"The ground has been restored", Nubondi exclaimed. "The next two contenders please enter the ring!"

Goldie hesitantly stepped towards the ring, while Alvon confidently strode to his own spot. Once Goldie had taken his position, he looked at Al's face. The man had a beaming smile and lightly waved his hand at Goldie. Goldie wanted to return the gesture but was interrupted by one of the guards bringing him his belongings.

Ah, there are my trusty cloak and dagger.

You mean mine. I'll be taking those back at some point. That cloak is really valuable.

According to Xander his cloak was made from some magical creature's fur and could warp light around it. It supposedly cost very little Energy to keep active, but Goldie had never bothered trying it out. He had no reason to use the effect, until today at least.

He finished putting on his cloak and strapped the tarkinium dagger to his waist. Glancing over at Alvon's position he could see the man donning a set of full plate, including helmet.

"Good Gát'machá." How will he even move?

As it turned out, with no problems whatsoever. Even with all that weight, he moved just as comfortably as before. His right hand held a steel warhammer, and he had a large tower shield made of bright silver metal strapped to his left arm.

"Are both candidates ready?", one of the mages responsible for the forcefield asked. The two fighters nodded towards the woman, and the chanting commenced once more.

The dome looked slightly dimmer from the inside, and it was difficult to parse together overseer Nubondi's words. However, his clap was nonetheless easily discernable.

Goldie's body tensed. His heartrate skyrocketed.

I have no idea what to do.

Attack him perhaps?

Goldie stood rooted to the ground. Never before had he injured another being - in a calm state of mind -. He was afraid, not only for himself but also for the pain he may cause Alvon.

Meanwhile Alvon casually walked to the center of the ring and shouted over at Goldie: "Come at me! I doubt you can hurt me anyway, so for real just give it all you got!"

Slash this motherfucker!

That bastard's trying to taunt me?

"Think I'm too weak to hurt you, huh? That I'm not suited for this!?"

"What? No, I didn't mean it like that, I just meant that you shouldn't take it easy on me just because we're friends!", Alvon pleaded.

Goldie opened his mouth and gave Al a confused look, before closing it and giving a resigned shake of his head, that Al promptly misunderstood.

"I know most adventurers would rather fight monsters than fight people, but bringing beasts into the city would be a huge risk. This is our only shot, so don't waste it!", Alvon further encouraged.

The overseer was already motioning them to get on with it, hardening Goldie's resolve.

Through force of will he steadied his heart and donned his hood, activating the cloaks light-warping ability. Noting Al's confused expression, he raced towards the armored behemoth in front of him. He instinctively remembered the details of Xander's Assassinations and went for the gaps in Al's armor. Of course, Xander's targets usually didn't realize he was there. Nonetheless Goldie hoped his strike would connect without Alvon being able to react on time. Unfortunately, the man efficiently sidestepped and deflected the blow with his shield.

The sudden change in direction nearly made Goldie drop his dagger as he fell to the ground, softening his landing with a roll.

Acrobatics has risen to Lvl 5!

Al had not even moved further than a foot, which was only to redistribute his weight. Goldie watched in awe as the scratch he had just made in the silvery shield faded.

"By Biésos, that shield is made of aururum!?", Goldie gasped.

"I'm impressed you noticed."

Some of Goldie's most valuable wares were made from the metal. It wasn't the sturdiest material, but what truly made it valuable was that its pieces would naturally mold together, giving it the ability to 'regenerate' damage.

"But now for real, that attack was way too honest. Try to throw me off a bit if you're going for precise attacks!", Alvon instructed. "Fight me like you're trying to kill me!"

Since going for an accurate attack didn't work, Goldie opted for a full force swing against the armored man. He hoped that with the help of Empower his attack would at least knock him off balance. He infused his legs and right arm with Energy and launched off the ground towards Al's imposing form.

Goldie couldn't see Alvon's face, but he was surely smirking beneath that helmet.

*CLANG*

Goldie's blade ricocheted off the aururum shield and flew backwards, yanking out of his hand and landing on the ground. Goldie fell over from the recoil, gracefully landing on his ass. Alvon had not budged an inch, it was like striking a massive metal tree. Even the dent Goldie made in his shield was already fading.

"So, you know augmentation? Not bad, I know a little myself. However, without having focused on strength, you won't ever be able to overpower me at your skill level", Alvon stated.

Why does he keep telling me how to beat him? It's getting on my nerves!

