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57.39% Dragonborn Saga / Chapter 430: The Arena (3)

Chapter 430: The Arena (3)

"By Azura! By Azura! By Azura! That was an amazing fight... Marvelous... Magnificent... Legendary..."

"SHUT UP!" Even Mirren was fed up by the Arena Master.

"This old man is giving me some serious Deja Vu." Jon murmured while sitting on the side.

"Ahahaha! Young people, you are always low on patience. Here here, want some juice, vitamins, cheering? Don't worry, I'll annoy you."

"Wait... What?"

"I won't annoy you."

"Oh... No thanks, it's rude to make an old-timer work around." Jon said begging for a moment of peace.

"Oh! How very thoughtful. I'll go and see something to do then, your match is in ten minutes."

As the Arena Master was finally away, Jon and Mirren let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close."

"This old man can cause mental damage more than anything  I ever encountered."

As the two complained, Jon started going through the Cube seeing the new employee he managed to kidnap and the weapons he is going to use afterward.

"Hey, how did you jump in the air like that?" Mirren asked.

"Jump in the air? Oh! You mean the last move? Hehe, it was not jumping or anything… I was pretending to jump."

"... Meaning?"

"I was flying but you know… the Levitation Act in the Empire forbids any spells that enable a mage to levitate so I kinda made look like I was using some mystical martial arts! Hahahaha!"

"God! How shrewd can one man be? Still, I haven't seen you casting a Levitation spell."

"Right. I was using those?" Jon said raising up his feet.

"Those? Your… feet?"

"No, silly. Don't you notice anything different about my boots?" Jon said.

"Why would I even recognize your boots, you dimwitted human?" Mirren said putting on Altmer air.

"... I can tell what you did this morning by looking at your clothes, tell what you ate by looking at your sleeves, tell where have you been by looking at your boots. By the looks of it, you ate bread with goat cheese before going for a light walk then you got cornered by Isha judging by the dirt you couldn't dust off on your back… wait! Did you two make out in a bush again?"

"..." Mirren's mouth opened wide and didn't know what to do.

"So… the boots." Jon said.

"Right, they look like a pair of very interesting boots." Mirren tried not to remember what happened just a second ago.

"Well indeed they are, I took the Ebony plating from my old boots which carried the enchantment and added this to these boots which carried a similar enchantment. Linking the two enchantments together, I made a new artifact that I call [Ahzidal's Boots of the Apostle]."

====================

[Ahzidal's Boots of the Apostle] <Nordic Ebony>

⦁ Levitation

⦁ Waterwalking

⦁ Fortify Speed

====================

"Linking enchantments?"

"Yes, it is a thing I discovered after studying the [Tools of Kagrenac]. Sunder, Keening, and Wraithguard have a lot of enchantments on each which defies sense. A Mortal have but two hands and can't cast more than two spells at a time so the enchantment logical limit is two. To bypass the limit, you need two pieces that share one similar enchantment. Link that similar enchantment and TADA!!! You have created an item with three enchantments of two items with two enchantments each. Sadly, overdoing things after that point causes the magic lining to break off so I don't know how to add a fourth enchantment but hey… neither did the Dwemer."

"Okay, great. That's really interesting. I understood everything." Mirren said so while slipping away.

"Tsk! You sad excuse of a High Elf."

Jon felt better after annoying someone for some time and got up for his next match.

The spectators around the Arena seemed to have increased as the noise became louder. The news of Jon beating down Javelin the Minotaur spread very fast and people came hurling to the Arena. A strong contender like Jon appearing means that the gambling will flourish and luck will play his game.

The first match had one-third of the seats full and now the half was already taken. By that constant stream of people, the odds looked promising.

Still, Jon was already content with that many people. News will spread far and wide just by the looks of it add to that the strong Auras he felt between the spectators. Many eyes were already here, mostly mages and people invested in the arcane arts. Those people should be interested in his magic and magical artifacts.

"Let's give them a scare, shall we?" Jon said while pulling out his personal magic book.

***

The cheeky announcer kept going on and on about the next match until the teams were introduced. Jon, representing the Blue Team, will face multiple opponents at once all trying to advance from the rank 'Brawler' to the higher rank.

