<ACTUALIZATION LEVEL INCREASED>

The colosseum's seats were packed and bustling with the watching crowd, all of them ready and eager to enjoy the final match of the tournament with Ben and Thera feeling it just as much, with the two enjoying their front row seats amongst the rest of the healers.

Thera was feeling the same excitement as the rest of the crowd, but a lot of Ben’s own came from his desire to get some validation over fixing the broken blade. He wanted to see with his own eyes how much using it had been holding Vela back.

Of course, since he was probably pretty used to using it in that condition then there might not be a ton of difference. Maybe he’ll even be worse till he gets a few weeks of practice with it. Oh well, what’s done is done and I stand by it.

He resolved himself to not worry about it anymore with that thought and instead turned his attention to someone walking through the stands waving his card at them to get their attention before transferring over funds for a couple bags of something, offering one to Thera before he began shovelling some of the food he got into his mouth.

“Uh, what even is this?” She asked him, eyeing something that a human would best describe as kibble.

“Not sure, it’s okay though.”

“You’re not sure and you’re eating it?”

“Not like they’d be handing out something if it wasn’t largely edible to the majority of people, right? Plus I should be pretty poison proof, why worry?”

She wasn’t looking like she was buying that answer but still picked up a piece for herself, eyeing it for just a second before taking a hesitant bite and coming to the same conclusion. It was okay, good enough to mindlessly eat while waiting or enjoying the fight but not much more than that.

Still, it gave them something to munch on as they waited until the contestants appeared and the referee called out to the crowd, acting as an announcer for them all.

“Here we are, the final match between Swordsman Vela and Axeman Stother! Both fighters who’ve given their all to get here today!”

“So who do you think’s gonna win?” Thera muttered to Ben as the announcer carried on.

“Not sure,” Ben said with a shrug. “Vela’s sword won’t be affected by the enchantment on Stother’s ax but the ax is sturdy enough that it shouldn’t be destroyed by any of Vela’s blows either.”

“Wait, what enchantment is on the ax?”

“One built to help break down any metal it comes in contact with. It’s an interesting one actually and has plenty of use cases but isn’t so handy against a weapon that’s going to negate them.”

“Hold on,” Thera stopped him. “It’s enchanted to break weapons? That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Literally none of this is fair,” He shrugged back. “As far as I’m concerned, the moment enchanted weapons were allowed this was never really a contest of skill, or at least not enough to matter.”

She wasn’t sure about how she felt about that answer. She at least understood why it was allowed. Not only would it be hard for the city itself to provide weapons for each competitor given the variety of not only fighting styles but also body types, there were also going to be plenty who’d claim they couldn’t show their full potential without using the weapons they’d use in their day to day lives. Expecting someone to pick up something new for the few days they’d be fighting with it and show off their full potential felt unreasonable in its own way. Still, it did change how she looked at things.

“Maybe next time we go to something like this we should wait and see if they’ll have a tournament specifically for unenchanted weapons,” She muttered.

“It would probably be more interesting, but that might be a while. This is the second last one the city will be hosting, anything more will only come depending on the waves.”

Meaning it’s not happening again unless they actually stop and we all survive. And now I’m being a downer, okay, onto the strategy of not thinking about it and focusing on the match since it looks like he’s almost done talking.

“-So with all of that said, let the final match begin!”

With all of the pomp and circumstance out of the way, what they’d all come to see finally began as the two fighters moved as one, both rushing towards each other with weapons at the ready. Both had been viewing the other matches and knew how the others fought, all that was left was the clash as metal hit metal and rang out among the stands for all to hear as sword went against ax and skill against skill.

Neither of the two intended it to be a long fight, both of them putting their all into each swing and trying to catch the other lacking, with first blood going to Vela as his weapon cut across his opponent's arm, not deep enough to end things then and there but enough to draw the eyes of the spectators as a cheer went up amongst the crowd, not that Stother intended to let that stand. There was money on the line and he was after it so he pushed forward, delivering a swing that was meant to catch the sword on his axhead, creating some leeway for him to deliver a blow with his free hand in a move unlike he’d done before and getting Vela in the face.

Again the crowd went wild, completely there for the violence of it all as the match went on and blows continued to be traded, even with each one making it clear the fight was leaning in one particular direction, with none being more aware of it than Vela himself.

With his blade repaired, every move of it felt sharper and faster than the last, the weapon no longer fighting against him each time he swung it but instead cutting through the air in a way it never could have in the past. The build-up of nicks along the blade had always caught the wind and the warp had always been something he’d needed to fight against with each swing, but no longer. Now each of his moves acted in accordance with his purpose, wearing down an opponent who held his same goal of victory.

A victory that his opponent also felt coming to the man, forcing him to change his strategy and risk it all.

With the next blow of his ax that Vela moved to block, Stother didn’t follow through, instead, letting go of his weapon entirely and throwing himself forward to strike with his fists, bringing the fight close enough that no weapon would be so conveniently swung and bringing the swordsman to a disadvantage in an attempt to turn the duel into a brawl, with the outcome now hinging on whether or not Vela could break away from the onslaught of swings.

But he too wanted the win and was more than prepared for some pain to get it, so like his adversary, did something unexpected as he was holding out against the attacks, waiting for the perfect moment to stop defending himself when the right punch was blown and kicking off, using the very attack of his adversary to propel him away, giving just enough room to swing his sword and bringing it to the man's neck, leaving the tournament at its end.

“Okay, this was great,” Thera said positively, still feeling the mood even after the two had dinner. The fact the contestants had all been using enchanted weapons had ceased to matter, it hadn’t been a factor in the final match and it was all the more exhilarating for it, letting the tournament end on a high note in her eyes.

“It was,” Ben agreed as they made their way back through the streets, even if his thoughts were at least a little tangential to her own. The fight had been fun to witness, but the difference in Vela’s skill had been apparent too, meaning Ben was validated in his push to fix the sword. “And besides that, we-”

He was going to say they needed to figure out what to do from there, with days left in their vacation to enjoy, but his words were cut off as the world beneath him shook for a moment, nearly knocking him from his feet before it settled down.

He heard a couple of screams as it happened around him but a quick look told him it was nothing severe, even if it had been surprising as he cast a quick look to Thera.

“That wasn’t me,” She said defensively, getting a laugh from him.

“I didn’t think it was, this was just my first time feeling an earthquake is all. Well, at least on this world. This really has been an eventful time off, hasn’t it?”

“Ha, well we’ll just have to figure out how to keep it up, but right now I’m tired. That didn’t seem like enough to injure anyone around other than some minor bumps so let’s get back and get some rest already.”