Fifty-Four

"Look at them," Benny drawled as he placed his foot on the window sill, leaning over to look down across the packed stadium. Thousands were wedged into tight seats, howling for blood as the D-Grade body cultivator champion pummeled her challenger. The humanoid champion was a blur of robes, each strike echoing out as she overwhelmed her opponent in a rush of power and technical skill.

"Damn, she's fast," Kon muttered. Even with his runes slowly pulling a trickle of energy out of his body, the fighter was hardly perceptible. Her opponent, a muscular six-armed ruby red alien, was doing a good job of not dying.

"She is. Now, are you recovered enough for your own fight?" Benny said, looking away from the display below to evaluate Kon. The weight of his eyes were heavy ever since their brief fight, a sense of judgement in them that Kon couldn't shake off no matter what he did.

"I feel fine. The shakes have stopped, my body temp is regulated, and I feel like I can bench press a starship," Kon bragged, flexing an arm as he bounced a bit on his toes. The thought of going down there with the crowds cheering sent a spike of anticipation through him. It would be good to forget the looming war that would be coming for them even if it was only for a few minutes.

"Don't need you to bench press a starship. Need you to win without being flashy," Benny said. He huffed and turned to look back at Turja who had followed them out of the depths and was resting in her chair as she read over a series of reports. She looked up toward them, her floating hair tickling the edges of her shoulders.

"They'll try to kill you in the next match," she said serenely. Kon shrugged, he'd had a feeling it'd be coming. He had embarrassed the sect nearly as badly as Diur had done, even if they couldn't connect him to the disappearances. He had no doubts that every one of her fights would be to the death.

"Things have grown strange in the upper-ranks of the sects. They've begun to agree to ludicrous bets and deals without hesitation. They know something that we don't, and with this pairing they mean for you to die in that arena," Turja continued.

"I'm stronger than they think. I can use that as an edge, lure them into trying to overpower me like she's doing to him," Kon said, pointing with his chin down toward the sands. The six armed alien had a pair of his arms broken and limp while still trying to withstand the whirlwind of blows the masked cultivator was using.

"Something's familiar about her," Diur muttered, tapping a finger to her lips. Kon shot her a questioning look but she didn't seem to catch it. He turned his attention back towards Turja and Benny.

"Who's my opponent?" Kon asked. The spymaster had already infiltrated the upper arenas and had compiled a packet of information about each of the fighters he'd face including video of their previous bouts.

"Hali Paker. She is a peak E-Grade body cultivator and likely the next challenger for the top spot. She is attached to the Void Walker Sect, but they have close ties to the Purifying Flames," Turja said. She clicked a button and the image of a skeletal creature appeared. She was skin and bone, emaciated to the point of looking mummified. Skin as dark pitch with glowing white eyes, and not a single hair to be seen. Her thin lips were pulled back to show off long fangs.

"Ohhh…that's something," Kon said as he stared at the image.

"Haven't seen one of those in a while," Benny said, leaning over to peer closer at the revenant looking alien.

"What is she?" Kon asked. Benny shrugged and shook his head.

"No idea. Never found their homeworld, just find them every now and then. Tough customers, not big talkers. Is she the only one of her race with the Void Walkers?" Benny asked, turning to look at Turja.

"Yes. I had thought for sure you would have known who they were, old man," Turja said with a sly grin.

"I don't know half as much as I want," Benny said before he waved a finger around in a circle to keep the conversation moving. Kon risked a glance over at Diur, but she was still entranced by the fight below them.

"She fights with a…well…" Turja looked around at them then sighed before switching the image. Kon fought to stifle a laugh but it still snuck out.

It was a shovel.

Or at least it looked like one. Triangular shaped with razor sharp edges, a long shaft of onyx wood that ended capped in a bronze spike. It still looked like a shovel.

"That's an unfortunate design," Benny said with a sigh.

"It's a shovel," Kon finally blurted out. That finally drew Diur away from the ledge as she came and looked it over.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Tri'baculan. It was developed for battlefields before the lanes were explored. Warriors could use it to kill their foes and then dig the graves. Far out of fashion now except for museum pieces," Diur said.

"Regardless of how it looks, she has killed two opponents with it and defeated five others. You shouldn't have been matched, but an appropriate bribe was placed. This is an assasination disguised as a sanctioned fight," Turja said.

"How does she fight?" Kon asked.

"If you're asking for her cultivation, nobody knows. She's fast and strong, but nobody has seen her draw upon even the hints of an aspect, which she should as being a peak E-Grade. The Void Walkers are tight lipped about these things, obviously," Turja explained.

