by Aaron Oster
“So, what you’re saying is that you want Ferry and I, a Green and Blue-Belt, to hold off a bunch of Reds and Golds?” Aika asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Exactly.”
Aika’s shoulders slumped, but she nodded all the same. It wasn’t like he was really giving her much choice.
“How much time will it take?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Hermit replied with a shrug. “I’ve never done this before. It could take an hour, or it could take a day. I have no way of knowing.”
Aika sighed again, dropping to the ground in a cross-legged position mirroring his own. The only difference was that she faced outward, looking back the way they had come.
They all knew this was a risky course of action and had he seen any other way around it, Hermit would gladly have taken it. But he’d weighed all of their options, and this was the best way forward. The Itachi clan would be coming for them either way and when they entered the Windblight, he had no doubt that their Sovereign would hear about it, if not right away, then definitely when he made an appearance in whatever City was holding Roy.
It wasn’t that he feared being recognized, but generally speaking, when someone powerful came into your city, destroyed some stuff, and escaped with one of your indentured slaves, you tended to notice.
He gave Aika and Ferry one last nod, then turned his attention fully on the Core. As previously established, Cavern Beast Cores were different than any other in just about every way. That included the method of absorption.
Hermit took one last deep breath, then began cycling his Reiki through the loop he’d created, pushing his own power into the Core, mixing it with that of the Beast’s, then pulling it into himself using the same tether. As soon as the first of the Beast’s power entered his channels, his entire body locked up, and his awareness of the world around him vanished completely.
The process had begun, and now that it had, he’d be unable to do anything until it was finished.
9
“The entire cell can move?” Roy cried out as the others calmly rose to their feet, including Marrie – although in her case, it was a much slower process.
“You get used to it,” Xu said as he began stretching from side to side. “If I were you, I’d start limbering up. You never know what kind of match they’ll make you fight, so it’s best to be as prepared as possible.”
“So exactly what kinds of fights are these?” Roy asked, starting his stretches on the ground. “Will they all be fights to the death?”
“Not all,” Xu said. “But you should go into each fight with the knowledge that your life hangs on the whims of the crowd. If you put up a good showing, even if you lose, chances are you’ll live to fight another day. Put up a poor showing, and they’ll demand blood. Of course, some fights are to the death, regardless of how you do, so just go out there with the mind that killing is something unavoidable.
“Also, if we’re lucky, we might not have to fight at all. Every cell is moved to the arena every fight day, but none of us have fought in the past couple of events. If we’re lucky, we’ll get off free this time as well.”
Roy nodded, pulling his feet in until they were pressed together, then moved his knees up and down in a sort of flapping motion. It was one of the more tamer stretches Hermit had demonstrated, designed to loosen him up without hurting himself. The problem with stretching before warming up was that it was often just as bad as not stretching at all.
A light stretch was recommended, followed by an exercise that wasn’t too strenuous but still got the blood pumping. After that, the real stretching would come, before they moved on to technique training.
Everyone was silent as the cell continued moving, the loud clanging and occasional shudder of their passage being the only sounds. Roy was getting to his feet when the cell finally came to a halt, and with another loud clang, the cell seemed to sink several inches, shuddering one last time before stopping.
His eyes had grown accustomed to the dim lighting in the cell, so when the far wall opened once more, allowing bright sunlight to enter, Roy was forced to shield his eyes. It wasn’t just the light that hit him, but a wall of sound as well. He blinked several times, becoming accustomed to the light, and only once he was fully oriented could he understand what all the noise was.
It was the roar of thousands upon thousands of people, all gathered in rising pews as far as he could see in any direction. He moved right up to the bars, noting that there was another smaller cell on the other side, this one filled with weapons of all kinds. Past that was nothing but sand-covered ground, until the first of the stands packed with people became visible.
A long wall ran along the sides of the arena, raising the first row of seats some twenty feet off the ground. Still, it wasn’t so high that a skilled Martial Artist or one with an Earth Path couldn’t scale. So, how did they keep people from mounting an escape?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Xu said, coming up next to him. “Escape is impossible, so I wouldn’t even bother entertaining it. Sure, you might be able to make it into the stands, but there are guards everywhere, and I can assure you that they’re much stronger than you are.”
“What if everyone revolted at once?” Roy asked.
“They never let more than two full teams into the arena at once.”
“I thought there were seven different fighting stages?” Roy said.
“Sure, but there’s only one out at a time,” Xu replied. “You see those lines on the walls over there?”
Roy squinted across the open sands but finally saw what Xu was talking about — a set of deep grooves running up the twenty-foot walls. He nodded, and Zu continued.
“The entire stage moves. It’s set up on a track, just like our cells, and when they want to change it, it’s just a matter of getting a strong enough Martial Artist to fuel the script and move it. This way, they can completely change the entire arena in a matter of minutes.”
“Woah. How big is this place, then?” Roy asked, craning his neck to try and see past the lip of the wall.
Unfortunately, he was too far away to see any more than he already could.
