Of course, my [Party member] had to be a battle-junkie, and she didn’t even try to hide it! She has been hopping along like a little school girl while Merglobth guided us to the [regenerative Arena] of this [Guild]. Also, it is worth noting that I only agreed after they let me know that they had such a place, as per [Adventing Guild] standard, meaning that there always was a place where [Adventurers] could spar without risk of grievous harm.

“I’m so going to kick your ass!” Exclaims for the fourth time an excited Sheeno.

“We both know that. You are a [Princess] that has been trained since birth in the art of combat, and I’m just some guy that got [Transferred] with little more than a week of experience with magic and the [System]. The real question is how hard I can make it for you to pummel me into the ground”, I responded in a tired monotone.

“I know, and I can’t wait!” She shouts, while grabbing me by the shoulders and giving me a little shake.

That ‘little shake’, by the way, is enough to confirm just how utterly outclassed I am in terms of [Body stats].

While walking through the long corridors of this [Rainbow Guild] I remain most amazed by the grand diversity of [Races] one could find here: From the most exotic of Dwyrms and Kebunus, to the most extravagant Pixies and Dryads (I really hope that no [Human] has to be taught to distinguish Pixies from Fairies, and Dryads from Ents).

As a fun note on Dryads: When they first appeared, given their original [Parasytic] nature, people treated them little better than beasts, or even [Monsters] in some cases; only when their [Race] managed to [Evolve] as a whole, and become [Symbiotic], they were accepted into society at large.

This brings up the point of why many races don’t get the brackets around their [Race], and the simple answer is that as a whole they distanced themselves from what they originally were, transforming their name from a [System] term, to a general one, and earning new terms for the way they [Evolved].

During my musing, I kept following the others to my impending doom, one I hoped would be as painless as possible. Now, it’s not like I wanted to lose against Sheeno, but there was no doubt in my mind that she was a better ‘solo fighter’ than me… and, also, that she would probably be a sore loser if I were to somehow win, probably by some stroke of luck.

If you wanted some stokes, or anything more, all you have to do is ask.

Through your prayers, you have been awarded +2 [Serindipity]

“What the fuck!?”

“What the fuck” indeed.

Fortunately, my guide and [Party member] weren’t privy to the perviness of my [Goddess], and honestly, that was for the best.

We finally stepped into our [Arena], one of the few unoccupied, and, when I asked about it, I was told that what we were doing was pretty much what everyone did upon reaching the [Wilds] with a new [Party]. After all, how could you trust someone you didn’t know to be dependable enough to watch your back?

I mean… it did make sense, and the [Arenas] made the risk of permanent injury practically zero, with only your sanity on the line. Watching yourself being disemboweled never got any easier to do.

But damn it, I really hated pain.

Why do you think I made it my mission early on to develop a form of protection before anything else? Because I didn’t want to get hurt!

I was a pencil pusher, a chair-butt, back on Earth, and while I could get used to this more ‘active’ lifestyle, getting gutted I could certainly do without.

Having said that, we passed through the barrier that delineated the [Arena] without me making as much as a peep, and didn’t add any comment while Merglobth started reminding us to take it easy, since this was meant to be a friendly spar. From the glint in Sheeno’s eyes, it was clear she thought that was exactly why one shouldn’t hold back.

Once I squared off against Sheeno in the [Arena] I realized just how heavily Grog had beaten out of me the actual fear of getting hurt; distaste was everything that was left, even if there was a lot of it.

I was so unbothered by the situation, once I found myself in it, that I distracted myself by analyzing the room we were in: Besides not being able to see the [Enchantments], thanks to the goggles, I observed that it seemed to have the wall made of red clay bricks, with iron-rich sand on the ground, and a reflective ceiling (weird). On a closer inspection, helped by my nose, there may have been more than one reason as to why the room was so red.

I was so immersed in the calculation of how much blood it would take to have painted the entire room, that I almost missed the moment where the [Chthulian] said to begin. I said almost, because my high [Mind stats] made it hardly possible that I could fully distract myself from what was happening around me.

“Begin!”

