been spilled, and Dallion had lost. Normally, he wouldnt even worry about thata minor wound would be healed in about ten seconds. Without Lux, though, even minor wounds meant that Dallion was nineteen hits from defeat.

Twisting to the side along the defense markers his guard skill provided, Dallion managed to evade several more attacks. However, before he could complete the sequence, his opponent changed stance, performing a new type of strike.

Youve no intention of letting me use bonuses, are you? Dallion thought.

It had been quite a while before anyone had focused on that. Usually, the enemies that Dallion had faced were so strong that they preferred to focus on their own superior attacks with the goal of stacking up bonuses faster. Gola was a disruptorhe knew the difference in strengths, so he focused on breaking the flow of his enemy. However, in doing so, he also left himself open. It wasnt a big riskthe weakness wasnt apparent or even easily noticeable. However, Dallions perception let him to take advantage.

Letting go of his harpsisword, Dallion summoned a dartbow and attempted to strike his opponent in the face. The attack was blocked, of course, but it also gave Dallion the possibility to press the trigger. A bolt made its way between the armor pieces, penetrating Golas body in the weak spot beneath his right armpit.

CRITICAL SHOT

Dealt Damage is increased by 200%

The single shot had halved Golas health total, but the man had no intention of giving up, managing to land two more strokes before leaping back.

Dallion immediately followed, summoning his Nox dagger. Now that he had the advantage, it would be best if he made full use of it performing a rapid series of strikes. Golas reaction speed was fast enough to guard against most of them, but that wasnt Dallions point. For every strike that was blocked, cracks emerged on his opponents halberd. Using his music and forging skills, Dallion saw in real time how the weapon got weaker and weaker, until at one point, it broke in two.

That was not all. The moment of confusion allowed Dallion to land two more hits, further increasing his lead. Gola was left with less than twenty percent, which meant that any good hit from the Nox dagger would earn Dallion victory. Before he could achieve that hit, though, Dallion felt a sharp kick in the stomach. The pain was momentary, but it threw him back close to a dozen feet, dealing a surprisingly high amount of damage, as well as allowing his opponent to get a break.

That was sloppy, Nil said in a disapproving tone. You could have won this already if you hadnt become greedy.

All part of the learning process, Dallion replied, although deep inside he was furious with himself. This was the most obvious rookie mistake. All that he had to do was to slowly grind down his enemy, rendering his armor useless in the process. Instead, he had gone for the kill and failed.

On the arena, this would have been your loss, the echo reminded.

Then its a good thing that it happened now.

Nice weapon, Gola said, summoning a spear with a gleaming white tip. Where did you buy it?

I made it myself, Dallion replied. For all intents and purposes that was true. The dagger was pretty useless, before he had given the domain to Nox. What about yours?

A gift from the city for five years of sanitation work.

In the past, Dallion wouldnt have been impressed in the least. Considering sanitation work included fighting cracklings and other nastiesat times possibly thousands of them merged into one giant monsterhe couldnt but feel in awe of the others dedication. For that amount of work, a halberd was the least the city could give.

True time? Dallion asked.

Real time, Gola replied. I stopped counting true time long ago.