They made their way over to the teleporter, which activated without any obvious trigger.

  James thought he’d heard Prax whisper, “I’m rooting for you, James,” just before reappearing in front of a rather anxious Lord Marrick.

  “Great, the crowd’s getting restless. Out you go.”

  “One minute!” James said, and dropped to the ground.

  “No time!” Marrick barked, but Edward and Ken moved in front of him defensively. Charlie growled. He transitioned into Commander’s Space.

  Lord Marrick could wait a minute longer so time was set to normal speed.

  James set up his deck, or at least he tried to.

  The Savannah Lion card wouldn’t split into separate entities. He’d never tried to do that before, but it seemed only logical that he could. No matter how hard he tried though they would not split.

  Did this mean that the same Enhancement worked on all the lions in that slot?

  He dropped out of Commander’s Space to a very irate Marrick.

  “... there or you forfeit!” Lord Marrick shouted.

  “Okay ready!” James spoke and jumped to his feet.

  They ran out.

  The crowd’s boos shifted to smattering of cheers.

  The boulders were still there, but the ground had no signs of blood or their earlier combat.

  “And here’s Commander James along with his team, ‘Rock, Paper, Squirrel!’, currently late to the party!” The presenter’s voice rang out, suspiciously similar to Prax’s.

  The crowd laughed, appeased for now.

  “And we all know how we reward parties that are late to the Arena!”

  “A roar went out. Lava, Lava, Lava!”

  “Quick — onto a boulder” shouted Edward.

  James unsummoned Charlie and Squire and bolted for the nearest boulder that wasn’t the same as Edward and Ken.

  “That’s right, the floor is lava!” the announcer's voice rang out.

  James was just in time as the previously sandy floor, magically shifted into magma.

  They were now meters away from each other.

  James summoned Squire to his shoulder but left Charlie unsummoned. Charlie would stay there now as they’d practiced.

  “And for this round, what’s best for a lava floor?” the presenter’s voice boomed over the arena.

  “Fire Elementals!” Came the crowd’s response.

  James looked at Ken who was already flicking through his book looking for a better spell. He was likely their best bet of winning this one. His crossbow was next to useless here.

  His Steel Short Sword was enchanted but would ‘Sharpness’ be able to cut through Elementals.

  He looked at the Steel Short Sword’s Card Info.

  Item: Steel Short Sword

  ? Effect: This sword will always be sharp. As long as all pieces of the sword remain it will eventually repair back to full durability over time. Aspects: Blade.

  He looked at his Bone Shield with Card Info.

  Bone Shield ×1 (Rarity: Unidentified)

  He’d forgotten about that, and Identify

  Play Card: Identify (Basic)

  Target: Bone Shield

  System Notice – Identification successful

  Item: Bone Shield of the Bitter Cold (Uncommon)Aspects:

  Effects

  Stolen story; please report.

  

• Mild Cold Resistance
• Temperature Suppression:
• Fire Dampening:
• Elemental Absorption:

  

• Might:
• Agility:
• Endurance:
• Mind:
• Perception:
• Will:
• Presence:

  There was a loud whooshing sound as semi-humanoid bodies of fire burst from the magma floor. The fire swirled around like hundreds of trapped firebolts in tight formation.

  “Begin!”

  “Hey, fire… Shit!” James started shouting but had to duck behind his shield as three firebolts flew at him. Two hit his shield, and the last flew over his ducked head.

  A new card appeared in his deck, with a little digital clock in the corner, counting down.

  He barely noticed and instead drew and played it. The Ice Bolt that came out was in the direction his hand was pointing, incidentally nowhere near an elemental.

  Now he knew.

  He glanced at Ken and Edward and found they also had three attacking them. He didn’t have time to watch though.

  The fire elementals did not move. Another three bolts flew his way, at exactly the same time.

  This time his cloak took one of the shots, Squire ‘bit’ one out of the air, swallowing it. The last he caught on his shield.

