—— Strem Pov——

Strem walked behind the guide as they headed further into the Colosseum, he glanced around, sizing up the people surrounding him. They were likely to be his opponents, from what he had gathered the first round generally tended to be a free for all, the last twenty five people standing would move on to the next phase, meaning only one in four of people present would move on to the next round. The seven meter tall individual was among his group, standing out like a sore thumb. Strem felt the sudden urge to go and talk with the giant of a man, but never got the opportunity.

The guide suddenly stopped, he stood in front of a gate leading into a large open area behind him. He could hear muffled roars and shouts coming from past the gate. "In a few minutes the gates will open and you will be able to enter, walk through the gates onto the field, do not engage other combatants, the fight will start a minute or two after everyone has entered, those of you worried, just walk through the gate, it is enchanted it will 'store' your body and copy it moving your own consciousness into that copy, you won't even notice the change."

One of the combatants raised her hand, the guide nodded to her, "How does that work, who created the enchantments, I haven't heard of magic like that."

"The gate and its enchantments were created by the S rank adventurer Runic Royalty, not much is known of this S ranked adventurer that is the founder of the Inaho dynasty. He was the ancestor of the current royal family of Yalisia and he created this Colosseum hundreds of years ago, mages still have not figured out how the system works, making this an unique building, which is also the reason why so many warriors come here to test their martial skill." The guide proudly told her.

The woman nodded, a lot of others having thoughtful expressions.

The sounds from the Colosseum started dying out, soon after they heard an echoing voice call out. "Congratulations to the twenty-five remaining Combatants, you may now stop fighting and proceed to the resting area!"

The guide explained to them that the current combatants would leave through a separate gate, regain their original bodies, and could use the resting area until the next phase.

"The next phase of Bronze combatants, please enter the arena!"

The gates opened and the guide rushed them through the gate, Strem ran through behind the other contestants, the sun glaring in his eyes. His eyes widening as he saw the area he just entered, the field itself was a simple dirt area, he had heard that it could change into different geographical locations . He looked around and saw the rows upon rows of people looking down into the arena. The Colosseum truly was massive, there were over a hundred thousand people enjoying the event at any given time. The city had thrived around the Colosseum, most of its businesses centered around it.

Strem shook his head as he focused on the task at hand. He took of in a random direction distancing himself from the many combatants, others quickly did the same, dividing themselves across the area. Some moved in groups others moved alone like him. The giant simply took a few steps forward and sat down, his dark eyes daring any to challenge him.

Strem smiled and stopped running, he then walked back and sat across from the giant. "Hi, I'm Strem, how's ya day goin?"

The giant had an incredulous look on his face as he looked down at the small strange young-man sitting in front of him, "It has been going as well as can be expected I suppose." The giant slowly answered, his deep voice sounding like an avalanche, or perhaps the rumble of a thousand bumblebees.

"Glad to hear it! So why did you enter this here tournament?"

The giant stared at him for a few seconds, "I have heard this is a good place to grow in strength, as I can find here warriors that are not intimidated by my size and can beat me regardless of it." The giant moved a bit closer to Strem bringing his face about a meter away from Strem's, looking him in the eyes, studying his expression, the giant sat back up. "I am Ritka, of the Broken Cliff tribe. Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing."

Strem tapped his chest, "I'm Strem! Fellow warrior, student of the rapier, lover of ladies, and altogether a pretty fantastic fellow if I do say so myself."

The giant paused, then laughed. The very earth shaking from the sound, "At the very least you are an interesting guy indeed."

"Well if you don't mind Ritka my friend, I won't be fighting you in this round. So make sure you survive so we can match our prowess in the next phase!"

Strem managed to say before the announcer's voice drowned out any and all sound. From the corner of his eye he saw Ritka mouthing the word friend.

"Round Four of the open fielded bronze tournament is about to start! This one looks to be interesting folks, we have a half giant, twins of the Giants of the red sand, and many more!"

Everybody took a ready stance, "Three, Two, One, START" The announcer roared.

"EVERYONE!" A tall, handsome blond man shouted, everyone froze and stared at him.

"How about we team up to defeat that giant, I doubt any of us can defeat him in single combat, if we team up to beat him now we stand a better chance of proceeding later in the tournament!"

The blond young-man already had a sizeable group of others around him. Other groups started talking amongst themselves before one dark skinned man stepped forward, "We agree! My group will join." Five similarly dark-skinned topless men behind him nodded their consent, soon others started agreeing and they circled around the giant and Strem.

