The Grand Arena

Even though tickets weren't cheap, the crowd gathered wasn't small either. I saw some empty seats, especially those closer to the stage, but it was impressive nonetheless. Our small group found the seats, and awaited the show.

The format was somewhat similar to that of the Arena in the North. Albeit, the Northern Arena was circular, not square shaped. They had an announcer, just like us, and only two warriors were allowed onto the stage. The announcer didn't explain any rules, but we assumed killing the opponent wasn't allowed.

Teri was more interested though, and asked around. One of the spectators explained some of the rules to us. "Bows and any sort of ranged weapons aren't allowed. Of course you can't fatally wound your opponent either, though such things happen from time to time. No medicine or anything like that is allowed, and no Formations can be used. The warriors have to use pure skills and strength in order to win. Hehe, this makes it more interesting, doesn't it?".

'That's a shame about Formations or bows. Neither me nor Dawn can get anything out of these battles, at least our style-wise'. Though witnessing new Formations became impossible, I wasn't discouraged. Teri actually welcomed such rules, since he wanted to know the skill level and strength of the warriors in the Endrosian Empire.

After the announcer completed his introduction, he called over the first pair to face each other. Of course both of them were Human, and both of them were men. One of them had a sword and a thick leather armour, while the other wore a plated armour. He looked more like a soldier, than some sort of warrior or traveller. His weapon of choice was a heavy axe.

The battle began, and both of them rushed at each other. They were fairly evenly matched, or covered the weaknesses in some ways. The plate armoured guy was slower, but his armour was better and his axe wielding skills weren't bad at all. I wasn't knowledgeable with axes, but his movements and positioning were really solid.

The leather armoured guy was much faster and nimble. Though his technique with the sword wasn't as good as the other guy's, the weight of his weapon allowed for faster attacks or counters. None of them released any Auras, or at least none that I could detect. Based on their display, both of them broke past the Half Step of the Outer Limits stage.

"What do you think?", I asked Teri. "They don't seem to possess any Auras, and their skills are quite good, but… I'd say they aren't my opponents. I could take on either of them. Hmm, perhaps once they worked together, I'd lose… Well, there's the second skin too, which we have to worry about", he replied after his own analysis.

That was true. Due to the second skin alone, Teri couldn't take any risks. "You want to give it a try, don't you?", "That's obvious, isn't it?... I don't want to put you guys in any sort of…", I stopped him before he finished. "Give it a go. There's no harm in trying out a battle or two. If you can't make it, you can always give up".

Tara agreed with me, probably because she wanted her boyfriend to rule over some Humans. "Since you two don't see a problem, I'll register myself after these battles. Hehe", he replied. We then watched the battle until a winner was decided. Ultimately, the plate armoured guy was able to win, mostly thanks to his defences, and a very good stamina. He was able to defend better, while his opponent suffered a few wounds and gave up.

The announcer stepped onto the stage once more to do his job. The next pair consisted of a male and a female. Both of them wore leather armour, and both wielded swords. The guy held a long broadsword, while the woman a thin and regular length sword. That was a rapier, a type of sword mostly useful for piercing, less for slashing or hacking.

'People like her specialise in speed and precision. That guy over there specialises in strength and weight. This should be interesting'. These two seemed to know each other as well, since they exchanged a few words before the battle began. I wasn't sure how that guy planned to counter the woman, but we didn't have to wait long to find out.

The woman was first to rush in. She was indeed quick, actually faster than me. I could keep up with her only thanks to the distance and properly trained eyes. She clearly tried to attack from the side or from behind, but the guy was prepared.

He swung his sword in a circular motion all around him, seemingly without any reason. In reality though, that was probably the best way to counter her at that stage. She was faster than him, her sword much quicker, but there was one disadvantage. She had to get close enough for a chance to strike. With his longsword, the reach was in that guy's advantage.

'He can't last like that forever. She'll wait him out and…', as my thoughts arrived at that point, the warrior began moving. He wasn't planning on defending alone. He planned to corner her. She didn't have to give up to lose. Once any contestant left the stage, they'd lose automatically. That guy's strategy was to make her leave the stage. The cat and mouse game began. The guy swung his sword rapidly around while chasing her, and she evaded without any intention to get close.

Though a bit of a boring battle, that was probably the guy's only choice. With her speed and an appropriate movement technique, she'd play him to death. The crowd roared nonetheless, they didn't care about those aspects. They were interested in a spectacle, something great to watch.

Unfortunately for the guy, he ran out of stamina first. Though his technique while swinging the long and broad sword wasn't bad, it required strength and energy. The woman had to evade only, she didn't need to attack at all. Both of them ran around, and the loser in the end, was that man. He didn't seem to mind all that much, as if these people fought against each other before.

The woman even helped him up, and both of them left the stage together. 'Hehe, maybe they are lovers or friends. Due to the roars, I'm not sure what they spoke about. Anyway, it's almost time for the last battle', I thought.

They saved the best for the last. The battles before were like a build up to the real battle, as the announcer became more enthusiastic. His words described the warriors better, he even announced their wins and losses. The two guys who stepped onto the stage looked quite impressive. One clad in leather armour, but with steel plates in certain areas. The other was similar, but the steel plating was more prevalent.

Their weapon of choice was different, and a bit more unique compared to others we saw. The first guy wielded an actual hammer on his back. He didn't have a shield or anything, just the hammer. The guy with more steel plated areas wielded a shield, and a short sword. At least, that's what I assumed at first. Under a different angle, I noticed two more swords behind his square shield.

"Huh? He has two more short swords beneath the shield, but ranged weapons are banned", I said to myself, but someone next to us had an answer. "Hehe, you haven't seen Fredric battle then. These short swords aren't used for ranged attacks, he uses them all for close range. You'll see soon enough, they're about to begin!".

The concept of holding a shield and using three short swords at the same time… Was rather new to me. Unless he had two more hands, what was the point of that? Speculation was pointless, we'd see the technique right in front of our eyes. Needless to say, my full attention was on the guy with the shield.