I arrived back a day early, wanting to see some more of my competitors. I shook my head at the foolishness I saw happening in the matches, warriors giving another time to stand up before continuing the fight. How could they be so idiotic? Really, I mean they are fucking stupid. You do that on the battlefield you’ll just get fucked over. Honor has no place on the battlefield, it is either kill or be killed.

If they are going to expect such stupidity from me, I suppose they’ll be disappointed. Rule One of a soldier, once the enemy’s guard has broken you continue to attack until either your momentum fails or he is dead. I didn’t want to see such mistakes being made so I left, repairing my equipment, buying ingots of magically enhanced steel to feed to the equipment cores.

I headed to the tavern, entering my room to begin the repairs. I re-donned my armor once it was all repaired, the dents smoothened out and the dull surface now a shining mirror. Well, not a mirror but still far shinier than before. Settling myself in the familiar weight, I did a few stretches before heading out once more, deciding that a hunt was in order.

But on the way out, the woman from before blocked me with a several of her friends. I knew where this was going to go so I didn’t bother listening, I just punched the nearest one with my gauntleted hand, burying it in his gut. I didn’t stop moving, building up more momentum and smashing my fist into the next man’s temple, knocking him out instantly. I whipped around and slapped the woman in the face, knocking her ten feet to the side. I then continued the spin and swept the legs of another out from under him, swiftly stomping on his stomach.

The next one was already running but I believe in a “don’t let any enemy get away” policy so I chased him down, kicking him in the back. I made sure that he had a broken spine and the others weren’t free of injury either. At least three would have broken ribs and all would have bruises. I briefly inspect my gauntlet, hissing in disgust as I saw a new dent, though it was very tiny.

I guess I’ll just have to live with it, I was going to go hunting anyways. I headed out, the knowledge that I’d probably be ambushed floating around in my mind. It didn’t worry me, what worried me was how I was going to hide the bodies. I suppose I’ll have to find some high level monsters and then have them deal with it. That or just kill them and admit to it. I’m fine with either one but the latter option would be more troublesome.

As I wondered about this, something whistled through the air but I paid it no heed, an arrow bouncing off my head an instant later. I sighed, drawing my blade and sprinting towards the area where the arrow came from, impaling the archer with my sword. Breaking brush could be heard and I whipped around, slashing horizontally with my blade and cutting three men in half, their guts spilling all over the forest floor. Meanwhile the now dead archer had been flung some ways to the side, her body torn from the waist up.

Seeing more armed people, I fell upon them, killing men and women alike without remorse. I finally stood still, the corpses of twenty men and women behind me. I sheathed my blade again, I’ll have to wash it later. I headed deeper into the forest, my mind free of worry. They had given me the excuse I needed, the excuse of self defense. I was now in a fairly good mood and I went hunting, taking down a bear with my bare hands. Literally as I deactivated the armor cores so that I faced the bear with my body alone.

It was quite a challenging fight but enjoyable, especially when I stood over the corpse of the bear in victory. But it came at a price, I was covered in scratches and bruises and I also gained a few broken ribs as well as a fractured forearm. I clicked my tongue in self-chastisement, I have to be more careful, my next match is tomorrow. I suppose I’ll have to splurge on a healing potion. But first, this bear needs to be cooked.

I hefted it onto my shoulder and headed to a nearby clearing, dropping it unceremoniously to the ground, a large “thud” filling the clearing. I set about clearing some debris away from the future fire pit, gathering dried wood for the fire, and dried leaves and grass for tinder. Once all the materials were ready, I grabbed my sword and a flint, smashing the flint into the sword’s side, directing the sparks at the tinder. Once it caught fire, I carefully tended to it before adding the smaller sticks, the fire soon greedily devouring the fuel.

As the fire roared away, I began to prepare the bear, having already bled it immediately after the fight. Using its hide as a table, I was able to separate most of the flesh from the tendons and bones. Using its unbroken ribs as spits to hold up the meat, I made a stand out of its humerus and tibia with its femurs tied together set across them. I then balanced the spits on the horizontal femurs and occasionally turned the meat so that it would cook evenly.

