Hung Woo

  Hung Woo stood at the head of his squad, hands clasped behind his back as he surveyed his men. His fellow combatants were all elites. Each one hardened, disciplined, and honed by years of Zhenxia training. And all of them being sent to fight a single man.

  Ridiculous.

  He exhaled slowly through his nose. “System Champion or not,” he murmured, “this arrangement is a slight to our honor.”

  The others didn’t respond to his words; they didn’t need to. He had been saying the same thing off and on since he had been shown the tournament bracket.

  Zhenxia warriors did not require four blades to bring down someone twenty levels beneath them. It was an insult to their skill… and unfair completely to the man they were ordered to face.

  Hung Woo’s gaze drifted to his twin Jian blades on his back, the crimson-wrapped hilts familiar and reassuring as he considered the man they were about to gang up on. He had watched the crystal replay of the fight with the wind mage, watched the System Champion dismantle the Arch Wind Mage’s borrowed power and turn the man into mist with terrifying efficiency.

  He knew the Champion was strong, but sending four men against one still didn’t sit right with him. If he lost in a fair, one?on?one duel, he could accept that. But this? This felt like a no?win situation.

  If the four of them won… well, it was four on one. There was no honor in that.

  And if, by some twist of System fate, they lost… they would have been defeated by a man twenty levels below them while outnumbering him four to one. The shame of that would stain their names for decades.

  Truly, that damn Earl had given them no face at all. Hung Woo knew he would remember this insult for the rest of his days.

  He tried to calm himself, picturing the fight up ahead, gaming out his moves as he had done since he was a boy in the sect. His hand trembled as he thought of defending against the strike that killed that mage.

  Just a flicker, barely a twitch, but enough to betray him. Hung Woo stared at it, jaw tightening. He forced the muscles still, curling his fingers around the hilt until the shaking stopped. Shame pricked at him as he realized he felt worried; he breathed out and buried his worry beneath his discipline and years of training.

  Fear was natural.

  Dishonor was not.

  He straightened, letting his expression settle into the calm confidence expected of a Zhenxia elite. They had already discussed their strategy. Since they were forced to do this together, then might as well look competent. They would move as one, overwhelming the Champion with precision and overwhelming power. It would be efficient. Clean. Swift.

  Even if it brought little honor.

  Hung Woo inhaled deeply, centering himself. “I will ask him to surrender first,” he said, more to himself than to the others. “It is the proper way. If he refuses… then we will end it quickly.”

  His men nodded, their faces composed, their stances relaxed but ready. They believed in their strength. They believed in him. And Hung Woo wanted to believe it too.

  Four elites against one man. It should be simple.

  But as he stepped toward the arena doors, he couldn’t shake the memory of that crystal replay, the moment the System Champion’s aura flared, the moment the wind mage ceased to exist.

  Hung Woo swallowed hard.

  Confident or not, honorable or not… he knew one truth: This would be far from simple.

  Riven

  Two minutes were left on the clock.

  I stood up, gave the boys a nod, gave Tucker a quick head pat. Then I headed for the arena doors, trying to ignore the nerves that came with the anticipation of a fight.

  The stone slab doors loomed in front of me. I planted myself there, breathing slowly, waiting for them to open.

  A heavy thunk echoed through the frame.

  Then the doors split open.

  Light from the sun hit me in the face, and I waited for my eyes to adjust. Then the noise followed slamming into me. Applause rolled across the arena like a physical force, a wave that shoved the last of my nerves straight out of my chest. It was go-time.

  Altus’s voice boomed overhead, amplified through the speakers.

  “And now… the whole reason we’ve had such a unique tournament steps forth! This announcer is about to find out if it’s all hype, or if he’s the real deal!”

  The crowd roared again, louder this time. I stepped out onto the stone floor, walking towards the center of the arena.

  The announcer’s voice was annoying as hell if I was being honest. It reminded me of watching a football game and the guys up in the booth giving the play-by-play.

  “Guildmaster Aarons, you’ve seen him fight in person. What are your thoughts on Riven?”

  Aaron's voice came through steady, clipped, like he was giving a battlefield report instead of commentary. “He’s indeed strong.”

  Altus gave a theatrical sigh. “Once again, with the on?the?nose commentary from the city’s Guildmaster.”