It's actually quite clever if you think about it. Showing off that he has no weaknesses and can defend against any tactic used against him will net him a great score.

Of course, the score. Goldie didn't just have to win, he had to show off his skill. Clearly his display until this point had been sorely lacking. He needed to really push himself if he wanted to succeed. He had used about a fourth of his Energy in that move, and as he went over to pick up his dagger, he realized the throbbing pain in his wrist was more than just a light sprain. He must have broken it when crushing his hand against the metal shield. He gritted his teeth and did his best to fight through the pain.

I don't know if I should be angry or depressed at how little a threat I pose.

Why not both?

"Coristam dammit!", he quietly swore.

He wasn't going to lose like this! Goldie needed to find a way around his injury. His regeneration, even with Rapid Replenishment active, was going to take far too long. He could try to fight with his left hand, but that had next to no chance of success.

A thought struck him. It might be possible to focus on healing a single part of his body. He activated both Anima Sense and Rapid Replenishment and sensed the energy within himself. A part of it was directly integrating itself into his body to aid healing. He activated Empower on his hand, focusing on only that type of anima.

[Complex skill Acquired: Targeted Invigoration] [Complex skill set Acquired: Augmentation]

Targeted Invigoration has risen to Lvl 2!

With this new spell, Goldie's hand was healed in two minutes. He hoped it would net him a few bonus points with the jury but, considering Alvon allowed him to regenerate, that was unlikely.

"Come on man, if you're gonna keep thinking neither of us will get a good score!", Al groaned.

Hearing those words ticked Goldie off. He knew he had no right to be angry at his opponent, especially considering anyone else would have already ground him into a pulp, but Alvon's nonchalant attitude really got his temper boiling. Therefore, Goldie once again dashed into the fray.

Instead of going for a singular powerful blow, he continuously struck, stabbed, swung and jabbed at his opponent. He didn't try for an instant K.O., he would instead wear down his opponent and beat him once he was tired. He even put his new telekinetic spell to use a few times, but it seemed to do about as much damage as a gust of wind would do to a mountain.

Every few minutes he would pause and rejuvenate himself with his increased regeneration and then return to close quarters. Eventually he started mixing up his tactics. He feinted, swung at different angles, differentiated in speed and strength, anything to get his opponent to make a mistake. After having gained five Lvls in Combat, a new message floated into view.

[Standard skill: Combat has evolved to Standard skill: Adaptive Combat]

Goldie didn't bother interrupting his fight to check the message. He persistently dished out attack after attack. He gained another two levels in his new skill and could clearly tell Alvon was starting to have a hard time. It seemed that even he couldn't sustain fighting forever, especially against an opponent with nigh-limitless regeneration. Moreover, Goldie was beginning to discern his enemy's defensive patterns, allowing him to inch ever closer to a decisive strike.

All these facts culminated in Goldie finally landing a hit, puncturing Alvon's armor and drawing a small amount of blood. Alvon's eyes widened in shock and he rammed his shield against Goldie's body, causing him to fly back like a ragdoll.

"Alright Xandon. No more fun and games. It's time I get serious", Al bellowed.

Decimate him!

Goldie was so close to victory he could practically taste it. He charged in with reckless abandon, his overconfidence consuming him.

NO, YOU IDIOT!

Xander's warning was too late. Goldie's attack was once again efficiently countered, only this time Al swung his metal hammer straight at Goldie's arm to retaliate.

After getting his upper arm smashed, the fight only lasted another minute before Goldie was utterly crushed.

"I'm such a fool", Goldie muttered after getting brought back to full health.

Though he said that, he wasn't too sad. All in all, he faired far better than he had expected. Seeing Al's rattled expression, he must have agreed. Alvon probably expected to simply defend until his opponent tired himself out too much to continue. Instead he was met with an infinitely tenacious opponent that got progressively stronger over time instead of weakening.

Goldie sat back down on one of the seats, recounting the events of his last battle. Without the calming influence of Flousshire he was having serious trouble keeping his anger in check. While it helped Goldie overcome his trepidation, the lack of rational thought was also his downfall.

Why aren't I getting an earful about being cocky?

Because you did far better than you had any right to.

Oh, thank you.

And you likely would have lost against Alvon no matter what you did.

Honestly I surprised myself with how close I got. That Adaptive Combat helped me out a great deal.

Adaptive whatnow? You got a combat upgrade? Another one I've never heard of, what a surprise.

