Chapter 1832: That Last
"You know, they’re going to have to force those berserkers to stop fighting when the timer runs out. That should be entertaining," a mage in the bleachers near Dana joked.
The girl next to her laughed. "Should we take wagers on whether one Elder will be enough, or whether they’ll have to send in a second one to make them realize that it’s not a three-way fight now?"
The mage seriously considered that. Getting Berserkers to stop fighting was a tricky matter. They tended to get lost in the frenzy, and even if you tried to stop them, they would be so lost that they would think that you just wanted to join the fight.
Eventually, Elder Forsham blew the whistle to end the fight.
And, as predicted, neither Berserker paid it any mind.
They just kept fighting as they had been before. However, Forsham was not a new Elder, and he regularly refereed the matches, so he had developed a technique for it. He placed barriers over both of them, separating the combatants, and then had one of the bards use a calming skill to break their enraged state.
That was enough for them to realize that someone wanted their attention, and both Berserkers turned to the referee stand.
"Your time is up. Get off the sands so we can clean up and get the next fight going."
In unison, the Berserkers sighed sadly, and the crowd cheered for them. If you went full-time, the fight was a draw. It was obvious that both were holding back, and that the challenger was significantly more powerful.
But they sure did look pleased with themselves.
Ophelia transformed back into Werebear form and held out her arms, as Lotus used [Entangling Vines] to transport herself over the bleachers and into Ophelia’s arms.
The other Berserker laughed as the tiny Cleric landed in the Werebears embrace. Ophelia was clearly showing the crowd that she was spoken for so that they didn’t hit on the Werebear with the most lovely brown fur.
But that would backfire. Immortal Men tended to be incredibly shameless.
If there was a chance to hit on the Werebear and the cute Priestess at the same time, more than one of them would be willing to give it a shot. Even if the odds were one in a million, they would just ask a million times.
Just maybe not today. Today, they were worried about what the Priestess might do to them with those vines if she agreed.
"You know, for a crafting Guild, the Darklight Host members are kind of scary. Do you think that the berserker got so strong to keep people from stealing her girlfriend?" The mage beside Dana whispered to her friend.
Dana laughed, and the girl realized that she was talking about the people sitting right beside her.
"Sorry, I uh... didn’t realize."
"No worries. But it’s actually the other way around. The Beast Master used to be a Green Dragon Priestess, and not everyone can handle that level of crazy. So, it was Ophelia that constantly got hit on.
I think that she got strong hoping that it would scare the men away."
"Did it work?"
"No, not at all. Even when she’s got Lotus with her, people still try to hit on the Werebear. I swear, half these warriors would have made great Green Dragon Clerics the way that they go after the fluffy bear."
The mage giggled, and gestured to the Elders across the arena from them.
"Do you not have your recruiters with the group?"
Dana shook her head. "No, we weren’t actively planning to recruit this time because we’re still getting our new branch set up. So, we will start next year."
"Do you guys have a shop here in town? I’ve got some coin."
"We have a portal to our shop, as our Guild House is further northwest up the coast. But if there’s something particular you’d like, I can grab it directly for you."
The young mage smiled. "I have five Fire Element and two Ice Element Elemental Stones I collected, plus some coin. What do you have for a necklace that will help an Arcane Mage?"
Dana checked the Guild Store, and brought out a Rare Grade necklace that added a load of spell damage and mana regeneration.
It was a Rare Grade item, the sort that most of the Sects were buying as bribes for recruits.
"How about this? Three Fire Element stones of good Immortal Rank quality. No flaws or cracks."
The mage picked out three stones, and Dana handed her the necklace.
"Pleasure doing business."
"Oh, this is wonderful. The extra mana regeneration is just what I needed. Arcane Magic tends to be heavy on the mana use, especially if I use a magic missile barrage. Even the fastest of warriors can’t parry fifty missiles, and they’ll shatter nearly any skill barrier near my level.
But it’s so hard on the mana pool."
Dana nodded. "I know that feeling. Arcane Missiles were one of my earliest spells."
"Oh? What direction did you go after that? Direct to Golem Mage?"
Dana shook her head. "It took me a while to obtain the Golem spell. I went for [Fog] as my second spell. That way, I could obscure the battlefield and attack without being spotted from so far away.
If the warriors can’t see you, they won’t chase you."
The young mage nodded eagerly. "Oh, that’s a great spell. A shame that it won’t work well in the arena, being so close together, but when wandering the wilderness, it can be amazing."
The mage’s friend smiled at Karl as the two mages went off on a magic related tangent.
"I don’t suppose that you’d be willing to open the shop for me as well? I could really use a new sword, I got robbed on the way here, and they left me just an Uncommon Grade blade as a joke."
"You didn’t hold back anything in inventory?"
The Paladin laughed. "You say that as if everyone just has spare gear. I was fighting a Salamander when they ambushed me and hit me with Paralysis. They made me trade everything on me for my life, using a Blood Contract."
Karl frowned. "I don’t know that practice. What does it do?"
The Paladin frowned, everyone knew the Blood Contract.
"It enforces an agreement, using the System. I agree to turn over my gear, they agree not to harm me or deliberately let me be harmed for one week. Enough time to get to safety. It’s how a lot of the Clans do it these days, though some are stingy and will only give you a few hours."
