by Marcus Sloss
“I signed us up,” Willow said proudly. “For the three vs three.”
“Oh, neat this should be fun?” Everly said with a smirk.
I checked the roster and saw there were two backfill slots from a different arena on the queue for our opponents unless someone else wanted them.
“I think you will do splendidly, add a bit of fun to this arena,” Toth said. “Ah here is the next matchup.”
The two competitors were showcased on a platform that rotated the arena slowly. There was no announcer or showboating voice to talk up the impending battle. Only statistics and information under the platform on a screen in large lettering.
The first combatant to rotate our way was an insectoid synthetic with a bladed arm that led to a three-fingered hand. The name was Cicero. Cicero’s colorations were blue with green stripes, and her stats had her at five foot two and eighty-three point three pounds. There was no score tag or what the operator species, skills, or qualifications were.
Before the second contestant could arrive in their rotation the arena rumbled. The flat sand I had ignored changed as a rubble environment lifted through the fine particles. This was a replica of a destroyed city that must have been marvelous in its day. When the arena calmed the second contestant arrived.
The other competitor was a dog humanoid. The name was Doggero. They appeared determined with sharp eyes scanning the crowd. The coloration was black with gray stripes and two beefy arms. Definitely a male due to the balls but again it was a synthetic so maybe a babe operator. Those eyes just did not seem like the eyes of a warrior. Doggero weighed more, was taller, and had a longer reach.
“Now that we have the arena environment established and the contestants, we go into weapon selection. They will pick a first second and third choice out of ten options. If they do not meet on a consensus then they go again with those six being removed from the options. Once weapons are selected there is a window for betting that opens. Ah, see they one-two picked laser pistols. Perfect. And now the betting. Simply use the tablet to place your bet. The odds change by the nanosecond.”
I checked my tablet, there was a fifteen-second countdown to betting starting and then a four-minute timer until combat started and bets were closed. The moment betting opened up it was a seesaw on the odds.
“Can we bet?” Willow asked.
I shrugged. “Do you know who is going to win?” I asked Willow and then looked over at my crixxi queen. Everly nodded and pointed at the insect warrior Cicero.
“The insectoid will have less target silhouette and mobility on this terrain. Hey, what gives?” I asked, seeing an advertisement pop up. “Oh, you gotta be shitting me. There are operator stats behind a paywall. A point and a half in favor of the insectoid and climbing. Placing our bet now.”
I chucked a whole pound of zinc on Cicero. This tipped the odds to almost two to one until the underdog betters hopped into the pool.
“You make another bet like that and some bored gamblers from below will come up. That was a year's worth of wages for a guard,” Toth said with a chuckle.
Sure enough, a few heavy bets went for the doggero’s side tempting me with the odds. I was confident in my assumption but out of place. I would rather test the waters than drown in them.
The time until wagering cessation dinged in the arena. Again no announcer or loud broadcaster. The two contestants were lowered to their prospective sides and a dong chimed. Four laser pistols, two for each side, shimmied out of the sand.
Cicero snatched her pistols off the sand with a burst of speed. Her triple fingers clasped the weapons with a smooth motion. Her legs kicked her into long bounds to get cover.
Doggero was not idle. He also charged the middle while scooping up one weapon. I frowned when he did not pick up a second. A slab of sheet metal was hoisted out of the rubble as a shield.
“That is dumb,” Willow said and I agreed. I rolled my wrist wanting to hear why, and she continued. “His fingers are exposed holding that, and it doesn’t cover the whole body.”
“Reduced vision for when -”
Everly was in mid-sentence when Cicero leaped off a high point from Doggero’s blind side. Laser fire tore into the fur of the synthetic body. Yellow spurts of blood crashed to the sand.
Doggero was in battle shock; his knees slammed to the ground to join the spilling blood.
I saw the Cicero’s lips moving as she talked quietly to her opponent.
A new chime sounded three times.
The match had been called with a surrender.
