ShanDeRad
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Book 2: Chapter 16
🕑 Added 2024-05-15 13:55:07 +0000 UTCWith a yell Trevor decided to run full steam ahead right towards where he was standing, he didn’t life his sword or even attempt to use his gauntlet, he simply waited until Trevor got close and swung out with his sword for his first attack and he simply used his increase Dexterity to move out of he way. Rather than stay close he moved himself further away from Trevor, who was currently following him around, rage clearly written on his face. He didn’t actually think that a simple swing of the sword was going to get me right?
As Trevor came in for his second attack he ended up moving much quicker than the first time, using some ability that helped him close the distance between him and his opponent, but it didn’t matter, he was still nowhere near quick enough to land a blow on him. Shaun had just jumped over 20% in his Dexterity from bonding lightning, that plus the extra 50 points he got meant that he was so much quicker than he ever was before, easily matching someone dozens of levels above him in speed.
They kept repeating the same process over and over again, Trevor would come at him, trying to attack with his sword and he would just move out of the way. He still had his sword in hand but had yet to use it. They continued like this for a few more goes around the arena until the crowd stated to boo him. You cant be serious? What the hell are they trying to accomplish by doing that.
The next time that Trevor came into attack him he decided to return with his own attack, nothing too powerful, he simply dodged the sword strike that was aimed at him and then when Trevor was recovering from the swing moved in and hit him right in the chest with his gauntlet, sending him flying halfway across the arena. He hadn’t used any skills or affinity in the attack, just a plain old punch, but that was enough to cause a decent amount of damage to Trevor. His breast plate was dented where Shaun had hit him, which would have hurt, but the resulting force from the blow did so much more.
The crowd cheered for him now that he had finally attacked back, all the while Trevor was picking himself off of the ground, spitting blood from his mouth. Shaun didn’t go in for a follow up attack, instead just waited for Trevor to approach him again. What did surprise him though was when Trevor took out a health potion and downed it before throwing the vial to the side. One punch and already he is needing to recover health.
After a few moments Trevor yelled across the arena at him, “That’s all you got! A punch! You are nothing but a weak asshole that deserves to die!” and then started to run at him again.
This guy doesn’t learn. As soon as he came in for the attack Trevor seemed to use more of his skills, he moved quicker and his sword swings held much more power than before. He seemed stronger as well. Whatever skills he was using there was no way it wasn’t going to take a toll on him. Shaun didn’t attack again, he just dodged around the attacks, pushing himself to avoid getting hit while not retaliating. It wasn’t until Trevor started to lag, getting slower and his swings less powerful did he move in and hit him again, right in the same spot as last time.
Trevor was forced back nearly the full length of the arena this time, Shaun having put more strength into his punch. “Do you see that strength! One hit and his opponent gets thrown all the way across the arena! Is it physical stats or is it the gauntlet? That’s what we want to know!” Dijaun spoke to the crowd, and they ate it up. The cheers and shouts from the audience hit a fevered pitch. Some shouting that it was the gauntlet and others that it was just pure strength, he didn’t care though, His eyes were on Trevor who was struggling to come to a stand.
Walking up to Trevor, Shaun gave it one last go, hoping that he would take him up on the offer. “Concede Trevor.”
“Do you hear the folks, esteemed guests! Shaun has just offered for his opponent to concede, even after being told that it would be a fight to the death!” Dijaun announced to the crowd, eliciting boos from those watching.
Trevor looked up at him, finding the strength to get up from the ground. “You heard him, the fight ends when someone dies.”
Shaun nodded at that, he was right, Xavier had said that someone was going to have to die, but that was Xavier. “Yeah he did say that. But the system didn’t and that is what matters. The rules for this stage said that if you concede than the fight is over, that didn’t change just because he said so. So concede!”
For the first time since he had entered the arena everyone was silent. He had just announced that he didn’t care about the ruling from a major faction representative, and truly he didn’t give a shit. When he looked up and at Xavier the man was pissed, he didn’t say anything but he looked like he was ready to get in the arena himself and kill him.
“You would go against what I have decreed? You? An E grade, still in a tutorial, factionless and barely having come into his power?” Xavier asked him.
“Yes I would.” Shaun replied directly to The Empires representative.
Xavier just laughed, truly laughed, like he got some joy out of the statement. “I like you, Shaun Clermont. Not many have the backbone to stand up to their betters, but you? You show strength, courage, to stand up for yourself and what you believe.” This caused muttering to occur throughout the arena, did he just complement me?
“Tell us Shaun, you didn’t come to the meeting yesterday, you were invited, by many of the people present, yet you didn’t show. If this Trevor is to be believed you were grievously harmed in an F rank dungeon. Is that true? Were you hurt so badly that you were unable to attend?”
He was having a chat, in the middle of a fight. True Trevor was in no shape to do much of anything at the moment but he was drinking potions to recover, a few of them by the looks of it. But still, he was now being questioned on his absence and having to address rumours of what happened to him. “Its true. I was hurt, badly, in an F grade dungeon. I was unconscious during the soiree last night.”
More muttering from the audience, but this time many of the reps from the major factions were staring at him, they knew something wasn’t adding up, they just didn’t know what.
“And how exactly were you hurt in the dungeon, I cant imagine it was the monsters. Crafting something interesting maybe?” Wilaron spoke up this time, the rep from the Crafters Guild.
“No, not crafting.” He replied, this caused some disappointment from Wilaron, but before he could follow up with more questions another of the reps spoke.
