Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 59

After defeating Ivanar in the arena, I soon received my invitation to the open brackets of the tournament, which would begin in a few days. More information trickled out over the following days, and things became clearer.

The real winner was expected to come out of one of the great families, and for the first part of the tournament, they would have their own brackets. The open brackets would be for adventurers and students of the Dragon Lodge to enter as they pleased.

I suspected things were this way to ensure the Dragon Lodge graduate students who participated would have the chance for a good showing. None of them would be going up against the warrior elite of the great families, so they’d at least have the chance to show off their spells against someone like Ivanar.

Not that I could complain. As a jade token holder of the Dragon Lodge, I would no doubt have been the beneficiary of such a system had I chosen to compete as myself. That would have been the logical move if I were here to win the tournament. But I wasn’t. I was here for Cyra, and for that, Doomblade was the better persona.

After another two days of making things to sell and making further improvements to my Doomblade armor, I shared my plans with my companions over dinner.

“You’re fighting in a tournament without me!” Myrina clutched her heart at the news, looking hurt.

“I can’t have you showing up as you. That would ruin everything,” I replied, batting Myrina away as she started stealing the food right off my plate after she finished her food completely.

“Aww... I bet if I showed up at the Samhain Clan compound, they’d let me fight...” Myrina grumbled.

I drummed my fingers across the table. “Alright, fine. I still have to repair some of those Mark One power armor sets the enchanters back in Shadefall messed up. You can use one of the suits to compete. The helmets should hide your face well enough. You just can’t go shouting your name while you fight, okay?”

“Yes!” Myrina pumped her fist in the air. “What kind of secret identity do I get? Can I have a cool mask?”

“You can have whatever you want.”

“Can it be a cool and sexy mask?” Myrina leaned forward, chin cupped in her nested fingers.

“Probably more like a helmet. I’ll get you some armor that’ll hide your identity. You’ll be completely covered and nobody will know your name or your association with the Samhain family.”

Myrina’s eyes lit up at the idea of total anonymity. “Ooh! Can I be evil? I always wanted to be the evil, out-of-town competitor everyone hates, but who’s just too good to beat.”

I sighed. “Whatever you want, Myrina.”

She grabbed my hands and had an eager glint in her eyes. I feared I might live to regret that promise. I put Myrina out of my mind and turned my attention to my other companions.

“And you two? Do you want to compete as well?” I asked Bridget and Sakura.

Both shook their heads.

“I’m busy with the shop. And that tutor you hired for me is keeping me too busy in the evenings to split my attention any further.”

I’d hired an Oni combat instructor for Sakura. I figured since Sakura was from a newly integrated world and unfamiliar with her own inhuman bloodline, she could use some instruction on her racial heritage and general fighting skills. She’d already gotten a bit of that from the Oni mercenaries on Themyscira, but this instructor was a C-Grade.

“And you, Bridget?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I’m picking up a job at a bakery! I think it’s the best way to learn some new tricks. Though I might take you up on your offer to hire a nighttime tutor for as well to help round out my education.”

“Just Myrina and I, then.” I shrugged.

Myrina wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “That’s all we need! Think of the whispers in the streets. Not just one dashing, and attractive dark horse in the tournament, but two! I can hardly wait.”

While Myrina gushed praise, her other arm quietly slid her empty plate in front of me, swapping it for my still mostly full one. When she was finished talking excitedly about the tournament, she sat down. She polished off my dessert as quickly as she’d eaten her own.

“Oh, that reminds me!” Sakura began, “The shop will move to a nicer part of town soon. Our current storefront is just too small to fit our average daily customers. I’m also hiring some help for us, since Bridget and Myrina are going to be busy.”

“I leave it all in your capable hands,” I said with a shrug. The shop was already doing far better under Sakura than it ever had under me.

***

The first thing I had to do was fix up one suit of Mark One power armor for Myrina. I hadn’t forgotten that she swiped my food, so in retaliation, I ensured she got one of the modified suits with extra vibration. I needed to get rid of those things, anyway.

