To say the specimens making their way to us were impressive would have been a disservice to them. I'd seen the mounts of the Breakers when we had our little Mexican standoff, and those were there acting as mounts for the Breakers but they were leading even larger behemoths forward. I had to remind myself that while these incoming creatures were the same level as the villi-covered hogs that had attacked our base, their Attunements lent themselves to different strengths. If I had to guess, they lent themselves to Strength.

Each of the seven boars being brought were Fire Attuned with various Refinements ranging from Conflagration to Smoke to a Blaze one that brought distinct memories of the Ant Territory to mind. They were all Q5 and loomed a good fifteen feet at the shoulder and easily half that in width alone. Other than the variations in their fur shadings, the biggest difference was the curl of their tusks, some lancing straight forward others reaching up and over almost to their brows. Considering the size of the creatures, those were quite prominent indeed. The boars were led to the shelter that had been created, the boar riders flanking the structure and making sure the partitions that had been made within stood the test of hog.

Just have to not kill one of these. Easy peasy, bacon squeasy, I thought to myself, running back through my magical repertoire with a bit of hesitation. I also glanced at my mana to see it just cresting over the 70% mark, which didn't inspire the most confidence.

Regardless, I knew I wasn't going to back down. Even when I watched one of the Breaker handlers be forced to use a gout of fire to counter a flaming snort from the Blaze Boar in the middle of the pack. All of the brooding I was doing internally went out the window when Radolfo yelped out loud, drawing confused looks from the Faction platforms and murmuring from the crowd.

"Filomena what are you--"

"Sorry Grandfather, but I just couldn't take it any more," the draconian woman called out, voice just as amplified if not more, than the old Zebelos. "This is the final event! The slug fest they've been clamoring for! People have seen this before, they've heard the illustrious history of 'wresting our place from the might of magical evolution' and all that."

"I hardly think this is the time to discuss your displeasure with my delivery," Radolfo said, and even with the echoing nature of his amplified voice I could hear the warning tone. Of course, Filomena just plowed right over that. She's going to hear about this one later. I couldn't help but think of Elias, the old man more than ready to wag a finger if Sam, Danny or I got a little too out of hand.

"What we need is hype! This is the most dangerous event to close out the competitions between the Factions and it is happening right now! More bacon than you can fry on your slimes, ladies and gentlemen, and muscular hunks of equal quality to match up with them! I know you have all been waiting for this, thirsting for this! We've even got a whole team of healers on hand to respond. What's a few broken bones in the face of total domination!"

The initial intermission had been received with some awkward laughter by the crowd, but as Filomena picked up steam the energy was palpably changing. Her words egged a roar out of the crowd and I could practically hear the grin on her face as she shouted, voice even more amplified somehow. "Is that all the energy left here at the end? Maybe we should just stop the event now, leave people some energy to pig out instead of throw down!"

As one, the crowd roared louder trying to match the magically enhanced Zebelos. She wasn't pleased enough. "Ocala, is that all you've got to give!"

A chill rushed down my spine as I observed what happened next. A veritable maelstrom of magic exploded through the earth and sky as the Fallen used their various Gifts to truly make a racket. The ground lit up so hard in my vibrosense I had to refocus on my eyes like I hadn't needed to in a while, but even they were having trouble parsing the kaleidoscopic display. I was sure I spotted more than a few of the older non-Fallen flexing a whole spread of Traits to amplify their own cheers. Filomena cackled, mostly drowned out by the crowds but clearly happy with her success. One particular section of the crowd seemed to have coordinated their efforts. A cone of snow shot into the sky high above the crowd, quickly followed by a fireball not much different from Daniela's . As the two collided, they exploded into a snowy cloud just in time for a beam of light to strike it and send shimmering refractions dancing into the crowd.

Blobby hunkered down behind me, drawing me away from the magical rainbow taking over the sky just from sheer volume of mana. The slime quivered, as if it could sense the density of magic blasting into the sky like a fireworks display from the old world. I placed a reassuring hand on its body and the slime clung to me for the whole duration of the rowdy crowd. Thankfully, Radolfo hadn't lost complete control of the 'mic' as he smoothly interjected when there was a lull in the crowd.

"Indeed, perhaps some more... energetic commentary could be useful in this event. Very well, let us proceed with this... slug fest," the old Zebelos drawled. I swore I saw the glint of Filomena's fangs at that. She didn't waste any time.

