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?!"

complete idiot would end up with that alias. Why would an idiot like that even try to fight

***

remember where I've seen

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

the guy!

called Mongrel

sat down and circulated his essence through the coils of the Soul Serpent, aiming to replenish it completely before the

feeling that it wasn't going to be

***

of his next three duels were easy, although for very different

armor, wielding a round shield and a

part was that this speed did not come from an Aspect Ability, but simply from skill, training, and incredibly precise

insane speed constantly, the young man seemed deceptively 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 mask the movements of his

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

ended up being the

the breastplate of the Mantle and one of the spaulders, sinking deep

to save himself from a retaliatory strike, Lowph glanced at the vibrant crimson liquid on his

you're human, after

pain and tilted

"Am I?"

out, aiming to end the fight as soon as possible — not because he was done

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

wound disappeared as soon as Sunny returned to

have ways to go as far as controlling essence goes,

up being only slightly torturous. His enemy this time was

started, it felt as 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

importantly, he had a rich experience dealing with the Crushing. Even though Everain was able to

him

a friendly-looking guy with a funny alias, Dynisor. Weirdly, he wore simple garments instead of an armor and wielded no weapons. At first, Sunny fought that this was another sorcerer… however, he couldn't

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

predatory humanoid lizard. A split second later, the creature was already upon him in a furious whirlwind of claws

looked like a Nightmare Creature and was as strong and fearsome as one, the hybrid