Chapter 22

  The man, who had fetched me from the VIP room, led me down the corridor and as I emerged into the Shadow Arena the gathered crowd exploded into thunderous roars. The shouting was so loud, my hearing was almost stricken from me as a result. Not seeming to be bothered by noise the man continued to lead me onward towards the octagon battle arena.

  Looking all around the Shadow Arena for my opponent, my eyes finally locked onto a man approaching from the opposite side of me with a spear under his right wrist and the shaft leaning against his right shoulder. His left arm was occupied with the action of waving to the audience and blowing kisses all around.

  My opponent seemed to be wallowing in the attention of the crowd, but I could not dwell on that, “Adam… there he is. Quick, use your skill.” Adam did not offer me a response, but instead I immediately felt his Scholar’s Eye skill activate as a status board was then projected before my eyes.

  Name: Declan Axton

  Age: 29

  Skill: Lightning Lancer

  Sub-Skills:

  Lightning Thrust, Paralyzing Touch, Thunderbolt, Thunder Charge, Thrust Storm, Spear Slash

  Spells:

  Summon Storm Cloud, Lightning Wall, Thunder Cage, Blinding Flash

  Str: 43

  Agl: 48

  Dex: 50

  Mana: 41

  Int: 28

  Wis: 24

  After reviewing my opponent’s status board, I could see that this would not be an easy duel to win. Declan’s strength, agility, and dexterity were double that of mine and his Sub-Skills were ideally aligned to play to his spears advantage of engaging in combat at a distance.

  Additionally, the spells Declan could use would ensure that he kept his distance from an opponent and even if they were able to get close enough, he had a distraction spell waiting for them.

  Adam then decided to weigh in on the situation, “So, we know that Declan will try to keep you at a distance where he can hold the advantage. You could try and get in close, but with your agility that will be tough to accomplish.”

  “It appears that your best course of action is to avoid Declan’s quick movements and close the gap between you and him using distraction tactics. If I can catch him off-guard with my spells, that will be your chance.”

  Adam had a sound plan, but he did not fully understand lightning skills. Accordingly, I then had to explain to him the error in his reasoning.

  “A good idea, but dodging Declan’s movements will be harder than you seem to realize. Lightning skills are notorious for being extremely difficult to evade. For example, the Lightning Thrust skill is a straightforward charge that moves its user faster than one can blink. Before you can even prepare your defense, your opponent is already in your guard.”

  “That is not to say anything about the Thunder Charge skill which is a self-buff that enhances all physical attributes for a short amount of time. If one were stack these two skills on top of each other, then the user would be impossible to be perceived by their opponent.”

  “How do you know all of that… I do not recall anything like that from our research.” Adam responded.

  “Father had a comrade in the Capital Knights who was also a General and specialized in lightning skills. He would tell me stories about what they could do on the battlefield and how they performed in official duels.” I answered.

  “Alright Mr. Big Brain… then what is your suggestion on how we should engage this [Lightning Lancer]?”

  I only had one answer to Adam’s question, “I don’t know… but you and I have to find a way to slow Declan down or we will not even get a chance to counterattack.”

  I could sense Adam grow contemplative as he tried to find a solution to our predicament and I was doing the same. The conversation in my head seemed to be longer than the walk from the corridor to the arena, but it wasn’t.

  Soon I was being ushered into the caged arena and my opponent was as well. Now that Declan was closer, I could see that he was roughly five feet, eight inches in height with a thin, but well-muscled physique. He was no giant of a man, but he had clearly done enough training to ensure his muscles were strong enough to handle the power of his skills.

  Declan’s head was covered in golden-yellow hair that reached down to his shoulders with two crystal clear blue eyes sitting in a well-framed face. The rest of his body was covered in brown leather light armor with pieces of polished metal sitting on his knees, shoulders, forearms, and hanging over his heart.

  As I got closer, I could now see that Declan’s spear tip was made of a bluish-green metal that seemed to make light dance across its surface. The shaft of his spear was comprised of a singular piece of grayish metal that had the spear point affixed to its body. Additionally, the entire shaft of the spear was engraved with a brilliant scroll work that flowed all along the body and made the spear come alive.

