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Chapter 235: To the Arena. [Release Version]
🕑 Added 2021-10-19 04:11:50 +0000 UTC“First thing you need to understand is that your weapon is the most important factor in how you will function as a dragoon, Hestia.”
“Huh? What do you mean, Yorshka? Spears are spears, right? I’ll be jumping around and stabbing things, and you already mentioned that mechanical weapon part. What more do I have to look out for?”
“Obviously, Hestia, you need to keep an eye out for the polearm type. Glaives, halberds, tridents, spetums, pikes, and so on and on. There isn’t just the lance and spear for you to choose between, Hestia. For reference, the most popular dragoon polearm would be the lance.”
“Because it’s long and pointy, right? It doesn’t have too many additions on it, so it can pierce better, helping you stay aerodynamic.”
“Correct! Good reasoning. Look at mine, the very model of what a dragoon lance should look like. Sturdy shaft, hard spear tip, and keeping the additions to a minimum. But that is no problem for us from the Nordor clan, Hestia, since we can control our silver powder to temporarily create blades on it. Look, right now it’s a lance, now it’s a halberd!”
“Oooh, weapon transformation! That’s neat, but I can’t do that with my scale-dust, since its primary function is creating explosions instead of fortification like yours.”
“That’s true, but if you’re creative about it, you can even use your version of our powder like a weapon. I told you, get a mechanical weapon and give that dwarf clear instructions. Hey, dwarf, you hear that?! Make sure you think of something to help the girl out!”
“Shut up, woman! I already know! Bladdarg, damn dragonewts…”
“See? Don’t worry about it too much, you have enough time to think about it. Now, the break is over, so let’s get back to training. Stance up! … Hmm, yeah, Farron showed you the basics alright. But we really need to adjust it a bit for your stature and weight. Bend your knees more, raise the tail for counter-balance, keep your wings clear of the arms and shoulders, and hold your grip like so.”
“We need to repeat this every time, huh? Haha, you even did this yesterday.”
“Because this stance has to come to you naturally, Hestia. If you master my suggested stance, you will know how to adapt it to fit yours down the road. This is my last day to help you train, so you need to absorb everything I’m teaching you today and continue familiarizing yourself with it. Do you understand? Now, let’s do this. You won’t perfect it any time soon, but memorize my movements.”
“Urgh, the motions…”
“I know, but if you don’t practice, you’ll never learn any of the Nordor style abilities. Even the ones you might have created for yourself. Do you remember the two ways one can learn abilities, Hestia?”
“Yes, the standard method is to repeat the same ability flawlessly 100 times in a row. The System will register it once you succeed. And the second method was, uhhhh…”
“Come on, this is the easy part.”
Ah, right!
“One impressive blow powerful enough to get even the System to notice you!”
****************************************
<Proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Fluid Cast Lv. 4] [Delayed Cast Lv. 3] [Continuous Cast Lv. 3] [Spear Technique Lv. 9] [Spear Mastery Lv. 7] [Sundering Enhancement Lv. 8] [Piercing Enhancement Lv. 9] [Crushing Enhancement Lv. 5] [Accuracy Correction Lv. 8] [Danger Perception Lv. 7] [Probability Correction Lv. 8] [Enhance Vision Lv. 9] [Tracking Lv. 5] [Mid-Air Maneuvering Lv. 8] [Aerial Fighter Lv. 4] [Trap Creation Lv. 9] gained>
<Ability gained: [Dragoon Dive] [Spiral] [Spark Crescent]>
<Max level of Jobs [Spearwielder], [Sky Lancer] has been reached>
<Individual [Sunfang Dragonewt, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] has switched her Main Job to [Dragoon Whelpling]>
<Main Job benefits have been updated due to Job change>
<Dragoon Whelpling Level: 0/15>
<Job Skill gained: [Aerial Dive Acceleration], [Spear Mastery Lv. 7], [Enhance Sky Attacks]>
<Experience has reached multiple breaking points. [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]’s Job [Dragoon Whelpling] has risen from [Level 0] to [Level 15]>
<Attributes have increased due to level up>
<Max level of Job [Dragoon Whelpling] has been reached>
“Fair lords and ladies of the realm! Hard-working men and women of the Kingdom! As the commentator of today’s battle, I welcome all of you to our glorious capital’s arena!”
