— Hikari's mental journal —
[Swordsman statue] Brute-force swordsmanship. Just like how the RazenHeir drill master pushes recruits.
[Ranger statue] Dagger throwing can hit from pretty far away, it seems.
[Wyvern rider statue] Need to find a bigger wyvern.
[Fat statue] Need to buy a wyvern cannon somehow.
[Shield statue] Never seen such quick footwork even from a normie.
[Wizard statue] Casting both frost and fire at the same time was something else.
[Javelin statue] Throwing javelins nonstop with both arms makes them really sore.
[Bomber statue] Learn to run fast once I throw the bomb.
[Wyvern statue] A half-wyvern woman. Strange.
Forty push-ups. Forty sit-ups. Forty squats.
Hikari munches down on a cannonball fruit.
Her brain was fried twice over after stepping onto the tile before the last statue.
A half-wyvern. It was quite unlike the rest of the wyvern knights.
Hikari thought for a moment it could teach her to grow wings and fly.
Or at least to teach her how to breathe fire better.
But instead, she peered into a long-lost world.
Time to ramp up the physical training.
Her mind needs to cool off for longer this one.
Mountain climbers. Shoulder taps. Bicep curls with her sword.
She varies her workout routine to keep it from getting boring.
Munch. Munch.
Meditation.
A shard and a throwing dagger orbit her as she meditates.
She was returning to her peak combat ability after all this training.
How long has she been in the tower?
The fifty sticks were still untouched.
She must be well past fifty by now.
But she feels she's almost through, so she didn't add any more.
Her body is rested.
Time to practice again.
The ranger stance.
A shard hovered in her palm.
She juggled it in circles, visualizing the shard flying silently through the air.
Sword training. She charged up her sword slightly, just for training.
Steady vertical swings. Horizontal swings.
The shadows they cast on the tower's support pillars danced along the walls.
Each swing carried weight, yet it wouldn't knock her off balance if her swing were parried.
By chance, she ended up in front of the rider statue again.
Strange, she felt like it didn't want to see her.
Nevertheless, the statue showed her an ambition that she hasn't forgotten.
She left her sword by the central pillar and knelt before it, visualizing a wyvern on the ground for her to mount.
Her legs moved forward as she leaned back, practicing the motion of positioning her legs on the saddle in front of its wings.
The statue glared at her demonstration silently.
The braziers to either side flickered.
Or perhaps it was just what they always did.
Enough fooling around, Hikari takes a stance.
Elbow up, imagining a shield on her arm.
Her sword pointed behind her for balance.
Footwork.
She practices walking straight without breaking her stance.
Her legs never cross, which would destabilize her stance.
Forwards and backward. As she learned from the shield statue, controlling distance is key to shield-to-shield combat.
Sideways walking.
It was confusing to do in a circular room, so she walks in a circular arc facing the center pillar.
Her guard stays up even as she gradually changes direction.
Munch. Munch. Enough practice for now.
A quick shower. Running low on water, she'll need another supply run soon.
No matter, time to face the statue again.
…
Cheers. Rowdy cheers all around.
Blurred vision. The bright sunlight.
She was still trying to take in the rush of information.
"Hey."
A girl's voice.
High-pitched, yet it boomed through her head.
"Hey."
Hikari felt a gentle nudge on her arms.
"Where?"
Slowly, her vision cleared.
It was an arena.
Sunlight lit the sandy ground.
The crowd sat in the shaded area lit by braziers.
They were packed shoulder to shoulder.
Cheers flooded her ears.
"There you are, daydreaming again. Wake up, will you? Today's the day we get to enjoy ourselves a bit."
Hikari looked at the arena.
It was large enough to fit several wyverns.
"Show."
"Right you are. The initiates are having their first bouts after surviving their first ritual. It was a bit of a rush that day, but at last we pulled through."
Hikari struggled to remember what she meant.
"Scrap by more like."
"Oh! Good morning, Headmistress."
Hikari turned to face the older woman.
"You will serve your punishment later. For now, you have some basic duties to make sure the celebration goes smoothly. And do enjoy the show while you can."
"Yes! Headmistress! Thank you, Headmistress!"
The older woman turned and continued to oversee a group of blacksmiths preparing weapons.
At her height, Hikari could see a huge wooden sword on the ground.
It was too big even for the bulky blacksmiths to wield.
"What are you doing? Get the refreshments out to the crowd? Or do you want to line up another punishment after the one you already have?"
Another girl sneered at them.
"Here to mock us, are we? I thought you would be more excited to enjoy the show."
"Both. The rare event that has all of Wyvern Keep talking and fighting in bars over tickets. And the thought of you cleaning the poop out of the wyvern cages. Today really is one of the best days of the year for me."
"Well, I hope you enjoy it to your heart's content. Come along now."
She grabbed a tray of tiny pots and marched off.
Hikari did likewise.