  Many in the crowd laughed at the exchange and I couldn’t help but grin myself. I lifted a hand and waved to the people in the stands, letting myself enjoy the moment just a little.

  I hit the center of the ring. As soon as I did, the arena doors opposite me began to grind open.

  Four figures stepped out.

  Zhenxia’s combatants had entered the arena.

  I observed that they moved with discipline, keeping even spacing and never taking their eyes off me. Their combat robes were thick, layered, and reinforced, stitched with dark geometric patterns. I had no idea whether that was a functional part of the robes or just an artistic decision choice by the fighters.

  A pikeman and a swordsman took the front positions and led the group forward.

  The pikeman hefted the heavy-looking weapon as if it weighed nothing, spinning it over his head and around his body in smooth, lazy arcs as he played to the crowd. His expression didn’t shift the entire time. He remained calm, looking almost bored as he advanced. And from the way he handled that thing with such effortless confidence, even under this kind of pressure, it was obvious he’d spent a long, long time mastering it.

  The second man carried twin Jian blades crossed behind his back, hilts wrapped in crimson cord. His robe sleeves were shorter, tailored for speed, and his eyes tracked me with a predator’s curiosity, bright, alert, almost amused.

  Behind them, the remaining two fighters wore heavier robes with plated segments sewn beneath the fabric. Their faces were calm but not relaxed. They carried no weapons, only wraps around their knuckles and wrists. I knew summoning weapons at will was a thing in this new reality, but if I were a betting man, I would have bet that they were hand to hand fighters based on their movement and demeanor.

  I rolled my shoulders, settling into my stance. “Alright then, let’s have a good match.”

  The man with the twin blades walked up resting a hand on the pikeman’s shoulder, standing him down before stepping in front of the man. To my surprise he offered me a slight bow, precise, sincere, and I returned it before I even thought about it.

  He straightened and spoke in a clear, steady voice. “My name is Hung Woo.” He brought his fist to the open palm of his other hand, the traditional sign of respect in this world. “Will you surrender this match? I do not wish to fight a combatant, even a System Champion, four on one. There is little honor in it.”

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  I blinked, scrunching my face in confusion and tilting my head before responding. “I appreciate the thought, I really do, but I am afraid I need to continue my Tournament journey. I need the rewards to increase my strength to help save someone precious to me.”

  This time, I initiated the bow. “Your consideration means a lot, though. I hope we can have an honorable fight, Hung Woo.”

  The man drew his twin blades and offered a small smile and backed away a few steps. “As do I.”

  Altus’s voice crackled through the speakers. “Well, as much as I love seeing such great respect between combatants, I am ready to get the reason we all showed up today moving along. What do you say, Guildmaster? Want to get this match started?!”

  A long, weary sigh echoed across the arena. Aaron spoke, voice dry as sandpaper. “Demonstrating honor is something many people could stand to learn from in this day and age.”

  There was a beat of silence.

  Then Altus shot back, “Why are you looking at me?”

  “I wonder why,” Aaron muttered, the annoyance practically dripping from the speakers.

  A Chair could be heard scraping in the background. I heard Aaron’s voice cut through the crowd noise now loud and robust. “Second match of the semifinals… begin!”

  Regalia flared around me. Ember appeared in my hand a moment later, sapphire fire rippling along the blade as my buffs surged through my body.

  Hung Woo and the pikeman wasted no time and came at me hard, blades and pike flashing in perfect rhythm. The first weapon to reach me due to its crazy fifteen-foot reach was the pike, I quickly parried it up.

  Ember making the pikes long wood shaft shake as I forced it upward and away from my head. The Jian wielder came at me with whirlwind slashes laced with fire mana turning himself into a fire tornado. I Flash Stepped away, repositioning myself several feet away from the flames.

  Hung came out of his spin and reformed his combat stance with his partner. The pikeman had his weapon back under control and had it leveled at me as he slowly walked forward.

  They pressed me relentlessly over the next thirty seconds, Hung Woo’s twin blades carving tight arcs while the pikeman stabbed and swept at me with brutal precision. I blocked, dodged, pivoted, letting instinct and training carry me through the flurry of blows.

  Then I felt it.

  Danger at my back, sharp and immediate.

  That was what I now knew through master Matt to slip into Foresight. My breathing slowed. The worlds colors softened. A calmness washed over me, the same calm Master Matt had beaten into me with months of blindfolded sparring and “character?building” ass?whoopings as he had liked to call them.

