As I was lying there, I pondered how I should approach this. First of all, all I knew was my enemy's rough position, though, depending on their abilities that could just be a trick.

No, I can't think that way. If I start going down that rabbit hole I could argue that the only safe way would be to bring a nuke for assured mutual destruction and even then my enemy might just be able to survive that.

For now, I had to assume that the position of my enemy was where I thought it to be.

For now, the question was whether I should sneak up on them and come from above, or drop down on the other side and come from behind.

Coming from above, would definitely have the bigger surprise factor and give me a better chance to get a sneak attack in. But, there were two issues with that. For one, going in Assassin's Creed style carries a high chance of injuring myself. Especially if I missed.

And that is the second issue. I tried it in the forest, but even hitting an unmoving target while dropping from a height is pretty dang hard. Hitting a target that moves and may even notice and evade, is going to be that much harder. And if I did miss, my opponent would have more than enough time to have a shot at me.

Maybe if I still had the spear I could have poked them in the shoulder from above, but that's not possible. Though this reminds me of something else. I have to remember to get myself a helmet for my next fight. Even a bicycle one would be better than nothing.

Suddenly, I feel like an idiot for coming up here in the first place. Well, at least my enemy wouldn't get the jump on me now.

As silently as I can, I lower myself back to the ground where I am and turn to the right. Quickly, I turn around the first corner and to the next. Then, I listen. After a while, I can hear steps coming towards my edge.

I take out the sledgehammer and crouch down. Then, I "accidentally" make a noise. If I'm trying to locate my enemy via sound, they are probably doing the same.

Now, If everything went as planned, my opponent would come around the corner, knowing that I want to ambush them. They would be right. But, thinking they can counter-ambush me, they would get careless and not expect that I'm going after their legs. I could cripple their mobility, while their attack goes over my head. At least, that was the plan.

The footsteps stop. The next thing I hear is the roaring of a flame.

Quicker than I ever thought possible, I pull out the small shield and use it to cover my face. Simultaneously, I opened another portal over my head and dumped several liters of water on my head.

Not a second too late, as the next moment a mass of fire came around the corner, flying right over my head. I scream in pain at the blazing heat assaulting me from above.

Before I went to sleep, I had become nervous, thinking that my preparations were still not enough, so I had filled my pocket dimension with almost a hundred liters of tapwater before I went to sleep. And while it didn't protect me from the heat it did prevent me from catching on fire.

Once the moment of shock was gone, I realized something. The flames are incredibly hot, yes, but they actually hurt a lot less than I expected them to.

Right, I had the heat resistance Skill. It wouldn't be enough to let me walk through the fire unharmed, but it is enough that a glancing blow like this won't be enough to incapacitate me.

I had gotten lucky. While things didn't work out as planned, at least the part where my enemy would aim for my upper body went as I had hoped. Thus, I now had a chance.

I take my shield in my right hand and pick the hammer I dropped earlier up with my left. Then, I jump around the corner.

The torrent of flames going over my head is loud and bright, but while it would definitely hurt me if I stood up, it also prevents my enemy from seeing how I'm coming around the corner.

Before they notice me, I throw my shield like a frisbee at my opponent's legs. With a yelp of pain, the flames stop.

Not missing the opportunity, I jump up and sprint forward, taking the sledgehammer in both hands.

For a moment, I almost hesitate. It isn't that I have some kind of stupid rule that I wouldn't hurt women. Rather, I don't like hurting anyone, no matter the gender. I was simply surprised. In my head, my opponent had always been a man.

But it doesn't matter. She had almost burned me alive a moment ago.

In a single swing, the hammer impacts the woman's head with a crunch, and then with the wall, causing it to splatter all over the place like a ripe watermelon.

I lose my grip on the hammer, dropping it together with the now mostly headless body of the woman.

I bend over...

I wake up and can roll to the side just in time that I don't vomit into my bed.

Stumbling, I make my way over to the bath just quick enough that the next round goes into the toilet.

Almost an hour later, I had emptied my stomach completely, cleaned the floor, and done everything in my power to not think about what just happened.

It took all my willpower to convince myself that this woman is still alive, somewhere in the world, before I could finally take a look at the blue window, though it still made me feel sick.

REWARD:

Tournament points x 3

Overskill points x 3

I won.