World of Karik: A Game of Villains 62 Chaos

What the hell was that? Had I suddenly learned how to predict people's behavior in combat? Or was this the mysterious "skill status" referred to in the Half Mind's description?
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In any case, I made a sharp step to the side as a knife shrouded in a red glow flew by me. The man with the scar dealt a critical blow. If it weren't for that message, his skill would have definitely pierced my armor. Clenching my teeth with a grinding sound, I swung my weapon and brought the scythe's blade down on Cyril's right shoulder with all my might. He let out a barely audible cry and his hand hung lifeless at his side. At this point, I thought that I could finish him off, especially since I had managed to cast Weakness on him. However, my opponent managed to take the fallen knife with his left hand and immediately attacked me, aiming for my throat. Cyril's lips formed a triumphant grin.

Damn, suddenly it dawned on me what that word meant! The guy was equally good at using both of his hands. I remembered having met a girl who had been studying at a medical school. "Dexter", "sinister", "ambivalent" and other clever words... While all these thoughts were flashing through my head, Cyril's blow got me. He didn't use his skill, just a knife with which he hit my collarbone.

Damage received: 0

Blocked: 65

I was so relieved that I could not help but grin. Fifty points of intelligence had increased not only my healing and Flame Flow's damage but also Stone Skin's protection. Fifty-two defense from endurance and forty-four from a spell made hurting me a feat. And that was without the armor bonus. Time to end this.

I faced another furious blow and, without wasting time, finished the fight with one swing. Although, it did feel quite strange that such a sharp steel knife couldn't penetrate my bare skin. Rolling onto the grass, Cyril's head stopped right at Vlada's feet as if it were some kind of a gift from me. I heaved a sigh of relief.

The level 12 opponent didn't prove to be a problem for me… So why was I so worried? In general, it didn't turn out to be so bad. I had demonstrated my defense, received the blows with my body, dodged my opponent's special ability and finished the battle spectacularly. That was what everyone probably expected of me.

By happenstance, nobody was actually watching the last duel as the winners were deep in thought about their future fights, and the losers were upset about their failure. As for me, I was trying to come up with a strategy that would work against each of the finalists, but I had a strange feeling that I was missing something important. There was no guarantee that everything would work out in my favor.

"Put this on the wound," Dasha said in a compassionate voice and held out a piece of cotton wool to Innokenty. Where did she get that? Hmm, maybe this is exactly what I need.

"He is not a sissy, he won't crack." Approaching them, I took the white, fluffy mass out of the archer's hands and returned to my seat, accompanied by two hateful glances. Well, I could understand Innokenty... But Dasha? Sometimes, she was ready to justify some people and give them a second chance, while others were considered villains by default. Such hypocrisy was even more annoying than Petrovich's intrigues. I had met such people in the old world and their most surprising trait had been the belief that they could not be mistaken at all.

But I digress. It was time to test my new idea. Since my morning walk, I had a few leaves of Stonerose left in my pocket. I rubbed them carefully between my fingers and soaked the piece of cotton with the gruel. Then I shoved it in my nostril and tried to take a deep breath.

You inhaled the vapor of the Stonerose Tincture.

Endurance increased by 20.

The effect lasts for 2 seconds.

I felt relieved. The solution was a temporary one as the effect would last maximum half an hour. However, I could still take advantage of that. Maybe there would be situations in the future when I won't be able to use my flasks.

There were two reasons why I didn't try to increase either my strength or agility. The first one being that I didn't have Holly or Sedge. And the second was that endurance was quite a universal attribute. I could both increase my protection in case of emergency, and bash someone's head in without risking my main stats. In the meantime, Petrovich decided to deliver a small speech and declare the next phase. I smiled, wondering if he thought himself the master of the Colosseum or the emperor at this moment.

"The first part is over. Congratulations to the winners. To those who had lost, you need more training. Starting today, everyone will be required to spend at least an hour a day sparring. But that can wait until tomorrow, now it's time for the final phase." I had to admit that he surprised me. I thought that people would continue fighting face to face, but our leader came up with another idea. "Now I invite Olga, Innokenty, Dasha, Vlada, Mikhail, Stas, Dmitri, Pavel, and Vasily to enter the arena and prove their right to be considered the strongest. The last three survivors will be declared winners."

As soon as Petrovich named them, they rose with set faces, and all of us found ourselves in the makeshift arena once again. There we were, nine people who were ready to kill each other. It was a shame that Petrovich played such a dirty trick on us the moment I got confident in my victory. No one could predict the outcome of this fight and even with Arcobaleno, there was no guarantee that I would have enough time to determine the outcome of the fight in thirty seconds.

Petrovich, you bastard, why couldn't you just stand still...?

"Start on the count of three," the lancer ended his monologue as if he had heard what I thought about him. "One…two…three! Let the chaos ensue!"

The last word might've been added for extra drama, but it seemed to me that he had emphasized it out for some reason. Everyone immediately rushed forward.

Chapter end