“Wooooooooo! Let’s goooooooo!”
“Where is Lord Charleslyt? Bring him out already! Eyiiiiiiii! We all want to see him!”
Could it be better compared to an MMA fighting ring or was it more like a baseball stadium? Regardless, it was impossible to tune out the fact that Griffonpeak’s arena was currently filled to the brim with people. Their shouts and cries were showering the surroundings with the energy and excitement these people had in anticipation of a match promoted since the beginning of this week.
Within one of its waiting rooms, I was silently wiping down my brand new weapon with a napkin, making sure it was spotless before its first match. After I was satisfied, I stroked it and lifted it to marvel at it under the light of the mana lamp.
Its shaft was made from a combination of some voldunna ore and treant bark Muraina had given me on behalf of the elves at the outpost; the elves had applied a flame retardant sap on to the wood. Apparently, the Saelari apply it to the trees around their cities and towns to prevent forest fires. Considering that this was material for my personal weapon, the materials had to be fireproof.
Combined together through Grimnir’s skills, this metal-reinforced wooden pole stood around my height, with its blade making the weapon a head and a half taller than me. We couldn’t make it any shorter since I was still growing.
As planned, Grimnir made a mechanical weapon for me with Ellaine’s help. In other words, it was similar to Farron’s swordspear and Grimnir’s blasthammer. There were mechanical parts added to the weapon to allow it to assume different forms or abilities, all controlled with my mana.
The two-headed glaive was made with eoriant alloy, the geisenlarg queen’s carapace and stinger, and some of my chipped-off claws and shed scales. Since it was my weapon, it not only needed to be sturdy and fire resistant, but also had to be highly mana conductive. Still, the weapon didn’t have a natural sun core, so overheating was a problem, but that was what I had my catalyst for.
Having a weapon that could work with my catalyst, after all, was the reason why I had this glaive made.
“And, finished~ How does it look, Hestia? Too cute?” Saori asked after attaching something on the other end of my weapon.
Looking closer, it was a cartoonish dragon head spewing fire, made from mana threads. Since Grimnir and Ellaine had to rush the weapon a bit, any ornaments or decorations would have to be added later.
When the weapon was finished five days ago, I suggested adding some sorta accessory to it to personalize it a bit. Since I missed the small charms I had on my phone, Saori offered to make me one with mana threads. Normal metal would melt, but at least this strap would regenerate. Speaking of, she also made one for each of our party bracelets.
“Nah, it’s perfect, thanks!” I gave the glaive a twirl. “It couldn’t be helped due to the materials, but the spear being mostly black and red made it too edgy for my taste. This is just enough cute!”
Lowering my glaive, I checked out my robe, opening it to reveal my usual outfit underneath it. I then took out my catalyst from my storage and began stretching.
“Are Ellaine and Grimnir at their seats?” I asked Tasianna, who with Saori, was with me inside the waiting room.
“They should be, Lady Hestia. Grimnir mentioned he was anticipating the performance of the spear, so he asked me to tell you to give it your all.”
“My ‘all’? What, does he want me to destroy the whole arena or what? Crazy talk, that dwarf.” Shaking my head, I emptied a glass of water and psyched myself for my match. “Well, time to go. See you guys in the audience.”
“Good luck, Hestia. Please, do not go all out but you cannot lose, okay?”
“May Goddess Plesia bless this match to be fair and just. I will await your swift victory, my lady.”
As I walked along the corridor from my waiting room to the arena, I thought about the week of training I did in the Griffonpeak dungeon. Our party only went up to floor ten, although I heard there were 40 floors in this dungeon. Albeit, the floors over thirty were blocked, reserved for training of the Knights of the Lionheart.
