Victor stood up slowly, his knees unsteady. Random thoughts spiraled through his mind in a storm, refusing to let him anchor himself. He was frozen where he stood, the roar of the coliseum keeping him rooted to the earth.
For a moment, he wondered if this was how it felt to walk toward death. A thousand questions recurring in his head; would he survive, how should he even fight, was he strong enough, none with answers, all clawing for space in his mind.
"Victor!"
A sharp call cut through the haze, snapping him awake from his thoughts.
He turned to the source of the voice.
He found Caelum watching him. The usual playfulness, the sly half-smile, the infuriating confidence that clung to him like a second skin—none of it was there. Instead, Caelum's face was grave, his eyes locked onto Victor with the most serious expression Victor had ever seen on it.
Seconds passed in silence. Then Caelum spoke.
"Don't die."
Victor blinked.
Of all the things he had expected to hear—this wasn't on the list. At first he was confused. Then surprised. And then, after a few seconds of awkward silence, understanding dawned on his face.
He nodded in acknowledgment at Caelum, then turned back toward the arena with a wry smile tugging at his lips.
After some thought, it clicked. He understood why Caelum had said it. Their plan hinged on Victor. If he died, it all collapsed.
Heck, if he died, he wouldn't even be alive to see the plan through.
The bitter humor of that thought twisted his smile into something sharper.
Before he could sink too deep into it, the same gruff voice from earlier sliced through his thoughts.
"Tell your girlfriend to get out there before I drag him out myself."
Victor glanced at the source of the sound.
The guard standing a few paces away was like a wall of menace made flesh. He was tall, easily seven feet—his frame was all coiled muscle beneath dark leather armor reinforced with steel. His ebony-black skin gleamed under the torchlight, and a long scar ran from his bald scalp down across his temple, vanishing beneath a square jaw. His eyes, yellow like smoldering embers, fixed on Victor with a predatory patience. His very presence pressed down like weight on Victor's chest.
Even without using Analysis, Victor knew.
Aside from the Baron and Sir Jeffrey, this man was the strongest here. Stronger than even Caelum.
'Not by a lot, but it feels like if they fought, he'd beat Caelum nine times out of ten. The one loss would come only from Caelum's luck or the guard's error'.
Victor held the man's gaze for a heartbeat, then looked away. Wasting energy on him now was pointless.
He stepped forward, ignoring the weight of that stare, and began walking toward the slave entrance.
____
The corridor beyond smelled of sweat, oil, and steel. At the entrance, there was rack of weapons lined up. The weapons looked like they've seen better days. Swords dulled from overuse. Shields splintered at the edges. Axes chipped and rusted.
Victor's hand hovered before settling on a spear with a plain wooden shaft.
"Well… decent enough," he muttered, testing its balance. The iron head was slightly crooked, but it would pierce flesh if driven hard enough. That was all he needed.
---
He finally reached the gate.
Light spilled in as he arrived at the arena entrance, bringing him after leaving the dim corridor.
The drums thundered in his ears. Then came the cheers—bloodthirsty, deafening, a thousand voices demanding blood. The nova hammered his skull until thought became difficult.
Victor squinted against the brightness, stepping into the coliseum proper.
Then he heard the distinct rattling of chains in distance.
"Open the gates!" Jeffrey's voice boomed.
The front gates groaned, pulled open by winches. The sound was soon drowned by another— a low, guttural growl.
What emerged stole Victor's breath.
---
The creature that lumbered out was a reptile, but it was no natural beast. It was a monster, its form was a grotesque echo of a Komodo dragon, though its scale dwarfed any lizard he had ever seen.
It stood nearly four meters long from snout to tail, its body bulk as wide as a horse, shoulders nearly two meters high. Its scales were a mottled blue-black, slick as if forever wet, glistening under the sun. Each step it took sent chills down Victor's spine.
Its eyes were two massive orbs, each the size of a clenched fist—glowed with an unnatural sheen, like molten silver mixed with sea foam.
It's chains clattered to the ground, fully released.
The beast let out a snarl, a sound that twisted into a hiss, echoing like steam bursting from pipes. It swung its head from left to right, tail thrashing, biting at the crowd that screamed for its blood.
And then its gaze landed on Victor.
A primal aura crashed into him, it's bloodthirst made tangible. The weight of it was suffocating, a predator's intent settled on it's prey.
The crowd was still loud, but Victor heard nothing. The world fell into silence, save for the beast's aura pressing against his spirit.
His heart pounded like a war drum, so rapid and violent he thought it might burst through his ribs.
Suddenly his mind broke free of thought.
Time slowed.
The cheers, the beast's hiss, even the frantic pounding of his pulse, all of it blurred into nothing. The world was muted. His perception stretched.
From somewhere deep within, a strange sensation welled up. An unknown power—silent, bubbling, slowly rose from his very being. He didn't understand it, but he knew the feeling that accompanied it.
Excitement .
Raw, untainted excitement.
And joy.
Incomparable happiness, unlike anything he had ever known.
'This… this is what I've always wanted.'
Excitement—the one emotion he had tasted least in life, now flooding his veins like fire.
The beast shifted, it's muscles tensing. It took a stride toward him.
Victor's lips curled into a smile.
And he began jogging.
Then sprinting.
The ground thundered beneath his feet, the spear steady in his grip. He drew a deep breath, tightening his hold. His whole body coiled and ready.
The distance shrank in seconds.
He roared in defiance, raising the spear. His arm flexed, about to thrust forward.
And then—
Something flashed across his vision.
BANG!
The world spun.
His vision blurred.
And suddenly, he was flat on his back, staring up at the sky.