Street Cultivation 3: Chapters 17-18 (Patreon)

Couple of big chapters this week!

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Chapter 17: Odiyu

The world twisted around him and Rick was briefly sick to his stomach, but his body remembered the strange transition. It was no longer as substantial as in the human realm, more like some kind of dense liquid. He immediately struggled to move his aura, pushing against the resistance until he had covered himself in the defensive barrier that Damian had taught him.

Beside him, H adopted a similar shield. But what surprised Rick was that his mentor took longer to gather his aura, and the result wasn't as efficient. Maybe he simply had no fear of any mindless demons and no need to hurry, but Rick wondered if his mentor was actually less experienced in the demon realm. Not many humans spent an entire month trapped there without relief, after all.

"See? You managed just fine." H turned away from him and began walking away from the portal. "Now come along so we can get this done quickly."

"No." Rick saw that they stood atop some sort of ziggurat and H was already moving down one of the staircases. Other humans were emerging from various doors in the structure and moving into the grand city, but Rick forced it out of mind and turned around.

The portal still glowed behind him, showing the stone corridor. But when he tried to step toward it, the air became thicker until he struggled to move. He didn't think it was a binding, more that the path between realms itself resisted him. Even with a free-standing portal, moving between the two might not be easy, but he thought he could figure it out.

"What are you doing?" H appeared behind him, face set in an amused glower. "You can't be afraid, not after what you've experienced. I thought you'd want to get rid of that miserable little bond and get a proper one."

"It has nothing to do with fear!" Rick realized that he sounded defensive and refocused, trying to explain himself in purely rational terms. "Demonic bonds are designed for humans so they overdraw lucrim and then pay the penalties. In the Showdown, I'll need to use absolutely everything available to me. That will mean debt, and probably increasing amounts of it."

H snorted. "Don't be a child. You need to spend money to make money, especially here. I guarantee that you could get a solid bond and instantly increase your generation rate by 10,000 lucrim, maybe 20,000. There is absolutely nothing else in the world that can gain you power so fast."

"Are you going to pay off every single lucrim I withdraw through the bond?"

"Of course not. That would destroy what little profit you earn me."

"I'm here to earn a profit too. I'm not going to take such a risk with no return."

"This is absurd." H folded his arms and stared at him, not in anger, but in simple bafflement. "Demonic bonds are a part of life, boy. This is nothing but paranoia."

"We were driven here by someone who was enslaved because they couldn't pay back their demonic bond. Unless you're going to tell me that the Chinese demons are all about freedom and happiness? Do they introduce fully bonded humans to worlds of socialist bliss?"

"They may not be capitalist on this side either, but demonic organizations do not exist to give out charity. Obviously they want to gain an advantage, but that doesn't mean you can't gain an advantage as well. Do you think I'm going to get you some cut rate back alley bond? It will be a respectable one from one of the major sects here."

"That doesn't matter." Rick had been willing to hear out H, but the other man didn't seem interested in engaging with his arguments. He closed his eyes and settled on his path. "Uncle Frank always said that they'll get you with the fine print, and from what I've seen, he was right. Getting a demonic bond would just be irresponsible."

"Then your 'Uncle Frank' is a fool. You think demonic bonds are a path to poverty, but that kind of thinking will keep you in poverty. Grow up and finish this or you won't have a chance."

The insult to his uncle stung, but Rick set it aside and just stared back at his mentor. "Are you going to force me?"

"Of course I wouldn't." H started to draw a cigarette, paused as he remembered where they stood, then muttered something under his breath. "I think this is childish and paranoid, but I'd never force you. But you should know that I think this is irresponsible and it vastly decreases your chances of succeeding in the Showdown. If you go on to fail me because of this, I won't hesitate to cut you loose."

"That's fair. It's all I can ask."

"It's too much to ask, but I can see you're going to be stubborn. Very well." Turning away, H began heading down the stairs again. "Since I took us through the portal before checking if you were an absolute imbecile, we shouldn't waste the opportunity. I'm going to conduct some business of my own. You can... come to your senses, I suppose."

With that, H pushed off the stairs, floating directly into the city. Rick was again left alone in the demon realm, though the circumstances were entirely different. Despite the fact that he stood in a developed city directly next to the portal back, this almost felt worse than being abandoned.