After being announced one by one, Jon's turn came last and he walked right in as all were looking at him.

"The Blue team has one combatant, the Red and the Indigo team has three while the Green team has two. Who will triumph in the match? Let's find out!"

And with that, the match began between nine combatants or rather, between eight against one.

All of them saw Jon as a threat after the last match.

"Get him first!"

Three Mages and five Warriors formed a united front no matter what team they came from.

"Haha! This will be fun. Let's see…"

Jon's hand let up with Lightning as charged a strong spell right from the get-go. Once it was complete, Jon cast it around him and the ground was lit with blinding light. By the next second, Jon was surrounded in a Cage of Lighting.

A variation from 'Wall of Storms' spell but rather envelopes its caster from all angles. Jon calls it [Lightning Cage]. An Expert ranked spell.

The warriors charging and the mages shooting magic at him were all stopped by the incredible density of the spell. If a blade tried to bypass the spell, it will shock its wielder, and spells are pretty much useless against such a high ranked magic.

Only certain arrows can pass.

"Conjure a Dremora Archer." The Mages decided to perform a dangerous spell together to take down Jon in the middle of his protective array.

Jon wasn't really concerned, he could feel the mages mustering up their magics to do a summon but he had his spell as well. He opened his spellbook under the 'Classification: Mysticism' and the 'Archetype: Time', Jon looked a certain set of runes.

In his mind, it was a fancy spell but not too effective and very costly on Magicka. Still, it will make the mages shudder in terror.

A Master-ranked Mysticism spell.

Jon put his hands together for a dual casting and focused the purest Magicka from his Energy Center on this one. A golden light started to form between his hands.

"Healing… No, Sun Magic?" a mage asked his colleague as they were blending in the crowd.

"No…" The latter shook his head. "It feels more profound."

Hasty educated and uneducated guesses tried to estimate and recognize Jon's spell but no one was sure. The mages in the Arena were also keeping an eye on Jon.

"Interrupt him! If a strong spell got interrupted, he may injure himself." One called for the warriors.

Right away, one of the warriors threw his spear towards Jon with all his vigor making it bypass the [Lightning Cage] and hurl at Jon's shoulder but out of Jon's shadow, a black mass moved on its own and swallowed the spear then shot it back with a greater force.

The warriors managed to dodge on time.

That just now was Nefertiti manipulating [Greed] to protect Jon but it appeared as if Jon's shadow had a mind of its own and guarded its owner rendering many confused about how it happened.

"We're done."

The three mages managed to conjure three Dremora Archers each and Jon's opponent were doubled.

"Kill the mortal."

"I'll feast on your blood."

"You will fall."

The Dremora acted like the cliche villains they are as they aimed their bows at Jon.

On the other hand, Jon has just finished constructing his spell and charged it with Magicka. Now was the time for the decisive spell.

The golden spell enveloped Jon more and changes started to happen. In the middle of the Arena, golden ghosts started to form as they moved in fast action.

The action was not natural and seemed to be like they were rewinding what they were doing fast. Just now, ghosts of Jon fighting Jax the Minotaur appeared. They were rewound to the start of their fight then stopped and moved to the side. The golden ghosts started to roam again and a few more figures appeared.

"Those… those are the fighters from yesterday." A kid pointed out to the man beside him recognizing some of the figures.

"Yesterday?" a nearby mage heard what the kid said.

Golden ghosts started to appear and be moved to the side very fast until Jon formed a team of twenty golden ghosts.

He smiled as he gave them a command.

Just like that, the golden version of Jon and Jax jumped towards the Dremora Archers who were dumbstruck from the scene as well.

"What? What are those?" The mages behind the dremora shuddered.

The mages outside the arena were also starting to stand on their feet.

A few magics had golden auras, most notable is the Healing magic and the Sun magic but most mysterious is the Time Magic.

What Jon did just now was to summon ghosts from the past or as he calls it, [Ghosts of Time].

Every one of those ghosts had the full fighting ability of the same time it was from the time it was pulled from. The spell is completely safe as it only pulls time records without doing any edits to the past events or the multiple timelines and realities thus possible to cast and cannot cause a Dragon Break.

But that was not the focal point. Just now, those 'Time Ghosts' can use the same exact abilities from that time they were pulled from.

