Gladiator (1/3)
For the next 2 years, Haalfrin wanders about Brancotte fairly randomly. He tries to stay away from the bars, since he doesn't want to become a drunk, slobbering mess. Tanya didn't want him to waste the rest of his life, and Haalfrin still doesn't want to disappoint her.
However… the problem is that he doesn't know what to do with his life! Before, he'd find the simplest satisfaction in hunting a deer or cleaning his own house. Now? It seems like he can't derive any satisfaction from anything, no matter how exciting it is!
Exploring new places is boring. Hunting is boring. Reading new things is boring. Practicing his magic is boring. Meeting new people is boring.
It's as if, after the death of his wife, Haalfrin lost his ability to actually enjoy anything.
And thus, Haalfrin wanders about listlessly like this for 2 years.
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The only reason Haalfrin ends up stopping anywhere for more than a few days is because he travels into the imperial capital, and he sees a notice on a merchant's guild requesting more slaves to be sent to the arena to fight.
When Haalfrin asks around about this arena, a lot of people look at him like he just came from the boonies. "Idiot! Doesn't everyone know about the imperial arena!?"
As it turns out, the emperor built it about 300 years ago for the public's enjoyment.
Well, Haalfrin was in prison for much longer than 300 years, and he spend nearly 100 years out in "the boonies". He has good reason for not knowing about it.
Still, signing up as a fighter isn't a calculated decision to make money for Haalfrin. As far as he's concerned, he's bored, and he'd like to forget his depression for a while in a way that doesn't involve drinking himself into oblivion.
Because he doesn't want to be immediately carted off in chains to the Threshold, he puts it on his sign up form that he's a 2nd Gate mage.
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Normally, mages are pitted against hordes of magicless slaves, since it's infinitely more entertaining to watch one really powerful person fight against seemingly impossible numbers.
However, since Haalfrin is a new mage here, he's pitted against another mage – a way to test his mettle.
When Haalfrin steps out into the arena, the crowd is silent for him, but they start chanting, "Howna! Howna!" as soon as his opponent steps out on the opposite end of the stadium.
Looking at the other mage, the lad has the appearance of a 12 or 14-year-old. Given that the lad is a 2nd Gate mage, Haalfrin has to admit that he's pretty talented - becoming an advanced mage so young.
Still, he's only a second gate mage.
'Wait… are those Kareen tattoos?' Haalfrin remarks when he gets a closer look at his opponent.
Just the same, this man named "Howna" gets a closer look at Haalfrin, and his eyes instantly go red with rage. "YOU! You're the mage who killed my clan, yes!?" the mage bellows accusingly as he points his sword at Haalfrin.
"…Maybe?" Haalfrin shrugs. "Are you that old man I threw out of town all those years ago?" The look on his opponents face tells it all. "I see that you've grown up to be a 2nd Gate mage. Congratulations."
Howna raises his shield, and he gives Haalfrin a bloody grin. "Ha… haha! Fate must have brought you here! I've been training my magic for decades now, and now the gods bring you to me!"
After getting a master along the way, he'd learned how his clan were killed so effortlessly; it was through spirit magic! So, to prepare for his eventual revenge, he'd developed most of his studies towards learning spirit magic, as well as ways to counteract it. For this reason, he's fairly confident that he can defeat Haalfrin.
Seeing Howna's declaration, the arena's announcer doesn't miss the chance to double down on this potential drama. "And here we have it! Sir Howna's long awaited revenge has finally arrived! How will this fated battle play out!? With the fate of his family's restless ghosts hanging in the balance, who will the gods favor!?"
The announcer continues to prattle on, but Howna and Haalfrin both tune the man's annoying voice out. Instead, they both focus on preparing their spells in their soul realms, so that they can immediately attack once the signal flag is dropped.
Finally, the narrator finishes his speech, and he's successfully hyped up the crowd for this battle. After decades of fighting here, Sir Howna had become a very popular gladiator. Realizing that he's wanting revenge for his family's murder, everyone is naturally rooting for him.
At last, the signal flag drops… and the second it touches the floor…
Everything in the arena seems to go cold. Haalfrin had teleported right in front of Howna, and the hilt of his blade is already plunging into his gut.
With the wind knocked out of him, the spell Howna had prepared is forgotten, and he reels on the ground, vomiting blood. With barely the strength to stand, he stumbles backward and looks at Haalfrin with bleary vision. "You…"
Before he can even say anything, Haalfrin walks forward and kicks him in the gut again – this time knocking him on his back.
All too casually, Haalfrin steps forward and puts his boot on Howna's chest.
