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.

still pretty confused. This guy is just 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

to be a professional warrior, someone who knows their stuff. Is there something going on he’s aware of but I’m not? It would be seriously embarrassing if I were to lose in

slight shift of my opponent's foot is

FAST!

CLANG!

shift my position, angling my head to the side just in time for the blade, which

both feet to create some distance before he readies himself again. Not

Whoa!

CLANG!

the air. This time, I’m not going to let him reset himself so easily. I lash out with

of the blow to bring himself back down to the ground.

try a

And another five times after that. I don’t manage to land a hit. Even though the spell itself is invisible,

a Skill. A wave of crystalline sword-light is formed on the edge of the blade before it flies off,

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

Gweheheheh.

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

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

a little bit