Chapter 55 - The Paladin or the Berserker

<p>The two men charge forward, avoiding the rubble that partially blocks their paths. The Paladin has a white set of heavy armor on, the only indication of his muscled figure peeking from the neckline of the torso of his metal suit. It looks like a traditional knight's, with a tad more flexibility built in. He holds a small hammer with a large, blocky head, and in his off hand he wields a rectangular shield the length of his legs. Both of his armaments are similarly colored, with the same white color and golden accents to it.<br/><br/> Meanwhile, the Berserker's built body is clearly visible, due to the fact that all he's wearing is tattered brown leather shorts that nearly match his darker gray skin tone, and a leather harness to hold his giant Greataxes. He's already pulled them into his hands, showing the double-sided weapons are almost as tall as the hulking figure running towards his opponent. <br/><br/> "This seems like a pretty obvious outcome," I sigh quietly. Tilpott raises his hammer, and begins chanting. "O great Luzieni, look over this battle, and bless me with your blinding light!"<br/><br/> The hammer glows brightly, but the heavy hitter doesn't slow down as he leaps up high into the air, bringing one axe down heavily as the white knight swings his shining hammer up to meet it. A delayed boom flashes across the intersection they meet at, and the force of the mini explosion causes some of the half-destroyed buildings to fall apart further. Both of the fighters tremble as their weapons remain locked in place, a contest of Strength being displayed to them all.<br/><br/> A minute later, neither has backed down, so they simultaneously swing a shield and the other Greataxe, bouncing away from each othwer due to the added force. They push off of each other, poised to make a move the second their enemy twitches. The Berserker leaps into action first, dashing forward before planting his bare front foot comically far in front of him. Using every muscle in his entire body, the Berserker twists his hips and shoulders to swing both weapons full force. All the Paladin can do is raise his shield, bracing his hammer into it, before the blades slam into him and send him flying backwards at breakneck speeds.<br/><br/> "Goddamn," I blurt out. "He got hit harder than that sports car hit me."<br/><br/> Tilpott bursts through an entire building, sending it crashing to the ground, before falling through another wall, causing the collapsing of the remains of that one to fall on top of him.<br/><br/> Everyone falls silent for a moment. Finally, Zwelli speaks up. "Well, I guess—"<br/><br/> Several pieces of rubble crash against the ground as the Paladin stands up. His face is covered in cuts, and his helmet has fallen off, revealing a buzzcut of dark hair. He cracks his neck casually, rotating his left shoulder and wincing. "Ow."<br/><br/> "… I guess the fight goes on!" <br/><br/> The crowd erupts into cheers as the knight tosses away his barely recognizable shield. It's so dented that it isn't even fit to be scrap metal now. He lifts his glowing hammer up again. "O great Luzieni, grant me extra strength for this worthy foe!"<br/><br/> His hammer glows brighter before growing larger so fast it's near-instantaneous. The handle goes from a foot and a half to 4 foot long, and the bulky head grows to the size of my torso, and more dense. He grips it with both hands and swings horizontally, meeting the blades of the Berserker's axes head on. They slowly change positions, attacking with more force, and repeat. Blow after blow, the hits become heavier and heavier, until I can feel the force of them all the way in my room. <br/><br/> "These guys are true meatheads," I sigh as I drink my water like the ground isn't moving exactly like an earthquake would.<br/><br/> Finally, they both grunt loudly in effort for one final blow, and two loud cracks split the air.<br/><br/> "Oh?" I say curiously.