Haalfrin had already been apprised of the arena rules before the start of the battle. In the case that he defeats someone without instantly killing them, it's left up to the crowd to vote whether or not the loser should be granted mercy.
With this in mind, Haalfrin turns to the crowd and looks at what color of signs they're holding up.
You see, every audience member is given a small sign when they enter the arena. One side of the sign is blue – signifying mercy, and the other side is red – signifying execution.
Without exception, almost every sign held up in the crowd is blue. "SPARE HIM!" "LET HIM LIVE!" "DON'T YOU DARE KILL HIM, YOU MONSTER!" Haalfrin hears many cries like this coming from the fans in the crowd.
Haalfrin unsheathes his sword and points it at Howna's throat. "They want me to spare you, but what do you have to say about that? I've spared you once before. Do you regret it?"
Howna looks up at Haalfrin with tears in his eyes. "Just end it… I have by brothers waiting for me in Freyya's basement!"
Something stirs in Haalfrin's heart when he hears this. 'If only it was so easy for me back then…,' Haalfrin winces.
"As you wish." He lowers his sword into Howna's throat, and his blood splurts all over the ground.
This enrages the fans so much that the crowd erupts in boos, and several enraged fans actually fall out of their seats and into the arena.
Haalfrin quickly teleports out of the crowd to avoid having to attack the angry civilians, and he goes straight to the receptionist's desk to collect his winnings. Everyone had bet against him this time, so his earnings are astronomically high.
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When Haalfrin approaches the desk, he immediately notices the clerk lady's sour expression. "You! Haalfrin! How could you break the rules so blatantly!? You know we're going to have to dock half your earnings because of this!?"
"Sure, sure," Haalfrin mutters nonchalantly. "It was written in the contract, and I did it anyway. That means I don't care. See you next time."
He ignores the clerk, who looks like she's about to really explode at him. He goes to his room, which is a place to temporarily sleep that's reserved for the gladiators.
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When Haalfrin gets to his room, he finds Freyya sitting on his desk's chair. Her legs are crossed, and her hands are on her knees. She certainly knew where to wait for him. "Haalfrin. We need to talk."
"Sure… What's up?"
Freyya rolls her eyes. "It's been almost 100 years since we last saw each other, and you really made me wait this long? I'm a little hurt."
"What can I say?" Haalfrin shrugs. "My little village was pretty peaceful."
"Well… I was thinking that it's about time we further our Contract."
Haalfrin and Freyya both know that a complete Soul Contract requires 3 Names to be exchanged. So far, they've only exchanged their Yiir Names.
Hearing this, Haalfrin crosses his arms, and he gets an uncomfortable itch in his spirit. "What Name were you thinking of exchanging?"
Freyya pauses for a second, and her body goes still. "I was thinking that we exchange our Reh Names next."
Haalfrin completely freezes over when he hears this. 'The… Reh Name? Isn't that the Name for the Spirit and the Heart?'
Haalfrin knows very well that exchanging the Heart Name is extremely serious. You're basically giving your heart to someone else. After you've given this Name away, you're quite literally unable to fall in love with anyone else. You can't even grow attached to anyone else in any meaningful way.
…And it's because Freyya is offering to exchange Reh Names that Haalfrin starts to feel a little angry inside.
'I know Freyya is wanting to motivate me to trying getting killed in battle again. Does she think that if she owns my heart, that I'll be so devoted to her that I'll do anything to make my soul belong to her?'
What infuriates Haalfrin so much about this is that he views Freyya's offer as a manipulation tactic.
'The heart isn't something to give away for a few trifling benefits!' Haalfrin curses in his mind. 'So what if a Death goddess can become much greater if she Contracts with a mage with Death-affinity? I'm not doing it!'
Haalfrin thinks of Tanya in that moment. Even though he knows that his relationship with that woman is completely over, he still can't bring himself to give his heart away again – especially to a woman who's likely just trying to use him.
'Still,' he thinks, 'I remember how much she helped me in escaping the Pit. For all intents and purposes, she hasn't actively sought to sabotage my life, like Das has… Well… except for that bit with sending Dakka after me. Anyway, I'll try to at least be polite when I turn her down.'
However… Haalfrin doesn't have to say anything for Freyya to realize how he's going to answer. She's a far greater spirit mage than him, so she could feel the anger he felt at her proposal.
And so, shocking Haalfrin, Freyya flutters her eyelashes and looks down with disappointment. "Forget I said anything, Haalfrin. Goodbye."
She steps back and disappears in a puff of black smoke.