Limits

The two people on the stage fought well. Yet, just as the odds suggested, the guy with higher odds won in the end. I turned towards Fox, and said "See, the difference was too big". She replied a bit unsatisfied "Whatever, I still won some money. Next should be the battle of that Royalty". I asked "You bet on that as well, right?". She nodded, and said "Of course. For that fight, they allowed me to bet 200 Gold Coins. It's more prestigious, and we don't know who is going to fight really. They didn't want to say".

I replied, "We will find out soon". The announcer warmed up the public, and said that the main battle will take place in a few minutes. We waited patiently, and discussed who might win that fight. Fox wasn't sure, while I assumed Royalty would win. This was not because I thought Royals had no match, but because the person who faced the Royalty, would have to probably lose on purpose. Provided he or she was stronger.

The announcer finally shouted out the names of the two people, who would battle next. "Please welcome to the stage Trevor Grandman, and Prince Roland Stoneheart!". I didn't think much of it, until I saw that guy. "Impossible!" I exclaimed. Fox asked "Isn't that the guy, you sat with at the Arena in the North?". I nodded, and replied "It's exactly that guy. Ha! To think he was a prince. Who would've thought". I then heard other people talking.

"This guy? I thought it's going to be someone important, not this bastard", one man said. Another replied, "Yea I know. At least we will see Trevor mopping the floor with him. This should be entertaining". 'It seems Roland doesn't have a good reputation… I wonder why?' I thought. When we met in the North, he seemed like a nice guy. I was baffled why people would hate him, or make fun of him. After all, he was one of the Royalties. I asked Fox "Hey, is this guy some sort of bad person? When I met him in the North, he seemed rather nice". She shook her head, and said "I don't know. I never heard of him, and only saw him with you in the North".

I leaned back, took out some fruits, and said "This should be interesting". Fox looked at me for an explanation, but I only munched on the fruits. The battle soon began. Trevor wielded a large two handed sword, while Roland wielded the same old sword, I saw back in the North. When they clashed, I immediately noticed that this Trevor guy was stronger. 'Although both of them must've broken through their Half Step, Trevor is still stronger by quite a bit' I thought.

Roland utilised his skill, and attacked again. Trevor was not perturbed by it, and released his own technique. It was a sort of Sword Form, not similar to the Lethal Sword Forms. It seemed less savage and more controlled. One could even describe it as naturally flowing, and not rushed. His sword clashed with Roland's skill, and broke it. Trevor didn't stop. Instead, he increased his speed and continued with his Forms.

'It looks like Roland has loads to do, if he intends to win' I thought. Roland was too calm and confident, when his skill was broken. What he did next, showed me where his confidence came from. He utilised a strange foot technique. 'This reminds me of an archer… He must've adapted a kitting technique from an archer' I thought. He evaded all the attacks, and released his skills at the same time.

Trevor was in trouble. His attacks missed, and he had to face Roland's at the same time. Trevor was not as agile as Roland was, he opted for blocking the attacks, instead of trying to evade them. When the first attack arrived, he blocked it, and moved back a few steps. Then the next attack arrived, and knocked him out of balance. As the third and final attack arrived, I saw Trevor smirk.

'This is bad' I thought, and I was right. Trevor had some sort of Formation on either his clothes or accessories. When he activated it, he instantly moved pass the attack, and continued towards Roland. I heard Roland cursing "You bastard", while he backed off. Trevor didn't want to give him another chance, and released even more refined Sword Form.

'This looks a bit familiar' I thought, when I saw his attack. I felt it was familiar, due to one of the books, I got in the past. The book explained how to make many attacks at once, but pass it as just one attack. Trevor incorporated that into a Sword Form, and the effects were devastating. Roland couldn't escape in time, and got struck by one of the attacks. It must've been a heavy blow, because he stumbled backwards, losing his balance. 'This.. Roland was wounded before the battle, he didn't recover yet' I thought.

Trevor executed another Sword Form, and was about to finish Roland off. 'This strike…' I thought. Roland suddenly jumped off the stage and the attack missed. 'Fortunately Roland is not stupid. This had the potential of killing him… That Trevor guy's last attack, was full of killing intent. He actually wanted to kill a prince' I thought. Something didn't seem right. Audience talking badly about a prince, the opponent wants to kill him in a final attack, and Roland was wounded. Nothing added up.

Fox didn't seem disappointed at all. She exclaimed "Yay! I won big time". I replied "Good to hear. Let's go, I have some talking to do". Fox was confused, but we left our seats anyway. 'I need to catch that guy, and ask him a few things' I thought, as we rushed through the corridors of the arena. Fox asked "Where are you rushing?". I replied "We need to catch Roland. I want to figure some things out".

We left the arena in a hurry. I searched the crowd, and found Roland fleeing for some reason. Without any delays, I chased after him. He kept to the main streets, but then suddenly turned towards one of the alleyways. 'What is he on about?' I thought. When we turned the corner, I fished out the mask from my bag, and placed it on my face. Fox asked "You want to kill that guy or something?". I had no time to reply, because Roland was nowhere to be seen.

I tried locating him, but to no avail. Until I heard some noises, not far away. I quickly turned right, then left to arrive at the scene that baffled me even more. Roland had an arrow pierced through his shoulder, and a few guys were already surrounding him. I said to Fox "Locate the archer, and dispose of him". She must've been shocked, because her reply was "Are you crazy?". I said "No time for that. Locate him, and kill him. Go". Fox sighed, and used her Aura to disappear.

I walked forward, and asked "It seems we have a party here. Mind if I join?". The three warriors surrounding Roland turned around, and told me to piss off. I laughed, and replied "Why so hostile? Aren't we all friends here?". One of the guys said "I'll deal with this guy, you take care of him", while pointing at Roland. I smiled, and walked forwards. The guy said "You chose a..". but he didn't finish. A dagger was already stuck in his head. When the others heard a corpse drop, and their comrade stopped mid sentence, they turned to look. I said "He tripped, right onto my dagger. Very sloppy indeed, you have to be more careful guys".

Before they rushed at me, an arrow arrived. I stepped back a bit, and it flew past. 'Fox, now is your chance. Kill him' I thought, and appeared next to the two people. With a slight spin, both of their heads were severed by my daggers. As they lifeless corpses fell to the ground, I stood in front of Roland.