Sheeno wasted no time and sent an [Ice Wave] my way, in the form of a flurry of ice and snow.

The attack wasn’t meant to harm me, we had just started, after all, its purpose was as both a distraction and a hindrance to my vision.

If she had known just how much these goggles were hindering the way I normally saw an opponent already she probably wouldn’t have bothered. With these things on I couldn’t see the [matrixes] being formed, and that meant that I couldn’t use [Annul], my form of dispelling, efficiently.

While avoiding such an attack would have been easy, even with my pitiful [Body stats], I decided that two could play that game: So I used my staff to generate a [fire Barrier] in the path of her [Spell], creating an explosion of steam that lowered visibility across the room.

“Ha! Good one, but you’ll have to do better than that to fool my senses!” Replied my adversary from somewhere among the mist.

Unfortunately for her, I had no illusion of avoiding her detection, this distraction’s only purpose was to allow me to carpet the room with my [summons].

4 [Flying Trappers], 8 [Forceful Metallic Pizza Dispensers], 2 [Shamanic Totems of Protection], and 1 [Kenny].

The fact that I could [Evoke] all of those, and still have [MPs] to spare, was a testament to my progression.

A blade made of ice came for my neck.

A swipe of my staff, coupled with a push of [Manakinesis], was enough to deflect it safely.

Another two blades followed soon after from the opposite direction.

This time I wasn’t strong enough to deflect them both, and I was pushed backward. It was enough to make me take only a few steps, but it was distance enough for my [Trappers] to act.

I had to remind myself that I never used them before, and they were probably the most bizarrely experimental of my creations, and only accidentally so; so one could understand why I had mentally instructed them to use an overly complicated way of trapping the ice giant just to see how much they could actually accomplish.

Two almost simultaneous booms of thunder were preceded by a bright flash, and the steam was blown clear of the [Arena].

“Argh, t-that hu-hurts!” Exclaimed a stuttering Sheeno, now enveloped in nets that looked like they were made of pure electricity, lying on the ground. And like electricity, they caused her body to spasm and jerk involuntarily.

I took a couple more steps back, increasing the distance between us.

The look she was sending me was obvious enough: She had yet to get serious.

Should I get annoyed that she’s still taking me lightly? Probably not, but it still irked me.

Ice crystals started forming on the edged of the electricity keeping her contained, and the change of effectiveness was immediate.

She got to one knee.

I made all 8 [Dispensers] shoot at the same time, and at different angles.

With a simple flex, she broke free from her restraints, then proceeded to summon four bucklers made of ice, and parry every disk aimed at her.

“Not ba-ah!” I interrupted her banter by having [Kenny] shoot at her from above, and she seemed to be resistant to the ‘melting effect’ its ray seemed to normally have.

She dashed towards me, escaping the light of my [Lantern], with a miffed expression marring her beautiful face.

“Bad. BOY!” She shouts while lunging at me, with all four newly created axes raised to strike.

I noticed that she seemed to be trailed by icy particles, and observing the spot she jumped from I also took note that it was now covered in ice.

“Some kind ‘frost dash’? How troublesome…”

I cast [Annul] on her hands, and her axes melted into freezing water in her hands, but her only reaction is the brief frustration visible on her face at the thought of having to strike me only barehanded.

Four fists collided with both barriers from my [Totems], and the [fire attuned] one from my staff between them.

Against all odds, she is stopped, breaking through the first two, and only cracking the last one.

“Just how high is your [Strength]!?” I asked, surprised by her results.

“It’s already my [Main Statistic], and it’s at the [Second Tier]! Now, watch OUT!” Still hanging from her fists on my barrier she does a somersault, and sprays my general direction with [Ice Spears].

A dozen projectiles come flying, and the first two are enough to pierce my last [Barrier].

One of my [Totems] breaks, and I use the returning [Mana] for multiple casts of [Mana Orbs], trying to put them in the path of the spears.

Just at that moment, Sheeno decides to make her presence known once more, by swiping my legs from under me.

I jump over her attempt and have my [Turrets] take pot shots at her, forcing her to retreat from the ‘murder zone’ I had built around me.

