Pieces of Sonder

A sly smile grew on Freya’s face. After recovering from the hit, the slime puffed itself up. It hurtled towards Freya with increased vigor. No wounds or blemishes appeared on the slime. Concerned murmurs rose from the crowd. The announcer echoed these doubts, increasing everyone’s unease. However, the slime’s lowered health bar told Freya all she needed to know. 

Gripping the sword scabbard, she advanced towards the rattled slime.

This is great! I don’t even have to channel my qi, Freya thought.

That would have been her next step if blunt force trauma alone didn’t work. However, she worried her qi would shatter the scabbard. The simple metal and wood sword sheath wasn’t designed to handle qi. Ideally, she wanted to use her shaman staff and channel qi through that to hit the slime. But pulling her shaman staff out of nowhere would lead to too many questions. It would take longer, but she was confident enough with her improvised weapon. 

Lightly swinging the scabbard in anticipation, she waited for it to close in on her, then swung. She stepped into the hit, knocking the slime harder than before.

[Greater Slime]

[Lvl 10] [161/186]

The slime recoiled, a clear wave going through its body. However, it rolled forward again, completely undaunted.

Freya, also unfazed, wound up for another swing. She leaned into the swing and used her entire body to add power. 

[Greater Slime]

[Lvl 10] [149/186]

Again, the slime appeared unharmed. Freya held back a laugh but couldn’t hold back a sideways grin. Her blood rushed from releasing such violent hits. All her nervous energy from waiting in the stands was cleared. 

The demoniclasts waiting on the fence exchanged glances. From their perspective, this competitor had lost it. His maniacal grin and wild swings were signs of a losing battle. Only those that could see the health points dropping off the slime knew better.

The end of Freya’s scabbard was now covered with green mucus. She kept checking to make sure none of it dripped down onto her hands. Luckily, the viscous mucus just built up. 

After another strong hit, Freya backed away from the slime to catch her breath.

“Oh? What’s this? Do I see a change in the slime?!?”

At first, she assumed the announcer was just drumming up the crowd. The slime still appeared uninjured and mindlessly charged. However, as Freya looked at the bright green mucus on her weapon, she realized the slime had turned much paler. 

“Perhaps all those hits are having an effect! The slime is losing color! Is this a sign of defeat?!?”

She raised the scabbard over her head and brought it down on the demon. Since it was still taller than her, she only hit the front rounded part of the slime. 

The slime half-flattened to the ground. This time it didn’t rebound much. Like a deflated balloon, the slime no longer had a round appearance. Instead, it sunk low to the ground.  

[Greater Slime]

[Lvl 10] [20/186]

Freya lifted the sword sheath above her head again. Slamming it down, the slime burst into smoke.

“THE SLIME HAS BEEN DEFEATED!!”

She winced at the voice and the roar of the crowd. Looking around, she realized she was the last competitor left in the arena. Although she was the second to last, Kartish’s fight must have ended quicker. 

“Number two-hundred and forty-five, Frey Evenkey has defeated the ever-splitting slime by not dividing it! I’ve never seen such a performance!”

Freya sheepishly exited the ring. Suddenly her anxiety about drawing too much attention resurfaced. Maybe I shouldn’t have chosen to face the slime. I hope the announcer is just exaggerating.

However, the looks of surprise and respect from the demoniclasts didn’t reassure Freya. She got a sinking feeling that they didn’t expect anyone to actually win against the slime. Or if they did, they expected the use of a sword, not this unusual method. 

She cautiously glanced to Daveth. He wasn’t looking her way, instead directing the other competitors back out into the ring.

“Please give our finalists a round of applause for passing the second demoniclast trial!”

Freya stood numbly with the others. She counted eighteen individuals. Including herself, that meant only nineteen had made it through two trials. How many more trials will there be? At this rate, everyone is going to be eliminated. 

“The chairman for the demoniclast trials has asked me to announce that the next trial will take place here, one week from today! And it will be the final trial!”

Cheers and murmurs rose from the crowd. 

“Competitors, please come back here tomorrow morning for further instruction. Until then, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us at Gundry Arena! I hope to see you all next week for the conclusion of this year’s demoniclast trials!”

With that, everyone started departing in mass from the arena. Freya slowly moved towards one of the exits. Now that the fight was over, she was extremely hungry. 

But before she could exit the ring, a voice called out, “Frey, could I speak with you a moment.”

Turning, Freya found three demoniclasts waiting. Her stomach twisted. All of them had green text boxes.