Master Of None

 The last two rounds went by without any major uproars. The only one who stood out was the participant with monkey-like traits who purposely jumped about antagonizing his opponent, Walker felt bad for the opponent seeing that they were easily outmatched and more used just as a training dummy. The numbers in each group were split in half to four and would again be split in half this round. Scylla seemed happier than before seeing that the weeds had been pulled and now the real fighters remained. This time she just pointed from where she stood to pair people up. Walker and Su avoided this round but Remey was chosen to fight a younger demi-human with a gorilla trait just like the guards. His traits seemed unusually strong causing black hair to sprout all over his body and giving him a slight hunch over. 

This battle Remey was easily outmatched in strength, she would most likely be winning in speed but otherwise she needed to do her best to avoid a hit. The feline trait and the monkey trait participants from Walker’s group were put against each other. The two created an aura so tense it could be cut. They had been rivals their entire lives and considered the two top fighters in their generation. Not a single citizen believed they wouldn’t be high ranking within the army but the only question was who would be higher? 

Thee other matches were being completely ignored due to the two rivals about to fight it out. However Walker was paying more attention to Remey because he was worried that her opponent may prove too tough. The battles started instantaneously, Remey led with the wooden staff pretending that it was her main weapon yet again. The gorilla trait opponent did not have a weapon but his fists were large enough to be considered weapons in their own right. Once the two came close enough Remey swung out with the wooden staff to goad her opponent in to a strike but instead countering it her opponent grabbed the staff and tore it from her grip. The snape of the staff being broken in to two was loud enough for Walker to hear from the opposite end of the arena. Remey was surprised but didn’t worry too much since she didn’t need it as a weapon, she had her knuckles. 

Her opponent did not show any sign of feeling victory over this and had most likely figured out she was in no need of other weapons. Using his large fists the gorrills like demi-human swung downwards at Remey, his fist missed her leaving a sizable dent in the ground. Remey became much more serious after witnessing his brutal strength. She started to run around his side to get in to a good position to strike as a more exposed and sensitive area. Throwing out a jab with her left hand to distract him Remey followed up with a strong right hook, she was aiming for her opponents side to try and break some ribs which could slow him down completely. 

Her hit was on point but stopped completely without doing much damage, a small bleeding cut was left but her gorilla trait opponent was tough. He swung his hand back at her clipping her left arm. She felt much more pain than she should have and realized her shoulder had just been dislocated. Remey had not expected such a slight hit to cause so much damage. 

She gritted her teeth, she wasn’t allowed to give up but needed to avoid any other blows from this opponent. She used her speed again to try get a good angle, finding one she aimed for the back shoulder of her opponent. She wasn’t able to lock her fingers together to use her hammer fist, instead she used her palm strike from the last battle. Her opponent was tough so in theory she could bypass that and do damage inside. She made contant and immediately jumped back avoiding another backhand as her opponent spun to meet her. She could see that his shoulder and arm dropped slightly, she may not have made a huge impact but enough to put her opponent off. If she could land a few more hits like that she may be able to avoid those ack handed hits. She repeated her previous speedy run circling her opponent before stopping and darting towards them. Her target this time was the exposed back of his head. 

Remey was about to land her blow when the gorilla trait demi-human sank low dodging her strike, with his hand he grabbed her leg and slammed her to the ground. His other hand held her good arm steady, completely incapacitating Remey. Scylla pointed at him announcing victory. Remey had lost, the medical staff were rushing in to look at her shoulder and now bruised leg. Her opponent had been hiding his own speed to lure her in to a trap, he knew she would go after his weak points so intentionally left them open. The gorilla trait demi-human was much more cunning than either walker or Remey had predicted. 

Remey was furious with herself, she hadn’t considered that she was being tricked and needed to reevaluate her strategies. She knew she had been warned in the past about rushing in and now it finally bit her in the butt. She swallowed her pride and nodded to her opponent who respectfully nodded back. She was representing her party and kingdom after all, she could not show that she was so frustrated. Leaving the arena and to a medical area, she was soon healed and brought upwards in the coliseum to join the king’s balcony. 

”You were quite surprising when you completely stopped the rolling with one strike, but you underestimate your opponent’s intelligence. I quite like your act with the wooden staff. If you study it a bit more you may be able to complete a nice facade.” The king said his piece while keeping eyes on the remaining battles. He was a battle maniac but did appreciate those that struggled to adjust and defeat opponents, it was the least he could do but offer some words. 

Walker had seen everything and realized the same things as Remey, he would not be bothering her with any speeches since he knew well that Remey would beat herself up much more about the loss than any other could. He did however plan on training with her more since he knew she would be highly motivated to improve. If Su and Remey could spar more then Remey would be improving much more, Su had the same calm thinking that Remey’s opponent had just used against her. 

Focusing back on the most popular battle, Walker saw that while he had been focused on Remey’s battle the feline trait and the monkey trait participants had been fighting a brutal battle. The feline trait demi-human was missing clumps of fur and had a few broken fingers. The jumps and twists in the air to strike with their saber was very few and far between now that he were panting heavily. 

The moneley trait demi-human had many small slashes everywhere, one eye had been completely blinded by flowing blood from his head. He was definitely less flexible due to these wounds as they would open more when he bent his body to try and grapple his opponent. The two were still pushing constantly trying to get the advantage, however they could not find the proper openings. The saber swiped down only to be caught at the hilt by the monkey trait participant’s tail. The feline trait opponent used a kick to push away the other so that he wouldn’t be locked in to a choke hold. The two had several more collisions such as this without a clear winner being found. They were pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion and it was only the second round, they would be in terrible shape for the final. They were either too arrogant to believe they would win no matter what or they knew that if they didn’t give their all now they would only lose. 

The two collided, they had no more skills and only technique left, their mana was depleted. They struck out toward each other barely making contact, they fell together hitting the ground in a puff of dust. Neither were conscious and neither were at any advantage. It was a double knock out! Walker darted his eyes to Scylla only to see her motion to take them both away. ”Two participants have been eliminated to group three! Ties in battle are losses for both sides, no matter how hard the battle it is still a loss.” Scylla had made the decision and even with the dismay of the crowd it stood.

Walker understood the logic but this was too strict, they two had shown amazing skill yet they were kicked out so easily. Seeing as he and one opponent in his group were the only two left that would make his fight the last. He took a deep breath and prepared himself, he would leave no trick behind as he wanted to win, everything he had to use he would use.