For a moment Rick thought he had absolutely no purpose there. He just stood on the stair, letting himself finally take in the environment. Just like the demonic side of Branton, the ground was pitch black and the sky a pallid white. The mists that floated from the ground were far thicker, but they floated through him in the same way.

The rest, however, was far from the same. Instead of a cluster of buildings mimicking human ones, the city appeared to be a giant cube. His eyes had first seen the buildings on the ground, but in the distance he could see great walls which had broad balcony-like buildings jutting from them. Overhead, skyscrapers stretched down from the blocks overhead... groundscrapers? Rick could see demons traveling between the sides of the cube on strange clouds, but otherwise couldn't understand why it would be built in such a way.

As he headed down the stairs, Rick realized that his presence wasn't pointless after all. Now that he was properly in the demon realm, he should take the chance to talk to Bftgage and Ythsil. They would be half-way across the world, but he was fairly confident that demons had the equivalent of phones.

Making the call might be the hardest part. Though Damian had never taken his needle back, Rick didn't carry it with him at all times, so he had no secure way to pay with his blood. Still, Odiyu was clearly a far more developed city than demonic Branton, so he might be able to find a way. After checking his aura was secure again, Rick pushed off the stairs and drifted like a spirit.

From above, the city was surprisingly beautiful. Many of the buildings were lit with soft green light that suffused the shadows with something more like life. Instead of conventional roads, it had long spiraling ramps traveled by lines of spherical vehicles. They reminded him of strings of pearls, but they undulated like serpents along the roads for reasons he couldn't determine.

Rick landed on one of the ramps, instinctively trying to pull himself back to avoid the next string of cars, even though they would pass through him. There seemed to be a lot of powerful demons here, so they could see him, and potentially be alarmed by a human appearing in their path without warning. If there were public nuisance laws, he didn't want to run afoul of them.

For a time Rick just sat on the edge of the pathway, sometimes staring at the city and sometimes managing to pick out individual buildings. The signs were mostly written in Chinese, or at least a language that looked like Chinese to him, so he had to guess about their purpose.

More importantly, he wanted the moment to make sure that his aura was stable. But to his surprise, remaining in the demon realm felt entirely effortless. It wouldn't be so easy in a month, of course, but it was nothing like it had been before. Either he'd developed after surviving his first experience, or his growth since the last visit had made a difference.

As he watched the demons more closely, he saw that there were many other differences. No demons were homeless here, but he also didn't see very many buying and selling. Muscular slug-like demons seemed to distribute supplies to different cubes that he suspected housed more demons. He assumed this society had its own problems, but they weren't visible to his untrained eye.

Once he'd seen enough, Rick slowly got to his feet and stretched. If he was stuck there for the evening, he might as well get to work.

Rick stepped off the side and let himself drift down to what he thought of as street level, though none of the streets were as even as he'd expected. Still, he found a broader pathway that had demons walking along the edges, with plenty of space for the strings of cars to pass. There were a number of open buildings there that he thought were restaurants or stores, though as he passed them, he didn't find anything useful. The restaurants did not exactly look appetizing and the purpose of some of the other stores was inscrutable.

He noted that while humans were in the minority, they weren't a surprise like they had been in Branton. Rick wasn't sure if it was racist, but he decided that it would probably be easier to get help from another human. So he continued walking until he spotted an older Chinese man in traditional robes, and more importantly, without significant demonic tattoos.

"Excuse me." Rick didn't step into his path, but did approach. "Can you help me find something?"

The man promptly said "No English" so clearly that Rick suspected he did speak English and just didn't want to be bothered. Still, it would be rude to push. Rick moved on, keeping a lookout for anyone who might be helpful. Many of the humans he saw appeared to be fully bonded, which struck him as strange, since he thought the purpose of bonding was for demons to live in the human realm.

"You're in need of some help?" The purring feminine voice let Rick know what to expect, though the succubus floating down to him was wearing carefully draped robes instead of strips of cloth. He caught a glimpse of some sort of tail shifting behind her, but it swept out of his vision. "Mmm, we don't get too many foreigners here. Are you here for the Showdown?"

"That's right, but I'm here on personal business. I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Oh, I'd be happy to help you with all sorts of things..." She stepped closer to him, but immediately lowered her gaze coquettishly when he looked back at her. That was different, though not really. Rick sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm really not looking to be seduced here. I just want to talk to a couple of melted frog looking demons."

