The Tenth Floor's Colosseum (1)
[Author's Note: This Chapter Contains Depictions of slaughter and gore. I didn't wish to incorporate it into the story, but well... it was important for future plot]
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[You have entered the Tenth Floor!]
Unlike the ninth floor, only a handful of people had been summoned, and that too inside some kind of a small room, with brick walls and chairs to sit on.
From the outside, the structure bore a striking resemblance to a stadium, complete with stands encircling an open, circular ground that closely resembled a football field, albeit with the lush green grass stripped away, leaving a barren terrain behind.
Benches lined each of the staircases leading down to the desolate ground, accommodating a diverse array of spectators from all walks of life.
Dominating each of the stadium's four corners stood colossal brick towers, their floors adorned with glass panels. Peering through these panels, one could catch glimpses of a more sophisticated audience, observing the events down on the field from their elevated vantage point.
A fleet of nearly a dozen palm-sized drones hovered gracefully over the field, equipped with camera-like attachments that recorded every detail of the area below.
In the room where the players had been summoned, Lobo, the beast-man stood beside Menace, who had been looking intently at the metal door, ever since arriving at the room.
The door swung open, emitting an audible creak as a man strode confidently into the room. His strong and lean physique exuded an air of undeniable superiority, commanding attention from all present.
Radiating an aura of charisma, his fair, sun-kissed skin complemented his short, jet-black hair, while his eyes gleamed with the lightest shade of crimson, akin to a hue just darker than that of blood.
He was undeniably handsome, with looks that could easily rival those of a top-grade model back on Earth. Among all the people in the room, his facial features stood out as unparalleled, captivating the gazes of those who weren't obscured behind masks.
Notably, from the right side of his forehead, a single, tiny horn protruded, roughly half the length of his little finger, giving him a unique and enigmatic quality.
His attire consisted of black trousers paired with a form-fitting black shirt, which accentuated each curve of his well-toned muscles, making his physical presence even more captivating.
"Welcome," he gracefully greeted the people present in the room, placing his hand on his chest and slightly bowing, "My name is Xangril. I'll be the conductor for this floor's trial."
He cast a swift gaze around the room, noting the handful of individuals present who visibly tensed up in response to the overwhelming arcane power emanating from him. However, amidst the crowd, there stood a man draped in a striking red cape, seemingly unfazed by the intense pressure. Their eyes locked in a moment of unwavering confrontation.
Straightening his back, he snapped his fingers, making screens appear in front of the players.
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[The Tenth Floor's Main Trial: The Colosseum]
[Clear conditions: Each participant will be made to fight against predetermined creatures, in a battle consisting of twenty rounds.
Only if the previous round is completed, can the challenger move on to the next round.
The player will pass the trial as long as he completes three rounds.
Time limit: None
Rewards: Permission to Ascend to the Next Floor; Additional rewards will depend on the round reached by the player]
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"It's a pretty straight forward Trial," commented Xangril, breaking the eerie silence that had formed in the room, "You need to fight monsters who'll appear based on the round. As long as you are able to survive three rounds, you'll be able to move on to the next floor."
He slid his right hand into the pocket of his trouser and raised his other hand at the players, "It'll be a walk in the park as long as you climbed up till here with your own strength."
Waving them goodbye, he walked towards the door but stopped all of a sudden.
"Ahh!" he exclaimed, "I had almost forgotten. Most guilds as well as most Divina of the Tower will be present to observe your fight. If you perform well enough, they might even consider taking you under their wing."
With a nod and a smile he waved them goodbye once again, before closing the door behind him.
"This'll be the perfect opportunity to get a Divina to contract me under them!" exclaimed a bald, middle aged man at the end of the room. Soon enough, the room erupted into loud chatter.
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.
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Standing in the middle of the colosseum's barren battlefield, Nox looked forward at the group of ten giant rats charging towards him.
He looked around at the stands. Humans, elves, dwarves and all kinds of creatures chatted amongst themselves, too bored by the performance they had to see until now.
A large group of desperate men and women leaned over the railing, separating the ground with the stands, trying to recruit every creature possible for their unknown guilds.
He looked at the four Towers at the ground's corners, with graceful beings pridefully looking down at the field through the glass panes.
Drones flew all over him and the group of rats, recording and live streaming everything on the battlefield to higher beings, who were far too powerful and important to directly descend to the tenth floor.
'I guess I won't get an opportunity better than this to flaunt Menace's strength,' Nox thought, taking out his sword from its scabbard.
Although maintaining a low profile would have been the best course, he had simply come to terms with the fact that the strength he was aiming for would attract far too many eyes.
That was the reason he had created an identity, specifically to stand out in the limelight. It would be an identity that would cast a giant shadow over the boring human, Nox Mill.
