TRC - Lord of the Glass Desert Ch. 35

"You're a handy human to have around," she said pulling her hand away and inspecting the blood on her palm while what had pooled in her ear trickled down the side of her head.

"I'm sorry," said Yua.

The panda snorted. "No, you're not."

"I'm not sorry I won. I'm sorry I had to hurt you to do it."

The black and white woman glanced over at the pika. "I can respect that."

With the ear healed, Kal cast a quick cleaning spell to remove the excess blood and helped the panda to her feet.

She rubbed her ear for a moment before smiling at Kal. "I know you didn't have to come out here and do that, and now you've used magic you might need for your own fight on me. I don't have much to thank you, but until this tournament ends, if you're ever in the mood for a big girl, just find me and bend me over."

"I appreciate the offer," Kal replied as they made their way to the side of the ring, "but don't hold your breath waiting. I traveled here on a ship crewed by monster girls, and you can probably imagine how I paid my fare. I'm happy sticking with my woman for now."

"What about Hattori?"

"That was part of her terms for bringing Zakku, Dioga, and Ming here."

The panda chuckled. "Waving your dick in front of monster girls to get what you need. Some of the prostitutes here could probably learn something from you."

"I get what you are saying, but I don't make my living by sleeping with monster girls," he explained as they ducked beneath the rope fence. "I could have easily paid my fare on that ship or taken another one entirely. The same goes for Hattori. Instead of gold for her help, she wanted time with me, so I think of it as merely a pleasurable trade instead of prostitution, though it may just be a semantic difference."

Yua darted ahead of them and leapt into Ichiro's arms, wrapping her legs around him and plastering her lips against his. Humans and monster girls alike scowled at the display, one with disgust and the other with envy.

"Lucky bitch," muttered the panda. "Wouldn't mind having a man like that stuff my pussy every night, or watch him fuck my woman senseless. But that little rat will have a harder time for the rest of the tournament. Everyone knows her secret now, and they'll be ready for her."

The mage just nodded in agreement.

------

Kal couldn't figure out why the Azum man he matched against for today's first round was so nervous until the announcer started the fight and the man promptly disappeared. Electricity and invisibility seemed to be the winning strategies for the time being. It made sense. You can't beat what you can't see, and you can't fight when you don't have control of your body.

The mage guffawed when his opponent vanished. Pointing his staff at the perturbations of magic, he called out, "The problem with relying on invisibility is you forget to actually learn to fight." The tips of his staff whistled as he spun it around and dropped into a defensive stance.

The man stopped and suddenly became visible again as a small dagger spun toward Kal. The speed rune on Kal's bracers lit up as the mage easily knocked the blade aside and immediately fell back into his stance. His opponent stood and stared for a few long moments as he considered his situation, then slipped his armband off and threw it on the ground. Shaking his head, the man retrieved his dagger and exited the ring.

"Impressive, my friend," said Ichiro as Kal rejoined Kashka and the others. "I've fought in many tournaments, but never won without landing a blow."

"If I only had one trick that suddenly lost its advantage, I'd have to do a hard reassessment of my other skills. I guess his weren't up to the task, and I respect his ability to acknowledge that instead of wasting time on a futile fight." Kal shook his head. "Not that this whole tournament isn't pointless already."

"Says the man with the most impressive and boring victory so far," Ichiro laughed. "But remember, some make their living through these tournaments, either by managing them or being sponsored by a noble. A few fighters are good enough to live off of prize money. Tournaments also bring a touch of fame and some new blood to small towns like Sayaka. Perhaps most importantly, it's all entertainment. It has no more purpose than watching a play or listening to musicians or minstrels. We're just watching people fight."

"Minstrels don't get stabbed in the stomach either."

"Ever seen one take the wrong woman to bed at the end of the night?"

"Fair enough, but you know what I meant." Everyone turned toward the announcer as he declared the end of the first set of matches.

Kashka laid a hand on Kal's arm. "I appreciate you are doing all of this for my sake, but--"

"No, I'm not dropping out," he said, reading her intent. "At the very least, someone needs to be put in his place. Even if I had no other reason, I'd stay for that alone. Time to go find out who I'm fighting."

