“Maybe this one? No… Or maybe that one? Nope… Isn’t there any useful technique in this legacy that I can use right away?” Kilian looked through his newly acquired memories, while in the arena, the silver, curved blade of an unknown elf danced and clashed against the claws of a wolfman, “So that's how it is! Even for the weakest technique, I first need to channel some of the moon’s Yin-Qi into my body at night. I now possess the physique of the shadowapes, but until I’ve trained for at least one night under the moonlight, I’ll have to resort to my old techniques. All the Yin-Qi I’ve already absorbed has only made my skin significantly harder and changed the flow of energy through my body. Well, at least my body has become considerably stronger…”

  “I will tear you to pieces! A disciple of the founder of my clan has left me his legacy! Feel the power of the Lupus Clan!” Barked the wolfman with blood-red eyes, his body swelling to twice its size.

  “With your support of the necromancers, you have betrayed all citizens of Terrapin and deserve to be destroyed!” Replied his opponent, and began to use his new abilities as well, whereupon dozens of vines grew from the ground to support him in the fight.

  With sweeping movements, the beastman tore apart one vine after the other, but did not notice that the thorns repeatedly penetrated his body and that the plant's sap was slowly paralyzing him.

  Like a berserker, he unleashed a barrage of attacks on the swift elf, who repeatedly narrowly escaped or parried, and at opportune moments, landed deep cuts in the wolfman's flesh.

  The blows of the wolfman grew fewer and slower, while the elf practiced patience as his opponent's eyes continued to change color, and he descended into a frenzy.

  With each attack, he became more and more lost in his bloodlust, even though only his own blood coloured the arena red.

  The sceming elf waited patiently for the right moment to finally secure the decisive advantage and land a killing blow.

  “The legacy of a small circle Qi-Condensator cannot compete with that of the high circle, no matter how well it is executed! If he had more time to train and deepen the understanding of his predecessor, things might be different…” Sighed the guardian as the wolfman, with a roar, grew even larger and finally caught the elf’s body with a swift forward leap just to tear it in two, “Winner: Ferrin.”

  “AUUUU!” Howled Ferrin Lupus, bathed in his opponent’s blood, baring his teeth and glaring contemptuously at Aurelia as his body shrank back to its original size, “In the next round, I will tear you to pieces and taste your flesh! I am already dreaming of the sweetness of your blood!”

  “You beasts should have been exterminated long ago! You are the only creatures in Terrapin who eat the flesh of their fallen enemies to train!” She snorted contemptuously, dismissed the wolfman with a wave of her hand, and continued to try to flirt with Kilian.

  But soon she made a sour face, because he ignored her completely, focused on his understanding of new memories, and skimmed them for useful information.

  “Cadoc and Kilian will fight the next battle! Get onto the arena!” The Guardian’s voice rang out again, and the meditating boy finally opened his eyes, which glowed with battle intent!

  “Give it your best!” Cheered the young foxlady and began to calculate in her head, “If I win my next fight and Kilian wins the next one after this, then we will face each other in the arena! Maybe I can coax him into a bet of some sort…”

  Meanwhile, the member of the Inner Academy of the Kong Clan entered the arena and found himself facing a figure shrouded in a black hood.

  “I will avenge the death of my brothers!” Growled the necromancer, earning only an amused chuckle from his opponent, before he answered, “You must be very sure of yourself, eh? I hate to repeat myself, but no necromancer I encounter in battle survives!”

  “We’ll see who leaves this arena alive today!” Retorted Cadoc in a conspiratorial voice, raising his hands to his ears to seal them with Qi, “Now your dragon roar is useless, and I have another surprise for you!”

  A small ring flashed on his finger, and a long staff-like club appeared in the hands of the dark Qi-Gatherer, instantly catching black flames as he channeled his Qi into it.

  “This shadow club is part of the legacy I received! An old artifact filled with pure power!” Laughed the necromancer like a madman, then rushed at Kilian as the fight began!

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “Ey?” Shrieked the sleepy voice of Granpa Yu in Kilians' head, and drifted back into the world of dreams after he finished his advice, “Young Kil, you have to get your hands on this club! A strain of the hair of a harpy forms its core! It carries an enormous amount of Yin-Qi and was probably forged by a blacksmith of the Kang Clan!”

  “An old weapon of the Kang Clan? Maybe I can learn something about the techniques used to forge it if I study it!” The defending warrior thought, his magical artifact also lit up brightly, and a three-colored staff appeared between his fingers.

  Its elongated middle section shimmered matte grey, and the two cylinders at the ends of the rod were copper and silver coloured.

  With a twisting motion of his weapon, the young warrior parried the fast club, but with each subsequent blow, he was driven backward by waves of icy Yin-Qi.

  Accompanied by shrill laughter, the attacks became faster and more powerful, and soon Kilian found himself at the edge of the arena.

