Chương 125: [And The Winner Is...]

..] They walked back to the centre together. Phil went a few steps further and turned to face him. Leo thought about the fourth point. The flow state—or whatever was closest to it—had clicked in the same way it had against Locke and he still wasn't sure how he'd done it. He knew what it was. He just knew he shouldn't be able to get there with a month of training behind him, hard as it had been. It took years normally, muscle memory built into every movement until thinking wasn't part of it anymore.

The UI had something to do with why it worked as well as it did; he wasn't going to pretend otherwise. But reaching for it now gave him the sense it wasn't there. Like knowing if you went for a ball in football you'd just pull a muscle, or trying to force a heavy lift when your body is already telling you it's going to give out. He just knew that if he tried to go for it now, he'd lose. He let it go. He'd win this final point on his own merit.

Phil was already at his mark, still grinning, same as he'd been all fight.

"I wonder if there are any single dwarf women here," Leo said.

"Maybe they'll dance with you. I know they could probably do better, but you never know, dude." Phil shook his head.

"Look at you. Had a girlfriend for all of five minutes and you're giving it the big one." Leo laughed.

"Just looking out for you, man. Wouldn't want you to be the only one without a dance partner. I know your ego would never survive."

"Don't worry about me," Phil said.

"After I win this thing, I'll be swimming in offers."

"Just trying to give you some ideas for when that doesn't happen. You know, like in the next five minutes." Grimgar raised his hand. They both smiled and brought their weapons up. The hand dropped. They came forward at the same time. Phil opened with a sudden flurry, blades flashing fast from different angles.

Stepping back slightly, Leo blocked and turned each strike away before launching his own retaliation—a slash that Phil covered, a stab that got redirected, and a feint into a second slash that caught nothing but air as Phil slipped out of the way. A quick step to the side brought Phil back in with a sudden lunge at the ribs. Parrying the blow, Leo instantly answered with a heavy chop aimed at the neck, forcing Phil to duck low and spring backward out of reach.

They separated briefly, both of them breathing faster, neither of them ahead.

"Oh shit," Phil said.

"Shai just flashed the crowd." He lunged back in. Leo laughed and turned away the strike. He feinted a heavy downward chop and tried to punch out with the butt of the Sarren. Phil didn't buy it and stepped out of range easily.

"Holy shit dude," Leo said.

"Parmo just kissed Rika. Man, he's really going for it too. I think her wings just hit Diane. She's not going to be happy."

"Yeah, nice try, dickhead. We both know it'll be Rika putting the moves on Parmo if that ever happens." Leo laughed.

"Well, it was more believable than Shai suddenly flashing everyone. That was a shite distraction and you know it." A sudden stab from Phil was caught on the Sarren, Leo instantly driving a thrust of his own straight back. Slipping to the side, Phil slashed inward, but a quick parry turned the blade away just before Leo threw a heavy kick at his midsection.

Phil checked the blow with his shin, leveraging the impact to pivot into a sharp sideways slash that forced Leo to yank the Sarren across just in time to stop the blow from landing. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Neither fighter let up, the exchange continuing as the sound of the crowd died around them. Leo came close a few times, but so did Phil. He knew this wouldn't last much longer.

The crowd going quiet was noticed by Leo, more so than the background noise it had been beforehand. He knew why. This was exciting. He loved every second of it. He wouldn't have considered himself someone who loved fighting before coming here, but now? Yeah, this was way better than League or anything else he used to do for fun. Leo punched the blade of the Sarren forward, then brought it back and followed up with an upward sweep. Phil moved his head, cleanly avoiding the stab, and sidestepped the sweep.

He shuffled forward trying to catch Leo out while he was still mid-attack, but a back-step took him out of range. Leo re-engaged without a moment's hesitation. He brought the Sarren down in a heavy, two-handed chop. Phil caught the blow on both crossed blades, arms braced, feet digging into the dirt, and shoved upward—driving the Sarren up and away from his body. Leo went with it instead of against it, dropping low as the momentum carried the blade up, already spinning as he fell.

The Sarren swung out in a full arc at chest height. Phil's blades slashed through the space where Leo's head had been a half-second earlier. The arc came around and caught Phil across the chest, leaving a clean red line before he'd finished the motion. The fight stopped. Phil looked down at the mark on his chest then at Leo, still crouched. His shoulders slumped.

"Fuck." The crowd roared back to life as Grimgar raised his hand. The match ended three to two. Leo stood and looked at his friend. He didn't gloat, didn't make any fancy flourishes with the Sarren. He smiled.

"GG, man. Holy shit, that was sick. How good were we? That must have looked so cool." Phil sighed and then smiled.

"Yeah. Man, I can't believe I lost. I was so close as well. When I shoved your sword away, I thought I had you. I can't believe you managed that spin. Pretty sick, dude. And yeah, I bet we look like badasses." He looked up at the crowd, the volume higher now than it had been for most of the day. Smiling again, he did the same fancy bow he'd done after the first point, the crowd laughing at his antics. Well, at least he's taking it well. Leo laughed and bowed to them alongside him.

"Right," Phil said.

"Let's go get this over with..." Leo walked up to the viewing area where the rest of them were waiting, Phil just behind him. He didn't know what to expect. Phil's gloating throughout the day had meant this could be a little awkward, but it felt bad to hold that over him after such a good fight. They reached the top and everyone came to greet them with smiles.

"Before anyone says it. I know. I lost. No need to rub it in," said Phil. Sam shook his head.

"We weren't going to. You two were amazing out there. It was like watching a Star Wars fight scene. Well fought, guys."

"Speak for yourself. Congrats on the win, Leo. Phil, nice try. Welcome to the losers' circle." Phil rolled his eyes and grinned before giving Luka the finger.

"You both fought well out there. Losing a fight like that isn't something to be down about. Everyone loses at one point or another; how you take it and learn from it makes the difference between a good fighter and a great fighter," said Torren. Phil smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Torren, and I know. Don't worry, I'm not bothered I lost. I know how close it was. It could have gone to either of us in the end." Leo nodded then smirked.

"Yeah, exactly. I don't think you'll have an issue getting a dance now, man. You can relax, I know how worried you've been about the whole thing."

"Man, can you stop with the fucking dance," said Phil before he looked at the others.

"This prick spent the whole fight telling me I need to hurry up and find someone to dance with or I'm going to look like a Billy No-Mates or something. I know he was trying to get in my head, but come on, dude. That was weak."

"Nah, he's right, man. You might end up having to dance with Luka or something," said Sam. Luka flinched away.

"What the fuck, I'm not dancing with him. Shai, you know anyone I can ask?" Shai laughed at the turn in the conversation.

"Loads of people. Man or woman?" Luka stared at her.

"Woman. Obviously."

"Well, you never know. Best to ask with these things, right?" She laughed.

"Yeah, I know loads of people. I can think of one or two who might be interested."

"Nice."

"Who are you going to dance with, Sam?" asked Shai.

"No idea." He turned to Nessa.

"Wanna dance?" Nessa, who had only been paying half-attention, stopped looking at the crowd and stared at him. Her face went red.

"Are you serious? Why are you asking me?"

"Well, with Mars still at Monkhaven, I thought I'd ask."

"Why are you bringing that idiot up? Also, why in the gods' name would I have danced with him anyway? No. You can find someone else."

"Don't be like that. I was only joking."

"She did dance with him last year," whispered Shai.

"SHAI!"