---

Nao and Kal stared at each other across the fighting ring as the announcer waited for the sign that the men were ready. The youngest brother wore a light brown leather cloak that hid most of the pouches on his belt and any extra weapons he might have tucked away. The sword he used to stab his opponent in yesterday's match hung from his hip. Much of Nao's gear showed signs of enchantment to Kal's eyes, including his sword, cloak, and a few of his pouches. But none of the pouches looked like or were comparable in magic to Ria's bag.

"How about we make this more interesting?" said Nao. "If I win, you give me your cat to play with for the night."

"This is the part where I'm supposed to say that if you lay a hand on her, I'll kill you, isn't it? The problem is that if you lay a hand on Kashka, you will be dead long before I ever have the chance. I thought we explained this to you on the road here. Besides that, unless you are offering to renounce your family name and never return to Soma, you have nothing I want."

"You expect me to give up my family name while I merely asked for a night with your woman. That's hardly fair."

"Even if I were willing to accept and she agreed, I heard about how you use your women, and I see it as a perfectly fair trade. But I'm not about to accept any more than you are, so it's of little consequence."

"True," said Nao, drawing his sword and pointing at Kal with it. "Just so you know, I don't care if I get disqualified."

"Oh? That's good, because as Kashka said, Ikuno would have nothing to do with a man so lacking in character. But that works out for me because I'm sick of fighting for sport, so now I can stop caring about disqualification as well."

"Kal!" Ichiro called from the side of the dueling area, "Please don't kill my brother. Asahi and I don't want to explain it to our father. Nao, don't kill Kal for the same reason."

"Why would you need to explain his death to our father?" he called back without taking his eyes off the mage."

His eldest brother directed a long glance at the cat-girl beside him. "If you kill Kal, I doubt you will survive the night."

"You think I can't protect myself from a single neko?"

"Asahi and I have spent the last two days with them and seen how she moves. If you killed Kal, I doubt the three of us and all of our guards could protect you."

"Horseshit."

"He speaks the truth, brother," Asahi chimed in. "Killing the mage is akin to committing suicide. Remember that."

"I can't believe you two idiots have so much faith in your new friends," Nao sneered. "Weak-willed fools, the both of you."

Ichiro turned to Asahi. "If father asks, we can at least say we warned him."

Nao lowered his weapon and stomped over to the side of the arena. "Siding with a stranger over your own brother?" he looked around at Yua, Kashka, and Yamori. "These half-breeds have you thinking with your cocks instead of your heads. Support me, or I will tell father you've been bewitched by these whores and are no longer fit to inherit his name."

"You stand at the edge of a cliff while we tell you not to dash your body on the rocks below. How is that not supporting you, brother?" said Ichiro, the last word coming out through clenched teeth. "Tell father whatever you like. You will never be his heir. He knows perfectly well that naming you his successor is the quickest way to a knife in his back."

Nao stepped back, his eyes widening. "I would never--"

"Don't lie to us," said Asahi. "Look at your collection of magical trinkets. You grab at power whenever you can, and your ambition would make you a direct threat to Soma's head family. Father knows as well as Ichiro and I that you would bring ruin and disgrace upon our name. You will never be head of this family."

"Ready yourself to fight or forfeit the match." The judge called out. "We are all waiting on you."

Nao's expression shifted from surprise at his brother's words to anger before he spun around and stomped back to stand before Kal. As the judge looked nervously between them, Nao snarled, "I'm going to kill you."

The mage shrugged. "Plenty have tried. I doubt you can succeed."

"Fight!" shouted the announcer the moment their judge raised his flag to show they were ready.

Nao lunged forward, stabbing furiously at Kal and forcing him back as the mage batted his blade away with his staff. The youngest brother smirked as he pressed his finger into a gem embedded in the sword's hilt.

Kal saw the flare of magic from the sword and jumped back to dodge the next strike instead of deflecting the blade. He took the moment to look more closely at Nao's blade and noted a second blade-shaped disturbance about two hand-widths to one side of the sword.

"You come by your reputation as a trickster honestly, I see. But you will need to do better than that to best me," he said, pointing at the ghost blade with his staff.

"You've done nothing but lose ground," Nao growled.

