CHPT 484: Battle of The Chosen

If Samuel and Bengal were a pair of eyes visually scrutinizing and assessing the combative potential of Martial Arts Tournament experts, then Claude was the sword that blinded them. Officially.

The crowds eyes rose from the sand colored stone floors of the Ra Stadium grounds. Cracked and filled with blood and scorch marks, it had already faced many hard battles. Battles that won and lost people millions in many currencies.

They now held a relative silence— with men and women even shutting up others as they all watched the Rune-Written wall of stone above spit out holographic imagery of a student standing in a forest. The shadows had eyes and limbs that scaled the trees. Claws that marred the grass around the student as if he just survived a hurricane of blades.

It had been ten seconds. The student grew impatient.

He was a talent back in his home of Islandia. His flames could change the world— banish ice and beast all the same.

He grunted— impatience grilling him as he often did the lurkers of Tangents. It felt like he was in one currently. Just had that feel. Full of monsters. No humans.

Steam pooled from his mouth.

"You don't seem to care for you Glorian brethren…."

Crch…

Something in the distance moved. He spun around and sent a blast of blue fire into the forest. Immediately the shadows dissipated like the smoke that rose in airy coils from the scorched grass and trees.

He had no more than a moment to watch its embers brighten in the winds before that portion of greenery exploded in growth.

Something stepped behind him. It wouldn't have been caught by human ears. Ears from anywhere else.

But he was a Huntsman.

And his Hunting Skill, (Trackers Ear LV5) gave him the acute auditory sensitivity of something akin to a Hound.

"Thirty seconds is almost up. You'll lose and your next man will be without a weapon. Great job. Thank Mother Islandia…"

His aura leaked from his lean and sturdy frame like smoke. Blue enough to blind and hard enough to stand. Slowly, real smoke rose as its heat rose and he burst into flames that threatened to swallow the forest.

"I'll burn you out eventua—"

RAGHSH!!

A black shape exploded from the trees above— too big to be able to wait on the branches….. it was growing. The black cloak covering it shrunk and shrunk until it simply rested on one brutal fanged tusk.

The creatures massive weight crushed him as it landed, denting his armor and digging it into his skin as it's jaws closed around his arm and swung him.

He flew out of his own ring of fire, snuffed out by the winds the beast threw him into.

Before he had any time react, Claude caught him from behind and suplexed him onto his own helmeted head.

Both literally and figuratively, the lights went out.

Twenty six seconds. No penalty.

He could hear the crowd before he even exited Predators Forest.

Once out and under the sun, he surveyed the area. Samuel and Bengal held their scolding facial expressions like it was law. Samuel reeked of panic— if only passively. He needed to find his potential it seemed.

Rupont Fiara wasn't watching Maris. That's all that mattered.

And The Nine didn't give half a damn. Other than Ronin and The Red Knight.

His lack of HellSlayer Skills, god Skills and Wood-Weaving made his fights less impressive to watch. Currently he was winning in games of physical might more than magical. He'd keep it that way for as long as he could keep the fights short.

"[Just remember if you see someone even begin to run, you have to go first— run like hell, mate. That or take them down instantly. The longer you're succumbed to Prey Drive, the more open you are to trickery and transformation.]" Arne reminded him as he hopped up on the stage.

"How many is that ladies and gentlemen?" The Announcer yelled to the crowd, nearly stunning Claude.

In a weird sentient chorus they all yelled.

"FIIIVE!"

"Well. Claude you've put on quite the show and are actively changing the narrative around Beast Tamers, how does it feel?"

Claude leaned down into the mic, "Fine."

He could smell the Announcers anger despite the big white-toothed smile stretched across his face and jeweled lips. He wanted Claude to put on a show— be lively and full of character. Make his job easier.

That's rough.

"Well…. You don't look very tired, so— NEXT OPPONENT!" He grunted and grumbled under his breath as The Arthurian formation of students gained movement. Well, an altercation would be a better term. But before it could truly rise to the terms of a true group fight, the crowd split.

Not only because of one woman's outright girth, but also because of her strength. She split the students like the seas as she hopped up on the stage letting off hiccups and burps like no one's business.