Unlike Cedaraille’s Emerald-Flare Dungeon, in which had you descend deeper with every floor, Griffonpeak’s Eagle’s Overwatch dungeon actually had you traverse through a prairie for the first floor and ascend a massive mountain. A mountain within a mountain, you could say. It really hit home how these dungeons were just pocket dimensions, similar to my [Room] spell.
In any case, my training mostly focused on me perfecting the lessons I learned from Yorshka when we met in Cedaraille. We unfortunately only had a few days of training before she had to leave, so the training I did for this duel was mostly done through memory and reviewing with Ellaine. Unlike with Master Kush’s training, I did not have enough time to master everything Yorshka taught me.
For example, I was able to get a feel of what my stance had to be and my general fighting style, since Farron had taught me prior, but the intricacies of the moves were hard to assess even with somebody experienced like Arcanuess Helvas watching over me. I was able to learn [Dragoon Dive] and [Spiral] after a lot of tries, but I couldn’t perfectly mimic the attacks of the Nordor style of dragoon spearmanship.
To learn a weapon ability, like [Gale Step] or [Dragoon Dive], you had to perform the move 100 times flawlessly in a row. The other method was only applicable to high damage finishing moves like Yorshka’s [Nordor Style: Silver Dragon’s Skyfall] or Saori’s [Voltage Impact].
According to the former, the Divine System intervened if an attack was too strong for its liking, turning it into a System’s ability in order to properly regulate the damage. Yorshka joked how her first usage of the skill was the most impressive, before explaining how her attack became stronger down the path after she got the correct skills.
A move could be performed without needing it to be part of your profile, but you had to perform the motions without any assistance from the system — like a custom spell as opposed to a system spell. Once you fulfilled the requirements, the System would guide you through the motions each time you used the move, making it second nature. It made it easier to perform particularly difficult attacks, although learning it in the first place was the problem.
I wish Yorshka or Farron were around to coach me. Gael and Muraina said they didn’t know how all the little motions actually worked together, despite having seen the former two fight.
My Nordor style was shoddy as hell, in other words. Weapon fighting didn’t come to me as naturally as magic or using my dragon abilities. But, meh, that’s why I trained. Yorshka mentioned in her letter that she will meet up with me again along with Saori’s students, so I’m planning on surprising her when we meet up again with how far I’ve gotten.
As this whole place was an arena, the basement of the place was reserved for fighters and the staff, while the audience would usually only see the ground floor and the seating area. After entering the gladiator’s hub, a single male attendant greeted me before leading me to my starting side.
“Is Lord Charleslyt already done with his preparations?”
“Yes, Miss Hestia. When I called for him, he went with me immediately. Please, do not worry, we are still on schedule. The commentator should still be entertaining everybody while the nobles are taking their seats.”
According to Saori, who looked up the history of this place, when the arena was rebuilt for the entertainment of Empire guests and the annual founding event, the nobility still thought of the arena as a place for slave fighters. Unless they were fighting or called for by a noble, the slave gladiators weren’t allowed to show themselves, which was why the fighters’ preparation rooms were built inside the basement.
The king acquiesced to the noble’s design plans despite disliking the idea, since arguing the issue would just anger the lesser and middle nobility. Artorias was founded just after the War for the Faefolk and the Leosfalt civil war, so tension was high. Afterwards, laws were made to ban slaves both in responce to the founding of Shaturein and as an attempt by the king to gain the favor of the Revolution Queen, who despised slavery since she was a transmigrator from our Earth.
But, that was all after the arena was reconstructed. Everything the slave fighters needed was here in the basement — kitchen, restrooms, and training field. Although slavery was outlawed nowadays, this place gave me an oppressive feeling after learning about its history.
“Please, wait here, Miss. Once the commentator announces your entry, we will open the gates,” the staff member instructed.
I sharpened my hearing, clearly picking up the voice of the MC through all the loud fervor of the audience for their blood entertainment.
“The audience is pretty excited about two people beating each other up,” I murmured my thoughts out loud, something the attendant didn’t ignore.
“Ah, if you are worried about your safety, Miss Hestia, then there is no need. The arena fields are equipped with a special mana field granted to us by the Folschreck Empire. It severely reduces the contestants’ Strength and Intelligence, while raising your defensive stats to prevent unnecessary deaths.”
