The crowd roared with excitement as the eldest son of the King of Bramble was set off to personally square up against the chosen champion of his elder sister. Leopold was an intimidating looking man, large and muscular, built like a professional bodybuilder. He charged at William the second and swung his large hammer with relative ease. William Junior simply brought up his shield at an angle and pushed it forward to meet the hammer. When the two met the hammer deflected off the shield and hit the floor. William Junior didn't hesitate to take the opportunity to attack. His sword hit armor before flesh allowing Leopold to avoid the bulk of the damage by stepping backwards.
A small gash on his side, Leopold didn't seem discouraged or angry. His focus was unshaken as he came in for an attack from the sword side. William Junior spun to meet the hammer with his shield a second time deflecting it to the floor, but this time Leopold recovered quickly and made a third attack from the floor swinging upward. William Junior was forced to dodge this time, but afterwards he came in with three rapid fire slashes using his sword. Although the damage to Leopold was minimal thanks to the coverage the loaned armor gave him, he was taking damage and had yet to land a single hit.
Racknar watched the fight, chin in his hands. It didn't take long for him to figure out what Creatures and Catacombs build William Junior was likely using. “Shit…” Ariagoria looked at Racknar. “Something wrong Racknar?” Racknar let out a low growl. “Junior there seems to be using what's often called the arena fighter build. There's a combination of class abilities and optional features that if combined become a bit busted for one-on-one martial combat. Basically, as long as his opponent is only using one weapon it's unlikely he'll take any direct hits.”
Marionette moved around to try and see over the person in front of her. “Okay, and that's a problem for us, how?” Racknar sighed. “Elizabeth’s personal worrier, the battle maid Emma, uses a sword and board set up similar to Junior but likely has something more akin to the sentinel set up. She's built more for crowds and normal tank support stuff. The best weapon for her build is actually the halberd because of reach but that's besides the point because that wouldn't solve the issue that Junior’s set up is a solid counter to any martial fighter who used a single weapon.”
Davy did a handwave. “Basically he's saying unless the person fighting him is either significantly more experienced or dual wielding, Junior will almost always win in a one-on-one conflict with another fighter when magic is taken out of the equation.” Racknar nods. “He likely was aware of who his sisters would pick before he chose to fight himself. Emma might do fine against whoever Meredith picks, but she's not going to beat Junior.”
The attention of the group returns to the fight as Junior gets more glancing blows on Leopold who had still not landed a single blow on the prince. The crowd was cheering like crazy as the prince continued to narrowly dodge or deflect attacks and strike back, slowly chipping away at his opponent. “(If this were the game he'd be fine, chipping away at HP for a long time. But this is real life, so it'll probably be harder to bring someone down with such shallow cuts.)”
The fight dragged on, starting to feel repetitive as Leopold tried his best to find an opening. Just one good hit was all it would take. Try as he might, swing from whatever direction, Leopold just simply couldn't get a hit on him as he continued to take small cuts. Eventually he did sweep the prince's leg while the prince was mid jump but the prince rolled out of the way before a second attack. Eventually Leopold started to slow down and shortly after that fell to the ground. No longer able to fight, a winner was declared.
“William Autoreus Bramble the Second is the winner of the first match.” The announcer stated. “On to the second match between Meredith McConnell and Elizabeth Anne Victoria Bramble.” Meredith stepped forward. “I will not be using a proxy.” The woman spoke in what sounded like a Scottish accent. Elizabeth looked to Racknar and saw him standing and slapping at his own chest with his hand. She nods. “For my proxy I'll be selecting a personal advisor who works as an adventurer in his free time. Racknar Aradae.”
“This is outrageous!” Prince William objected. “The rules clearly state that the person has to be a loyal servant of the participant. Racknar is just an adventurer.” The announcer checks a few things. “Princess Elizabeth documented Racknar as a personal advisor months ago. As long as his other occupations and hobbies don't conflict with her interests, picking him is within the rules even if his role under her is advisory and not combative.” Prince William tried to continue to object. “I heard from a reliable contact in the church that Racknar is a blasphemer!” The announcer sighs. “There are no rules barring a person from entry based on religious status.”
