Zeal Legacy 2: A GameLit RPG Fantasy Page 6

  Clayton could see the bead of sweat that had formed on Locke’s forehead as Mentu walked forward effortlessly.

  “Go on!” Iris shouted from the other side of the circle. “Just end this now, Mentu! This man doesn’t deserve to be in the same ring as you.”

  The people from Leben were all cheering as if they’d already won. The others from Quill all had nervous looks on their faces. Even those from Bojung and Tamwa were anxious. Clayton himself was in disbelief at the man who continued to march forward in the face of fire.

  “Why doesn’t he just throw the fire at him?” Clayton said.

  Just as he said it, Locke darted a vial right at Mentu. The big man raised his hammer up and swung it away with a effortlessness that made Clayton swallow anxiously.

  “I guess that answers your question,” Kailani sighed.

  “He can’t be fireproof. There’s no way…”

  “Well, maybe he’s not fireproof but it doesn’t look like Mentu’s just gonna let this guy dump all of his potions on top of him.”

  Locke continued to circle the ring. More sweat dripped down the sides of his face. The wind whipped his hair in every direction. Mentu hadn’t laid a finger on him but Locke looked like he was already at his end. The desperation in his eyes was growing.

  “One last warning!” Locke shouted. “I will give you a chance! Exit the ring or else.”

  “Or else what?” Mentu stood in place and widened his eyes at his opponent.

  “Or else…” Locke reached on his belt. He kept feeling then looked down. The sudden realization he only had one vial left even made Clayton himself nervous.

  “Your magic concoctions are useless against me. Submit and I will spare you any further suffering.”

  Locke clenched his jaw. The last vial in his hand, he looked down at it then took a deep breath.

  “What the hell is this idiot thinking?” Kailani muttered. “He’s got no chance.”

  Locke charged forward recklessly with his vial in hand. Mentu raised his weapon up to swing. He brought the hammer down but Locke managed to move out of the way from the thundering blow. He threw the vial with all of his strength. Mentu just managed to raise his arm up and block it. But it wasn’t enough to stop the flames from bursting onto him.

  “Mentu!” Iris shouted.

  The crowd gasped as Mentu’s arm was suddenly engulfed. Even Locke was in disbelief.

  With an arm on fire, Mentu didn’t submit. Rage filled his eyes like an angry bull. Clayton was the first person to notice it.

  “Oh, crap…”

  Clayton’s words trailed off. Mentu swung his flaming arm and snatched Locke by his tunic. With one motion, he raised the man up from the ground and tossed him out of the ring. Then he waved his arm to extinguish the flames burning his skin.

  “It is done!” Joakim announced. “Mentu is your winner!”

  The villagers from Quill all gathered around to pull their fighter up to his feet. Mentu was tended to by Iris.

  Clayton stared at him, the realization of what he just saw still not hitting him.

  “You all right, BB?” More finger snaps from Kailani got Clayton’s attention.

  “The guy’s got enough strength to hold that hammer. He’s got enough constitution to brush being set on fire. And he’s a lot faster than he looks, too.”

  “Yeah, you’re gonna kick this guy’s ass, aren’t ya?”

  Even Kailani’s giant grin wasn’t enough to make Clayton feel any better.

  “I’d need weeks of constant grinding to level that high. How much time do I have exactly?”

  “You’ve got a few days.”

  “Of course.” Clayton rolled his eyes at his predicament.

  “Hey!” Kailani moved in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. She looked up at him like some kind of high school coach trying to motivate his players. “You gotta focus! You’ll kick this guy’s ass, even without these ‘levels’ you’re talking about.”

  Somehow, Kailani’s pep talk had done its job. He even managed to chuckle a bit.

  “You’ll get your shot at Mentu,” she said.

  “I’ve still gotta deal with Jerek.” Clayton looked toward his opponent. The man in leather pants stretched out his arms and legs.

  “Look at him. No armor. No weapons. You’ll run right over this guy. I’m sure it’ll only take you a few seconds.”

  As Clayton continued staring at Jerek, he couldn’t help a sudden feeling of nervousness in his gut. “Please don’t jinx me, Kailani.”

