Cruxis and Aakif both walked back to join the remaining fighters as the Matrix Deneval rose to address the crowd.
"It seems that the decision to expand what our competitors use was a wise one. Would you not agree!?"
The crowd exploded in a frenzy in response, still riding high off of the previous matches, despite the fact that blood hadn't been spilled this day. The excitement of the bombastic magical abilities on display was a more than suitable replacement it seemed.
"Fantastic. Well sadly fatigue besets even the most skilled warriors, and so come back tomorrow for the semifinal matches as the four most skilled blades-men in the land face off to see who will have the honor of entering the final match!"
The crowd once again explodes, but the heroes notices something else besides that. The waveblade user suddenly let off an aura that was palpable to the air in the small viewing area. It let off an extension of many feelings, some good, mostly not so much.
Malice, bloodshed, hatred, burning, cold, and aggressive. Like the next thing that stood between him and the way down the stirs would keel over from his sheer presence. While the audience applauded, Zilo and his friends were struck still by his wordless strut down the stairs and out of the arena.
As they regained their senses and breathed for what felt like the first time in hours, Leo turned to them and asked,
"What was that!?" Zilo was the first to recover and smiled with a shrug.
"No clue, must be some material plan thing, can you guys weaponize murderous intent?"
Alaroc swigs from his drink and stares down the staircase before saying, "Musta missed dat class, cause that sure innit something I'm familiar wit."
Aakif joined in and said, "No Paladins would let off an aura so... menacing, an Antipaladin maybe..."
"Nope," spoke Tess from the back of the seats. The rest looked to her and she responded. "I was curious about that one, from day one. So I decided to use a bit of magic to see if he was like me. That man doesn't have an ounce of magical potential on him."
Leo gulped and looked back down the stairs, "Fantastic, and I'm facing that tomorrow."
Cruxis smiled and in a cocky tone remarked, "If only you paid attention during his fights, ey?"
Leo crossed his arms and lowered his head, sulking. The rest of the group rose and decided to return to the inn for the day to rest. They had more time than they had yesterday due to there being fewer fights, but the intensity of their bouts warranted a bit more rest than the previous night. Aakif and Tess decided to join the group for the night and they were readily accepted.
Later that night after Aakif, Cruxis, and Zilo used the last of their healing spells the 6 warrior secured a large table in the inn. Speckled around the Inn they could still pick out some of the previous competitors that had lost on the first day that didn't die from their matches. Zilo had was beguiling the tavern with a display of masterful playing of his violin while Cruxis explained to his brother the sort of home he had made among the adventurers of Swords and Sorcery Inc.
"Sounds like you've been traveling quite a bit brother. Still slaying evil while you do so as well."
Cruxis tilts his head over to Leo and remarks, "Some evil has it's place, but for the most part I continue my path laid before me by Freya, and should the innocent need protecting Arete lends me aid In Freya's stead."
Having gone red in the face, Alaroc pounds his mug down into the table, leans to Cruxis, and shouts, "You'll need more than gods to best me tommorra, you armored yucks go down easier than a fey with papa issues."
Cruxis bats away the drunk and says, "Just because you best the knight in round 1 doesn't mean anything, he looked green as a goblin. Me and Aakif are a whole different level. But you'll learn that come tomorrow."
Leo sips his drink and looks to Tess, asking, "Hey Tess, magus to magus, what do you know about that fellow I'm facing, I was busy with other business for the last two days, so I actually have no idea what to expect tomorrow.
Tess furrows her brow and remarks, "He may have a blade, but as Cruxis might attest from his battle royal, it's not his method of attack, he prefers to use his limbs for the attacks."
"So he's a monk?" Asks Zilo rejoining the table.
"A monk would have no need for a weapon in the first place, he might be of some different order from a distant land, but I have no idea otherwise."
Leo taps on his glass and says, "That would make sense, We have a monk in our band back home, and from what I've seen of him, That ki they make use of is similar to magic. That said ours claims that it comes from his body alone through focus... and drink, but I think that's more of a trance thing for him."
Aakif snaps his fingers and follows up, "So we felt his ki then? Can ki even do that?"
"No it can't." Interrupted the man in the hat at the table in the other realm. The man known as Jones looked to the man in the hat and responded, "Which of us plays monks as like 60% of their characters?"
"I am making my dwarf monk for your underdark game, Jones. I do my research, ki only lets you do acrobatic and speed stuff and makes your fists strong, it is not in base monk."
The man known as Jones purses his lips and his eyes wander away as he snaps very quickly, "Shutupthismonkcan." The man in the hat raises his hands in defeat, but on his laptop he opens an additional tab where the man known as Jones cannot see.
Leo says back, "Either way he fights like a monk, so I should be ready for a lot of quick strikes, maybe even something to avoid being stunned. I'll need to look through and see if I have anything in my spellbo-"
"No way he is able to." Interrupts the man in the hat again. The man known as Jones turns to the man in the hat again. the man in the hat turns his laptop to the center of the table with a web page up. The man explains.
"The only Archetype of monk able to cause a Fear is the Scarred Monk, and that guy would need to carve up his face to even do that. We would notice!"
Jones opens his mouth to argue, but then he tilts his head and then asks, "Scarred Monk?"
The man in the hat smiles and says, "A monk that uses self pain to achieve clarity of mind, they have a bunch of body damage, but each scar gives a power."
The one known as Jones smiles and says, "Sounds metal, I'll need to remember that, but just stop, the fear was like a cut-scene, he doesn't actually have a fear aura. It's flavor. Did I ask you to make a Will Save?"
The man in the hat smiles meekly and shuts his laptop, regretting his short research bender, "My bad, proceed."
Jones rubs his face and says, "I'm out of the zone now, Just do a rest and we'll move to the next fight, okay?" The table nods as the Players all restore their Health and Spells as the man known as Jones gets out that stats on the monk with a waveblade.
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