'Was it a dream?'
Beneath his feet lay barren earth, with a landscape that looked exactly like the surface of the moon.
The ashen ground held absolutely no trace of life.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but dead rock and dust.
Yet, there was also a brilliant kaleidoscope of colors here.
That light came from the indescribable, infinite entity suspended high above his head.
It was larger than any celestial body in the universe, its massive size seemingly breaking the very framework of the cosmos itself.
Noah gazed up at this ancient existence that no normal light could ever reach.
At that moment, he felt as if his body had become completely transparent.
The cosmic light passed directly through him, and as it did, obscure and incomprehensible incantations naturally surfaced in his mind.
As his lips unconsciously murmured those ancient words, the starry sky suddenly began to swirl.
A beautiful, blue planet rapidly expanded in his vision.
The massive world, over twelve thousand kilometers wide, unfolded before him like a breathtaking painting.
"Yog-Sothoth—"
The exact moment he finished the incantation, Noah's consciousness instantly plunged into a deep, heavy silence.
The swirling starry sky returned to total tranquility.
...
What roused Noah next was not the gentle nudging of a little fox, nor a soft whispered call.
It was a foul, rotting stench.
Frowning, he woke up on the cold floor of a dimly lit cell.
After glancing at the heavy iron shackles locked around his ankles and taking in the dismal conditions of the room, Noah was utterly confused.
"Where is this?"
Why were there chains on his feet?
Even without using his Truth Seeker skill, his years of experience working with steel told him these chains were made of incredibly cheap, common cast iron.
With his physical strength, breaking them would not be impossible.
But why did his head hurt so much?
He felt a massive wave of mental exhaustion, exactly like the spiritual burnout that comes from draining all your magic power.
His brain throbbed with a dull, endless pain.
Was he suffering from mind zero? Did that mean he had actually used magic while he was asleep?
And what exactly was that strange vision he just had?
It felt as if he had been pulled into a dimension outside of time and space.
Clang—. Clang—.
The heavy sound of dragging chains echoed from the hallway outside his cell, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Judging by the slow uneven rhythm, it clearly was not the sound of someone walking normally.
Curious, Noah raised his head and discreetly peeked through the iron bars into the narrow stone passage outside.
A few seconds later, three figures appeared.
Two burly men wearing masks were dragging a third man down the hallway.
Noah glanced at the prisoner being dragged.
It was a man who looked to be about thirty years old, and he was covered from head to toe in bloody wounds.
The clanging chains were locked around his ankles.
With his extensive experience as an adventurer, Noah could tell just by looking at the man's wounds that his opponent had been a swordsman who had not taken the fight seriously at all.
Every single cut carefully avoided the man's vital organs.
The sword strikes were only meant to slice the skin and draw blood without causing instant death.
The opponent's skill level was far, far higher than this prisoner's.
Despite the massive gap in strength, the enemy had simply toyed with the man, torturing him until he finally collapsed from blood loss.
Judging by how the guards were carelessly dragging him, they were probably just going to toss him back into a cell to bleed out.
'What a bizarre place.'
He clearly remembered everything that had happened before he fell asleep in Orario, so he still firmly believed this had to be a dream.
It was just a dream that felt incredibly close to reality—and he had no idea how to wake up.
...
Over the next half day, Noah watched at least a dozen different prisoners get dragged past his cell door.
Some walked out in perfect condition but returned barely alive. Others were dragged back as corpses that were still warm to the touch.
All of their wounds had been caused by human-made weapons.
Most were clean cuts or deep punctures, meaning the enemies they faced were skilled weapon-users.
'So, it seemed this place was some kind of underground arena.'
'Prisoners were taken out of their cells to fight, and the losers were either locked back up to suffer or killed in the ring.'
Click.
Finally, the lock on his own cell door popped open.
Noah watched silently as several masked guards walked in.
"Number 3, it is your turn. Your opponent this time is a massive big shot. If you win, you get your freedom."
Even though the guard was wearing a mask, Noah could easily hear the cruel sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"..."
Freedom?
Considering how they had treated him so far, he could easily guess his role in this bizarre dream: he was a gladiator slave.
"Number 3" was what the guards called him.
Earlier, he had heard them mention a Number 16 and a Number 43.
If the numbering started from one, that meant there were at least 43 slaves trapped down here.
For an underground arena, that was a pretty large scale.
One of the guards tossed him an iron sword.
Noah caught it effortlessly. He did not even need to test its weight to know it was only slightly better than a hunk of scrap metal.
