It was dark. Sure, a few feeble little gas lamps and a sliver of a moon tried to cast some light on the cobblestones, but it was a whole unlit world in there. A fountain gurgled somewhere in the center as I passed by it, drowning out our footsteps until we came to a stop near the towering lights.

"So, what say we make this warm up interesting," Zorlo said as he shooed his monkey away. "No weapons?"

"Sure."

I unhooked my quiver and sword sheathe from my back, and nudged them off to the side for Avello to look after until later.

Now, most of the teachers in the Dome are practically zen masters, who are such strong fighters that they no longer need to fight; they can just cough and reduce you to dust, without lifting a finger. But then there's me; whose first thought upon hearing the term "unarmed combat" is the improvised, reckless fighting on the streets of Santa Mariela; and then comes the "unarmed combat" from months of martial arts training in Zhenghe and Tokogawa, where concepts like "form" and "discipline", and "breathe this way before you pop that guy in the face" apply.

Eventually, my unarmed fighting style became sort of a mix, where you can't really tell if I'm just a rumbler on the streets with a lot of technique, or a martial artist who skipped the days where we went over pacing or discipline. Usually, you didn't have enough time to try to distinguish between the two before you were lying on the pavement with a shattered nose.

Both Green Hair and I strode closer, cutting the distance between us as we adjusted gauntlets and gloves and cracked knuckles or did small stretches. I felt like by the time we were done here, I would have seen so much of this room (and so much of this room destroyed) that it'd be stuck in my dreams. The fencer's fights always seemed to last a long time.

"What are the rules on magic here to begin with, huh?" I called out. "No help aside from boosting speed and powering punches, or...?"

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[BA Characters][R. I. P. Duke of Clubs (11/15/92 - 1/5/08)][DA Account]

[A timid shapeshifter with an unexpected, inner wolf "side".]
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