Chrysalis

Like I said, the Folk seem like they’re down to fight at pretty much the drop of a hat. Before ten minutes have passed, I find myself in an arena, surrounded by hundreds of spectators, while the dog-kin is stretching and taking some practice swings of his blade.

[How many of these arenas do you have?] I ask, a little bewildered.

[A lot,] he says. [We hone our skills in battle constantly against each other, and then against the Dungeon. Sometimes there are demonstrations where captured monsters are brought in so our warriors can test themselves against them. Most of these people probably assume that is the case here.]

He waves to the crowd and they cheer.

I wave to them with an antenna and get no response. Rude.

[Alright, what are the rules?]

[Fight, but don’t kill.]

[... That’s it?]

[That’s it. Use your full strength, because I will be using mine.]

So saying, he takes a firm grip of his sword and lowers himself into a grounded stance. The atmosphere becomes serious in an instant. A hush descends upon the crowd, as the audience holds their breath, waiting for the moment the battle begins.

going to fight me, with a sword? Just one? Look, I don’t have the biggest ego in the world, but I’m a tier seven, mythic monster over here. I don’t have the kind of ant numbers within range to really fuel the Altar, but am I

going on he’s aware of but I’m not? It would be seriously embarrassing if I

shift of my opponent's foot is all

FAST!

CLANG!

position, angling my head to the side just in time for the blade, which would have punctured my eye, to spark off my

thorax with both feet to create some distance before

Whoa!

CLANG!

sending sparks flying high into the air. This time, I’m not going to let him

one of my mandibles in mid air, using the force of the blow to bring himself back down to the ground. Legs

try a

don’t manage to land a hit. Even though the spell itself is invisible, he somehow knows it’s coming, but I’m not allowing him the time to set his feet for one of those rocket jumps.

other times, he activates a Skill. A wave of crystalline sword-light is formed on the edge

has a high level sword Skill. Of course, my reactions are on point and I angle my carapace perfectly. When the light hits, I feel the impact through my whole body, but my trusty carapace doesn’t

Gweheheheh.

remotely enough! The crowd gasps as one, shocked that the mighty cut wasn’t enough to get through my exo-skeleton, but

and unleashes a flurry of strikes, each of them sending an arc of sword-light flying at me. A roar of approval bursts from the crowd, but it soon quietens as I roll deftly out of the way. Well, I say deft. The ground literally rumbles

this a