Reco and I walked down the roads later that day. She told me there was something she wanted to do with me in the east city, and although I was in no hurry to go there, she assured me that I wouldn’t regret it, so I relented.

We’d finally entered those god-forsaken slums, the black stone architecture surrounding us. The rancid smell brought back a memory I would rather have forgotten, lurching my body into a state of weariness.

Reco was holding a map, navigating from behind me. “So, you want to know what I’m gonna do?”

I shook my head, looking at each passerby with suspicion.

“It’s my favorite sport, pit fighting.”

Did that mean fighting pits or fighting in a pit?

“What’s up with that look you got? Not familiar with it?”

I shook my head again.

“Well, I guess I’ll fill you in then. Pit fighting’s where two guys go into the pit and duke it out for money. People love the stuff down in the slums, so I’m going to make my superstar appearance against the best of the best in town!”

Well, the name itself was surprisingly self-explanatory. But...{What’s a superstar?}

“You-I’m-How....Freakin’ country bumpkins! It just means I’m famous, got it!”

{Are you really that strong?}

“Of course I am! I’m known as the Rockin’ Adventurer! Everyone who’s in the know knows I’m the [frey diver] that beats the best with my moooves.”

{Ok.}

“Guess you aren’t all too excited to see me in action?”

She seemed to be gloating an awful lot, and I wasn’t in the mood. I greeted her question with a blank slate.

“WELL, I’LL MAKE YA! Oh, we’re there.” She stashed her map, seeing what was ahead.

A line of people led from outside a huge building. Unlike the people walking on the street, everyone lined up was excited and bustling with conversation, ready for what might be the most fun they’d have all week.

Reco nudged me elsewhere. “That line’s for the spectators. They’re open two days a week, with three fights each day, and I’m the highlight since I’m in the master tier. For uuuusss...” She pointed towards an alley that led behind the building, “We get to go through the cool entrance!”

Cool? Looked pretty normal to me.

“Well...let’s go, I guess,” she said, still a little awkward around my perpetual silence.

We sidetracked the line and walked behind the building, where a man guarding a door. He nodded when he saw Reco and let us in. Inside was a room where about five people were talking to each other at a table. The room seemed to be a lobby of sorts, furnished comfortably.

When Reco entered the room, all eyes fell on her. She raised a hand. “Yo!”

...

After a moment of hesitation, they all burst into talk, rushing to Reco with excitement.

“Are you ready for the match?” One man said, his voice piercing through the others’ as he easily shoved the rest away with one hand. He was huge and built sturdy, with a large scar that spanned horizontally across his forehead.

Reco placed a hand on my head and smirked. “The Rockin’ Adventurer is always ready for a fight!”

The man nodded and let the others get to Reco.

Reco glanced at me before she responded to any of their many questions. “I’ll be done in a minute. You can sit down for now.”

I sat on a nearby couch, where a boy my age and his mom sat next to me.

Most of the people were younger than the first, but they all seemed strong in their own right, each about as bulky as Reco, who had toned, intimidating muscles herself. For about a minute, she answered some questions about why she was at Hannem’s pit. From what I gathered, she went from place to place as she adventured, not taking the sport too seriously, despite her high esteem. Today, she was fighting ‘Reigonald the Duke Tosser’, who must’ve been the first man to speak to her.

“So you came with the Rockin’ Adventurer?” the boy next to be asked.”

I pointed to my throat.

“You’re [mute]?” he asked, taking note of my slate.

I nodded.

“Huh. Are you a silent angel?”

I unclipped my slate. {I was. I got my angel privileges removed when I became an [oathbreaker]}

“What?!” he exclaimed before leaning closer to me and whispering, “What class are you gonna take when you class-up?”

{[avenger], maybe?}

“What’s that?”

I wiped my slate then pulled up my menu’s description. {A rebel against the heavens who follows nothing but their ideals. A versatile class built on traveling and dueling.}

“Bad...ass!”

