Free For All

151 39 54
                                    


In today’s Dueling and Armed Combat class, the students were not allowed the comfort of seats unlike the previous times where they had watched from the stands as groups of two slugged it out below in the goriest ways possible.

It was as if Neil was trying to compensate for the lack of action in his daily life.

“Apprentices!” Neil shouted, raising his hands. “Today we will be having a ‘free for all’, where you all will fight each other, no holding back!”

“Out of all of you,” he continued cheerily, “this fight will determine the top students of the class. There can only be five winners from of you all, and those five will be determined on how many other apprentices they take down. On to the rules.

“One, all forms of attacks are allowed. Two, you are allowed to beat your opponent to the point of death but without actually killing them. Of course, if they later die from the extent of their injuries, you are not to blame. Three, helping each other in the arena is strictly prohibited and anyone caught doing so will automatically slip to the lowest rankings and receive a warning. Receive more than three warnings and you are out. By out, I mean kicked out of my class, which makes up one of your six mandatory classes, and that leaves you with five which means instant expulsion. Have fun!”

This ironic statement signaled the start of the free for all and almost immediately, battle broke out within the arena. Most of the legionnaires went for the weapons rack, while a few decided to slug it out with their bare fists.

One thing Mikel noticed was a significant number of mystical fauna coming for him in one large horde.

Large boulders were suspended in the air and water whips zapped through the air like lasers.

The elves among them flew like
projectiles towards him, looking for all the world like they were going for the kill.

Mikel drew his staff in exasperation. “Seriously? Do I have one big sign saying ‘easy kill’ on my head?”

“Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity, I rebuke the heathen and destroy the wicked. All shall kneel and behold thy glory for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!”

Mikel didn’t look back to see the damage his cross boomerangs had done, running away to wherever could hide him. Class rankings be damned, he was going to sit this one out.

However, whatever gods looking down from above didn’t agree with his decision and the next moment, he was face to face with Damon, aka Two Face, with one half of his face burnt and the other side normal.

“Hello Druid,” Damon said with a twisted smile that only made him look more malevolent. “Do you like my face job? I was thinking of returning the favour.”

Before Mikel could reply, he used one meaty hand to slap the smaller man away, watching in mild satisfaction as Mikel rolled away like a pebble.

“Do you know what the other apprentices are calling me now?” Damon roared. “They’re calling me Two Face! Like some kind of monster spawn!”

Mikel coughed and tried to stand. “Be proud man. You’ve got a popular alias in my township. Ever heard of Batman?”

“Shut up!” Damon said in a loud rumble, running towards Mikel and kicking him heavily. The staff flew from Mikel’s hands and his eyes widened as his precious weapon was kicked out of reach by numerous apprentices fighting.

“You’re useless now,” Damon gibed, as he came even closer. “A Druid without his staff is—“

“Jolt! Thunder sprites!”

No Blessed ✓Where stories live. Discover now