Chrysalis

[Are you telling me her real name isn't Fluffles?] I demand.

[Of course not,] Grey scowls. [What kind of a name is Fluffles?]

[That's the name she gave me!]

[I believe I told you before, we do not give out our names so easily. My name isn't Grey, and my student's name isn't White. These are aliases we use. Our real names are only shared with those we are close to.]

[Wait, so that guy's name isn't Barker? Somehow that fills me with relief.]

[What kind of… no… his name isn't Barker. It's Woofington the third.]

[REALLY?!]

[Obviously not.]

[Dang. That would have been amazing.]

I look down at the turtle-Folk, struggling to rise under the weight of my empowered gravity field. I was nice. After I caught him in it, I made sure to turn up the pressure gradually until we reached this point. If I slammed him with full power from the get-go we'd have turtle pancakes here.

I expected the crowd to boo… or react negatively in some way. They come to these places to see a skillful, honourable fight, I assume. Instead, they've got me standing around looking at a turtle-guy who can't stand up. Surprisingly, they don't seem uninterested in the slightest. There's no anger or disapproval even, they simply watch, eyes sharply focused on Phil as he battles against gravity.

[I mean… he's still trying, right? Shouldn't I hold him there until he surrenders?]

Being rude is something I want to avoid. Also, I don't particularly want to let him take any more swings at me. Phil carries a blade much larger and heavier than what Barker used, but holy moly is he able to hit a lot harder with it. The guy actually managed to put a chip in my carapace, which is an impressive feat.

Looking bored, standing to one side with his arms crossed, Grey speaks to Phil, who snaps back something, causing Grey to frown. Seeing his expression, Phil capitulates and surrenders, so I connect to him with a bridge.

[Well done hanging in there. That can't have been pleasant. I'm going to assume that you aren't a blademaster after that fight, though.]

[I am of the seventh sword,] he growls, [I believed I could hold out until your power, whatever it was, became exhausted, then the fight would have been mine.]

I check my mana reserves.

[Yeah… no. I could have kept that up for a day and night. Besides, that wasn't close to how strong that pressure can get.]

He looks a little taken aback by that, so I hasten to reassure him.

[Your sword was amazingly strong, though. Look, you actually managed to chip my carapace! Right here… wait… I think it healed already. I assure you it did, though!]

Shoulders slumped over in defeat, Phil makes his way out of the arena, clearing the way for the next challenger. Pete steps up next, bowing to show his respect.

[I am of the sixth sword, and therefore weaker than my master, but I hope we can engage in instructional combat.]

[Sure thing. Let's have a good fight.]

I trap him in gravity immediately. Gweheheheheh. Pete manages to unleash one wild swing before his sword becomes too heavy for him to lift, but the sword light sparks off my carapace without harm. After struggling to resist the pressure for five minutes, he too surrenders.

[Got to be a little quicker, I'm afraid,] I tell him. [Once I've got you in that field, you'll struggle to get out.]

[I've never experienced anything like it,] he frowns, clicking his hooked turtle beak. [What type of magic is that?]

[Oh… just something I stumbled across.]

I'm not advertising my gravity mana more than I have to. If other people want to learn the secrets I worked so hard for, they can jolly well do it without help from me! Until they earn a bit more trust I suppose.

White steps up next and offers to fight, her cool dignity and calm demeanour unruffled when facing down a tier seven monster such as myself. I make sure Grey is fine with it before accepting the challenge, and he gives me the nod.

Fighting White isn't what I'd expected. The moment the fight begins, she's moving. She's fast, incredibly fast, but it appears almost effortless, like she's floating above the ground. In one hand, she holds a long, slender blade, a gentle curve running through its length, and when she strikes, my eyes almost bug out of my head.

So. Many. Slashes!

Her arm moves so fast I can't even see it, and a veritable forest of sword light is created, slashing toward me, curving through the air and cutting off my avenues of escape.

Even so, forewarned by my antennae, I execute a quick drop, stop and roll, avoiding the bulk of the damage and letting my carapace absorb the blows on one side. As expected, the slices are a heck of a lot lighter than what Phil and Pete were able to produce, but somehow much sharper. A centimetre-deep groove is carved into the exo-skeleton, which gives me pause.

For her part, White is still on the move, fluttering around the arena like a fairy as she continuously executes intense flurries of slashes. Clearly, she's a cut above Phil, possibly the eighth or ninth? I'm starting to get seriously interested in what a full blademaster is actually capable of.

As the fight drags on, it becomes clear that White isn't really capable of cutting through me on her own. Were she able to land a higher number of slashes, perhaps she'd be able to get more penetration, but so long as I avoid most of them, she can't get through.

I could just cover the entire arena in gravity, weighing her down enough that she slows down. Once that happens, I'd be able to focus the full might of my gravity well on her, but I want to test a few things against a higher level opponent while I have the chance.

Spinning up my minds, I start peppering her with gravity bolts, but she easily cuts through them all, dispersing the magic with her blade. However, it puts her on the defensive and dramatically reduces the number of slashes coming my way. I'm starting to see why you would normally need a team to take down a monster like me. It's hard for one person to defend themself against a monster's strength while also attacking.

Eventually, I go for a lunging chomp attack, which is when White reveals that I wasn't the only one going easy. Right in front of my face, she flickers and vanishes, reappearing beneath me, out of my line of sight.

Without my keen senses, I wouldn't have even realised where she'd gone, straight into the blind spot. As graceful as ever, she attempts to stab upward, directly into my carapace, but I'm already moving, rolling to one side while my minds focus on the gravity well.

If she's going to stop moving, then I won't let the opportunity slip by!

The moment she feels that crushing weight come down on her, White looks, just for a moment, a little irritated, before she bows and surrenders.

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