That threw the succubus off her usual patterns, blinking at him, then frowning. "You mean... any demons with that appearance? That is... a strange fetish, but I suppose we ca-"

"What? No! They're... business associates, but they don't live here. I haven't been able to contact them from the human realm, but I assume you have a way to do that here."

"Oh! Then perhaps I can be helpful after all." The succubus completely dropped all attempt at being seductive, but her gaze was still predatory. "There are places where you can contact anyone anywhere in the demon realm. There's simply the matter of payment... a little blood would be more than sufficient..."

"Normally I would accept, but I misplaced my device the last time I was here." Rick raised a hand to stop her when she started to offer something else. "I think you'll understand why I want to be cautious."

"You're no fun at all. Why play around if you're just going to use your demon mass to pay?"

"My what?" The next second he felt like an idiot when he remembered the stray item in his portfolio. Since he'd steadfastly refused all demonic bond offers except for the brothers, it had remained there. He'd already blown the chance to look savvy, so he figured there was no point pretending. "I didn't realize that I could use that to pay for things."

"You can think of it as a denomination of lucrim here." The succubus sighed and scratched at her tails. "I can take you to the right place and help you make the transfer, if you pay me 50 lucrim of it."

Though that seemed a high price for information he should have known, Rick decided that he could afford to sacrifice it. He hadn't known that was money at all until that point, so she was still saving him overall. Plus, if it let him do business in the demon realm without giving out his blood, that itself was worth something.

The succubus guided him upward to one of the upside-down buildings, which was easy since she could fly and Rick could float. It took a powerful leap sailing over the city, but he eventually floated within range of one of the rooftops. There was a balcony with a large railing that he suspected was used for that purpose. A glance inside proved that the rooms themselves weren't upside-down, the building was simply built from the ceiling. Why exactly they would do that, he wasn't sure, but gravity was clearly not the same sort of concern here.

Finding the correct store required navigating the outside of the groundscraper, and the place itself was one he would have never looked at twice, so the succubus justified her payment. Once inside, several bonded humans helped him extract some of the demonic mass, which he gave to the succubus. She flitted away to find some other mark while they took him to a small booth.

Though for a moment he expected something as mundane as a phone, instead a series of glass shards lifted into the air and formed a fragmented mirror that reflected a starry sky instead of him or the room. One of the bonded men gestured to a series of bulbous spheres on the floor, but they meant nothing to Rick.

"What demons did you say you wanted to contact?" the bonded man asked.

"Their names are Bftgage and Ythsil. They live in demonic Branton. Uh, in the United States."

"No exact number is necessary." The assistant rapidly twisted several of the spheres, which made the glass shards shiver and shift through the color spectrum. "You will be finding them by their fundamental identity. Place your hand on the mirror and focus on them. They will appear in the reflection, assuming that they accept your message, and that they are still alive."

With that ominous message, the aide left and pulled closed a curtain, leaving Rick alone with the mirror shards. He touched them cautiously, but found them so dull that they wouldn't even have cut someone without a defensive core. Instead he closed his eyes and focused on the two demons he hadn't seen in so long. When nothing happened, he muttered their names under his breath and tried to concentrate his aura further.

Eventually he felt a pulse from his hand. Rick pulled it back and saw a ripple passing through the shards. It rolled like a wave to the end, then repeated a second time, then a third. Frowning, he watched the shifting shards, hoping that wasn't some sort of error message. Just when he thought it might have failed, the shards froze in place and the sky in the reflection gave way to something else.

Bftgage and Ythsil were larger than he remembered, sitting on top of an insect-like desk and looking roughly the size of dogs. Since the last time, Bftgage's lip had twisted further, revealing a pulsating inner membrane, while Ythsil had grown a third eye in the center of his forehead.

"Rick! Rick, we thought we'd never see you again!" Both of them began blubbering over one another, happily vomiting up mucus of various colors. Rick found himself smiling broadly, though he was also glad he was on the other side of the mirror.

"I'm glad to see you too."

Ythsil suddenly went still, all three eyes wide. "You aren't stuck in the demon realm again, are you?"

"No, this time I'm just visiting. But I wanted to talk to you... about everything, I guess."

"We've been moving up in the world!" Bftgage said proudly. "We managed to move out of the mines, especially because you accepted our bond. It wasn't enough for us to go to your world, but it gave us a little income!"

"And it seems to be going well? I saw that the bond has increased several times since I first received it."

