(... Why does he look so bored?)
"So, what'd you think about this match?"
Hearing Charles' booming voice right next to her brought Anastasia back into focus as she examined Mac's current opponent.
"Hella, huh? She got pretty far this time around."
With both herself and Mac's current opponent being regulars in this tournament, Anastasia quickly recognised the scantily clad Adventurer with a cruel smile and wondered how she hadn't been disqualified for hurting someone yet.
"It should be a good match up, she's at least good enough to spot how that charlatan is cheating."
"Cheathing? Now that's amusing."
Still spotting a bright smile on his face, Charles realised Anastasia hadn't been getting the best information about her bracketmate, that or she simply refused to believe what others had told her. Needless to say, if he was cheating then there would be a swift judgement for this so-called charlatan.
Having explained what was going on to the match referee, Anastasia and Charles turned their attention towards the fight as it started.
"Both fighters ready!?"
"Ready."
"... sure."
While Hella gave an enthusiastic response it seemed like Mac almost forgot to respond, then he hardly even took a stance, or drew his sword for that matter. Not that he had done that this tournament, for the simple reason he had no need to. This seemingly ticked Hella off as she swung her whip, its bladed edge cutting into the arena dirt below before she sent it hurtling towards Mac who sidestepped to avoid. With a flick of the wrist, Hella pulled her whip back as she changed its direction on the return to cut into Mac's back, but seemed like he had eyes in the back of his head as the sharp blades simply passed by harmlessly. This was indeed a very strange way of fighting, but beneath the simplicity of Mac's movements Anastasia sensed something else.
"He sure doesn't mess around."
Charles had also seen through Mac's movements, there was something strange about his awareness coupled with lax attitude, it was like he wasn't trying.
After avoiding a few more attacks from Hella while his eyes looked genuinely out of focus, Mac suddenly seemed to remember he was in a tournament and started by catching Hella's whip with his bare hands.
Miraculously Mac managed to not cut himself when his opponent yanked on her whip to get it back, and after a few attempts to get her whip back Hella abandoned it.
"The fuck is your problem?"
"..."
Still with his eyes unfocused Mac just started walking at Hella, and when he reached her she got knocked out cold with a punch to the jaw.
"... I understand why you think he cheated now."
In just as much disbelief as his coworker, Charles nevertheless managed to comment on the current absurd situation.
"It would've been better if he had been cheating."
What Mac was doing was arguably worse than cheating, he was making a fool out of the tournament, acting like the entire thing was beneath him.
Back at the waiting room, Mac somewhat registered that he had won the round and was now moving onto the final, only he was still horribly bored and that was starting to be an issue.
(First time in a while I did any kind of combat in automatic mode, this might be a sign I should just move onto resources and knowledge extraction…)
While Mac did want to advance his mission, the fact that he was getting bored was an issue.
(I need to put this diplomatic effort to a pause for the moment until my head is in the game again, perhaps I should corner the market on luxury goods first, then take advantage of the contacts I get there to meet with the queen? That or I could just do a parade.)
While Mac was ideally musing on the further of his efforts on this planet, an unseen storm was rapidly moving towards him. You could only disrespect Anastasia and everything she held valuable so many times before getting burned.
"What the fuck is wrong with you!?"
Kicking the door open into the waiting room, Anastasia found Mac just like she had expected, with a bored look on his face, like he couldn't be bothered about this sacred tournament.
"With me? Loads of things to be honest, I have so many psychological issue-"
"Is all of this a joke to you!? Like can't you actually be bothered to fight or be a decent human being?"
Clearly Mac had touched a nerve with his behavior and relative aloof behavior, he realised that, but still didn't see a reason to change.
"No, not really. If you want me to fight then present me with an actual challenge. Or don't, this tournament is boring me, so I might as well call it quits here and focus on something else, I'm not in a hurry."
Taking the time to absorb what the manchild in front of her was saying, Anastasia couldn't help but scoff at his erratic and childlike behavior.
"So this tournament is boring you? Is that the excuse you're going to use to run away?"
Anastasia believed she had finally seen through Mac. Sure he was strong, inhumanly so, but there was no technique behind his fighting like he claimed, behind his unnatural power he was merely a child swinging his fists around.
"Run away? I believe you're confusing disinterest with cowardice… Which is fair, it must be a tough distinction for you to make, considering."
Gesturing vaguely to Anastasia's flushed face and clear agitation, Mac committed the cardinal sin of telling someone clearly upset that they were being emotional.