“That is rare, normally they just kill the body to prove a point. You get more followers that way. For a fee, you can follow your favorite operators and they get a cut. Further incentivizing death, destruction, and mayhem,” Toth said in a disappointed tone.
I checked our account, we were a half-pound heavier on zinc. Umm… While nice this was what we mined in a minute probably. The reality of how treasured the Rockies were was settling in. We would need to mine fast and store our wealth deep.
The shifting terrain caught my attention as the arena was cleared. The rubble returned below the sands with a shimmy and a rumble. A moment later two new contestants arrived on platforms.
“You need to report to be ready for your match. Your discs will stay here, good luck,” Toth said.
A popup asked me to confirm we wanted to compete in the three versus three battle. I confirmed and felt my mind transition into nothingness.
CHAPTER 20
There was an obstructing timer imposing my sight; it faded in size until the display was a number on the top left of my odd vision. I say odd because I was seeing as if my eyes were closed. There was a black backdrop contrasted by an option menu. The options were a price range. The prices were in neilspar so I adjusted the order to zinc and accepted the prompt of a conversion fee. Whatever.
There were six ranges to pick from. Less than a pound of zinc. Hard pass on the cheapest option. One to three pounds. Four to ten pounds. Ten to twenty. Twenty to fifty, and finally fifty plus. I didn't like losing at anything I competed in. My bank account said I was wealthy so I obviously selected fifty plus.
Oh wow, I could be a ten foot earth golem, consider me interested. I then saw a not indicating the outer layer was only a shell that would be pierced easily. Awe, pass. A cat with wings but four legs, too unnatural. A bat with gangly limbs. There had to be something in here. Ogre, pass. Minotaur, pass. A snake humanoid that was meh at best. Finally something that piqued my interest.
An angelic humanoid of sorts that stood at nine feet tall with a blemish-free lightly tanned skin coloration. The toned body appeared to be without virum enhancements, as if sculpted by natural rigorous training. Golden wings flared behind a torso with two sets of tits. Talk about chesty.
I rotated the options until I found a male model.
Sixty-nine pounds of zinc, resale value sixty five pounds. Eh, the body would be fun to take home anyway assuming I wasn’t melted in a lava pit or something. I wanted to say go big or go home but this angelic being had a foot and a half long dick, so I was going big!
I jammed the accept button and there were only a few outfits to pick from and all were free. The pay to win aspect seemed to be in the body, not the gear. I accepted a free-ranging kilt so my massive slong would dangle freely. When your dick is this big, pants simply won’t work anyway. No sense in hiding the mighty hammer of awesomeness.
With my kilt and tunic applied I was spawned into a training area.
The timer in the corner reset and added two minutes. I guess the fights in front of us were taking more time. I had ten minutes to learn how to fly.
The wings felt heavy on my back, causing me to lean forward with my shoulders wanting to arch back. I flapped hard by torqueing the muscles between my shoulders. The reaction was instant; I shot off the ground and went soaring high. My initial desire to flail was countered by my mind keeping calm. Additional flapping brought me into a flight pattern around the training arena. Aft
er a few laps, the sensation felt natural somehow. Almost as if there were assisted measures helping my transition. When I flared my wings I was able to slow my speed and thud to the sand with both feet shifting to a smooth walk.
“Yes!” I said with dual fist pumps. “That was amazing!”
My self-congratulations at, not only surviving the flight, but excelling at it, was interrupted when two bodies on platforms descended from the roof. Oh, time to see what the ladies picked.
On the left was a ladybug but a humanoid. The back shell even had dots on the large casings. Her outfit was a kilt and tunic just like mine. This was probably Willow. The eyes opened and she danced trying to keep herself stable while standing. Yeah, too much back weight was my guess.
“What the fuck,” Willow shouted. She latched onto my arm while learning to walk again.
I inspected the other body.
Everly had picked a dark green panther that was twice the size you saw on Earth. I remembered seeing that as the cover for the second-tier model. I was a bit shocked she chose four legs and no arms. How would she fight besides her natural weapons? When her eyes opened she bounded at speeds I could barely track. Ah, she didn’t need a laser pistol I guess.