Kal looked behind him at the rope fence only a few paces away and shrugged. Holding up his arm, one of the runes lit up before he smirked at Nao. "It doesn't matter much. If this is the best you can do, you've already lost."

His lips curled in a snarl, Nao came at Kal again. The mage immediately regretted his boast as he discovered that both blades were solid and that by spinning the blade in his hand Nao could change his angle of attack drastically. Kal planned on only using the stamina rune to outlast the brother, but the speed rune soon glowed beside it to keep up with the dual blades.

Nao lunged forward again, this time locking Kal's staff against the crossguard of his sword. Letting go of the hilt with one hand, he reached for Kal's arm. A ball of purple energy burst forth from the mage, striking Nao in the chest and sending him flying backward. Two more immediately followed, throwing him further back and nearly knocking him to the ground.

"Count your blessings, Nao," said Kal as he casually walked back to the center of the ring. "A couple of days ago that spell would have you breathing through a hole in your chest right now. Don't think for a second I will let you shock me." Looking down, he grinned. "It seems like I made back all that lost ground."

---

"I'm enjoying this entirely too much," said Kashka.

"Is your hatred of our brother so deep?" Ichiro asked.

"No. I despise him, and I'm disgusted by him, but my enjoyment is more primal. I'm a cat, and cats like to play with their prey."

"Don't forget that rats have sharp teeth."

---

Nao pulled a potion from a bag on his belt that seemed far too small for such a bottle and tossed it into the air between him and Kal. As it started to fall, a swipe of his sword shattered the potion and the vial inside, exposing the inner fluid to air. Nao continued his spin and dropped to the ground, hiding beneath his cloak.

As the spray of potion reached chest height, the inner fluid ignited, and the entire mix exploded, flinging Kal back to the edge of the ring. Nao jumped to his feet. The magic of his salamander-skin cloak had protected him from the flames and most of the blast. Spinning around, he ran toward Kal only to stop in his tracks as the mage used his staff to slowly stand up. The redness of forming bruises on his face faded as Nao stared, but there wasn't a trace of a burn. His clothes weren't even singed.

Kal sighed. "I'm going to get yelled at for getting blown up again. I really need to stop this."

---

Ichiro looked down at Kashka to see her lips pursed and wearing a look of annoyance instead of concern for her lover.

"Is this really so common?"

"This is the third time since we met. She ticked off on her fingers, "Sandworm, Reaver... yes, this is the third. Though that was probably the smallest of the three."

"I've seen him use that potion before. It rarely kills, but almost always takes his foe out of the fight."

"And already you can't even tell it happened," said Yua as Kal began walking toward Nao. "Amazing."

Kashka looked out into the ring, her eyes widening. "Uh, oh."

---

"Is that the best you have?" Kal shouted, anger seeping into his voice as he strode forward. "A trick sword, a bracer that shocks people, and exploding potions? Is that it?" He held up his arms, showing off the bracer's lit runes. "Is six spells all it takes to counteract your strongest tricks?!"

Nao stepped back. They weren't his only tricks, but they were his best ones. The sword should have gotten through his guard, the electric bracelet should have stunned him and brought him to his knees, and the exploding potion should have knocked him out cold. But nothing had worked. His head told him to rip off his armband and walk away, this mage and his magic was beyond him, but his pride refused.

The youngest brother grabbed a pouch from his belt and tossed it at Kal, then dropped into a fighting stance with his sword held out in front of him. Before the mage could knock the pouch to the side, it popped and showered Kal with tiny flecks of crystal. A moment later, the runes on his bracers flickered and faded.

Kal stopped and looked at the dust shimmering over his entire body as it drained his mana reserves. Curiously, he couldn't stop the flow of mana into the tiny shards. "Interesting, I never thought to use powdered mana crystal as a weapon. This could be devastating against a mage with a small or low-quality crystal." Kal fed some magic into his arms and the dust grew in brightness before shattering into pieces too small to carry magic. In mere seconds the shimmering stopped and he felt the drain on his mana reserves end. "But I'm not one of those mages."

The crowd gasped as Kal's bracers lit up in a plethora of colors.

