One year wasn’t nearly enough to properly learn the multitude of skills Alric and everyone else tried to cram in. However, hand to hand combat somewhat meshed with knife fighting. Improving one’s aim made shooting easier regardless of the firearm.

There were definite improvements in these areas. Unfortunately, more obscure disciplines, such as survival training, received much less attention than they should have.

‘I have my gun back,’ Alric realized while touching his body. The backpack and riffle were gone, but he still had the gun and the bullets inside his pockets. “Not bad,” the youth muttered.

“Alric, move towards that tree and get down.”

“What tree?” He couldn’t see a thing. Going by the sounds of bugs and critters all around him, the teen was most likely in nature. He could feel grass and mud beneath his feet, but it would take some time for his eyes to adjust.

“Summon your shield!”

There was tinge of panic in the voice’s tone, so the boy complied immediately. Fortunately, it seemed like mana stood out within the darkness. His dome emitted a dim bluish light which illuminated the surroundings.

The teen saw Timofey flying around him while holding a naginata polearm the length of his knife. There was flattened grass on the ground and the faint image of weird looking trees all around them.

Unfortunately, there were also bugs. What looked like giant armored centipedes suddenly smashed into his barrier. Since they couldn’t damage it, some of the crawlers began circling while others climbed on top like pitons trying to squeeze the air out of their bubble.

“Attack!” Timofey was the first to swing his weapon. Since the creatures’ plated armor only covered the top of their bodies, the wind blades around the naginata sliced deep into their bellies.

After seeing white smoke coming out of the monsters, Alric also pulled out his knife. The duo slashed and hacked for what seemed like forever, until their arms tired and their breathing became rough. It took them more than 10 minutes to finish the job, but eventually, every last monster disappeared into smoke.

“Phew,” Alric let out a breath while raising his arm. “High five, partner.”

“Your palm is as big as my body.” The pixie denied the gesture, but he did touch his weapon to Alric’s before flying up to get a better view.

‘His eyes must be different,’ thought the youth before taking a seat. While waiting, he replayed the encounter searching for something useful.

“Was the barrier always permeable from the inside?” he asked after a while.

“It wasn’t?”

Since the ring was back on his finger, Alric focused on it, and a message suddenly appeared.

[Abilities:

Shield rank 2.

Addition: one-sided permeability.]

‘It leveled up…’

“Alric, we should move. The smoke will let other creatures know of our position.”

There was nothing Timofey could see even higher up. Since the youth’s eyes had also adjusted to the dark, it was probably best not to stick around. In their vicinity, the grass resembled discolored algae and the trees looked like giant ashen vines that coiled around each other for stability.

They were most likely inside of a jungle, though it was definitely not one from Earth. If anything, the flora seemed either dead or covered in its ancestor’s ashes. Even the wide leaves on top of the trees were a darker and creepier shade of grey.

‘But, where’s Amon? How are we supposed to win this round?’

The more they walked, the more sounds they started hearing all around them. ‘It’s coming from above,’ he realized. Something was moving through the beanstalk looking trees, though it was thankfully not targeting them yet.

Suddenly, growls mixed with whimpers some distance ahead. The two wanted to change course, but then they heard voices too. For some reason, Timofey stopped and his eyes opened wide. He flew towards the noise, so Alric had to follow.

“What are you doing?”

The pixie wouldn’t listen. Two dozen trees later, the boy could see why.

A tiny girl with black wings was fighting alongside a tall pointy eared fellow. Their opponents looked like werewolves, but skinnier and with longer claws. They swung towards them through the vine like trees while the elf shot them down with his bow.

“Kill the muts,” said Timofey while going to help out his fellow pixie. One of the werewolves got close and it was her job to deal with it.

‘What the hell?’ After what happened on the platform, Alric wasn’t exactly keen on rescuing the enemy. To avoid wasting bullets, he took out his knife and stabbed the monster’s back while the pixies distracted it.

However, its hide was so thick that the knife barely cut through. When the six foot tall werewolf turned around, Alric instantly regretted his decision.

No amount of training could prepare him for finger length claws and protruding canines, so he stepped back in a hurry. Fortunately, a giant arrow pierced through the creature’s torso before it could attack.

