Amazon Apocalypse 2: Chapter 36 (Patreon)

Myrina and I stood across from each other in the Samhain Clan's arena once again. This time, the stands weren't empty. Someone must have noticed the two of us squaring up to one another and gone in to ring the bell.

"An official challenge? Is someone challenging Myrina?" I heard one of the servants call out.

"Not an official challenge," Myrina was quick to reply. "Just a friendly sparring match. Don't make a bigger deal of it than it is. And please stop ringing that bell!"

Reluctantly, the woman who'd eagerly been hammering away on the bell dropped her hammer and stopped drawing people to watch the match. On hearing it was just a sparring match, many turned to leave—though a few stuck around and took a seat anyway. I felt the pressure building.

"I'll be reducing my level to match yours again. I can do that because this isn't anything formal!" Myrina spoke loud enough for the people in the stands to hear us. She put the amulet around her neck again and her level lowered to match mine.

Then, with a leap and a skip she jumped to the far side of the arena and held a practice sword high overhead. "So… Carter, tell me. Do you think your fancy new spell is enough to put an end to my two-time undefeated sparring record?" Myrina shot me a smirk.

I shook my head. "Keep talking like that and I'll win for sure."

"Begin!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

We didn't have a referee, and it was certainly not whoever had shouted, but muscle memory sent Myrina rocketing toward me with sword drawn the moment someone shouted for the sparring match to start.

I wasn't caught off guard, though. While I didn't respond with a burst of instant action like Myrina, I'd lived in a dangerous newly-integrated world long enough that my nerves were always on edge. The moment I sensed Myrina coming for me, I used Warp Step to keep some extra distance between me and her and flared Mania to the second level.

It must have qualified as a dodge because my Dodge proficiency boosted the distance Warp Step took me to nearly double. I crossed the entire arena in one space-bending step. With a distance between the two of us once again, I focused on channeling a Mana Bolt.

I knew instinctively how Mana Barrage was supposed to work, and it started very similar to Mana Bolt. After all, that's what each individual projectile was. But instead of firing the bolt off, I held onto it. The bolt left my hand and orbited my head instead like a crown.

Meanwhile, I threw out an Eldritch Blast to slow Myrina's follow-up charge down. She charged me again, dashing headlong towards me. A thought occurred to me, then. She'd fought in this arena hundreds, if not thousands of times. It gave her a hefty advantage.

My experience in such a setting was limited, most of my combat experience was in a variety of environments—often in dense forests with poor visibility. I'd learned to adapt to those unusual environments. Had Myrina?

I fired a Mana Bolt into the ground, kicking up a wave of sand. Myrina spat out a mouthful of dirt and slowed her charge. I cast another Mana Bolt, adding it to the bundle of magic circling my head.

"Trying to turn this into a game of hide-and-seek?" Myrina called after me. "You know you're already on a time limit!"

Myrina was likely referring to her legendary Tempo of Battle skill. And she was right. The longer this fight went on, the higher her stats would grow, and the greater her chance of overwhelming me through sheer stats.

But I wasn't fighting to win this bout. I was fighting to test out my new Mana Barrage spell. Two more Mana Bolts formed overhead, each loaded like bullets in a gun waiting to be unleashed.

Drawing my practice sword, I engaged Myrina. The last time I'd crossed blades with her, she'd completely outmatched me. I'd been too slow and clumsy even to hold onto my blade when fighting her. But this time, things were different.

I'd been training with Cyra and knew how to hold my own against a more powerful opponent. Myrina was still stronger and faster than me—even with her level reduced to match mine. Eldritch Augmentation did much to help me close that gap, though. Otherwise, I'd have no chance in a melee as a spellcaster against someone who had a melee class.

"You'll... have to do... better than that!" Myrina said between the clashing of our practice swords.

I used Eldritch Blast to even the odds whenever it seemed like she was gaining the upper hand and the two of us were roughly evenly matched. I cast yet another Mana Bolt, bringing the total circling my head to nearly twenty.

Myrina watched the swirling balls of light warily.

The two of us exchanged several quick series of blows, alternating between fighting up close with our swords and with me putting some distance between the two of us and peppering her with long-ranged spells.

Ever since our last fight, I'd been mulling how this one might go. I’d run different scenarios over and over again in my mind. Her abilities had played forward in my dreams, and over time I'd learned how to mitigate them.

Wind Walker was always a problem. It made her fast and strong, and she could even change directions in mid-air. Celestial Agility only made that even harder, as she moved with speeds even the nimblest cat would be unable to replicate. Her Titan's Strike shook the arena, and I had to dodge it each time lest I be too wounded to continue fighting.

Her Starlight Blade was even worse. If she landed a direct hit with that, the battle would be over then and there. I'd be waking up with a healer tending to me, if I even woke up at all. Training weapon or not, Myrina wasn't pulling her punches.

And all the while, Tempo of Battle continued to build in the background, Myrina's power growing to ever-greater heights. If I was to have any chance at victory, I had to end this before she grew too powerful.

"Take this!" Myrina yelled, leaping forward. At the same time, she fixed me with that piercing lethal Killing Intent ability that locked me in place.

