Book 1: Chapter 90: Battle Royale and Tactical Waiting

Book 1: Chapter 90: Battle Royale and Tactical Waiting

Lone wanted to do nothing but keep his head low and focus on the coming battle but he couldn't help getting distracted by how simply magnificent the interior of the colosseum was.

Banners with the flag of Milindo and the insignia of the royal family lined the walls and the grandstands as thousands of voices roared and cheered.

A man with a magically enhanced voice spoke over them and detailed the few stand-out participants in Lone's group while the people around him casually and rather happily waved and cheered back at the crowd.

The king and his children sat in an elevated platform with the hero stood behind them. Just below that royal platform lay 4 smaller but just as majestic areas where the families of the 4 ducal houses watched on.

There were numerous even smaller special areas where Lone presumed the lower nobles were seated.

'Holy fucking shit. I mean... This is really fucking cool. Is this what it felt like to be a gladiator of Rome back in the day? Minus the slave part, I mean... If I wasn't in the situation I am then this would be such an amazing experience...' Lone's inner history nut was going wild with joy.

He was so engrossed in taking in the architecture and the raw atmosphere that he completely zoned out and missed whatever the announcer had said.

Before he knew it the battle royale had begun. He broke out of his stupor when the smell of iron hit his nose.

Blood everywhere. Swords, spears, axes, bows and every other which-weapon was being swung and fired around wildly as screams and roars of victory flooded the arena.

Lone quickly shook his head then used his swordspear to deflect an incoming set of daggers. He then spun on his heels and kicked his aggressor in the face, sending the man sprawling over the floor.

'No time for appreciation, Lone. I need to find a quiet corner to stand in and fight off whoever guns for me. The easiest way to get in the top 16 of this group will be to conserve my SP and let everyone else do the work for me,' Lone thought coldly.

He wasn't here to play around or to get distracted.

Doing a quick scan of the open stage Lone noticed a few individuals doing exactly what he was also planning to do.

With no more time to hesitate, he rushed through the crowd using all of the passive Agility he could to avoid any passing blows. His destination was the western edge of the arena where only a handful of people were fighting as opposed to the chaotic and crowded central ring of fighters.

"Die, demi scum!" a human woman shouted as she let loose a nocked arrow.The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

A horrendous screech pierced the air as the arrow flew with a red trail behind it, clearly the effect of some sort of skill.

'I can't dodge that and I don't want to use Momentum Shift just yet. I need to reach that clearing first,' Lone decided in a split second.

He raised his swordspear and said, "Weapon Block!"

The arrow met the long end of his dual-ended weapon. The sound of metal scrapping off of metal invaded Lone's ears.

Without any hesitation he put his Strength into his arms and grunted as he redirected the arrow, sending it flying into the flank of an unfortunate adventurer.

The host has developed the passive skill: Shortbow Mastery.

Congratulations! The host's active skill [Weapon Block] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 3.

'And just like that, a 10th of my SP is gone. Motherfucker. Thank fuck that wasn't a longbow being fired by some 200kilo mass of muscles or something,' Lone swore mentally as he kept running, leaving the female archer with the fighters surrounding her.

He successfully evaded another two incoming jabs as he quickly retreated to give himself some space. Being near such a fast and sharp weapon was certainly not a good idea.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Swordspear Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Advanced Level 9.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Evasion Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Advanced Level 3.

The host has developed the passive skill: Shortspear Mastery.

"Trey, are you okay?" the shortspear-wielding man asked.

Having dropped his sword to nurse his lacerated hand, Trey shook his head as he grit his teeth. "I'm fucked. I'll need C-grade healing to fix this if I leave it to get worse. I-I'm forfeiting."

The man with the kite shield and shortspear nodded as he gazed into Lone's cold eyes. He then looked around briefly at the remaining participants before he shook his head. "Me too."

Lone didn't stop the men from leaving the arena though he watched them very carefully in case they tried anything funny. Thankfully, they genuinely did wish to forfeit and no one stopped them.

'Two down with only 800 SP consumed. That's a decent trade. I have a bit over 32,000 left now,' Lone thought as he eyed the few remaining people that were within 15-meters of himself.

'Finger's crossed they see how willing to cut up that man's hand I was. Just fight each other until only 16 are left, would you?' Lone thought sarcastically.

Lone exhaled a sigh of relief as the announcer for the event signalled for everyone to stop fighting.

He had successfully made it to the top 16 of his bracket and would now move on to the first real stage of the tournament.

No one attacked him directly after his battle with the duo of shield-bearers. A few glancing attacks had been made in the hope of eliminating Lone when his guard was down but to no avail.

He just tried his best to dodge and avoid using any more of his SP where possible. He was only willing to consume some when and if anyone directly attacked him which no one was willing to do.

It took a while but eventually there were only 16 people left, Lone being in the best condition among them which earned him some dirty looks.

He didn't care. He was fighting with his head not with his heart. Who cared about honour when this was only the very first stage of today's event?

He was happy to practically win by default.

Lone and the other 15 remaining people were directed back to their waiting room and were told that they had 30-minutes to rest while the royal magicians reformated the arena to host several 1-on-1 fights.

Lone was more than okay with that.

'Evasion Mastery reached Advanced Level 6. That's good progress but it isn't enough to make a difference. I need a rank up... Damn it. I have a bad feeling about all of this. Why does it feel like I'm screwed even if I perform moderately well?... Stick to the plan, Lone. Win the first fight then lose in the 32-set. As soon as I'm let out of the colosseum, fuckin' book it out of the city and head west to the nearby dwarven stronghold, relax, then make my way to the Crimson Foxkin Clan to deliver Breena then head to The Academy.' Lone nodded in determination.

It was unfortunate that he had wound up in a kingdom that despised and enslaved his kind and it certainly wasn't great that he and Soph had pissed off the wrong people but Lone wouldn't let that stop him.

'Me and my stupid mouth... It felt good being a dick to the king but fuck me was that idiotic.' He rubbed the black crystal ball in his pocket while he cracked his neck. 'Things will work out. Either they go how I want them to or I'll fuckin' make them go how I want them to.'

With that in his mind, he closed his eyes to meditate. He needed to be relaxed to restore his SP, after all.