The announcer looked around. “Are there any further objections? No? Then let's continue.” Racknar hops into the arena, Prince William again interjecting. “The rules clearly state that no outside equipment is allowed in the fight without prior authorization.” This time the king speaks up. “Racknar's armor is non magical and equal to full plate. The color is purely cosmetic. I approve of its use. He also has a non combat magic item that he'll be allowed to keep on him.”
Racknar was surprised, he looked to the king who was sitting with the queen and archmage. “(There's no way the King and archmage don't know this armor is an illusion since I told them who my mother is. He's intentionally allowing me to keep it up. But why? I'll definitely have to look into that later.)” The announcer then gestures to a wall of weapons. “Pick whatever you want, but you won't be allowed to swap equipment until the tournament is over.”
Meredith grabbed a bow, arrows, javelins, and throwing axes. “(A ranged fighter. She'll likely try and use zoning tactics. Run and gun, keeping her distance.)” Racknar walked over to the wall. It had every kind of weapon or shield one could think of but they were of magic materials and the quality wasn't all that great. “These definitely aren't masterwork weapons, that's for sure.” He then grabbed a wooden tower shield and a halberd, strapping them to his back with rope before grabbing a second tower shield and halberd. “Alright, I'm ready.”
The announcer looked at Racknar with a perplexed expression before shaking his head. “Alright then, since everyone is ready…” he looked around the arena. “The fight can commence!” He throws his hand down and gets out of the way. As soon as the fight starts, Meredith notches an arrow and lets it loose. Racknar blocked it with a wooden shield. Meredith started running around the arena trying to get around the tower shield only for Racknar to block them. Racknar runs after Meredith but she's more nimble and much faster then Racknar and is easily able to keep her distance.
Racknar eventually stops to break the arrows leaving small splintered stumps in the tower shield. “You'll run out of arrows eventually.” Racknar taunted. Meredith responded in her accent. “Well then it's a good thing I grabbed more than arrows. Meredith continued to fire the arrows until the quiver was empty and tossed the quiver to the side. Racknar broke the new arrows as Meredith put the bow on her shoulder and started grabbing a javelin from a satchel.
Racknar ran after her while she was still setting up and managed to get within melee range and swing his weapon at her only for her to jump backwards and over it doing a backflip in the process. Meredith once again gained space between herself and Racknar before tossing a javelin. Only this thing Racknar adjusted his grip on the halberd before tossing it into the air. He then caught the javelin, grabbing it before it reached him. He proceeded to break the javelin over his knee and toss it before catching the halberd from the air.
The crowd cheered and roared in excitement. Davy even commented on the maneuver. “I genuinely forgot that Martial Artists could deflect and even catch projectiles like that.” Meredith tried tossing a second javelin at Racknar who swung his shield at it, smacking it in mid-air and sending it flying off. He then rushed at Meredith who tossed her third javelin only for Racknar to sidestep it and dodge completely. He jumped into kneeing the woman in the gut, nearly sending her to the ground.
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Meredith took her fourth javelin and thrust it at Racknar like a spear, he let go of his halberd to grab it before Spartan kicking her down the arena and snapping the javelin over his knee. He then picked up his halberd only to have the fifth and final javelin thrown at his mid-motion. Meredith had already recovered onto her feet though she definitely looked a little ragged. Marionette commented on the fight. “Is it just me, or is Racknar fighting differently than normal?” Ariagoria nods. “Well yeah, he chose his weapons and tactics for the mission. Normally using his swords and hitting things really hard is enough but for this fight he can't use his rage or any spell-like abilities.”
Racknar deflected the javelin with his shield, sending it off somewhere leaving two of the five javelins intact. Meredith ran for them picking them up and tossing both at the same time. This time when Racknar sidestepped the attack he swung his halberd at the javelins, cutting them in half mid-air. “Down to the throwing axes. You grabbed six.” Racknar commented out loud. Meredith growled as she took stock of her remaining ammo. He was right. She tossed her empty satchel to the side and pulled out two throwing axes as she started running around the outer walls of the arena.