Ritka stood up, glaring at the warriors around him, an eager smile splitting his face in half.

"Just so you know, I'm on the Giants side! Fighting against a hundred sounds much more interesting than fighting with a hundred against one!" Strem shouted unsheathing his rapier, and grinning at the warriors around him.

A roaring laughter was heard from the crowd, as a red skinned man stepped forward, atleast three meters tall, a woman looking nearly identical to him stood next to him. "You have the right of it, I think I'll join that side!" He said walking over to them. Another figure stepped forward from the crowd, this one probably a girl with a blank mask tied in front of her face, she was wielding two of those katana things. She bowed to Strem, Ritka and the twins, and joined them in facing the rest.

"What an upheaval! IT SEEMS WE HAVE A GROUP BATTLE, To make things interesting, the Master of Blades has decided that the group that survives this round will proceed to the next phase! If you die but your group wins the fight then you will be allowed to proceed to the next phase!" The announcer took a deep breath, "This is why I love my job ladies and gents, things always get interesting!"

The audience roared in answer, excited to see the battle.

The men surrounding them roared in answer, excited at their increased chance to pass the first phase. The blond man unsheathed his sword and pointed at Strem's group, "Chaaaaarge!" He roared.

The men surrounding them charged forward, Strem dashed towards the nearest one, using every ounce of his ability in a lightning quick lunge. His opponent tried to react but the rapier pierced through his eye, hitting the brain, the body exploded into a shower of lights, disappearing from the field. Another warrior slashed at him, he slipped past the blade and poked a hole in his throat. The warrior collapsed to the ground hands clutching at his thtoat but did not disappear. Another warrior attacked him, this one wielding a scimitar, he was rather skilled with the weapon as well, forcing Strem to take a few steps back. Out of nowhere a body slammed into his opponent both of them disappearing in an explosion of lights.

He gave Ritka a thumbs up, "Nice throw!" The giant laughed, grabbing the gigantic ax he had tied to his back and started mowing through the enemies, killing one or two with every swing. From the corner of his eyes he saw the twins both wielding a sword and shield, dancing between their enemies, fluidly moving in to cover each others openings without any sort of communication. Both of them had a huge grin on their faces, screams from the other side drew his attention, as the masked woman floated through her opponents, leaving nothing but floating lights in her wake. For a second he was stunned by the beautiful performance of her blades. This was not simple fighting, he had no other words to describe it, this was art, the battle field her canvas and the swords her brush.

Strem shook his head focusing back on the task at hand, there were plenty of opponents left to fight, and they were starting to work together.

A cacophony of roars resounded through the arena as the seventy or so remaining enemies challenged them. "Form ranks!" The blond man shouted, "Attack together, Achieve victory together!"

Many of the warriors now fell under his command and acknowledged his leadership, two warriors were noticeably separated from the rest, they sat down and were waiting for the battle to reach its end, one of them a large man over two meters tall, he would have been huge in any group that did not include giants and red-skins. He had taken a seat, greatsword across his lap as he sat in a meditative pose watching the rest. A small distance away from the warrior stood a bald man in a robe of Yalisian origin, he had a simple staff, the wind swayed his robes as the young man watched over the battlefield.

Strem's attention was snapped back to the ranks of warriors now slowly approaching them. "Giant." The masked girl suddenly said. "You break through their lines, Red-skins follow in after, clear the sides, push them away if possible, You and I take down anyone the giant knocked down." She finished pointing to Strem and herself.

The giant chuckled, "Lass, it would be my pleasure!"

"Yea sounds fun, no fancy tricks, rush into the middle and smash em to bits, just our type of fight!" The female of the twins said with a manic grin, smashing her sword against her shield.

Her brother had a similar grin, "Smash n bash! Let's go!"

Strem simply smiled, watching the giant take slow lumbering steps towards the enemy ranks, slowly picking up speed. His steps shook the very earth, as his feet smashed into the ground, dust filling the air in his wake, the twins charged shortly behind him, screaming a wordless challenge. Strem and Mask had to try their utmost to keep up with their much larger teammates. Eventually Ritka reached top velocity and smashed into the enemy ranks with the force of a heavy cataphract charge. Men screamed as they were flung aside by the swipes from the giant ax. Shields were crushed, and explosions of light filled the arena. The twins followed shortly after, knocking down anyone of balance with their shield, a swift stab whenever they saw an opening. Strem followed closely behind, a quick pierce from his rapier, a pierce through the chest here an eye there. One of them lunged for him, he sidestepped and swept the opponents legs from under him and another stab vanquished an opponent.

