Pieces of Sonder

“Haha, you better be ready to pay me five silvers when he wins.”

“Likewise, I hope you have five silvers for me when he loses.”

Freya wrinkled her nose at the wager. Kamdale, the demoniclast betting on the boy losing, had an unfair advantage in predicting the outcome. Judging by Kamdale’s green text box, he had a Player Card and could see the boy in the ring was a level lower than the monster he faced.

Kamdale leaned back to watch the rest of the fight. From Freya’s angle, three rows above him, she couldn’t see his face, but she could sense his confidence. She narrowed her eyes at his text box again.

[Kamdale Tolan]

[Lvl 21 Samurai]

Why do they always choose the samurai class? Freya wondered. Out of the four demoniclast players she had come across, all four had chosen samurai. Bis said the samurai class has good bonuses for swordsmen, but wouldn’t the knight or warrior classes also work?

CLANG!

Freya jumped in her seat. Resmen, the boy Kamdale was betting on losing, stood empty-handed. His sword had been flung from his hand and collided with the iron fencing. A second later, a demoniclast was pulling Resmen out of the ring.

“Resmen Ward has been forced to forfeit! That knife-breaker is a terrible one. Will the next contestant be able to bring it down?!”

The announcer’s voice drowned out the boos and cheers. The demoniclast next to Kamdale grudgingly handed over his silver coins. Resmen seemed to be arguing with the demoniclast who had pulled him from the ring. Freya couldn’t hear anything, but the desperation on his face was clear. This was probably his only chance to become a demoniclast apprentice. It seemed unfair since his match had ended preemptively, however to Freya, the outcome was obvious. He was so outclassed that he didn’t realize the danger.

The kypro knife-breaker prowled around the empty ring. It flicked its tongue at the iron fencing, then turned its head away in disgust. At the edge of the ring, Freya noticed black-cloaked shamans checking the talismans attached to the fencing. 

A black cloud rose from ring two. The victorious Jensina raised her sword to the cheering crowd. The small cat demon hadn’t left a scratch. 

“We have our first winner! Jensina Carlsdor will be moving onto the third demoniclast trial!”

Freya wished she had paid attention to her fight; she seemed experienced with a sword. The other fights in the remaining two rings were uninteresting to Freya. Both contestants and the demons they faced were low-level. Neither showed impressive sword skills either.

“The next to face the knife-breaker is Botan Jia! Will he be able to bring it down?!”

Once the boy stepped in the ring, Freya recognized him. Botan had initially been in the leading group of the endurance race but chose to run straight to Mt. Lowena–through dense forest. This decision had cost him time, but he made the cutoff. 

[Botan Jia]

[Lvl 10 Farmer]

Despite being in the same class as Resmen, Freya liked his chances a lot better. The level nine knife-breaker flicked its tongue in Botan’s direction. Just like the boy before him, Botan held himself confidently. However, the demon looked smaller in front of him. He was much taller than Resmen and had a bulky, muscular build. 

This is the guy you want to bet on, Freya thought, glancing at the demoniclasts below. Neither made a wager, but Kamdale’s attention was clearly on Botan.

Well, I suppose level is not everything. His high level could from non-fighting skills. He is a farmer, after all.  

Botan held his sword loosely at his side as he approached the demon. The knife-breaker arched its back and hissed. The black scales on its back seemed to enlarge and hang off its side.

It lunged at Botan. The boy paused, but the knife-breaker got nowhere near to touching him. 

Hissing more, the lizard circled away from Botan. It lashed its tail, then pounced again.

Botan leaped to the side. As the knife-breaker flew by, he swung at it. But his blade sailed past the demon.

The crowd roared. 

“That was a close one! But Botan is ready to strike again! We have a great fight going down in ring one!”

Botan charged this time. He swung at the demon’s legs. The lizard lunged at his sword. Retracting the weapon, the knife-breaker’s teeth just missed the sword. Then Botan stabbed at its head.

The demon lashed out at the sword again, and Botan retreated. Despite hitting it in the face, there was no damage to the lizard.

Freya shifted in her seat. He needs to hit somewhere it doesn’t have those scales!

In his next attempts, Botan swung low at the demon’s underbelly, but the lizard snapped at his sword each time. Freya suspected its bite could snap the sword. Luckily, Botan had quick reflexes.

He hit the demon in the head once again, but this time immediately struck its body. A large cut on its white underbelly dripped black blood. 

Crouching, the knife-breaker hissed at Botan. The boy closed in. The crowd quieted in anticipation.

“He has potential,” Kamdale said to the demoniclast next to him. Leaning back, he said in a lower voice, “Perhaps we can give him the card.”

Card? A Player Card?!