“They are?” I frowned. “During the tournaments, wouldn’t the fighters complain about how it was restricting their power? Wouldn’t it be better to use something similar to those challenger bracelets?”
“Y-Yes, that is true. It happens every year, unfortunately. But the arena was constructed in the image of the ones in the Empire, and those use these mana fields to prevent their fighters from dying. We would have regulated Health with challenger bracelets, but those have a slight flaw - they cannot protect you from too strong of attacks.”
The Empire most likely wishes to protect their fighters since most of them are slaves. From what Saori told me, the whole “thumbs up, thumbs down” thing to decide the life of a defeated gladiator was false. A myth made from a misunderstanding with some painting.
In fact, thumbs down meant “lower your sword.” In addition, if both gladiators were slaves, the economic incentive to keep both of them alive was pretty high. Training slaves into competent and entertaining fighters was expensive, so losing them to the whim of a hand gesture would dissuade most slave trainers from sending in their “wares.” If one of them were a prisoner, though, and meant to be executed, that was an entirely different matter.
Well, history from ancient Rome isn’t always accurate. Saori told me to stay open-minded about it, but choosing a single truth is usually sooo much easier, so, whatever.
“Is there a way to turn it off?” I asked, causing the staff member to look at me with worry. “D-Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not trying to kill him. I’m just asking, since I dislike having my power restrained.”
I trained hard last week. It would be a shame to not let it out, especially since this is a show match to see if Charleslyt does deserve to be a champion candidate.
“W-Well, the controls for the manatech controlling the field is operated by the Royal family. His Majesty could disable it, but it is far safer to keep it turned on, Miss.”
Hmm? He looks… worried for me? Huh, does he believe in Charleslyt more than me?
The commentator was still speaking. There was time for me to actually gain some more information on Charleslyt’s fighting style. Ellaine and her parents had given me a quick breakdown, but they didn’t know the full intricacies of his abilities.
“Have you seen Lord Charleslyt fight before?” I asked.
“Yes, Miss Hestia. He has been attending the annual founding event tournaments consistently ever since three years ago. There were also a few times where he joined privately held tournaments. OF all of those different tournaments, he has only lost in two of them.”
So he attended this year’s tournament? I probably should have visited it, huh?
“Truly? Could I hear about them?”
“The first was during the founding event tournament, the first one he attended. He didn’t have his current equipment or skills at that time. A complete newbie,” he stated. “For his second, it was a privately organized tournament. He was the tournament favorite since he just won his second founding event tournament. However, surprisingly, he lost in the finals!”
“To whom?”
“A beastman. A young martial artist girl with three horns. Most of Lord Charleslyt’s abilities came from his church-blessed sword and shield, but the girl was able to pierce through his defenses. It was astounding, especially when the champion simply left without attending the winner ceremony.”
A horned girl?
“Well.” I stepped forward to the gate, having noticed it was opening up. “Today, he will lose to another one.”
“Fair lords and ladies of the realm! Men and women of our kingdom! Your patience has been awarded! With the blessing of the Goddess that Saintess Eshe, Cardinal Bennard and the clergy have so graciously given us, it is now time for today’s battle!”
The shouting and yelling intensified into the cheers of the mosh pit of a rock concert, drowning even the voice of the MC despite him using one of those microphone rods. Peeking from under the shadow of the tunnel, I noticed the nobles sitting on one side with a special place for the royal family, while the commoners occupied the remaining seats.
“In our first corner!”
It’s time to take the stage.
“The challenge issuer — a young dragonewt girl from the north, beyond the mountains of the dwarves. A wandering priestess who is challenging our up-and-coming champion candidate to test his qualifications! Welcome warmly, everybody! I present, Heeeestiiiiaaaaaaaa!”
My parallel minds went to work, activating light magic and [Aerokinesis] to produce my theme song to imitate those from pro wrestling matches. I spread my wings out, sending my scale-dust out to explode into tiny sparks.
