The morning of the gold spear tournament, I am actually dreading the beating I am about to get. Not that I fear the physical pain. I got a pain resistance skill after all, but I fear the humbling I know I will get. I head for the board to see who my opponents are. I am relieved to see that the organizers have changed the structure a bit. Instead of fighting a number of fights I will fight in a small group of four. The winner is the only one that move on to the knockout stages of the tournament. At least I can only loose a maximum of three times.

As if reading my mind Kira tells me to only focus on trying to win one fight. I appreciate her helping me to set the bar lower. I check out my opponents with analyze as soon as we get to the smaller arena. All three are in the low 20s. Could be worse, but I am only a level 12. They will be a lot stronger and faster than me. Their skill isn't bad either. Two are level 8, making them even stronger than the two cousins I fought in the silver tournament. The last guy is a level 6. He would be the only one I stand a chance at beating.

Sure enough my first two opponents are the guys with level 8 skill and a life force level a bit higher than Brute. Even fighting a defensive fight relying on technique rather than strength, I loose both fights in record time. Even Brute would struggle with these two. I watch the two superior fighters fight each other in the fourth fight of the group. The next fight will be my last, and it will be against someone I have a small chance at beating.

As the fight between the two comes to an end I am not even aware of who won. The two weakest links are about to find out who is the weakest. I step into the ring with the guy with level 6 spear skill. I position myself out of reach and let him approach me. He goes straight in for a strike rather than a stab, but his reach should be too short to hit my body. Almost too late I realize that he is striking for my spear.

Hitting the opponents spear is generally not a great idea due to the risk of missing and creating an opening for counter attack, but if your speed and strength is far greater than your opponent it might work as a good tactic. In theory at least. I miss my chance to counter attack when my spear dips below his. The surprise was just to great. I take a defensive stance presenting my spear at an angle inviting him to strike it again. He does! This guy must be stupid, even if he got the strength and speed his attacks are very predictable.

I try to counter attack and score a point. After getting the advantage point my opponent starts to sharpen and he no longer fall for my goading. Using more conventional attacks the fight drags on with no points scored. Just as I start thinking he is trying to wear out my stamina, he roughly deflects my spear and steps in close. Too close for a stab, and sure enough he settles for a bone shattering strike to my ankle.

As we step apart I can sense the pain in my leg, but I can also sense that there is no serious injury. Still most fighters would not last long in a duel with such an injury. Luckily I am not like most fighters. I try to buy a bit of time by keeping my distance. I overemphasize the severity of the injury by limping. By the time I am attacked my natural regeneration has repaired my leg to be as good as new.

Using this to my advantage I shift my stance to put weight on the foot previously injured and go for a critical stab. My opponent is caught completely by surprise and the match is over. As I look for the girls the roar from the audience hits me. I guess people love to see the underdog win in this world too.

As I leave the arena the audience gives me a sendoff the belies the fact that I am not advancing in the tournament. Why was I so worried about losing? Just winning one fight was a massive achievement in itself. In the guild waiting area I run into Brute who also didn't manage to qualify for the knockout, though it seems he came second in his group.