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Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #6

As the night continued, the festive energy waned and the crown thinned.  The BigBad Crew already had their fun.  Seeing as how the party seemed to be over, they decided to separate for a while.

Neely felt it best to stay by the bar though he rarely drank anything intoxicating.  Jaquan chose not to say anything about it.  Neely started using the Holy Talent Set a year or so ago.  Since then, he listened to his ‘odd’ intuitions more and more.  Often enough they turned out quite well for them in the long run.

Catlin and Liana on the other hand, decided to alternate between the buffet and the slot machines in the casino just outside the club.  Despite their small athletic figures, they liked to eat and try their luck.  And with Liana’s tinkering skills, they did not have to try that hard.

Jaquan was left to relax and talk to the remaining fans.  These fans were a different sort.  They actually talked with him as though he was more than a source of entertainment.  As he was talking, he saw the face that eluded him before.  This time he recognized it.  Justice He, an old friend from years ago was lounging at a couch.  Jaquan had to go meet him.

When the Berserker training school opened, Justice joined along with Jaquan.  Justice quickly became a lead fighter.  The Berserker talents were an incredible combination with his Affliction and Caster Talents.  No one could escape his onslaught of debilitation from a long rage.  Everyone was shocked when he left the Berserker school for the Holy school as soon as that school opened.

He disappeared for several years.  Jaquan thought he was dead, but here he sat.  He looked a little worse for wear.  A lot more experienced though.  “Justice, what’s going on?  How did you get here?”

Justice was surprisingly calm in his answers.  The berserker rage he remembered was completely gone, replaced by a strange peace.  “I have learned ways to get around,” Justice said without skipping a beat, “I was just in the neighborhood.  I heard my little brother was in a championship fight.  Congratulations on your win, by the way.”  He seemed truly genuine and equally unimpressed.  “So, I decided to help.”

Jaquan was taken aback, almost insulted.  “I don’t need any help.  I’ve held the World Championship Title for three years.”

“You’ve done,” Justice paused choosing his words carefully, “well enough but you’re too comfortable here.”  Justice spoke slowly and clearly watching the change in Jaquan’s face.  “What if I told you about a bigger tournament, a tournament where only the greatest fighters are invited and compete to see who is truly the greatest in the world?  Would you be interested?”

“If you told me about a tournament like that, I’d wonder why I haven’t got an invite, Justice.”  Jaquan’s tone was of pure skepticism.  If there was a counting of the greatest fighters he had to be among them.

“I use the Holy Talents, Jaquan.  I can’t lie or misdirect, it would be, unpleasant.”  The way Justice emphasized the ending of that sentence said a lot.  It was no joking matter.  “You need World Tournament Points to get an invite.  Believe it or not, even the World Championship Stage is small compared to this one.  These fighters are much more challenging.”

Jaquan had to admit; the fights were becoming formulaic.  He had fought more and more young fighters trying to get recognized.  Fighters with potential fell off of his radar.  Only Orien was a persistent challenger, and that fight was a year ago.  It could be time to take another step up.  “How do I get these Tournament Points?”

“You need to compete in underground tournaments all around the world,” Justice suddenly looked as though he remembered something, “A new season just started.  You may be able to get to the next World Tournament if you do well enough.”

“I have a fight lined up.  I can’t just pick up and leave.”

“With who, Chuan?  You would have beaten him easily anyway,” Justice said then corrected himself.  “Well, relatively easily.  Learned a little and gained a little.  If you want to be the best you have to take more than baby steps.”

Jaquan thought about this dilemma.  He wanted to be the best, but was it worth leaving everything he knew?  What if he left everything, lost the title by forfeit, and did nothing but lose fights?  He would have to fight his way up the rankings again for a small fraction of the pay.

Justice saw the conflict in his old friend’s face.  “I am leaving in a few days so there’s no pressure, alright?”  He was typing something on his handheld as he spoke then pointed it at Jaquan and pressed a button.  Immediately, Jaquan’s handheld buzzed.  “I just gave you my contact information.  If you want to go with me, let me know before I go alright?”

#1 – Opportunity #5 – Opportunity #7

Sons of Sword: Tales of Glory – Lost and Found #3

The Stream Quarter Training Center was not very far away from the cafeteria by ground.  The blistering winds however dictated that the young Crisho stay inside as much as possible.  Instead, she chose to traverse the buildings using the tunnels and bridges between them.  These paths were only meant for connecting two or three buildings for ease of class access.

The trip ended up taking much longer but was worth it.  Being a creature only a few centimeters high, she would freeze without proper precautions.  Metcalf walked the halls with her game face.  She had no need for war paint.  Her face was naturally split down the middle with red and white.  A slight tint of the adolescent’s green still covered most of her skin but that would fade.

Up two floors and a bridge, left turn and a hallway, right turn, down the long ramp, down three floors and a tunnel, up a floor, halfway through the hall and an elevator, she had traveled this path for many winters.  She had no reason to question where she was or where she was going.