"No!" Ythsil shook back and forth, releasing a shower of blue mucus. "We wanted to offer more bonds, but none of the demonic firms will take us! And we can't afford to send more messages through to your realm, so there's no way of getting any clients!"

"Even if we could," Bftgage explained, "we don't have the proper licenses. Everyone is entitled to one bond through the usual channels, but more than that..."

Rick listened quietly as the two of them explained their problems. It was very similar to small businesses in Branton... depressingly similar. Though he didn't want to interrupt them when they were so eager to explain, there was nothing he could do about any of that. When they finally slowed down, Rick managed to break in.

"Is there anything I can do to help you? Is it possible to... ship human blood through the demon realm, I guess?"

Bftgage immediately shook his head. "It would just be stolen. And we don't want to take anything from you, we want to give back! The bond we gave you is worth almost 1000 lucrim in the human realm! That helps, right?"

Somehow Rick managed a smile. "Yes, that was... a big help. But I can't stay here for too long, so if we're going to attempt something, we need to do it now. Is there anything we can set up?"

"If you could help us travel..." Bftgage paused for a time, drooling in thought. "We can't afford to travel anywhere on our own, but if a human asked for us specifically, there are programs for that. But the problem is... your message is coming from the Qinlands. They don't accept outside demons there, not unless you have impossible amounts of money."

"The Showdown moves every month," Rick said, beginning to smile. "I'd be happy to send you anywhere we're going, but I don't actually know most of our locations. I think... we're going somewhere I don't remember next month, but then Siberia the month after that. Does that help?"

Immediately the demonic brothers turned and spoke to one another in a conversation that seemed to be more mucus spittle than sound. Eventually Bftgage turned back and nodded his entire body. "We think this Sibeerya is the equivalent of the place we call the Burning Snow. It is very different than Branton there. There are no licenses, no businesses. Anyone who can contact a human can make a contract."

"Humans and demons fuse there!" Ythsil bounced excitedly, eventually unbalancing and rolling over onto his head. "They don't let anyone do that here! Actually being in the same body sounds amazing!"

"It's also nearly permanent." Bftgage was silent for a time, the nodded again. "Rick, this is what I think we should do. Say that you want to form a contract with us now, but from the Burning Snow. We will go ahead of you and find our way. When you arrive in your human Sibeerya, we will have something for you."

"Do we have enough money for that?" Ythsil asked.

"I have been saving some." Bftgage opened his mouth and vomited out a wrapped sack. "Our expenses will use up most of it, but this opportunity... the Burning Snow is our best chance to make something more of ourselves. Rick will help us."

Rick immediately felt a strange ache, knowing that the brothers were putting so much trust in him. He was just an idiot good at taking hits, trying to blunder his way through life. And now, that somehow made him the savior of a pair of demonic frogs. Though he wanted to ask them some more questions, Bftgage seemed to have made his decision.

"We can speak in the Burning Snow, Rick. This call will be very expensive, so you should not spend any more of your money. Simply request us as I said and we will gladly repay you everything we can."

"If you think it's a good plan, that's what we'll do." Rick smiled at the two of them. "See you in Siberia."

He wasn't sure how to stop the call, but it was severed from the other end, leaving him staring at the blank sky again. Rick stood there for a while, just thinking over the conversation. Honestly, it had never occurred to him that the demon realm could be so fundamentally different in various places, but in retrospect it was obvious.

Before he could reflect for long, the aide came in and escorted him out. The call actually only cost 37 lucrim from his total of 500, leaving him to wonder if the succubus had ripped him off. But soon after, he decided that it didn't matter. She'd let him talk to Bftgage and Ythsil again, and perhaps even set up something that could help them both.

But soon Rick would have to leave the demon realm, and though it might be part of the world, it wasn't really part of his reality. That reality was that he'd gone directly against his mentor and would be throwing himself into a dangerous competition with nothing but a tiny bond from a pair of demonic frogs.

The joy in their faces had been worth something. But it wouldn't be enough if this all went bad.

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Chapter 18: Showdown on the Line

Though H was no longer so irritated when they both returned to the hotel, the new scorn in his eyes was worse. Growling was simply the way H communicated, but now Rick heard real skepticism in the sounds. The idea of failing out of the Showdown bothered him, but he told himself that he'd done everything he could in the negotiation. At worst he would ruin his future chances, but he would still come out richer and stronger than before.

Except that was no longer true. Now he would disappoint Bftgage and Ythsil, which might ruin them financially if it didn't do worse. His life had become strange.