To his left Mask was a flurry of blades, sometimes taking out multiple opponents at once. Two men charged at Strem, he performed a quick riposte on one, piercing the mans shoulder, the other charged at Strem with his scimitar raised, just as Strem was about to dodge another warrior smashed his shield into him from the side. The scimitar smashed into Strem's ribcage, the warrior grinned victoriously, until a swift cut along the throat made him explode in lights. Strem pulled on the warrior with the shield, the man stumbled and fell, another quick stab and more lights. He fell into the trance of battle, using every ounce of skill he possessed to fight off the many opponents. His Iron Skin skill saved him time and time again, warriors going in for a fatal attack suddenly realized the attack was not as fatal as expected, their surprise proving fatal instead. Dodge, stab, parry, counterattack, the rythm started coming back, he felt his skills shed some of their rust as he fought off the many skilled warriors attacking him.

An angry roar resounded through the arena, from the corner of his eyes he saw Ritka collapse to his knees, swarmed by opponents who were finally piercing the giants thick skin. The blond man leaped forward, jumping of the back of another man to thrust his sword through Ritka's eye, the giant exploded into a shower of lights. The rest of them fought on, slowly being pressed together, soon enough they were fighting back to back. He fought back to back with Mask while the twins were fighting off just as many opponents in the same manner, About twenty of the warriors remained. They had taken out more than three quarters of the opponents, Mask however was breathing heavily, she tried hard not to let it show but Strem noticed the slight tremor in her hands. The twins were covered in sweat, their clothes drenched, their eyes still had a determined glare and they still had the same manic smile. Strem himself felt slightly guilty, he was not tired, he was not even injured, his regeneration was kicking in. He was tough to injure and minor injuries he would quickly recovered from. Stamina was a non issue, his body recovering from the muscle strain and oxygen deprivation almost immediately.

The stalemate did not last much longer, "Attack!" The blond man roared once more, "Do not give them time to rest!"

The remaining warriors charged the group, Strem took a deep breath and waited for them to come, He lunged forward as soon as one of them was in range, his speed surprising his opponent, turning their last twenty enemies into nineteen. He saw some lights float past his head from behind, make that eighteen. The twins instead of waiting for the enemy to come to them, twisted to face the same side and both charged forward smashing out off the ranks of warriors surrounding them. The male twin managed to take one down in their escape attempt.

He once more lost himself to the cadence of battle, strike, dodge, slip past an attack, upset their balance, move in for the finish. The female twin screamed as her brother was stabbed in the stomach, the brother grabbed at the warrior holding the spear, it was the dark-skinned man who was first to join the blond man. The warrior quickly released his spear, jumped back, unsheathed his sword with lightning quickness and stabbed through the heart of the red-skin. His sister roared in rage and tackled the dark-skinned warrior, pounding him into oblivion with her shield. When she stood up, her chest heaving from exhaustion, Strem's gaze swept the area. All the warriors were dead, The blond man was still alive, as were the two warriors who had separated themselves.

Mask, the female twin and Strem regrouped, pulling back turning to face the last three opponents. "These three are the most… dangerous." Mask said softly, breathing heavily.

"It matters not." The red-skin growled, "They face us, and thus they shall fall."

"Indeed they will." Strem said smiling.

Mask took a deep breath, glancing at him. "How are you uninjured and so full of energy."

Strem's smile turned into a full fledged grin, he bowed with a flourish. "Lets just say I'm tougher than my frame might make you think."

Mask snorted, then seemed to freeze as she caught herself. Strem chuckled, "We must still decide who fights who!" he said it loudly enough to include their opponents into the conversation.

The large warrior stood up, he swung his huge sword around like it was made of air. "Once she is properly rested, I would like to cross blades with the red-skin." He said with a small bow.

The red-skin surprisingly bowed back slightly both of them taking a seat facing each other.

The bald young man pointed his staff at Mask, but then made a gesture with his hand and sat down. Motioning for her to do the same, Mask sat down sheathing her swords.

"It is not wise to let them rest!" The blond man said staring at the other two warriors on his side.

"I am not here to pass these phases, I am here to fight a battle worth remembering. I will learn, become stronger and continue challenging the strongest warriors I can find." The stern man with the great-sword told him.