"Hey handsome." Donna winked at him in between swigs of magical ale while her classmates cursed and yelled at her massive backside.

And for the first time since yesterday, two Chosen occupied the floor. Not that anyone knew that.

"HehehHEHEAARRR…..RoMaN fOrRrr…..grrrR…lUnCh!" Fenrir whispered in the back of his mind.

Donna's own empowering avatar must've said something similar because she laughed.

"Calm your fat arse…. I've got him right where I want him."

"What was that?"

Awkwardly enough, she said that straight into the Announcers mic.

She burped, "Oh— forgive me. I said Donna Brewer, Swordsman."

"[WHAT?!]"

Claude scanned his opponent.

Like before she was an outlier both physically and mentally from what he could see.

Mass held her like inhuman leanness held Claude currently. She was large— quite tall as well. Her girth swallowed up any and all signs of a neck or jawline. Her armor sat on her as if she didn't regally want to wear it. All the straps flapped in the wind, failed to be strapped down in any regard. Her Arthurian dark purple and gold uniform was stained with her drink. He couldn't see it but he sure could smell it. And feel it burn his nostrils—

"And I think by now we all know, Claude Grey, Beast Tamer."

"Mhhhhhm." Donna said while looking him up and down.

The next seconds blended and stumbled together like a drunken man.

"BEGIN!"

Claude spoke to his beastial siblings, ordering them to hang back as he charged her. Donna didn't even attempt to move as the vines slithered up onto the stage and held her ankles.

She practically opened her arms as he moved to stab her with his spear.

Quick and precise, he aimed for the gut. A easy target.

Her aura bloomed. Purple and flowy like water. Claude's spear bit. The aura did something he'd never seen.

It bounced.

WMBLWMBL!!

The strike was returned, sending him flipping backwards to land on his feet beside Diamondback.

The Primal pushed him forward with his snout.

"Arne— any unknown Arthurian Aura techniques?"

Donna unsheathed her gladius.

"[Not that I'm aware of. I believe all of her current actions goes back to that damn drink.]"

Claude growled, "Of course they do."

In that moment Donna lifted her drink and moved as if to pour it all out.

The hairs on his arms rose at the introduction of new magics in the air. His nose tickled and scented the winds.

FWOOOSH!

In a blur he threw his spear hard. The weapon sliced through the air and into her water skin pouch, knocking it straight out of her hand and into the grass behind her.

"Haha! Good reflexes, let's see how you dance up close!"

She chased after him with her sword raised.

Claude used Beast Boost— empowering the creatures that flanked him while borrowing their traits in a chimera-like blend of scales, Feline agility and Orcish battle-lust.

She swung at him in a wild overhead swing.

Claude raised his arm.

CHNK!

The blade slammed into his Aura hard enough to shake his brain. Before she could repeat the action he swatted away her arm and head butted her with his scaled face.

WMBLWMBL!

….And her bounce-house aura sent it back in kind. With the gift of her rank breath.

As he stumbled backward she moved to attack with a punch to the chest only for a scaled Monster with horns for eyes to emerge and catch her fist in its jaws. Green flames sparked between them as he kicked her legs out from under her.

She hit the ground like a fallen statue.

"What in the bloody hell was that?!?" Donna said in between hiccups before trying to trip him.

Claude flipped out of the way and pulled his free hands to his chest before slamming them into the floor.

He could hear the wooden spikes rise and jolt in the air…..

"Something's—"

"Claude the grass!" Ursula spoke into his mind.

FWPSHHH!

He flipped out of the way as Frosty barked in alarm. As he moved through the air, he could feel the massive wooden spikes wiggle through the air like snakes and just barely miss him before smashing through the stadium grounds.

Donna stood up and faced him as he stood beside his own Element perplexed.

With his Natural Vision he could see a massive purple stain in the grass behind Donna— where his spear and her ale was.

"[Wonderful. She got Nature drunk.]"

Donna burped in between a laugh that would've been cuter on someone like Stella.

"Listen, long legs. Bacchus said he'll give me three skills for your Druid head. So if you don't mind…. I'm going to stick you like a pig before any of the other Chosen take the offer …."