The chasm between consciousness and defeat (33)

My attacks were like feathers bouncing off the impenetrable armor of the Boss.

However, I continued to observe his movements and behavior, hoping to spot any weaknesses or patterns. Although he was a massive and intimidating creature, I realized that the Boss had a relatively simple fighting style: he charged straight ahead and relied on his brute strength to overpower. Whenever I moved out of his sight, he circled around, trying to locate me.

But I saw that his blind spots could be my advantage. I began circling around him, staying out of his sight while keeping a close eye on his movements. The Boss was slow and lumbering, which made it easier for me to avoid his attacks.

Despite my best efforts, I could see my endurance gradually decreasing. The system showed that I had only 14 minutes left to defeat the Boss before I would be consumed by the voracious plants.

I flew around the Boss, carefully studying his armor for any weaknesses. The shiny armor covered the entire carcass of the beast, except for two snow-white horns that pierced the air with each movement.

I tried to use my dark threads to immobilize the Boss, but he broke free from the black cocoon with ease. I clenched my fangs and threw hundreds of bones, hoping to chip away at his armor. But bones shattered on impact, leaving no visible damage.

Just when I thought I had no chance of winning, I noticed that the Boss was catching the direction of my bones and anticipating my attacks. So I changed my strategy and attacked him from above.

As the Boss threw back his head, I noticed steam rising from his helmet, and I realized that his vision was obstructed by his helmet's sinuous design. I used this moment to dive down and strike him with all my might.

The boss roared and began to stomp all four limbs on the metal floor, and his attack struck my wings. For the first time since the beginning of the Boss battle, I received damage.

[Participant 137 was attacked by an enemy, the damage is 25 points out of 210.]

I heard a sickening wet crunch as one of my wings was smeared against the floor. A desperate cry escaped from my mouth as I tried to grip the smooth surface of the armor. My hands slipped treacherously, and I fell straight into the metal debris. I could see the gray sheen of metal as the Boss's foot passed within an inch of my face. The momentum created by this movement lifted my body slightly, and it was enough to grab onto the edges of the wreckage and get out of the Boss's carcass.

Smeared in my own blood, I stood up and looked dumbfounded as the Boss stamped on the spot. His powerful blows on the floor made the whole cage vibrate.

The giant carcass did not see me, furiously swarming in one place, turning everything around into a mess of metal fragments.

Spitting blood, I raised my tail and hit the floor, scattering sparks. Hearing my call, the Boss stopped shaking and looked back in my direction. Again, as then, a white ball of smoke poured out of his helmet. The steam in contact with the air seemed to be charged with energy, and only then did I realize that I was not facing a living being.

I myself do not know where this guess came from, but I was sure there were millions of gears and even more metal inside this huge creature, but not a single drop of living blood.

Wiping my cracked lips with the back of my hand, I grinned with all my sharp fangs.

The boss slammed his front paw on the floor, knocking out a rasping sound, and moved his muzzle, piercing the air with white sharp horns. He was getting closer and closer, and my body was shaking, either from adrenaline or fear of the inevitable.

When I was separated from the Boss by a few pitiful meters, I summoned Dark Threads and began to collect the debris around me.

It was no easy feat, as the weight of the debris was several tons, causing my Endurance to burn through faster than the blood flowing from my wounded wing.

[Endurance: 78%]

With a fierce determination, I buried the Iron Sentinel under the rubble, but he refused to give up. Despite the powerful tremors from under the debris, I persisted in collecting more and more debris, using my tail to send a hail of bones at the Boss. Then, with precise aim, I sent a massive tangle of Dark Threads, connecting the metallic debris and hurtling it towards the mountain where the Boss clung to life.

Again and again, I lifted a weight disproportionate to my body, aiming straight at the Boss.

Perhaps this fight with the Boss was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Each blow seemed to chip away at something valuable inside me, leaving me feeling empty and lost. It was as if I was a helpless child abandoned on a lonely road with no hope of survival.

It was a complete breakdown, I acknowledged. My mind was clouded and I felt disconnected from everything around me, trying to shut out the noise of the cheering crowd and the announcer's snide remarks. Everything that was happening felt beyond my control, and the only thing keeping me on my feet was my pounding heartbeat.

When the fight was finally over, my knees giving out beneath me and I collapsed on top of the wreckage. As I stared up at the ceiling, the timer above me flashed 00:01. I was on the brink of death.

After the Boss of the Second Floor was defeated, I was rewarded with a snow-white horn and immediately teleported back to my solitary cell. I lay on my stomach, watching the blue health bar on the system window regenerate.

As I lay there, I reflected on what I had learned about the Arena. With each battle won, I received from 35 till 120 experience points, except for the Boss battles, where I received a special reward. The first time it was a Black Crystal, and this time it was a Boss Horn. Additionally, I was also given Spiritual Stones, which I could use to level up my skills, and experience points to increase my stats.

The thought of spending ten years in the Arena was daunting, after just one week in this place, all I wanted was freedom.

I regretted consuming that cursed meat and despised the heartless individual who had sold me to this place without a second thought. I gnawed on my own fist until it bled, fixating on the dismal walls of the cell, while the sound of a tortured scream echoed somewhere in the vicinity.

Lost in my thoughts, I fell into a passive mood that consumed me. I closed my eyes and covered my ears with my bloodstained palms, curling up into a ball and drifting off to sleep. All I wanted was to forget this existence and escape this nightmare.

But my respite was short-lived as the caretaker once again woke me up and sent me to the wretched dining room to devour the same, tasteless greens as before. The anger at my cruel fate boiled inside me with each passing moment. I fought to become stronger, to destroy the weak and restore the world that I had long forgotten.

What if none of this was real? What if the system was merely a game of my sick mind?

But reality was quick to snap me out of my musings. I found myself standing once again in the familiar battlefield.

Taking a deep breath, I chuckled to myself. It was pointless to dwell on the past or dream of a nonexistent future where I could be safe. My current reality was my only option, and I had to make the most of it.

With a quick motion, I parried my opponent's attack just in time. The creature was completely blind, relying on its acute sense of hearing to fight. Two tube-like appendages protruded from its smooth skull, making it look even more grotesque.

Seizing the opportunity, I grabbed its head and slammed it down onto the metal floor with all my might. The crowd roared with excitement as I stepped over the carcass, basking in their bloodthirsty cheers.

The crowd that watched me fight in the arena were my faceless executioners. I had to entertain them with every battle, knowing that one mistake could mean my downfall and the sound of their thunderous applause would accompany my defeat.

My guttural laughter amused them even more, and the announcer declared me insane. But in this cruel place, could anyone truly claim to be sane and survive?

I felt a gust of wind behind me as opponent rushed towards me. With a swift motion of my tail, I sent the creature flying.

How did he defeat the Boss of the Second Floor with such a frail physique?

I wanted to ask him, but the creature tried to sink its crooked fangs into my flesh.

It took me 2 minutes to finish off the ugly creature.

[Endurance: 94%]

[Health: 100%]

I defeated the second and third opponents and had them sent to other cells. As a reward, I received four Spiritual Stones.

Standing on an almost unscathed field, I clenched my fists, a rush of hot energy ran through my body. If this arena was designed to turn me into a true villain, ready to kill anyone who crossed my path, then I was on the verge of losing my mind. It was a gradual descent into madness, but I was becoming the very thing they wanted me to be - a brainless killer, a monster.

Is this how psychopaths are created?