[Chapter 31 part 3] Hope – Visiting The Shrines of the Lost

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What do I do? She was considering fleeing when Soul, Free, and Rose walked in.

“Soul!” She rushed over and explained the situation.

“I see.” Soul turned to Sarah. “It’s nearly time for Hope’s match. Maybe Rose here can satisfy your curiosity instead?”

“I’d love to.” Rose agreed. “And I’ve my own questions. Care to grab a drink?”

With Sarah lead away, Hope asked, “What’re you doing here?”

“We came early to show support.” Free explained. That makes sense for Rose and Free, but Soul’s fight is much later. Maybe he’s anticipating a loss and intends to cheer me up. If so, I won’t let that happen.

“By the way, what’d you think of our new outfits?” Free asked. She was wearing a green ninja suit and Soul a white one. Rose was crimson, if I remember.

“They look fine.” Hope answered noncommittally. It was hard to focus on anything but her upcoming fight.

“You’re up.” Soul pointed to the large ‘mirrors’ which reflected the arena outside. The previous round had just ended.

“Good luck!” Free encouraged.

Finally. “Don’t worry, I’ll win.” Hope declared defiantly.

Defeat was not acceptable. She liked winning. She had four victories now and didn’t want to go back to losing. Not so soon anyway. Hope walked to the entrance and waited as the announcer’s voice boomed.

“IN THE SOUTH RING WEST CORNER, RAZOR HUE OF KALONIA. HE’S A ‘B’ RANK ADVENTURER WHOSE GAINED FAME AS DRAGONFORMING WARRIOR.”

Amid the crowd’s roaring, a man in his mid-twenties entered the ring. He was six feet with short black hair and a loose-fitting green tunic. At his waist hung a broadsword. Hope judged him fairly handsome as far as that went. I’ve been too angry to care about such things.

“IN THE SOUTH RING EAST CORNER, HOPE FROM TIMBAKU. A MYSTERIOUS NINJA WITH NO LAST NAME OR HISTORY. SHE USES METAL BENDING AND A PAIR OF REVOLVERS.”

That’s my queue. She stepped out on the sandy dirt in front of thousands of watchful eyes. Thank god I upgraded my clothes. Yesterday she’d discovered, through Agata, a guild store selling ‘authentic’ ninja gear. I can’t believe it’s that popular. Keenly aware of the audience from her morning fights, she’d paid an immediately visit and chosen a grey outfit. The others had obviously done the same.

“BY THE WAY, THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE FILLED WITH NINJAS, FROM WEAKEST TO STRONGEST. PLEASE LOOK FORWARD TO IT.”

I hate this announcer. Although vexingly true, there should be no way for outsiders to know. At least I won’t have to listen to him soon. Outside noise was filtered out once a match began.

“READY?”

Hope sensed powerful channeling, and Razor’s figure blurred. Dragonforming. Once her vision cleared, she saw a nine foot scaled warrior complete with claws, wings, and a tail. He grew in size. She was facing an opponent nearly twice her size. Kinda daunting.

At least I have an information advantage. She’d won her first three fights with just metal bending. Only yesterday had she been forced to draw her revolvers. Thanks to this, she’d kept her enchantments hidden.

That won’t be possible here. Her steel wouldn’t penetrate that hide, and she’d yet to experiment with stronger metals. Her revolvers might work if her shots connected cleanly, but she doubted it’d be that easy.

“BEGIN!”

Hope fired a regular round, which missed. So that’s the blessing. Razor was a popular, well-know fighter. I’m such an underdog.

Razor raced forwards. Not quite as fast as Soul. With martial arts, you couldn’t judge strength by size. Her brother could go easily go toe to toe with this giant and come out on top. No way I can though. She steadied herself. I prepared for this.

Before her opponent reached her, Hope fired three recoil bullets, circling the ring, and then a fourth to slow herself. It works! She breathed a sigh of relief. I really didn’t experiment enough.

Now for that damn blessing. She unloaded into Razor as he barreled towards her. All six shots missed. It’s scary to think it’s stronger outside arenas.

Hope launched herself high with her last three bullets. Time to put theory into practice. Focusing, she flicked open the cylinders of her revolvers, letting the empty casings fall out. Leaving the guns attached, She quickly unhooked her arms from the braces. Both hands reached into her dimensional pouch and grabbed two speed-loaders, circular disks with seven bullets. Jamming these in, she put her arms back and flicked her guns shut. That went well. Hope fired to break her fall.

No sooner had she hit the ground that her foresight flared. What now? She glanced up to find a ball of fire bearing down on her. Right, the dragonforming. Beastforming imparted the skills and affinity of the fused summon. Razor had become a pyrokinetic.

I’m ready for this. She’d reached the point where she could store one spell in her left arm. For this match, she’d chosen an ice shield, a blue force field which blocked heat and flames. According to Agata, it was the recommended defense against fire attacks. It won’t do much against that sword though. She deployed her magic.

The fiery ball crashed harmlessly into the translucent azure barrier, knocking her off her feet. Hope scrambled upright, red-faced. I see an ice shield blocks fire by absorbing the impact. Good to know. When Razor’s attack had hit, a powerful backward force had been exerted on her arm. Thank goodness for the braces or I might’ve punched myself out. That would’ve been nightmarishly embarrassing.

With a recoil shot, Hope dodged the next blast and aimed at the charging swordsman. She fired nine times, missing every one, but there was a difference. The last had been dodged. This confirms, even without the blessing, ordinary headshots won’t work on Razor.

