We left the office in silence, trailing behind Jason as he led us downstairs toward the guild windows, where I had originally tried the crystal ball. From there, we circled around to the far side of the building, where massive double doors opened to the outside.

  Tournament hopefuls streamed past us, clutching assessment cards stamped with glowing numbers. Guards in green and silver armor, the guild’s colors, I realized, stood watch at the entrance.

  The moment we stepped outside, sunlight struck my eyes, and the full scope of the grounds unfolded before me. Three arenas, each the size of a football field, stretched across the courtyard. Tiered stands rose above them, already filled with spectators. Overhead, a magically amplified voice echoed across the space, calling out numbers and directing combatants to their assigned arenas as their turns came up.

  Jason led us toward the far-right arena. As we walked, I studied the Outlier ahead of me.

  Identify triggered, and the details appeared before my eyes:

  So that’s why he’s so confident, he’s got twenty levels on me. Still, I can’t help but wonder what a Dark Blade Mage is capable of. Whatever tricks he has up his sleeve, it’s going to be fun showing him what I can do as well.

  As we walked, I caught movement in the corner of my eye. The man I’d slugged earlier was charging straight toward me. I stopped, turning to wait for him. He wasn’t alone. Six broad-shouldered men and a woman in a wizard’s hat trailed at his heels, forming a party that looked ready for trouble.

  I tapped my foot impatiently, already annoyed. This was about to be some nonsense.

  “You there!” the man, Jox, if I remembered right, shouted.

  I faced him, raising a hand in mock greeting. “Hey there. How can I help you on this fine day?”

  He stopped ten feet away, a sneer twisting his face. “You can help me by dueling me to the death! You’ve besmirched my honor, and I demand recompense!”

  I tilted my head, feigning confusion. “Who are you again?”

  His face flushed crimson. “I am Jox Rave, heir apparent to Baron Rave, the man you sucker-punched not an hour ago! I challenge you to the death!”

  I smirked. “Jox! I hardly recognized you. I made a show of looking him up and down. “Seeing you conscious threw me off for a moment.”

  Before he could sputter another word, I raised a hand to cut him off.

  “Look, I’ve already got a prior engagement in the arena. You’ll have to wait your turn. After I’m finished in there, we can have our duel. Fair enough?”

  Jason approached then, his presence commanding immediate attention. He glanced between us before turning to me.

  “Everything okay, Champion Riven?”

  I caught Jox’s reaction, he looked at me than at Jason as if he was waiting for Jason to tell him he was joking or something.

  “I believe so, Vice,” I said evenly. “Just some business I will need to settle after the assessment.”

  Jason gave a curt nod. “Good. Let’s get this show on the road. I have many things to prepare and do today.”

  He turned to Jox and his entourage. “Please take a seat in the stands for now. You can conclude your business afterwards. For now, Riven needs to complete his assessment, and we’re holding up the arena for other applicants.”

  The group bowed low in acknowledgment. “Apologies, Vice,” I replied, inclining my head as well, before moving on to catch up with the others that were already making their way to the field.

  I started walking toward the arena and Jason fell in beside me. “So, you’re a big deal around here, I take it,” I said.

  Instead of denying it, he gave a small shrug. “The Guildmaster is the real big deal. Most of the respect comes from my position, not me personally.”

  “Well, you handled that with a deft hand. I appreciate it,” I replied.

  He waved it off making an inarticulate gesture with his right hand. “If you only knew how many trumped-up entitled assholes I deal with on a daily basis, you’d see, it wasn’t a big deal.”

  Ahead, a guard opened a gate that allowed me to walk onto the arena. But before I entered, in the stands sat Dally and Lawson, casually enjoying what looked like popcorn and soft drinks. There were no booths or vendors anywhere in sight, but with Lawson, conjuring something like popcorn probably wasn’t difficult, but I guess both thought they were about to watch a show that was popcorn worthy.