“So, this body sucks. There was a turtle option that I should have chosen, some theorin species. I spent nine pounds on this body and it sucks. Can I swap?” Willow asked and I shrugged.
“We have four minutes. So maybe.”
Her eyes rolled into her head and a platform descended with a claw on the bottom side. The bug lady was snatched up and I shrugged. Weird alien stuff was weird.
A panting panther paced around me still going full speed. I decided to fly over my crixxi lover while we had a bundle of fun testing our new bodies.
The timer hit sixty seconds when a new platform descended. I saw a male mounamine… umm, what the hell.
“By Odin’s sweaty ballsack! I ran out of time. I panic picked this small penised thing,” Willow said, with a grunt. She reached down to scratch her nuts or readjust. “Fuck, we should have waited and spent more time preparing.”
“How’s it hanging bro?” I asked and she growled but it came out as angry squeaking.
Everly and I were roaring in laughter when an extra-large platform showed up. When we stepped on the round disk with a short railing it lifted into the air. Ah, we were underground, the lighting was fake. I would have never known. We soared high, gaining speed until the tunnel we entered ejected us above the arena.
“So what am I supposed to do,” Willow asked when my laughter died down.
We were being showcased to the assembled arena. The stands were three quarters filled with a majority of the crowd paying attention while new arrivals continued to pour in. The increased attendance was probably for the event. I, of course, shifted to look at the other team.
A wolfaroo, pretty much a high jumping dog man at six feet with decent mass. I noticed I did not have to name this guy, meant humans had fought them at some point. Probably could leap onto a house with those kangaroo type legs and tail.
The next competitor was a lizardman except with the head of a frog. The torso was bloated. This must be a cheap pick but it did not seem agile, limber, or deadly. Hmm.
Last, there was something I barely contained my excitement about. I really wanted to jump up and down while pointing. A dinosaur. No humanoid torso, two thin arms. Just a baryonyx type dinosaur. Yes! I wanted some for my army.
“I’m so going to fucking die,” Willow whimper. Everly and I shrugged. I got slugged on the thigh and it felt like Mary or Jasmine hit me. “You’re not reassuring me.”
“Willow! That is a ten foot dinosaur with claws bigger than your arms. Can you outrun it? Nope. Can you kill it without a weapon? Not a fucking chance. Honey, I love you, and this is my fault. But Willow, we’re here on Koor to learn and experience the joys of a megacity,” I said, yanking her closer to me with an arm around her small shoulder. She mean mugged me but softened. “That’s my girl. You will die a fine death.”
“Yes, die an honorable death sister-wife. I doubt it will feel real,” Everly said, scratching Willow’s calf. Willow shrieked and squeaked in anger. “I take that back. I will be hiding from you when we get home.”
I chuckled, stepping between the two. The introduction phase was over and now it was selecting weapons. As we rotated the arena populated with ravines, cliffs, and plateaus in a desert theme.
A menu pop up gave us ten options for weapons.
Without hesitation, I said, “Pick melee.”
“Fuck that,” Willow said, irritated. “Oh, you’re serious. Why?”
“If we don’t pick soon it picks for us,” Everly said cautioning our debate.
I selected an axe, sword, and mace. “I am serious because we will win with melee. Easily. They will not.”
“Can’t you just fly up and -” Willow paused and selected her items. “You would be an easy target from the air. I get it, this means I’m so going to die.”
“Yup,” I retorted with a giggle.
“Dammit Eric, fine. I love you, at least you still pamper me when I am in queenie mode,” Willow said, straightening her back and tilting her nose to the air. “Oh snap. The dumbass dinosaur picked a mace. I can’t even hold a mace.”
“Then hide, where do you want me, Eric?” Everly asked.
A chime indicated the time for betting was starting now that weapons, terrain, and characteristics were revealed.
Uh… A notice hit my eyeball. I saw a hundred pounds of zinc get wagered on us by Longoria. I glanced up to our booth to see my fairy damsel sitting like a queen. She wore an elegant formal dress you would have associated with a ballroom.