Meaning…

The ghost of Jax stomped forwards and stomped his hoof creating a drumming sound a pool of flames under his hoof, the ghost of Jon let out the chains from his gauntlets and pulled two mages in the flame pool, the other ghosts of yesterday's combatants all charged to the fight like one shooting their special skills and their Auras.

A team of eight warriors and mages wouldn't last a few seconds against such a tide. Heads were decapitated, limbs flew around and guts spilled on the ground.

A few walk out of the Arena alive after being defeated and as always, no mercy for the loser.

The eight combatants fought admirably back to back until the last one was ramed by Jax and RKOed by Jon from mid-air. After that, Jon deactivated the spell and the [Lightning Cage].

He looked around and raised his hands up for the cheering crowd putting on an innocent smile and a silly face.

Common people responded to him by the usual cheers and the new spectators were amazed by the magical ability but the most concerned people where the one who found out the nature of the magic from a while ago.

The spell that Jon used was clearly magnificent but its major drawback was how every action the time ghosts took required Magicka and pulling a good enough 'Past Record' was incredibly hard. Only Jon knew those flaws but others saw the potential of the spell and it made them shudder.

Nearly every place in the Imperial City had a hero walked around through it. If someone like Jon can conjure the powerhouses from the past or the present then there are no secrets anymore.

Chaos erupted in their minds and Jon's magic was clear.

***

"Sir Jon Dare has trounced his foe .. pounded them soundly, immersed them woe.

A 'Brawler' no more as he is a 'Bloodletter', walking with glory declared as Winner!"