“No, do you not taste the air, it is fresh, still new, but I sense a tinge of change, of power.” Sleese spoke in a garbled weird tone. That was the elemental, the one he was most hesitant to be around, he didn’t for sure before but now he did, the elemental could feel the newly formed affinity in the air.
“And what power does the elemental speak of human?” Drakunsher spoke, the demon from the Nine Hells asked.
“Enough!” Trevor yelled at everyone, causing silence again to fall upon the arena. “This isn’t some get to know you party or a lets talk about how amazing Shaun is get together! He is here to die!”
“Well then, give it your all Trevor Rule.” Xavier said to him.
Trevor’s attention was now back on him, he was pissed, angry at being ignored, at so easily taken down. If it wasn’t for all of the potions there was no way that he would be standing at this moment. Shaun had given him a chance to concede time and time again, and what did he get in return, nothing but arrogance and a self-inflated sense of self-worth. If he had just conceded he would have lost but at least he wouldn’t have been beaten unconscious, which is exactly what he now needed to do.
“I will never concede to you!” Trevor yelled at him. “Once I kill you today I will hunt and kill everyone you have ever loved or cared about! This doesn’t end with your death, oh no. You have pushed me too far! I will kill you, make no mistake, and then I am going to kill your family once I am back on earth. But before that I will kill Gabe and I will kill Eric and I will kill that bitch Vivenne who helped you yesterday. Everyone who has ever cared for you is dead! You are….”
As Trevor was yelling at him he couldn’t help but think back on his family, his mom was gone, dead before he ever got a chance to know her. His dad was gone, taken from him to early, leaving him alone in a hateful lonely world. Even now, the only people he truly cared about were Gabe and Eric. They cared for him, just as he cared for them. He remembered how happy they were together, sitting on that couch in each other’s arms, the smiles on their faces. He wasn’t going to lose that! He refused to lose anyone else!
During all of this his anger grew, becoming an uncontrollable rage that filled him to his limit. Trevor had stopped yelling at him, hadn’t stopped threatening to take away everything he cared about. Something inside of him cracked, he lost control of his emotions and all he wanted to do was end the threats, end the tiny little man who thought that they could harm him and the people he cared about.
Without even realising what he was doing, he had tapped into the lightning within him, pure uncontrolled destruction. The air became static, his body was tingling all over and yet the power still built. Trevor was oblivious to the changes that were occurring, but everyone else knew, they felt it the moment he had snapped and started losing himself to the power within him. He didn’t stop though, the power engulfed his very being until finally with a shout he threw down his sword and raised his hands in the air. A bolt of lightning burst from the sky hitting him, traveling into his hands and resting inside his body, absorbed into his very being, but it didn’t hurt, he felt alive.
It wasn’t until then that Trevor stopped his threats, looking at him in horror, fear. Shaun didn’t care though, it was too late, no one, and he meant no one, would threaten the people he cared about and live. Without a second thought he lowered his hand and directed them at Trevor and with a yell, pushing everything he had, every ounce of power he now controlled, directly at him.
Lightning erupted from his hands, flying directly at Trevor, the power behind his attack releasing a thunderous cracking noise through the arena, when it struck Trevor was sent flying into the wall of the arena a whole missing from his chest, wide enough that he could see straight through his body. A blast of power, the remnants of his attack, washed over everyone present, they could all feel the strength behind his attack, something that no early E grade should have been able to use.
There was only silence after the attack and slowly Shaun’s rationale mind came back, the anger and rage clearing from him. What have I just done? He killed Trevor, he didn’t have to, but he chose to do it. He could have just knocked him unconscious, but no, he went with total annihilation.
The audience was in stunned silence, they knew what he had just done, he had wielded an advanced elemental affinity, something that should not have been possible, yet they had all witnessed it. The Major faction reps stared on, most of them now with a hungry look in their eyes like they had just found the best slice of meat at a butcher. This is bad, so very very bad. I can’t talk myself out of this one, they know. They just saw me kill someone using lightning!
“It seems now we know what you were doing in that dungeon.” Xavier spoke, a smile on his face, a secret had been revealed, one that Shaun had wanted to keep to himself, and they knew it. “So much power for one so young. I look forward to speaking with you privately at tonight get together. I will even invite your friends, Gabe and Eric was it?”
“Come now Xavier, do be so presumptuous.” Octavius said, “You are not the only one who wishes to speak to the boy. Besides, you are the one who forced him to fight to the death, something he didn’t want to do. Why would you think he would wish to speak to you?”
*Round 1 Winner declared as Shaun Clermont*
48,908 TE awarded to winner for beating opponent in one on one battle. You may now leave the arena.
*You have defeated (Trevor Rule – Lvl 27). Experience gained. 9,782 TE awarded*
The reps were arguing with each other, in a mostly polite way, getting in little digs as to why they should get to speak to him first. He just couldn’t find it in himself to care though. He got the message that he could leave, that the fight was done, so he just started walking out of the arena, not bothering with any farewell. The audience was still silent, watching the drama unfold among the reps, no one was paying him any attention for the most part. Just as he got to the corridor that would lead him out he heard someone speak to him.
“We will be seeing you later this evening Shaun. I look forward to our chat.” Xavier said. Shaun didn’t stop walking though and just left the arena.
Comments
Vandal Savage
I enjoyed this chapter. It gives a glimpse of his potential to the factions. No one’s perfect. I don’t think it’s a big deal he lashed out.
Dylan Suomela
||…he didn’t life his sword or even attempt to use his gauntlet…|| lift* || His dad was gone, taken from him to early…|| too* early || Trevor had stopped yelling at him…|| hadn’t*
