Arena of Sands

Once the warning about the duel was given, even the Rodenti that seemed to be hiding in the houses came out. All of them were obviously interested in what was about to happen. In a way, it made sense. After all, this would be a good form of entertainment, no matter the results. And for anyone that wasn't part of our small group, the winner wouldn't really matter. Only those who were still on the hook about having to fight would truly care about this duel.

We were taken to an area to the east of the village. Away from the entrance and away from the ocean. Likely something to do with the fact that fights could get potentially dangerous and start using parts of the village that should not be messed with.

While we were walking, the elderly Rodenti who was sort of guiding us so far spoke up with a worried voice. "Are you sure you'll be able to fight? I understand you are somewhat strong. But Rixnala's warriors are by no means weak."

I nodded. "I think we got this. Not going to say it's going to be an easy fight, but..." I glanced back at the group of Rodenti that was walking with Rixnala. They all looked tough and experienced, but none of them were triggering an alarm in my mind.

There wasn't a single one of them who seemed to be as strong as the Rodenti who almost killed us when we first met Rex. Even Rixnala seemed to be weaker than that one that threw the spear at us and almost made us fall from a passage.

Funny enough, another thing that was clear to see was the fact that the Rodenti didn't follow a specific pattern. For some reason I was imagining that every single one would be a more, ambush-based fighter. Someone who took advantage of their enemies' carelessness. Yet that didn't seem to be the case. Or at least not entirely.

Among the group that was walking with us was one large and burly Rodenti who carried a stone cleaver. There was another who was more slender and clearly nimble, with a pair of daggers at their waist. And even one who wore a long leather vest instead of armor that gave a feeling similar to what Riley did. Maybe that was their witch or wizard.

I felt a bit bad for not giving them enough credit. While these people were Rodenti, giant rats that gained access to the System, or that the System changed to become who they are now, they were also their own people. There was nothing saying that they couldn't have differences among themselves. This wasn't like an old story about orcs or some fantasy race where everybody acted a certain way.

Soon we arrived at the arena, which was just a very large and open sandy area that was about 0.5 meters [1.6 ft] below ground level. That wouldn't be enough to let anyone be trapped inside, but would also give a decent area for the fight and it would separate the fighters from the audience.

Before I had any more chance to organize my thoughts about the environment, Rixnala slammed a piece of rock on the side of the wall, causing it to echo around the area. Just as she did it, everybody stopped whatever they were doing and turned to face the woman.

"You have four fighters. I send four mine. Mirror match. Say what you good at, and we send someone better."

I turned to Rex with a frown. "Is she saying that they're going to send someone who's better than us at what we do? Did I get that right?"

Rex nodded. "Yes. Honor bound. No tricks, no trying cheat the matches. All fights on the same level. Same type of ability."

I turned to the rest of my companions, who all seemed to be somewhat pleased with that information. And so was I. One of the biggest worries I had about this was how to fight against someone like Riley or Michael. But if I was going to fight against someone who was specialized in close quarter combat, with maybe some different skills, I was more confident on being able to handle that.

"Say what you can do," Rixnala demanded as we were talking with Rex. But before any of us spoke up, our Rodenti companion stepped forward.

"Michael: archer. Attacks from distance. Sneaky. Nimble. Riley: mage. Powerful skills. Astrid: warrior. Strong. Very. Cassandra: leader. Also warrior. Quicker, but strong."

"Why am I a leader?" I asked with a frown. But my companions just gave me a blank stare, as if it was the most obvious question ever asked. And yet, no one answered.

We waited for her to say who was going to fight who. She had a brief conversation with her Rodenti warriors, and the smaller Rodenti, with two daggers by their side, stepped forward. She had sleek gray fur, deep red eyes, and the pair of daggers at the sides of her waist.

"Grinda: nimble assassin. I challenge Michael nimble archer."

The Hawaiian man scratched the side of his cheek and turned to Rex. "I'm not sure if that's really on the same playing field. I attack from a distance."

Rex nodded. "Doesn't matter. Both nimble. Both same."

The Hawaiian frowned. "That feels really reductive, but fine. I'll start with this."

Rex rushed towards the side of the man and gestured for him to approach, only to whisper something in his ear before letting Michael step forward again.

"I, Michael, nimble Archer, accept your challenge. Grinda, nimble assassin. We fight until one of us surrenders or is unable to continue."