Honestly, the sword's "enchantment" was far more terrifying than its sharpness: One cut gives you tetanus.
Two cuts send you straight to your ancestors.
Judging by the heavy chips and nicks along the blade, this weapon was not just second-hand—it had likely been used in hundreds of fights and was currently working its hardest until the day it finally snapped in half.
Following the masked guards out of his cell, Noah was finally led toward the arena where the other slaves had been fighting all day.
As he walked down the long, dark passage, he glanced at the walls on either side.
All he could see were endless rows of prison cells.
Some were empty, while others were occupied by groaning, injured fighters.
As a bright light appeared at the end of the tunnel, Noah began to hear a low, rumbling noise.
The closer he got to the light, the louder and clearer it became.
It was the deafening sound of a massive crowd shouting and cheering.
Stepping out of the dark passage and into the sunlight, the view suddenly opened up.
Noah found himself standing in the corner of a colossal, circular arena.
The battlefield was surrounded by massive, towering walls.
Above the walls were tiered spectator stands, packed shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of screaming fans.
Accustomed to the dark cell, Noah instinctively raised his arm to shield his eyes as the bright sunlight hit his face.
Once his eyes adjusted to the glare, he calmly walked toward the center of the dirt ring.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The identity of one of our combatants today is incredibly special, so no betting will be allowed for this match!" a booming voice echoed throughout the entire stadium.
Hearing that highly familiar style of sports announcing, Noah looked up in surprise.
When he saw what was hanging above the arena, he froze in his tracks.
"Are those... broadcast screens?"
Hanging high above the center of the stadium were four massive, high-definition jumbotron screens facing all four directions of the audience.
Right now, those screens were broadcasting a close-up shot of Noah's face.
Combined with the modern PA system, if someone suddenly told him he had been teleported to an NBA basketball game, he probably would have believed them.
Technology like this absolutely did not exist in Orario!
And the announcer's voice—it was definitely being amplified by an electronic microphone.
'So this really is a dream world!'
'Because it connects to my memories of the modern world on Earth, that means...'
"Boooooo!"
Hearing that betting was banned, the massive audience immediately started booing and throwing trash.
The announcer shouted into the microphone, "Do not be disappointed just yet, everyone! Because when I reveal this challenger's identity, it is going to shock every single one of you! Everyone sitting in the stands today is getting a massive treat!"
Hearing the host's hype, the audience began murmuring excitedly.
People argued back and forth, trying to guess which famous gladiator was about to step into the ring.
The tension in the stadium skyrocketed.
The host shouted at the top of his lungs, "Then let's reveal our fighters right now!"
He pointed down at Noah.
"First, stepping out from the Blue Gate! He is a total newcomer to this arena! Code name: Number 3! Well, that is all the introduction he gets. No one cares about him anyway!"
"Now, let's introduce his opponent from the Red Gate!"
"She is the Second Princess of the Vermillion Empire!!"
"Her Royal Highness, Stella Vermillion!!"
As the announcer screamed her name, Noah watched a figure step out from the dark passage on the opposite side of the arena.
At the exact same time, the roaring chaotic stadium fell into an eerie dead silence.
This made Noah incredibly curious.
What kind of person had the terrifying presence required to instantly silence a stadium full of thousands of screaming sports fans?
'What kind of monster are they?'
Noah had already made plenty of guesses about who his opponent would be.
A famous, bloodthirsty mercenary? A vicious criminal? Or maybe a renowned, high-level adventurer?
But he never in a million years expected his opponent to be the actual princess of a nation!
Noah watched the girl walk out from the shadows of the tunnel.
He realized she seemed to be only slightly older than him, probably by just a year or two.
She had long, flowing hair as red as a roaring fire and piercing crimson eyes that looked like burning coals.
The girl possessed a stunning, breathtaking beauty that was entirely worthy of her royal status.
Furthermore, her physical development was disproportionate for her young age.
Just the simple act of breathing caused incredibly noticeable movement in her upper body.
"Both fighters, step forward to the center ring!"
Noah looked at the expressionless princess and walked forward until they were standing less than five meters apart.
At this close distance, they could see each other perfectly.
Suddenly, the girl narrowed her crimson eyes and scowled.
Her tightly clenched fists and gritted teeth showed that she was furiously angry.
As her eyes widened in rage, an aura of faint glowing flames began to overflow from her body.
Noah instantly felt the temperature of the air around them skyrocket.
This made his jaw drop in pure surprise.
'Wait... is that magic?!'
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