  Jason gestured to some stairs for Balt to make his way up. Balt broke off toward the stands, and I gave him a quick fist bump. Nothing needed to be said; we both knew what time it was.

  I glanced up once more. Lawson caught my eye and gave me a thumbs-up. I waved back in acknowledgment before stepping into the assessment arena. I’d already decided how this would go, Jase was walking out humbled, and I was walking out smiling.

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  Jase stood waiting in the center, looking bored as Jason and I made our way forward. The ground was mostly dirt, but as I walked, I noticed a faint shimmer rippling across its surface.

  Soon, I was standing in the middle of the arena. Facing the only other Outlier I had ever seen. He was cracking his neck and loosening up his shoulders as I stared at him. I looked around and there were already several thousand people in the stands. Jase noticed me looking and spoke. “What’s wrong 22? You thinking about all these people that are about to see you get your ass kicked?”

  “I like good banter as much as the next man, but I can tell you from experience. The weakest dog barks the loudest. Shut up and get ready to fight.” I said.

  I shifted my weight for even balance; eyes fixed on my opponent. My pulse wasn’t racing, if anything, I wished it would. A real fight did that. This? This was about to be fun.

  The Vice stepped between us. “This is your combat assessment, to determine if you’re worthy of earning merit and competing in the Anchor Tournament. If a participant is rendered unconscious, admits defeat, or flees, the battle is over. Keep in mind, this bout is usually conducted against a member of the guild cadre, so it is not a duel to the death. This is a test of your combat capabilities.”

  The arena stretched around us, thick stone walls enclosing the space. Large poles jutted upward every ten feet, their surfaces etched with faint runes. Jason gestured toward them.

  “These enchantments prevent any attacks from reaching the stands. They also safeguard combatants. If a killing strike is about to land, you’ll be teleported away, and the duel will end immediately. So go as hard as you like.”

  I steadied my breathing, focusing my mind as Jase drew twin black short swords, their edges gleaming under the sunlight.

  “When I count to three, you begin,” Jason said, stepping back. He kept retreating until he was well clear of the arena floor, stepping onto a raised dais. His gaze flicked between us, then he began the count.

  “One… two…”

  I shifted into my combat stance, muscles coiled, ready.

  “Three!”

  I Flash Stepped. I came out of the ether to a wide-eyed Jase. I hadn’t summoned Ember yet, not wanting to give away my cards too early. I sent out a testing punch into his gut. I felt air instead of something solid, and the image of Jase dissolved in front of me like a mirage. I Flash stepped backwards.

  It was a good thing I did. Where I had stood now was Jase holding an outstretched sword.

  Somehow, he had left an illusion of himself as a trap, hidden and tried to end the fight early by backstabbing me.

  He turned to me. “I’ll be honest with you, I thought that would work. But it matters little. If the best you can do is flit around with no weapon, this will not be much of a fight.”

  I smiled and summoned Ember. Sapphire fire coalesced in my hand before revealing my blade. “You mean a weapon like this one?” I brought it up and pointed at his chest. “I already told you, less talking, more fighting.”

  Instinct screamed at me. I pivoted and swung behind, Ember clashing against twin dark blades. Sparks flew, revealing Jase’s grin. He battered Ember aside with one sword and lunged with the other, aiming to impale me.

  The realization hit hard; he was stronger than me without my buffs. I summoned a Searing Sphere and hurled it at his face. Jase cut off his attack and leapt back, the sphere forcing distance between us. It exploded, and his obsidian armor color deepened, shadows crawling across its surface until blades and armor alike merged into the same pitch-black hue. Standing in the center of the arena, he became a silhouette against the dirt floor, his face the only sign of humanity.

  Then, a half-helm formed, covering him up to the nose and leaving only his eyes exposed. Cold and piercing, they glared out from the darkness. Jase no longer looked like a man; he looked like a wraith.

  Up in the stands, Dally smiled as she tossed a handful of popcorn into her mouth. Chewing, she watched Jase slip into his shadow form. “Your guy’s strong for his level,” she said, “but he’s in trouble now.”

