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Jake was a bit confused by the phrasing, as the Battlemaster elaborated.

“Alright, alright. I can’t give out information for free, but I will give you one massive warning: prepare a lot if you can. Because she will. If there are any weaknesses in your fighting style or any exploitable patterns, she will find them, and she will make use of them to put you on the back foot. Out of everyone you will ever meet here in the Colosseum, she is probably the one who is the best at analyzing and adapting to certain opponents, so expect to be countered, alright?”

As the man finished explaining, a window popped up in front of Jake. It was not a bonus objective this time, though, but just a message informing him this was the final fight before he would become the Champion.

A final battle stands between you and the Champion rank.

Your rapid ascension through the ranks of the Colosseum of Mortals couldn’t have been swifter. If you wish to keep this streak going, you will have to defeat an opponent with power out of the ordinary for this ranking.

This will be the final match to determine if you successfully ascend all the way through the ranks flawlessly.

Bonus Objective: Defeat the Valhalian Valkyrie

Ignoring all the changes in flavor text, this one communicated that all time restraints – outside of the regular one placed by Nevermore – would disappear if he won this match. There would be no “streak” to keep going.

Aside from that, he saw the name of his opponent… and it was one that took him aback. Valhalian Valkyrie. Actually, thinking back, this was probably the first time someone had a name that directly connected them to a major faction.

He wasn’t sure what to make of that, and ultimately, it didn’t really matter much as he knew what to do.

Jake followed the advice of the Battlemaster, and he started researching. He sent Polly to get whatever she could and even gave her permission to look into things that had a Colosseum Point cost associated with them. Meanwhile, Jake would focus on fight analysis, and luckily, she had a Show Match scheduled the next day.

Watching that show match had been… enlightening. Her name definitely fitted her. The Valhalian Valkyrie wore tight-fitting full-plate armor that looked relatively light yet also durable. Her entire body was covered, with even her face obscured by a helmet that left only a small slit.

She used a short spear for attack and not one, but several different shields throughout the Show Match. From the looks of it, she had a spatial storage of some kind to swap at least shields, so she always had one for every situation. Jake saw four different shields during the show match before she killed the last enemy.

When it came to her fighting style, it was… basic. It was so basic that Jake had a feeling she was aware he was watching the fight, something that was proven to be accurate when someone handed him a note after the fight, asking him if he enjoyed the show.

This made Jake question if he had even seen her use her real fighting style. It didn’t help when Polly came back the same day and had widely conflicting reports on what kind of fighter she was. Some claimed she was a mage, some claimed a warrior who focused purely on speed, and there were even those who said she was actually a shapeshifter capable of changing her form and stats.

To summarize, lots of bullshit with no bearing had been spread, likely by the Valkyrie herself. This Jake did find genuinely odd… because Valhal was known as a faction that fought enemies head-on. It was not a faction that acted all shady and used strategies like this. Well… there was one person like that in Valhal, wasn’t there? One person that Jake could see be the Promotion Match to become Champion, who was naturally also a god:

Gudrun, the de-facto leader and chief strategist of Valhal. She was the wife of Valdemar, and if the Primordial was the brawn, then she was definitely the brains of the operation.

Even if it wasn’t her, it was at least someone related to her. Maybe someone who had studied under her. Either way, Jake decided to go into the fight with the expectation she was Gudrun, and his intuition made him think he was onto something. Again, it ultimately didn’t matter who she was outside of Nevermore. In the Colosseum of mortals, she was just a very annoying opponent that he had to overcome one way or another.

Jake’s final hope to get at least some information on who he assumed to be Gudrun was recordings of her prior fights… but he couldn’t find any. Neither could Polly. It was entirely possible they were out there, but Jake would have to pay a ridiculous amount of Colosseum Points to get them, something he simply wasn’t willing to do.

Now, he did question how realistic it was that no one had any recordings or even proper information to give out, considering the number of audience members for Paragon fights was well into the hundreds of thousands. Sure, even if they did not have the means to record the fight, it had to be possible to interview viewers and build a solid profile, but nope, it wasn’t. So, yeah, there was definitely dungeon-fuckery going on telling him that he either had to pay way too many points to get information or fight her without being able to prepare that much.

