All at once, the crowd cheered and the announcer went wild.
“Sounds like I have an opponent,” Titus said, looking toward the clamor.
“Ladies and gentlemen…” the announcer said, letting his booming voice echo around the stadium and building tension for several long moments, “...welcome to the final fight!” Cheers burst out at his words and the entire stadium rose into a roar of applause and shouted excitement.
“This is it,” Kaiden said, struggling to sit still in his seat. Sitting on the sidelines and watching Titus do all the hard work was just about the toughest thing he’d done. It wasn’t in his nature to let someone else carry the weight for him. Probably that was something he needed to work on. He trusted Titus, and being part of a team meant sharing responsibility.
“Titus’ got this,” he said aloud, trying to reassure himself as much as anyone.
“Yes, he does,” Zelda said, no hint of doubt in her voice.
“Our first competitor is something of a new face around these parts,” the announcer said and already the boos had started. Most of the audience seemed to be made up of Maximus guild members. Some fans had broken ranks, though, and their cheering was audible above the tidal wave of boos.
Titus responded to the boos and lackluster cheers with a confident smile as he stepped out of the tunnel and into the arena. He held both arms out wide and let the hate pour down on him. Almost like he was reveling in it. Letting it psych him up.
“All right, all right,” the announcer said, easing the audience to something approaching quiet. “Save your breath, because you’re going to need it for our next combatant. You know her, you love her, and she’s the reigning champion seven weeks in a row now!” Even more cheers, so loud the whole stadium shook as if there was an earthquake happening – not that earthquakes were a common occurrence in a city floating in the upper atmosphere of a gas giant.
“Everyone, give a loud and proud welcome to your champion!”
A figure stepped into the arena opposite Titus, and Kaiden focused on her. His visor pulled up her details.
Nassus
Class: Brawler
Faction: Maximus
Level: 55
Nassus? Nassus! Kaiden could instantly call her to mind. She’d been the one in charge at the visitor desk they’d always had to pass through on their visits to the planet. Suddenly it made sense why she’d taken so much apparent pleasure in letting only Titus sign up for the tournament. Hers was the last spot that’d been reserved. And now, the bad blood between her and Titus was finally about to be worked out.
“She’s five levels above him,” Zelda said. “Oh crap. This is bad.”
“You... might have a point,” Thorne said, then nodded. “Titus is a good fighter and he knows what he’s doing in there, but some disadvantages just can’t be overcome.”
“No,” Kaiden said, confidence filling his voice as he recalled the look of driven concentration he’d seen on Titus’ face in between fights. The man was locked in. Focused on the goal. He’d seemed a different person entirely. “He’s got this.” Something had changed in Titus when he’d lost the first duel against Nassus. Changed, or maybe reawakened. He’d been a man on a mission since. From his absolute dedication to grinding to the way he’d been studying his abilities and creative ways they could be used, he’d been preparing for this. There was no way he’d known he’d be paired against Nassus herself, but Kaiden had no doubt Titus was more than pleased with the situation now. In the duel, he’d let his emotions get the better of him. But not this time. This time, he was ready, and he had the levels and combat expertise to back it up.
“Combatants, ready yourselves,” the announcer’s voice boomed.
“Well hello there, noob,” Nassus said. It was hard to hear her through the resounding shouts and cheers in the stadium, but sitting in the front row, Kaiden was just close enough. “I’ve been wanting this fight for a while now. So glad you decided to come back to get your ass whooped.”
“I’ll be sure to beat you quickly,” Titus said, his face all steely confidence. “I know you have to hurry back to your job at the front desk. Important work to be done, and all.”
Nassus flushed at that, then spat to one side. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
“Strange, to enjoy losing. But whatever you’re into.”
“And... begin!” The announcer’s voice boomed through the arena and the fight was on.
Kaiden hadn’t properly seen the brawler class in combat before, and as he thought about it, he realized none of them had. Sure, there’d been the duel against Titus, but that hadn’t been a fight so much as a beatdown. It did give Titus some inkling of what to expect from his opponent, though, and Kaiden took some solace in that. He used his visor to pull up what information it’d give him on the brawler class.
Quick Facts: Brawlers are a combination of rogue and berserker. They excel at one-on-one combat, using evasion to ambush enemies, debuffs to restrict movement, and combo attacks to inflict increasingly severe damage.
As Kaiden read, Nassus walked forward calmly, hands open and carrying nothing. Not a weapon, not a shield. The only thing on her was what looked to be a light layer of mesh armor around her torso. Two lengths of chain were also coiled around her. Memories of the duel came back to Kaiden, however, and he didn’t need to be reminded of just how effective Nassus’ fists had been.
“Off to a slow start, but don’t let that fool you,” the announcer said. “These two are deadly combatants.”
Chains rattling, Nassus strolled at a leisurely pace, advancing on Titus as he settled into a fighting stance.
“You see, a mindless opponent would just charge in and start attacking. Relying on alpha strike damage to push through your defenses and hoping that, since shielders don’t hit hard, they’ll
