Shadow Slave

"An incredible win by Lord… uh, by Mongrel!"

Looking at the cloud of blood rising above the arena, Syclus couldn't contain his enthusiasm.

Today, there were no simultaneous duels, as there were only thirty-two contenders left. Each battle was intense and exciting, and received the full attention of the commentators.

Looking at the cheering audience, Dimi laughed.

"Indeed, indeed… Mongrel did very well against No Wait. That Aspect of his is a real menace, believe me. I've been on the receiving end of those explosions way too many times!"

Dimi had been one of the first renowned duelists of the Dreamscape, back when it had been just growing popular ten or so years ago, so he was talking from experience.

Syclus glanced at the chat, knowing that it was a good time to involve the viewers in the discussion. Coincidentally, he noticed a comment concerning something that he himself was curious about.

"Yeah, very devious! But, Dimi… don't you feel like Mongrel behaved a bit out of character today? I mean, he practically called a respected Dreamscape veteran an idiot. With how noble, dignified, and chivalrous Mongrel usually is…"

Dimi thought for a bit, then shook his head.

"You see, Syclus… I respected Mongrel before, but now I truly admire him. It takes a very talented fighter to quickly recognize a battle style, true. Mongrel is talented... but he is also wise."

He smiled.

"Because it takes a very wise man to quickly recoginze an idiot. And make no mistake, this guy is a complete buffoon! Believe me, I have the misfortune of knowing him pretty well. I mean… only an idiot would end up with an alias like "What? No, Wait!"... right?"

Instantly, a deluge of comments flooded the chat:

"True! Mongrel is so wise!"

"Wise, deadly, and handsome!"

"How do you know that he's handsome, fool? He never takes off that creepy mask!"

"You mean SHE is handsome? Wait, that doesn't sound right…"

"...Can someone ban that troll already?!"

Why would an idiot like that even

***

remember where I've

the Dreamscape for the first time. Back then, he had almost ended up with that exact name after accidentally saying the words out loud. Luckily, it had

that's the guy!

called

the coils of the Soul Serpent, aiming to replenish it completely before the

feeling that it wasn't

***

right. None of his next three duels

faced today was called Lowph. It was a young man with shoulder-length hair who wore a light armor, wielding a round shield and a spear. His technique was impeccable, but the most dangerous thing about

worst part was that this speed did not come from an Aspect Ability, but

slow until he chose to attack, at which point his weapons almost teleported from one place to another. Sunny only managed to resist because his enemy skillfully masked the movements of his body, but didn't think to

kill the deadly opponent as fast as possible, but Sunny was utterly fascinated by the way Lowph used his soul essence, so he lingered, trying to infer details of this technique from how the young

why Lowph ended up being the first human to make

and one of the

the blade and then retreating to save himself from a retaliatory strike, Lowph glanced at the vibrant crimson

you're human, after

and tilted his

"Am I?"

the fight as soon as possible — not because he was done learning Lowph's

fast enemies. So, in the end, neither speed nor incredible mastery of essence managed

as soon as

to go as far as controlling essence goes,

tough, but ended up being only slightly torturous. His enemy this

though a mountain fell on his shoulders. Sunny was barely able to move, while his enemy masterfully weaved the effects of Aspect Abilities into an already swift and lethal combat technique, making for a

experience dealing with the Crushing. Even though Everain was able to make him sweat by manipulating gravity with

however… made him rethink a lot of

instead of an armor and wielded no weapons. At first, Sunny fought that this

the start of the duel, his opponent… changed. His muscles suddenly ballooned and shifted, ripping through the simple clothes. His skin glistened, becoming covered by metallic scales. His nails grew into

moments, what faced Sunny was not a human, but a frightening hybrid creature that resembled a predatory humanoid lizard. A split second later, the creature was already upon him in a

Nightmare Creature and was as strong and fearsome as one, the hybrid fought with a measured technique of