by Aaron Oster
“How much does he owe?” the man asked.
“He drank twenty-nine and three-fifths ounces of water,” Topaz said.
The man nodded, looking down at a sheaf of papers lining the counter.
“That equals four arena fights,” the man said after a few moments. “Name, fighting style and Path?” he asked, looking up at Roy.
While he was perfectly fine with cooperating until now, Roy didn’t much feel like doing so anymore.
“I’m sorry, but how does it make any sense that a few sips of water would cost me four fights?” he demanded.
“That is the price set by our clan leadership,” the man replied calmly. “Now, I ask again. What is your name, fighting style, and Path?”
“Why should I tell you?” Roy demanded. “I’m basically being taken against my —”
Pain flared throughout his body as Topaz drove a fist into his stomach. He’d hit him hard enough to double him over but had kept the blow from doing any actual damage. Roy heaved, dropping to his knees and fighting to keep the water he’d drank down.
“Name, fighting style, and Path?” the man asked again, his voice sounding almost bored.
“Just give it to them!” Geon said. “There’s no point in getting yourself beat up just to spite them.”
Roy glared up at the man as Topaz hauled him to his feet.
“My name is Choi, my fighting style is the Flopping Fish, and my Path is Water,” Roy said through gritted teeth.
Topaz punched him again, this time, in the temple and sending Roy sprawling.
“Continue wasting my time, and I’ll tack another fight on,” the man said, as Topaz hauled him back to his feet.
Roy glared at the man, who continued to look bored, tapping the pen in his fingers against the desk and waiting for his answer.
It was clear now that Roy’s initial impression of this city was not at all accurate. These people didn’t have it right at all. While they might act a certain way toward their own citizens or members of their own clan, they were treating him, an outsider, as nothing better than a wild animal. All he’d done was ask for a sip of water, and now they were basically pressing him into slavery, forcing him to fight for the entertainment of others and beating him for being uncooperative.
They’re no better than the Shah, Roy thought, fighting back his rising anger.
These people were just as arrogant, selfish, and corrupt as the rest, only they hid it under a mask of indifference.
“My name is Roy. I follow the Unaru Kuma and am on the Path of Power.”
Another punch to the face sent him down, his head ringing in agony as the taste of blood entered his mouth.
“I’ll add another fight to your record then,” the man said, as Roy was hauled back to his feet.
“But I told you the truth!” Roy spluttered, feeling his rage mounting.
“Of course, you did,” the man said with an eye roll. “Like we’re supposed to believe you’re on the Path of Power. Not that it matters. You’re weak, so you’ll likely not survive even the first match. Throw him in with Team Ragged. He’ll fit right in.”
Topaz nodded, then dragged him away, towing Roy along like a ragdoll as he fought to clear his head.
“I told the truth!” Roy snapped as Topaz dragged him down the hall.
“Coal can always spot a liar,” Topaz said. “Your Core might be hidden from us, but pretending to be a Power Artist is folly. You should just have admitted to what you were from the start and avoided the penalty.”
“What is he on about?” Roy asked Geon. “Can’t they sense my Core?”
Sure, he’d kept his Core suppressed for most of the time, but it shouldn’t have been any trouble at all for someone of Topaz’s advancement to discern his Path. After all, he had Power Essence flowing through him right now, as it responded naturally to his injuries and was already working to heal him.
“I…don’t know,” Geon admitted. “I definitely remember something about myself…An aspect of who I was before I joined with you…It’s on the tip of my…well, not tongue, but you know what I mean. I just can’t place it.”
The fact that the Dungeons very nature might be affecting him personally was news to Roy. Until now, he’d thought he functioned as a normal Martial Artist. All of his training and the way his Core had functioned until now pointed to just such a conclusion. However, if Topaz, a Supreme, couldn’t sense his Core, he had to assume that no one could.
But people had been able to in the past. So, the only question remaining was, what could have changed?
The answer was a simple one and one that opened the door to a slew of new questions. He’d advanced to Green and gained the Core-Body. So, if it had locked others out of sensing his Core somehow, what else could he do?
6
Roy was dragged to the far side of the massive room, toward the last set of bars in the row. However, instead of finding a room behind it, he found yet another corridor. Topaz pressed his palm to a small slot in the wall, then flooded it with Earth Essence. The bars rose, and he dragged Roy down the corridor. Sounds soon reached him, echoing down the steel hallway and bouncing eerily off the walls.
It took them several minutes to reach the other end, and seeing as Topaz had punched him three times, Roy wasn’t inclined to conversation. The man, on the other hand, acted as though nothing had happened, which further cemented the fact that the Inu clan was just as bad as the rest, only in their own special way.
Another set of bars greeted them as they reached the end, and this time, Roy could finally see people. Four Martial Artists, dressed in the same robes as Topaz, waited on the other side of the bars. A small table and chairs sat there, and three of them were currently occupied. On the other side of the table was another set of bars, these locking in a cell that contained several people.
“Got another one for Ragged,” Topaz said, hauling Roy out in front of him.