She followed the girl through a narrow alleyway between the spectator stands.
The roaring crowd grabbed the tiny pots with a porous cloth wrapped over them as she walked past.
Her tray was empty by the time she reached a third of the way.
She kept walking as the alleyway was too narrow to turn back.
Hikari made it to about halfway before her tray was empty.
They emerged from the alleyway.
Another refreshments station was set up between the sections of spectator stands.
Each of them picked up another tray of refreshments.
Hikari peered over the top of the pot, wondering what was inside.
"Follow me."
They moved through another alleyway.
The pots disappeared just as quickly.
"You better hurry; the show is about to begin."
The girl nodded, but she couldn't walk any faster while carrying a tray of pots that would shatter if she dropped them.
Hikari followed.
Halfway through the alleyway, she emptied her tray and began jogging to the other end.
Hikari's tray was emptied a second later.
She jogged after her, quickly catching up to her with her longer legs.
Click! As she reached the other side, the arena keeper locked the alleyway.
"Hey! What about our refreshments?"
The crowd above complained.
"You can have some once the first fight is done."
"Boo! How do we get through the first fight without our fruit?"
"Just keep your eyes on the booty, and you'll be fine."
"He's got a point, doesn't he?"
Hikari turned to her companion.
"Booty?"
She looked away in embarrassment.
"Well, you see."
She tried to string an explanation together.
"You may have noticed that… well… most of the spectators… actually, all of the spectators are men… so…."
Hikari tilts her head.
The girl moved her hands awkwardly, trying to get Hikari to understand without saying the thing out loud.
"You know…"
Hikari looked at her, confused.
"Welcome! Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the inaugural event of our proud initiates!
The announcer's voice boomed across the entire arena.
"Well, mostly gentlemen, it seems. Days ago, they crossed the first threshold onto the path toward the most honored position in the wyvern keep and our history. Some of them fell, and we shall remember their sacrifice. "
A rumbling sound. Clanking of chains. The crowd roars.
The gate was lifted. A giant woman emerged from the shadows.
Sword and shield.
A blue ribbon flew over her helmet. The back of her head was bald from the ritual.
She strode past the arena keeper, who was just below the level of her breasts.
The crowd roared as her tanned, humongous muscles basked in the sunlight.
She stabbed her sword into the sand, her free hand reaching behind her and plucking her tight thong.
Her muscular thighs and bottom twitched as she tried to reach her finger inside to scratch herself.
The crowd notices and cheers.
"In the left corner, Piture Rutalentia! She climbed the rankings from the bottom. She held the record for the fastest time climbing the steps to the tower! Now, she stands before you, an initiate at the gates of glory."
The crowd cheers as the giantess plucks the sword from the sand and raises it.
A rumbling sound comes from the opposite side of the arena.
Clanking of chains. The crowd roars with the same ferocity.
Another giantess emerged from the gate.
"In the right corner, Aenirla Lipor! She came in second in the stone steps and third in the heat rooms. Only through her perseverance and incredible discipline did she survive the initiation ritual."
Sword and shield.
She sank her sword into the sand and pummeled her chest with both fists, yelling at the top of her voice, which had been lowered in pitch due to the ritual.
The crowd responded in kind.
Just as she reached for her sword, she twitched.
An itchy feeling at the back of her tight thong.
She stayed bent over just outside the sandy arena.
She reached behind her head and scratched, hoping the shade would keep the crowd from noticing.
The spectators behind her leaned their heads over.
The spectators on the opposite end immediately realized what was going on.
She stepped onto the sand. Her full helmet hid her embarrassment.
The two giantesses stood face to face in the center of the arena.
Sunlight shone straight down on their muscular backs.
"Booty."
Hikari blurted out.
Her companion slapped her on the arm.
"Don't put it like that. Speak of it more in terms of a… tradition. Yes, tradition."
The announcer clears his throat.
"From this day forth, these two will live and train together. They will carry the honor of our ancestors and our proud traditions. They will face many trials and tribulations."
The giantesses reached behind their backs and plucked their tight thongs.
"They will carry the honor of our great civilization. This friendly duel is but a small sample of their dedication to becoming stewards of the Wyvern Keep."
The crowd cheered.
At the same time, they impatiently pushed the announcer to start the duel.
Woosh! A large brazier was lit.
The flames licked the stone cavern ceiling.
Crack. The sound of plywood crashing together.
Their swords shattered as they smashed them together.
Splinters fly. The two giantesses discarded their weapons.
Waves of sand were tossed into the air as they began a full-on shoulder-to-shoulder wrestle in the sand.
Hikari recognizes this. A growing ritual greatly impairs the body's coordination and would take extended training to wield weapons properly.
She wonders what the point of giving them a shield and sword is if they were going to roll in the sand.
Their backs caked in sand as their sweaty muscles rolled over it.
The cheering crowd certainly did not care.