mindgasm

He joined back with his clone, and as she reached out towards him for a slash across the throat, he drew his sword and blocked her attack. The ring of energized wind should have broken or at least chipped the blade, but Noah’s sword was enchanted to resist and repel magic attacks. The woman leaped back, hurling her rings at Noah, and he shattered them with two swings of his sword, then closed the distance in the blink of an eye and aimed for a stab to the chest.

“Rachel?” I asked. Yes, that was right. The amazing blonde who I'd watched sitting at the bar, turning away attempts to chat her up all night. But when I'd gone over to refresh my drink, she'd asked my name, had wanted me to sit with her. To give her a break from the guys trying to hit on her, she'd said. “You... you spiked my drink! What did you give me?”

After the third round of fights, the tournament was suspended until the next day, and everyone returned home. Sitting at the desk in Valon’s room, Noah was busy replicating the headband he got from Saimallah. He had already used alchemy to create an exact replica, including the engraved runes, and was now applying a suitable ink. As he worked, he scrutinized the formula repeatedly, making sure it did what it was supposed to. For all he knew, putting it on could brand him with a curse. In his long years across the multiverse, he had learned to always look a gift horse in the mouth. Reading the formula was like reading a contract, and he had to be wary of fine print.