Avryn woke up in his usual sleeping spot in the slums. He was prepared this time, at least. The fatigue from yesterday was gone thanks to the previous night’s rest. He spent the the day hanging out with the friends he made in the slums. They hung out at the Slumps Bar and the conversation was about the missions in the expeditions.

  Vyktria’s squad had already had experience doing hunting missions, which earned some envy from Avryn. She drilled the point further by saying her squad took down two Alpha monsters already.

  “Man, I wished our squads would spar one day,” Avryn regretted.

  “I mean, we can set it up if you’d like,” Vyktria replied.

  Almost on cue, a man in heavy armor, and a great helm strutted inside of the bar. He had his hammer rested on his shoulder. His cape flowed behind him as he walked to Vyktria.

  “A friend of yours, Vyk?” Stink Eye asked.

  “Hello, great leader, what brings you here?” Vyktria stood on business.

  Fyllbar told her the squad would be re-deployed soon, so they must get ready for it. He turned to see Avryn.

  “Ah, the man who slew the giant wolf in one swift blow,” Fyllbar greeted. “How fares you?”

  “Faring alright, man,” Avryn nodded.

  The armored man paused to think. An idea came to him that involved Avryn.

  “Would you humor me for a moment, Avryn?” he asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “I wish to test my mettle against yours. We’ve yet to face one-on-one, as these youngsters say,”

  “Now you’re speaking my language,” Avryn stood up from his seat.

  Vyktria stood up, too,

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  “Barracks?”

  Stink Eye, Rags, and Haley all replied,

  “Barracks.

  And so, they made their way to the slum’s barracks. The fighting arena was set up. Soldiers gathered around to watch another high profile fight.

  Fyllbar held onto his hammer and knelt in front of it. Avryn summoned Lerosa to his side.

  “Alright, gents, take your bets,” Vyktria was taking wagers.

  Avryn’s mind was clear. This would be his first time against Fyllbar in single combat. He knew from the joint training sessions Fyllbar was a powerful warrior. His speed was not bad either. He had this bull in a china shop style of fighting that he respected. He must be careful and not get hit with one of his powerful blows.

  Avryn charged ahead and tested Lerosa against Fyllbar’s hammer. He used the recoil from the gun blasts to accelerate his slashes. Fyllbar’s hammer stood strong. Its sheer mass held against the attack.

  Fyllbar smiled,

  “Come at me strong, Avryn Starbright”

  He swung his hammer around, using the momentum to keep spinning. There was one thing that Avryn noticed. He was spinning faster with each missed swing. Avryn kept his distance away from him, but Fyllbar was persistent.

  “Afraid of being hit, are you?” he joked.

  “Can’t win a fight if I do, now can I?” Avryn returned fire.

  He unleashed the firepower of his dual pistols, now with a renewed style that used spinning in rapid succession. He danced around Fyllbar’s attacks. An ice bullet managed to trap his foot onto the ground. Fyllbar was halfway twisted before Avryn landed a gnarly blow to the temple of his head. A knee to the face was also given and Fyllbar flew halfway across the room.

  Avryn switched back to Lerosa once they were in the neutral. Fyllbar stood up almost immediately. He was tougher than Avryn gave him credit for. They both smiled at each other. They circled around again. Fyllbar was breathing heavy beneath his heavy, horned helm. They reached into striking distance with their guards up. Both were eager to see who would make the first mistake.

  Avryn attempted a feint but Fyllbar wasn’t falling for it. He took a gamble and used the gunblade to deliver a spinning kick but Fyllbar countered. Avryn was sent crashing into the barrels. His next move would prove to shock them.

  He charged right at Fyllbar, meeting him in a contest of strength. He attempted to disarm Fyllbar but his grip was too strong. Avryn battered him with a flurry of blows and slashes. He finished off with a thrusting kick to Fyllbar’s gut.

  Fyllbar’s counterattack was next. He twirled with his hammer and managed to land a hit on Avryn’s back, which earned an audible gasp from the crowd.

  “So, Haley, who do you think is gonna win: my fearless leader or Avryn?” Vyktria asked.

  Haley pondered on the question as they carried on,

  “I don’t know. It feels like a tough call,” she replied.

  “Come on, if you had to choose one, who would you choose?” she was persistent.

  Haley sighed,

  “Well if I had to choose, I’d choose the guy who was a finalist in the Battle Festival,”

  Vyktria nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer,

  “I see, I see,” she had it typed in her notes.

  Stink Eye chimed in,

  “Give me fifty credits on Starbright,”

  Rags followed suit,

  “Fifty on Fyllbar,”

  The volunteer soldiers were cheering them both. They were both heavily panting at this point but still had enough gas left in the tank. Things were about to shift into another gear. Avryn switched up his styles and opted for his melee pistols technique. It was still a work in progress but that alone gave Avryn the edge in this leg of the fight. Fyllbar simply had no answer to this unorthodox fighting style. He needed to get back to his fundamentals on defense.

  Fyllbar absolutely decked Avryn with a mean hammer to the side of the head. He sent Avryn to the ground. He took this chance to finish the fight. He stood on top of Avryn and swung his hammer but he just grazed him on the side of the cheeks. Avryn swept Fyllbar’s leg and disarmed Fyllbar from his hammer with a gnarly armbar.

  They wrestled each other back up and now traded punches. Each blow sent the two fighters deeper into unconsciousness. Avryn’s punches connected deeper, and so he won the fight as Fyllbar went limp, his body kept up by Avryn.

  Avryn’s arm was raised as he was announced the winner of the fight.