I shrugged. He wasn’t wrong, but...it came at a cost. I wondered...if the gods didn’t like [oathbreakers], why were there classes specifically for them?

“Anyway, my dad’s the Duke Tosser. He’s been training so long to beat someone like the Rockin’ Adventurer, and I think he can finally win!”

{He might.} So far, it was clear that Reco was no pushover, but I also hadn’t seen her show the extent of her ability. Meanwhile, the Duke Tosser looked much more intimidating. I knew better than to judge him based on appearance- Reco may have been even higher level than him.

After the questions towards her turned more frivolous, Reco began asking the people to give her some space. Once they had cleared, she sat next to me, the kid relenting to give her space out of awe.

“In pit fights like these, it’s fight till someone cries ‘uncle’, but since we’re booked for the end of the event, we’re gonna watch the rest of the fights first. So...how are you feeling? I figured it’d be safer for you if I kept you to the back stage, yknow’?”

Safer? Did she think I couldn’t handle myself? I’d pummel anyone who got in my way till’ they gave way!

She cocked her head. “Heyyy, Saya, I get you don’t like being treated like a kid -Tuanl knows I didn’t- but I was asked by Mally to keep you safe while we’re in the east city, so, like it or not, I’m keepin’ ya safe. Besides, some people would kill for a spot backstage. Trust me, you’ll love this stuff.” She sent me a mischievous smile. “At least if I’m the one fighting.”

After some time waiting, a woman in a shady brown cloak stepped out of one of the doors holding a clipboard. She spoke with a quiet authority, “The first match is starting. Will Kanno of intermediate rank please come with me?”

One of the younger men nodded and followed the woman back through the door.

“Looks like it’s time for us to watch em’ duke it out.” I sensed her soon-to-be opponent glare at her pun before I even saw it. The glare was unusually oppressive, almost enough to make me flinch of fear, perhaps due to a high charisma stat or skill. Reco just smiled back and leaned back in her seat, meeting his stare head-on with a confident smile. After a moment, Reigonald let out a hefty laugh and escaped Reco’s eye contact, the tables turned on him.

Had Reco just settled the match before it began?

The cloaked lady returned no long after, then ushered everyone up some stairs.

“Come on, let’s get to the overlook.” Reco motioned me on.

The pit was nothing special, built of a dirt floor, with two entrances for the fighters to enter through. Above it was the bleachers, made of dark stone and substantial enough to hold about three hundred spectators. At the current moment, it was close to its holding capacity. Families, friends, and loners alike sat together, chit-chatting together in a cacophony of voices. Not far above the bleachers was a balcony, where the staff and I watched the matches.

There were a few chairs scattered about the overlook, but no one bothered to use them, aside from the cloaked lady, who had returned to watch the match. I overlooked the bleachers, watching the bustle below with vague interest. Reco had split off from me, continuing a conversation with one of the fighters set to fight after the current match.

As I stared into the distance, I heard a soft voice behind me. “Busy day today.”

I turned to face the cloaked lady, who was looking at me. I couldn’t tell if it was her cloak or something else, but I couldn’t track her eyes at all. I nodded to her, agreeing with her sentiment.

“This sport is a cinematic experience, I’d argue.” She wrote on her clipboard as she continued her idle talk with me. “It takes more than skill to play here. If you’re a part of a team, like in other sports, you’re characterized as a group. Because of that, you aren’t personally scrutinized. But pit fighting is all about you. If you, as an individual, can’t attract an audience, you’re just a glorified beatstick. That’s why we don’t always keep the best of the best.” She set her clipboard on her leg, then spoke in a more conversational tone. “Do you think that explained pit fighting well?”

Huh? Why would I know?! I haven’t watched a single fight yet!

I shrugged.

She returned to her soft tone, “You don’t know, huh?” She drummed her fingers on her clipboard for a moment. “I guess it’s time for me to do my job...” She took a few deep breaths, then unbuttoned her cloak and let it fall onto her chair.

