Shadows formed from light orbs floating up above the arena platform. The employees had provided extra lighting for their viewers to compensate for the heavy overcast skies.

My right arm was bent in an irregular position, left arm riddled with cuts and bruises, hands swollen after being stepped on, and face disfigured. Making it hard to even recognize myself in the reflection starring back at me from the unwashed pool of blood near my feet. My legs were in a similar condition, but thankfully nothing was broken. I could only hold on to a dagger in my left hand; the other I left sheathed.

The bald opponent pulled out several throwing knives, intertwining them between each finger. Whenever someone used weapons other than to support their magic, it usually meant they tempered the ki in their bodies. Mages that honed both their ki and magical abilities were definitely rarer than most, but I knew it was only a matter of time until I ran into one.

I made sure to pay attention to every little detail. This guy was different from my previous opponents and belonged to a sect, judging by the winged emblem pinned to his uniform.

“Commence match!”

The announcer acted on cue, flying in the air with an umbrella unopened in one hand.

Instead of running forward preemptively, I stayed still, waiting for his first move. It looked like he had at least twenty knives to choose from, wrapped around his body. The knives in his hand flashed with a silver aura, then vanished. I cursed under my breath as I figured out this bald guy’s specialty. Invisibility. Maybe not strong enough for himself, but enough to completely hide any small object.

He charged at me with a similar speed to my own, at least when I was in better condition. As long as I watched his movements, the throwing knives should be predictable, regardless if they were invisible. Just as I thought that, my initial analysis was proven wrong.

He started to turn invisible from his hand gripping the knives to his shoes touching the floor. His shadow disappeared at the same time, and out of fright, I threw my dagger where his body should have been. My dagger still held a decent amount of oomph as it soared through the air, hitting the arena wall below the spectator stands, twenty feet from our platform.

An invisible blade slashed the skin on my right shoulder, but nothing was there when I tried to counter-attack with a kick. Turning and looking in all directions, I couldn’t find any traces of baldie. Thunder caused me to look up at the clouds as a droplet of water fell on my nose. ‘Rain!’

I prayed for it to shower, but returned to reality from a sudden jolt of pain. There was a four-inch-long throwing knife stuck in my forearm. Based on where the knife hit, I roughly figured out the direction he threw from and unsheathed my other dagger to slash at the spot. Same result as my first try. He was no longer at the same location.

I cried in pain as the second throwing knife made me fall to one knee, lodged deeply into my calf. I felt like a cow awaiting the slaughterhouse as the onslaught continued.

<>

The crowd had mixed emotions watching the match. Some were bored only able to see one person, with no actual fighting going on. Others were excited by the cries of agony. Some left for concessions or to dodge the rain. Those that stayed got drenched as the rain pounded harder. Some erected mana shields if they could, and others had umbrellas prepared.

Arisa and the group of bullies stayed seated, unaffected by the rain as their personal guards acted as magical umbrellas for them.

“Lucky brat..., the rain is helping him spot our fighter.”

“It won’t make a difference, right Arisaaa?” Another bully snickered in response, deliberately stretching the enunciation of her name.

"It will not change anything, master…”

<>

I grabbed hold of the knife in my calf and tossed it aside and pulled out the one stuck in my forearm. This one I held onto noticing the blank space of rainfall. The only thing his invisibility magic couldn’t account for, giving away his exact location.

Now that I had a target, I threw as hard as possible. ‘Yes, it connected!’

My moment of victory changed into a nightmare as two knives stabbed me at the same time. One in my foot, and one in my left hand. He disabled my throwing arm. I ignored the pain to look up at the knife I threw. The mid regions going outwards appeared first. His invisibility wore off. Whether intentionally or not, I could finally see him again.

There was no blood or impact wound as the knife laid stuck in his mana shield. It levitated in the air, not strong enough to fully penetrate his barrier. The bald man eyed the blade, surprised it had enough force to get stuck, and furiously threw several more knives. All missing vital parts, as if to torture me till death.

Blood trickled down my skin as I fell to the ground, everything fading to darkness.