next?"
----
"Good afternoon, Kelly." Jason greeted his roommate. She was, like him and Hector, waiting for Gregory Warp's first challenge match to begin.
"Hey Jason. Hector." she replied. "This's Sam and Kerry." They all exchanged greetings, Jason being careful to keep his face pleasant and meet their eyes. Well, as best he could, removing the glasses would undermine the point of a polite greeting.
"What brings you two over?" Kelly asked them.
"It only made sense." Jason answered. "Gregory Warp is both the highest ranked combatant and the one with the most challenges. I hope to learn a great deal from watching him fight."
"Nope." said Keridwyn. "He's the one that took me down. No offense to anyone here, but as easily as he beat me, you're not going to learn anything from watching him take down the small fries."
"What position did you earn?" Perhaps she was resentful that an early loss had left her in a rank below that which she thought she was due?
"Second."
"I see." She must have been genuinely impressed by his power then. "What is the nature of his ability? I can think of few things stronger than turning into a dragon."
"I get that a lot. Flight, phasing and an energy beam strong enough to cut through the dome walls."
"That is quite a formidable combination. How did your fight go?"
"It wasn't even close." She snorted and he had no trouble recognizing her expression as 'disgust.' "I tried to grab him but my hands went right through. Then he flew straight up, cut one of em off with his beam and told me to surrender. I did."
The fight began, not long after their conversation had begun. Gregory, Kelly said he preferred Greg, was a small man. In truth, he was the only trainee Jason had seen that was about the same size as Kelly's female form. His opponent, George Dragon, was a large, male trainee with scale like skin. He grew wings from his back before entering the dome.
"No relation." Keridwyn asserted.
Both trainees behaved very oddly, during the fight. Greg turned and ran to the side as soon as the tone sounded. Once he had reached the wall, he lounged against it and relaxed for the remainder of the match. George looked up and began breathing fire, paying no apparent attention to his opponent. Shortly, he stopped letting out bursts of flame and began leaping around the dome, ducking and dodging, despite the lack of any clear threat.
"That little bastard!" Kerridwyn said, much louder than normal.
George raised both hands above his head, shouting something. Most likely it was 'I yield,' as the match ended and both fighters left the combat room immediately afterwards.
"He's just an illusionist! I though he was a real powerhouse or I'd have gone after him again." Kerry seemed unduly surprised by the revelation.
"You said his beam was strong enough to cut through the wall." He pointed out.
"Yeah, so?"
"I take this to mean that when you thought he removed your hand, you also thought he blasted through the wall?"
A number of people had gathered around George after he left the dome. Jason could not tell if they were mocking him or commiserating with his loss.
"Only a little, but yeah. I wouldn't have given up if I didn't think he could do real damage. And how did he cut off my hand if it's just illusions?" she objected.
"I do not know. However, if he had really fired an energy beam through the wall, he would have been disqualified."
"I... I didn't even think about that. You're right." she agreed. "Your name was Jason, right?"
"That is correct."
"I'll remember it."
----
Gregory Warp's next few fights were very different. Rather than dodge imaginary attacks, his opponents simply collapsed to the ground. Some staggered to the side or made some attempt to attack him first, all of which missed. A few vomited. After a short period, either they yielded or Greg would render them unconscious by using his hand to block their
----
"Good afternoon, Kelly." Jason greeted his roommate. She was, like him and Hector, waiting for Gregory Warp's first challenge match to begin.
"Hey Jason. Hector." she replied. "This's Sam and Kerry." They all exchanged greetings, Jason being careful to keep his face pleasant and meet their eyes. Well, as best he could, removing the glasses would undermine the point of a polite greeting.
"What brings you two over?" Kelly asked them.
"It only made sense." Jason answered. "Gregory Warp is both the highest ranked combatant and the one with the most challenges. I hope to learn a great deal from watching him fight."
"Nope." said Keridwyn. "He's the one that took me down. No offense to anyone here, but as easily as he beat me, you're not going to learn anything from watching him take down the small fries."
"What position did you earn?" Perhaps she was resentful that an early loss had left her in a rank below that which she thought she was due?
"Second."
"I see." She must have been genuinely impressed by his power then. "What is the nature of his ability? I can think of few things stronger than turning into a dragon."
"I get that a lot. Flight, phasing and an energy beam strong enough to cut through the dome walls."
"That is quite a formidable combination. How did your fight go?"
"It wasn't even close." She snorted and he had no trouble recognizing her expression as 'disgust.' "I tried to grab him but my hands went right through. Then he flew straight up, cut one of em off with his beam and told me to surrender. I did."
The fight began, not long after their conversation had begun. Gregory, Kelly said he preferred Greg, was a small man. In truth, he was the only trainee Jason had seen that was about the same size as Kelly's female form. His opponent, George Dragon, was a large, male trainee with scale like skin. He grew wings from his back before entering the dome.
"No relation." Keridwyn asserted.
Both trainees behaved very oddly, during the fight. Greg turned and ran to the side as soon as the tone sounded. Once he had reached the wall, he lounged against it and relaxed for the remainder of the match. George looked up and began breathing fire, paying no apparent attention to his opponent. Shortly, he stopped letting out bursts of flame and began leaping around the dome, ducking and dodging, despite the lack of any clear threat.
"That little bastard!" Kerridwyn said, much louder than normal.
George raised both hands above his head, shouting something. Most likely it was 'I yield,' as the match ended and both fighters left the combat room immediately afterwards.
"He's just an illusionist! I though he was a real powerhouse or I'd have gone after him again." Kerry seemed unduly surprised by the revelation.
"You said his beam was strong enough to cut through the wall." He pointed out.
"Yeah, so?"
"I take this to mean that when you thought he removed your hand, you also thought he blasted through the wall?"
A number of people had gathered around George after he left the dome. Jason could not tell if they were mocking him or commiserating with his loss.
"Only a little, but yeah. I wouldn't have given up if I didn't think he could do real damage. And how did he cut off my hand if it's just illusions?" she objected.
"I do not know. However, if he had really fired an energy beam through the wall, he would have been disqualified."
"I... I didn't even think about that. You're right." she agreed. "Your name was Jason, right?"
"That is correct."
"I'll remember it."
----
Gregory Warp's next few fights were very different. Rather than dodge imaginary attacks, his opponents simply collapsed to the ground. Some staggered to the side or made some attempt to attack him first, all of which missed. A few vomited. After a short period, either they yielded or Greg would render them unconscious by using his hand to block their
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