  He played Ice Bolt again and shot it at the closest fire elemental. This time it hit the target. The Ice Bolt appeared to disrupt the consistency, with the remaining firebolts shooting out in all directions. Including into his shield, cloak, and leather armour.

  The combined impacts pushed him backwards. He stumbled a moment, but didn’t fall.

  There were very mixed responses from the crowd on that, but he paid them little mind.

  Instead he shot another elemental with the Ice Bolt, dropping down with the shield in front, bracing against the fire wave. He took the opportunity to check on the others.

  Edward was scorched, including a wooden shield that might catch fire at any stage.

  Ken also looked scorched, but had healed through it. He either hadn’t found a spell or it hadn’t worked.

  They looked to him with hope.

  At least one bolt hit his shield for he had another card.

  Rather than shoot at his third fire elemental he started shooting at Edwards.

  The elementals still wouldn’t move so they were easy to hit. James winced as Edward's shield was blasted apart by the demise of his closest enemy.

  Meanwhile, despite the futility, James’s fire elemental kept on shooting at him, and therefore his shield. It was great ammunition.

  He took out another of Edwards Elementals, then played quick heal on him.

  Meanwhile Squire decided to help Ken.

  She jumped and, due to the hot air from the magma, managed to glide all the way to Ken’s rock. Then, amazingly, she started eating firebolts.

  The relief was enough for Ken to start healing Edward.

  James waited until Edward looked better, then shot an ice bolt at Edward's last opponent. The wave of fire bolts went out as usual, causing Edward a lot of pain, but nothing he couldn’t be healed through. His leather had many scorched holes in it now.

  James called out “Ready?”

  “Yes,” Ken said.

  James shot one of Ken’s opponents.

  Ken screamed in pain. He’d made himself as small a target as he could. Squire had done her best, but there was just too much.

  Despite this, Ken lived, and was able to over time, get his health back up.

  The same thing happened two more times, then finally James fired an ice bolt at his ‘flamey’, his helpful source of ammunition.

  There was a general round of applause from the crowd and the floor returned to sand.

  “Commander James carries the team to a win. How convenient was that shield! Convenient or prepared, who knows.” the presenter's voice booms out. “And with that the pot grows to a thousand gold. Do you want to take it and run or will you progress to round three?

  James took a moment to look at Edward and Ken. They both gave a nod, he did too.

  “ROUND THREE!” James roared.

  “ROUND THREE!” Echoed the crowd.

  “Well, it seems James really is the ‘Life of the Party’. I can’t wait to see how he handles what’s next. But we are going to have to.”

  James stowed the shield in his inventory and applied the Repair

  They started walking out of the Arena.

  “Why? Because next we have the first round of the one versus one martial combat tournament. And spectators, do we have a surprise in store for you. That’s right, it’s another Commander! Which one? You’ll have to stay and watch.”

  James froze.

  Edward and Ken tightened ranks.

  Squire shot to his shoulder.

  Edward whispered. “Keep calm, and keep Charlie as a surprise. You can do this.”

  James whispered back. “You are in that competition. I’m less worried about myself, and more about you.”

  Marrick was waiting for them in the staging area. He took their badges and gave them new ones. They were still Bronze but instead had two crossed swords depicted instead.

  “What does this grant us access to?” James asked curiously.

  “Most of the viewing areas and restaurants will now allow you access. You can also purchase from the market. You should know though that we will only trade in system generated gold. Any you received from Erranoc will be tainted by the temporal resets, and not welcome here.”

  James had not foreseen that problem, but they’d gotten a lot of system gold too so should be okay.

  “Edward, do you wish to purchase an instant repair service from one of our mages? Your one on one martial fight is up next.”

  “Edward looked down at his leather armor, punctured and scorched. How much?”

  “For a Round Two combatant, fifty gold,” Marrick responded.

  “Yep, done.”

  Marrick took out a card and pushed it at Edwards armour. It patched back up to new in next to no time.

  Edward laughed and handed over the gold.

  “What do you call the cleaning liquid in there?” James asked hopefully, pointing at the cleaning room.

