Reflections on the Warpath - [An Isekai Progression Fantasy]

Since he wasn't technically heading into a fight, Jay didn't have the uncontrollable urge to vomit the morning of the advancement tournament. Advancement would undoubtedly be more dangerous than any of his previous fights, but at least he was free of his annoying pre-fight ritual.

Jay's stomach churned as he waited anxiously in the cordoned off section of the pavilion, but
he chalked that up to regular nerves, rather than his fight night tradition. The Verdant Frontier wasn't just some garden to stroll through and smell the flowers.

Pippin's sack of explosives rested on the floor between his feet. It'd been safely stored inside Akira's quiver until they'd reached the coliseum. Since they didn't know when the fighting would start, Jay kept it nearby. The Clockwork Vault's logo was painted onto the bag, and Jay made sure it was facing the crowd.

When they'd discussed payment with Pippin yesterday, Akira had earned Jay a rather large discount by suggesting the marketing benefits of sponsoring Jay. Many people would be watching the advancement tournament. Given the drama surrounding his team selection, most of them would be watching Jay's group at the start.

Exactly when he'd detonate the bombs.

Although Jay had taken many weird sponsorships as a boxer, an explosives endorsement was a big first. Luckily, he'd talked Pippin and Akira out of sewing the shop's logo onto the back of his jacket.

That was a step too far.

Lyra, Akira and Karis stood together beside Jay, each silently looking up at Gladiator's gate. As Jay's eyes wandered around their section of the pavilion, he saw that every other gladiator stood bunched in threes.

Nobody else was even looking at the other teams.

Nobody else was standing alone.

The final pair of gladiators entered the pavilion. Ezekiel the Soulsnatcher had another giant blade strapped to his back. It looked different to both the other swords Jay had seen him wield. It curved like a crescent moon, handle jutting out to the right of the swordsman's head, while the uncovered tip of its blade poked out from behind his right knee.

Amaya concealed her mechanical face with a cloak identical to the one Vega had incinerated. She waved at Jay with her gloved hand.

Fuck you.

You just had to go and make things complicated, didn't you.

Jay turned back to his real teammates, hoping he'd find them quickly once the tournament began.

With so many trios competing, along with the duo he was starting alongside, it would almost be a miracle if Jay survived long enough to find them.

Forget about that!

Fight your fight, Lightning. Focus on what you can control, not what you can't.

Although the gathered gladiators waited in silence, the excited crowd surrounding them murmured with anticipation. The relentless drone of what-ifs and what-abouts crept its way into the gladiators' ears.

Jay heard his own name course through the crowd more than once. He closed his eyes, exhaled, and tried to stave off the onslaught of speculation.

Why stress about what was about to happen? He'd find out soon enough.

The crowd suddenly hushed.

Jay cracked an eye open, and watched a familiar figure float out from Gladiator's gate.

Orion's huge, angelic wings gently curled around him, only unfurling once he'd exited the coliseum. They radiated a gentle white light that reflected off his immaculately polished armour, washing the crowd in his celestial radiance. He wasn't wearing his golden lion helmet.

"Gladiators, are you ready?"

His rumbling voice, although not particularly loud, shook the ground beneath Jay. As if even the tiles at Jay's feet couldn't contain their excitement.

Jay tightened his fists, feeling the wraps around them strain against his pull. His feet shifted closer together, pressing into the bag Pippin had prepared for him, and Ping gently leaned against his back.

I'm ready.

As ready as I can be anyway.

Orion flapped his wings and rose several metres in the air.

"This year's D grade advancement tournament begins now."

Silence.

Darkness.

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Nothing remained of the eager crowd surrounding Jay. Nothing remained of the E grade gladiators, nervously bunched in threes. Even the coliseum vanished, replaced by an eerie, all-encompassing black.

Jay scanned the darkness in sharp, restless bursts.

He wasn't alone in the void. Although, after seeing the only two people beside him, he wished he was.

Amaya and Ezekiel met the infinite darkness with hollow stares, unfazed by the abrupt teleportation.

A golden flash tugged at the edge of Jay's vision. He pulled his eyes away from his teammates and looked towards it.

In 30 seconds you will be deposited within the Emergent Bloom, the arena for this year's tournament. To advance into D grade, your team must collect 3 relics, scattered throughout the Bloom. Once you have acquired three relics, you must locate the exit hub to return the relics and complete your advancement.

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Could be worse…

At least he wasn't reliant on his team to succeed, the text didn't mention anything about finishing together, just that three relics would allow a team to exit.

Since collecting relics with his team was out of the question, he'd have to find and collect three relics by himself if he wanted to complete advancement.

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Competing against trios and doing the work of three gladiators on his own was difficult, but not impossible. Also, it meant that he could kill Amaya and Ezekiel, while still advancing into D grade. The thought had been nagging at his mind since the tournament's teams had been announced. Jay would gladly give up on advancement if it meant revenge, but he'd rather have both if possible.