My [Demiurgic Sight] might be hindered, but my [Unavoidable Detection] and [Precognitive Aura] still worked just fine.

Unfortunately, my [Body] isn’t good enough, and I’m not fast enough to counter the last spear. Differently from the ‘maintained’ [Skill] she uses for the weapons Sheeno wields, her [Spells], once cast, create magical ice that is unbound by matrixes, making it real, and impervious to [Dispels].

That very real ice lodges into my left shoulder. And that was after trying to dodge it.

I give one single grunt, and a [Repair] later I’m almost as good as new.

“Now, that seems hardly fair!” Wines the voluptuous warrior, while dodging and dancing around my various projectiles.

In response, I just summon back the broken [Totem], and two of the [Turrets] she was able to take out in her retreat. “Deal with it”, I say to her.

“Ohoh! So that’s how you want to play? That’s fine by me”, she responds to my taunt.

Suddenly, her body is enveloped in frost. It looks bad, so I try and use [Annul]… and her [matrix] resists my attempt.

That wasn’t new, [Spellwork] from those stronger and better than I can sometimes resist my attempts at dispelling.

But I didn’t think that the difference between us was already that high.

The halo of frost dissipates, leaving a Sheeno clad in a spiky see-through armor made of ice.

It was little more than a bikini armor with tiara, boots, grieves, and gauntlets made of ice on top of what she already had on.

But my [Precognitive Aura] didn’t like it. Not one bit.

The temperature in the [Arena] visibly drops, with every sign of humidity being frozen instantly, while snow seems to start falling from above and a thin layer of sleek ice start covering the ground; if it wasn’t for the [Enchantment] on my cloak, that was designed to keep me at a comfortable temperature, I definitely would have been reduced to a popsicle by her move.

I was still left with clattering teeth tho.

Worse of all: Most of my [summons] are rendered useless, incapable of working at these low temperatures.

So I was left without [Barriers] from my [Totems], or ranged support from the [Dispensers]; all I was left with was [Kenny], who could make heat, so remained free of the ill effects from Sheeno’s armor, and the [Trappers], which now glowed red, probably as a sing that they had ‘adapted’ to the environment.

“[Suit of the Ice Queen]. My ultimate move, which I created mainly to spite those that mocked me for not having a [Fire Affinity], while being a part of the [Noble family] of our people. The fact you made me use it shows that you're strong enough to match me, ultimately the quality of my instruction, and my higher [Level], will be what decides this match”, She tells me, completely confident of her victory.

And who could blame her? I was already losing feeling in my extremities.

My [Trappers] tried shooting at her, at first with the previously designed pattern, but it fizzled into mist before reaching her, so they automatically started going through rock, metal, fire, and even magma nets. All useless in front of the absolute zero emitted by her armor, and she obviously knew it, since she didn’t flinch once.

Two of her hands raised, and the [Trappers] fell to the ground, now encased in ice.

I called back every [summon], since now they were useless, except for [Kenny]. He still was useful at least as emotional support.

“[Kenny]…”

I turn to my familiar, my first [Spell], and wonder if it could actually do something in this situation.

“It seems that you’ve got something buzzing around in your head. Maybe you should pay closer attention to your adversary first?” Her tone is teasing, and light, but her voice is much closer than what it was supposed to be.

Somehow she now stood in front of me. Somehow she bypassed both [Unavoidable Detection] and [Precognitive Aura]. Somehow she had already frozen [Kenny], which now was falling to the floor but got ‘de-summoned’ automatically before crashing, as [familiars] do.

I interpose my staff between us, as a last gesture of futile resistance.

“Still got fight in you?” She asks with a raised eyebrow, “good!”

“Eh,” I respond, giving a half-hearted shrug with one shoulder, “call it stubbornness”.

She grins at me, I smile back, she punches with seemingly all her might, and I pour all I have into the staff in my hand.

Her strike hits first, and the following cold is enough to make me lose consciousness.

I was later told that I was still able to blast her backward, and slam her on the other side of the [Arena]; but while harmed, her crazed grin said that she would have been up for more.