A Dragon’s Curiosity

 

My PC was broken, family member luckily managed to repair it ~ Enjoy the new chapter after a forced break

Nisha had already made her peace with the possible outcomes earlier after she heard that it was customary to arrange fights above a certain strength in advance.

At most she had to make an appointment now and entrust the Arena to find a match for her now, and she could come back on a later date to enjoy herself and have a good fight.

“I see. That‘s too bad then.

Let me register for a fight then, you can inform me once you have a possible opponent for me.“

After thinking about it, the arrangement on the side of the Arena actually made a lot of sense.

If two parties had a huge mismatch in their strength or one side countered the other completely, it was a waste of time to let them fight and the organisers might lose money on the bets as well.

By informing both sides beforehand and allowing them to gauge their chances against each other, there was little to no chance that a fight would be totally one-sided.

Above the fourth rank, appearing inside the pit was no longer merely about resources and fame, the needs of the participants usually got more complex.

The Arena had to adapt to their needs and offer a benefit that would move those experts, or they would not agree to fight each other in public.

“To be honest, it‘s not that there is no way at all, it‘s just that the only method left is a little dangerous.

If the Miss really wants to fight, the Arena can arrange it right away.“

Afraid that her customer would give up and look for someone else the next time she visited the establishment, Elinor quickly added some words and asked the elf to stay.

Nisha was rather intrigued, first it appeared that it was unlikely that she could fight this time, and now the attendant directly changed her opinion and said that the  Arena could still arrange it.

She was rather intrigued to see this particular method.

 

“You probably already know, but there are different kinds of fights that are hosted here.

Apart from the Arena League matches where everyone can freely sign up, there are also Duels for honour and to settle disputes, as well as the Prison League, where convicts battle each other to redeem their freedom.“

Elinor carefully observed the elf while she explained the different attractions that the higher management had prepared to lure in more spectators and their bets.

Generally, that much was common sense and would not need to be repeated, yet she had to be extremely careful and provide the best service to this special customer, for her own sake.

Seeing that there was not much shock or astonishment on the girl‘s face, the attendant did not expound on the details and directly went to the heart of the matter.

“If you wish to gather some combat experience, the Arena can still pick one of our prisoners at the early fourth rank and arrange a match.

This is not covered by the rules of the Arena League and it is hard to say how dangerous a fight between experts can get.

Fists and swords have no eyes, there might be a higher chance to get injured.

After all, the other party is a prisoner and difficult to control in the heat of combat.“

This was the last resort that the Arena could offer to their guests, although it made Elinor hesitant as well.

While it was true that people died and got seriously injured quite frequently on the red sands of the pit, it was either an accident or the opponents harboured deep hatred against each other.

Furthermore, the capital of a kingdom was only so big, and the number of experts above the fourth rank was limited in the end.

While not to the extent that everyone knew each other directly, it was smarter to have one more friend than an enemy.

As long as they did not immensely hate each other, most fourth rank cultivators respected the rules and only fought to first blood or until one side was forced to admit defeat.

It was really uncommon for casualties to appear at that level.

On the other side, prisoners were more ferocious and often had to fight to the last breath under the arrangement of the Arena to satisfy the craving of blood from the audience.

Given that they were desperate enough, it would not be surprising if they went overboard and planned to directly kill an outsider that was arranged to beat them up.

 

“Hmm, can you tell me more about the opponent you can arrange for me?

I am not too sure about the rules of the Prisoner League.“

When their teacher had brought them to the stands to watch a fight, Nisha had learned a little about the duels and the Arena League as well as the rewards for participants.

Regarding the prisoners kept by the Arena itself, she had less understanding and did not dare to make a rash decision.

Naturally, if the conditions were not too bad, the dragon would not mind taking on a more ferocious opponent either.

“No trouble at all, Miss Nisha.

Sometimes, the kingdom‘s officials and judges run into troublesome occasions where it is not suitable to sentence someone directly to death or there are extenuating circumstances that can offset some of the punishment.

The Arena will offer a price to address some of the crimes committed by these prisoners and take over their management.

As long as the prisoners win a certain number of fights decided at their sentencing, they regain their freedom and have paid the price for their sins.