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Even though collecting relics on his own would be difficult, it was also something that Lyra, Karis, and Akira could easily help him out with. When he found them, they'd be at a man advantage over every group they came across.

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Vibrant green shattered the smothering darkness, a veridian tangle became Jay's new reality. A translucent cylinder separated Jay from the dense jungle. He pressed his hands against it and gazed at the sea of green beyond. Colossal trees towered above Jay in all directions, soaring towards the sky. They formed a dense canopy above, with several rays of sunlight piercing through to the clearing where Jay stood, trapped behind his glass-like barrier.

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The barrier may have stopped Jay and his teammates from attacking each other, but it did nothing to stop the relentless assault of nature. A suffocating heat washed over Jay. The humid air invaded his lungs.

The Orivian silk shirt, along with the storm sage's robes, kept Jay somewhat cool, but he hadn't felt this hot since running away from the Flaming Tomb Alliance.

How poetic…

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Monkeys and birds alike screeched from above, darting along the canopy between the trees. Jay wasn't in a simulated environment here, but physically teleported off the island.

In front of Jay, beside a black buttress root, stood Ezekiel and Amaya. Each inside their cylinder, looking at each other.

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They both turned and faced Jay.

The tournament's objective doesn't tie me to them.

They don't need me alive, and this might be the closest we'll ever get.

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Ping hovered behind Jay's head before floating down beside him.

Jay picked up the sack by his feet.

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Time to see what you've got Ol' Pip.

Fight.

Jay tossed the sack in the air.

Ping rushed from his side. She slammed into Pippin's bag.

BOOM!

Jay dropped to his back, the shockwave swiping his legs from beneath him. A piercing whine ripped into his ears, erasing all other noise. Even the titanic trees surrounding the clearing shook, plunging the canopy above into chaos. A flock of multicoloured birds fled from the shuddering branches. Their neighbours weren't so lucky.

A tiny lemur-looking creature, with eyeballs almost wider than its head, splattered into the ground beside Jay. Instantly devolving into a red stain.

Fuck.

Gotta run!

But Ol' Pip didn't just prepare a big bang.

Billowing smoke cascaded out of the sack. A blue-grey haze filled Jay's entire field of view, obscuring everything further than an arm's length away. Streaming spheres of red light with trails of lightning in their wake darted within the dust cloud all around Jay. Relentlessly running like magical fireworks brought to life.

Ping returned to Jay's side.

Jay got to his feet before instantly dropping into a crouch.

The narrow point of Ezekiel's new sword slashed through where Jay's head was mere moments before. Slicing a thin path of clear air before the smoke instantly filled it. Ezekiel leapt out of the haze, appearing right in front of Jay.

GO!

Jay bolted forward.

The enormous, curved blade skimmed against Jay's undershirt, the Orivian silk liquefying as it brushed the oncoming steel aside. Jay felt it run across his liver, millimetres away from piercing the skin.

He passed the sword, turning slightly as his shoulder touched Ezekiel's torso. Jay clenched Ezekiel's sword arm, twisted, and drove his hips into the swordsman's waist.

Ezekiel shot into the air, thrown over Jay's body into the path of an oncoming red bolt.

Jay turned and ran.

Can't waste time here.

It might have been his best chance to fight Ezekiel; inside a cloud of pure chaos, with low visibility and Amaya all but out of the picture. But it was too risky.

He'd already made a plan, now he had to stick to it. He'd fight with the duo after he found Lyra and his team.

After ten hurried paces, Jay pulled two clockwork soldiers from his pocket before slamming them into the ground.

Two identical Jays jerked to life. Instantly turning and running.

Pippin's magic clones had come a long way since Jay first saw them inside the Clockwork Vault. Lyra had worked wonders on them. They wouldn't be much use in a straight-up fight, but they could move now, and they looked virtually indistinguishable from Jay.

Jay watched the backs of his clones disappear into the explosive haze. One straight ahead, and another to his left. Jay began running right, clutching Ping close to his chest and holding back some of his speed. The clones couldn't replicate the shield, and couldn't possibly replicate his speed, so Jay had to match them if he wanted his distraction to be of any use.

Shortly after emerging from the smoke cloud. Jay heard an infuriated scream and shattered ceramic behind him.

I guess they worked.

He picked up the pace, sprinting through the rainforest brush until he was certain he was alone.

After several minutes of non-stop running, Jay finally took a break. He leant against a tree and took in his new battlefield. The residual ringing had just left Jay's ears, opening them to the cacophony of wildlife within the Verdant Frontier. A multi-layered din that refused to stop.

Hordes of invisible insects screeched for the world to hear, their buzz bouncing off the canopy and reflecting onto the forest floor. A brave scorpion wandered towards Jay before Ping shot down, crushing its abdomen and leaving only the claws and stinger intact.

Jay heaved out a sigh, tilting his head back and knocking it against the coarse bark.

Now what?