Grinda nodded and jumped into the arena. Michael did the same, following that both of them spoke roughly at the same time. "I accept this duel of honor and will maintain it with honor."

Everybody else seemed to be expecting that they were going to do something like that, but I still looked at Rex with a worried expression, thinking that maybe Michael was saying it wrong or something. Instead, he was neutral, staring at the fighters below.

I was expecting someone to say something. "Ready, go," or anything to start. But the moment the two of them finished speaking, they jumped into action.

Grinda dashed around the arena in a circle to attack, and Michael was already firing a couple of arrows at the Rodenti. But he was aiming low and not to kill her. A handicap that he was giving her since it would reduce the amount of shots he was able to take. And something was telling me that Rixnala wasn't the type to care about how she won. All that mattered were the results.

The Rodenti quickly dodged the arrows, weaving her movements in a way to not be hit by the projectiles. It wasn't impossible to make Michael miss his shots. And it all happened mostly because his skill set was more focused on dealing damage than hitting his target right now. It was a good thing for the things we wanted to do, but in this particular fight, that might not be the best option. Which wasn't something that any of us really considered.

As a matter of fact, we all agreed that in a one-on-one duel, Michael was likely our weakest link. Maybe tied with Riley, since both of them would struggle to fight in close quarters. Now that we knew that our opponents were people who had a similar skill set, and even then Michael was fighting someone who was trying to get close to him, it became quite obvious that he was the one who would be in most trouble during the duels.

He fired another projectile, this one using {Loom's Volley} in hopes of catching Grinda and trapping her for a moment. But the Rodenti was too nimble. The silk created in the attack struck her, as the projectile hit the ground. And even then was able to shift her body around enough to break free from the snaring effect before it could even become a problem for her.

Michael fired two more arrows while running in the opposite direction that Grinda was coming from. He had to make sure to keep away from the Rodenti if he had any hopes of winning this fight. He moved even farther away, going clockwise along with Grinda. Three more arrows flew at the Rodenti, but all three landed behind her.

I frowned, seeing that. Michael had fought quick monsters. We faced giant wolves and other game that were faster than this Rodenti. And he was able to aim properly and hit his targets during those hunts. That was telling me that he was holding back more than I was expecting. And that's when it hit me. He wasn't really trying to aim at Grinda herself, but at her clothes. At loose pieces of thread that could pin her to the wall. Not a single one of his arrows was targeted at a part of her body.

I wanted to say something, but at the same time, if I did, it would give away the plan to our opponents. And I didn't really know how much they were going to abuse that, if at all.

Grinda started to approach, gaining speed as she moved. And it seemed like this was all thanks to a skill. I had no proof of that from this distance, so I couldn't really tell if any particles were being used. But Grinda never seemed to be playing around with her opponent. Every movement seemed to be with her full power behind it from the get-go. And the only way for her to speed up in this circumstance would be through the use of a skill.

Michael noticed that he was losing ground and fired a couple more shots, all aimed at the loose parts of her clothing. But to no avail. For some reason, he was even avoiding the pieces that were too close to her waist, almost as if he was worried about removing her pants by accident. But at the same time, that wouldn't be much of a surprise considering his personality.

Grinda was just a couple steps behind him when she pulled one of her daggers to attack. Michael noticed the incoming strike and fired another arrow, this one aimed directly at the Rodenti's weapon. It caused Grinda to drop her dagger on the ground as it was knocked out of the arena.

There were some shouts from the crowd who were all surprised by such a precise aim. Although Rixnala shouted some words of encouragement for her warrior. "Was luck. Go!"

Grinda seemed to accept that command and pushed forward, jumping towards Michael one more time but now protecting her dagger with her own body. It seemed like she also realized that the archer wasn't firing with the intention of hitting her.

With the cat out of the bag, Michael didn't have much he could do to stop the incoming attack. Grinda pounced on him, making the man fall to the ground and drop his bow.

"I yield," Michael shouted. "You won," once the dagger was pressing against his throat.

Rixnala cheered with the result, but Grinda reached out one hand to help Michael stand up. She said something in a very soft tone that I wasn't able to catch, but Michael smiled, and without letting go of her hand, raised the arm of the Rodenti to cheer for her like one of the boxers of old.

The rest of the crowd started to cheer the battle and the seemingly peaceful result when Rex turned towards us. "Now we pick one to fight."

And before anyone could say anything, Astrid stepped forward and said, "My turn."