V2Ch133 New Braket

I came up to what seemed like the entrance for the fighters in the competition. Several large beings of varying races were ushered through. I followed the line until I was next.

"Next... Hey. This is the line for the Fighters Ring contestants. Not the audience."

I held a straight face as he examined me.

"I'm signed up."

"Look, I can't just go letting anyone go in. It's too dangerous for someone your size to..."

"He's legitimate. I can attest to that much."

The brute I had encountered earlier. He is standing up for me. Maybe he isn't just a muscle-headed prick.

"Oh... Uh... Name?"

The guard's tune changed real quick.

"Lake Andrus."

"Yes. I see it right here. Go on ahead. You too, Grampus."

Grampus? I know that from... The continent?

"You're new."

He spoke as we walked and followed the line of competitors.

"Yeah."

"That tiny body of yours is strong. Make it to the finals so I can have a real fight, for once."

A dark elf with some paperwork was handing something out and directing the contestants up ahead. The fighters slowly trickled out in different directions until I was next in line.

"Lake, Right? You were the last to sign up and... almost the last to arrive. Here."

He handed me a cloth square that seemed to have some kind of velcro-like substance on it. It stuck to my sleeve with ease.

"Head to bracket A. You will be in slot sixteen."

Same as the number on my patch. A-16.

"If you need somewhere to store your things, the Officials Stand in the bracket A area can hold onto them for you."

He pointed to the left. Down at the end seemed to be a group of fighters with similar patches. All of them had A on them but different numbers. Behind me, I could hear the dark elf addressing Grampus.

"As always sir, You are bracket B, Slot 32"

After that, I was too far to properly eavesdrop on the conversation. I came to an opening. A stand was on the right with a sign that said "Officials" in Eysian. I figured I'd stash my stuff now. It was a quick transaction. They took my name and placed my thumb in an odd-shaped tube. It looked like a long thimble. Apparently, it's a WoM locking mechanism. It holds the key to the locker my stuff is in and won't open without that thumb.

"Hey!"

A large arm rested on my shoulder before I could leave the stand.

"That was Grampus behind you, wasn't it? That guy is something else. I keep trying to get to him every year but, someone always beats me out before the semi-finals."

The one speaking to me was a large bronze lizard-woman. Her breath had alcohol on it. Made me wonder if she had to get drunk just to participate every year.

Her gaze turned sour.

"You were thinking bad things about me, weren't you?"

"Nope."

My one word was clear and unshaken. I hoped she wasn't secretly telepathic.

"Oh, don't be shy. I know most guys want a piece of this. You can think all the dirty thoughts you want. This body, though... It's for him alone!"

I was slightly relieved. She still wouldn't get off of my shoulder though.

"The man so strong, he was named after the strength of the continent!"

So I was right.

"He braved every hardship those lands had to offer and survived in one piece! Some say he is half yeti, giving him an advantage with the icy winds. The other half being a beast-man, the heats were as comfortable as the colds. The Dark Lands were no mere trek for him. He supposedly lost his wife there."

Her speech ended with her fist in the air, slowly retreating toward her chest.

"But..."

Or not.

"Now that his heart has a hole in it, I hope to be the one to make him whole again! His wife was once a grand champion fighter. If I can beat him and prove that I am worthy of his love, then we can be one!"

I took the time to look around as she rambled on some more about Grampus's daily life, indicating that she may have some slight stalker tendencies. I noticed that none of the numbers on the patches went past 15, save for my number 16.

Looking around some more, a sign caught my attention. It was a bracket tournament-style page. Sixteen fighters on either side. Winners would advance, halving the contestants each round until only one stood.

That meant that everyone in this room was a potential opponent until the last person from the B side is across from me. Of course, number 15 was the drunk, long-winded, stalker lizard. If the brackets are as simple as this map shows it is, she is my first opponent. Maybe she is in high spirits because she is already underestimating me.

Oh well. She'll find out the hard way. I won't go down easy.

A sharply dressed fae floated in. He seemed to command all eyes in the room without having said a single word yet.

"Contestants one and sixteen, you are up first. Follow me."

The brackets aren't as simple as I thought. That's fine with me. It'll keep me guessing. At the same time that I got close to the fae official, a skinny-looking beast-man stopped next to me. With long blonde fur covering his entire body, he seemed to be a bit of an enigma. He was hunched over, giving the appearance of being shorter than me. If he stood up straight, he would probably be a few inches taller.

His eyes seemed to struggle to get a good view of me through all the fur. His head bobbed a bit as he took in my size and build. If he was showing any emotion, I couldn't see it.

"Come."

The fae barked at us with authority. We followed in silence as he spewed out the general rules of the fight. Special bloodlines, such as a supreme beast are allowed. That made me feel better about using my powers. I wasn't sure if it would be considered cheating or not. Though, I should probably keep a leash on most of my powers, just in case.

We exited through a short hall that I had no part of when I entered the area. We came out into the central area with a surrounding and cheering crowd. It was a smaller stadium than I had anticipated. Maybe half of a football field. It held two large fighting rings in the center.

On the far side of the stadium, two other fighters and another official were waiting. One of those fighters was Grampus.

"Number one, take the ring on the left. Sixteen, you are on the right."

I got into my ring and watched Grampus get into the opposite ring.

"Hey. I'm your opponent."

A voice came from in front of me.