“You’ll be finding out soon enough,” Xu said sourly as a couple of guards moved to unlock and enter the second cell.
It looked as though they would be fighting, contrary to Xu’s hopes.
“Stand back,” one of the guards ordered, raising glowing green fists while the other unlocked the gate.
They all did as they were ordered, although Roy did so reluctantly, glaring at them the entire time. The cell door opened, and the guards backed away, keeping their hands raised and preparing to attack if any of the prisoners decided to try and make a break for it. Seeing as they were both Blue-Belts, Roy didn’t much like their chances, even if there were five of them.
Only once the second door was locked tight did Xu move to enter the second cell, going immediately for a long double-edged sword mounted on the far wall. Roy was about to enter before he was rudely shoved to the side by Marrie.
“Newbies go last,” she snarled, moving to retrieve a weapon of her own.
Not wanting to get on anyone’s bad side, Roy waited as the others filed past. It wasn’t like it really mattered to him, as he fought without the aid of a weapon. The others all used weapons, though. Looking down, he wondered if armor was something he should bother with, as his own robes were still quite frayed and tattered from his time spent in the Trials of Water.
However, when he looked at the armor on display, noting their overall bulky nature, he decided against it. Of course, there were a couple of lighter sets, both of which had already been claimed – one by Xu and the other by Marrie – but seeing as they were the only ones, he decided to forgo armor as well.
“Not going to arm yourself?” Xu asked as Roy sat down on one of the steel benches lining the side of the cell.
“No point,” Roy replied. “I fight using my fists. Picking up an unfamiliar weapon now would only be a detriment.”<
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“I never fought with a weapon before,” Xu said with a shrug. “I’d recommend taking one, even if you don’t need it.”
Roy thought it over for a moment, remembering the coin he’d gotten from Azure upon completing his first Trial, the one used by the golem. Had he had that, he’d have been quite happy. The coin would create the weapon best suited to him, and all he’d have to do was run his Essence through it. He’d been unable to use it up until now, due to the massive Essence requirements. And of course, as soon as he had the required energy, he’d been abducted.
His eyes flicked to a heavy-bladed dagger on the wall, and he moved over to take it. However, when he lifted the weapon, it just felt so wrong that he immediately put it back. He could feel his Path recoiling at the very notion of using a dagger. Those were made for assassins, cowards, and people who needed to use trickery in their fights. Power Essence was made to destroy using brute force.
His eyes then flicked to a heavy-looking mace. The two-foot length of steel was topped with a heavy rounded ball, but the idea of using such a blunt instrument didn’t appeal to him either. Sure, it would increase the brute force of his attacks, but it was a heavy and slow weapon, and he relied on speed just as much as power.
In the end, when the guards approached to unlock the cell once again, Roy decided to forgo a weapon altogether, despite Xu’s advice.
“You,” said one of the guards, pointing directly at him. “Step forward. The rest of you, get back.”
Roy felt a pit in his stomach as he did as ordered. The guards who’d come this time had Purple-Belts around their waists, and he didn’t much feel like arguing.
“That’s some bad luck for you,” Xu said, though he didn’t seem sorry in the slightest that it was Roy and not him going out to fight.
For some reason, Roy had thought they’d all be fighting together, what with the entire cell being brought here and everyone gearing up.
The door clanged open and Roy walked out, his bare feet going from feeling the cool steel to the hot and loose sand once again. He’d long ago given up on wearing shoes, as his Path seemed to demand he go barefoot all the time for some reason. Still, he didn’t mind it. The sand didn’t bother him at all, despite its heat.
“Enter the arena,” one of the guards ordered, turning to face outward.
There was a short sort of corridor between Roy and the actual arena, the sandstone walls of more seats rising to either side of him, as well as above him. Once again, he didn’t want to fight with the guards, so he did as he was told and moved forward. The roar of the crowd seemed to grow louder as he finally entered the arena proper and got his first good look at the place.
It was massive, far larger than he’d first assumed. He’d entered around a third of the way from one side, and from here, he could clearly see small tunnels lining the walls, flanking the sides of the arena. There were several larger tunnels as well, which he guessed housed Beasts. The arena itself was shaped like a massive oval, longer than it was wide. He estimated some five-hundred yards between the two walls, and about a hundred and fifty across.
This entire stage was made of sand, except for a ring of stone some twenty yards in diameter at the very center. Although there was partial shade here, due to them being underground, Roy could clearly see the sky through cracks in the ceiling. It seemed that this area was much further up than the rest of the city, which gave him yet another potential avenue of escape. Then again, seeing as the ceiling was hundreds of yards overhead, his chances of reaching it weren’t all that high.
Roy wondered who he’d be forced to fight when the crowd’s cheering increased as another fighter walked into the arena from one of the tunnels on the opposite side. Unlike him, this man was pumping his arms up and down and basking in the adulation of the crowd.
He was dressed in a set of flowing tan robes, which shone with small patches of gleaming metal. He bore a striking resemblance to a few of the guards he’d seen, which told Roy that he wasn’t fighting another prisoner, but a member of the Inu clan.