  Declan still carried his spear over his right shoulder as we approached each other to exchange our initial greetings. Once we were near enough, Declan decided to speak first in a smarmy voice, “I guess you are to be my opponent this fine evening. I must say you do not look like a suitable challenger to my greatness. Nor do you look like it will be a privilege to be defeated by The Great Declan Axton.” He then used his left hand to flip his hair, and I swear I could almost see sparkles left in his hairs wake.

  I was left speechless by Declan’s brazen words. Just who thinks this highly of themselves and that it seems to be a ‘charity’ that you share the same space as them. Declan must have taken my silence as awe because he decided to continue talking in that same smarmy way of speaking.

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  “I know… I know… my greatness leaves many in the same state. Do not fear young man I will make this a quick duel so you are not too embarrassed and then you can recite latter how it was The Great Declan Axton to whom you were defeated by.”

  I was starting to get seriously pissed off by Declan’s condescending attitude, but, calming myself internally, I kept all these feelings inside.

  “Go ahead and look down on me, it will only make it easier to surprise you with what Adam and I are capable of and thereby throwing you off your perceived throne.” I said in my head.

  Adam must have been listening to my thoughts towards Declan because he soon added his own opinion. “Ohhhh, you can bet that you and I are going to show up this parading peacock of a jackass. Declan’s attitude is just as aggravating for me as it is for you. And while he was grandstanding, I was coming up with a battle strategy to do just that.”

  Intrigued by what Adam had come up with I attentively listened in to his plan. After Adam was done explaining, I internally grinned evilly at just what ‘The Great Declan Axton’ had coming for him. Wanting to start playing to the part, I extended my hand to Declan before saying.

  “I am known as the Phantom Mask, and this is my first time competing here. Let us have a respectable duel and should I lose, I will consider it a great honor to have lost by your hand, Declan.”

  Just saying those words made me want to throw up, but I kept it all inside to stick to ruse and bring Declan closer into Adam’s trap.

  Extending his hand in turn and gripping mine, Declan replied, “Indeed. It will be for you Mr. Mask.” Declan then let go of my hand and proceed to walk to the other side of the arena while I did the same to leave the center of the arena empty.

  Once I reached my starting position, I activated my Soul Diviner skill to see what Declan’s opening move would be. Reading Declan’s soul told me that he would use his Thunder Charge skill followed by his Lightning Thrust skill to end the duel quickly. This was just what Adam had predicted would happen and was what we needed to happen for our counterstrategy to start off strong.

  Pulling my sword from its sheath, I then took my starting stance and waited for the duel to start. In response to my preparation Declan finally removed his spear from his right shoulder and took a battle-ready stance as he placed his right hand near the middle of his spear and his left hand near the butt end.

  A gong then rang out across the arena and the crowd cheered signaling the start of the duel. Declan was immediately wrapped in lightning as he activated the two skills, I had perceived beforehand and disappeared. However, he soon became visible again when he appeared in the center of the arena with his legs stuck up to his knees in the floor and his upper body bent over from the sudden stop of his momentum.

  This was part one of Adam’s strategy. Using his Ground Erosion spell before the match had even started, Adam had laid a pit trap in the center of the arena. Because Adam and I knew Declan’s skill would force him to charge in a straight path, it was fairly simple to lay a trap in his path.

  Adam and I could only get away with this tactic because I was not physically showing any form of a spell casting. Had Declan seen me physically casting a spell he would have changed his strategy or maybe not. He thought so highly of himself I would not be surprised if he thought he was faster than a mages spellcasting.

  With Declan momentarily stunned by the trap, Adam then cast his White Out spell over the whole arena to block everyone’s perception of the duel. I did not waste any time and charged full-on into the snowstorm to close the distance between me and Declan.

  This action would prevent me from using my Soul Diviner skill, as it required a clear view of my target, but to defeat Declan Adam had to take away his long-range advantage by blocking his vision.

  White Out required a good amount of Adam’s mana to keep active so Adam would have to be careful with what spells he used latter in the duel, but if Adam’s plan worked out then we should be okay.

  With that in mind, Adam then cast his Sound Wave spell to give me a clear picture of where Declan was. This was another result of all our hard work. Through constant trial and error, I could now observe the world around me the same way Adam did when he activated the spell. Accordingly, I could now perceive Declan and how he had managed to free his legs from the ground.

  Before Declan could regain his bearings, I emerged from the snowstorm in front of him and surprised Declan with a downward slash that left a shallow red line down his chest. It appeared his armor was going to be harder to get past than I initially thought.