The lanky elf was in his element. While shooting down monsters, he ran between corpses, retrieving his arrows and killing some more. Soon, the entire pack of more than 30 individuals was reduced to smoke.

“Thanks for the assistance,” said the enemy pixie before her jaw opened wide. “Timmy?” She looked more annoyed than surprised.

“The name’s Timofey, Veronika. I’d appreciate some gratitude after I’ve saved your life.”

“Hmph,” the bald girl crossed her arms. “Did smoke get into your eyes? My man is a veritable beast, unlike your… Hey, did you actually pair up with a human?” The pixie started cracking up. Her white dress fluttered as she rolled around in laughter.

“Quiet,” Alric whispered. “We don’t want to attract more monsters.”

“Ha, you know nothing, little boy. Predators here are territorial. It’ll be days before anything dangerous wanders into this place.”

“How do you know?” asked Timofey.

In response, the pixie harrumphed even harder. Instead of answering, she pointed towards her partner.

“This is my world,” said the unusually skinny elf. He wore tight fitting clothes resembling the algae on the ground and wielded a bow of the same ashen color as the trees. “But, we should still remain alert,” he added while sending his partner a scolding look.

“Ahem.” Suddenly, a booming voice was heard from above. Tiny creatures started running in every direction, and even an armored centipede popped out of the ground before scurrying away.

“Matriarchs and Overlords, Enchantresses and Warriors, welcome back to the Species Tournament!”

………………………………………………………………………………

Due to the large grey leaves which made up the canopy, Alric could barely see the night’s sky, much less Amon. Even so, the demon was undoubtedly there doing his usual routine.

“This episode’s sponsors are Leviathan’s Sweat Shop, Death Incorporated, …., and Astaroth’s zombie farm. I will explain the rules in a moment, but first, a little something for our contestants: To win this round, all you have to do is ‘Kill and Survive.’ Pretty self explanatory, isn’t it?”

After this, Amon’s voice disappeared and everyone was left to their own devices.

““That prick,”” the pixies raged in unison. The elf seemed to be considering his words, and the teen was doing the same.

‘Kill and survive… God damn it.’

Suddenly, Alric pulled the gun from his waist, aimed at the elf, and shot. Though never having seen a firearm, the man acted on instinct and hid behind a tree. The bullet grazed his shoulder, and he came out the other end with his bow ready to fire.

Alric summoned his shield, an excellent move, since the arrow flew so fast he could barely see it. Despite the ring being a token from the demon realm, the rod pierced through the boy’s barrier stopping only an inch away from his eye.

“What do you think you’re doing!?” Timofey yelled while the youth rolled on the ground and shot his gun. The elf jumped from tree to tree, gaining distance and height in a split second before shooting another arrow.

“Stop your human!” shouted Veronika.

Since he couldn’t see his opponent, Alric ran for cover when a small razor sharp naginata appeared next to his throat.

“Enough!” the pixie ordered.

“They’re enemies. If we don’t kill them now, they’ll come after us later.”

“We won’t!” Veronika shouted. As the elf walked towards them with a scowl, the female pixie was holding a wind blade near his throat. “The demon didn’t say we should kill other contestants. Seriously Tim, I thought we were searching for knowledge not muscle brains.”

“Knowledge?” Alric looked at his partner suspiciously. “This was planned?”

Instead of replying, Timofey sighed.

“Veronika, Alric. Alric, Veronika.” He pointed back and forth between the two. “She’s a fellow apprentice of the Oracle from my tribe. He is usually not so trigger happy. The stress is getting to my partner, so please excuse his actions.”

Not only were they acquainted, but they were from the same group. ‘What are the odds?’ wondered Alric.

Hundreds of thousands of pixies had joined the tournament, and he doubted they were all from the same tribe. Also, two pairs of multi-species partners were summoned just a few hundred feet away from each other. The demons must have done it on purpose, which meant...

‘This show is rigged. And, if that’s the case, then I might actually be safer if I listen to my alter.’ After all, not even the demons would be crazy enough to kill their star, would they?