Jordan yawned while the crowd cheered around him, a bored expression on his face as he twirled one of his hammers while standing over the unconscious body of a human in a strangely stylish set of skunk themed barbarian armor. A battle-axe lay on the ground next to him, the handle shattered in two, and a pair of half giants wearing the gang's uniform came onto the cage floor to haul the unconscious man out through the squeaky gate that he had entered through. Meanwhile, Jordan took a few steps back and plopped onto the stone platform by his gate that he used as a bench, sitting cross legged as he began to pick at his teeth. His eyes began to wander as he waited for his next opponent, and he suddenly realized how much the crowd had grown in the past few minutes. The 2 fights he had before the one he had just finished were equally as fast, and several onlookers from other matches had begun to crowd the bleachers around his cage.
He realized after a few minutes that while no other fighter was coming to the platform on the opposite end of the cage, the crowd had continued to swell in size. Eventually, the bleachers around the other fighters had completely emptied, and Jordan began to feel a twinge of nerves as dozens of people were now standing on the sides of the bleachers as all the seats had become packed. Just as he began to wonder if he should go get someone, dozens of the paper lanterns floating around the yard went out simultaneously, with only the few above Jordan's cage remaining alight. The sound of the squeaking gate pulled his attention to the other side of the cage, and a gnome wearing a top hat roughly the size of his entire body emerged. The glow of the lanterns that surrounded the cage reflected off of his silver 3 piece suit, though Jordan found the golden fake teeth in his mouth to be even more distracting. He was followed by a slender Dragonborn man wearing a set of light iron armor, who stood behind the gnome as he addressed the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls that are too young to be here, welcome to the final round of today's tournament!" He croaked loudly, his eyes practically turning into gold coins as he looked over at Jordan. "I would like to thank our guest for giving us one of the livelier Sundays in recent memory. However, as you all know-" he said while slowly spinning and gesturing to the individual sections of the crowd. "Not a single one of the 42 challengers that Denji here has faced was able to make a single scratch on his armor. While this young man has been a very welcome addition to our festivities, it wouldn't feel right to end today's show without a bit of a challenge for him. What do you say!?" He shouted.
The crowd erupted with cheers, and the wrinkled gnome immediately scurried off of the platform, allowing the Dragonborn to take his place. The crackle of a loudspeaking stone echoed throughout the massive yard, and the gnome's voice sounded even more grating over it.
"In the bag that I'm holding is 2000 gold! The loser of this final fight gets nothing, while the winner walks away with a small fortune! All bets are locked, and our fighters are free to start! Play fair gentlemen. Or don't, whatever you'd prefer," he said with a chuckle before the speaker cut out.
Jordan looked back toward his opponent and pulled the hammers from the holster on his belt, while Denji pulled a large great sword from his back. The humongous blade looked to at least weigh the size of Jordan's entire body, though his opponent gracefully wielded it as if it were made of cotton balls. With surprising speed, Denji leaped at Jordan, clearing the entirety of the cage in a single bound. He raised the sword above his head, swinging it down upon the half elf before he even had time to raise his hammers to defend himself. He barely rolled out of the way, the platform he was standing on a moment before now sliced half like it had been made of paper. Not wanting to be on the defensive, Jordan immediately dashed back toward his opponent, swinging his left hammer forcefully toward Denji's kneecap. Though to Jordan's surprise, he nearly lost his balance as his swing missed completely, and watched in awe as Denji performed a graceful back flip and stuck the landing behind him.
"That was really elegant man, I have to give credit where it's due," Jordan said as he rolled forward, a piercing strike narrowly missing him before he popped back to his feet.
"2 years of ballet, it does wonders for balance and coordination," Denji said nonchalantly as he hoisted his sword up and lightly balanced it on his shoulder. "Who are you by the way? I feel like I usually can recognize the stronger fighters."
"I'm Jordan. I jut moved here and I thought this would be a good way to make friends," Jordan said as he casually twirled each of his hammers. "Plus, I'm broke as hell," he said with a shrug.
Denji laughed before lowering his sword and dashing toward Jordan once again, swinging the massive blade across his body toward the half elf's neck. The half elf managed to sidestep the strike by a hair, and quickly swung his right hammer squarely into the middle of the blade, knocking Denji off balance. As he attempted to right himself, Jordan swung his left hammer forcefully before the Dragonborn could perceive his movements, cracking into Denji's ribcage as he let out a pained grunt.
"Ooh, that one got you good, didn't it?" Jordan whispered with a smile as Denji staggered backwards. "That's some good armor too, only getting a dent from one of my attacks is pretty impressive," he said as he pointed out the hammerhead shaped indent. He continued to casually twirl his hammer as his opponent finally managed to straighten his body into an actual combat stance, though his sword was shaking in a way that it had not before.
