D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad-Chapter 1821 - Dwarf-ing the Competition Part 1

--- Kat ---

Kat was ignoring the glare Nixilei was sending her way as she flipped the chair around to speak with Skye and the rest of her team. Sure they might not be the most trustworthy after that first round… but the shared history probably helped more than it hindered. Plus, Skye did seem regretful for how things played out. She might still make the same choices a second time but she clearly wasn't all that happy with how things went down.

Kat was about to open her mouth when, before the conversation could even start, another team swaggered into the enclosed clearing. It was immediately obvious who they were. Their fancy as fuck glowing armour meant it was the dwarven team. Though the human stood out the most.

Kat recalled Nixilei's notes from yesterday. The human was called Trevor Smithson which probably irked the dwarves a bit. He was also tall, almost freakishly so and not all that wide. He was easily six foot, probably closer to seven and he made the dwarves around him look a bit like children… if only he didn't look so gangly and awkward. His face was a weird mix of awkward teen and hardened warrior, mostly because of the fact his original ear had been destroyed at some point.

He had a fancy replacement, perhaps paid for by the rest of the team if Kat had to guess. It was made of some sort of silver that seemed to move along with him. If it wasn't for the odd colouring you might think it was a real ear. It seemed to blend in pretty well with his skin with only the colour giving the edges of it away. Perhaps it was even more effective then usual? It was hard to tell.

Unlike the rest of the team he didn't have full plate armour. He did have a proper helmet currently clipped onto his belt alongside a small dagger but his 'armour' such that it was, was made of some sort of monster silk. Probably anyway. The fact that it was shifting colours slowly as he walked in gave away that it was quite magical. If that wasn't enough the few places that didn't shift were metallic thread in the shape of runes. These were complimented by mana stones worn as part of what looked like a necklace but seemed to be attached to the rest of the outfit, presumably to power the enchantments.

Nixilie's notes implied he wasn't entirely happy with the rest of his team but it wasn't obvious from where Kat was standing. Perhaps those issues had been dealt with in the time since the last round, or perhaps they were mostly imagined by the note takers. He was apparently exceptional at dodging and had great dagger skills… but only mediocre healing ones. Nixilei presumes he was training to be more of a rogue with a good focus on stealth and agility on to learn later in life that he could be a healer. Perhaps that was were the resentment was coming from?

The next person that drew attention, or the next two, were a set of sisters. Cleavor Brightaxe and Greaves Brightaxe. Their family almost certainly made the armour for the team. The Brightaxe family was one of the better smithing families in the dwarven kingdom… but also the newest. Plenty of people still saw them as upstart mercenaries that didn't really deserve the prestige but according to Nixilei's notes, from a quality standpoint, they were easily in the top ten, likely in the top five but heavily hampered in terms of material acquisition and techniques. Plenty of the gold guard just didn't want to share with them.

Their clan was likely pushing for their entry. If they managed to win, or even managed to put on a good enough showing then it was quite likely they could pick up those techniques or request an apprenticeship under someone to learn that knowledge. They were working in tandem with another team members clan, the Grinders, an old mining family turned merchant empire. They likely supplied the materials for most of the armour. Strigor Grinder was on their team as well.

Still, the twins had some interesting armour and weapons. They both had bucklers that had clear seems running throughout. Kat didn't need to see the back to realise that they could likely expand to cover a much larger area if necessary. Cleavor used a mace, while her sister Greaves was the one with an axe. It was a deadly looking thing with an axe head as wide as she was and deadly sharp.

The mace looked high quality and newly made. It seemed of solid construction and the pitch black metal making up the bulk of it did a good job of being intimidating… but it was nothing compared to the axe. There was something weird about it. It looked like a normal steel axe at first glance, but the axe blades had a dark reddish black tinge like dried blood. The effect was not helped by the fact that occasionally, a bit of whatever that shit was would drip off the axe and onto the ground before disappearing. It was not a kind weapon. For a clan called 'Brightaxe' they sure had a creepy looking one in their possession.

They had full plate armour like the rest of their team. No surprise there, as Nixilei's notes made it clear they relied on the quality of the metal and enchantments to power through. Kat couldn't even see the girl's faces because of their helmets. Unlike Trevor who had his removed they'd both kept a full face plate deny Kat access to their expressions.

The whole outfit was made of this sort of dusty looking gold metal… which was not what they were using before. Apparently the last set of armour had been more blue-ish. Whatever this was had to be an upgrade. It looked sort of like someone had taken gold dust, a bit of sand, and then mixed them together into an alloy. The weird part was that the speckles inside of the armour seemed to move, ever so slowly. Only Kat's exceptional eyesight let her confirm that it was moving at all. A strange effect and not something they rest shared. Only the sisters shared the appearance of their armour. Probably anyway. The weapons gave them away but with the helmets it was technically possible they switched around.

Strigor Grinder was next. He didn't have a shield by damn did he have weapons to spare. He had a crossbow on his back, a smaller crossbow on his hip, two swords placed in the small of his back and finally his gauntlets had spikes coming out of them. Surely there had to be an enchantment to retract them because otherwise they'd get in the way when using his other weapons.

He did have a helmet, but it was an open faced one showing off his rather impressive beard and the bottom half of his face. It was a mix of blonde and brown hairs and very shiny for a dwarf. This was in contrast to his armour. It was a dull red that seemed to drink in the light, a burgundy really. The only exception was that there were large mana crystals embedded into the sides where the seams should be. Kat didn't know how safe that was… but they were there on full display. Made Kat wonder where the sisters hid their mana crystals.

Apparently Strigor was the weapon's expert. He dealt long range damage when he could, and was happy up close in personal when someone forced his hand. More than one fool had leapt into melee range against him, thinking the archer would be unpractised with his blades… and they were very, very wrong. Despite his clan pouring mountains of money into his team… not a single person would dare say he bought his way in. He was an exceptional combatant and the only reason he wasn't the best on his team…

Was because Long Crackfist was a madman. He was considered the best, and craziest fighter on the team. He fought like he had regeneration affinity when he clearly did not. His armour was much bulkier then the others to allow him to store potions in an expanded space inside. His armour was black with stars on it, like someone had cut a piece of the night sky and welded it into shape.

He had a giant greatsword on his back that was taller than he was. It should be a pain to use but he managed. The crazy bastard would use the giant weapon to cut through his opponents… and happily discard it should anyone get close. He was undefeated in a straight up brawl and was more than ready to throw down with anyone. His armour was, at one point, the most battered and bruised of the whole team. Now it was brand new just like the rest. A suit of armour that made him look like he must have been massively overweight… but that likely had half a dozen crazy concoctions stashed inside.

They walked in like they owned the place… and considering the amount of money that had went into their old suits? They probably could buy the place if they tried. Nixilei did like to say they only got so far because of their connections and money… but there was a good deal of skill there as well. And… hang on…