The Rules of a Challenge
Dojo Master: Give me one thousand practice strikes. And...begin!
Trainees: One! Two! Three! Four!
Euden: This is the town of Val d'Or. Apparently martial arts are big here.
Ranzal: I believe it—hell, look at all the people trainin'! Plus, they got dojos everywhere.
Notte: What's a dojo?
Elisanne: A facility where people are taught all manner of combat practices. I myself went to one such place in order to learn the art of the lance.
Cleo: Well, they certainly look to be a bit overzealous about things. One might even call them frenzied.
Dojo Master: HEY! You think you can make it in the tournament if that's all it takes to wear you out?!
Ranzal: Hey, that's right! The tournament! ...Oh, yer all givin' me that look where I'm talkin' about stuff ya never heard of. Well, let 'ol Ranzal explain! Every few years, this town holds a kind of combat tournament. It's the biggest thing of its sort anywhere. The victor walks away with sweet piles of cash and all the honor they can handle— oh, and their dojo's name is celebrated throughout the land and whatnot. Some'a the power struggles between dojos get mighty fierce. Hooo-eee!
???: Aaaaack!
Euden: A scream?!
Notte: It came from this way!
Man: Aaaaugh!
Ruffians: C'mon, no need to be stubborn. Hurry up'n yield already.
Man: As if anyone would ever yield... to the likes of you...
Ruffians: Fine, then. Looks like we'll keep trainin' until ya get the picture!
Man: Gyaaaargh!
Elisanne: Ganging up on a lone man is the lowest form of cowardice!
Euden: Looks like it's time for us to step in.
???: STOP!
Euden: Huh? Who—?! Wait... Lin You?!
Lin You: Ha! Looks like we meet again, Euden.
Euden: I'd love to talk, but we need to help that poor man over—
Lin You: You can help him by sitting down and shutting up! This is between them.
Ranzal: Ah HA! I get it now!
Notte: Ranzal, remember that thing where you talk about stuff we don't understand? ...You're doing it again.
Ranzal: Right, sorry. So this here's one'a them dojo power struggles I mentioned earlier.
Lin You: If someone issues a challenge to the master of a dojo, it can't be refused.
Euden: But he's horribly outnumbered!
Lin You: Doesn't matter. If you don't fight and win, you lose the right to call yourself a master.
Elisanne: I understand this to be a harsh world, but even so...
Man: Unaaaaagh!
Ruffian: See here, friend? If ya woulda just yielded, we coulda skipped all this unpleasantness. Anyway, looks like your dojo's mine now.
Lin You: Stop right there!
Euden: Lin You!
Ruffian: What's YOUR deal, girlie?
Lin You: C'mon, big boy. Let's dance.
Ruffian: Aaaah ha ha ha! Go on, kid. Beat it. Unless ya want me to scar up that pretty little face of yours.
Lin You: You're the master of a dojo, which means you can't refuse my challenge. Unless you're just afraid that I'm going to beat you...which is understandable.
Ruffian: This kid don't know when to quit. ...Teach her some manners, boys!
Ruffians: Yes, Master!
Lin You: Heh... This is gonna be fun...
Ruffian: Sh-she just took out my two best guys!
Lin You: Hmm. Took a bit longer than I wanted, but I suppose it'll have to do. Now then, who do we have left...?
Ruffian: You ain't even from this town! What the hell do ya WANT?!
Lin You: I just want to fight strong opponents. The rest of it is... Eh, I don't really care. Still, you did challenge that guy to a totally unfair fight, which sort of made me mad. So I guess it's a LITTLE personal.
Ruffian: You little...
Lin You: Now then! You gonna flap your gums, or are we gonna go round and round?
Ruffian: Urk... I ain't gonna forget this!
Euden: At least that dojo master wasn't permanently injured...or worse.
Cleo: He's still severely wounded. I think we should have stepped in, traditions be damned.
Lin You: You can't help in the middle of a challenge! No matter what the outcome might be, once you've agreed to fight, you have to see it through to the bitter end. ALONE.
Cleo: That is a sentiment I will never share, nor even understand.
Ranzal: The kid's right—gotta put yer money where yer fists are in this old world.
Elisanne: At any rate, you seem to have grown even stronger, Lin You.
Lin You: Not strong enough. Not by a long shot.
Euden: Are you still continuing with your journey of training?
Lin You: Of course! Although honestly, the "warriors" I've met lately leave a lot to be desired. I was hoping I'd find a bigger challenge here on account of the tournament.
Ranzal: But that tournament ain't happenin' for a little while yet, yeah?
Lin You: Oh, I know. I just figured I'd stay in town and train until it rolled around again. But folks here are all flabby and weak— and fighting weaklings makes YOU one! Hey, I got an idea! Maybe I can come crash at your guys' castle for a while!
Euden: What?!
Lin You: I mean, you've got a bunch of strong folks there, right? Like Ranzal and Elisanne? I could train as much as I want!
Euden: Well, I suppose it would benefit us all to train against a strong opponent...
Lin You: Then let's get to it already!
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