  Foresight allowed everything to sharpen around me.

  My enemies every footstep was now felt. Every shift of their weight. Every twitch of their muscles became clear to me. It was not true future sight but functioned more like a sixth sense for me, putting the other five senses together to help avoid incoming attacks.

  I moved my head to the side bending my knees as a roundhouse kick aimed to take my head off blew past me. I Flash Stepped right in the middle of the four of them and raised my hand a motioned them to bring it. I was correct when I assumed the other two were hand to hand fighters. They took me up on my offer and attacked.

  Dodging became effortless, almost lazy in this state. I slipped between strikes that should’ve clipped me, leaned away from blows that hadn’t even fully begun. Hung Woo’s eyes widened. The pikeman cursed under his breath as he doubled his efforts to skewer me.

  Altus’s voice boomed overhead. “Amazing movement from Riven! It’s like he knows what his opponents are thinking!”

  I kept my face calm, but inside I was counting heartbeats. I needed an opening fast. Foresight didn’t run on a clock; it ran on me. Every enemy, every attack vector, every outcome piled more weight onto my mind. Four elites at once meant it would burn out sooner rather than later. Until I could put more points into Intelligence, the Talent was what it was.

  Soon, the opening I had been waiting on presented itself.

  Hung Woo had jumped into the air trying to come down on me with a downward strike. Instead of dodging like I had been doing, I met him head?on, slamming Ember against his blades with an Eclipse Strike and knocking him back and up in the air several yards.

  I tilted my neck as the pikeman’s long weapon about stabbed me in the throat. Aura surged through me, razor?sharp. I focused it all on my blades edge. I pivoted, brought Ember across the wooden shaft with an Eclipse Strike, slicing the weapon clean in half.

  His eyes went wide.

  I Flash Stepped to him using my momentum to hit him with a front kick to his chest with enough force to launch him across the arena. He hit the barrier protecting the crowd with a bone?rattling crack, and I grimaced a little. These guys had been respectful. I was trying not to kill them, and I hoped that kick had not done just that.

  The audience erupted in gasps and cheers.

  Altus cackled over the speakers. “He’s going to be feeling that in the morning!”

  Since Altus had said the guy would be feeling something in the morning that implied to me the guy would be fine with some healing. I refocused.

  The two hand?to?hand fighters rushed me next, their skin shifting into a metallic sheen of some type of Iron Body. I swung Ember at the first one and felt the impact jolt up my arm like I’d struck a solid steel training dummy.

  “Great,” I said. “Now I am fighting metal people.”

  They came at me in tandem, fast, disciplined, relentless. I ducked under a punch, tried to sweep one’s legs and to my dismay barely budged the guy. He laughed at me and swept a kick at my head.

  I flipped backwards landing in front of the other metal man, dodged a palm thrust then cracked Ember across the guy's jaw. I could tell the strikes were not that effective and went with a new strategy. I began to use my movement skill in tandem with my Eclipse Strikes to batter them. I got into a Flash Step, Eclipse strike rhythm and searched for the Jian user. Out of my peripheral I saw the man with one palm in front of him chanting a mantra and I knew that could not be good for me.

  Ember rang against metal again and again until both fighters finally collapsed, groaning, their Iron Bodies flickering out as they reached their limit.

  I exhaled, letting them fall. I gave a solid kick to the head to make sure they were unconscious.

  And then, what I had been afraid of happened. Foresight snapped. The world lurched back to normal speed, and my senses faded back to normal. Giving me a brief moment of vertigo.

  Before I could turn back to engage Hung before he could finish whatever he was attempting to do, a streak of fire tore across my back, somehow burning through Regalia and making my back scream with pain. I Flash Stepped away on instinct, landing in a crouch with Ember pointed forward.

  Hung Woo stood across from me, aura blazing, a single sword gripped in his right hand. Above him, a spectral dragon coiled and twisted, its jaws stretched open in a silent, furious roar. He’d had stripped the top of his robe off, revealing a dragon tattoo on his left arm that writhed across his skin alive with mana, shifting and crawling as the top half was raised above his body into the sky.

  “Well,” I said, standing up, feeling my back burning white hot with pain, “you happy now? You got your one on one.” I lifted Ember, pointing it at him with a raised eyebrow.