Interesting. Toth sent me a quick note that it was allowed when I tried to call him. Meh, I hope we won now. Jevon would give me shit if we lost even without the gambling.
Everly was purring at the impending fight. I rubbed the spot above her tail and she gave me an odd look. When I stopped she sashayed her tail into a whip to smack my hand. I smiled down at her hungry eyes and said, “I need you to kite. Kill the frogman when the dinosaur eats Willow.”
“Wait I thought I was hiding?” Willow said, tilting her head in confusion. At least she wasn’t complaining.
I gave her a shrug and a shoulder pat. “That is a dinosaur dear, they have amazing smelling, and you’re a stinky mouse.”
The platform shuddered when it connected with the ground telling us betting time was over.
Willow visibly deflated knowing it was fighting time.
The sounding chime of impending battle rang through the arena and a roaring ovation erupted from the crowd. The sand shimmied up three maces. I scooped one up with ease. Willow barely lifted hers. I felt awful for her but she was being a trooper. Willow struggled with the weapon as she ran for the nearest ravine.
A few flaps into the air and I was able to glean a lot of details. The frog lizard was named frozard. The frozard and the wolfaroo were arguing and I couldn’t find the dinosaur. When I did I was startled.
The dinosaur was lightning fast compared to Willow’s slow trudging of the mace. The ten foot tall ancient monster sniffed for Willow while hunting across the bleak terrain. I smirked knowing that decision was a mistake. My mace rolled over my shoulder as I built up momentum for my throw. With all my might I hurled the mace at the speeding dinosaur on a straight course for its mounamine target. With my weapon gone I knew what I had to do.
My wings smacked the air with all my force as I built up my speed. I noticed my thrown mace buried deep into the shoulder of the reckless dinosaur. There was a slight stagger and a roar of anger, but still it came. My wings beating furiously closing the distance to collide with the dinosaur stomping for Willow. The mounamine shrieked as I diverted to steal her mace.
The alien operating the dinosaur realized too late its mistake. I had the high ground and a weapon suddenly.
The dinosaur leaped to catch me with its an open mouth of frightening teeth
.
A single flap inched me out of the reach of its snapping jaws.
When the awkwardly shaped predator felt gravity’s pull you could see the terror in the operator’s eyes realizing they had failed. The dinosaur crashed to the desert terrain sending a plume of dust into the air.
I dove for my wounded and now winded prey. An overhead swing of my mace caved the cranium of my foe in a bone-shattering crack.
Gore showered the area as the creature spasmed in death.
With the biggest threat eliminated I ran for the first mace that Willow’s little mounamine legs were racing for. I snatched the heavy weapon off the ground before she could and sped away in a flight for Everly.
When I had a chance to assess the situation Everly was kiting the wolfaroo and swiping the frog lizard when she could.
A few flaps of my wings allowed me to have a great angle on the frozard who was spinning to avoid giving Everly’s claws a clean opening.
With a dive I hurled the spare mace at the distracted lizard frog letting gravity keep my aim true.
I followed my mace as we both dove for an unwitting target in case I need to finish the job. There was no point. My first shot was a money shot. The bottom half of the body was shredded and torn free besides a few strings of sinew.
I banked my turn to find Everly had been caught by the last opponent.
The wolfaroo was dramatically hoisting my panther lover over his head. I think he was going to break her back with a double kick. Not sure, as both me and the crowd never got to find out.
I used both arms to hold the mace forward like a knight using a javelin.
My thought process was I would explode the body and fly through the corpse just like in the movies.
Flying at blurring speeds with a metal weapon that suddenly impacts your foe’s back does set off a few things.
For one the wolfaroo’s spine and chest exploded outward in a sickening sound followed by a spray of gore. I didn’t go heroically soaring through the body drenched in blood. I actually pinged off the body to the rugged terrain. I realized my blow sent bone fragments up through the body and into poor Everly. The good news was that both she and the wolfaroo died instantly.
