Chapter 31

The now-filled seating area grew silent as thousands of eyes focused their attention on the raised stage. Sensing the atmosphere change, Keith took a deep breath as he watched ten cloaked figures step onto the platform. Although unable to see their appearance, he could tell that each person was easily over six feet tall and boasted massive frames. In particular, one among them was almost eight feet high, which was no doubt the tallest person Keith had ever seen.

After getting into formation, the cloaked figures turned to face the crowd as the lights on the ceiling focused on the stage. Suddenly, they threw off their cloaks, revealing men and women of different races. Standing out from the rest, the eight-foot-tall man had wild shoulder-length hair and an unkempt beard, with tribalistic tattoos covering his chest and limbs.

Although Keith didn’t recognize him, many among the audience did. Countless ladies and gentlemen stood to their feet in shock and joy, all screaming like obsessed fans.

“No way!”

“Oh my god! It’s Ska’dur!”

Recognizing a familiar figure, Keith looked to his right and saw Uncle Ridger shouting like the rest, his face red with excitement. To see his usually refined Uncle behave in such a manner sent shivers down Keith’s spine, but then, he suddenly understood why.

Ska’dur, the barbarian king.

A man recognized across all races to be the strongest person alive, at least publically. His innate gift allowed him to consume monster eggs and gain their powers—a frightening ability. Keith figured Ska’dur was level 500. The only strange thing was how young Ska’dur looked, as Keith knew the man was already several hundred years old. I suppose stats prolong lifespan longer than I thought, Keith wondered before pausing at a sudden realization.

Keith turned to his left and noticed Rhea had a rather disgruntled expression. Amused, he leaned over and whispered, “I’m guessing your dad likes the name barbarian?”

“Unfortunately,” Rhea grumbled.

Letting out a chuckle, Keith turned his attention back to the stage only to realize Ska’dur may or may not be glaring at him. No, he definitely was. Thankfully, Ska’dur refocused on his job once fog began to emit from the stage. The ten people on stage released a mighty bellow as drums appeared before them. Wielding large mallets, they slammed down with such ferocity a shockwave rippled across the audience.

To Keith’s surprise, he felt energized when the shockwave passed through him. The physical impact combined with the majestic sound of the drum gave him a rush of adrenaline he hadn’t quite experienced before.

And yet, that was just the start.

Over the following minutes, the ten drummers varied their motions as they played a song that inspired the imagination—scenes of an ancient and primal battle against the world, using your body to overcome all odds and emerging victorious. It was euphoric.

When the song finally ended, Keith collapsed in his seat, unaware he stood up at some point. A notification hovered in front of him.

Congratulations! Due to a unique vision, your skills related to combat have increased by various levels.

Miraculously, the song increased Keith’s Void Shadowstep skill by 23 levels. That was weeks of effort obtained in an instant. Unfortunately, he possessed few skills made for combat, so he didn’t benefit as much as other people. But he didn’t care. In his opinion, just hearing the song was more than enough.

Feeling a tug on his shoulder, Keith turned to Rhea as she asked with a smile. “How was my tribe’s war song?”

“How was it?” Keith sighed. “I’d say I never felt so alive. I didn’t know music was so powerful.”

Rhea was surprised. “You should try going to some professional performances. My tribe only focuses on drums, but other groups use all sorts of instruments. Their skill levels are a lot higher too.”

“I definitely will,” Keith immediately agreed and decided to look up any bands performing soon when he got home.

Ska’dur and the other performers had already left the stage when the crowd recovered from the song and began cheering. Once the noise quieted down, a female orc wearing formal attire strode up with a microphone in her hand. “Well, that was intense, wasn’t it? I’m sure many of you competing today are now more eager than ever to show off your skills, so I won’t take up much of your time.”

The orc looked over the crowd as she said, “Remember, winning or losing isn’t what this competition is about, but rather to overcome yourself. Incremental improvement is the road to success, and as long as you have the will to improve, you have no limits. No matter how powerful someone is, they were level 1 once. Keep that in mind.”

Keith deeply agreed with the orc’s speech and took her words to heart, and it seemed his sister felt the same because she was no longer nervous when he glanced over. After the orc gave the crowd some time to contemplate, she briefly explained the different categories people would compete in before announcing the start of the competition.

The next few hours flew by as Keith watched with awe and respect at the feats of strength people revealed during the competition. Of those around Keith’s age, one orc could deadlift over 2,500 pounds, while a dwarf endured over 100 times normal gravity. Perhaps most disturbing was when his sister competed. Her competitors could bend their bodies in such ways that Keith would no doubt break his bones if he tried the same.

All in all, it was an eye-opening experience. Keith realized that hundreds of people his age were stronger than him in just this event alone, and who knew how many if you included the whole world. But he wasn’t discouraged. Like the orc said at the start, they were all level 1 once.