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?!"

would an idiot

***

I remember where I've seen that

first time. Back then, he had almost ended up with that exact

the guy!

that being called

essence through the coils of the Soul Serpent, aiming to

that it wasn't going to be

***

right. None of his next three

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 him was

see some of his movements. The worst part was that this

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

smart thing to do was 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

Lowph ended up being the first

spear slid between the breastplate of the Mantle and one of the spaulders, sinking deep into Sunny's armpit. The

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

you're human,

suppressed the pain and tilted his head

"Am I?"

he dashed forward and went all out, aiming to end the fight as soon as possible — not because he was done learning Lowph's style, but because even with Blood Weave, he wasn't sure that he would last long, considering how serious

with Caster, Sunny already knew how to deal with fast enemies. So, in the end, neither speed

deep wound disappeared as soon as Sunny returned to

have ways to go as far as controlling

really tough, but ended up being only slightly torturous. His

Sunny was barely able to move, while his enemy masterfully weaved

Truth], which diminished the burden a little. More importantly, he had a rich experience dealing with the Crushing. Even though Everain was able

made him rethink a lot

wore simple garments instead of an armor and wielded no weapons. At first, Sunny fought that this was another sorcerer… however, he couldn't have been

voice of the Dreamscape announced 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 terrifying talons, and his teeth turned into long,

a few 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 furious whirlwind of

hybrid fought with a measured technique of an experienced,