“I’m perfectly fine, the nap was exactly what my body needed.” I answered Eris’s question from before Lyra’s interruption. “So, does that mean you’re going to sign up for higher-ranked events then?” Eris required stronger opponents to challenge herself, but thinking about the lack of A-ranked or higher events didn’t seem too promising on her behalf.
“I’m not sure yet...” Eris closed her eyes, relaxing back against the headrest.
“There’s still time to figure it out, the wasp fight isn’t for another two days.” I said it as it was, also in the same predicament for myself of wanting to fill in the empty schedule before that event.
We decided to lounge around in the viewing booth until my event started, instead of wasting time going back and forth from our suite. There were enough amenities to keep us distracted and space for everyone to be comfortable. Rachel even offered us some alcoholic beverages but after the ordeal at Flower Garden, I decided it best to abstain from offered drinks from now on.
The only one to accept out of our group was Lyra. I could immediately tell we would need to stock up on casks for her to enjoy back home from the speed at which she was drowning in refills. Her tolerance was fairly high with not many outward changes except for the slight reddening blush on her soft cheeks. Her tail was a dead giveaway to gauge her enjoyment as it tossed around in the air, slapping against the cushion of her seat.
Time sped by and before long was already at the point to start heading on over to the waiting room to prepare with the event staff. They made sure the anti-magic bracers were secure and that there was no equipment available for use in the battle. I handed my two rings and watch over to Eris for safekeeping, and once the all-clear was given, made my way down the tunneled corridor to the center of the main arena stage.
It had to be at least four times larger than the outer arena my event was held in yesterday. Today's event consists of dealing with three difficult monsters, a Centi-Crawler, Yeti, and a Fire Boar. All three of them combined weren’t a match for the life and death battle against the feral ape previously encountered in the wild but varied by their spectrum of attack patterns and magic that would cause an ordeal for most hunting parties.
The news must have spread like wildfire for the masses to gather tonight, that a single contestant without the help of magic was going to attempt the impossible. Taking on and defeating each monster one after the next, without any room to breathe.
They started the event with the most troublesome Centi-Crawler as a centipede the width of a fire truck swarmed out of a metallic gate. The end of its body seemed to continue on forever as it worked to fill out the perimeter of the arena. Other than the hundreds of sharp legs and pointy mandible the real threat was its quick shooting acid spit created through its use of innate magic.
Normally a single drop of its acid was enough to bore through concrete like a sheet of paper, though my resistance acquired from the feral ape’s core should be able to neutralize a majority of any damage. I wasn’t willing to test it out either way and aimed at not getting hit, to begin with.
There was no need to dull out any theatrics for an extra betting payout considering the possible risks. I stood my ground in the center, not bothering to turn around whenever it circled my line of sight until it was close enough to be a threat. Several meters out was my marker to lunge at it, charging up a practiced ki blast straight at its wide mouth.
I made sure to leave enough distance to dodge out of its telegraphed acid spray but close enough to cause some real internal injuries. The shrieking wail was a good sign as its focus dropped from reeling upwards. The creepy crawler may look intimidating but there was a simple solution or weakness to handling it properly. I acted on my battle plans and jumped, landing both feet firmly on top of its armored husk and backside. The position limited its ability to react and granted me the free range to empty out as many ki blasts as possible along the whole length of the critter.
The Centi-Crawler slid, cracking the dirt floor apart as it crashed to its death, not even lasting a complete sprint along its back. A hop down onto the ground felt like a signal for the event’s staff to let loose the next beast as a Yeti charged on all fours exiting from a different gate closest to me. The bipedal creature looked like it was used as a reference model for my ridiculously large super-king-sized bed.
The moment I trained my eyes on its path to evade it, a throbbing migraine flared throughout my entire skull, forcing me to flinch away. I knew there wasn’t much time until the Yeti flattened me from its charge but the pain was too unbearable. My eyes were shut closed with a hand massaging my forehead, wondering if the consecutive ki blasts had anything to do with my current discomfort.
I barely managed to avoid its frontal charge, jumping out of the way to land on my stomach. That however didn’t save me from its outstretching hand as it snatched a full grip on my left leg still in mid-air before falling to the ground.
I swore beneath my breath, ready to become an unwilling ragdoll as it swung me around with wanton abandon. The searing headache remained at a steady intensity, which was now the least of my troubles. I retracted my arms to save my head from being split open like a shattered watermelon, taking the brunt of the impact on my shoulders and upper back. It was surprising that the migraine was dealing more distress over the newly acquired scrapes and blood each swinging crash the Yeti managed to dish out.
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