Scanning her for weaknesses, I realized this was my moment. One of the biggest differences between Mana Barrage and Mana Bolt was that I didn't have to plink away at my enemies. When I found a weakness, all that damage would come all at once.

I sensed my moment when Myrina overextended. I took Mania up to the third level just for a moment. The effects of Blood Frenzy struck me, making me far more willing to do what I was about to attempt.

I sacrificed three quarters of my health to Blood Sacrifice. Myrina had much more health than I did, and in a real fight I never would have taken such a risk. Blood gushed from my mouth, ears, and the corners of my eyes. I felt like something had grabbed me by the spine and yanked me around.

Myrina was hurt just as bad. The direct damage from Blood Sacrifice was something I hadn't ever seen someone block. But more than that, she'd left herself open for just a moment.

And it was the moment I’d been waiting for.

With Exploit Weakness active, I targeted her vulnerabilities with every Mana Bolt orbiting my head. Twenty of them sought her out all at once, pummeling her exposed flesh and striking from every direction at once at every opening my ability revealed.

Myrina couldn't block them all, especially since she'd chosen a two-handed sword for this fight and no shield. Spell after spell struck her, leaving welts all over her skin like burns. The damage quickly brought our health bars down to parity, and then took me back to full health as Lifesteal went into effect. Power filled my veins, and my wounds healed one after another. What Myrina had lost, I had gained.

She staggered, and I stood straighter. Then, I detonated my Corrupting Marks. Each Mana Bolt from Mana Barrage had left one, and all at once they took another chunk of Myrina's health. That one moment had shifted the fight in my favor.

Myrina was battered and wounded, but I was still mostly fresh.

I attacked again with my sword, and this time I was the one who was faster and stronger. Myrina struggled to keep up with my attacks and soon shifted into a desperate offensive just to keep me from getting to her with my practice sword.

Then I started casting Mana Bolt again. First one floating light orbited my head. Then a second. And then a third.

Myrina's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. I was going to do it all again, and there was nothing she could do to stop me.

She glared at me and then, after a moment of hesitation, threw down her sword. "I yield."

Defenseless, she dropped to her knees. Seeing her like that, other thoughts took root in my head. Things that had nothing at all to do with Blood Frenzy. If nothing else, such thoughts made it much easier to calm myself down after the fight.

By the time I stabilized myself, the pointy-eared healer was nearly done patching Myrina up. The worst of her wounds were gone, but Myrina remained on her knees, blinking and a little dazed.

The healer glanced to me, but I shook my head. "I'm fine, keep tending to her."

The healer patched Myrina up a bit more. The redheaded Amazonian didn't respond until I crouched down on one knee beside her, though. I reached for the pendant around her neck restricting her level and removed it. She didn't look up at me until it was gone.

"You... you actually beat me?" Myrina asked in surprise.

I wiped some blood off her cheek. "You probably should have chosen a shield. I fire projectile spells, you know. It's much easier to block those with a shield."

"...Yeah. I just... I didn't think you'd come so far this fast." She shook her head and the shell-shocked look on her face was soon replaced by a smile. "You've gotten really strong, Carter! And it's only up from here."

I helped her to her feet. "I can't take full credit for that. If not for you bringing me here, I'd probably still be stumbling along back on Earth, barely understanding my own abilities."

Instead of wrapping her arm around me, Myrina sagged into my side and pulled my arm around her. I felt her cheek rest against my shoulder. It was a different experience, having Myrina leaning on me like she was doing. There was something inspiring about it.

I realized that I liked being strong enough that she could lean on me. I needed to work hard on my spells, so I could do it more often.

The crowd reacted more intensely than I'd expected. Myrina's surrender sent a wave of whispers coursing through their number.

"Wait, did he really just defeat Myrina? Didn't she just win a tournament in the Capital?"

"Who is this man? What's his background?"

"He's a guest of Myrina's from off-world—a guest that wasn't sanctioned by the Elders. To think he was strong enough to best her, though..."

"That doesn't count! Myrina's level was restricted. And the fight ended before she could really get going. You know how Myrina takes time to really show what she's capable of!"

The voices continued arguing in the benches as they debated the validity of the fight. But I could care less. After all, what did any of their thoughts matter compared to the warmth of the woman besides me?

But apparently even the System had to weigh in on our little sparring match.

You have earned a new title!

Amazonian Conqueror

Congratulations. You have bested an Amazonian warrior in battle, and she has willingly surrendered to you. Few men accomplish this feat, though many try. You have been awarded several boons related to Amazonian culture.

Husband Material: By besting an Amazonian warrior of high breeding and social status, you are now marked as a prime candidate for Amazonian courtship rituals. But be warned, not all Amazonians will recognize your current victory and may expect you to prove yourself worthy again!

Honor in Defeat: Your victory has cemented your status as a true warrior. Amazonians of lower social status than the highest-ranked Amazonian you have defeated will feel less shame in surrendering to you and will be much less likely to fight you to the death.

Enhanced Stamina: Amazonians are a hardy and rowdy crowd, but you've proven you are man enough to contend with them. Enhances the effects of your Stamina stat by +20%, increasing your Vitality stat by +10%.