Goldie gave a self-satisfied smirk and turned his attention to the current fight. His eyes widened as he recognized the woman inside the ring.

At least now I know her name is Rhona...

Heh, I also usually learn their names after they've seen me naked.

Goldie grimaced, but didn't bother answering Xander's antics. Instead he focused on the other combatant. It was an unassuming young man. Shorter than even Goldie's old height and wearing a woolen cloak draped over his entire body. He had rings under his bespectacled eyes and sunken cheeks, the picture-perfect representation of what an adventurer should not look like.

Goldie expected this to be a quick fight. However, it was over before it even began. The woman named Rhona had instantly surrendered as soon as the overseer clapped his hands. Her opponent looked towards her and muttered something inaudible, before the shielding dome collapsed.

Goldie was not left with a lot of time to ponder the development, as the overseer already announced the next battle.

"An interesting turn of events. Please welcome our next contestants: Zoe Sklendé and Lucas Zavar!"

The girl wore a similar outfit to the duel wielder in the first round, though hers was dyed a mix of green and brown. Lucas wore a tightfitting scale suit and carried what looked like an oversized meat cleaver. Zoe's weapon of choice was a bow, which hardly seemed fair to Goldie. Then again what did he know? None of the fights had gone as he expected to begin with.

Lucas had a very unconventional fighting style, wherein he used his massive weapon's weight to fling himself around, preforming otherwise impossible maneuvers. He closed the gap between himself and his opponent by striking the ground and catapulting himself with his cleaver. It was a spectacular sight and Goldie was especially eager to watch, so he could learn from it. If there was one thing these fights had taught him, it was that range played a big role, and to be able to use a dagger versus a sword, or possibly a creature with long arms and claws, he needed to find some method of approaching his enemies.

Lucas' weapon was geared towards larger, slower opponents. Any spot he hit was devasted, but the problem was not missing his intended target. Zoe was a capable ranger and constantly dodged backwards out of his attack radius, while concurrently firing a stream of arrows at him. Goldie paid special attention to Lucas' dodging techniques and footwork. This fight made it glaringly obvious how efficient one needed to dodge, if one wanted to gain any ground. Even though Lucas could theoretically run from the shots, it made it impossible to close the gap between himself and Zoe. Therefore, he had to take risks and avoid the arrows by a hair's breadth while rushing towards her.

He got ever so close to striking the ranger, but she nimbly rushed out of the way each time. Eventually the warrior's movements slowed down and he was hit in the shoulder by an arrow. It was all downhill from there and for once Goldie's expectations had been met. Lucas ended up riddled with arrows while Zoe had not a scratch on her.

Goldie pondered how a fight between Alvon and Lucas would have gone. It all depended on their attributes. If one person was naturally stronger than the other, they would always win in an honest fight. Having gotten Xander's assassination expertise was a bigger boon than expected. It was probably the only chance Goldie stood against these behemoths.

"This concludes the fourth preliminary round. The next series of battles will be set up as follows", the overseer started while placing the hologram projector on the ground. "Blue represents the winner's bracket and Green is the loser's bracket."

Gale Yettin

Alvon Skydin

Samuel Hayes

Zoe Sklendé

Donald Tynes

Xandon Jefferite

Rhona Ramus

Lucas Zavar

"The battle between Gale Yettin and Alvon Skydin commences in twenty minutes. Be sure to rest and hydrate yourselves in the meantime!", the overseer boomed before walking back down the stairs with the judges.

Goldie cautiously looked over at his next opponent, Donald. They both had similar fighting styles mostly relying on Agility, with Donald's being far more refined than his own. Add to that Donald's duel wielding and longer reach Goldie was due for another seemingly impossible fight. Hopefully his adaptive skill would help Goldie bridge the gap.

Adaptive Combat Lvl 14: Reflects general fighting ability and speed at which you can adapt to an opponent's fighting style. Increases rate of implementing newly acquired Skills in Combat. Skill dependent on learning speed, Lvl and every Attribute.

Goldie's extra Ascendant path reward must have been the reason he unlocked this special variation of the Combat skill. It was good to know he had a slight advantage against the other applicants considering his terribly low amount of combat experience.

Nonetheless he needed to be extra careful in his next fight, because this time his opponent would not allow him to freely attack for an indefinite amount of time. Therefore, remaining conscious for long enough to be able to counter his opponents move set was an absolute must.

This will be very tough.