  Swiftly ducking back into the snowstorm, I left Declan’s field of vision before he could retaliate against me. My actions caused Declan to turn around in all directions while shouting, “You cowardly Trash Urchin… come out and face me without any of your underhanded tricks.” I could not perceive Declan’s face, but I imagined it was twisted in anger for being made a fool of by a supposed ‘Trash Urchin.’

  Declan did not wait for me to make the next move as I perceived him raising his arms over his head. Adam then chimed in and said that he could sense that Declan was gathering his mana to use one of his spells. And sure enough, as soon as Declan finished channeling his mana a black storm cloud formed over his head and continued to rise.

  I did not know what Declan was going to do, but Adam seemed to have an idea. “You need to get out of range of that storm cloud. I imagine Declan is going to use one of his lightning-based skills to seed the cloud and create an area wide lightning spell to find you or to try and dispel the obstruction White Out created.”

  It appeared as if the former scenario was correct as Declan, then unleashed his Thunderbolt skill at the storm cloud causing it the roar angrily as it started to rain down lightning over the area it covered.

  I quickly asked Adam to use his Sound Wave spell to help me dodge the attack, but he said, “That it will not work.” Adam began to explain that lightning moved faster than sound waves and that by the time the sound waves found the lightning, I would have been struck and cooked.

  I began to run around attempting to make it harder for the lightning to find me, but it seemed to know where I was going as several lightning strikes hit right in front of my path forcing me to halt and redirect my movements.

  Just as the storm was dying down Adam alerted me that Declan was amassing mana again, but it came too late as a bright flash encompassed the entire area. My vision swam with colors before I realized what had happened.

  Declan had me running around so he could find out where I was from the sound of my footsteps and once, he had a general sense of where I was, he used his Blinding Flash spell to stun me. Declan then emerged in front of me and a series of high-speed spear thrusts began attacking me.

  Declan was using his Thrust Storm skill to turn me into a pin cushion as I could feel his spear slice numerous gouges across my body. Thanks to Adam’s Sound Wave spell and my Soul Diviner skill I was able to avoid the thrusts that were lethal, but there were just too many attacks coming at me to dodge them all.

  Eventually the storm of thrusts came to an end resulting in Declan and I facing each other. I was breathing heavily, and I could feel my blood dripping down onto the ground from the numerous gashes that were across my body. Declan, however, looked smugly at me showing no sign of exhaustion from the use of his spells and skills.

  “Now then you little urchin… you had the chance to lose with dignity at the hands of my greatness, but after you insulted me with that attack… I am afraid I will now take my time to make sure you suffer greatly.” Declan had a look of contempt on his face as he spoke and yet the undertone of his voice suggested he would enjoy hurting me.

  Thinking quickly, I activated my Soul Double skill and projected a copy of myself into a position that looked like I was coming up from behind Declan in the snowstorm to attack with an overhead slash.

  Declan noticed the newcomer and turned around to lash out with his spear at the soul double. Declan’s spear slashed through the double causing it to dissipate into the air, but that was enough of a distraction for me to disappear once again.

  Using the distraction my soul double provided, I then heaved by body back into the snowstorm to distance myself from Declan and regroup.

  This was yet another part of Adam’s plan, because my soul-based skills had a silvery-white glow when they activated, by using Adam’s White Out spell as cover I could use some of my abilities and no one would be able to tell the difference between my skills and any other skill.

  I still did not want to use any of my soul-damaging spells on Declan as that would undoubtedly kill him, but it would also cause the shady people around here to ask questions about the skills I had used to kill Declan.

  As I increased the distance between me and Declan, Adam kept up his Sound Wave spell so I could keep tabs on Declan’s position.

  Once I figured I had enough distance between us, I stopped to catch my breath and rip a piece of my cloak into strips to bandage some of the more severe gashes Declan had inflicted.

  “Callum, I am going to have to cancel the White Out spell soon. The drain on my mana is a little more than I expected to keep it active and we will need all the mana I can muster if we are going to win this duel.”

  Adam gave his bad news with a disappointed tone of voice, as I could tell he wished he could keep the spell going longer to help me out.

  Hearing that disappointment, I tried to put as much assurance into my words as I could when I replied, “That is fine. Should I move on to the second part of your plan after the snowstorm is lifted?”

  Adam gave the mental equivalent of a head nod, and I got myself ready to enact the next stage of the plan.