Rebirth: Rise of the Slave Master

Chapter Ten: The Duel

[Steel-Edged Partizan] - Crafted by a junior smith at the Oasis branch of the Iron to Iron Smithing Guild, the majority of this simple spear is iron, but it has been improved with a sharp steel edge for cutting. Its inferior craftsmanship makes it more fragile than similar fare.

Rank: Lesser; Durability: 70/70

Damage: 19~44

“Ah, I can see the description now,” Theo said as he inspected his new weapon.

His Perception skill rose in proficiency to level 2 after his search for the Withered Ash Hollow, and with his level, it allowed him to automatically appraise some basic weapons. Come to think of it, his old [Fine Iron Spear] had a description the last time he checked it, didn’t it?

Originally, a new weapon hadn’t been in Theo’s budget, and he was just going to get a quick repair. It was a surprise when he brought the nearly broken weapon to the apprentice blacksmith.

“This spear… you managed to wear it down to such a degree? How could you possibly take such poor care of your weapons? Huh, that’s odd. This sheen…”

A strange dialogue had appeared.

This guy was just an apprentice, but had the gall to lecture the War God of all people? Theo had actually taken up the smithing profession in his previous life, although he only did it in order to learn the rare skill, [Cloud Crafting Hammer Forms], for his archetype quest. Even if he had ulterior motives, however, Theo still managed to reach the rank of Grandmaster!

There was a dangerous gleam in Theo’s eyes that said, “I dare you to try gouging the price you foolish little mortal!”

“Your weapon has bathed in the blood of a powerful, venomous beast… and this scent…” the craftsman turned to Theo with wide eyes, “Tell me, young adventurer, did you slay a great snake with this weapon!?”

“Ah… so that’s what it was…” it didn’t take Theo long to put two and two together, and he rapidly flipped his ‘in-character’ switch.

“What’s it to you?” Theo snapped, playing to his newfound Neutral alignment.

As if caught off guard, the smith instinctively tightened his fingers around the haft of the [Fine Iron Spear]. Clearly, it had already become something he needed to obtain. It really made one sigh in awe at the realism of the NPCs.

“That, that is…” the man stuttered.

Theo didn’t let up, “If you won’t repair it, I’ll just go somewhere else!” He moved to retrieve the weapon.

Although he was technically a businessman himself, how could the apprentice smith possibly stand toe-to-toe with a man who once sat at the table of the Merchant Prince himself? He pulled the spear back and did the one thing a salesman should never do… he showed a weakness.

“W-wait!” he gulped.

Theo suppressed the smile that tried to creep across his face.

“So you’re going to rob me, is that it?”

[Beginner Persuasion] was used successfully! Junior Smith Bryan’s fear of Player Theo increases!

The smith desperately shook his head, as if he were trying to clear his name in front of a judge, “It’s not that at all, brave adventurer! I simply have a great need for this iron which has soaked in the blood of a great snake!” he spouted rapidly.

“If it’s so valuable, then why would I simply give it away? I’m losing my patience, smith…” Theo scolded.

Once again, the man shook his bald, sweaty head. “That isn’t the case, sir, it is something I needed for a project, but to others this is simply a worn old weapon!”

So it was the ‘I’m the only one you can give this to,’ approach, was it? Theo opened his mouth to retort before promptly shutting it again. He was so caught up in haggling that he’d lost track of the scenario. That’s right, this wasn’t a price negotiation, it was a quest reward.

“Old habits die hard…” Theo thought to himself, actually somewhat embarrassed.

“Well I can’t just leave here without a weapon, can I?” Theo lazily dropped the bait and waited for the fish to bite.

“I… I have a few products here which I completed earlier,” said the smith, “but to trade my better work for an incomplete ingredient is…”

And that was how Theo received the Lesser-tier weapon he was currently inspecting. He had no clue there was a “Pity Quest” to be found here. Pity Quests weren’t really quests at all, but scenarios like this. They usually appeared in conversations with vital NPCs, and were there to force equipment upgrades or skill training on players the game deemed to be lagging too far behind.

For instance, a sad sack who was still using the beginner weapon even after killing the local Cave Boss. How could the system possibly know that there was a terrifying player from the future who could accomplish this feat on only the fifth day of the release?