I made a few additional improvements to the suit while I was at it. Already, my skill had grown from the time I’d made the Mark One armor, so there were a few extra tricks I could add, along with a few conveniences. For one, having some sort of dimensional storage item outside the armor was pretty useful, so I built one of those cultivator storage rings into the hand of one of her gauntlets.

I also built several sword attachment points, so she could have several weapons at the ready, along with an enchanted shield if she wanted it. I showed it off to Myrina, but she shook her head when she saw the armor.

“The chest is too flat!” Myrina complained.

“It’s a normal size,” I protested. The Mark One armor was designed to be androgynous and could fit either gender just fine.

“Bigger boobs!” Myrina insisted.

Since it seemed like something Myrina was intent on, I expanded the chest a little more, giving it a distinctly feminine appearance. Before she could ask, I added some extra mass to the hips and butt, too. The additional room was pretty helpful, since it meant I could stash more metal plates dedicated to physical enchantments in real space. In the end, the modified Mark One armor was much bigger than normal and was somewhere between the Mark Ones and my Doomblade pattern prototype armor.

It might lead to Sakura getting requests for custom orders from me, but as long as she could charge an obscene enough price to keep me from getting flooded with work, that was alright.

***

Thanks to Myrina, the next time I went to the arena, I did so with a sidekick. She needed her win in the arena to enter, and I wanted to make sure I’d fine-tuned my armor in the right direction before the real matches started.

“There’s that Doomblade guy. I wonder if he’s related to the new store in town...” someone muttered.

“Is it just me, or does his armor look shinier than before?” another added.

“Forget him! Who’s the fiery lady in armor next to him? She looks like she could kick my ass, and I’d enjoy it!”

Myrina loved the attention. Her helmet gave her full coverage of her face, but I’d changed the normal shape of the helmet to resemble her usual mischievous expression. The plain metal face was strictly decorative and compromised the structural integrity of the helmet a bit, but Myrina was perfectly willing to make that sacrifice for fashion's sake.

Behind her head, a decorative red ponytail hung out the back of the helmet. It was the only tribute to her usual curtain of fiery hair. Originally, Myrina wanted it to be her real hair, but I'd vetoed that idea. The Samhain main family's distinctive red hair was too easily recognizable, so I found something a slightly deeper shade of red.

Myrina placed a hand on her hip and strode up to the other arena competitors. There was a distinct sway of her hips I didn’t normally notice, but the changes to her armor exaggerated her feminine assets.

“Who dares accept my challenge?” Myrina asked, voice echoing through her helmet, distorted and amplified with magic.

People looked at one another, and eventually, a half-dozen men stepped forward, most of them creepy-looking.

“You, piggy! Prepare to grovel in defeat.” Myrina pointed at a pot-bellied pig man, who soon joined her on the stage.

“I am Bolus, and you--“ the pigman began, but Myrina interrupted him.

“Don’t care. I called you up here because you look like you can take more hits than anyone else. And right now, I need a punching bag.” Myrina slammed a gauntleted fist into her open hand. She had a blunted tournament sword on her back, but it seemed clear she intended to accept this challenge with her fists.

This placed her at a disadvantage, since it seemed clear he was a pugilist from the leather straps around the pigman’s knuckles. He would be a fist-fighting specialist in the exact kind of battle he was best at.

“Begin!” someone on the sidelines shouted.

Within seconds, it became clear the pigman never stood a chance.

He darted in for a punch, but Myrina ducked low and head-butted him in the chin. After knocking his head back, she followed up with a ruthless kick to the groin. The pigman tried to recover, but Myrina wrapped her arms around the pigman’s waist, hauled him up over her head, and drove him face-first into the sand.

It was surreal to see a normal-sized woman tossing around the massive pigman around. She shouldn’t have had the mass to move him about like she did, but I knew Myrina’s size was an illusion. Under normal circumstances, her racial buff let her pack on a lot more mass than she appeared to have. Her power armor worked along similar principles and added several more tons of weight. Despite being smaller, she probably had a lot more mass than the pigman.

