[Erza POV]
As I stepped into the arena, I saw my opponent across the field, walking with the exaggerated swagger of a young noble.
The smug look on his face was practically screaming that he was going to win, at least, that's what he believed.
Looking through the crowd, I quickly found Riser sitting just behind me. He waved at me as our eyes locked, and I waved back before turning to my opponent.
From what little I had learned so far, magic here was different from Earthland.
There were similarities between how magic was used, but the biggest difference was in how people fought with it.
Ultimately, magic users were put into two camps: physical magic and ranged magic.
From what Riser had told me, most physical magic users were species like dragons and giants, with tough bodies, people who learned a special magic called touki, which used lifeforce, or those wielding weapons, like myself. Fighters like them need to get close to finish off their opponents.
Ranged magic users are exactly what they sound like: people who keep a distance from opponents, firing spells at them.
This was completely different from Earthland.
Aside from rare exceptions, almost every magic user in Earthland has a tougher physique, which helps us use magic more easily. While some fighters, like myself, focus more on physical magic, and others like Alzack and Bisca focus more on ranged magic, there was much less of a distinction between the two.
Despite how physical he got in fights, Natsu had multiple ranged abilities, most notably his roar. Though I'm primarily a physical mage, I have multiple ways to attack from a distance.
While there were many ways to beat opponents, the best way was usually to make it so they can't hit you, either by getting out of range or into their guard, and unlike most people in this world, I could do either.
The match began with a loud dinging noise. Bekk immediately took to the skies.
"Hahaha!" Bekk laughed as if he had won. "Do you think I couldn't sense you were human? I accepted our bet because I knew you couldn't get me. You plan to be either a knight or a rook, right? That's why you have all that armor on. That means you should lack any ranged options to deal with me," Bekk arrogantly revealed his thoughts once he believed he beat me.
Unfortunately for him, he doesn't know my abilities at all.
"Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor," I chanted.
My armor changed from my usual chestplate to a smaller breastplate with a featherlike pattern and a metal flower in the center. My short blue skirt changed into a long white skirt, with a metal petal-like skirt above it. Large metal gauntlets and grieves covered my limbs, while two sets of metal wings adorned the back, reminiscent of angel wings.
In both my hands were one-handed blades, and filling the air around me were nearly a dozen blades, each one held by my telekinesis.
While I could push the number up to 200, using that much on my opponent was both unnecessary and revealing. Even if someone knew I could wield so many blades at once, I shouldn't give them an accurate count.
As my armor shifted and weapons appeared out of thin air, the arena's energy changed sharply, as if everyone was holding their breath.
Upon seeing me change armor, Bekk formed a magic circle with his right hand and pointed it at me.
"You think some fancy armor is going to help you?" He jeered, as if repulsed by the thought of losing to a human woman.
Several fireballs shot out of the magic circle, rocketing down toward me.
Controlling two of my floating swords, I launched them forward, cutting through the fireballs.
Bekk continued his barrage, peppering the arena with attacks.
Some hit the floor around me, leaving divots, but they didn't hurt me. The rest were cut in half by the rest of my swords, which I'd sent in to join the fray.
As I directed some of the swords higher to follow him, Bekk created a wall of fire, which he then used to block my swords.
Much to his chagrin, however, they cut through the wall, still closing in on him.
Realizing he was about to get hit, Bekk flew to the side in hopes the swords would sail past him, but as he moved out of the way, Bekk realized the swords were still pointed toward him.
Panicking, he quickly started to fly around, hoping to avoid getting turned into a reverse porcupine, but now that his attacks had stopped, I could redirect the rest of my swords to join in.
Surrounded, Bekk used a large-scale fire spell, creating a large smoke cloud that covered him. I didn't attack, not because I couldn't see, but because one of my swords had gotten heavier.
As the smoke cloud cleared, my swords were still hovering in place. On one of them, Bekk Oris hung limply, sword pierced through the left side of his abdomen.
Gently lowering my opponent to the ground, a medical team rushed out, putting him onto a stretcher.
After the announcer declared me the winner, I was escorted to the medical wing, where I found Riser and the manager waiting.
"There you are, Ms. Scarlet," the manager said. "Congratulations on your victory over Mr. Oris. I assume you're ready to claim your prize?"
"Yes," I nodded, having already been explained the value of peerages.
"Excellent, now, of the pieces Mr. Oris has left in his possession, he has a rook, a knight, both bishops, and five pawns. Apparently, he has already reincarnated a few of his, ahem, courtesans, into his peerage."
I felt a shiver of disgust shoot down my spine, realizing that had my opponent been more capable, I might've joined his group.
"Master Riser, what piece do you think I should get?" I asked Riser. He knew more about this than I did and would know which pieces are more valuable.
"Bishop," Riser confidently stated.
I turned toward the manager, who nodded.
He brought me inside the room with an unconscious Bekk Oris. Using the contract as the central component of a ritual, the manager transferred the bishop piece to me.
I was curious whether others could use such a technique to steal the bishop from me, but the manager reassured me that the ritual required magical consent, which was why it was done using the magical contract we had signed.
Thanking the manager for his assistance, I left the room and followed Riser as we headed home.
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Author's Note:
As the title says, it's underwhelming, but I know some people will be confused about how Bekk is high-class despite this showing, so I figured I'd clear things up.
Firstly, his magic reserves reach high-class (the only 'requirement' combat-wise), and he could easily win against a mid-class. Erza, however, is a combat prodigy and has been fighting strong opponents for years, even frequently fighting against Mirajane, another S-class. Bekk, meanwhile, took years to reach high-class strength, and even then, he only barely qualifies, while Erza is close to ultimate-class.
Second, Erza frequently takes combat quests, meaning her fighting skills are sharp. Bekk, as well as other devils, mostly focus on completing enough contracts to qualify for the promotion, and given his personality, Bekk clearly isn't training his combat skills in his spare time. Honestly, even someone like Gray could win against Bekk, though it would be harder.
Lastly, this is a fight where Erza can go all out. She has no injuries, her magic reserves are full, she has one opponent without any special tricks, and she doesn't need to protect anyone. Plus, her ability to control multiple swords is extremely hard to counter.
As for the piece trade, I imagine it's generally how peerages are traded canonically, with the twist that you don't necessarily have to trade for a fair price.
Thanks for reading; I'll see you next time!