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 am I even going to need

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 an instant to some trick I didn’t see coming, so I decide to brace myself, spin up my mind constructs and take

of my opponent's foot

FAST!

CLANG!

fire and I shift my position, angling my head to the side just in time for the

speed! Surprised that he missed, my opponent is still quick to react, pushing off my thorax with both feet to create some distance before he readies himself again. Not wanting to be caught out, I

Whoa!

CLANG!

he leaps forward with incredible speed, launching from the ground like a guided missile. I shift my head and again, the blade strikes hard against my gravity compressed diamond carapace, sending sparks flying high into the air. This time, I’m not going to let him reset himself so easily. I lash out with my mandibles, not using Void Chomp, because… I don’t want

air, using the force of the blow to bring himself back down to the ground. Legs tucked,

try a

hit him with a blast in the face, or at least, I try to, but he somehow senses it coming and leaps to the side. So I try it again. And again. And another five times after that. I don’t manage to land a hit. Even though the spell itself is invisible, he somehow

a Skill. A

clearly this guy 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 yield

Gweheheheh.

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

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.

this a little