The Bounty Hunter

October 25th, 2088

I am now in a very large training arena beneath the Temple of Adligo, which is called the Cage.  As expected of this world’s naming sense, the Cage is named so because it is literally a giant cage with the training grounds within it.  The reason I am here, currently dodging a barrage of small boulders, is because the High Inquisitor is apparently the one person in the Cult who is in fact more colorful a character than the Dutiful One.  Great, just my luck.  Initially I was dodging the medium size rocks with ease as I took a half-step here and there.  Then the size of the stones started increasing.  I had to start taking larger and larger steps and eventually I was zigzagging around this firing range as boulders the size of a person were raining down on me.

“Wahahaha, you really are something else Terra!  Most people would have been crushed by now!  Excellent!  Let’s take it up another level!”  The High Inquisitor is a particularly jacked dwarf with dark blue hair and brown eyes.  He’s also extremely tall for a dwarf, reaching about 4 feet 10 inches tall.  Dwarves in this world are pretty true to the stereotypes.  They are bulky, talented crafters who are gruff, tough and enjoy drinking.  They live for about 250 years and their height is always between 4 and 4 feet 10 inches, with probably 85% of dwarves in the lower half of that range.  It is racially impossible for a dwarf to be taller than 4 feet 10 inches.  It is a defining characteristic of their race, just like how elves are always slender and beautiful and how pixies are always childlike.

I would say the High Inquisitor’s name at this point but I haven’t actually been introduced yet.  I simply came here as instructed after the sermon and the crazy dwarf started launching magic at me with a magic weapon that looks like a large slingshot.  A ball of tan light would form in the slingshot and he would then shoot it.  The light would then transform into a boulder as he flew towards me.  He was shooting and reloading at such a fast pace that his hands were a blur.  The few people around who were watching all had mixed expressions of pity and relief.  They were likely the poor souls who had to “spar” with the High Inquisitor normally.

 And now the boulders have increased to about the size of a car.  *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* It sounded like a damn thunder storm as the boulders continually crashed into ground.  I’ve realized at this point I’ll actually have to beat this guy before getting anywhere.  With that thought in mind I unclasped my refurbished rhomphaia as a boulder the size of an SUV flew directly at me.  *Clang* With one strike, I bisected the boulder and immediately started to sprint forward.  Ever since I turned it into a magic artifact, my rhomphaia has truly become impressive.  The handle is of abyssal ebony with a core of pure mithril.  The blade is tempered adamantite.  It cost a fortune, but it was so worth it.

“WAHAHA!  FINALLY!  SOMEONE I CAN GO ALL OUT AGAINST!!!  MY BLOOD IS BOILING!!!!”  the High Inquisitor had a maniacal grin on his face as he roared in joy and the people in the surrounding immediately started evacuating in a panic.  “Run for it!  An avalanche is coming!” “Oh Adligo, please spare us from his onslaught!”  “KYAAAAAAA!” These people, they have huge reinforced magic steel bars between them and the High Inquisitor, why are they so scared?  Oh, seems like the barrage of boulders has stopped… wait, why has everything become much darker?  I look up and see dozens of rocks varying in size from a semi-truck to a 3 story building rolling towards me like an angry flood. 

I gripped my rhomphaia tightly and a line of writing started lighting up all along the blade.  It was English in a cursive script and it said All obstacles shall part from my path, or else be cut apart.  I tightly gripped the shining rhomphaia like a baseball bat and swung before the avalanche was about to engulf me.  The rhomphaia left a rigid trail of pulsing white light behind in the air as it moved.  Soon I had a thin half-circle of light between me and the oncoming rocks pouring in.  The light cut through the stone like a knife through butter, and the pieces were forcefully pushed apart as the light pulsated.  After an extremely tense 20 seconds of watching a mountain’s worth of rock pass by, I managed to weather the storm. 

Through the rubble I saw the High Inquisitor preparing for another volley as his slingshot started emitting a loud grating noise.  I spun my rhomphaia around and it collected the shining light in front of me.  I swung my rhomphaia with its now glowing blade downwards, leaving a vertical line of light in the air.  Right as my rhomphaia touched the ground with a *clink* the vertical line shot forwards toward the High Inquisitor leaving a small ravine behind it as it tore up the ground. 

The High Inquisitor saw the attack and batted it aside with his slingshot.  The attack continued until it hit the cage wall and split it apart.  The light then dissipated, leaving behind a brief silence as we took in the devastation.  The cage behind me had been crushed under the avalanche caused by the High Inquisitor and the ground was torn to pieces from my own attack.  A few brave souls poked their heads back into the arena and were dumbstruck by the damage.  “Wahaha!! Now that was a good fight!!”  This battle junkie masquerading as a religious official put his hands on his hips as he laughed mightily. 

The bastard doesn’t even seem tired after the massive amount of magic he was channeling through his magic artifact.  Using magic tools and items requires one to expend a lot of physical and mental stamina to control it, even if it doesn’t actually cost them mana.  Yet this guy seems perfectly fine, how freaking strong is he?  “Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself!  I’m Kovart, the head of the Inquisition for the Cult of Chains!  What can I do for you this fine day?”  Finally, we got past the introduction.  Hopefully the rest of this meeting isn’t as active.