Intense Struggle! (Round 7 - The Database)

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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Eight beings awoke in separate glass chambers. Through the glass, they could see a figure in the middle of the room; it sat at a chair, in the midst of several complex-looking machines.

"Greetings. I am known as the Monitor," said the figure. "I have brought you here for a simple purpose: To battle each other. I am very interested in the data such a battle will produce."

The shadowy Monitor pressed some buttons, and a spotlight illuminated the first glass booth.

"Participant number one goes by Larus Mutabilis, though that is not his real name. He is an outlaw with the ability to make his body as light as mist, or as hard as stone. Or anywhere in between."

More buttons were pressed, and the spotlight moved to the second booth.

"Participant number two, Aegis Cupris. You may notice the heavy-looking gauntlets he is wearing; he can change those into a number of weapons to adapt to a variety of situations. I've seen a friend of his advance quite far in a similar contest. It will be interesting to see if Aegis will prove himself to be as capable."

More buttons, and the third booth lit up.

"Participant number three, Sister Clara Jungfrau. Her appearance may surprise you - it is the result of a ritual undergone by priestesses of her world. She is still as devoted to her cause as ever."

The light moved to the fourth booth.

"Participant number four is known as 'B', though he may answer to 'Ben' as well. He has the ability to change into any kind of beast, even those that do not exist in his world."

The fifth booth lit up.

"Now we have participant number 5, D'Neya. 'She' is, in fact, a Twilight Sprite - a personification of a concept. I could give a detailed explanation, but I do not have that much time. Suffice to say that she is considerably more dangerous than she appears."

The sixth booth lit up next.

"Participant number 6, the masked magician Cabaret. He is capable of producing unusual weaponry from nowhere, and wielding it rather effectively."

Behind the mask, Bae smirked. This unassuming form would be perfect for catching the others off guard. He looked forward to the reward the Monitor had promised him should he win.

The light shifted to the seventh booth.

"Participant number 7, Trickster. He wields fire magic, and quite well. I imagine by his name that he also has a few other tricks up his sleeve..."

And finally, the light settled on the eighth booth.

"Participant number 8, the nymph Aph. She falls in love quiet easily... and can be very implacable if it is not returned. Note also the sword she is carrying."

The spotlight shut off. The Monitor pressed more buttons as he continued to speak.

"That should be sufficient information on your competition. Now, I will send you to the first arena. Once one of you has fallen in battle, the rest shall be retrieved and I shall send you to the next round. This will continue until only one of you is victorious."

The Monitor pressed one final button, and the glass booths filled with light, then emptied. The combatants found themselves in an abandoned military base, with bodies strewn about everywhere.

The Monitor's voice spoke once more.

"This base was the site of a large-scale battle. There were no survivors, on either side. However, the commander of this base had it filled with lethal traps, many of which are still active. You will have to contend with the traps as well as your competitors, or perhaps find a way to use them to your advantage."

"That is all. The first round has begun!"

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SpoilerRound 1's setting is inspired by the Base of Bobperations in Bob Must Die. It's not the actual Base of Bobperations, though there may be distinct similarities - I'm not going to expect you to comb through that massive topic to get ideas.

As the Monitor said, there are deadly traps all over the place, as well as plenty of corpses - and of course, some of the corpses may have weapons to loot, or other things you can work with. Go crazy!