“Well, an upgrade is an upgrade,” Theo said, adjusting himself to the weight of the new weapon.

After taking care of his equipment issues, Theo went on to deposit the bulk of his loot in the city’s bank. This was one of the places he had visited in the tutorial quest and gained a storage account for safely leaving his items. His basic account would have 100 slots, which was twice the amount he could store in his Inventory. He could even transfer the items to banks in other cities if he wanted, though the bank would charge a fee depending on the bulk and distance of the order.

“Again with the money grubbing devs…”

A player could also buy the space to store more items, with 200, 500, 1000, or even 10,000 slot accounts available, but this was pointless for Theo who planned on selling everything he found anyway. Besides, he could earn bank upgrades by doing quests for the Adventuring Guild once he reached a higher level.

The only reason he was using this storage account now was because the current community simply didn’t have the funds necessary to buy his goods. A patient man will eat ripe fruits!

Theo was just finishing up his various chores when…

Player Huang Rong has sent you a friend request. Congratulations!

“Huang Rong? What is that? I don’t even know with this guy…” Theo muttered to himself as he accepted the request.

A moment later, he received a message in his interface’s ‘inbox.’ As opposed to NPCs, players could communicate with one another regardless of the distance. At the moment, Bai, who went by the name Huang Rong in game, was in White Wall, a starting city on a completely different continent.

That was the eastern-themed city wasn’t it? Of course he would choose to start there, that martial arts nerd… He probably fits right in. Wait, wasn’t that where you could get the Martial Artist hidden class? Maybe Theo could use that information to his advantage later...

Huang Rong: Ha! So you actually had the courage to show up?

“What do you mean, courage? It’s not like I’m at any real risk of getting hurt…” Theo had to habitually stifle himself around this person.

Theo: White Wall? Could you have possibly picked a more stereotypical city? Kung-fu nerd…

Huang Rong: I don’t do kung-fu!

Theo: I bet your character name is a reference to something, isn’t it?

Huang Rong: Ha! Like you would know? Skinny white boy! ;3

Theo: Isn’t that a bit racist?

Huang Rong: My apologies, I didn’t know skinny was a race. Lolol

Theo actually let out a chuckle. This guy was really a lot different than he originally thought. He actually cut the image of a half-decent gamer like this.

Theo: Do you know how to use the arena building?

Huang Rong: The what?

“Nevermind…” Theo said with a sigh.

The Arena was a building that could be found in every major city the world of Orpheum had to offer, and allowed players to engage in safe and sporting interpersonal bloodshed. It was a good place to polish your skills, settle arguments, or just let off some steam by stomping on newbies. Later on there would be all kinds of tournaments and events taking place there, but at the moment it was more of a ghost town.

Theo patiently explained to Bai the various functions of the structure on his way to the Oasis Arena. While there were far too many modes and rules available to easily list them all, he could at least cover the most popular options: Random Battle and Challenger Only.

Random Battle would put you into a queue with other players of a similar level and then match you with a random opponent. Both players would be teleported to an area that existed in a separate space, regardless of what city they were in, and they would fight to death. There were no penalties for losing an Arena battle, aside from recording a loss on your match record.

Challenger Only was the other favorite option. It would create a public room for the player to accept challengers, and anyone could enter the room and fight the creator in a 1 on 1 match. The rules were the same as Random Battle, but these matches wouldn’t affect your win/loss ratio. The room could also be locked with a password if you only wanted specific players to accept the challenge or spectate.

Theo: I’ll create a room and you can accept the challenge.

Huang Rong: You think you’re worthy enough to warrant my challenge?

“You little… You were the one who challenged me in the first place!” Theo screamed internally.

Theo: I’ll be looking forward to the expression on your face when you eat those words.

Huang Rong: If you can reach me before your head hits the ground!

After fiddling with the Arena menus, Theo opened a Challenger Only room and quickly locked it with a password. There were only a couple dozen rooms at the moment, and these PvP starved freaks wouldn’t hesitate to jump in and take a swing at him given the chance. Theo was promptly absorbed in a bright light and transported to a large open area.