In any case, H didn't repeat the arguments, simply set forth an aggressive program of training. Aside from a little more polish on his footwork, it was almost entirely focused on the final stage of the Triune Golden Spheres. The process involved drawing the crystal spheres into his lucrima soul, actually watching them disappear into his body in a way he couldn't explain.

That wasn't the end, however. The true purpose of the final step was to let the spheres rotate within him, churning within his own aura. Almost immediately he could feel the filled sphere directly, surging along with his defensive core. Yet H still wasn't satisfied.

When it finally clicked, Rick opened his eyes and then stared. Three translucent spheres glowed around him, visibly passing through his body though he felt nothing but the circular flow within him. They overlapped around his torso, leaving him bathed in light and surrounded by the circling spheres. It was more dramatic than he had expected, even with only one sphere filled.

H promptly tested his control by attacking him aggressively. The first time, one of the ghostly spheres soon shattered under the assault and Rick felt the crystal spheres within immediately drop out of sync. But the second time he kept up his flow, lasting much longer. Every time it became more and more difficult for H to break his control.

Though Rick struggled to master the technique, he was surprised at how good his body felt afterward. Even though he was repeatedly taking powerful blows, he didn't have so much as a scratch. Presumably H was holding back so as not to injure him, but he was still impressed. It really was like he'd added over ten thousand lucrim to his defensive core.

Imagining the completed technique, Rick threw himself into gathering Formula T into the sphere so that it would be full. That was the one thing that didn't go as well. Unlike the first time he'd been in the demon realm, he had strange headaches and mood swings as he recovered from the experience. Soon he was back to normal, however, and focused fully on his training.

When the day came, he was as ready as he thought he could be. As they left the hotel to attend the night's Showdown, Rick looked over his portfolio one more time.

[Name: Rick Hunter

Ether Tier: 12th

Ether Score: 451

Lucrim Generation: 89,350

Enhanced Generation: 105,100

Current Lucrim: 17,200]

[Rick Hunter's Lucrima Portfolio

Foundation: 3700 (Lv VI)

Dark Blood Kettle: 17,650 (Lv IV)

Triune Golden Spheres: 15,750

- Defensive Sphere: 15,750

- Second Sphere: 0

- Third Sphere: 0

Offensive Lucore: 13,800 (Lv VII)

Defensive Lucore: 37,600 (Lv IX)

Bunyan's Step: 15,900 (Lv VIII)

Graham's Stake: 28,075 (Lv IV)

Demonic Bond (Bftgage & Ythsil): 800 (Stage I)

Demon Mass: 413 (N/A)

Total Lucrim: 117,475

Enhanced Total: 133,225]

Not much progress other than the Triune Golden Spheres. The most significant boost had actually been H giving him the next monthly payment for Graham's Stake. It took the form of a pill that almost seemed like solid ether, unloading a substantial amount of stiff lucrim that packed directly into his generation Lucore. Becoming a perpetual soul still seemed ridiculously far off, but each month he got a little closer. And if he managed to win more seals, he'd jump closer yet.

Looking at the numbers, he couldn't help but focus on the fact that with a demonic bond, he would have had a six digit generation rate even without the spheres. He could flood that raw power into all of his Lucores, strengthening them across the board. Though he couldn't be sure exactly how it would feel, there was no question that it would have helped bridge the gap between him and stronger competitors.

To keep his mind off that, he tried to focus on all his other progress. The Triune Golden Spheres might not have increased his generation rate, but he'd finished the defensive sphere. H said that he could continue to make it stronger once all three were complete, but for now it was still 15,000 extra lucrim supporting his defenses. Based on their sparring, he hoped the technique would hold.

His footwork had been declared adequate, the Dark Blood Kettle had absorbed all his recent experiences, and he'd polished his lucrima soul. That was as ready as he could be.

H went with him to the venue, having summoned a private taxi. They rode in absolute silence, leaving Rick with nothing to do but look outside and try to figure out where the stadium could be hiding. Soon he realized that they must be heading toward the large temple compound that he'd seen when they arrived.

As they passed through the gates, he did his best to look at the buildings and figure out if it meant anything. Rick was not an expert in Chinese architecture, but he expected certain things from temples, like Buddhist statues. This one had some similar elements of construction, like the towering slanted roofs, but the iconography was completely foreign. Having been in demonic Odiyu, he strongly suspected that the origins of it were not human.