The Martial Artists from the Inu clan looked him over as one of them opened the gate to allow them in. They ranged from 2nd Dan Blue to 6th Dan Purple, which, again, Roy found to be strange. It was weird to have such powerful Martial Artists as prison guards. Although, if there were other powerful fighters locked up, it would make more sense.
“Count?” the man asked as Topaz handed him off.
“Five,” Topaz replied. “And Coal wants to make sure he gets some special treatment.”
The guard grunted as the other three went to open the opposite gate. If Roy had expected any of the others to try and use this opportunity to escape, he would have been mistaken. The five others sitting in the cell remained as they were, staring down at the ground and hardly reacting at all as Roy was tossed in with them.
He staggered and managed to stay on his feet, but by the time he whirled back around, the gates had been closed tightly and locked once again.
“I’m going to kill him!” Roy thought, glaring after Topaz’s retreating back.
“Right after you kill the Beast King and the Supreme of Cloying Darkness.”
Roy let out an angry exhalation before turning to observe the other guards. They ignored him, going back to their game as though he didn’t exist. He felt his brows draw inward even further, then reached out to touch the gate.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Roy whirled at the sound of the voice, seeing that one of the prisoners, an older man with large bags under his eyes and a wispy gray beard, was looking at him.
“Why not?” Roy asked, noting the man’s Belt.
Oddly enough, he was only at 2nd Dan Green, which was the lowest he’d seen in this city so far.
“The bars are charged with Chakra. They’ll retaliate if you so much as brush up against them.”
Roy looked back to the bars, though when he tried to feel with his Spirit Sense, he got nothing at all. His sweep didn’t go unnoticed, and the man just sighed once more.
“You won’t be able to feel anything. None of us can. We’re simply not strong enough
.”
Roy turned back, finally taking in the rest of the room’s occupants. There was one other man, who appeared to be in his late thirties. There were also two women who appeared to be in their forties or fifties, and a girl who looked to be no older than thirteen. Of all of them, she stood out the most. It was immediately obvious why he’d been thrown in here, seeing as everyone’s Belts were the same color, although, as a Base Green, he was the very weakest.
Shockingly enough, it was the girl who was the strongest, at 4th Dan Green. To make it to Blue-Belt, Roy would need to reach 5th Dan before being able to push for the next Belt. For this girl, who appeared to barely be a teenager, to have made it this far was nothing short of miraculous. He had to wonder what it was she’d done to be here.
“I’m Roy,” he said, taking a seat across the old man. “Thanks for the warning.”
“Xu,” the man said. “That’s Remy,” he continued, nodding to the other man. “Noko and Sue,” he nodded to the two older women. “And that’s Marrie,” he finished, nodding to the girl.
Roy nodded to each of them as they were introduced, though Marrie just ignored them all, glaring at the far wall and not even acknowledging their existence.
“That’s a very interesting name,” Roy said, having never heard it before. “Where do you come from?”
“Far away,” Xu said with a shrug.
It was clear that the man wasn’t going to say any more than that, so Roy decided to change tactics.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you all end up in here?” Roy asked.
“Same as you, I’m guessing,” Xu said. “We were lost and thirsty. We made the mistake of accepting water, and now we’re paying for it with our lives.”
“But surely you have to be coming to the end of what you owe, right?” Roy asked. “It’s just a few fights.”
Xu let out a harsh bark of laughter, one riddled with scorn and bitter anger.
“If you harbor any notions of paying off your debt, I’d get rid of those while you can. No one ever leaves the arena unless they’re dead.”
“What do you mean?” Roy asked, feeling what little hope he had slowly evaporating.
“The fights are hard,” Noko said, her voice coming out sounding hoarse and tired. “We need food, water, and medicine if we want to keep living, and every time they administer care, they add to our debt. I’ve been here for over five months and have fought in sixteen fights, despite my initial debt only being two. I now owe them fifty-seven more, meaning that I’ll spend whatever remains of my life fighting for the amusement of others.”
“I have five fights,” Roy said, feeling his fists tighten. “I’m pretty sure I can go for a few days without eating, and I’ve gone into plenty of battles injured.”
Xu shook his head sadly.
“It’s rigged. If you refuse food, water, or treatment after a fight, they’ll throw you into another before you can recover on your own. Each successive fight becomes more and more difficult, and if, by some miracle, you make it to the last, where your victory would absolve you of your debts, you are placed up against an impossible opponent.”
“How impossible are we talking?” Roy asked, feeling his resolve harden even further. “And what types of fights are these?”
“The arena events are divided into four types,” Xu said. “Single matches against other people, single matches against Beasts, team versus team matches, and team versus Beast matches. There are seven different sections of the arena, each offering unique challenges. The hardest of these is called the Pit, and it’s basically a rounded hole in the ground where the walls are lined with acid-covered blades.
“A Beast reigns supreme over that stage. It is known simply as Annihilator, on account of the fact that it has never been defeated. If you manage to make it through all of your fights, you’ll probably be tossed in the Pit.”
“What are my odds of facing something else?” Roy asked.
“Maybe twenty percent,” Xu replied with a shrug. “I wouldn’t take the chance, though.”