Usually, the center was a place of genuine training.  Students would use this facility to hone skills; to practice and eventually eliminate faults others had discovered in their fighting styles.  Not today.

When she reached the three double-door entry to the training center she knew what Koh was talking about.  The roar of activity was unmistakable.  The training center was large enough to house sporting events from professional teams.  However at this time of year, it seemed more packed than ever.  When she entered the training center, she saw students everywhere in their various, armor styles and colors.  Many were either competing fiercely in drills or waiting in line to challenge other students.  Full of hope or simply naive, they all looked for their chance to get more Academy Points.

There were even more students standing at the walls or sitting in the bleachers, some studying their handhelds.  The holographic image of the school rankings and the red zone was all too familiar.  Some looked at the image happily and relieved.  Others were very worried.  No one wanted to take the Final Exam, but in the end everyone knew that some of them had to face expulsion.  They had less than a week left to adjust their fate.

Quite a few of the students seemed to be from other Quarters of the Academy.  She did not recognize them.  Perhaps they were embarrassed and did not want to be seen gambling points.  Either that or this was the place with the most action.

She looked at the battling pairs of students for a while, picking her targets.  She cared little about how good they were; she was better.  The ideal target had little to do with whether they won or lost.  It was all about how they won or lost.  Selfishness was self-defeating and she watched the students for signs.

Proud winners and sore losers always made the best targets.  They took the outcome personally and often wanted a rematch.  The proud thought they were unstoppable and wanted to go again even when it was unnecessary.  Losers often thought too much about the outcome.  Vowing not to make the same mistake again, they would make a different mistake and dig themselves even deeper into a hole.  Too late, they realized they could not escape The Red.

She saw Naoh in her plain looking white armor with aqua highlights.  She was competing in a three strike drill with her dual short strait swords.  She moved effortlessly, countering all of her opponent’s attacks with parries, strikes, and stabs.  She hit him much more than three times; the second to score three hits ends the match as the loser.  The penalty was determined by how many more hits the winner landed.

Even with his face covered Metcalf could tell that he was getting frustrated.  Apparently, he did not expect a girl to have such powerful strikes.  It seemed that he could not land a single strike with his dual canes.  To lose a test of strength against a petite lady with everyone watching had to be embarrassing.  Not to mention the amount of points he was losing.

Just then Metcalf felt a tap on her shoulder.  She turned to find a female student in armor with a crossbow.  She seemed to be older with a look of a predator.

“Hey kid,” she said as an introduction, “You wanna do a target drill?”  It seemed as though she already knew the answer before she asked the question.

“Why sure.”

#1 – Lost and Found #2 – Lost and Found #4

 

Champions of Battle: The Very Best – Opportunity #5

Once the BigBad Crew entered the club, the DJ started playing Jaquan’s theme music.  Jaquan made sure that it played every time he entered an arena to fight.  As it played again, his fans recognized it immediately.  That was all the introduction he needed.  Everyone cheered welcoming him and the real celebration began.  The BigBad Crew entered together with their highly enchanted formal clothes.  Fire themed, they lit up the club quite literally.

The whole team had their hand to play in Jaquan’s victory, but it was Jaquan that performed on the stage.  He rode the high of his most recent victory, the focus of the party.  He led his crew through the club with his head held high.  They danced and ate enchanted food to help Jaquan heal his more stubborn wounds.  It tasted amazing as well.

He talked to his fans and supporters about the fight.  Everyone at the party took their turn congratulating his victory.  He fought a hard battle against the Mech-suited warrior.  It seemed as though she did not prepare enough and relied too much on her blasters for an easy win.  The newer warriors seemed to do things like that.

Orien Quan however was another story.  The upcoming fight with this warrior quickly became the major topic of discussion.  If it was anything like their last fight, it was going to be a real event for the record books.  More and more of the guests asked about the next fight.  It was true that Quan had incredible stealth and almost beat him last year, but the championship victory celebration was still going.  He has secured his title for the next two months and deserved some time to celebrate.

Quan was an unconventional and somewhat underhanded fighter.  His tactics were very hard to predict.  The BigBad Crew was working on strategies to surprise and take advantages of openings they have seen in his recorded fights.  However, Jaquan disliked talking about strategies, even to his fans.  Often enough, they had loose lips.

After a time of tiring questions, Jaquan started refusing them as his crew rested, ate, and had their fun.  He was a little disturbed that questions about Quan bothered him so much.  He thought he was passed the fight.  It was about a year ago.  Though it was the hardest fight he had for a long time, he managed to find a way through it.  That should only prove that he was still the best, the only one worthy of his title.

They had a wonderful time.  The food was truly delicious.  However, the party itself was quite ordinary.  Everyone talking, dancing, lifting toasts, and wishes for future victories.  It had been the same for his many years of victories before.

At one random point in the celebration, Jaquan scanned the faces at the party.  He saw one face that he did not recognize as a fan or a supporter.  However, he did look very familiar.  He decided not to press the issue too much though.  Perhaps it was just a guest of a friend.  Even he did not know everyone.

#1 – Opportunity #4 – Opportunity #6