  “I am! Now prepare yourself, Outlier!”

  Hung Woo pressed me like never before, the spectral dragon circling above him like a living wildfire. Unlike him I felt the heat searing my face. This must be what others felt like when I hit them with Ember.

  Every time I darted in parrying the Jian blade away creating an opening to attack his body, the damn dragon thing spat another fireball at me, forcing me to retreat. The entire stone floor we were standing on was glowing red from the dragon's fire.

  I was going to have to show another card, or that damn dragon was eventually going to cook me alive. I focused, and a silver helm shimmered into place over my face. Instantly, the blistering heat around me dropped to a comfortable room temperature.

  My most recent upgrade of my Regalia Talent had manifested my new helm. The helm hadn’t seemed like much at first. But testing proved otherwise. It didn’t block my vision at all, and no matter what environment I stepped into, the temperature inside stayed perfectly regulated. The downside of my new upgrade? It was a mana hog.

  My regeneration was decent these days, but with the helm active, all of it went straight into maintaining the enchantment instead of replenishing my reserves. It kept me alive, sure but it drained me dry while doing it.

  The helm forming had encouraged the dragon to blast me with a stream of dark red fire. I watched with fascination as the fire engulfed me but didn't really affect me internally.

  The same could not be said for the arena floor though. Red stone began to melt beneath me. I wasn’t in danger, but being treated like a flame broiled whopper was not my favorite thing in the world to be sure.

  The dragon ceased its fire, and Hung Woo charged me, his sword alight with flame. The strike was aimed at my shoulder. I ducked under it, slid past him, spun to counter, only for the dragon to roar and blast the ground between us, forcing me back yet again.

  I exhaled sharply. “Alright. Enough of this shit.”

  I reached deep and focused. Limit Break. “Times Two.”

  Aura detonated out of me in a sapphire shockwave, the melted stone from our battle at my feet blasting liquified stone outward. The crowd screamed in excitement as my aura surged.

  Hung Woo staggered backwards, his dragon flickering like a candle in a storm as it fought off my aura.

  Every time I activated Limit Breaks next level, my body felt like it was on the knifes edge of failing. Every nerve lit, every muscle coiled, ready to act.

  I stacked Foresight reactivating the Talent. Mana surged behind my eyes. I Flash Stepped continually in quick bursts avoiding Hung's strikes, using Foresight to guide my movements forward. Soon I was next to Hung with Flash Steps full momentum behind me.

  I didn’t even bother lifting Ember. Hung Woo’s eyes widened un surprise as my Regalia?clad gauntleted haymaker smashed into his face. “Night?night!”

  The punch connected with a sound like a thunderclap.

  Hung Woo’s head snapped back, his feet left the ground, and the man spun, literally spun through the air like a corkscrew. His spectral dragon shattered into motes of light as he flew backward, crashing into the barrier and skidding all the way down to the stone floor.

  The entire arena went silent for half a heartbeat.

  Then it exploded with chants of RIV-EN RIV-EN!

  Hung Woo

  Hung Woo felt his body hit the barrier and his momentum come to an immediate halt. The Champion’s strike and the sudden stop hurt so badly his vision was already going dark as he skidded to a halt at the base of the arena wall.

  He struggled to stay conscious, just barely, to turn his head. His eyes found his opponent.

  For a long moment, the Zhenxia elite simply stared. He had punched him instead of cutting his throat with that magnificent blade of his.

  Then, despite the pain, Hung Woo inclined his head.

  The gesture was slight, but the Champion noticed and returned his nod. Then he promptly passed out.

  Riven

  Altus practically screamed into the speakers. “OH MY, HE JUST PUNCHED THAT MAN INTO THE STANDS! NOW THAT’S WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!”

  My chest heaved as I stood there, with my aura still crackling around me like lightning trapped in a bottle. I dismissed Ember, let Limit Break fade, and allowed my helm to dissolve so I could finally breathe fresh air again.

  I started toward Hung Woo to check on him. I had hit him about as hard as you could hit a man, but the healers were already rushing in. I stopped short and gave him a respectful bow. Unconscious or not, the man had fought bravely.

  He’d earned it.

  Altus’s voice thundered through the speakers. “IN WONDERFUL FASHION MAY I PRESENT YOUR WINNER—RIVEN!”