Chapter 20: Fighting

Round Two

The second opponent entered the arena less than an hour later.

Gene had expected another type of creature or maybe even a warrior.

Instead, the opposing summoner brought a creature made entirely out of blue fire.

Gene stared.

“Elemental.”

He opened his notebook.

ROUND TWO — FIRE ELEMENTAL

Primary test: elemental resistance.

The bell rang.

The elemental raised its arms.

A wave of blue fire swept across the battlefield.

The Caretaker moved sideways.

Gene wrote:

Reaction speed adequate.

Another fireball.

The Caretaker ducked.

Another.

He rolled.

Another.

He stepped behind a stone pillar.

Gene smiled.

“Good Reflexes”

The opponent shouted:

“Burn him and the pillar.

Fire engulfed the pillar.

The Caretaker emerged from the flames.

His coat was on fire.

Gene’s eyes widened.

“Caretaker your on fire!”

The Caretaker stopped.

He looked down.

Then he calmly removed his coat.

He patted the flames off the coat and inspected it thoroughly.

Seemingly satisfied he put his jacket back on.

Gene blinked.

“…Good solution.”

He immediately wrote:

Armor/clothing should be fire-resistant.

The fire elemental attacked.

The Caretaker grabbed its arm.

His hand passed partly through the flames.

The Caretaker released it immediately.

He shook off the flames and started to back up.

Gene wrote:

Physical contact causes an attack equal to the elemental type

The elemental seeing that it could do seemingly more damage attacking the Caretaker, prepared another attack.

The Caretaker looked around the arena.

His eyes settled on the magical barrier.

Gene’s expression changed.

The Caretaker turned and ran towards the barrier. 

The elemental followed quickly behind.

At the last moment, the Caretaker stepped aside.

The elemental slammed directly into the barrier.

The arena flashed.

The creature staggered in pain.

Gene’s pencil flew across the page.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMBAT WORKS 

The Caretaker squatted on the ground and started chucking sand and rocks at the elemental causing it to bounce back into the barrier again.

The creature’s form started to destabilize.

The opposing summoner shouted:

“NO! What are you doing to him!”

The Caretaker reached over and grabbed the now exposed core of the elemental. 

The Caretaker pull it out of the flickering fire. 

The elemental collapsed into blue sparks.

The Caretaker dusted itself off as he approached Gene.

Gene thanked him and put the core in his pocket.

The arena system chimed.

SUMMON DESTROYED.

Gene stared at his notes.

Then at the Caretaker.

“That definitely wasn’t brute strength.”

The Caretaker tilted his head.

“How did you think to use the arena that way.”

Gene smiled.

He wrote:

New combat principle: Caretaker actively exploits terrain, barriers, objects, and enemy positioning.

⸻

The Third Lesson

By the third round, the audience had stopped laughing.

They were afraid.

Gene noticed.

He also noticed something else.

The Caretaker’s movements were becoming more efficient.

He didn’t repeat mistakes.

When an opponent attacked from the left, he remembered.

When an opponent used a feint, he adjusted.

When an attack failed, he didn’t attempt the same strategy twice.

Gene sat at the edge of the arena with his notebook open.

The next opponent entered the arena holding a family flag.

Behind him was a massive knight.

Thick Heavy armor.

Long spear.

Oversized Shield.

The announcer shouted:

“Now entering … IRON MANIAC !”

Gene wrote:

Opponent archetype: defensive melee.

The knight charged.

The Caretaker walked forward.

The iron maniac’s Spear stabbed forward.

The Caretaker dodged and punched towards the knight.

The Caretaker struck the shield causing it to dent. 

The knight was pushed backwards by the blow.

Gene wrote:

Heavy knights possess strong defensive postures to help them keep standing and shielded.

The knight attacked again.

The Caretaker grabbed the spear.

The knight attacked with the shield.

The Caretaker released the spear to block the shield.

The Caretaker slid back one step. 

The spear followed quickly from behind the shield.

The Caretaker caught it as he side stepped away from the tip of the spear. 

He used his strength to twist the spear free from the knight’s hand. 

The weapon flew away.

Gene wrote:

Disarming priority in battles that have longer weapons.

The knight immediately drew a sword.

Gene added:

Opponent has secondary weapon.

The knight swung.

The Caretaker blocked using his knife.

Another swing.

Blocked.

Third.

Blocked.

The Caretaker stepped through the knight’s guard.

He stabbed through the knight’s chest armor.

The knight slammed his helmet into the Caretaker’s mask.

The Caretaker was bounced backwards. 

Gene’s eyes widened.

Weakness: close-range head strikes.

The knight attacked again.

The Caretaker ducked.

The knight swung his shield.

The Caretaker dodged and grabbed the knight shield pulling the knight forward.

Then he grabbed hold of the knights waist.

Gene immediately understood.

He’s going for the throw.

The Caretaker lifted the knight overhead.

The Caretaker chucked him hard against the ground.

The knight bounced causing him to hit the ground twice.

The knight slid roughly ten feet on his back.

Before the knight could recover , the Caretaker removed the knight’s sword and shield.

He turned and threw the shield and sword next to the abandoned spear. 

Gene smiled.

Combat priority on human types: remove opponent’s options before attempting final attack.

The knight rose.

The Caretaker waited across from the knight.

The knight looked over at his lost weapons.

Then up  over to the Caretaker.

He lowered his head and waved to Gene.

“I surrender.”

The arena system chimed.

 MATCH COMPLETED.

WINNER: GENE GINGERLINE.

Gene waved at the cheering crowd as the Caretaker walked into the waiting room.