“Do any of you have any actual information on this Beast?” Roy asked. “Like its cultivation rank, or what types of attacks it uses? Also, how can anyone be okay with a completely unfair fight? And who watches these?”
Roy could scarcely imagine who would be so sick that they would enjoy watching people tear each other apart or watch as ravenous Beasts killed them.
“This is how the Inu clan has made most of its wealth,” Xu said, a bitter note in his voice. “They hold these spectacles for people of other clans and charge admission. They pretend to be cordial, a higher society where everyone contributes equally. But deep down, they’re the worst of the bunch, profiting off forced conscription and the lives of Martial Artists who are weaker than them. I don’t know why the other Great Clans put up with this, though I suspect that they’re in on it as well.”
“Shut your mouth, Greyha Xu!” the young girl, Marrie, snapped. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Xu just rolled his eyes, like he was used to these sorts of outbursts.
“Forgive me, your greatness,” he said, putting heavy emphasis on the last word. “I didn’t mean to insult your great and powerful clan. Oh, please forgive me.”
Marrie shot to her feet, her fists radiating green light.
“Come now, Marrie,” Xu said with a weary sigh. “You know what will happen if you try and attack me.”
Marrie ignored him, and with a scream of rage, dove at Xu, who didn’t even bother raising his hands to defend himself. Before the girl made it halfway across the cell, the floors came to life. Metal strands shot from the ground, twining around the girl’s ankles and dragging her down. She tried to resist, but more metal wove around her wrists, back, and head, pulling her flat.
Then, electricity crackled across its surface, causing the girl’s body to lock up. A moment later, her body went limp, leaving her unconscious.
“What was that?” Roy exclaimed, watching the metal tendrils vanish back into the floors.
“Insurance,” Xu said, watching the unconscious girl sadly. “There’s a script that runs through each of these cells. It’s designed to keep the prisoners from fighting. We can’t go killing each other when there’s no profit to be made.”
“Wow. This place is even worse than I thought,” Geon said. “Thanks for getting us stuck here, Roy.”
“How is this my fault?” Roy shot back. “It’s not like I asked them to lock me in here!”
“Somehow, you keep getting yourself into situations where your life is in mortal danger. And now you’ve managed to do it yet again. You know that our luck won’t keep holding out forever, right?”
Before Roy could snap back, Xu interrupted him.
“So, I’m curious. How exactly are you hiding your Core so well? I don’t think I’ve ever come across someone with such a sophisticated veil. Not even the Supreme can hide his presence this well.”
Roy shrugged, not wanting to give away his secret, although, truthfully, he had no idea why they couldn’t sense him. He’d dropped his veil as soon as he’d entered, yet no one seemed to be able to sense his Core.
“I had some pretty good training,” he said, then blatantly changed the subject. “Why did Marrie get so angry when you talked about the other Great Clans being in on this?”
“Because she’s from one of them,” Xu said. “I’m sure you’ve noticed how strong she is for her age. That’s what you get when you’re from a powerful family in one of the clans.”
This piqued Roy’s interest.
“Why would the Inu have such a valuable hostage fighting in the arena? Wouldn’t she be better served elsewhere?”
Xu shrugged.
“Beats me.”
“Do you know which clan she’s from?”
“She won’t say,” Xu replied. “All I know is that she’s been stuck here the longest. Noko came in after her, though Marrie refuses to say how long she’s been here.”
�
�How about you?” Roy asked.
“Just a couple of weeks,” Xu said. “Probably why I’m still so chatty. I’m sure you’ve noticed that the others are on the quieter side.”
Roy had noticed that, but when he looked to them, they all just looked away. Clearly, life here wasn’t easy. He then decided to ask the question he’d been dreading to, which was why he’d saved it for last.
“How many have died since you came?”
“Of this group? None so far,” Xu said. “But I’ve personally seen six people die in the last two weeks, and those were only the ones I saw.”
“Twenty-four,” Noko said, her hoarse rasp sounding from the opposite side of the cell. “I’ve seen twenty-four die since I came. That’s why they call us Team Ragged, after all. It’s where they throw the stragglers, the weakest of the weak. The ones they expect to die right away. Most don’t even make it past their first fight.”
There was a light grinding sound then, and the entire cell shuddered, then lurched to one side,
“What’s happening?” Roy asked, the panic in his voice audible as a sheet of metal slowly began lowering over the opposite side of the cell, blocking off the only source of light.
“We’re heading to the arena,” Xu said. “Looks like you’re about to get your first taste of combat.”
7
Aika lay on her back, her hands clasped behind her head as she stared up at the stars through the break in the trees. While Hermit had finally answered her questions about Roy, she hardly felt any better. He was lost, well and truly, and Hermit had no idea how to find him.
Thousands of miles stretched between here and Mountain Moore – most of it, the endless expanse of desert known as the Windblight – and it could take months to find him, if not more. Worse, as someone from the Itachi clan, Hermit was less than likely to be welcomed in Inu territory. The Inu was one of the Seven Great Clans, and their Sovereign, a man by the name of Pelata, was supposedly just as strong as Ikari, which meant that they would have to be extremely careful when making their way through that area.