The Announcer declared as Jon walked out of the Arena to the Bloodworks thinking what methods he should try in the coming matches.

~~~~~~~~~~

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Chapter 431: The Arena (4) : Undercurrents

"Don't overdo it this time." The Arena Master said.

"Seriously?" Jon frowned.

"You made the other combatants afraid of you. No one in the 'Bloodletter' rank is willing to fight you at all."

"... Bummer!"

Jon felt a bit tired. It seems that he was a bit too abnormal to face and the magic he used scared away the fighters. In his head, Jon was just disappointed by those third rate fighters who are so scared for their lives. The reason behind that is mostly because his strength has surpassed the human limit and he no longer think based on those standards anymore. Also, the Nords are hardy people and wouldn't back away no matter the odds so he just wasn't used to it.

"So can't we just skip ranks?" Jon asked.

"Your contract is to advance each rank by a special rule match which means you have to fight through each and every rank." The Arena Master refused.

"Fine, I have a good idea. Add a rule to those special rules we agreed on. My opponents have the right to disable the 'Death Match' term in the coming fights."

"Wait! You're saying…"

"Whoever afraid of me can be content that I won't kill them. Victory by knockout or submission will make them not fear me anymore." Jon said.

"But the people… they expect to see blood. No! They've paid for it."

"Well, it either that or we wait for an opponent to appear which seems to be not going to happen any time soon. Don't worry. If you are going to introduce the masses to an idea against what they want, then present it in a righteous and noble appearance with classy words. Sugarcoat it with a beautiful woman announcing it." Jon said.

"... Gods! Who are you?" Mirren swore from the side.

"Former head of a corporate entity, a successful politician, a businessman, an inventor, and a very rich guy. I am basically the villain."

"Makes sense."

***

The ranks of the Arena start with 'Pit Dog' then 'Brawler', 'Bloodletter', 'Myrmidon', 'Warrior', 'Gladiator', 'Hero', 'Champion' and 'Grand Champion'.

According to Jon's contract with the Arena, he is to fight one special rules match that can advance him to the next rank in one go. As a death ground, there was no insurance that anyone can come out of the Arena alive and that included Jon himself. If he got killed, then that's it.

Jon wasn't worried even if he ran into someone as strong as him. Faking his own death will even be more of a fortunate occasion but he has his own pride to maintain and if his death was announced, Winterhold will be a target for vengeance.

Still, the Arena was the best method he found to make a big scene and attract all his pursuers to the Empire rather than Skyrim or whatever his next destination may be. Also, he needs to keep reminding those politicians and powerhouses that even if they are capable of taking him down, they will have to make a sacrifice they can't afford in doing so.

They understood that but there was just one thing they didn't like. Jon was too arrogant.

Many figures all over the Arena and even outside it were having a secret conversation through a large telepathic network.

"He comes into our city and spread his wings. Should we handle that?"

"He is reckless indeed. Not bad for a talent but his temperament are nasty for a Nord."

"Not bad? The boy is a monster and there more than what he just did."

"That spellbook of his, I want to see what secrets he still holds."

"He showed it on purpose to attract people like you. You will be playing his game if you do anything reckless."

"Sigh! If only a talent like him appeared in our Arcane College, the Imperial Court and the Elder Council would have put many resources solely for him. Shouldn't we rope him in by that offer?"

"After what happened in Winterhold and us letting those ten Elves do their things, I don't think the boy will tolerate us anymore."

"Is he an enemy then?"

"Not really. An enemy of our enemies can be our friend."

"I remember it was a Redguard warlord who said that once before his allies turning on him."

"You are missing my point, old man."

"All of you, we need to learn from the past experiences with him. He is reckless yet always have a hidden card, he never played without having the upper-hand. The reports on his personality suggest that he is unstable yet very able to control himself and manipulate others. Also, the daughter of Duke Vici is in his pocket which means he has the support of a large faction in the East Empire Company."

"It seems his wonder penis is causing us trouble."

"Please don't put it that way."

"This one thinks you are all overthinking it. Jon Dare may be a problem but it is not ours as long as we ignore him. Let this one remind you who is his backing again. We don't want to infuriate the Telvanni, Winterhold or Shad Astula."

"So we should just accept a new player?"

"This one doesn't see a problem. Jon Dare is interesting and hostile to the Thalmor. Let them keep each other in check while we keep an eye on things that matters. How is that prophecy?"

"Prophecy? Oh! That one… the Astronomers are having a bad time with it. They say the Serpent will appear a few weeks from now based on the motion of the stars."

"Then we need to hurry. A Red Ship and a Broken Star, something is at play here and we need to know what."

***

Jon advanced to the Arena and fought four matches based on the new special rule that stated that his opponent can decide whether or not it can be a deathmatch.

From that point, many people made up their minds to challenge him.

The following matches allowed Jon to pick up a few moves from his opponents as he fought barehanded. According to what he understood from his group's daily conversations on Martial Arts, there are three classifications to the overall styles in Tamriel; the Heavy Styles that rely on Brute Strength and Physical Durability, the Swift Styles that rely on Graceful Movements and Multiple Hits, and the Accurate Styles that rely on Precise Attacks and Fast Executions.

Hybrid styles exist but the pure Martial Artists are mostly headstrong to a certain classification. Jon's style is clearly Hybrid as he has Brute Strength, Swift Combos and Scary Accuracy. Thanks to what he comprehended, his ability to analyze his opponents evolved and he became obsessed with breaking down his opponents' styles before finishing them.

