Infernal Pains

"Not to talk down on Amethyst, but there's you can only watch so many Barbarian fights before you get bored."

"The same can be said of our class you know." Zeff harrumphed.

"But our class can do more." I grinned while pointing between us. "But still." I turned back to my screen. "She is strong."

All goliaths were. But not all goliaths were as smart and driven as the four goliaths found in Class 999. Though I knew not where that drive would get them. Unless they were willing to become Clerics or Warlocks, their prospects of using the magic they sought to control were nil. Perks would only get them so far.

Unless they obtained a Master or Prestige Class.

Naturally, we told them that; Or Zeff did.

Naturally, they disagreed.

Naturally, they didn't need them. As Amethyst astonished everyone by using jars of oil and a simple torch to dry out a clay golem before she brutally pummeled it to dust with a warhammer.

And then came the events I dreaded the most. The last two of the day. That of Zarzok and Phelaia's.

While tieflings were fairly common in Nonus, infernal tieflings and tieflings with oni blood flowing within them were not.

It was mostly a result of ignorance. But that was an insignificant distinction to the powers that existed in Polaris.

"Our last participants are Fiends." Titus needlessly explained to his companion, but loud enough for the rest of the Polaris guilds to hear him and turn with a mix of scowls and raised brows upon hearing the word.

"First a high vampire and now fiends." Rouge Hydra muttered in a not-so-private way.

And he wasn't the only one. Many of the Genny's expressed concern about having either of them join them for their work-study by accounts of oni and infernal blood making them ruthless.

Only a half-truth. While Zarzok was indeed ruthless, the event failed to show them Zarzok's other side. His evident fascination with learning of the 'human worlds' and engaging in lighthearted conversation with all manner of people. The event failed to show that Zarzok took pride in others just as much as he took pride in himself.

He was a warm, kind soul who just so happened to be able to eviscerate someone with a smile on his face.

And because of that, no one sought to get to know him.

They would only see a humanoid coated in red skin with red eyes and jeweled horns walking through the portal to meet another 'monster.'

That was made evident by Titus' indifference to Zarzok's performance. Though he paid close attention to him stepping into the hellish environment of obsidian and lava lakes found near in archipelagos of the southern Bodhi Peninsula.

Planted within that biome was a Gargoyle Chief. A variant with denser stone inlaid with a magical metal that gives it heat absorption properties.

Though it was indistinguishable from a regular statue when not moving, it didn't take a genius to see it for what it was in the otherwise natural landscape. A lone grotesque statue standing at the shores of a burning lake.

And Zarzok just smiled at it for seconds unto minutes until he finally chuckled to himself.

"Looks like I get to use these after all."

His words sparked a lot of disgruntled interest in the Regni. And that interest quickly began to border harsh judgment once Zarzok reached into his Bag of Holding to retrieve a pair of adamantine gauntlets that were tipped on the fingers like talons.

His charge was like a streak of red and black across a similarly hued environment. A blur that was hardly distinguishable before the camera flicked to Zarzok standing before a dismembered gargoyle chief.

Before its arm could fly out of range, Zarzok blurred again and the loud screech of metal on stone pierced the air. Another blur and the second arm was flung away. Then the gargoyle screamed.

Still smiling, Zarzok wedged a knife-hand in the gargoyle's maw and pulled with ridiculous strength to rip its stone feet from the ground. It soared like a boulder thrown by a giant. Far from the lava lake that'd been sustaining it and precariously close to the gate meant to bring Zarzok back here.

But much to everyone's relief, Zarzok jumped into action before it could fully come to a rest.

With his physical strength alone, Zarzok sprang high into the air. Soared dozens of meters to plummet onto the gargoyle's waist, where he proceeded to carve through and eviscerate the gargoyle chief to stone and metal ribbons

It was as short and gruesome as everyone expected. Perhaps even more so, judging by the wide-eyed silence that'd spread through the Regni and lasted long after the screens flickered to reveal the final participant of the day.

Like Zarzok, she had a long tail and vibrantly colored skin and eyes. Only, her skin was a vibrant light purple and her eyes were a mix of the same color and a nightly black. Unlike Zarzok, she was quiet and, despite how powerful she was, she was one of the few students to have less than five encounters under her belt. And this fight against a Nightmare made it her third.

Though she hadn't said it, my inclination was that she simply didn't like to fight. That she was here to become a Witch. How that would come into play with her Class was my biggest guess.

Regardless, her potential Class didn't mean she was unwilling to fight. On the contrary, she approached the infernal steed with the same unwavering resolve as her classmates. But she brought no harm to the nightmare. She simply incanted something in Infernal and enveloped the nightmare in a sphere of hellfire and banished it to the Hells.

A rather uneventful conclusion for the first day of matches. But alas, two matches per hour meant the official business was concluded just before lunch.

And so marked the start of the unofficial work of listening in on the Regni's opinions.

Which was more of a hassle than the official stuff.