Once it was done, I dug in, tearing off large chunks of meat and chewing them down with great gusto. Once I finished, I picked up the next three that I had prepared while I ate, doing so until almost a fourth of the meat was eaten. Wrapping up the rest in the bear hide, I doused the fire with dirt and headed back. I sold the meat to the butcher and the hide to a tanner, doing an extra quest before I slept.

After gathering the herbs and turning them in, I headed back into the forest, sleeping ack at the clearing. I wasn’t afraid, I should be able to wake up if something dares to step in the clearing. I awoke without much trouble, though I did find my dagger in my hand with some blood on it. I guess something came up on me in the night and my instincts lashed out. Whatever, that just means my body can defend itself while I’m unconscious.

Having forgotten to buy a healing potion the day before, I returned and bought one, healing the half-healed injuries. As electricity rushed through my veins, I felt my wounds close and my bones re-connect. I did a few movements to make sure that everything was in working order before returning the empty potion bottle and headed to the arena.

After a few matches I stood once more on the arena, my opponent opposite from me. This time it was a woman, not something that you see that often. At her sides were twin sabers, one which radiated icy cold and the other fiery heat. Hmm, troublesome but not impossible to defeat. The announcer did her usual routine, first announcing the name of the woman,

“In one corner is Syndra Aephine! An elf from the forest, her looks may be deceiving but under that beautiful mask lies a cold blooded killer with inhuman strength and speed!”

She continued, “And in the other corner is Torvus! He boasts enormous strength, knocking out his first opponent clear out of the arena!”

We stood opposite of each other as the announcer reviewed the rules and finally asked us to bow. Once we had finished bowing, I drew my sword, it seems that today would be the day when I will use my sword. I waited, my sword held out toward the ground.

I kept my eyes focused on everything in my field of vision, wondering where she’d attack. I was surprised to see her disappear but I was able to see her blade, the icy one which was directed towards my face. I swiftly blocked, spinning to absorb the force and then elbowed the air where she was previously. It seems that she had left before my attack could connect.

For awhile there was silence as she moved beyond my perception. I just stood there, my ears straining to hear any sort of sound, to give me any hint as to her location. I whipped around as soon as I heard a the tap of a shoe hitting stone, my blade meeting hers. I quickly jabbed with my fist, connecting with air once more. Once more she was gone and I waited, this time spinning non stop when I heard the sound, my sword slashing around me in a huge circle.

I saw for a brief moment as she frantically slowed to avoid my attack and at the moment, I struck, charging forward and raining down attacks from all sides. She continued to retreat, unable to run lest my blade cut her in half. I didn’t let up, slashing away with what seemed to be reckless abandon but was actually swift, calculated strikes. Each strike was made to keep her from running for at least a few moments longer.

I succeeded, though she began to attack ferociously as she saw how near she was to the edge of the arena. I didn’t let up, finally knocking her out with one last strike. But I wasn’t done yet, I had to make sure that she was out. So as she was already falling, I opened my palm and thrusted forward, hitting her in the stomach and knocking her into the opposite wall. I couldn’t just trust my last strike to get her out. With that insane speed, she would have made it back onto the arena and it would have been a stalemate.

As she lay there panting heavily, I just turned and left, the voice of the announcer declaring my victory,

“Aaaand Torvus has won yet again! Against an elf no less! Just how strong is this man?! He stood up against an elven swordswoman and a talented young knight and won! Not many can claim to have done so much!”

I sighed, I could do without the showboating, I didn’t like unnecessary attention. The rest of my comrades met me at the entrance to the arena, congratulating me on my win. I wished them good luck on their fights, saying,

“I expect that it is one of us that wins this tournament, I will not settle for anything else.”

They all nodded and I said, “Let us win this for the Emperor, so that all may know the might of Morsad.”

The rest murmured, “For the Emperor and the might of Morsad.”