Nao hastily sheathed his sword and reached across to rip the armband off, but his fingers barely brushed the fabric when Kal's staff caught him in the gut. Instead of backwards, he went flying up and into the air. The brother barely registered a flash of purple before one of the energy balls slammed into his chest and sent him higher. Impossibly fast, Kal leapt up after him and planted his knee in Nao's stomach. He felt the world go dark as the ground rushed up to meet him, only for his eyes to snap open as a pulse of healing magic woke him up in time to slam into the ground. Nao rolled away from the mage, gasping for the breath knocked out of him three times within mere seconds.

Inhumanly strong hands yanked Nao to his feet and he found himself nose to nose with Kal's terrifyingly calm visage. "You are a weak little man of small character. You call others trash because you are just a tiny bit stronger than them. Remember this moment, and remember that you are no better. The people you treat like trash are your comrades, your peers. Only when you start treating those less fortunate than you with dignity and respect will you stop being trash and become a man like your brothers."

Kal grabbed the hilt of Nao's sword and shoved him onto his back, drawing the weapon from its sheath. The mage held the point over Nao's gut in approximately the same place he stabbed his previous opponent.

"Remember this lesson and be a better man."

Nao screamed as Kal thrust the sword downward. The youngest brother threw himself backward, kicking and scrabbling across the dirt before realizing there was no pain where he'd been stabbed. In front of him, Kal knelt with Nao's blade in the dirt up to the hilt.

"You've lost. Go home," said Kal as he released the sword and stood up.

The judge nervously made his way out from the safety of the crowd to declare Kal the winner.

Kal slipped his armband off and handed it to the judge. "My purpose for joining this tournament has come to an end. Many thanks for this opportunity," he said with a bow.

"I have declared you the winner. Do you wish to give your victory to him instead?" asked the judge, glancing at Nao, who was trying to pull his sword from the ground.

"No. My victory is mine. He needs to return home and think about how he has treated others in the past."

"This will make the brackets uneven," the man grumbled.

"I'm sure you have a plan in case something like this happens," Kal chuckled before leaving the man with a wave.

Outside the ring, Ichiro, Asahi, Yua, and Yamori stared at the mage as he walked toward them. Kashka stood slightly in front of the other four wearing a smirk.

Ichiro was the first to speak.

"You actually healed him in the middle of the fight? What happened to being worried about fighting our brother?"

Kal blushed slightly. "I was comparing my fighting skills to yours and Asahi's but not taking my magic into account. I firmly believe that either of you could best me in a one-on-one match. But, add magic to that which gives me extra stamina, speed, and strength and durability, the scale tips heavily in my favor," he said, lighting up each rune as he mentioned them.

"You forgot to factor them in?" Asahi asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Using my runes is so second nature now I barely think about them. So, yes, I forgot. More importantly, how do you think Nao will take this?"

"Now you're worried about our brother?"

"I prefer not to give my enemies a chance to plant a knife in my back in the future. If I didn't know you two, I assure you, Nao would be dead."

"You're saying that he owes the fact he's still breathing to Ichiro and I?" Asahi grinned at his older brother. "I'm never letting him live this down."

Kal chuckled along with Ichiro before saying, "Let's head back to my tent. I could use a good soak after that."

---

Back at camp they learned that Kal's performance caused quite an uproar. Many competitors in the magic-using portion of the tournament removed their armbands and turned them in after seeing Kal's display of power, only to rush back and try to rescind their withdrawal when they discovered he had dropped out of the competition.

For the sake of showmanship, the organizers allowed the remaining competitors to rejoin the tournament and even let Kal's previous opponent back in, citing his wisdom for not squaring up with such an overpowering opponent. Perhaps most importantly for those overseeing the tournament, it evened out the brackets again.

The atmosphere back at Kal's tent felt festive. The high spirits were helped by the delicious smells coming from some nearby food vendors. A few food carts had noted Kal's tent as a hotspot of activity and occupied nearby spaces left by those who had lost and returned home already. Between them, they offered a variety of carnivore, herbivore, and even some insectivore dishes. Yamori treated the fist-sized grilled beetles like a delicacy, but Kal couldn't bring himself to try one.

The two young men from last night arrived shortly after sunset, much to the delight of the assembled monster girls and Dioga. Though there weren't nearly as many injuries to attend to as the first few days, she still appreciated the young men's help keeping everyone in good health.