“Don’t let your light flicker and dim. ♫
Put up a smile and never give up. ♫
Hope will not die this soon. ♫
Remember that this is the life that you have chosen! ♫
My broken wings set yourself free. ♫
Rise from the ground, oh, so I plea. ♫
So, our dreams can be true. ♫
To reach the stars! ♫”
<[Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Stage Fever (Minor)] [Suppression Field] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
Oof, damn, why do I feel so much weaker now?! This field— Focus on the entrance, Hestia!
I bumped up the volume to overwhelm the cries of the audience, drawing everybody’s attention to me and my song as magical spotlights shown on me with floating sparks. I flew up in sky, twirling my spear before diving to the ground, striking a cool pose with my spear raised.
If this had been the me from Belzac forest, I probably would say something embarrassing like ‘krasasa.’ Oof.
“Wooo, let’s go, Lady Priestess! Give us a good show!”
“No wonder the priests had to bless this battle! A clergywoman and Lord Charleslyt are fighting!”
The news of the duel had been carried out by city criers after I informed King Drangleic of it. He immediately gave permission for it and would handle the promotion. I honestly thought he would be a bit more reluctant, but whatever, it worked out well enough.
Looking over at the audience seats, I noticed several familiar faces. All four of my party members were sitting with House Helvas. I could also see Thyra and her mother waving at me. There was also Severa and her brother Antonio Moreschi, Duke Greenveil, and it went without saying that Eshe prayed when she saw me.
“Such a warm welcome for such a stunning entrance! A priestess with a spear who can fly! Why, I don’t think we had this combination before! However, can she prove herself strong enough to stand against the two times champion of the annual founding event tournament?”
“Nooooo! Lord Charleslyt will win!”
“““Lord Charleslyt! Lord Charleslyt!”””
He hasn’t even entered yet but people were already cheering his name. They had already forgotten about me!
“I hear you, everybody! With no further ado, I present to you our reigning champion and challenger! The noble son of Lord Grand Duke Equevanna. A warrior who has recently become a B rank adventurer after years of grueling work and dedication! A brave and honorable man hailed by Cardinal Bennard to be a champion candidate, who has received the blessing of the Church on his armor! I present, Looooord Charleslyt Equeeeevaaaaaaanaaaaaa!”
From the opposite side, a man in silver and golden armor slowly walked out his corner, holding his sword up as it shone an iridescent light. The cheers intensified into almost uncontrollable ferver as young women waved at him, shrieking like crazed fangirls. Even the noble ladies couldn’t hold back, cheering for him as if they were enchanted.
He lowered his sword in a slash, shooting the light onto the ground like a light blade, before holding his shield in front of himself, causing not only it but also his armor to release bursts of light. It felt as if an armor of light was covering him.
Hrmmm, his cheering was louder. At least, I thought I would be able to get the guys to cheer for me as loud as the girls cheered for Charleslyt. Am I not cute enough?
The cheering continued nonstop, something Charleslyt was clearly enjoying and more focused on. He hadn’t looked my way from the moment he entered the arena. He honestly seemed more like an entertainer than a fighter to me, which made me a bit jealous. I wondered if I was taking this match a bit too seriously.
“Everybody, quiet!” With a loud shout from the MC, the cheering slowly died down, as if they were used to this. “I present to everybody, you king, His Majesty, King Drangleic var Artorias!”
King Drangleic pushed himself off his throne, moving closer to the railing with his wife. With his arms and wings stretched out, he welcomed the audience, “Welcome, my people!”
There were no shouts or people yelling, only respectful clapping to greet their king. Even the commoners were doing it, as if this was just part of the course.
“Today, we have a sudden and surprising match before us. A priestess of the Goddess has challenged Lord Charleslyt to not only test his might but also the conviction to become a champion candidate of the Goddess. A great honor, as you can very much guess!”
Directing his hands to each of us respectively, he then continued his speech, “As such, this was a match I could not reject. For that reason, to the winner, I will grant the honor of meeting my ancestor and father of our kingdom’s founder! The King Griffon, Assurfel!”