(Hmm, that might've been too far.)
Only as the knight he had just insulted stepped in to slap him did Mac realise he might have gone too far with his words, so instead of breaking her face for striking him he allowed the hit to land, although only begrudgingly.
"Did that make you feel bet-"
"I challenge you to a duel."
Hit with an unexpected challenge, Mac didn't initially see the need to accept.
"Why? So you can bore me with sub-par swordsmanship for a few minutes?"
"No, so you can prove that you're as superior as you say, because all I see is a manchild and a coward that couldn't possibly beat anyone with anything but brute strength."
"Hmm."
Ignoring the sting in his cheek for the moment, Mac realised he had stepped on a figurative landmine he had no counter against.
(If I walk away from this challenge I lose credibility, but there's no way I'll dignify this without making her squirm at least a little.)
Although he had already physically healed from the salp, Mac wasn't about to just forgive it.
"Fine, but I need a little more skin in the game than just your vague sense of honor."
"If it's gold you're-"
"The operation I run discards more gold each second than you've ever seen, when I win you're going to make it up for me."
With his social intelligence landing somewhere between a solitary toad and an amoeba, Mac still managed to correctly identify what Anastasia would hate the most.
"A punishment? Fine. If you manage to beat me with actual skill."
"Will it really be a punishment if I'll teach you to love it?"
Getting slapped again, Mac waited until the blushing knight left the waiting room before he let his mind wander.
(Tia?)
Reaching out through his neural uplink, Mac decided to find out how much he had just stepped in things.
[Yeah, what's up? It's unusual for you to contact me first.]
(How bad would it be if I insulted a knight captain to the level where she challenged me to a duel?)
After getting chewed out by Tia for about 10 minutes a clerk had arrived to inform Mac that the final would be held the next day, so he retreated back into orbit for the moment.
"Seeing as that knight missy actually managed to get me interested in the final, I might as well make a sword and worry about everything else later."
The 'sword' Mac had been carrying around so far was little more than a faux imitation he was carrying around for show, as he didn't need it to win. But faced with a new challenge he would need a sword that actually was capable of leaving its scabbard.
(Simplest would be best, although it is unpleasant.)
Deciding to bury the childhood trauma like any well adjusted adult would do, Mac quickly settled on the school of swordsmanship he learned during his formative years and chose a blade appropriate for it. Somewhere in the middle of printing titanium impregnated nano carbon honeycombs and gravity engine tuning Mac started laughing to himself, in spite of her being an uptight asshole, Anastasia had managed to make the final match of the tournament interesting to Mac.
22 hours later Mac found himself sitting in the same waiting room where he was slapped twice, waiting for the final. By his side was the sword Mac had fabricated, it was a single bladed shortsword with a flat tip, extended handle without a guard. Instead of a guard, there was a single notch in its black blade where a guard would be, meant for catching an opponent's blade before bending or shattering it. Putting a similar amount of effort into not only his sword, but also the rest of his equipment, Mac wore a dark, form fitting flight suit with dull black armour segments mounted around his chest, arms and legs from the knees down. Both his arms were covered in armour, but his left glove looked much more irregular, while the right one was more akin to a claw with rigid groves of armour covering the top of his forearm.
"Constant Mac. It is time."
Although surprised at Mac's outfit, the clerk nevertheless did his job and led Mac out into the arena.
"Heh, I actually thought you'd run away."
Coming to a stop about 5 paces away from his opponent wearing heavy plate armour wielding a large shield and shortsword, the first thing Mac heard out of her mouth was an insult.
(Still mad, great.)
Although reluctantly, Mac had started enjoying the idea of fighting against Anastasia without relying on his strength, the idea of brandishing the close combat training he had spent decades honing in a fight more akin to a game of chess seemed entertaining.
(I can use that anger.)
"Well we do have a date in a bit, so why would I run?"
Brandishing his sword by removing it from its faux wooden scabbard, Mac decided to rile up his opponent a bit in hopes of slowing her reaction time.
"I sure hope you remain deluded when you're face down in the dirt."
Not one to take the bait, Anastasia also drew her sword as she lifted her shield off of the ground.
"Are both contestants ready!?"
As the referee raised his hand, the spectating crowd quieted down as Anastasia placed her shield between herself and Mac, hiding her sword.
"Ready."
Still appearing somewhat aloof, Mac held his sword in his left hand and its scabbard in the right as he tossed his sword into the air, watching it rapidly spin a few times around before he caught it again.