<br/><br/> "Oh?" Zwelli says quietly.<br/><br/> The crowd is silent as they look to the billowing cloud of dust coming from the storm of attacks that the two had unleashed.<br/><br/> Finally, it clears, revealing the competitors.<br/><br/> Blood trickles down the gruff-looking Berserker's shoulders, but he holds the handles of his weapons proudly. The Paladin's hammer has also fallen back to its regular size, but he holds the handle just as proudly.<br/><br/> "Heh. I resign," Tilpott says, looking down at the head of his hammer laying separated on the ground.<br/><br/> A calloused hand rests on his shoulder. "Ra," Rarara says gently, showing off the large spider-webbing lines appearing on the blade of one axe.<br/><br/> Tilpott shakes his head. "No, it can't be a tie. Yes, it was a very good fight. But had it been to the death, you would have struck me down, wouldn't you?"<br/><br/> The Berserker nods tearfully, and the Paladin holds up his hand. "You are a worthy fighter!" He cries. "May you be blessed in Luzieni's grace!"<br/><br/> The large man claps his hand into Tilpott's, tears streaming down his face. "Ra!!" <br/><br/> I stare at the screen. "How the fuck does he just understand him?"<br/><br/> As the screen is showing the buildings turning into what looks like mud and slowly melting, it harshly cuts to Zwelli, a man who is clearly a short Dwarf, who swipes back at his spiky orange hair with a wide grin on his face.<br/><br/> "The stage will need time to reset, so the next match will start in 10 minutes! Get up, stretch, use the bathroom, and get yourself some food for the last semi final match of the Level 25 and under tournament!"<br/><br/> Everyone cheers before several stand up to do what he had just said.<br/><br/> I do too, as I stand up and stretch out my back. I decided to look through my Stats one more time. "Maybe there's something I missed," I wonder as I look through.<br/><br/>[Name: Klum]<br/>[Age: 18]<br/>[Lv: 15]<br/>[EXP: 1025/7165]<br/>[Class: Sword Saint's Disciple]<br/>[Health: 57/57]<br/>[Mana: 76/76]<br/>[Stamina: 57/57]<br/><br/>STR: 15 MAG: 15<br/>AGI: 30 DEX: 17<br/>VIT: 10 INT: 21<br/>Free Stats: 5<br/><br/>ACC: 23<br/>DEF: 12<br/>POW: 18<br/><br/>[Skills: Klum's Reincarnation (Unfound), Sword Saint's Sigil (Unfound), Disciple's Mastery (Legendary), Critical Sight (Ultra Rare), Lightning Blade (Super Rare), Erratic Swordsmanship (Super Rare), Underdog (Super Rare), Analyze+ (Super Rare), Fury Slash (Rare), Skill Hermit (Rare), Sprint+ <+ Elemental Infusion> (Uncommon)]<br/><br/>[Spells unavailable]<br/><br/> With a sigh, I close it. "Just hold onto them for now. Don't get impatient, dumbass."<br/><br/> There's a knock on the door, and the half-elephant peeks his head in. "It's time."<br/><br/> I feel my heart beat a little faster in my chest, with no idea if it was excitement or anxiety. Probably both.<br/><br/> "Alright, Eniyala, let's do this," I mutter.<br/><br/> The Main Arena has two seperate illusion walls, one for each competitor. As I stand behind mine, I stare straight forward at the bricks lining the wall ahead of me. 'She's there,' I remind myself as I harden my resolve.<br/><br/> 'If I win, I can show how much I've grown.'<br/><br/> The only question there was that one 'if.'<br/><br/> " —the fiercest Fire Mage you'll ever see, Eniyala Ignios!!"<br/><br/> The wall shimmers as she strolls out onto the dirt, unintentionally locking eyes with me. Cheers fill the stands, mostly from the men watching.<br/><br/> "And her competitor, the unknown who has truly made a name for himself in this tournament… Liii… Wuuu… Kayyy!!"<br/><br/> I roll my eyes at the pronunciation before walking out. The cheers grow so loud I nearly stagger as I walk.<br/><br/> And then I do stagger, tripping on a small piece of still-melting rubble, and fall straight forward. <br/><br/> "…Aand he's on his face?"<br/><br/>* * *<br/><br/>[Klum's Reincarnation Cooldown: 5 minutes, 47 seconds…]</p>