The fight that followed lasted several minutes, but only because Myrina let him breathe while she insulted him.

“Is that all you have, piggy? Pathetic. Here, I’ll let you get a few free hits in.”

Myrina planted her feet and put her hands on her hips. The pigman lurched to his feet for a few clumsy swings. His knuckles bashed uselessly against Myrina’s armor as the defensive enchantments flared.

“As I was saying. Pathetic.” Myrina cocked her fist back and knocked him across the jaw.

Myrina tossed the pigman around a bit more. He never yielded, though, which was commendable. Eventually, he passed out in the ring, and the match was called in Myrina’s favor.

"At least you were brave enough to face me, which is more than I can say for the rest of you guys!" Myrina called out to the other competitors, already drawing equal parts fear and ire.

Myrina left him lying in the sand as she skipped back to my side.

“I never knew how much I wanted to be the evil competitor. This is fun!” Myrina giggled into the radio built into her helmet.

I cupped her chin a moment before responding in kind. “You’re welcome to be a bad girl. Just don’t get out of hand.”

“Don’t worry. I may be a bad girl, but I’m your bad girl.” She nudged with her elbow before skipping back to the other competitors in search of more victims.

I was surprised by how well she took to her power armor. She’d hardly even practiced with it, and yet she moved in it better than I did. I supposed I shouldn’t have been surprised. She was a warrior where I was a magic user, and she’d always had a lot of talent for fighting and using all sorts of weapons and equipment. This was just her putting her inborn talents to work again.

While she hunted for more punching bags, I searched around for a familiar face and found Ivanar. I’d fought him once already and so approached him again.

“Care for a spar?” I asked him.

He shot a glance at me, then another at Myrina.

“Better you than her.” He shivered.

This time, he and I fought a bit with less of a crowd since Myrina was taking up all the attention.

This time, I focused mostly on being defensive. Ivanar knew I wasn’t giving the fight my all and was fighting all the harder for it. My defenses slowly improved bit by bit, and by the end of the fight, I was moving more like Myrina.

There were a bunch of small tricks she’d picked up on instantly that I missed, like what motions the servos were strongest at. The power armor wasn’t quite built like human muscle, ideal punching form had shifted away from the chest. There were also certain ways to take a blow on my armor that shocked your attacker’s hand, leaving them stunned just long enough to create an opening. All this had come to Myrina naturally, but to me, it took careful study and practice.

And Ivanar the Minotaur was the perfect practice partner. If I were to describe his fighting style, it would be all-around solid. He was fast enough when he needed it, and put some serious power behind every blow. He could take a few hits and retaliate in kind.

One thing was bothering me about our spar, though.

“You have no magic?” I asked.

Ivanar grunted, lurching into a more casual stance as our latest round of sparring broke off. He hoisted his axe over a bruised shoulder.

“Hoped to pick some up by coming here, but I just don’t have the talent for it.” He shrugged.

“I don’t believe in talent. I’ve seen a complete idiot make it to C-Grade using plenty of powerful spells,” I said, thinking of Dramonar.

“Oh? Are you some secret student of the Dragon Lodge or something underneath all that armor? I haven’t exactly seen any magic out of you.” Ivanar looked me up and down, and I realized I didn’t exactly look like a spellcaster at the moment.

I needed proof, but I didn’t want to use any of my normal spells. I had to think for a moment before I settled on Lightsculptor’s Brush and a bit of enchantment.

I used light to carve a shape in the air. It was an ancient symbol from one of my ancient books, describing the true nature of fire in ways I still didn’t fully understand. When the symbol took shape, it burned as it hovered between my fingers.

“I’m not much of a wizard, but I dabble.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie. I wasn’t trained by one of the great lodges like most wizards seemed to be. I was a self-taught spellcaster, which was a rarity among the higher ranks. But it would be better if my Doomblade persona was considered a mediocre magic user. He was the kind of guy who made his way as a warrior and only picked up magic when fortune granted him a ticket to the Dragon Lodge’s fabled mystic realm.