It was about 50 meters in diameter, and perfectly round in shape. A small wooden fence adorned with skulls, fangs, claws, and other fetishes divided the fighting area from the spectator area. The ‘stands’ were little more than a slope of dirt that rose in height the further away from the ring you got, and which ended in a patchwork of beast leathers that served as a wall.

This map was known as the Ring of Blood, and was actually the Arena designed for the Beastman City of Ga’Yarl. Theo was here because he had selected the random location option for this room. He did it for nostalgia’s sake, more than anything.

Theo: The password is ‘baiisanerd’

Huang Rong: …

Player Huang Rong has accepted your challenge!

With a flash of light, a figure appeared on the other end of the Ring of Blood. Huang Rong was still just as short as Bai had been, a human by the looks of it, but Theo’s mental image of the character was completely crushed the moment the glow of the transportation faded.

Sweat and dirt-stained clothing, seemingly stitched together from old vegetable sacks, completely engulfed the small man’s body. His hair was long and black, but far from neat. Ragged strands scattered in every direction and interlocked to form nasty tangles just shy of dreadlocks. Bits of straw even stuck out at odd ends. With a head like a bird’s nest and a body covered in soiled rags… even beggars would think this guy was going overboard.

“Is this how everyone dresses in White Wall?” Theo asked as he removed the [Steel-Edged Partizan] from his inventory.

Challenger Only room #00001495: Owner Theo vs. Challenger Huang Rong. Countdown: 30… 29… 28...

“The words are a waste on you!” Huang Rong called in his distinctive accent, revealing his weapon.

If Theo wasn’t taking this seriously, he might have laughed, but his eyes only narrowed instead.

It was a staff. This guy actually showed up with the worst combat weapon in the game. Well, that was a bit of a misconception. Any weapon could be powerful, and the [Fine Iron Staff] that Huang Rong was using wasn’t particularly awful compared to its brothers like the [Fine Iron Spear]. The thing was, staves were typically used by spellcasters. The staff was a weapon which sacrificed damage for versatility, and usually came with a higher chance for special abilities and rune points.

Using your hard-won experience points to raise [Beginner Staff Proficiency] would only lead to regret at higher levels when you failed to find any decent weapons. Damage-focused combat staves did exist in the game, of course, but they were exceedingly rare.

21… 20… 19…

“You chose the spear,” the beggar-like man shouted over the distance, “a weapon for the expert and also the peasant, I wonder, which is you?”

13… 12...

Theo sighed, feeling as if he would never win in a verbal spar against this guy, “You’re one to talk, you have a stick!”

“You can notice too!” Huang Rong taunted smugly, “this is the stick for beating dogs, but for you it will do fine!”

Beating dogs? Was that a hobby of his? First the girl in the desert and now this… why was Theo meeting so many weirdos today? No, wait...

3… 2...

“Did he just call me a dog!?”

Ding! Ding! Combat begin!

The minute the bell sounded Theo’s aura immediately changed. His features turned cold and grim, revealing nothing but a stoic resolve and a calculating stare. It was different from the glee he felt while farming monsters, because he considered every Arena match one which required 100% of his concentration, no matter how helpless the opponent was.

“Fast… he must have put most of his points in strength and agility… figures... what is he, level 5? 6?” Theo had plenty of time to analyze Huang Rong’s approach as he waited patiently with the [Steel-Edged Partizan] at the ready.

In a melee confrontation, the polearm would almost always command a superior reach. An experienced player knew how to use this to his advantage, but a master would be able to control everything within the range of his weapon. If you couldn’t escape this control, then you might as well just roll over and die. As such, the moment an opponent tried to cross into this range and close the distance would be the deciding factor between a victory and a loss.

The 50 meters between the combatants was closed in short order, and the wild-looking Huang Rong didn’t waste a single movement as he charged in. Of course, Theo’s years of experience weren’t to be underestimated, and his attack struck out with terrifying precision. The tip of the spear stopped mere centimeters from Huang Rong’s nose as his charge was broken. Borrowing the gathered momentum, Huang Rong’s feet moved in a strange circular motion and his body miraculously slid to the side, expertly recovering his forward momentum.

An experienced player like Theo might mistake this movement for the skill [Lateral Shift], but Huang Rong had actually managed to replicate it without any help from the system.

