Sworded Affair

Emma's opponent didn't move an inch from his spot, even as Epitaph approached his heart, immediately making her wary, though not enough to outright pull her blow. The trick quickly became apparent as one of the broken bows strapped to his back began to crackle and hiss. Emma watched the wooden shaft mend itself in real time, snapping back together like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, while Epitaph snapped, leaving her holding only the hilt.

"Got you," her opponent crowed, waving his machete in a manner that might have been threatening, back when she was ten years old. "Now, why don't you surrender before I'm forced to get serious?"

Instead, Emma swiftly summoned another instance of Epitaph, replacing the broken hilt in her hand, and while her opponent's eyes were locked to the replacement weapon, she called out the Monitor Lizard. Space was at a premium inside the barrier circle, forcing him to appear on his knees, which turned out to be the perfect height to drive a clawed first into the enemy's testicles. It was a probing attack, intended to find his next layer of defences, to help map out his abilities. Never did Emma didn't expect the blow to actually connect, nor to result in a high pitched squeal, culminating with a clumsy tumble unto he laid flat on his back.

"Competitor Sudo Nym's feet have left the floor! Competitor Emma Knight advances by technical victory!" Master Europe proclaimed, as the barrier circle fell, leaving Emma feeling a bit disappointed by the anticlimactic end, though she could hardly complain about taking an easy win.

[In his first round, your opponent fought someone with an expensive magical sword, who surrendered as soon as Transfer destroyed it. Both of them were on the weaker end of the competitors, so this outcome was almost inevitable when the two of you matched up. Gimmicks are all well and good, but they are no substitute for an all rounded build.]

"That was easier than my first round," Emma deadpanned. "Which I guess makes sense, if pairings were really between the best and worst performers."

[That does happen sometimes. In fact, when this event was being proposed, a few people raised similar objections, that a single elimination bracket would be inherently unfair. A few alternatives were proposed, such as a round robin or preliminaries using the Swiss system, but expedience won out in the end. This event only lasts for a single night, there isn't the time for something too complicated.]

Indeed, despite the match taking nearly no time at all, over half the bubbles had popped by now, indicating similarly mismatched competitors among the remaining round of 32. Fewer injuries too, Emma realised as she looked over to the loser's gallery, as people emerged in various states of anger and despair, but largely no worse for wear, a few bruises and scuffed clothing aside.

[While there are no rules against killing in this event, there can be social consequences for anybody going at it with too much enthusiasm. At the end of the day, this is still primarily a social event; going out of your way to humiliate or kill can lead to grudges that ripple beyond this arena. Also, on another note.

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Sudo Nym defeated!

500 XP gained!]

"That much for such an easy win?" Emma asked aloud, noting how her vanquished foe reddened in the stands; his hearing was impressive, if nothing else, either that or he had another ability aiding his perception.

[He didn't get to show much in your bout, but his magic isn't actually bad. Transfer takes the damage on one target and sends it to another; he aimed for Epitaph, but there was enough accumulated damage on his bow to cut your head off if he so desired.]

"That wouldn't have beaten me either," Emma pointed out.

[No, but it would've forced an instant win against most of the remaining competitors. Threat level is assessed in abstract, not for their performance against you specifically. His level is also in the low 20s, so the built-in bonus for defeating higher level opponents is also a factor.]

Truth be told, Emma wasn't even sure why she was arguing, as between the two matches so far, she'd gotten more experience in one night than she'd seen in a long while. Truly, combat was still the best way to advance, for all that she appreciated the period of calm in recent days, amidst the mania that had been life since the apocalypse. If the trend held, she could already see herself reaching Level 20, hitting a second milestone along the way. All but one bubble had burst by now, while Emma was contemplating my future, and to her surprise Princess Astaroth was one of the competitors inside it. She'd always seemed well put together, so Emma couldn't help wonder who was putting up such a good fight against her, though admittedly the Princess was primarily a caster, so maybe she was at a disadvantage for the event? Typically, the exact moment that crossed Emma's mind was when the final bubble popped.

[Princess Astaroth - Level 25 Warlock of the Deep]

Princess Astaroth emerged, wrapped in a bubble of her own, an inky black barrier that swallowed the light around her. Emma could barely make out her face, and if not for the System identification, she might have been a bit worried. Her opponent lay in three pieces on the floor, making it clear who was the victor, though as Emma squinted, she could just about see individual stalks of straw pulling free from his mangled corpse, coalescing together to form a small voodoo doll that floated in the air.

"You are courting death!" The doll screeched, in its first words upon attaining sentience. "How dare you slay the firstborn son of Magus Wilhelm! A thousand curses upon you and your family!"

[You're a brave one, daring to throw curses my way, even through an intermediary.]

Nearly the entire room flinched, and only then did Emma realise that this latest line from Edith wasn't solely visible to System users.

[Emma, be a dear and dispose of that trash, would you kindly?]

Up until now, Emma had been concealing her cards for the later rounds. That was still the plan, but if Edith wanted her to reveal one of them here, then Emma could only trust that something was happening in the background, and defer to her greater understanding of magical politics to her distant ancestor.

[Null Zone (TOGGLE: ON)]

It didn't take much, just three steps forward, followed by releasing the full potency of her anti-magic zone, the edge just barely touching the defiant little doll. It dropped like a stone, and though the entire room was silent, Emma thought that she could hear someone screaming, somewhere far away.