Some people are also not reconciled with their punishments and apply to enter the Arena directly instead of being imprisoned elsewhere.“

Giving a brief introduction to the prisoners that appeared in the underground cells of the establishment, Elinor skipped some of the details, but those were not important at the moment.

She mainly wanted to warn the elf that these individuals were fierce and had committed serious crimes in the past, or they would not even qualify to get managed by the Arena.

While the management group held the life and death of the prisoners in their hands, it was impossible to restrict their thoughts and the actions they might take in the middle of combat.

Even a stronger cultivator could die if the prisoner put his life on the line to fight and perish together.

 

“That‘s not a problem, it‘s a given after all that all living things would struggle for survival.

As long as it‘s a fair fight and not a forced deathmatch, I have the confidence to retreat even if I can‘t beat my opponent.

Can you tell me more about my competitor?“

Nisha almost found it funny how many rules and regulations were required for humans to fight each other.

In the Wilderness, it was not unusual for a battle to break out between neighbouring areas over minor disagreements, as long as one side showed any weakness at all, the other party would pounce at once.

There was no surrender or first blood rule, only survival of the fittest.

Elinor was still taken aback from the heroic bearing coming from a young girl, silently wondering if the elf had perhaps a misconception towards the strength of a fourth rank cultivator and her own strength to say that she was able to freely retreat, but it was not her place to disagree in the face of a customer.

“Sure, would you like to face a warrior or a magician? Since they‘re chosen from the prisoners, you have more choices than in the Arena league.“

It was a testament to the overall strength of the establishment that the elf was free to pick between different classes, since each option represented a prisoner at the early fourth rank.

Peeking through was also the foundation of the strongest organisation below the crown, church and [Adventurer‘s Guild] in the capital.

“A warrior, if it‘s possible. I am more confident in my close combat than my spells and would like to practise more in the direction first.“

As a matter of fact, the dragon would be fine with either of them, her defence against spells and skills was about the same.

Unless a foe was vastly superior in cultivation level, illusory scales from her dragon form would strengthen Nisha‘s skin and flesh and toughen them comparably to a suit of armour.

Weapons at the same level could only leave minor wounds and those below her level were incapable of piercing the skin at all.

Matched with a long range fighter would increase the difficulty of a bout, but not make it impossible.

 

“There are some prisoners that are in the right condition for a match, in my humble opinion, the best choice would be Owen, an early fourth rank earth attribute warrior.

We can arrange the battle to take place within about a candle, if you would like to proceed, or check other possibilities if the young miss has something else in mind.“

Although it sounded like a suggestion, this was most likely the bottom line of the Arena.

They were already very generous to let the challenger pick the type of cultivator between magician and warrior and give information about their attribute beforehand, if the customer still declined such an arrangement without good reason, they would not need to waste more time on such an endeavour.

“Great, we can do it like that.

What do I need to prepare before the fight?“

Nisha was very happy after hearing that she had a chance to fight now, she had been resigned to give up earlier.

Now the fervour for battle was back, she itched to get into the pit right away and bring out her entire strength.

Elinor was aware that the elf was fighting for the first time, hence she had to explain things that newcomers usually found out over time from their seniors and from experience.

“The young miss can either stay in the stands to watch the matches while we arrange the matchup or rest in a room for contestants until it is time for the event.

An assistant will give you notice once there is only one activity left before your fight, by that time the young lady should report to the preparation area on the ground floor.

In terms of preparation, there is not much that Miss Nisha has to pay attention to, in the Prison League there‘s a ban on consumables like potions or talismans, as the prisoners have no access to them either.

You are allowed to carry them to save yourself in a critical situation, yet using them is the same as forfeiting the match.

There are no bans when it comes to armour, you can use whatever you are comfortable with.

Weapons will be provided by the Arena to guarantee fairness, they will be presented before the start of the fight so both sides can pick at the same time.

Do you have any more questions, young miss?“

When it came to the rules of their establishment, Elinor was not using polite language to deal with the young elf in front of her.

No matter what the social status or strength of the clients were, as long as they entered the pit, they had to follow the rules of the Arena.

Only when the rules were ironclad and followed to the letter could they guarantee fairness and have the credibility to open bets.