"Yeah."
With both contestants ready, the referees waited a second before starting the fight.
"Begin!"
Even if he hadn't appeared ready to fight, Mac nevertheless acted with reflexes that appeared to be premonition as he immediately tossed the faux wooden scabbard at the knight, specifically aiming for her throat. Slightly caught off guard by this sudden attack, Anastasia raised her shield, but as she did she briefly lost sight of Mac, something he readily exploited. Closing the distance while staying low to avoid Anastasia's sightline, Mac reached her at the same time she deflected his scabbard and shifted around the knight's proud shield.
"Boo~"
Waiting patiently for Anastasia to retreat behind her shield in the next split seconds, Mac ignored her approaching sword as he kicked the knight's shield, making her slide back enough that he was no longer within reach. Overcoming her initial surprise, Anastasia wondered for a second why Mac had waited for her to get her defences up instead of just striking, but when she saw him catch the scabbard she had just deflected with her shield a moment earlier she realised it had been an intentional act of showmanship.
(Show off, even taking things seriously he's still a charlatan… I can exploit that.)
When Mac caught the scabbard without really looking, the crowd which seemed to have held their breath exploded into cheer, so he raised both hands in appreciation while looking around.
The second Mac took his eyes off of Anastasia to glance at the crowd she moved, closing the distance as she swung at his back with her sword. Mac however seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, and he effortlessly stepped aside before striking with his sword that was caught on the knight's shield.
"How cold to just strike me when I'm not looking… Are you still mad?"
"Not in the slightest, I'm just more interested in what matters."
Getting a curt response to his idle musings, Mac broke out of the lock with another kick to Anastasia's shield, then he ducked underneath her sword slash and took the opportunity to try and cut off her legs.
(Fuck, I should've brough a smaller shield.)
It had quickly become obvious to Anastasia that Mac knew what he was doing, in spite of his relaxed attitude he made a conscious effort to place himself in her blind spot, hiding behind her shield until he could faint or outmaneuver to strike. For as great as her shield was at absorbing damage, Anastasia couldn't see through it. Then again, Mac shouldn't be able to see through her shield either, so Anastasia could still play around it. Advancing towards Mac with her sword low and mostly behind her shield, Anastasia took a half step left then swung at Mac from a blind angle.
(Got you.)
With no way of defending with his sword as he had to act like he hadn't seen her strike the first few times, Mac stepped back and deflected the strike with his gauntlet.
"You like that?"
Breaking away from Anastasia's sword, Mac deflected another slash from her with his own before ducking back in behind her shield, then when she subsequently brought it closer to her body to look over it Mac aimed to poke her eye out with his sword.
"Or was that more your style?"
With Anastasia stepping back to avoid losing an eye, Mac took another opportunity to quip, finally gloating a response out of the knight.
"You talk too much."
"Well try to shut me up then, it'll be practice for when I win in a bi-"
Forced to cut his taunt short as Anastasia went on the offensive and tried to stab out his throat, Mac deflected then tried to step in.
"Oh, are we afraid now?"
Finding Anastasia now put effort into maintaining a greater distance as she leveraged her sword on top of her shield like a pike, Mac acted hurt by the sudden rejection.
"You smell."
"Yeah I do, and you'll be getting us- Hey!"
Once again interrupted mid sentence by a stab at his throat, Mac was starting to get annoyed. Immediately taking that annoyance out on his opponent like a mature adult, Mac launched into a flurry of strikes that he used both hands for, not bothered by the fact that they were mostly blocked or deflected.
(What the hell is that blade made out of?)
With her own sword starting to chip from the sudden flurry of attacks, Anastasia found herself unable to open up the distance, each time she tried Mac would try to slip around her shield side.
"Your defense sure is solid, then how about-"
Acting in the middle of his own sentence, Mac suddenly switched up his own footwork, doubling back then rushing forward as he grabbed Anastasia's shield with his right hand, then blocked and trapped her sword with his sword. Pushing forward with strength while maintaining the lock, Mac caught the knight's attempt to kick him by letting go of her shield, then he forced her leg up and kicked her shield at the same time. With her sword locked up and sword arm numb from blocking repeated strikes, Anastasia lost hold of her blade that Mac flung away.
"Try your best now!"
Having disarmed his opponent, Mac put both hands on his sword and started another flurry of strikes, then when he had sufficiently numbed Anastasia's shield hand he kicked it away and put his sword to her neck.
"Was that really your best?"