Underneath the cloak, she looked, at first glance, like an ordinary human woman, but as I observed her more, she looked more and more timeless in age. While she held herself with the confidence of a forty-year-old, she looked young and perfect, her skin entirely unblemished in a mesmerizing, unnatural way. When I could finally see her eye’s movement, she was staring at me with her green pupils. Most strangely of all, she wore men’s clothes that were so large on her that the shorts looked like small jeans.

After setting down her clipboard, she closed her eyes and whispered, “Inna Grenwalt.”

Suddenly, her arms morphed into feathered, claylike arms, and her face turned into a five-eyed grey head. In just a second, she’d transformed from a human into a much larger [viinrught] that fit the clothes. As I stared in surprise, she morphed her clay hand into an index finger and thumb, and pointed them forward with a motion that meant ‘fight on!’

Reco jumped in surprise when she turned to see the [viinrught], and yelped. “Inna?! I thought he was dead!”

“Shhhh,” the [viinrught] said to Reco.

She walked to the balcony’s railing, looking over the audience, then cleared her throat. The sound echoed across the pit in an impressively loud boom. It was a skill I’d heard of, called [speaker].

She waited for the audience to calm down as they each ended their idle chat to look up. Once all eyes were on her, she began speaking with a low voice, a mouth appearing below their moving set of eyes, “Attention, everyone. The first event has almost started! The fight will be between one of our rookies, Kanno Michel, the [sword gamer], and a regular fighter at the Hannem pit, Annex Leo, the [architecht]! Will Kanno please come out!!”

Walking from one of the pit’s entrances was a man I’d seen earlier, removed of all his clothes but some flimsy shorts. He walked with weight, making each step seem like an important step towards his victory.

“Kanno Michel is one of our dutiful guards who patrol the city walls! While he prefers to use his spear, his father was one of the best pit fighters our city has seen! With just one win and 17 levels under his belt, he’s green, but he sure is mean, whether he’s got a spear at the ready or not! And neeeext, please come out, Annex Leeeeo!!”

Walking from the other side of the pit was a man I hadn’t seen in the lobby. He was dressed the same way as Kanno, and walked with confident ease, striding up no more than ten feet from Kanno. I noticed that, as he walked, the earth below him seemed to shift and polish.

“Annex’s class, [architecht] might sound like a pushover in a fight, but he puts it all to good use! With his intermediate ability, [mold structure], he can mold the earth he touches to his will! Annex can’t use it to make a weapon, of course, but an artisan like him has the creativity to hop toe to toe with some of even our most senior intermediates! He’s the Brawl Artisan, boasting the limit of 19 levels in the intermediate class, Annex Leo!

Now, on our count- One!”

The audience shouted the numbers with her, “Two!”

The two fighters took their stances, “Three!!”

-fight start-

Kanno suddenly leaped towards Annex, shooting his right arm straight towards the other man’s face in a bald-faced gambit. The [architecht] knocked the strike aside with his forearm, but Kanno was already throwing his left arm straight toward him with reckless abandon. Annex used his free arm to deflect the other strike-

But Kanno dived facefirst towards him, literally, and slammed his head straight into Annex’s. I hardly noticed the subtle movement as I paid attention to the gambit above their waists, but Annex had driven a knee into Kanno with a brutal strike to the gut, using Kanno’s overextension to score an extra hit on him.

After the two were sent reeling by their concussive head slam, they spent a few seconds recovering, trying to stay standing.

“What a way to begin his fight! Kanno is as aggressive as ever!” the [viinrught] announcer yelled enthusiastically. “but Annex got in a sneaky knee to the gut, will that give Kanno pau-”

While the two still hovered in limbo, nauseously struggling to keep their footing, Kanno suddenly burst into action, interrupting the announcer. He used his own imbalance to dive towards the older man. It should’ve resulted in him falling out of imbalance, but he miraculously took a straight path towards him.

“Oh! Kanno dives first and uses the first charge of his intermediate skill of [sword gamer]s, [isntant luck]!” the [viinrught] yelled, her voice quick as lightning.