However…

The spear tip was there to meet him again! This attack speed which defied reason… it was Theo’s action cancel skills at work.

Huang Rong was once again forced to redirect his momentum. The word ‘agile’ couldn’t be used to properly express his movements, as his feet slid across the dusty field like they were skating on ice. Huang Rong’s upper body swayed gently, trying to confuse Theo’s senses as the [Fine Iron Staff] hovered threateningly in his blind spot like a tiger waiting to pounce.

“He controls the character well, really well! It’s not something an inexperienced player could do…” Theo couldn’t help but be slightly impressed as he watched his foe’s performance, “but if this is all...”

“I wonder about this, how long can you keep up?” Huang Rong said, his face shrouded by a mass of hair while he twisted and dodged to close the distance.

Theo could only smirk. Although they were conversing casually, a flurry of spear blows were flying out one after the other, refusing to give up even an inch of ground.

“On a good day?” Theo asked jokingly.

Huang Rong chuckled, but his growing frustration was clear. Theo had barely moved a step since the fight started, relying solely on the superior reach to keep him at bay. It was because Huang Rong couldn’t apply any real pressure at this distance, and he also couldn’t risk taking a hit. If an interrupt occurred, it would mean instant death for the raggedly dressed fighter.

On the other hand, Theo was more impressed that Huang Rong hadn’t gotten himself skewered yet. Theo really was trying his best to put him in the ground! He could only sigh in appreciation of Huang Rong’s bizarre movement skills.

When HP values grew high enough to take multiple hits, Theo wouldn’t be able to use a strategy like this. Players would have all sorts of skills to crack open his iron-clad defense, but at this point in the game, Huang Rong’s avenues of attack were simply too limited. Well, in all honesty, more options would probably benefit Theo more than it would anyone else.

“Stupid! Do you want to draw!?” Huang Rong had snapped after a number of minutes had passed.

The exasperation on his face was clear as day, or at least it would be if Theo could actually see his face. This kind of fight was easily the most frustrating for a hot-blooded guy like Huang Rong, but he couldn’t really say anything about since it worked.

In this case, a draw would be more embarrassing than a loss!

These matches naturally had time limits, and if neither party was defeated before the clock was up, the victor would be decided by a scoring system based on things like damage dealt, damage taken, hits landed and healing received. It was almost impossible for it to result in a draw, but in the event that neither side had dealt or taken any damage… the whole fight would be null and void!

Theo grinned.

“You can stand still for a moment if you really want to lose!” he said.

“And get mistook for you? Big pointy rock? No way!” Huang Rong barked.

Ding! This match will end in 30 seconds.

“Probably time to end this…” Theo thought to himself.

Crack! THWIP!

-54. Knockback!

The spear struck out like a tightly coiled serpent, seamlessly flowing into a wide, sweeping arc. It was Theo’s beloved [Fend] skill.

“Th-that!”

How could Huang Rong possibly know about a skill that was only unlocked by polearm users that reached Lesser skill proficiency? It wasn’t yet revealed that more skills could be unlocked in this way. The small man’s body was helplessly wrapped up in the attack and tossed aside, but he actually managed to regain his footing in only a couple of steps. Considering the surprise factor of the entire exchange, Huang Rong’s recovery time was impressive, but…

[Lunge]

Combo x2!

-272

Huang Rong’s health bar dropped to 0 in an instant. Even without the damage from [Fend] it was still a one-hit knockout!

Owner Theo has vanquished Challenger Huang Rong! Match over!

Theo planted his spear in the dirt. Of course, he could have done this at any time during the length of the fight, but how else was he going to convince this martial arts nerd that he was out of his league without a thorough beating?

Huang Rong: You have two active skills?!? And that damage number! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ Is it a rune???? That weapon maybe?????

Theo sighed thankfully. At least there wasn’t another challenge coming out of this guy’s mouth... though the choice of words seemed a bit off.

Theo: Secret!

Huang Rong: Rick!!! >.

Theo: Who is Rick? Did you already forget the stakes of our bet?

Huang Rong: …Please?

Theo: ...

Huang Rong: Big Bro.

Theo: I’m still not calling you sensei.

Huang Rong: !!!