"Let's get ready to rumble! Competitors, to the judges!"

I gave the others a cheeky grin as I tried to make my way forward. I had to leverage Blobby off my leg like a barnacle, but I left him in Billy's capable hands. Daniela thumped me on the shoulder as I passed her and I dropped my shield on her toes completely by accident. Her diatribe fell on deaf ears as I focused on just how the heck I was going to disable one of the boars.

Of course, Horace moved to join the competitors and I recognized another of the orc Cloth Muscles joining the group. Sargon deemed that moment to step up to the stage. Two giants and an elemental walk into a bar, likely the worst start to a joke I could think of. We each made a concerted effort not to look at each other, but the animosity was clear as day from the distances between us relative to the competitors for the Zebelos, Nash, Spring Hoppers and Huntingtonians.

The judges ran through the same process as for the horse selection. Unlike the other, they were all of the same Quotient and there was no shortage of the boars. We drew straws for the order of selection and they got things moving quickly. I heard the orc grumble something about 'omnivorous bottomless pits' before he was up to pick first. The slight advantage I had over the rest of the group was that I knew what the Refinement of the creatures was. I was sure there were hints, and probably some outright insider information as far as Sargon was concerned, for telling which creature one matched up the best for. Unfortunately we'd only been given the glancing view when the beasts were led to their constructed pen and now while we waited.

The Zebelos Orc didn't hesitate and went right for the Blaze Boar. I was set third, and I paid careful attention to which beast Sargon picked second; he hovered near the Conflagration Boar. Without any time more, I was up. I considered the Smoke Boar since vibrosense would give me an advantage with knowing where it was, but I couldn't dismiss the possibility of some suffocating move I would be hard pressed to deal with. As my eyes scanned the rest of the boars, they landed on a particular specimen with a curious Refinement.

Of the ones left to pick from, it had the most intricate fur pattern. It still looked like coarse steel wool, but there were splashes of maroon and orange in swirling patterns along its coat. Its tusks were also pointed down which was curious, but there wasn't much more I could gleam from it. It didn't matter; I'd been in more fights blind than I cared to count and having a moment of anticipation was already a big plus. I took my spot close to the boar and the two of us exchanged a look. Of course, he returned it with a snorted puff of steaming snot that landed on my bare foot which I was more than planning to pay back.

Some of the other competitors were up after me, and they easily made their selections leaving Horace with the Smoke Boar at the very end. The giant looked more annoyed at having been the last to pick rather than which creature he'd been given to fight. I could practically feel his glare trying to burn a hole in the back of my head, and he didn't even have the right Attunement for that.

"Representing the burly orcs of our Cloth Muscles, give it up for Noaaaaah!" Filomena shouted, her voice filling the air and feeding on the energy being given off by the crowd. Noah turned bright green as he bowed his head before taking position in the center of the street.

The Breakers meticulously led their porcine charge forward, while motioning to the giant and dwarf who'd built the pen to secure the entrance. A squad of Cloth Muscles, donning their namesake robes, took position to the north of the street between the boar and the crowd. To the east, a similar contingent of what I could only describe as the wild west version of satyrs took position beside some giants to cut off that direction. To the west was another contingent of Breakers and apparently the competitors of the Factions were intended to be the cordon for the fight to the South. At least, Filomena said as much when she reassured the crowd of the safeties in place for creatures that, while reared by human hands, were still exquisitely dangerous.

It was, once more, humbling to see that the display of power to keep the crowds safe would have been enough to amount to the total forces of the Allied Towns before our leaps past the Corporeal Limit.

As I scanned the defenses, Filomena called to the judge and the match started without much further delay. Noah moved instantly, dodging a snort of booger napalm fired in his direction. The spot lingered aflame even as the orc rushed forward towards the boar who shivered and coated itself in fire. Responding to the move, Noah did as well. A more flaming version of the that Daniela had in her Skills unfurled from the man's back before taking the shape of a pair of wings. Moments before the collision between orc and boar, Noah flared out his fiery wings to swerve out of the way. The wings vanished, flowing right to the man's fist before he drove it right into the front knee of the boar.

The creature squealed, dropping and sliding in its effort to reorient and compensate for having one leg taken out. To the amusement of everyone but Noah, it turned a more flatulent weapon into the means with which it turned as it used a fiery flick of its short tail to ignite its rear. The two crashed, sending Noah rolling on the road millings before he was able to summon forth his stabilizing wings once again. Not one to take an opening for granted, the boar started hocking more of its inner napalm like a discount dragon. Noah used his wings to bank left and right, and each time he skirted one of the lingering flames his wings grew larger.

