The Deathly Challenger's Cup

"Denizens of Adventour!" Donatella yelled into the microphone in her hand. "Are you ready to rum~mble~e~?"

Nearly ten thousand voices roared in unison as the packed seats of the coliseum came to life at Donatella's words. The sky above was equally loud, coming to life in a multitude of colorful explosions that signaled the start of the first-ever Deathly Challenger's Cup.

"I'm Donatella, and I'll be your master of ceremonies for today's festivities!" she bowed to the crowd from her seat at the commentator's box which was right underneath the raised dais reserved for VIPs.

There was a huge round of applause for the lesser denizen who thousands of players had recently voted in the forums as the most beloved NPC of Adventour.

"And now," Donatella raised a hand to compel the crowd to silence, "Let's welcome our contenders!"

She raised a hand toward the wide gate at the south of the arena where the iron portcullis was slowly being raised to allow the challengers into the sands.

"I give you… Ath3na! Lyghtning! Don Coyote! Bully the Kid! Narukami! Ser Gallivant! Cornucopia! Trickman! Skeleteen! Mr. Phantasm!" Donatella called as one by one the players entered the sands to thundering applause. "Thorminator! Selezenda! Bulldog Alfie! Wunderkid! TemaTomo! Argonaut! Sirius Blue! BraveBro! Annabelle's Dolly! Enka!"

With each contestant stepping into the light, the crowd's excited screams only got louder. So loud, in fact, that they caused the ceiling and walls of the hypogeum beneath the sands of the arena to tremble.

"You've really outdone yourself on this one, Leo," Morgana said delightedly as her eyes gazed up at the ceiling. "The energy above is so thick I can almost taste it on my tongue."

She licked her lips for emphasis.

"Don't get too excited, Morgana," Leo chuckled. "We don't want you to bleed these players dry."

"I know, I know," Morgana rolled her eyes at him. "I'm only going to take a small portion… Besides, the atmosphere in the arena is so rich with emotions that I doubt anyone will notice when I shave ten percent off their soul cores."

"Five percent," Leo reminded her. "You're already getting ten percent from ticket and merch sales for this event…"

"Fine," Morgana pouted.

She snapped her fingers, and an invisible force began to flow around her hand, eventually turning into softly glowing blue energy that coalesced together to form a freshly formed soul stone.

"This is about five percent off a single player's soul core," she said excitedly right before she offered the stone to Leo. "I notice you haven't partaken more than your weekly ration, Leo…"

Leo's eyes glazed as he looked at the stone in her hand. With a supreme effort, he managed to shake his head.

"No," he said softly. "I don't need that…"

"Suit yourself," she consumed the stone's essence right where Leo could see her. Then she laughed her tinkling laugh. "For a man desperate to return to the living, you're very restrained at enjoying life, Leo."

As he watched her enjoy her little snack, Leo's throat began to dry, forcing him to wet his lips.

"Do you know how many players we've sent to rehab because of essence addiction?" he asked her.

Over the past month, the issue of essence addiction had blazed to life in lockstep with player growth. In fact, part of the reason there were so few players who'd evolved was because many others had begun to abuse soul essence, using it to make themselves feel good rather than refuel their soul cores. The issue had become quite large to the point that Leo's team was forced to create a rehab center in Adventour to forcibly help players shake off the addiction before they logged off and returned to the land of the living.

In his mind's eye, he remembered Ath3na's first day and how the player nearly killed herself to acquire more stones.

Leo shook his head, forcing his mind to focus. This was a problem for another day. Today he needed to smile and excite the crowd even more.

"Let's go," he said as he walked past Morgana and toward the steps that led up the arena's interior gate.

"Excuse my earlier comment, Leo," he heard her say from behind. "Sometimes I forget that you're such a boy scout…"

"Where did you even learn that word?" Leo asked as he glanced over his shoulder.

Morgana walked up to him. She tapped him softly on the shoulder which Leo took as a gesture of appeasement or perhaps it was an endearment, he wasn't sure. He could never tell what was inside her pretty little head. Then, without another word, she walked ahead of him and into the light beyond.

"And now, let me introduce our referee," Donatella said to the mic. "You all know who he is… you've seen him roam the streets doling out quests to the future heroes of Adventour…"

She pointed a hand back toward the open gate.