So that is what he decided to do. He would enter the fight with very general preparations only. He would lean a bit on what he knew about Valhal and their general methods, most of that stemming from conversations with Carmen. It wasn’t much, but it was honest work.

The thought of buying better equipment or getting a cloak or something also crossed his mind, but he decided against it after going shopping. He only really had the option of upgrading his armor or getting a helmet or cloak. There were some okay cloaks, but helmets were out of the question as they all at least partly obscured vision and made moving his head around harder. There was nothing like his usual mask, so that was a bit of a bummer.

A week was both a long and a short time – luckily helped by a fun and easy Show Match in the middle - and soon enough, the day of the Championship Match had arrived. Jake entered the battle with just his usual equipment, a few shields of stable arcane mana, and a quiver filled with stable arcane arrows on his back. Twenty-four of them, to be exact. He had wanted to store the quiver inside his storage ring, but alas, that was not an option because the quiver was not recognized. Well, okay, the quiver itself could be stored, but not all the arrows.

Walking up the steps to the arena, he knew he would be fighting an opponent who had prepared for everything Jake had shown so far... which was why the quiver was so important. Because that represented something he hadn’t shown.

If it was dumb luck or genius foresight, no one could truly say – though Jake leaned more toward the latter – but it turned out to be a brilliant idea to keep his archery hidden for a moment just like this one. Seeing as he had walked around with a quiver since he entered the arena, perhaps probably-Gudrun did prepare some countermeasures for archery, but Jake seriously doubted she had prepared for what he had in store.

Everything was set for the fight… including the damn announcer.

“Today, we have gathered for a special occasion. A rare treat for us all! Many matches take place every day, nay, every single hour, but this one is unlike any other. For on this fateful day, we will have a new Champion of the Colosseum! “

Roars and cheers all around as Jake looked at the familiar figure he had seen in the Show Match stand across from him. Not just her Show Match but his own that she had naturally shown up for.

“Do these combatants even need any introduction!? One is a man of many talents, a master with both his katars and feet, who has proven himself an opponent none could stand up to so far, with a list of titles that nearly rivals his true power! The Purple Poker of Death, Doomfoot, Harbinger of Stabs… alas, we have decided to only call him one thing for today: Doombringer!”

Jake was about to curse internally at the stupid names as he heard the last one, and… well… it wasn’t that bad? Doombringer was kind of okay, right? Yeah, it did have a certain ring to it. Definitely better than Doomfoot.

“But perhaps today, he will meet his match. Because if anyone can find his weakness and avoid their doom, it’s gonna be the Valhalian Valkyrie! Akin to the Doombringer, she has reached this stage undefeated, but unlike her opponents, she was in no rush. With steady steps, she won every match with a plan in mind, and today, she surely has entered with a strategy to bring doom upon the Doombringer!”

Not much information was given in the little speech about her, not that Jake had expected that. Everything was pretty much as expected, including the questionable announcer.

“Enough from me! Let the words lie and take up arms… and may the Championship Match begin! Lower the gates!”

Jake watches the gates slowly lowering, not in a hurry. His opponent was much the same as she patiently waited for the bars to be all the way down before she confidently walked forward. Jake saw she carried her short light spear as well as a shield, the same as during her Show Match. Her golden armor was the same, too, with her face nearly entirely covered.

The shield was circular in design and had a curve to it, making it purpose-built to deflect attacks. Especially those of the piercing kind.

“I gotta ask,” Jake said as they reached about the middle of the arena. “Would you happen to be called Gudrun?”

His words did seem to surprise her for a moment based on how she had a slight pause in her step. “Are you trying to come onto me, or are you simply dying to know the name of the one who will defeat you today?”

“Neither,” Jake answered unperturbed. “Just curious if my assumption is correct or not.”

“Will the answer hold any meaning?” she questioned. “Will you surrender if you know the truth?”

Jake shook his head at the dumb question.