Seeing he was close to taking a fight-ending strike, Annex wildly kicked the ground, spraying the dirt in front of him like a puddle of water, turning the dirt into a tiny mud wall that didn’t even reach past his knee.

It was enough, however, to trip the approaching [sword gamer], catching his leg, and making him land on his face, stopping his approach.

“And there goes [mold structure]! How will Annex punish- wait, no way!”

As he fell face-first to the ground, Kanno didn’t give up. He dug his hands into the still solidifying ground and used that leverage to fling his lower body upside down. Then, in a miraculous feat of luck, he managed to wrap his legs around the still-dizzied [architecht]’s shoulders without even looking. He squeezed his legs together then pushed off the ground, flinging his upper body right side up once more. He’d grappled Annex.

“WOW! Kanno managed to turn Annex’s defense against him, using his [grappler tier 3] and a second use of [instant luck] to latch onto the man’s neck. How can you possibly defend yourself against that luck and skill!? [instant luck] can only be used three times in total, but will Annex last long enough to win?”

Kanno began pounding his fists on Annex’s back, knocking the breath out of him. Meanwhile, Annex struggled in vain to tear Kanno away from him, batting his fists on Kann’s legs in an attempt to make him fall. If Kanno did fall to the ground, his fate was likely sealed. However, he refused to let go of the [architecht], his [grappler] skill keeping him stable.

Realizing his plan wouldn’t work and that his stamina wouldn’t last against Kanno’s strikes, Annex made his own gamble. He fell to the ground. As he and his attacker fell to the dirt, he placed his hands in front of him, and the dirt below his opponent turned to liquid-like mush below him, burying Kanno in a huge puddle of liquid dirt.

When Annex removed his hand, the dirt rapidly began to turn solid once more, quickly sealing his foe in the ground. Kanno struggled as best he could, but couldn’t fight back when Annex stomped his face in, hitting him further and further into the sealing mud. Then, just as it seemed he would lose for sure, a loose kick from Annex happened to kick up dirt near one of Kanno’s arms, unsealing it. Kanno wasted no time grasping at Annex’s leg, then dragging himself up and out of the dirt with the help of that leg.

“And that’s the third [burst of luck]!”

Unleashed once more, Kanno launched himself towards his opponent, seemingly ignorant of his prone and compromising position. He struck at Annex with a series of blows, punching and kicking at him with more strength and speed than the [architecht]’s lower strength stat growths could keep up with as he got a better foothold and eventually pushed Annex back. Annex gave more and more ground to the newcomer, taking one step back after another as the aggressor screamed out in effort, laying a flurry of strikes at him.

“Annex is being driven back! Will our newcomer, Kanno Michel beat a senior fighter like Annex just after his debut?! He’s almost hit the wall, what will Annex do?!”

Annex took a step back...and didn’t have enough space to take the step. His back hit the wall, and as he hit it, Kanno took an unstoppable swing towards him, aimed straight at his face...

He leaned into the wall. Behind him, it liquified into a puddle, falling to the ground in mass, like a flood. The powerful swing passed harmlessly in front of where he’d stood, swiping through empty air.

Annex began his counterattack. He launched his own flurry of blows, savage strikes that wasted no movement, overpowering Kanno with speed and technique.

“And that’s Annex’s signature technique, Stoooone Floood! Not only that, he’s activated the single-use ability only the most experienced brawlers get, [quick punches], allowing him to strike three times faster for just a second. Could Kanno possibly take a victory after this comeback?!”

Annex’s [quick punches] wore off, but even thrice slower, Kanno couldn’t keep up with the [architecht]’s precise, trained movement. Finally, the stone beneath Kanno’s feet refused to move, having solidified beneath his foot. I saw the fear on his face as a punch too quick for my eyes to track slammed into his skull, launching Kanno to the ground beneath Annex. As the [architecht] ran in for a finishing blow, the younger man raised his hands up in defeat and yelled, “Forfeit!” in panic. Annex quickly halted his pursuit and lent the young man a hand.

“Annex Leo wins!”

That was soooo cooooooll!