“Damn. Well then, magic man, what do you think I’m missing?” Ivanar asked.

He produced a common-grade skillbook he’d purchased containing a spell, and I worked him through what he’d been doing wrong. His mana pool was so small that he was hardly even able to feel it, but at C-Grade, that could be somewhat mitigated using stat-boosting items or exotic leveling materials like magic fruits or potions.

I did my best to get him pointed in the right direction, and by the end of it, he was generating a few sparks of magic.

“I owe you one, Doomblade. Just let me know how I can repay you,” Ivanar said.

I shook my head. “A bit of sparring practice is enough for me.”

Ivanar shook his head. “Nah, that doesn’t count. Tell you what. I came across a rumor through a friend. Some of the early matches are supposed to be team battles to make weeding out the weak contenders a little easier. Just let me know, and I’ll drop everything to lend you a hand. I might even be able to find a few decent competitors who'll fill out the team.”

“Deal. I’ll be counting on you then.”

We shook hands, and I went back to pick up Myrina. She’d won a dozen matches while I’d been sparring with Ivanar. Already, I could hear the rumors spreading.

“She’s strong. Really strong. Nobody’s made a splash in the arena like that since Cyra Samhain herself three months back,” said a competitor with reverent awe.

“At least she was graceful about her wins. What I wouldn’t give to see Cyra Samhain show up and put this armored bitch in her place...” another growled.

“I’m not sure even Cyra Samhain could beat her. That armor she’s wearing is beyond masterwork level C-Grade armor. It’s better than most stuff B-Grades wear. Maybe she’s a princess from Glacia. She certainly acts like it.”

I cleared my throat to get Myrina’s attention.

“Have fun?” I asked as Myrina ground her armored boot into the cheek of her latest conquest.

Instantly, Myrina transformed from a tyrannical conqueror to a cute and girlish companion. She skipped out of the ring and right up to my side, where she intertwined her arm with mine.

“Bye, losers! I will be back to kick all your asses again later.” Myrina blew a teasing kiss.

“Aren’t you playing this up a little too much?” I asked her quietly over our helmet radios.

“I’ve never gotten to be the bad guy before!” Myrina whined.

I was certain a lot of our enemies would disagree with that statement. Maybe some of our allies, too.

I sighed. “I guess I said you could do whatever you wanted. Just don’t go overboard.”

“I’m not going to hurt anybody. Just make them really mad at me. It makes them fight better! Also, it’s not my fault. My suit buzzes in a fun way when I punch people. It’s a bad influence!”

“I’ll look later,” I said, already guessing it was the crotch vibrator attachment my enchanters had added that was buzzing at inopportune times. Maybe I could rewire it to only buzz when I commanded it to. I feared that would be my only reins on Myrina during this tournament, considering how excited she was about this event.

“Besides, it’s not like we have to keep these identities, right? We’ve got no reputations to maintain. Gosh, it sure is freeing to not be lugging around the Samhain name everywhere I go. Nice as it is, a girl needs a break sometimes.” Myrina shrugged her metal-clad shoulders.

I shook my head. “Giving you anonymity is dangerous. I’m glad you didn’t stay on Earth long enough to get much use out of the internet.”

Myrina’s response was a giggle that made me suspect she'd spent more time on the internet as a kid than was probably healthy for everyone else.

<Note>
Since the last chapter was an interlude, I figure I should drop a bonus chapter. Don't expect too many of these though! I'm only 4 chapters ahead of you guys now. Normally, I like to be 10 chapters ahead, so we're cutting it close. I'm struggling a bit to build much of a lead on you guys, since I've had to unexpectedly go car shopping, and that's taking up some time this week and last. My little brother desperately needed some wheels though, so I had to give him my old car if he was to keep his job.

All that in mind, I am still hoping to finish this book this month. I may take a short break and do a short story or something afterward just to refresh myself a bit, but that shouldn't take too long. Book 5 should start before the end of the year, with a goal of releasing in March of next year.