“Then let us not concern ourselves with such silly things as names,” the woman who was totally Gudrun said as she lowered her stance. “And as it appears you will not make the first move, allow me the honors.”

With those words, she shot forward spear first. Her stab was clearly a probing one, and Jake easily dodged it and tried to move to her right side – the side without a shield. Jake’s move clearly didn’t surprise her, and she was already turning before Jake had fully dodged her stab, sweeping her spear toward his torso.

Using his one katar, he blocked the spear as he moved in with the other, but Gudrun – yes, he would mentally just refer to her as Gudrun from now on – was fast and jumped back before he had any chance to even get close enough.

Giving chase, Jake tried to close the distance as she kept backing off, making sure to never corner herself. To the average fighter, the fight just looked like Jake had the upper hand as he was always on the offensive, but in reality… nothing was really happening.

At least not on the surface. Progress was happening, quite literally, beneath the surface.

It had taken Jake a few moments to notice, but Gudrun was moving in a very exact pattern, and focusing on her boots, he felt the slight infusion of energy from her feet into the sand. When he noticed it, Jake began to try and counter by purposefully messing with her, but it didn’t seem to have any particular effect. Even when he stomped down to send in a wave of destructive arcane energy, whatever Gudrun had infused was barely affected.

The reason was due to how deep down this odd energy submerged itself before settling on what he assumed to be the bottom of the arena. At least it looked like the bottom through his sphere.

Jake, knowing she was planning something, took advantage as best he could. While she was fast, Jake was still slightly faster. Her analysis of his fighting style was pretty damn spot-on, and between the spear and shield keeping him at bay, Jake had a hard time getting anything done.

But just because he had a hard time didn’t make it impossible. Jake went in for an attack as usual, but the second she tried to stab him, he dismissed his katar and instead grasped hold of the spear as he infused his gloves with energy. This did not take her totally by surprise, and she was ready for Jake’s other katar… but not a kick.

Jake spun his body and used her spear as leverage as he kicked her on the shoulder, his foot exploding with arcane energy and sending her staggering. Still holding onto her spear, Jake tried to yank it to get in another attack, but in a wise move, she let go of her weapon and jumped back.

Before he could even feel happy about disarming Gudrun, she snapped her finger. The spear Jake was still holding onto suddenly began glowing with runes as it exploded, releasing a jolt of golden lightning that slithered across his entire body, both inside and out. The explosion was over in an instant as metallic fragments fell to the ground while Jake clenched his fist, gritting his teeth.

She got me, Jake admitted mentally, as he, for the first time since the battle started, had stopped moving for more than a second. The lightning had done a number on him and temporarily stunned him just long enough for Gudrun to pull off whatever the hell she was preparing.

Jake sent a rush of destructive arcane energy through his own body to break the stun faster, but at that point, it was already too late.

Kneeling down, Gudrun slammed two summoned spears into the sand as she yelled loudly.

“Winds of the Ancestors.”

What happened next was something Jake had seen videos on the internet about but never thought he would experience in real life. From below the sand – deep below – a flow of wind appeared. The sand began bubbling all around him, and Jake felt himself get dragged down.

In an instant, Gudrun had turned nearly the entire arena into one big fluidized bed.

With a blast of destructive arcane mana, Jake got himself free as he launched himself toward Gudrun, who instantly switched her usual shield out for a large tower shield with an odd red gem in the center. Still mid-air, Jake blasted arcane mana ahead of him, not just to try and attack, but to stop his momentum… and just in time.

The entire shield exploded in golden light the very next second, launching Jake back all the way to the other of the arena, luckily unharmed.

Jake landed near his own entrance area, outside the range of the large formation Gudrun had placed down. Looking up, he saw Gudrun standing in the middle of the formation, smiling as a mound was slowly rising. Raising her arms, javelins with golden lightning surrounding them appeared embedded in the ground all around them as she reached out to grab one.

The fight had barely started, and Jake found himself standing before a small hill of fluidized sand with a Valkyrie ready to throw spears standing atop it, both of them fully aware of her advantage.

She had the high ground.