The Coliseum

The book held a list of many more skills than I expected, making me spend some time deciding my first rank B offensive skill. A disastrous skill caught my eye with its high damage potential and the fact that it would match extremely well with the [Mangrove Swamp]'s huge clusters of alligators that would swarm towards me once I went in alone

I let the Vice Admiral know of my selection and spent a few minutes talking while the assistant went out, coming back ten minutes later with a suitcase that held a thick book

I received the suitcase and absorbed the skill [Miniature Tornado: For 10 seconds, unleash a rotating column of sharp winds that follow your commands]

The skill appeared in my panel without an issue, and I was looking forward to spamming as much of it as I could when hundreds of alligators swarmed me from all sides

I gave my thanks to the Vice Admiral and stepped out of the office. The short tank, Lana Stone, had already sent an address on my phone of where I should be joining them. I'll indulge myself in this bit of socializing before going back to my lone ways of decimating dungeons

I got out of the military sector and got a ride towards the location. The streets of Star City were packed with energy and people, making you rethink whether half the land had really been turned into a desolate wasteland and people were still fighting for their lives

This being one of the core defense cities of the Empire, there were very few incidents of monsters causing deaths and destruction once things stabilized. The unawakened people thus looked up to the hunters that were diving into dungeons to protect them every day and aspired to be like them

The car neared a grand structure that could be seen from anywhere in the city. It took my breath away as I remembered seeing videos of structures like these that were in multiple inner cities across the Empire. The excited faces of people rushing in through the huge double doors and the shouts and screams could already be heard from here. This was the place where hunters fought and competed for fun. This, was The Coliseum.

I shot a text to Lana that I was here, and someone approached me a few minutes after to lead me past the lines of people. Booming sounds of boos and cheers were already resounding throughout the huge building as we went in and neared spaces with fewer people. The Coliseum was built similar to those in ancient cultures, a huge oval amphitheater with thousands of seats

The Hunting Squad had a huge space all to themselves close to the arena floor in the middle where there were already hunters fighting. I joined them and watched the ongoing match which seemed to be between two rank C hunters

The fights were brutal, as the bloodier they were the more cheers the crowd gave. Drinks and food were already brought in and we began talking when the short tank turned to me and screamed in my ears over the loud cheering

"We might be lucky enough to see an amazing show in a few minutes, apparently Lightning Hand is bored enough once again and is announcing a competition soon!"

I listened to her words as I recalled who Lightning Hand was. This was one of the few known rank A hunters of the Empire, I didn't realize he was in Star City. What was someone strong like him about to do?

The fight between the two rank C hunters was gradually coming to a close as the mage ran out of mana and was now being beaten to a pulp by the berserker. The crowd was screaming like they were possessed as a ringing sound was heard and the fight was finished

The cheers reached an even higher pitch when the match was done and a burly man with his body crackling with lightning appeared on the four huge screens in the middle of the coliseum

He was standing in a section close to us surrounded by pretty women when he grabbed a mic and his booming voice could be heard throughout

"HELLO CITIZENS OF STAR CITY!"

The strong voice rang out like a clap of lightning and the cheers from the spectators reached a fevered pitch

"We're in for a great show today, as I will be putting forth a prize that no hunter can say no to..."

Lightning Hand rose his hand in the air as a thick book appeared between his fingers. "This, my dear citizens, is the rank A skill book, [Flight]!"

The crowd went silent for a second before even louder cheers resounded. My mind received a shock as I looked up at the man on the screen and the glistening skill book he was holding

The hunting squad members got up from their seats as serious expressions rose on their faces

The man whose body had tendrils of lightning dancing on it continued "For today only, in the next 30 minutes, the winner of a Free for All fight will get to take this bad boy home!!!"

The loud screams continued to increase as hunters from all over the stadiums rose up with greedy faces. This was a rank A skill, something that rarely dropped in rank B dungeons, and only ever came out from the dungeons that very few hunters could delve in. This was the dream of many hunters

Even I was expectant to get my hands on something like this. [Flight], something that literally allowed you to...well, fly

"Now, for all the hunters that want to participate, jump into the ring!"

The moment his words finished, multiple hunters began jumping from their seats onto the huge circular arena at the center of the coliseum. Hunters were greedy for skills but were smart enough not to lose their lives. Most of the ones that jumped in were rank C hunters and a few rank Bs

The members of the hunting squad look at each other before the short tank said "Haha, lets put our restrictions aside and see which person is lucky enough to get this pie falling from the sky"

The rest of them nodded at this and also jumped down to join the hunters on the ground. I looked at the outpouring of hunters that were filling the arena and rose up myself

It was already half-filled with dense numbers of hunters that were putting their lives on the line. I looked at this and jumped down myself with a sigh. I really couldn't sit out on something like this

Rank A skills were so rare that getting another skill like this would be near impossible unless you farmed the high ranking dungeon tens or hundreds of times. Even now I was questioning why this Rank A hunter was giving it away on a whim

He continued talking as the hunters continued to fill into the arena "The rules for the Free for All are simple, the last man standing...WINS"

The crowd had gone crazy as the build-up to the fight continued, with people standing up hysterically shouting as if they were the ones getting the prize

A few minutes passed by with no other hunters jumping into the ring. Lightning Hand looked around the densely packed arena and raised his arm. Quietness ensued in the huge coliseum before he brought it down and shouted "START!"