Hope escaped with her remaining bullets. As she reloaded, she heard the crowd’s muted roar. Behind her, on a column of fire, razor had taken to the air and spread his wings. That’s not good.

Landing gracefully, she raised her guns. Let’s see how this goes. She fired four rounds. Two were blocked, one missed, and one struck his right leg. Flying opponents are annoying. The bigger problem, however, was Razor’s closing wound. Summoners could heal or ‘restore’ their summons, including themselves when they beastformed. Nothing crazy like regrowing limbs, but the damage she’d inflicted was relatively small. Sustained pressure might deplete his stamina, but she’d run out of ammunition first. This is bad.

In another surprise, Razor didn’t charge. Instead, he circled lobbing flaming attacks. Withstanding these and returning fire, Hope understood what he was gunning for. He wants to target me when I’m reloading.

Well, that’s fine. She’d been planning on changing approaches. Hope flung a handful of pebbles into the air, and a thick cloud of mist fell over her. She reloaded quickly, except she used a special loader in her right gun. This was her trump card. I wish he wasn’t flying though. She couldn’t afford to miss.

“Dragon’s Roar!”

Razor’s voiced thundered from above, and her foresight went wild. Shit, there’s no avoiding this. She braced herself with her ice shield as a blazing torrent descended. It hit like a ton of bricks, squashing her under her barrier. As she felt herself losing consciousness, the pressure suddenly eased. The stream of fire had moved slightly off to the side. He doesn’t know where I am. This might be her chance.

Hope shot a recoil bullet and skidded out from the barrage. Stumbling to a halt, back to the ground, she saw Razor above, an inferno streaming from his mouth. He noticed her and turned her way. Not hesitating, she fired her right gun.

This marker bullet had been set to soften on impact and cling to its target. Because it did no damage, it was hard to predict, making a headshot feasible. The projectile struck Razor’s forehead. Yes!

Hope had run into issues enchanting ‘homing’. The speed made identifying a target and changing course challenging. Unable to surmount these hurdles, she’d switched to a technique she’d dumbed ‘resonant magnetics’. The other six bullets would be attracted to the marker she’d placed.

This has to work. Razor wouldn't be able to dodge, but he might still block. If I fire them one at a time. She emptied her gun.

Razor parried two with his sword, but the rest went through. Fiery breath ceasing and scaled wings going limp, the dragonform warrior dropped with a thud.

“WE HAVE A WINNER. HOPE, THE NINJA, DEFEATS RAZOR HUE.”

Cheering exploded. Flat on her back, Hope breathed heavily. I won… She almost had trouble accepting it.

“WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED THIS OUTCOME? I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW. WHAT AN UPSET!”

Oh, you shut up. Hope got up and made her way out. She kept her eyes down, away from the roaring crowd. I should be waving or something. Without the pressure of an impending battle, nervousness was paralyzing her. She paused long enough to confirm Razor struggling to his feet and rushed out.

Everybody except Light was gathered in the post-fight waiting room. They clapped seeing her, and strangers joined in. Not here too. Hope was grateful her face was covered.

“Nice job!” Soul said.

“Yes,” Kate exclaimed. “I’ve never beaten Razor Hue myself. He’s a tough opponent.”

“Really?” Hope couldn’t believe she’d surpassed Kate. Don’t tease me like that!

“Yes, I’ve difficulty with opponents who can fly.” Kate admitted. Ah, that explains it.

“It must be nice to be rich.” Razor walked in behind, voice full of bitterness. He was back to his regular size and appearance.

“What’d you mean?” Hope said defensively.

“I mean relying on high-quality magic bullets instead of your own skills.”

“Everyone of my bullets was enchanted by me!” Hope exclaimed in outrage.

“You serious?” Razor stopped, his surprise plain. He glanced towards her siblings who nodded. “You’re an enchantress?”

“I’m a ninja and an enchantress.” She acknowledged.

“In that case, I must apologize for my words.” He bowed deeply. “I hope you’ll forgive me.” It was Hope’s turn to be stunned.

“No, it’s ok.” She replied off-balance. What’s this?

“Thank you. Congratulation on your victory.” With that, Razor departed.

“What just happened?” Hope asked.

“You mean the instant change in demeanor?” Rose had a knowing smile.

“Yes.”

“You went from ‘stuck-up rich kid’ to ‘valuable enchantress’.” Rose explained.

“Agreed,” Kate said. “There are often wealthy tourists who visit and win using expensive gimmicks. They’re pretty universally despised. Razor must’ve thought you one. His attitude flipped once he understood his mistake.”

“Talented enchanters are rare,” Free added. “And someone as young and gifted as you is destined to go far. You just skyrocketed on the ‘I-want-to-be-friends’ list of everyone watching.”

Oh, no. She wasn’t sure she could handle popularity. Maybe losing was the better option? Hope quietly fretted while praise rained down on her.

Later, once the attention had ebbed, Rose pulled her aside. What does she want?

“May I?” Rose reached into her dimensional pouch without waiting. Withdrawing a speed-loader, she examined it.

“You’re still using regular ammunition…” Rose observed, “You know enchantments are enhanced by rare materials?”

“Yes, but they’re expensive. I’ll go broke if I use them in coliseum fights.” She’d been shocked by the prices at the firing range. Simon called griffin claws ‘relatively cheap’, but bullets made from them definitely aren’t.

“Which is to say, you need a source of income. Have you considered selling your enchantments?” Rose continued.

Hope was silent. Why didn’t I consider this? No really, why? It must be all the time spent in the middle of nowhere. “Rose, monetizing my talents, how should I go about it?”