The blond man cursed, eyeing them with his blue eyes. "Well I will not let them rest!" He shouted charging forward.

Red-skin and Mask tensed, Strem once more unsheathed his rapier. "Allow me ladies." He said calmly stepping forward to meet the challenge.

The blond man rushed at him, holding his longsword in two hands. He struck at Strem with lightning speed, Strem moved his rapier to knock the blade of track. The swift strike turned out to be a feint, surprising Strem with his speed, the blond man turned his first strike into a smooth second. Strem jerked his head and narrowly dodged the blade. The man launched into a swift series of attack, skillfully flowing from one attack into the other. Strem was hard pressed to keep the man at bay. He made a small mistake causing the blond man to slice into his shoulder. The cut was shallow, the blond man frowned and jumped back, staring at Strem suspiciously. His eyes widened as he saw the cut slowly pulling itself closed, the skin mending.

"It seems I have underestimated you. I am Castul of Monderburg. May I have your name strange one." The blond man said giving Strem a slight inclination of the head.

Strem smiled at him, pulling of a perfectly fashionable bow, "I am Strem Xilivor. It is my pleasure to cross my blade with yours."

"Mine as well," Castul stepped forward to challenge him again.

The two men had a small smile as they matched their blades together, Strem was losing slightly in the battle of skill, Castul managing to land a cut here and there. Yet because of Strem's skills his toughness and regeneration more than made up for it. Eventually Castul started slowing down, Strem started landing small cuts. Castul stepped back, sheathing his sword. "It seems I have lost." He said giving Strem a bow. "I will become stronger and hope I will be able to challenge you again, Strem of Xilivor." The blond man then grabbed a dagger from a sheath in his back and smashed it into his own chest. Strem's eyes widened as the man exploded into more of the floating lights.

"What a warriors! What a battle!" The announcer roared, as the audience cheered in approval. "True honor on the battle field, today is turning out to be a great day for the Colosseum ladies and gents! Now let us move on to the next match. The audience roared once more in anticipation, cheering and screaming for their favorites.

The next to fight were Red-skin and the stern faced warrior, their battle unlike Castul's and Strem's was focused on power. Great sword smashed against shield, gauntlets smashed aside swords. The loud clanging of the blades urging the warriors and the audience into ever more excitement. Eventually by a stroke of luck the Stern faced man slipped on a rock, not one to let an opening go Red-skin smashed her sword through her opponents face. The audience cheered once more, the last two to step up were the bald man in the robe and Mask.

Their fight was even faster than Strem's had been, the staff twirled around in a constant flowing motion. All the blows not finding the female warrior as she flowed through the attacks like a leaf on the wind. She started incorporating her blades into her movement, flowing from one fluid form to the next. Strem once more marveled at the way she moved, she did not simply fight, she danced. The monk held up against her extremely well, his staff twirling, smashing away any attack that might find him. Eventually Mask started slowing down, her earlier exhaustion catching up with her, the monk got a strike in, knocking the mask from her face. The monk froze as he did so, the female swordsman quickly recovering the mask and putting it back on her face.

The monk started repeatedly bowing, Mask said something but the monk shook his head. Mask spoke again, speaking in a language he did not understand, he did however note that whatever she said was a command. The monk shook his head, obviously in panic. The audience was silent as a hush fell over the crowd, Strem got the gist of it, Mask wanted to continue the fight but the monk refused to raise his weapon against her. Making a quick decision he stepped forward unsheathed his rapier and pierced the monks heart with a lightening fast lunge. The monks eyes widened in surprise before a smile of relief spread across his face. The silence was deafening after his action, Mask stared at him, her fists trembling.

"I know you wanted to fight him."

"If you know that then why!" She said, stepping towards him angrily.

"He recognized who you are, and refused to fight you, if it had gone on any longer people would have wondered about who you are, it would have caused you problems further into the tournament which I assumed you would want to avoid. There will be other opponents to test your blades on, forcing a man to raise his weapon never ends well." Strem said staring her down.

Mask stiffened, then sighed. A nod and she started heading for the exit, he blinked as he noticed that he had missed the announcement that the battle was over. He rolled his shoulders as he followed Mask and Red-skin to the exit. He wondered who he had been fighting alongside this whole time. A mystery for another day, she was obviously worried that it would compromise the way people saw her. Strem chuckled as he thought of how little it would matter to him and his friends, but for now he would let her keep her secret.