At point blank, the boar tried to straighten and gore him with its significant tusks, but Noah spread his wings wide and coasted over the hit before landing almost gently on its head. Then he delivered a devastating stomp that wiped out any hint of his fiery wings as it all concentrated on his knee to turn his limb into a fleshy rocket. The boar landed, hard, eyes immediately dazed before Noah continued to land hammering blows right between its eyes. Each let loose a small spurt of fire from his elbows that augmented the force of his blows. It wasn't until the fifth one that the Breakers ran forward and healers took hold of Noah.

"That's what I'm talking about ladies and gents! The Rrrrocketman! Give it up for an explosive performance!" Filomena called, even as the healers dragged a limping Noah off to his platform. The orc clearly had burns all along his body and his fists were more than a little bloody, but it was hard to ignore the cheeky grin showing his tusks to the Zebelos that welcomed him. Steam curled off his entire body as one of the healers doused him in water. Considering that my Implant told me Noah was just a Q4 un-Refined Fallen, it was a much more impressive run than I'd expected. I would be surprised if he had an ounce of mana left, but he'd understood the assignment; a man after my own heart.

"This is just the start! Get ready for one of the bigshots themselves joining the competition. Standing as the meanest and smuggest piece of charcoal in the bonfire, Saaarrrggoonnn!"

The crowds, especially the Breakers guarding and those in the crowd, went absolutely bananas. The elemental seemed to take it in stride, raising his hands up in the air to receive the energy like he was ready to channel a spirit bomb. The not-quite-man even roared and flared with fire as if he was powering up. It was a bit ridiculous. The beam of orange-yellow fire he let loose from his hands... not quite as ridiculous. His opponent, the Conflagration Boar, took the blow head on and tore a furrow on the ground as it tried to combat the singular force of the attack.

Each time it stabilized its footing, the beam seemed to wobble as it formed a primitive spell-chain around its body to disrupt the beam. In response, Sargon roared louder and his flames crept higher while the beam grew slightly wider. Stubborn as it was, the boar continued to match the elemental with its own charge and redoubled its own efforts to combat the elemental. Unfortunately, it looked like Sargon had near unlimited mana somehow because he held the attack for a solid minute, even ramping up the apparent strength of it. The difference in Quotient left the boar the only path of defeat as its own mana dissipated like dust under the wind. For a brief instant the beam seemed to hover before making full contact with the boar and throwing it clear on its back in an explosion of heat I felt all the way at the pen.

When the boar didn't stir, the Breakers rushed forward to examine the creature. It had been knocked out cold, but whether it had been from exhaustion, the attack itself or a combination they couldn't tell. When the judges called the match, Sargon basked in the response from the crowd. The man threw a simmering smirk in my direction before striding back to his platform and taking a seat on a metal-wrought throne I hadn't seen before.

Ah. The pieces clicked together, and the cold sweat that had been forming on my back lessened. The display of power was clear as day. What it revealed? Also clear if one paid attention to the fact the Q7 elemental hadn't resummoned the flame dome that had been ever-present since we'd settled in on our platforms. I could also see his posture wasn't quite as ramrod straight as it had been, not to mention the concerned frown on his second, Clayton. The elemental likely had an obscene amount of mana, or if any bits of fiction were to be believed he'd sacrificed Health for mana in some elemental-only process we weren't aware or privy to, but it wasn't infinite. A full minute of nonstop magical combat wasn't anything to scoff at, but it could be mitigated.

"And next we have a complete novice, standing at a solid eight feet of stone faced stoicism and a truly haunting masochist in combat, Rrrronaaaaan!"

"I'm going to kill her," I grumbled, snapping out of my Sargon-counter-offensive planning to focus on the event. I cracked my neck before deciding to follow her description as close to the letter as I could and scolding my expression into neutrality. Apparently, my nonsense approaches to the events had earned me enough of a reputation for the crowd's roar to almost match Sargon's own. I couldn't help the corner of my mouth from twitching, but the sight of my opponent sobered me quick.

How am I supposed to take you out without killing you... That was all the time I had to think before the boar was released from its bindings and it embedded its tusks into the ground. Not even a breath after, the sky was filled with burning fist-sized projectiles.