  Instead of agreement or hard stares, she was met with silence. They were… ignoring her?

  Lawson sat smiling, while Riven’s party members looked utterly nonplussed, sipping the soft drink Lawson had provided.

  “This is good. What is it?” he asked.

  “It’s from Riven’s world,” Lawson replied. “It’s called soda. Quite tasty.”

  “I’ll say,” Balt added.

  “Hey, don’t ignore me, you two asses,” Dally laughed. “My guy has your guy on the ropes.”

  Lawson turned to her, mischief glinting in his eyes. “My guy hasn’t even started yet.”

  A sudden flash of silver and blue light overtook the arena. When Dally looked back, the other Outlier had equipped armor, his aura blazing bright. A chorus of gasps and awed murmurs rippled through the stands, and even she had to admit, the armor was sweet. “So, enhancement armor that provides protection,” she said, impressed despite herself. “That’s impressive. But I still don’t think it will be…”

  Her words cut off as the man called Riven shouted, “Limit Break!” His aura exploded outward, raw power flooding the arena.

  “Oh shit,” was all Dally managed before both Outliers moved.

  The wraith spoke, his voice gravelly. “This ends now. The darkness will take you.”

  I’d tried to hold some cards back, but it was time to stop pussyfooting around. Let the information brokers spread word of what they’d be facing, six months was plenty of time to adapt and grow.

  I glared at the wraith before me. “Fuck that. I’ll show you what banishes the darkness.”

  Regalia shimmered into existence, forming around me. Jase’s twin blades dipped slightly, but I wasn’t finished. “Limit Break!”

  Power surged through me, my aura flaring. Flames burned in my throat, and I exhaled sapphire fire as I raised Ember into attack position.

  “I don’t know you, kid, but as long as there is light, darkness will always be forced into the shadows.”

  I Flash Stepped, slipping through the ether. With my boosted stats, I could now see Jase leaving behind an afterimage, while the real one tried to circle me. Mid-step, I hurled a Sphere at the illusion just in case and shifted toward the moving figure.

  To the other Outlier’s credit, he didn’t back down. He sensed me coming, and his blades pulsed with dark light, and as I emerged from the ether, they slashed toward me in a twin strike. I met them with a Limit Slash, the force blasting the weapons from his hands.

  Seizing the moment, I released Ember and drove a right uppercut into the wraith’s chin, knocking him skyward.

  “Ugh!” he groaned as the impact launched him into the air.

  Before he could recover, I propelled myself upward after him, Ember blazing in my grip. I knew he had more tricks hidden, but his underestimation of me had already cost him dearly.

  “Limit Breaker Slash!” I roared, unleashing my strike.

  But instead of my blade landing true, Jase thrust out both hands. A wall of dark energy erupted before him, the shadows of his armor peeling away to form the barrier. His wraith-like visage faded, replaced by his normal appearance, though the darkness itself now stood between us.

  My strike slammed into the field, and I felt it, an oppressive weight, the darkness straining to absorb my ultimate move, to smother the light I carried. The shadows hissed when Ember touched them, heat rolling back at me, trying to reflect my own technique back at me.

  For a heartbeat, it seemed unstoppable. But I refused to yield.

  I dug deeper, summoning every ounce of strength, every spark of defiance. My aura flared, sapphire flames igniting around me, burning brighter, hotter. I forced my will into Ember, driving the blade forward. The darkness buckled, cracks of silver light splitting through the shadow.

  With a final surge, I broke through. Ember tore past the collapsing barrier, my sword arcing toward Jase’s neck... And then, he was gone.

  I spun, searching, aura still blazing, and then I relaxed. My eyes found him on the dais beside Jason, one hand braced against it as he collapsed forward, drained and beaten.

  Jason’s voice rang out, clear and commanding: “Winner, Riven! And I think it's safe to say, you have earned your badge.”