Another Chance

Kaos knew what had happened, they had been double killed. Maybe Vasai was still alive, but against that archer and especially that spearman, he wouldn't be able to take them both down.

Deep down he had been hoping to get at least 300 points this arena game and secure himself a spot in the Dek class, but to get knocked out with only a hundred? That was worse than he expected.

He was frustrated. No, he was more than frustrated. That other team was better than his, but most importantly, they all seemed better than him.

Before, he would have ranked himself slightly above Nolly due to the fact he had Mallyjax's crossbow, but now she knew what her wish was. Unlike him, she had a way to get stronger in combat.

It wouldn't be long until she had some sort of breakthrough and found a new, more powerful use for her wish. But he was stuck.

All of it was unfair, his friends got to prance around living their wildest dreams while his wish just made the gap between them wider.

The golden sand of the arena appeared along the walls of the cube, and he already knew what it was going to say.

[VICTORY IS YOURS]

[+100 POINTS]

That had not been what he expected. In fact, that meant Vasai managed to kill not just the archer, but that monsterous student wielding a spear.

Before he had more time to think on it though, the golden sand formed new words.

[BEGINNING ROUND 3]

[ASSESSING DUELIST]

[FINDING OPPONENT]

"Play fair this time, okay?" Kaos groaned remembering the last time he saw this message and had his anticlimactic duel with Sepra.

[BATTLE BEGINNING]

He readied himself for the impending launch through the ceiling, and this time did manage to land on his feet. The dueling ring was similar to that of Sepra's duel with the student who used clones.

This time though, the sandstone trees were a lot more dense, reducing his visibility even though there was still a lot of daylight left in the afternoon.

He had decided on his strategy, remembering Sepra's duel in the similar environment. He would stay as hidden as possible and try to catch his opponent off guard.

He waited for five minutes, then it became ten, and then fifteen. He was sure that the other duels weren't lasting as long as his.

There could only be one reason why his opponent and himself hadn't fought yet, and that was if his opponent was also hiding, waiting in ambush.

"Why would some combat-wish powerhouse be hiding out like me?" he whispered in frustration. And then he had another thought, "Unless they aren't a 'combat-wish powerhouse' and are weak… even weaker than me."

This logic was flawed, but the fifteen minutes of impatient waiting made it seem that much more probable, so Kaos abandoned his hiding spot and began slowly stalking through the sandstone forest.

Then he saw something, it was the edge of a cloak, most of it hidden behind a particularly large sandstone tree.

Being careful to silence his breathing, he moved closer to it one step at a time.

The last few steps were agonizing, every grain of sand falling from his shoe seemed to sound like thunder, until he was only a few steps away.

He rushed around the tree and at the figure, drawing his short sword and stabbing it through the back.

But it didn't feel quite right. In fact, it wasn't a person at all, and had just been a cloak hung vertically on a tree branch.

He heard a magical whining noise from the ground beneath his feet and realized what was going on.

This was a trap.

Dozens of what looked like nails shot up from the ground at every angle, many of which sunk deep into his skin. He crumpled to the ground momentarily, half out of pain, and half out of the shock of the trap.

He had to get up. There was still a small chance he could win, but not if he let his opponent stab him while he was on the ground.

He clenched his fist and grunted, pushing himself up to his knees, finding himself staring directly at a short sword screaming towards his neck.

It sliced through quick, and his body turned to sand.