  “Jinx? Me? The guy’s half your size. I mean, how tough could he be?

  Chapter 8

  As Clayton stood in the center of the ring, he longed for the days when he was slaying monsters with Rena and Jalise by his side. Leveling up and increasing his stats. Wielding the Zeal Blade. Using his new abilities to discover clever ways to beat the creatures trying to take him down. Strange to think with the Maledict threat suppressed, he missed the time when all of Xeylon was on the line.

  Then he considered it was only more than a week ago when all of that happened. In just a short amount of time, he’d lost his companions, broken his revered weapon, and stranded himself on an island on the other side of the world.

  A weaker man would have folded at this point. The pride of knowing he didn’t escape back to the comforts of his apartment was all Clayton needed.

  His chainmail replaced by a tortoise shell and leather scraps, Clayton looked down at his outfit then pulled his broken sword from its sheath.

  “What the hell?”

  “He hasn’t even got a full sword!”

  “Is this some sorta joke?”

  “They’re just talking trash… No big deal…” Clayton never played too many online games, partly because of all the trolls he’d inevitably have to deal with. Listening to all of the villagers comment on his makeshift armor and half-a-sword reminded him of the headaches of gaming online.

  “You got this, BB!”

  Kailani’s encouragement drowned everything else out. Clayton sighed a deep breath and looked toward the man across from him.

  His opponent Jerek was unassuming. He looked like some sort of monk with how simplistic his outfit was. The man had his eyes closed, his palms pressed together and his legs stiff.

  “Representing the village of Bojung, we have the great warrior, Jerek.” Joakim’s voice quieted the murmurs of the crowd. “And representing Tamwa, the offlander, Clayton.”

  Clayton instinctively raised his sword up and smiled at the crowd. He didn’t get a response. Even the villagers of Tamwa had skeptical looks on their faces.

  “What are you doing?” Kailani rubbed her palm against her forehead. “Would you focus already?”

  “Let the battle begin!” Joakim’s announcement was met with a cheer from the crowd.

  “Okay,” Clayton thought to himself. “He’s not a Maledict. He’s not a creature. This is the first time I’ve ever had to duel a regular person… Don’t kill him. Just push him out of the circle. Let’s see…”

  Clayton ignited his sword with an aura of fire, getting some acknowledgment from the audience. It was enough to put a smile on his face.

  “There we go… This shouldn’t be too hard.”

  Jerek remained standing in place, his eyes closed like he wasn’t sure the fight had even begun.

  “I don’t wanna hurt you!” Clayton shouted. “This fire didn’t come from a vial, so it won’t run out like that last guy. There’s no need for us to fight. Step out of the ring and that’ll be the end of it. I’ve got no beef with you. I… I won’t even get any essence from fighting you, so there’s really no point…”

  He didn’t get a response from Jerek, who still hadn’t moved.

  “Fine,” Clayton sighed. “Suit yourself.” He raised the Zeal Blade up and pointed it forward. Focusing his energy, a ball of flames shot forward in Jerek’s direction. Jerek suddenly vanished away from the fire and appeared right next to Clayton. “What the—”


  A hard palm against Clayton’s chest made him stumble back and knocked some of the wind out of him. It was at that moment he was grateful for his makeshift armor and the constitution he had.

  Clayton quickly regained his footing. “Okay… I guess you’re taking this serious…”

  Jerek remained silent, only smiling in response.

  “Give it to him!” Kailani yelled. “Go all out! Don’t hold back!”

  It was a chance for Clayton to test his abilities against an interesting opponent. There was no snarling beast in front of him nor some evil spirit wanting to consume him whole. It was just a man who apparently had the ability to dash just the same as him.

  “All right… You wanna see what I can do… I’ll show you what I can do…” Clayton extinguished the flames on his sword and raised his weapon up. Jerek calmly raised his hands up and motioned for him to come forward. His request was answered.

  A quick dash and Clayton was right in front of him but his swipe missed as Jerek moved out of the way. Jerek swung another hard punch but Clayton dashed out of the way, responding with his own swing. Again, it was dodged.

