"You think you're strong?" Kharvek bellowed. "I am the City Lord.
I bathed in magma before you could even hold a blade."
He stomped once and the arena answered.
BOOM!
Obsidian spikes erupted in all directions.
One spike shot up under Ben's feet and nearly impaled him, but he vaulted sideways, twisting between falling stone and rising flame.
Kharvek charged, faster than before.
His entire right arm turned into a gauntlet of molten rock.
It thickened and curled into a hammer the size of a grown man.
CRASH!
Ben ducked at the last instant.
The hammer smashed into the arena wall.
Stone shattered and flames poured from the crater like a broken furnace.
The crowd howled.
"You run well, rat!" Kharvek mocked, his voice booming over the noise. "But how long can you dodge my wrath?"
Ben did not answer.
He was already moving.
Another three venom daggers flashed from his hands, one high, one low, one curving in from the side toward Kharvek's back.
Kharvek snarled.