We then headed back to the tavern, getting a table and telling tales of our fights in the arena. Most of us haven’t seen each other fight as we were training or doing quests. Laughter filled the air as we soldiers became human at least temporarily. Even me, I suppose that this world has had its effects on me, which is worrying to say the least. But I suppose to indulge every once in awhile isn’t so bad.

As we talked, a shadow fell upon our table. We all look to the source, instinctively grabbing our weapons. It was the elf from my fight, with four other elves, two male and two female. I took a swig of ale and asked,

“Well, what is it you want from me?”

The male elf stepped forward, murder on his face but Syndra stopped him.

She then bowed, “Forgive him, he is angry at your treatment of me.”

I snorted and took another swig, “The way of this world is not kind or caring. Battle doesn’t care for honor. I have been raised to fight the way of the battlefield and I will not change my actions now. You were merely an enemy and I treated you as one. An enemy does not deserve mercy, only to be killed so that he may not threaten you in the future.”

The male elf seemed ready to burst and I said, “You are not yet my enemy but should you attack I shall not hesitate to kill. It will be in self defense, it shall not be my fault.”

Syndra hurriedly said, “We did not come here to be enemies, rather we want to be allies. You see, your strength is rare among your kind, we’d like to be allies to avoid future conflict.”

I thought about it and discussed it with my comrades in our home tongue, eliciting curious stares from the elves. We finally agreed to ally ourselves with the elves, they were a strong race and it wouldn’t hurt. Besides it would also provide a good chance to find about their people’s strengths and weaknesses. I stood and shook hands with Syndra, saying,

“I hope we do not have cause to fight one another.”

She nodded, “I do as well.”

I then looked back at the empty spaces at the table and the excess money we had.

After a quick check with my comrades, I offered, “Well we recently struck a lot of money, would you like to eat with us?”

They accepted and we ordered more food, allowing them to choose. They ordered a vegetarian meal, making unpleasant faces as we ate meat but didn’t say anything. It must have been a cultural thing, strange but not of significance. We talked of our various exploits, sharing special moments in quests and the like. I also got in another drinking contest with that male elf, I ended up winning again, though I was beginning to lose the feeling in my fingers.

I was still pretty clear-minded while he was dead drunk. I looked at the pyramid of ale pints and sighed, I really must have gone overboard.

I didn’t dare go into another drinking contest and luckily none was offered. Though, Syndra was very curious as to the language I spoke. I tiptoed around the question, saying that I was from a country far away and that I was temporarily stranded in this land. She asked some more questions but I firmly stated that I wasn’t going to answer anymore. She stopped and we ate in silence.

Finally, she asked, “Just how were you raised to think such thoughts?”

I replied, “I am a soldier of my country, for thirty years I have been in countless battles and wars and before that I trained in the harshest conditions imaginable, all in the effort to be as useful as I could to my nation. That is what leads me to believe what I believe, for those who show mercy are killed without remorse, those who show honor are stabbed in the back. I learned to discard such useless things for the battlefield does not care. The strong rule and the weak die.”

She argued, “But there are those who would repay such kindness.”

I shrugged, “The number of those are far fewer than those who would stab you in the back. Better to be careful and kill a few innocents than to show mercy to all and die by the one you saved.”

She said, “But killing innocents is…”

When she fell silent, I spoke, “I do not regret killing innocents, it is their fault for not knowing how the battlefield would treat them. The battlefield does not care if you are innocent or not, all who step in will eventually die in its embrace and innocents are no exception.”

She gave me a sad look, saying, “You live a sad life, what of your family?”

I chuckled, though it didn’t reach my eyes, “I gave up the idea of family long ago. I am a soldier, not a human. Love, hate, envy, these things are meaningless to me. All that matters is the sword in my hand, the will of the Emperor and the immediate death of his enemies.”

I then stood, saying, “Well, it was… nice, I guess you would say. I’d say I’d hope to do this again but…”

I gestured to my drunk comrades and the drunk elves, “This has been quite the disaster.”