  Back and forth, the two of them tried to hit each other. Every dash was followed by a swing. And every swing was met with another dash to avoid it. The two of them moved around the circle, unable to land even a glancing blow.

  The crowd’s enthusiasm didn’t end. The drummers slammed the skin of their drums. It was as if the entire world had their attention on the two combatants.

  “I can’t keep this up… I’m gonna run out of stamina…” Clayton did his best to hide his fatigue but he couldn’t mask the sweat dripping from his brow and the rest of his body. The next swing he made took more effort and he was no closer to hitting his target. “Can’t give up… Gotta hit him…”

  “You gotta do something else! Try that thing you did with The Bull!” Kailani didn’t give him the exact advice he needed but it gave him an idea.

  “I don’t have enough stamina to activate the barrier… If I do that, he’ll push me out of the ring… Should I take that chance?”

  Clayton steadied himself while Jerek stood on the other side of the circle. They hadn’t been going at it for very long but even just a few minutes were enough to wear them down. Jerek was sweating the same as Clayton.

  “He’s tired… Maybe if…”

  Jerek closed his eyes as if regaining his focus. Clayton took a deep breath to steady himself.

  “If this doesn’t work…”

  It was all or nothing at this point. He gripped the Zeal Blade tight in both hands and readied. Jerek opened his eyes and slowly moved forward. Clayton swallowed anxiously, waiting for his opponent’s sudden movement.

  “Come on… Come on…”

  Clayton dug his heels into the dirt. His jaw clenched, he waited and waited… and waited.

  “Come on…”

  Suddenly, Jerek darted forward in the blink of an eye and appeared right next to him. But Clayton didn’t dash out of the way like he had before. Instead, he dropped his weapon and leaned to the side, dodging the punch he expected. He grabbed Jerek before he could move and with all of his strength, Clayton picked him up from the ground and threw him out of the circle of stones. Jerek landed helplessly on the dirt.

  The villagers of Tamwa cheered as Joakim announced Clayton’s victory.

  Clayton fell down to one knee, propping himself up with the help of the Zeal Blade.

  “Like I said, easy!” Kailani walked up and slapped his shoulder.

  “Honestly, I prefer fighting the crabs. Fighting guys who are disappearing wherever I swing isn’t what I’m used to. Did I mention I never actually trained for combat?”

  “Well, whatever it is you’re doing, BB, it’s working. Keep it up!”

  The elation of the crowd was interrupted by some loud clapping right next to him. Clayton looked up and saw Mentu approaching him with Iris by his side. Clayton quickly straightened up. Mentu was a few inches taller but Clayton was still able to look him in the eye.

  “Well done.” Mentu continued clapping. “You’re the first offlander to ever compete in the fights.”

  “Well, that’s some kind of achievement.”

  “You have quite an arsenal.”

  “My sword’s a little broken at the moment…”

  “Even with a shattered weapon… Flames… The dashing… I’m sure you have some other tricks up your sleeve.”

  “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t—”

  “You’re damn right he does!” Kailani suddenly interjected, pointing her finger at Mentu like scolding a child. “He’s gonna kick your ass!”

  “Uh… Kailani…” Clayton chuckled nervously, not anxious about getting into a fight with Mentu while he was still recovering his stamina.

  Kailani didn’t relent. “It’s over! It’s Tamwa time! Clayton’s gonna embarrass you!”

  “Ha!” Iris scoffed. Her voice was filled with the haughty arrogance she appeared to have. “Don’t make me laugh! Mentu will crush the offlander like a fly!”

  Clayton got a better look at Iris, her green eyes more noticeable against her tan skin. Mentu had an older face, wrinkled and blemished with age. Expected from a man who’d been in so many Fire Fights. But Iris was considerably younger in contrast. Her skin was smooth even though it appeared she wasn’t wearing any makeup.

  “You might be able to intimidate all of the other villagers but you won’t intimidate this guy.” Kailani stayed undeterred. “You’ve seen what he can do. He hasn’t shown everything. This guy went face to face with the kraken. Tell ‘em, BB!”