  “Do you mean the laundry room? It’s called fog wash.”

  James felt dirty when he asked, “Is there somewhere we could buy some?”

  “It won’t help, not unless you get a skill runic specialist as well.” He was about to say more when the sound of heavy metal came stomping down the passage. They all turned to look.

  A man wearing full plate armour, clean and shiny, helm open, was walking down the passage. Next to him, strode, and it was striding, strode a horse, fully barded.

  There was a small crowd that walked down with them, chatting and giggling. It looked like a scene from a medieval faire. They all wore meticulously clean, expensive, medieval formal wear. ‘Ladies’ in laced up gowns, next to ‘Lords’ wearing breeches, tunics. They all had colourful hats. Many of them gave sly sidelong looks at James, whispering and laughing, while practically ignoring Edward, Ken, and Marrick.

  Lord Marrick frowned and was about to walk over when he stopped and turned back. With a wink he said loudly. “Thank you, Lord James, for your wonderfully chivalrous performance. If you will excuse me, new participants have arrived.” He bowed and then walked away.

  That got the attention of all the pretty peacocks, and the knight in front.

  James, Ken, and Edward stood their ground and watched on.

  “My Lord…“ Marrick spoke leadingly.

  “Brody.”

  Marrick bowed. “My Lord Brody, if you are here for the competition, then you are a little early. The contestants from the previous competition are still recovering.”

  “Good servant, being early is a bonus to my objectives for being here right now. Firstly, I wish to inquire as to whether Dandelion, my Bonded noble stead, can be part of the one on one combat?”

  Marrick said with a far more subservient voice than normal. “I will inquire on your behalf, my lord.”

  “Secondly, I wish to meet Lord Marrick, the Lord of the Pit, before my opponents appear.”

  “I will bring him here, my lord. Before I do, may I inquire as to your third reason?”

  “Yes, I wished to meet a fellow Commander before he scuttled off to the shadows.” He then actually pointed at James.

  Marrick's voice changed back to the commanding one he usually had. “Well then lad, you're out of luck. I’m Lord Marrick, no you can’t ride your horse, it’s a one on one fight. This is my domain, and Commander James is already a victor of two rounds in the Arena. You haven’t proved you are worth our time yet. Come back in an hour or find out just how powerful Arena Lords really are!”

  The man, Brody, must have been blinded by his own pompousness. Marrick’s twin axes were prominent, and not something a servant would just carry around.

  There were murmurs from the attendants, but no one was willing to challenge right here and now.

  James nods to Marrick and walks up to Brody, his own party keeping a respectable distance but nearby in case.

  “I don’t know you, ‘Lord Brody’ was it? I find myself not liking what I see,” he motioned to the courtiers.

  “Yes, I don’t know you either. My name is Lord Brody, officially knighted by Queen Gweneviere Leonisis. I am here to offer you a way to forfeit while retaining your powers.”

  James was actually interested, despite himself.

  “I’m listening”

  “I’m going to win this competition. I have the full support of the Queendom, including the best Tier 1 gear, my bond Dandelion here, and a range of Elite summons. The system will support your claim if you forfeit to me as your Liege.”

  “That’s an interesting offer. My party member here’s name is Edward, and he too is from a noble family. You two will likely face off in the coming duels. Let me give you a response after seeing how you handle yourself there.”

  “Understandable. Yes, see how superior I am, then bow the knee. Challenge accepted.” Brody nodded, then looked at Edward disdainfully.

  James watched as Brody turned, returned to his sycophants, and walked off.

  Marrick gave James an appraising look. “I’m not the only one here who can play a role, it seems. Still, this is a staging area, and I have a job to do. Move along.”

  James nodded. “Thanks Marrick, you were great. Let’s go.”

  A runner came over to Marrick as they were heading to the laundry room.

  Just before they entered, Marrick's voice called out to them.

  “Edward,” Marrick’s voice came across gravely. “Word from Prax has come down. You’ve been scheduled to fight Lord Brody in an hour.”