Meredith had already gathered that it was unlikely for her to win this fight, but she wasn't giving up. She tossed her first axe, moved, then tossed her second. Aiming for two spots and hoping one would land. Racknar deflected the first with the shelf sending it flying to the side but dropped the halberd to catch the second one. Rather than break the handle or something he tossed it right back at her with full force. Meredith was barely able to dodge. When Racknar went to grab his halberd off the ground Meredith once again used the opening to attack, sending two more axes at Racknar.
The first one hit the shield, digging into it a bit. The second one dug a bit into Racknar's armor. Racknar pulled the axe out of his body and sent it flying into the arena wall, he tore a bit of his robe to make a makeshift bandage for the wound. This left him open enough for two more attacks but this time he caught one with his hand and the other in his shield. Racknar simply sent this one to the ground before doing the same to the two in the shield. “All out of ammo. What's next?” Meredith ran for one of the axes on the ground but Racknar also ran for it.
Meredith reached the axe with Racknar right behind her swinging the halberd down at her head. She barely managed to avoid the attack, tossing the axe as she did but missed Racknar completely with it going past his side. Racknar swung his shield at her this time and smacked her right upside the head with it. This sent her to the ground. Racknar quickly moved over to her and stomped on her gut, getting groans from the audience as well as his opponent. They say you shouldn't kick someone while they're down, but Racknar was fighting to win.
Meredith rolled and got up to her feet. She pulled the bow off her and spun into a heavy swing at Racknar's right side. He let go of his halberd to hatch it, a loud snack as it impacted his palm. He then Spartan kicked her away a second time. He then broke the bow over his knee and tossed the bits away before running after Meredith. He didn't even pick up the halberd this time but instead punched her in the face with his shield again. When she hit the floor this time he moved in to get her again while she was on the ground but mid-punch she yelled. “I yield!” Racknar stopped right before her face and backed off.
He walked to the halberd and picked it up again with the announcer deviating the winner. “The winner of the second match, Racknar Aradae on behalf of Princess Elizabeth Bramble. We will now heal the fighters and take a short rest before doing the consultation fight between Leopold Ironheart and Meredith McConnell.” Racknar set his weapons to the side and received healing before returning to his seat in the crowd. “I wonder if they'll let me swap my damaged shield for a fresh one or if I'm stuck with the exact weapons I started with.”
It was clear the people running the tournament had no issues with replacing broken equipment as Meredith started her second fight with fresh equipment and ammo. The party watched as her tactics were more effective on Leopold then Racknar, able to get more hits on her second opponent. Despite this, after a long fight, a simple mistake led to Meredith taking a direct hit and having her ribs broken. Unable to fight, the winner was declared. “Leopold Ironheart on behalf of Princess Victoria.” The announcer made it official. Now all that was left was for Racknar to fight William Junior.
Racknar leaped over the wall once again before gathering his items, a fresh wooden shield being provided. Once Racknar was equipped he did some stretches. The announcer set up the fight. “It's the last fight in the tournament of selection. It's William Autoreus Bramble the Second versus Racknar Aradae of Riverside.” The King stood and waved at the crowd to get their attention. “I King William Autoreus Bramble hereby declare by royal decrees that should Racknar win this fight he'll be officially granted knighthood in Bramble making his moniker as The Black Knight of Riverside more than just a nickname.”
Racknar’s fangs curled into a smile. “(You're definitely up to something King Bill, but what?)” The crowd had mixed energy but the announcer waved for attention. “The final fight will begin.” He dashed his hand downward. “Now!” He then cleared the area. Racknar didn't hesitate to get started, he pulled back his halberd holding it up in the air like he was setting up for an Olympic style javelin toss. He then ran a bit forward before sending the halberd at William Junior with the force of both hands like a missile.
Junior’s eyes widened as he raised his small metal shield to deflect the projectile. He moved the shield from his line of sight to see Racknar was already right on top of him with the shield in his left hand aiming right for Junior's face. “Shit.” Junior cursed under his breath just before he took a heavy direct hit to the face. His head was sent a bit to the side and three teeth were sent flying out of his mouth. Racknar then went for two more punches, meeting shield to shield with the first but shield to ribs with the second. Racknar then followed up with a Spartan kick to the chest.