  “And you want to stand in the way of the young master? Hahaha! Ridiculous!” Cadoc cheered, already certain of his victory, “You'd better give up and flee the arena quickly before you lose more than just this fight! Hahaha! Your companions can start digging your grave for what little will be left of you after you've become a plaything for the young master!”

  Just as the club was about to crash onto the blacksmith's apprentice's unprotected left shoulder, he sent a small stream of Qi into his staff, and a thin, barely visible golden line, running through his weapon like a fine vein, began to shine brightly.

  The small human body was immediately enveloped in golden flames, banishing the icy, dark Yin-Qi from the arena.

  Terrified, the necromancer recoiled from the intense heat, missing the final blow that could have secured his victory, and heard Kilian's contemptuous laughter, “Hahaha! You coward! That was your only chance to win, and you blew it! If you had risked your life and followed through with your attack, you might be the victor today! Hahaha! But it's too late for that now, you scaredy-cat!”

  The previous situation reversed abruptly!

  Dozens of blows from the brightly burning staff rained down on the hooded figure, which could only parry every second one, and soon the black cloak was engulfed in golden flames.

  Wide-open eyes stared fearfully at Kilian from a sunken-in face, and the injured necromancer used his last strength to raise the powerful weapon in front of him, but lost his grip.

  One arm and several ribs had already been broken by the powerful blows of Kilian, and blood was slowly dripping from the open mouth to the ground.

  “M-monster!” He screamed, only half conscious, trying to retreat, but he tripped over the dropped black club and fell to the ground.

  “I-I give u-” The necromancer tried to shout just as the staff, shrouded in golden flames, grew larger and larger before his eyes and finally shattered his skull, before he could finish his sentence.

  Blood spurted onto the victor's face, and with a small movement of his finger, the brightly shining staff disappeared again.

  The club of the now-dead man also found its way into Kilian's ring, even before the guardian could shout in a loud voice, "The winner is Kilian!"

  With a dismissive kick, the carcass flew in front of Duncan's feet, and with a broad grin that hid a little spark of something unknown, the little boy wiped the red blood of his fallen opponent from his cheek, "Your turn will come soon!"

  “That was mean, little brother!” Edana tapped Kilian’s forehead, while Aurelia tried to snuggle against his arm, and also said curiously, “She’s right! You didn’t even have to use your acquired legacy! What are your new abilities?”

  “That will remain my secret for now! You’ll see if we fight each other later.” Replied the little boy, skillfully dodging the foxgirl’s advances, whil?e he thought to himself, “It′s not like I could have used any technique that I gained from the legacy of Lord Kang, even if I wished to…”

  Soon, the two girls began to joke around with Kilian, Thrym, and Connor, while the leader of the necromancers watched them with a grim expression, and the next battle was already beginning in the arena.

  Brenton's female human companion fought a muscle-bound orc and lost after a long back-and-forth.

  Neither displayed any abilities that posed a threat to Kilian, as they had only inherited the legacies of Qi-Condensators.

  Therefore, the young calligrapher was already sitting on the ground with his eyes closed, meditating, and did not pay much attention to how the young woman fled at the last moment from a falling axe blade, thus saving her life.

  In the next fight, Li Kong swept the lifeless body of a previously vibrant werewolf from the arena with a single blow, and Kilian watched, captivated by the flow of Qi.

  Whether he was speaking with someone or meditating with his eyes closed, he missed nothing that happened in and around the arena and studied all the various types of energy.

  The next battle ended with a giant defeating the lioness, but this time no one lost their life, and when Thrym and an almost two-meter-tall orc had entered the arena, Kilian opened his dormant eyes again and said, "Don't you dare to lose! I want to fight you in the semi-finals!”

  “Hahaha! Just enjoy the show!” Laughed the halfgiant, and his skin began to shimmer grey as vast amounts of Qi flowed into his body and he grew several heads taller.

  “How dare you ignore me, you filthy half-blood!” Roared the orc, a crudely crafted two-handed sword clutched between his fingers while he glared furiously at his opponent, “At my young age, I am already a lieutenant under Khan Grokbar! After this mission, I will be an officer and sweep across the lands of the Kong Clan! It can be an honor to fight me, for I am—”

  “I don’t care who you are! You’re just a pebble in my path before I′m allowed to fight a strong opponent! Hahaha!” Thrym interrupted the strutting young orc and slammed his gigantic fist towards his opponent.

  “You will pay for your arrogance with your fingers!” Barked the green-skinned warrior, answering with all his might by crashing his blade against the halfgiant's skin.

  A loud bang echoed through the arena, sparks flew, but no blood was shed.

  “The legacy of the last king of the giants!” murmured Deidre, a twinkle in her two differently shaped eyes, “Another legacy of a powerful Qi-Lord who still influences Terrapin to this day! How many students of the old masters will walk on Terrapin once more?”