Chapter 345: 345. Fighting Pain

The arena battles went on. Unlike the first day, only a few challengers had managed to win their fights. Most of them were already touted as potential champions. As for the rest, they exchanged blows, displaying weapons and techniques that fascinated the crowd and amused the nobles. Of the two-hundred and fifty-six fights, however, seven drew the greatest attention. One of those fights was Dallion’s, and despite his best efforts, it remained evenly matched.

Pain races throughout his body as the cuts he’d received kept growing like cracks on a dry waterbed. Nil had been right when he’d said that the daggers Elvira had were different from his—their damage potential was significantly greater, not to mention that the agony created had almost brought him to the ground. Even Lux’s efforts were unable to numb the pain, just somewhat reduce it. Meanwhile, Dallion’s opponent didn’t seem in the least affected. The wounds were there, Dallion could see them, spreading along her arms, but for some reason they didn’t seem to cause her pain in the least.

Just pick me up! The armadil shouted from the ground. I’ll be able to take a few hits.

“No,” Dallion hissed.

Given Elivra’s weapons, that wasn’t a guarantee. Besides, even if it were, using a shield now would only make it more difficult. Even the whip blade he was holding felt ten times heavier than before. According to Nil, that was a side effect of her daggers. If so, Dallion would only be able to take a few strikes more. The issue was that carving skills and acrobatics were a terrifying combination.

Keep her guessing, Nil advised. Shift between close and ranged attack.

Almost on cue, Elvira rushed forward. Creating five instances, Dallion retreated, twisting the whip blade around himself. One of the instances slashed the forearm of his opponent. That was the one he chose to keep as reality.

Good. Keep it up.

Why doesn’t she feel pain? Dallion asked. If this was a skill she had, Spike surely would have shared it when Dallion was at the guildhall. Still, there was no denying the fact. Is that a skill?

Not unless she can do magic, Nil replied. Rather, she’s probably using a magic item of some sort.

There were too many metal objects on Elivira to be able to be able to tell for certain, not to mention there was no guarantee that the item was made of metal.

Seeing his hesitation, Elvira charged at him again, leaping in the air and attacking from above. Dallion responded by combining guard and acrobatic skills. Alas, that time none of his instances remained unscathed. With the speed of a woodpecker, Elvira pierced through the thick leather of his right holster boot, effectively ripping off Dallion. In the process, she had received another wound, but that didn’t matter in the least.

Damn it! This was the worst possible outcome. To add insult to injury, Dallion was almost certain that she had no idea that the kaleidervisto in the boot was actually healing him. As far as she was concerned, Elivra probably wanted to limit his mobility, which she had done as well.

Things were looking bad for Dallion. In his desperation, however, an idea was born. It wasn’t the best idea, but it was the only one that had the potential to turn the battle around.

“Which of you are magic?” Dallion asked, using his music skill to add as much boasting and agreeableness as possible.

Elvira paused. She couldn’t understand the question, and it would have been difficult for her to do so, since it wasn’t addressed to her or any other person at the arena. Rather, it was meant for the items on her.

What’s it to you? a sharp female voice asked.

Why? Had enough? a jackal-like voice laughed.

Seems like, another replied.

That means there were three magic items. Not as many as Dallion thought there’d be. He already knew that two of them were the daggers—likely they were the ones with the jackal voices. That means the female voice had to belong to the protective item.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Dallion continued, adding a heavy dose of fear.

“You won’t,” Elvira replied, missing the point completely.

“If you don’t fall off, I’ll have to.”

Taking this as a provocation, Elvira charged forward. Dallion had no choice but to react by spin-twisting his weapon as he prepared to engage in close combat again. While doing so, though, he continued to try and pinpoint the magic item.

Elvira didn’t have any necklace or earrings, and as far as he could tell, she didn’t seem to be wearing any rings on her hands either. Where then? It had to be in contact with her skin, so it couldn’t be hidden in a pouch somewhere. Maybe it was in her boot? Holster boots were common, considering there was a name for them, but if that was the case, how should he proceed to remove it?

The left daggers, one of the chain links on the ground shouted, its voice full of resentment. All three of them are magic!

All three of them? That was unexpected. Dallion knew that his opponent had several more daggers in her belt, but had assumed them to be normal. Clearly, some were, but not all. It also made sense that she would resort to using her pain nullifying weapon. When Elivra had recognized the effects of Dallion’s weapon, and mistaken them to be similar to her own, she must have quickly taken the appropriate countermeasures, which means pain nullification.

Two daggers—two targets. Which was Dallion supposed to go for?

My dagger’s indestructible, he thought loudly. If there’s a clash, who do you think will win?

Eilvira reached Dallion, engaging in her methodical attack. Two daggers against a dagger and a whip blade. In close proximity Elvira had the clear advantage, but then the most unusual thing happened. As Dallion moved to parry one of the daggers with his own, his opponent’s weapon flinched. It was barely noticeable, lasting a fraction of a second, but Dallion noticed. For that single instant, the dagger slipped in Elvira’s hand. Dallion had been in similar situations many times back on Earth when playing video games—when the controller would slip after hours of play, leading to a game over and the inevitable rage quit that followed.