"Who...are you?" Denji asked through labored breaths, his tone far more serious than before. Jordan began walking toward him, and the cheers of the raucous crowd swelled as the turning tides of the battle began to become apparent.
"I'm just a guy trying to get paid," Jordan said as he swung toward his opponents head the moment he was within range.
With a pained grunt, Denji raised his sword just in time, the clash of the metal causing his ears to ring violently. He could feel blood begin to drip down his nose from force of the vibration, and it took all of his willpower to prevent his knees from buckling below him. While he was distracted, Jordan took the opportunity to sidestep and deliver an uncontested blow directly to his helmet. The crack of the metal echoed throughout the cage, and Jordan hopped back as the once undefeated champion fell to the ground with a thud. A hush fell over the crowd as Jordan bent down toward Denji's head, lightly tapping his helmet with his hammer. He heard a guttural moan come from inside, and Jordan turned to the crowd as he gave a thumbs up with his free hand.
"He's gonna be ok, but I won, right?" Jordan asked awkwardly as the crowd continued to stare at him with their mouths agape. The silence only continued for a moment before an eruption of cheers rang out, and Jordan nearly dove for cover from the unexpected noise.
"Holy shit, did you see that?!" One of the goblins in the crowd shouted as he shoved the much larger half orc sitting next to him. "He beat Denji in like 10 seconds, have you ever seen anything like that?" He asked in an obnoxiously nasally tone.
"Shut up, Tony. Forest is coming into the cage!" The half orc grumbled as he shoved the goblin off of his seat. Jordan heard his painful cough as his back hit the floor, cringing while he had a brief childhood flashback before hearing the squeak of the gate once more. Jordan shifted his gaze from the wheezing goblin to the top hat emerging from across the cage, and raised his eyebrow in curiosity once he noticed the massive smile that the gnome now wore on his face.
"That was magnificent, my boy!" The man said as he scampered across the cage floor. Jordan was taken by surprise as two tiny hands grasped his with surprising strength, shaking them so vigorously that he nearly lost his balance. "The prize is yours as promised, but if you would like the opportunity to earn even more, feel free to come up to my home at any time. I've never seen a fighter like you before, and I'm sure I could make a very enticing offer. If you would consider sticking around for a few more tournaments, of course," he said as he pointed to a massive hill that overlooked the entire village.
Jordan squinted his eyes, and upon further inspection, it appeared that the only building on the hill was a massive log cabin that was roughly 5 times the size of any other building in the village. Jordan nodded then held out his hand expectantly, causing Forest to snap his fingers which immediately prompted a goblin who was also wearing the gang's uniform to laboriously drag over a sack of coins that was clearly too heavy for him. He dropped it at Jordan's feet before retreating back into the crowd, his raspy wheeze nearly sounding like a squeaky toy.
"If you keep paying like this, I'm sure I could find room in my schedule to stop by again," Jordan said, picking up the bag and feeling it's heft with a smile. "Do you think you'd be able to help me get an airship if I hang around here for a while?" Jordan asked.
"Oh certainly! I have connections all over Tenkumachi, so I'm sure we could get you whatever you needed," Forest said, looking up at Jordan expectantly. The half elf paused for a moment, rubbing his chin in contemplation as the crowd around the cage began to disperse.
"Give me a day to think about it. I'll come up tomorrow and we can talk business then," Jordan said as he began walking away.
"Oh alright-" Forest said, slightly startled at Jordan's abrupt departure. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he blurted with an awkward wave as Jordan made his way toward one of the other reasons that he had come to visit Mori Town: a tiny hole in the wall general store with a sloppily painted sign that bared the name Lucy's. Fortune had it that the address his parents had given him was just around the corner from the town square, and he smiled once he saw her familiar handwriting.
Jordan approached the shop and opened the front door, immediately sneezing upon entering the establishment and cursing his allergies as he closed the door behind him. A bell rang above him as he entered, and the shop was somehow even smaller on the inside. 2 shelves with various trinkets plus the front counter took up the entirety of the space, and Jordan made a point to look directly forward as to not let claustrophobia set in.
Waiting to greet him next to a cash register with visible rust was an overweight Himalayan cat. Her white fur would be elegant if not for the drool dripping out of her slightly open mouth, and the fact that her bright blue eyes were always looking in slightly different directions added to her creepy vibe.
"Hey Jordan, I can see you've inherited your father's strange fashion sense," Lucy said as she began licking her paw.