“What?! His Majesty is inviting the winner to meet his Supreme Eminence?! S-Something like that is—?!”
“Is his Majesty serious? Wouldn’t such an act only expose the Supreme Founder to a potential assassin?”
“Quiet! Who are you calling an assassin?! Lord Charleslyt, the second son of Lord Grand Duke Equevanna, or Lady Hestia, his Majesty’s honored guest? Or are you questioning both of them as well as his Majesty’s decision?”
… Ah, so that’s why he agreed without questioning it. He just needed an elaborate excuse to invite me to meet his great-grandfather.
Outside of the rich and influential, most of the commoners didn’t understand the meaning of such a reward, as they simply marveled, only knowing that it was something amazing, but not having any idea just how amazing. The nobles, on the other hand, were whispering to themselves, giving their king a questioning look.
Noticing this, he released his royal aura to silence them. As the noise died down a bit, I raised my hand and spoke, “If that is the case, Your Majesty, would it be okay for you to disable the suppression field?”
More noise erupted, this time, it came from a vast majority. They looked at me as if I was crazy. I guess it was understandable.
King Drangleic had not publicized my information. Outside of the chosen few, barely anybody knew what I could do. The nobles knew who I was, but not how strong I was, while the commoners only had faith in Charleslyt. Outside of the adventurers, most of the people here only knew me as the “singing girl from that musical performance” probably.
“Oh? May I know the reason, Lady Hestia?” he replied.
“This is a test for Lord Charleslyt. With so many members of the clergy around, especially Cardinal Bennard as I can see, our survivability shouldn't be an issue. In fact, since this is a test, Lord Charleslyt should be able to show his true strength.”
There was some acknowledgment of my argument but most of the audience critiqued me for being arrogant. That I didn’t know how strong Charleslyt was. King Drangleic ignored them and smiled.
“Oooh, that is true. Lord Charleslyt, what do you say?”
“Your Majesty, while it would pain me to raise my hand against a fair lady as Lady Hestia, as a fellow warrior, I believe she would feel ashamed if we did not fight with our full abilities. I concur with her request. I swear to stay my hand when my victory is assured, Sire.”
“Then so be it. This duel has been blessed by the Goddess, a tragedy cannot happen.” King Drangleic returned to his seat and pressed something on the hand rest, materializing a blue screen like the party screen from my party bracelet.
After pressing a few bottoms, the oppressive feeling I had the moment I entered the arena disappeared. My power returned while I felt slightly more vulnerable. I felt liberated.
Twirling my glaive around, I made sure that my body was back to normal before resting the weapon on my shoulder. “I’m ready whenever you are, Lord Charleslyt.”
“The first action goes to the fair lady,” he bowed. “May the Goddess bless us both with light to banish the shadows!”
“Noble lords and ladies of the realm! Men and women of Artorias! The moment you have waited for has come! Let this battle begi—”
Buffs up! Panzer! Halo of Consecration!
<[Various Spell Effects] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
Purple fire erupted from my body before forming into armor, covering me from my neck up while a white flaming halo floated above my head like that of an angel. Attaching my red catalyst into the opened slot on my glaive’s socket, my body tensed up as I did exactly what Charlesyt wanted.
Dragoon Jump!
Shooting myself forward, I poured mana into my glaive, activating the mechanism within. With a mechanical sound, small slits opened up around the socket. The catalyst shone crimson red as the glaive began sucking up the scale-dust through the slits.
The runes on my weapon began to glow with red light before erupting into flames, the cogs spinning faster and faster. Using [Instant Heat Ignition], my tail exploded into fire as well as I charged towards the stunned Charleslyt with two flaming spears.
“SPARK CRESCENT!”
Comments
The only thing that will do is scare everybody shitless.
Imp
I wonder if she'll turn into a dragon for this fight....
Diego Rossi
Thanks for the chapter. Albit -> Albeit (I think) "Well, history from ancient Greece isn’t always accurate." - Pollice verso was a Roma costume. Purple fire erupted from my body before forming into armor, covering me from my neck - neck down?