  She gave Clayton an overenthusiastic slap on the arm.

  “Ow…” he yelped under his breath.

  Iris rolled her eyes and looked away.

  “Perhaps you will be the one to finally best me,” Mentu said. “Or perhaps you will fall like the rest. We will find out.”

  The two men stared at one another. Even though Mentu did his best to appear friendly, Clayton knew the man was more than willing to hurt him. Clayton stood his ground though. Not that he could help it, with Kailani continuing to try and stare a hole through the Overseer.

  “I think we’re done here,” Iris sighed.

  Clayton shifted his eyes toward her. He couldn’t help but notice how skimpy her outfit was. A leather bikini that did just enough to cover up her modesty. He gave her a quick glance. But a quick glance was all she needed.

  “What are you doing?” Iris shook her head in disgust. “Are you staring at me?”

  “W-what?” Clayton stuttered. “I wasn’t staring—”

  “You perverted pig!” Without warning, she raised her leg up and caught Clayton right between the legs.

  “Crap!”

  As Clayton crumpled to the ground, he wondered how much constitution it would take to withstand the worst pain a man could feel.

  “I’ll see you in the ring, offlander.” Mentu walked away with Iris on his arm.

  Kailani crouched down next to Clayton while he took deep breaths, a half-smirk on her face.

  “Iris is a real bitch… But I can’t say I blame her for that.”

  “She kicked me in the balls!”

  “You were staring at her…”

  “…I wasn’t staring… It was just a glance… Maybe…”

  Kailani rolled her eyes before helping him back up to his feet. He looked around and watched the clearing slowly begin to empty.

  “What’s going on?”

  “The Fire Fights are over for the night. You get some time to relax before the big fight. You’ve gotta be at your best if you’re gonna beat that jerk.”

  “Good… I need all the time I can get. Maybe I can gain some levels. I’m sure there are some places to train and hunt around here.”

  Elder Okari approached them, bowing his head toward Clayton. “Well fought, Clayton. The people of Tamwa are humbled by your victory.”

  “I haven’t won anything yet. I’ve still gotta beat that big bastard.”

/>   “Hey,” Kailani said. “Tamwa hasn’t competed in the Fire Fights in years. Just stepping in the ring is enough reason to celebrate. Speaking of which, we should head back to the village and do just that.”

  “There is much work to be done,” Okari said. “We will still have to get up early to finish the labor we left behind.”

  “Oh, come on! Tamwa just won its first fight before half the village was even born. I think tonight is an exception.”

  Okari sighed in resignation. “My daughter…” He turned around and walked away with the rest of the villagers.

  “Okay… Now it’s time to celebrate.”

  There was a mischievous glint in Kailani’s eyes Clayton had seen before. That along with her grin and the way she rubbed her hands together made Clayton more nervous than even facing Mentu.

  “What are you up to?” he knew it was pointless to ask but he did so anyway.

  “It’ll be fun, BB. I promise.”

  Chapter 9

  “Oh, yeah! Don’t be afraid now!”

  “How come whenever you tell me to do something, I always feel the opposite inclination?” Clayton gave Kailani a curious look. The young woman looked up at the sky, feigning with an innocence he knew wasn’t really there.

  “You always come out on top, BB! Why stop now?”

  He turned his attention to the bowl in his hand and the concoction inside of it. It looked harmless for the most part. As thin as water with just a tinge of yellow wasn’t enough to make Clayton enthusiastic about it. He held the bowl up to his nostrils but couldn’t smell anything.

  “I was never one much for drinking,” he said. “But this doesn’t smell like alcohol at least…”

  “Give it a shot.”

  “Welp… Here goes nothing…” He held the bowl to his lips and tilted his head back. Kailani watched with growing enthusiasm, her eyes widening and her familiar grin as big as ever on her face.

  The drink didn’t taste like anything special to Clayton. In fact, it didn’t taste like anything at all. He swallowed down the whole bowl then dropped it. He gulped to make sure he’d taken every drop then, the confused look still tattooed on his face, turned back to Kailani.