Chương 117: Book 2 Chapter 69 - Starting The Duel

Victor arrived in Easton to see streams of people all heading in the same direction. Curious, he descended to the ground under an illusion of invisibility, then teleported to a random nearby alleyway just in case anyone had sensed him through the illusion. The moment he teleported, he masked his power level to tier 2. That was strong enough that no one would bother him unnecessarily in a small city such as this, but weak enough to avoid any unnecessary attention.

All of the precautions were likely overkill, he doubted anyone here was strong enough to see through his illusion, but it was good practice nonetheless. He followed the crowd to the city arena, which surprised him. Duels were rare. What surprised him even more was that the Easton nobles were sitting in three distinct groups. What had happened here while he was gone? His magic sense encapsulated the entire arena, and he reached outward, searching for Shian Yountal. Not an invasive search, just a surface scan.

If she sensed his presence, he wanted to make sure she saw his scan as a friendly 'hello there' rather than a challenge of some kind. No doubt she would sense his touch and recognize him, even if his power level was masked. His surprise continued to grow as he sensed her underneath the arena, in one of the two contestant rooms. What was she doing down there? He could just imagine her in there with her invisibility spell active, something he had never been able to see through as a tier 5, spying on the contestants.

He chuckled to himself at the thought, earning a few curious glances from those around him. He ignored their looks. When the moderator asked the contestants to come out, and Shian herself stepped forward, along with the Baron of Easton, Victor was doubly dumbfounded. No seriously, what had happened while he was gone? Apparently House Yountal had challenged House Norshod to a duel, and Shian herself would be fighting for House Yountal.

Victor sensed the presence of Kane Vondeer in the baron's arena room, and came to the correct conclusion before it was even announced. He knew that Kane had been here in Easton for some time now, stirring up trouble, but he hadn't realized the extent. Was that why the nobles were all sitting apart from each other? Shian must have grown tired of their shenanigans, and challenged the baron to a duel, knowing that Kane would likely stand in. This ought to be interesting.

Victor quickly inspected the protective wards around the arena. He spotted a few weak points, places that might give out if a strong tier 4 like Kane hit that place directly. It was unlikely that a full-powered spell would land directly on one of those weak points, but even so, that wouldn't do. Victor knew that Shian would want the crowd to stay safe. She had no doubt already sensed Victor's presence here, and would be disappointed in him if he allowed anything to make it through the protective barrier.

He nodded to himself resolutely and stood, making his way down the stadium stairs toward the arena wall. He had work to do. *"Why not use a stand-in?" Kane asked her from ten feet away. Of course he wouldn't understand something like that. The man literally started an intra-city war for the baron, what would he know about honor, or about protecting those you love?

"It's my duel," she replied, holding both swords out protectively.

"I'm the one that issued the challenge, and I'll be the one to fight." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. He nodded in response, as if he'd been expecting that answer. Even if he didn't live by the same rules as her, she had to admit that the man was unusually intelligent. Just the fact that he could pull off what he had in Easton was testament to that fact.

"Why did you return early from Portish?" he asked next. She looked at him, her suspicions growing. Had he been involved in the attack in Portish, too?

"What do you mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I hired a gang there to attack one of your shops. I assume you heard about it?" She swung one of her swords experimentally, feeling its reassuring weight in her hand.

"That was you? You continue to disgust me, you creep. Did you know that they killed some of our people?" She let her anger leak through into her voice. Kane nodded.

"That doesn't surprise me, although I assume they only killed your guards." He shrugged.

"That's the job your guards signed up for though, that's what you pay them for." She shook her head. She couldn't believe how nonchalant he was acting about the whole thing. All of her hesitation about the fight disappeared. Her slain guards would get justice today.

"I killed those gang leaders," she spat at him.

"Vance, Tank, and Dasor." His eyebrows shot up in surprise at hearing the names of the men he had hired.

"I thought I'd taken the head off the snake, but now I see there's one more loose end." She pointed her sword at his lapel pin, just in case he hadn't understood the reference. He glanced down at the snake on his lapel pin then sneered in response. His aura flared to life, instantly halving her stats.

"I've heard enough. You were a fool to participate in this duel yourself. The only way it ends is with your death." White mist began rising from the ground all around the arena, just like he'd done that night in the Benson district. This time, though, there was no protective bubble around where she stood. The temperature began to drop, and red flashes of light lanced around the arena floor. They began swarming her position.

As they collided with her legs, she braced for the impact, unsure if perhaps his aura could reinforce the magic in such a way as to cause her damage. Her fears were well founded, although not to the degree she had anticipated. She felt little pinpricks on her legs where the red flashes of light made contact, but they quickly disappeared after touching her.

The mist itself swirled around her, concentrating on her location, but that too disappeared upon touching her, although she felt the cold more acutely wherever it made contact. All things considered, the attacks were uncomfortable and slightly distracting, but not debilitating in any way. Nothing approaching the way his raw aura limited her movements. His aura even reduced her mental processing speed by half, making it slower than it had been before her tier 3 upgrade.

These were limitations she could live with, though. She watched as the objectively dangerous mist dissolved harmlessly against her skin, grinning as her confidence in her magic defenses grew. [Personal Spell Negation] was putting in the work. She raced forward, closing the distance in a blur. Kane's eyes widened at her sudden movement speed, and he was completely caught off guard. She led with Victor's gifted sword, aiming a strike right for his heart. Maybe she could end this fight before it even began.

The strike landed, but stopped short on Kane's mana shield. She felt his shield crack under the pressure though, and he swore loudly in shock, launching himself to the side.

"What the - how is that possible?" he shouted at her as he retreated. His eyes searched hers for an answer, then he snarled and began launching a barrage of high powered spells in her direction. She didn't even try to dodge them, saving her energy for the real fight as she chased him around the arena. A massive fireball formed at his fingertips, then launched at incredible speed in her direction.

She actually felt the heat of the flames momentarily, courtesy of his aura enhanced mana constructs, but it was very slight and very brief. Her hair didn't even get singed as the fireball disintegrated. Before it hit her, he had already launched a dozen razor sharp ice constructs at her as well. His aura was infused in each mana construct, giving it a bit more durability than most spells she had faced.

The ice constructs shattered on impact before disappearing, rather than just immediately dissolving like most spells. The impact barely affected her though, and she continued chasing him at full speed.