Worse, the color of his Belt told Roy that his chances of winning this fight were pretty much crushed. The solid Blue meant that this fighter outclassed him by a full stage. He now understood what the guard had meant by special treatment, and he felt his anger flare up in righteous indignation.
No matter where he went, no matter who he faced, he was always at a disadvantage. The general attitude of the strong was to crush those who were perceived as being weaker, and for his entire life, Roy had been called weak. Well, not anymore. He didn’t care if no one thought he stood a chance. He was going to take this guy down and send a message to the Inu clan in the process. He was not some weakling to be stepped on, and Roy knew exactly how he was going to let them know.
10
“Welcome, one and all, to today’s arena matches!”
The voice that boomed out, echoing through the massive arena, made Roy jump. His eyes quickly moved around, looking for the source of the voice, when it came yet again.
“Today’s fights will feature seven matches fought in the Sand stage and Windswept stage! First up, from some backwater town in the middle of nowhere, we have Choi! He claims to follow the Path of Water, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!”
A loud round of booing went through the crowd, and Roy felt his anger rising. How an entire crowd of people could sit up there and leer at him, someone forced into this against his will was beyond him. In his mind, they were every bit as guilty as the people who were forcing him into this.
“Huh, I thought this Choi guy would be from the Inu clan,” Geon said. “Besides, he doesn’t follow a Water Path. It’s clearly Earth.”
“I’m Choi,” Roy snapped, wishing he’d picked a less stupid-sounding fake name when they’d asked him.
Still, seeing as they hadn’t believed him either time, he’d been expecting them to use his real name, not the fake one.
“No, you’re not,” Geon said. “Your name is Roy. Is your squishy brain malfunctioning again?”
The announcer continued, preventing Roy from being able to reply to the Dungeon Core.
“He will be battling it out with a crowd favorite! You all know him as The Demolisher, the man who’s never lost a fight, Inu Garnet!”
The leering that Roy had been receiving turned to cheers as the man pumped his arms in the air, brandishing the gleaming mace and bathing in their admiration.
“If the only people he fights are Green-Belts, then it’s no wonder he’s never lost,” Roy thought bitterly.
“That is how the Martial Arts tend to work,” Geon replied, just as unhelpful as always.
“This match will be to incapacitation,” the announcer continued. “But, as always with these types of matches, the fate of the loser will be in your hands!”
The cheers of the crowd told Roy exactly what they would be choosing, should he lose this fight. He was new, fresh meat, and Garnet was someone they knew and apparently liked. If Roy won the fight, Garnet would be spared. But if it went the other way around, Roy could be killed.
“The odds for this fight are four-hundred to one in Garnet’s favor!” the announcer continued. “All bets must be placed by the time both fighters reach the center ring, so if you’re feeling lucky, why not bet on Choi?”
Roy ground his teeth together as he heard that, feeling his anger mounting by the second. These people were gambling on whether he’d be killed or not, and by the faces he could make out, these people were having the time of their lives.
“Wow, they really have no faith in you pulling out a win,” Geon said.
“Watch me,” Roy thought bitterly. “I’m about to make a whole bunch of people lose their money!”
“You do realize that if you win, the Inu are the ones who get that money, right?” Geon said, prematurely ruining his small act of petty revenge.
“I already knew the Inu were horrible,” he retorted. “But look at all the different colored robes. Most of these people a
ren’t even from the Inu clan. If they wouldn’t support them, they’d have to shut this place down. This makes them just as guilty as the Inu!”
Geon didn’t have a smart retort for that, meaning that he’d acknowledged Roy’s point.
“Just try not to die,” the Core said as he approached the center ring. “I really like to be alive, and I still haven’t gotten my revenge.”
“Your concern for my well-being is touching beyond belief,” Roy deadpanned, then slammed his mind shut on the Core before he could thank him.
He stepped up the small distance to the flat stone disk and waited, arms crossed over his chest as the Inu fighter approached, still pumping his arms to the crowd’s cheering. Roy, in the meantime, took a chance to get a better understanding of his surroundings. Now that he was at the center of the arena, he could see pretty much everything, including the separation between the seating.
At first, he’d thought that all of the benches that surrounded him on each side were made of the same hard stone. Now, though, he could see a clear separation. One entire side of the arena was made up of just benches, rising over a hundred rows up. However, there was a clear divide after that. The two sections closest to the bench seating contained single seats – still made of stone – with armrests. Moving in, they changed to more plush seats. Carpeting and awnings became visible toward the center. At the very middle were several boxed-in balconies, where he could make out a few small parties of important-looking people.
It seemed that despite what he’d been told about equality in the Inu clan, there was still a clear separation when it came to wealth and class. Those with more money were treated better, just like everywhere else he’d been.
His eyes flicked back to the man approaching, and Roy took careful note of his posture. The way he walked, cycled, and moved began to show how he’d move in a fight. Inu Garnet hadn’t even bothered trying to suppress his Core, allowing his power to blaze forth. While his overall strength was greater than Roy’s by a good deal, his foundation was weak.