It would allow him to live a considerably peaceful life as Nox, while still climbing the unimaginably high strength ladder as Menace.
The group of ten giant rats was now barely five feet away from him. He raised his sword at the monsters.
And the next second, their lifeless corpses littered the ground in front of him.
[You have completed the First Round]
[The Second Round will be initiated]
A pack of more than fifteen wolves surrounded him.
With a simple slash of his sword, he slayed all the beasts within a few seconds.
[You have completed the Second Round]
[The Third Round will be initiated]
A herd of five, giant black bulls, charged towards him, with their long and sharp horns pointed at him.
[You have completed the Third Round]
[The Fourth Round will be initiated]
A sleuth of twenty bears slashed their claws at him.
[You have completed the Fourth Round]
The rate at which he was completing the rounds was unheard of. Nobody in hundreds of years could even come close to his speed in cutting down his enemies with basic slashes and thrusts, without the use of fancy skills and complex techniques.
The audience, who were busy talking amongst themselves just a few minutes before, had grown completely silent, with all their attention turned towards the masked man.
Even the people in the four towers had left their seats and were now standing just a few inches away from the glass panes.
The fifth round– A group of thirty goblins.
The sixth round– A group of ten elite goblins.
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.
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[You have completed the Seventeenth Round]
[The Eighteenth Round will be initiated]
From here onwards, Nox challenged rounds which no one had been able to reach in hundreds of years.
Unlike the other rounds, which only had a specific kind of species, the seventeenth round consisted of beasts of all kinds, found all the way up to the ninth floor.
Wolves, rats, bears, bulls, goblins, elite goblins and a plethora of other aggressive animals, some of which were also found on Earth.
The group of monsters was humongous, covering a quarter of the giant stadium, even though none of them had moved an inch. Even though they were weak in strength, their numbers alone, easily compensated for it.
The audience were on the edge of their seats, their excitement palpable as they eagerly anticipated the man, who had been using only basic techniques yet, without using any *skills*, would face off against the horde of beasts.
Even while facing the sheer number of monsters, the man was relaxed, and was calmly observing the different types of beasts.
He slid his hand into his inventory, before taking out a small, metallic box, a lighter. Although he could torch all the monsters alive… something like that wouldn't entertain the audience too much. He wanted to put on a show that would leave the audience in awe, not just assume he won because of some overpowered skill.
Bringing the lighter to his sword, he ignited the blade, the flames dancing with a newfound intensity.. Slowly, he let a bit of his arcane flow into the sword.
[The 'Fire Attribute Sword' has been imbued with arcane of the fire attribute]
[The sword's attack power will temporarily increase]
Although Nox's arcane was of the dark attribute, he had figured that if he lit the sword on fire and passed just a tiny bit of arcane into it, the item would consider his arcane to be of the fire attribute. His plan? To wield a blazing sword amidst the horde.
Bending his knees and gathering arcane in his toes, he leaped into the midst of the creatures, the fiery blade in hand nearly doubling in size. Slashing and burning his way through the horde, he reached the centre before springing high into the air.
He bent the arm with which he held the sword, towards the opposite side, and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.
As soon as his toes came in contact with the ground, he launched his arm forward, extending it to its maximum, before spinning his entire body around on a single leg.
The sword sliced through all the monsters near him, while the flame evaporated their corpses, leaving only their bones behind.
The fire on the sword grew larger and larger with each passing moment, as the man ran through the battlefield, slicing all the beasts in his path. Where his blade was too short to slice, the fire burnt.
As he tore through the battlefield, his blade cleaved monsters left and right, while the fire engulfed any that were beyond the reach of his sword. It was a frenzied dance of destruction, yet behind the mask, his face remained calm and composed, carefully calculating his every move.
Briefly, a pang of disgust struck him as he realised how effortlessly he could take the lives of creatures that bore resemblance to those back on Earth—animals he had grown up with.
He felt sick down to his stomach, almost nauseous. Was what he was doing even right? Slaying any beast in his past without giving it a second thought. He had imagined only monsters to be capable of such a feat.
But his desire to reunite with his parents overpowered these thoughts, fueling his relentless pursuit.
An enraged bull charged at him, eyes bloodshot with fury. In a swift sidestep, he grasped the creature's horns and sent it careening into an elite goblin that tried to take advantage of his momentary distraction.
Although incinerating all the beasts at once would have been a breeze, he knew it wouldn't create the spectacle the audience craved. He wanted to leave them in awe, a sight they would never forget no matter how hard they tried.
For fame and reputation were crucial for anyone in the spotlight, and he was determined to give the crowd a show they'd talk about for ages.
{Author's Note: I Plan to do a Q&A section one reaching chapter One Hundred! Please do leave your questions below, no matter what they may be.}