Junior slid a bit backwards but managed to regain his composure. The audience was silent, watching with bated breath and hands over their mouths. Marinette looked both ways at the crowd. “How come no one is cheering? This fight is bangers and mash.” Davy gave her a “what did you just say?” Look as Ariagoria explained. “Everyone else is traditionally trained, there's a refined grave to their combat. Racknar on the other hand, learned to fight out of necessity and fights like a muddy adventurer. No grace, no refinement. He's not fighting for their entertainment, just fighting to survive, fighting to win.”
Marionette crossed her arms and huffed. “Well considering the steaks, how could they blame him?” Junior swung his sword at Racknar's unarmed right side thinking it would be open only to meet shield. Rather than press the fight however, Racknar disengaged and backed off. Junior started to follow when he noticed Racknar pull off the second halberd and take the throwing stance. “Shit, I forgot the muddy bastard had two of ‘em” Junior said out loud as Racknar once again sent a high-speed halberd at him like a rocket.
Junior was barely able to deflect it and quickly prepared himself for a left hook by raising his shield right away. He then found himself caught off guard by a right hook with shield in hand. Junior had the slobber and another tooth knocked out of him as he was left spinning and reeling from the attack. He then managed to block a second attack from his left and deflected a third attack from the right hand shield using his sword to perry it. Racknar responded to this by stomping on the Prince's foot then headbutting him and breaking his nose.
Junior backed away and created some distance between them. “How dare you! How dare you continue to mar my beautiful face over and over again. I'll have you executed for this!” Racknar laughed as he went out of his way to collect his halberds again. “Hahaha, you fight like a ballerina. All grace and no substance. Every fight you've been in before now was merely a dance recital. I, on the other hand, only know how to fight to survive. Every time I've fought it's been with my life on the line. No rules and no holds barred. If you want a snowball's chance in Dis against me you're going to have to get your hands dirty like a commoner and drop the pompous bull shit.”
Junior let out a roar of anger. “As a prince I am to always present myself in a noble manner.” He points at Racknar aggressively. “I'll never stoop to your level!” Racknar shook his head. “Tisk tisk tisk, and here I was hoping to at least break a sweat in this fight.” Junior shouted even louder. “You have to be cheating somehow! What kind of effect does that magic ring have?!” Racknar couldn't help but chuckle. “Keke, although I won't tell you its exact effect I will tell you that as an unintentional side effect of its ability I'm actually nerfing myself. That means in addition to that and me not using the Berserker’s rage under the assumption it counts as a spell-like ability I've actually been fighting at less than half capacity with the exception of the halberd toss where I give it my all minus rage.”
Junior roared even more as he charged at Racknar. “Lies! I won't let you get away with making a fool of me!” He got into melee range and made three swipes with his sword meeting shield everytime and even taking small chunks out of it and even Racknar's arm. Racknar growled at Junior. “I swear on the river Styx that every word I've spoken since entering this area is the truth.” He then brought the halberd down on Junior who deflected it to the side and used the opening to attack. He swung the sword hard and it sank into Racknar's side, getting stuck in his natural armor. Junior then got shield-punched in the inner elbow.
Racknar knocked the sword right out of Junior’s hand before taking a step back and sending the flat of his foot right into Junior's face. This kick knocked the prince to the ground. Racknar wasted no time in removing the sword from his side and walking over to kick the shield out of Junior's hand. Racknar then used his left hand to lift the prince by the collar of his armor before punching him several times in the face. “Consider yourself lucky healing magic exists, because otherwise you'd be ugly forever after I'm done with you.” He then sends a final punch into the prince's jaw, breaking it and cracking his skull.
Racknar lets go of the Prince who simply twitches on the ground. There's a long drawn out silence in the crowd before the announcer declared the fight over. “The winner of this fight and the tournament is… Racknar Aradae of Riverside, on behalf of Princess Elizabeth!” Nobody cheers. A healer comes to mend the two fighters, restoring even the lost teeth in the Prince's face. The King stood. “I will admit, I was hoping my son would win, but I am a King of my word. I'll be right down to knight thee.” The King started walking down some steps behind his observation area.
The Prince got up and checked his face in a mirror before grabbing his bloody sword off the ground and gripping it so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The archmage teleported to his side and put a hand on the Prince's shoulder, shaking his head. He then whispered something in the Prince's ear. The King eventually made his way to Racknar, sword in hand.