"Fight with a shovel wielding assassin and I don't know her cultivation. Think it's time to get my mace?" Kon asked.

"Yeah. Got a present for you now that you're getting stronger," Benny said. He left the room, striding away and leaving the three of them standing around in silence. For a minute.

"Why does your hair float? Is it a cultivation thing or?" Kon said after about ten seconds of silence. Turja turned slowly to look at him with unblinking black eyes, the crimson pupils little more than slits.

She didn't say anything.

"I would say he won't do something so rude again, but he likely will," Diur said, sounding apologetic.

"It is my cultivation," Turja said after a moment. Then proceeded to fall silent and didn't bother to say anything else.

"How you feeling?" Kon said, turning to look at his friend and ignoring the still cultivators. Diur hid a smile by ducking her head as she coughed away a snort of laughter.

"Better. I can feel myself slowly settling my new foundations. In a few weeks I'll be able to express my power with ease. For now, I will just have to enjoy the growth in pure physical strength," Diur said.

"You have your own fights coming soon enough. It won't slow you?" Kon asked.

"No. I am worried about them moving me up a grade and into the body cultivator bracket though. The referees here have been poor though, their senses quite weak. I may be able to stay with the classic cultivators," Diur said.

"They won't notice you breaching into the D-Grade?" Kon asked.

"Body cultivation is harder to detect and I haven't solidified my gains. As long as I don't express too much strength, I should be fine," Diur said, waving away his concerns.

Benny came striding back into the room a minute later with a long box tucked under his arm. Turja finally looked away from them, as she had been staring the entire time, and a hint of a smile brushed her lips before it disappeared like a mirage.

The old man lowered the box to the table, backed up, and waved his hand at it. Kon hesitated for a second before reaching over and pulling the top of the crate off. Inside was a plush, red velvet liner that held a brand new mace. Kon ran a finger over the bronze head, a spark of energy leaping from it and through him. He froze and slowly looked over towards Benny who was suppressing a grin.

"A D-Grade rift anchor. Or at least what's left of one. Go on, pick it up," Benny said. Kon didn't try to stop his own smile as he grabbed the leather wrapped handle and picked up the mace. It was heavy, even with his growing strength, a solid heft to it that let him know that devastation would arise if it hit anything.

"I'm shit at making them myself, but it was basically a club. Took the anchor, it had been some type of metal deposit, and worked it down. Added a few little tricks to it that I think you'll enjoy," Benny said as he reached over and touched a spot right above the leather wrapping.

"For your eyes only," Benny whispered. Runes suddenly appeared on the bronze neck of the mace, each of them lasting for only a second before fading away. Kon searched his memory as he tried to remember them, his lessons with the grimoire had been put on the backseat as he finished his current level of body cultivation. He still recognized the runes for density, velocity, and expansion though.

"Try to keep those underwrap. Meldable rift forged weapons aren't unique, but they're rare enough that you'll have people looking at us strangely," Benny continued. In a louder voice he continued.

"The leather is from the same sea serpent that Diur used. Has a nice grip on it. It's heavier than you'll expect and it can interact strangely with the world seeing as it's a rift weapon," Benny finished his little speech with a clap on Kon's shoulder and walked away to allow Diur to stand next to him.

"A princely gift. Rift forged weapons are rare. Hard to forge and expensive to obtain the materials, few know how to shape a treasure without shattering it," Diur said. She stole a look over at Benny and for a moment, her brow twitched as if making a connection, but she didn't pursue it, letting the moment fall away as she looked back at Kon.

"A great weapon deserves a name," she said. Kon smiled widely as he lifted the mace above his head, feeling the strain in his shoulder as he did so.

"This is going to be a pain to wield until I get stronger. It'll be nice to have something to grow into though."

"If you name it something stupid I'm taking it back," Benny warned. Kon looked at him, the name frozen on his lips.

"Hammer of justice?" Kon teased while Benny just stared at him, unamused.

"It's not a hammer. It's a ball of metal," Turja said, the joke going over her head. The strain on his arm was growing enough that he lowered the heavy weapon and a thought speared through his head.

"Hammer time?" Kon asked, looking up to see Benny blinking rapidly, confusion on his face for a second before he whispered a word. The confusion fell away and he shook his head rapidly.

"Alright, I'm taking it back," Benny said with a frown. Kon tightened his grip and pulled it closer to his body as the old man only seemed to be partially joking.

"What about…?" Diur said. Kon smiled and nodded and he lifted his newly named weapon back up into the air.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.