Their vehicle stopped in a discreet parking lot and they walked the remaining distance on foot. There were other contestants now, all forced to walk in together, unlike the usual stadiums. More Chinese contestants than usual, which he supposed shouldn't surprise him. The only person he recognized personally was Raggest, who waved cheerfully to him.

In the end, they were led to a massive open courtyard, but the contestants were guided to the porches that surrounded it instead of the center. He understood soon after when screens of aura began to appear around the sides. Through them, he could see a pitch black stadium filled with crowds of eager demons. He strongly suspected that they could see through as well, this event an exotic glimpse into the human world for them.

As the events began, Rick decided that this was actually better for concentration. No roaring crowds, no burning lights, just a peaceful courtyard. The sight of so many demons around them might be grotesque to some, but Rick was mostly accustomed to them by now.

From the first event, it was clear that things would be different from South Africa. Each round was calmly introduced by a fully bonded monk, without excessive fanfare. Since the first events involved lifting weights, Rick's attention wandered, instead examining the crowds. The way their eyes moved, he suspected that they had an announcer and screens on their side.

"What are the demons seeing?" he asked H. His mentor showed him a tablet with a split screen, which included some of the elements he'd expected, though it had a strange vibe different from any sporting event Rick had seen. Before he could examine it, H pulled the tablet away.

"You don't have time to worry about that. Get mentally ready, because the Unlimited Defensive Ring will be soon." His tone was calm, but the threat was clear enough. Rick took his advice and closed his eyes to focus on his own lucrima soul.

There was considerable shifting in the demonic stands as the Showdown ended one phase and entered another. Based on the first event, it seemed they were entering the physical stamina stage. More and more demons packed in and Rick had to close his eyes again to avoid growing anxious.

It couldn't stop his event from coming up. When they began, Rick took a deep breath and focused fully on the contestants.

This time there was no boasting or milling around. Each contestant was challenged by a series of fighters with less than a second or two in between. That meant that staying inside the inner ring for a full minute was more of a challenge than it had been during the preliminaries, yet he saw several different contestants manage it.

Worse, there was no simplistic strategy of testing out each contestant as there had been before. Instead the challengers were aggressive from the very beginning. Rick had hoped that they would use entirely physical attacks, but there were still plenty of aura bursts and other ranged attacks. Judging from the crowd reactions, the demons were more impressed by the human ability to endure aura than the physical attacks. That meant he could be up against almost anything.

"You're up soon," H said. "You need to last for at least a minute."

When his name was called, Rick barely felt as though he had a grip on the event. As he walked out, he told himself that it hadn't really changed. All he needed to do was defend himself, and he'd been doing that for years.

Entering the circle, Rick checked the clock... and saw that it was already counting fractions of a second. His eyes widened and he barely had time to set his feet before an attacker rushed in at him from the left.

Off balance and unprepared, Rick only blocked one blow before a second dug into his ribs. The blow might once have been crippling, but his defensive core managed to blunt the blow. He desperately held his ground until the six seconds elapsed and his attacker was swept away by a wave of aura.

He only had one second to prepare, but after pushing himself so hard, that felt like enough. Rick shook out his hands, took a breath, and summoned the Triune Golden Spheres around him. Bathed in the golden light, he felt prepared for the next attacker. This one came at him straight from the front, which was a mistake. The man began releasing bursts of aura, and though they were powerful, Rick now had over 50,000 lucrim in his combined defensive cores.

After weathering the bursts, Rick had a second to look at the screens around him. The demons appeared to be cheering, though not too wildly, since he'd only just begun. It was surreal to see the crowds while hearing nothing but the sound of wind... and quick steps behind him.

The third attacker struck from behind, almost completely silent. If she hadn't needed to reach the outer ring first, Rick would never have even heard her. Instead of closing the distance, she reached out a hand and silvery aura lashed out like a whip.

Whatever it was, it knocked Rick back a step. He desperately knocked aside the second whip strike, only to find a third already lashing into his side. Yet this one didn't sting nearly as much, and he kept his position. The technique might be slightly exotic, but he could feel his defensive core already adapting. If the attack had been able to shatter it, he might have been overwhelmed, but since he was strong enough to endure, he was rapidly mastering it.

Though the woman's assault rose in intensity, perfectly planned for her six second time limit, Rick was adapting faster. Since this might be his best chance to make an impression, Rick just shielded his face and took the attack head on. He saw the woman falter as she finished and realized that he was grinning.