As the tip of the blade tore through Dallion’s shirt, it made Elviura loosen her grip. That was the moment Dallion was waiting for, striking her hand with his knee. Normally, that would have little effect, but in the present circumstances, Elivra let go of the weapon. It only happened for a moment, but that moment was enough for pain to hit her like a ton of bricks.

Dallion felt the sensation explode within her, ringing like a chorus of bells. Taking advantage, he spun around, landing a sidekick, then following up with an attack with the whip blade. Before the sharp metal fragments managed to reach her, however, they froze mid-air.

“Dallion Darude wins!” someone shouted from the stand.

The announcement came as a surprise, causing both Dallion and Elvira to leap back and look in the direction of the countess. As a further surprise, the noble was looking directly at them. A simple nod on her part said everything that was necessary—the fight had been deemed over and Dallion declared the victor.

Bow, Nil said.

After a moment’s hesitation, Dallion did. A smile formed on the countess’ face, after which she directed her attention to one of the remaining battles. Almost instantly glowing symbols appeared around Elvira and Dallion, along with the warm sensation of healing.

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Show off, Nil grumbled. Just so you know, it takes more effort to have the symbols be visible than for the actual spell to work.

All part of the show, I guess.

Mages and the festival—intolerable on their own, but when combined, they create a headache of epic proportions. The worst part is that it’s looking more and more like this will become the new standard. Having real fights is far more spectacular than people hitting each other with wooden sticks. Mark my words from next year, the countess would have convinced the academy to send a mage or two as part of the event.

I don’t see that as a bad thing…

That’s because you don’t know better, the echo grumbled.

“Congratulations,” the mercenary approached Dallion. “You weren’t that bad.”

“Thanks. You weren’t—"

“Luck played an important part, of course. Even with your weapons, you wouldn’t have won if my hand hadn’t slipped.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Thinking about it, she wasn’t incorrect. Rather, everything that passed for luck was just the end result of Dallion’s ability to converse with items. He had heard that treating an item, or area, badly could result in mishaps, but up till now never had he imagined that the opposite could be possible as well. Intimidating a dagger into slipping was definitely a first, not to mention overpowered as heck. And that wasn’t even considering that Dallion could use his music skills to target items in a far more subtle way than before. Even if a person was wearing blocker items, their clothes and gear weren’t. With enough conviction and manipulation, Dallion could even make people trip on their shoelaces—if people had shoelaces in this world—and no one would suspect a thing.

“Still, you’re not as bad as they say.” Elivra gave him the proper recognition. The emotions within her indicated that she was more impressed that she was letting on.

“I plan to get better.”

“You must if you’re to win the next fight. It’s only guildies and champions from here on. Wildcards tend to fizzle out in the first round. Externally backed, like me, last a few rounds longer.”

In other words, the difficult part was yet to start. Funny how often Dallion kept hearing that, and at the same time, it was true. In the world of awakened it was all about leaps to progress further. Things that had seemed impossible half a year ago seemed trivial now. No doubt after another year, Dallion would look back and wish he had to face today’s challenges.

“Any advice you can give?”

“Don’t rely on tricks.”

“You relied on tricks as well.”

“And I lost. You could have too if luck was on my side.”

She’s right, dear boy. Your strategy was sound, but it did rely exclusively on your weapons, namely on the abilities of your familiars. Without those, you would have lost.

Wasn’t the point to make the best use of the gear at my disposal? Dallion asked.

Skills at your disposal, Nil corrected. But even so, what is your answer if you’re deprived of your items? Elvira let go of a dagger for less than a second, and that cost her the fight. What if that had been you? Could you have won this fight if it weren’t for Nox? Or how about Lux? You’re reached a point at which relying on your greatest strength has become your greatest weakness.

That sounded way too philosophical for Dallion, but he got the point. His current battles had become an intricate chain of gear and ability combinations that, when working together, brought him victory. Break one thing in that chain and winning was no longer ensured.

“Can I give you a piece of advice?” Dallion asked as he made his way to the remnant of his boots on the ground.

“Go ahead.” The woman crossed her arms.

“Treat your weapons better. Especially your chains. For someone relying on them in battle, you really neglect them a lot.”

After he took his boot, Dallion went to the chains on the ground and picked them up. True to his word, he repaired both segments that he’d broken during the battle.

You really kept your promise, one of the guardians noted in utter surprise. It was almost sad what they must have gone through to get to such a state.

I try to, Dallion replied.

Good job, Gen said from Dallion’s realm. You just got another achievement. Two, rather.

Two? Getting one was impressive enough given that he was in the real world, but two—that was more than Dallion could hope for.

Item’s Ally, Gen continued. As you’d expect, it boosts your empathy by two.

Nice. And the other?

Nox.

Nox?

He’s a level four now, and that comes with something new—the ability to challenge guardians directly.

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