"I give you… Maestro, Trainer of Heroes!" she yelled.

Leo, dressed as Maestro walked into the arena to thunderous applause. Incidentally, Maestro was number three on the list of top NPCs in Adventour.

He pumped his fists in the air and made his way to the front of the challengers while high-fiving and fist-bumping several of them.

Of course, Morgana walked at his side although only he could see that she was there. No, it wasn't yet time to reveal the reaper to the people. Not even in this big stage. But Leo thought that the future Lord of Death would have her time to shine very soon, once they'd put a knife to the Death Knight Maleagant's throat.

"Alright, alright, settle down, guys!" Maestro yelled in an effort to shut the audience up. "Before we explain the rules, the Game Master would like a word."

Maestro smirked as he said this for he knew the figure sitting on his seat at the front of the VIP seats was sweating underneath his red robes.

"You're right," Maestro said to the seemingly empty spot beside him. "McCloud's human form is almost exactly the same height and size as me. Little scrawny on the shoulders though… and I don't think I've ever slouched like that."

"For an alpha of a prestigious werewolf clan, he's a little too shy of the spotlight," Morgana agreed.

"Um, hello," McCloud spoke in a synthesized voice that was the approximation of Leo's GM voice. "I, uh, just wanted to say… To those of you about to die, I salute you!"

"At least he stuck the landing on that one," Maestro laughed as he clapped along with the audience at the fake Game Master's words. "Alright, let's do this."

Morgana snapped her fingers, and immediately afterward, several large screens that seemed to be made of smoky vapors appeared floating above the arena. The words [DEATHLY CHALLENGER'S CUP] were written on each of their surfaces.

"The rules are simple," Maestro said as he raised three fingers up for all to see. "There are three stages. Each stage is an elimination round that is set up to simulate certain aspects of a dungeon raid!"

Morgana snapped her fingers a second time and the words on the screen shifted into [STAGE ONE] which was quickly replaced to [DUNGEON RUN!].

There were a few gasps among the crowd, some scattered clapping but most of them were cheering loudly at the big reveal.

"The dungeon run is a test of your ability to navigate a maze-like passage while skillfully avoiding traps and attacks from unseen enemies," Maestro explained. "The forty challengers who cross the finish line first will move on to the next stage!"

"So it's a speed run?" Ath3na asked from her spot at the front of the group.

"Lovely," Lyghtning added. "It's exactly the kind of event I'm best at."

There were a few concerned looks among the other players who realized after Lyghtning had spoken, that this first game might be harder for them than others.

Maestro raised a hand to quiet the complainers.

Morgana snapped her fingers once again, and a large golden coin appeared to float above Leo's head.

"These gold coins will be scattered throughout the maze," he pointed a thumb up at the coin. "Getting one of them…"

To everyone's surprise, Maestro actually jumped up, and as his head brushed the coin, it dissolved in a shower of golden sparks that fell down across Maestro's shoulders.

"Oh my god!" a girl with green highlights on her hair and gossamer wings on her back yelled. "Super Mario!"

Another round of excited screaming ensued at Maestro's gesture. It had been Leo's inside joke, an ode to one of the best games to ever be created. But he should have known that other gamers would get it easily.

After the cheers had quieted down, he continued his explanation, "Getting one of these coins will shave off ten seconds from your total time."

People nodded approvingly. Now it wasn't just a matter of being fast. The slow guys had a chance now. At least, that's how it looked on paper.

"And without further ado," Leo clapped his hands together — and with a matching snap of Morgana's fingers — the hundred challengers blinked out of existence.

The crowd was stunned into silence only to begin cheering moments later after the screens floating above the arena came alive and revealed just what had happened to the challengers.

All of them had been transported to the entrance of a cave that was all too familiar to Leo, Morgana, and Ath3na — for this was the very same wraith cavern that Ath3na had invaded on her first day in the Abyss.

"Don't think it's the same one you destroyed," Maestro whispered as he watched recognition appear on Ath3na's face. "We've completely revamped the interior."

His next words were meant for the contestants.

"Good luck challengers," he yelled. "And may the odds be in your favor!"