That seemed to draw a wilder response from the demonic crowd and even earned him a few seconds' reprieve. Yet as he watched the timer count from 0:22 to 0:23, Rick realized that the competition was much more intense at this level. Whether or not he could make it to a full minute would depend on whether he encountered someone who could pierce his defenses.

A man wearing modern robes stepped into the outer ring, already raising his hands and releasing emerald bolts of aura... upward. They began raining down on Rick, but he simply braced his arms overhead and weathered them. Others curved and struck his sides, but each individual bolt wasn't that powerful. He was aflame with aura, yet in no real danger of being taken down.

Six seconds elapsed... and the bolts kept hammering into him from all sides.

Rick's eyes widened as he realized the strategy. Was that permitted? No one stopped the fight, but the real question was whether another contestant was allowed to-

Aura spiked directly through his chest. It didn't tear through his body, but it punctured his lucrima soul. Rick staggered, barely deflecting another attack, but he was still blinded by the bolts raining down on him. They had never been intended to eliminate him, just leave him distracted. He could barely see the opponent attacking, and a third blow hit his side, embedding another aura spike through his torso.

Worse, he realized that the spikes remained in his body, draining away his stamina. If he had enough time, he might have been able to resist the effect, but he could barely defend himself. When the round ended, Rick had four spikes driven through his body, still burning away his energy.

Though he managed to straighten painfully, to the roar of the crowd, he saw the next attacker entering. It was a tall man carrying an over-sized war mace, shaped like a lion and nearly the size of an actual lion. Horribly impractical for real combat, but in this event...

When it swung at him, Rick couldn't overcome his instincts: he ducked. The mace whistled overhead, but shifted direction surprisingly quickly, hammering down at him. There was just enough space within the circle for him to dodge aside, even though he knew that wouldn't impress anyone.

The man wielding the mace started to sweep it to the side, to simply push him out of the ring, but Rick finally overcame his survival instincts. While the mace was still nearby, he simply grabbed the over-sized head, binding it in place. His opponent grunted and flexed, trying to use it to push him back out.

As Rick felt his feet scraping across the arena floor, he realized that he'd made a mistake. He might be tough, but he wasn't physically strong enough to compete on the Showdown level. If not for his superior stance and position holding the mace, he would already have been overcome. As it was, he would soon be eliminated...

Only the wave of aura saved him. The large man was pushed from the rings, leaving Rick standing holding the mace. He tried to toss it aside contemptuously, but his arms felt weak and it simply dropped outside the inner ring. Though the aura spikes had mostly dissolved, he was too exhausted to last much longer.

He wanted to check how long he had lasted, but realized that the Triune Golden Spheres had flickered out. There wasn't even time to restore them - there was an attacker sweeping at him with a series of palm strikes.

Finally Rick got a break: the attacker seemed to be striking at his inner organs. The blows still hurt, far stronger than the opponents Granny Whitney had prepared him for, but Rick was familiar with working through the pain. He managed to deflect about half, weather the rest, and endure the round. As soon as his opponent was pushed back, Rick managed to take a deep breath and restore the Triune Golden Spheres.

Though he wasn't completely stable, he was recovering from the rough series of challengers. His body ached, but his Graham's Stake core was slowly restoring him. All he needed was one more easy round...

James Travis emerged more slowly than the others, smirking as he walked forward. Rick had to resist the urge to smirk as well, simply raising his defenses. After enduring two assaults of James's lucrim injection technique, the Dark Blood Kettle was more than ready for it. Assuming he'd become stronger, Rick decided to block as best he could anyway.

The first stabbing strike hit him and did nothing. Nothing at all. Rick was surprised at his own defenses for a split second before a blow exploded against his chest.

Rick staggered backward, the Triune Golden Spheres shattering and his own defensive core breaking. Had James been holding that in reserve? Though Rick knew he was severely weakened, his core could still function. If he could last the round, he might be able to rebuild it enough to...

He was outside the inner ring. Only one step, but it was over.

Across from him, James looked down at his own fist, grimaced as if it had been dirtied, and made a show of cleaning it off with a handkerchief. Rick couldn't even be offended, he just looked past the other man to the screens. He'd completely lost track of time and wasn't sure how long he'd endured.

Only 0:53. As Rick limped off the field, he turned to find H, and saw his mentor shake his head.