The two goblins sprinted toward the elven maiden, forgetting about the attuned men in heavy armor in front of them. A veteran stepped forward and swung his sword in a wide, two-handed sweep at the neck of the lead goblin. It charged heedlessly into the blade, maddened by lust. The lopped off head hitting the sand with a wet thud seemed to sober the second goblin, accompanied by the cheers of the crowd in response to first blood.. It turned in panic and began to flee with a shriek of fear.

The other attuned had circled behind the retreating goblin to block its path. The goblin reacted instinctively with a wild swing. The man blocked the swing with the crossblade of his sword, twisting it to effortlessly disarm the goblin. He then continued the motion to counter with a slash.

The goblin fell backward in an attempt to dodge, only to be impaled on the blade of the first veteran as the other sword slashed across its throat. Blood gurgled from the goblins mouth as it attempted to stop the bleeding at its neck. The first veteran rammed his sword deeper then cut upwards with a flourish. He held eye-contact with the unnamed goblin as he dissected the goblin up to the shoulder to remove his sword. He was attempting to intimidate the goblin with his display. The goblin only smirked as he bounced the stone chunk in the palm of his hand.

“This isn’t what you promised me. I paid to fight your best!” the eleven maiden shouted in outrage toward the stands where the master was seated.

“Lady Estra, they were only grunts. The two remaining are far more dangerous. Don’t let your guard down. There is also the phantom cat to consider,” the master replied.

The master stood up from his seat in the private booth to lean over the rail. He was a plump human male of below average height dressed in opulent black robes decorated with purple arcane runes. He had short-cropped black hair and a thin pencil mustache.

“Then unleash the phantom cat. That black goblin doesn't even have a sword!" Lady Estra retorted.

"Please reconsider, Lady Estra. Your father will have my head if those animals get a hold of you!" The master pleaded.

"Give the order now. I need to be prepared for my quest on the other side of the wall," Lady Estra replied.

The crowd began muttering among themselves after hearing that the elven maiden would be travelling past the wall into the expanding woods. The goblin began to laugh in amusement.

"You're mad, woman. Your tier three noble house status won't protect you in the expanding woods. There are things in there that make that phantom cat look like a kitten," the goblin mocked, unable to restrain himself.

The elven woman was stunned speechless after the unnamed goblin spoke. The pair of attuned veterans became alert. The goblin shook his head in disbelief as he continued to bounce the stone.

"Wait, who allowed it to get that rock? You will be punished for this!" The master shouted as he began to panic.

The attuned veterans frowned in confusion after detecting the master's panic. The unnamed goblin felt the back of his neck begin to tingle. The reddish-brown mage chose this moment while everyone was distracted to unleash a flamethrower at the group of opponents.

As it arched through the air, a barrier appeared as the elven maiden reacted to intercept the fireball. The attuned veterans separated to run in opposite directions in a practiced pincer maneuver as the arcane sigil powering the barrier became visible. Cracks spread across the barrier's surface. The moment it shattered, the goblin took the opportunity to launch the stone under cover of the flamethrower.

The rock disappeared among the flames, causing the smoke to swirl at the force of its passing. When the flamethrower ended, the elven maiden was unconscious with blood seeping from the center of her brow.

"Stop. Don't touch that sword. Fuck!" The master futilely commanded as he became hysterical.

The unnamed goblin suppressed his racial instincts as he fought the urge to ravish the vulnerable maiden laying in the sand. Instead, he focused his attention toward the attuned veterans closing in on the goblin mage. He walked to the headless corpse of the decapitated goblin and crouched down to retrieve its crude iron short sword.

The master unleashed a string of profanities as he began to channel mana. The goblin could feel the itching sensation on the back of his neck as he watched the purples runes of the master's robes light up. A crystalline barrier encased the unconscious elven maiden while the lock to the transport cart was undone.

The iron gate swung outward as the phantom cat swatted it open. It moved with deadly grace as it exited the cage. The suspension tension was released like a springboard as the weight of the large feline left the deck to land on the sand in a cloud of dust.

The phantom cat flinched away when the unnamed goblin looked at it, losing all semblance of poise. It became annoyed at its reaction as it hissed at him. The moment the goblin stepped toward the phantom cat, it fled to the wall of the arena and attempted to escape by climbing the iron portcullis. The master cursed as he activated the arena’s magic defenses. A ripple appeared in the air as a dome formed, knocking the phantom cat to the ground.

It climbed back to its feet and groomed its fur as if nothing had happened. It glanced at the unnamed goblin with a haughty expression. Then it began to stalk the goblin mage, choosing it as the easiest prey. The phantom cat crouched low with its belly rubbing against the sand as it crept toward the goblin mage, who was distracted by the attuned veterans.

The goblin laughed at the feline’s actions, swinging his sword casually to find the balance. After he was satisfied, he started to jog across the arena to intercept the first veteran. The man was the most dangerous of the two. The goblin could see the glowing arcane runes of a mana tattoo above the collar of his armor on his neck.