That wasn't all. He even met opponents with high control over the Aura on the sixth match. As an art with a close relation to Martial Arts, the Aura fortifies each style even more in power, speed and accuracy. The right type of Aura with the right attack can create a fascinating skill such as the flying claws launched by the Khajiit he fought and the Breton who launched a sword beam that really surprised him.

As the sixth match was over, the announcer declared Jon's advance to the 'Hero' rank. Somehow, it was a cringeworthy rank as Jon hated its name.

As a Hero, he can finally challenge the Champions. From that point on, the Arena Master decided to remove the term that Jon added about not killing the opponents and the death matches finally returned. The people were a bit in an uproar regarding the rule of safety but thanks to Jon's idea, the Arena Master invited Vittoria Vici, who is hosting a big part of today's events, to announce the rule. As Jon said, the masses were mostly controlled but only temporary.

When other Nobles started to flood the VIP area, it was clear that the death matches had to return.

Now, the Arena was mostly full and the Arena servants were doing their best to manage the large crowd.

Also, a certain man was finally attracted to the show. The current Grand Champion, Darius.

He was sitting in a special area under the Arena seats and watched the matches while being hidden in the shadows. He wasn't restless or relaxed but rather very focused. Jon's style was clearly strange but had a rhyme to it. As soon as Darius can catch the rhyme, he will be able to play Jon to his demise.

"Are you sure?" a voice came from behind him.

"Tsk! That's one nerve you have coming down here, woman." Darius replied sharply to the one in the shadow.

A woman with a destructive body outline appeared in the shadow.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't really interested in coming here but I wanted to offer you something."

"Not interested."

"There is a Million Septims on that boy's head."

"Not interested."

"... Should I go and bring one of my male associates to negotiate with you?"

"..."

"As you…"

"Not interested."

The woman was mostly unfazed by Darius's cold shoulder but that didn't stop her. She started to look at the arena and narrowed her eyes.

"His style… how do I say this? … it is one of a kind."

"... Go on." Darius was finally patient enough to listen.

"What am I interested in is his body? Of course getting it means we need him dead which is your part but to do so, you need to understand what you are dealing with, right?"

"Why are you interested in his body?" Darius asked.

"Hm? Not much, you know… some hobbies here and there. Unfortunately for me and for my associates, one of our suppliers in Morrowind was destroyed by a rogue Tong organization and some low-life mercenaries. If the Imperial Arena is not our stable source then life would have been hard on us. But..."

"I was wondering." Darius cut her words, "Why are you people interested in beaten up corpses? If you have some sick necrophilia cult, why not just look for bodies in more decent places?" Darius asked.

"We don't pay you and your red team to ask questions, Dar…" The woman said but soon her words came to a halt.

Darius's large axe was just one inch away from claiming her head. The terror that Darius's 'Carnage Aura' gave off almost squeezed her heart from the terror.

"Don't run your mouth, woman." He said in a tone that oppressed the woman to submission.

She nodded with fear visible in her eyes. As he took his axe away, she touched her neck unintentionally feeling it in place.

"I don't care what you want with the bodies. Tell that leader of yours to not do anything stupid while I fight. Now leave." Darius wasn't in the mood to talk anymore.

The woman looked at Darius and decided to finish up what she came here for.

"One last thing. This… these are some magic scrolls." She took out almost ten magic scrolls from high quality as they looked.

"I said I don't want petty things like…" Darius said but the woman cut him.

"I am not sure how you fight but the Lord recommended them for you. They are to test the boy's ability, nothing will interfere with your fight as long as we get our data and you get a grasp on his skills. I get that the boy will be fighting the Champions next, right?" She said in a serious tone.

She then offered the scrolls for him.

"Let them Champions test him out for you." She said.

Darius looked at the woman and then the scrolls. She was right. Jon's style is very obscure and fluid, his movements are simple and deadly while his magic is not easy to deal with.

Darius took them with a snort and returned to focus on his fighting mentality once again.

The woman sighed and walked out of the secret observing room and took the corridor under the Arena out to the seats. On the way, she got rid of her cloak and hood then walked out with no one spotting her.

What appeared under the light of day was a Redguard woman with a pleasant look. She walked and found herself a seat.

"Dalilah." A voice whispered from her side.

"What is it?"

"She is here." The voice said.

"She?"

"Look. The opposite seats, third row, seventh from the right." The man beside her handed her a small spyglass.

The Redguard woman or rather, Dalilah, scanned across the opposite seats until her eyes landed on someone. A Redguard woman with broad shoulders and long brown hair in a Redguard garment with a hippie sense of accessories.

Dalilah's eyes opened wide.

"What is she doing here?" She asked carefully without taking her eyes off.

"No idea. I guess she is traveling." The one beside her said.

"Her direction?"

"No one knows. Last time we lost her in Skyrim when those people were on to us. Rumors about her came from Morrowind but our agents said she is moving a lot and keeps a low profile. We thought she was onto something but if she showed up openly here then we were wrong. We assume she is returning home."

"... Too soon!" Dalilah said. "If the 'Wish' was found out this early, everything will crumble."

"What do you think we should do?"

"We can't be reckless. Send a messenger to Hammerfell and keep an eye on the girl. This girl can end everything we worked for. Dammit! Those useless bastards… we don't have any good information network on Skyrim and look at the mess we're in."

Dalilah said while standing up and foaming from anger. She looked back at the woman again.

"It has been a long long while… Isha."

~~~~~~~~~~

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