CHAPTER 121 Knolith Unclasped His Belt

CHAPTER 121

Knolith Unclasped His Belt

Rufus

[You have attempted to use the Skill: Examine . You have succeeded. Six targets may be observed. Knolith Stardancer selected. Target is under observation. Predictive analysis: 44%. Available predictions: attack trajectory and perk activation.]

With the time it took to slowly roll up to the bridge, cross it, banter, and gather a crowd at the training yard, I’d had ample time to load [Examine]. Touching Knolith on the shoulder had even accelerated the progress by five percent.

When I was sitting beside Bronwynn on a bench outside the practice ring, people still gathering around and filling the stands, a magical portal opened up on the castle patio above. The king of the Dark Enchanted Forest and his Dark Lady jumped through the hole one after the other, landing on their feet.

“That is way better than crawling.” King Keith pulled each of his robe sleeves to neaten them, and then offered his hand to his wife. They linked fingers and looked down on the crowd.

I, and everyone else, stood in respect to the king and queen of Nilheim.

“You are gathered here today,” the Dark Lord announced, his voice echoing over the area, “to witness the battle for the position of commander general of the Dark Enchanted Forest.”

A clamor of talking and some cheers broke out among the stands. Henrietta took up the announcing, and her voice too resounded across the crowd. “As we all know, those who come out as champion of the Winter Solstice Tourney stand as commander general of the Dark Enchanted Forest for one year. They have the right to stand for a year, and no one may force their hand. ”

“Rufus Triever.” Keith took up the next part of the ceremony. “Do you, of your own accord, accept the challenge made by Knolith Stardancer? To forfeit unto the winner the status Commander General of the Dark Enchanted Forest?”

“I do, Your Viciousness,” I stated. Bronwynn squeezed my hand in support.

Henrietta looked at my opponent.

“And do you, Knolith Stardancer, hold to your duel? That should you prove the victor, you will swear fealty unto us, rightful rulers of Nilheim, as our Commander General?”

“I do, Your Viciousnesss.” Knolith clasped a fist in front of his heart then let his hands drop, turning to face me with a fierce glare.

“Then it is by the power invested in us that we announce this duel officially approved.” Henrietta lost her pretend serious expression for a second, her face transforming into an excited smile. “Combatants, to the ring.”

Knolith unclasped his belt and shouldered off his outer robe, letting the beautiful silk garment fall to the bench behind him. He sported a tunic, but revealed that his arms and chest were clad in shining silver armor fashioned to look like dragon scales.

With that, the lizardkin leapt into the ring to thunderous cheers. I, however, let go of my bard’s hand and spent the mana to pop my claws before walking into place. We stood apart, both nodding a traditional greeting.

“Let the battle …” Henrietta paused for dramatic effect. It worked, making the crowd suddenly draw their breath. “ BEGIN! ”

And then the cheering exploded. I pushed away my ever-blinking notification tab and sighed.

[Update: Predictive analysis: 61%. Available predictions: attack trajectory, perk activation, and team-based movements.]

Unlike usual, instead of activating his ability to create a sword made out of ice, Knolith drew a long blue blade with runes in the hilt from its sheath at his waist. The blade immediately took to his ice powers and shimmered with a frosty magical aura.

The possible attacks doubled, but I wasn’t worried.

He swung the blade once in a fluid motion, shifting his feet apart and coming down into a crouch, his blade pointed at me. I let him make the first move.

“[Ice Field].” Knolith said an ability I’d never heard before as he used his free hand to touch the ground. Our previous battle had been over too quickly to properly see the new powers that Knolith had learned in that cave.

In a wave, cold ice burst from the lizardkin in a circle, encompassing the entire ring and then some. He smiled at me as I spent more mana to transform my feet more into my beast form. The toe claws would help .

“Smart,” I acknowledged, taking my own stance. “Now, it’s my turn to show off. [Claw Strike].”

Knolith moved his sword into a block for my oncoming paw, except I swung my entire momentum downward into the earth. The beautiful thin sheet of ice that coated the entire ring shattered. It would still be annoying, but I didn’t need to worry about being knocked down if I took a single step out of line.

I dodged left to avoid the sword strike, barely missing the edge as it passed beside my right cheek.

The lizardkin retracted the sword and followed me with a side swipe, a jab, and then a full lunge. The cold emanating from the blade as it passed by me was cutting on its own. For my part, every time Knolith lunged forward, I would aim to slip under his guard and land a blow on his person.

In past bouts, I felt like the lizardkin suffered from the problem that many fighters had: trusting your abilities over your own ability. Knolith was always jumping in with a skill or perk as soon as the fight began. This put his skills on cooldown long enough to cause trouble for the swordsman. I could wait until the opportune moment when he was waiting for his skills to be ready again, and strike.

[You have attempted to use the Perk: Force Palm . You have failed.]

My palm hit the lizardkin in the chest, and stopped. The new armor took the blow, and I felt like it would leave a dent in me before it ever gave way. I pulled back my hand, shaking out the numbness.

Only to realize it wasn’t numb at all—it was freezing .

Knolith smiled. “How do you like my new armor?”

“It’s excellent.” I activated my [Identify Craft] perk.

[You have attempted to use the Perk: Identify Craft . You have succeeded. Equipped: Dragon Heart Scales , a set of mithril scales sewn onto dragon hide. +1 to Elemental Magic. Durability 9/10]

“I got it in Green Oak Dungeon,” he said, puffing out his chest. “With my newfound strength, defeating the dungeon was—”

The lizardkin ducked my fist to his face.