Alex was shocked to see Rebecca standing beside him, surrounded by a barrier that much resembled his. The second round was a team-focused event with randomized teammates, but he never expected he’d run into her again. This time, she appeared to have upgraded her look, wearing gray light armor with silver trimming all along the arm and torso.

Rebecca brushed her long, blond hair back as she shot him a distrusting gaze. “Just my luck to get stuck with the know-it-all kill stealer.”

He squinted his eyes back at her. “You’re complaining? I’m the one stuck with the loudmouth assassin who warns her targets before attacking.”

She snickered and turned away, as if responding was beneath her.

Alex looked around the circular, concrete-walled arena hoping to find other teammates, but there was no one else in sight. “Looks like its just us two. Did you and Wayne get separated?”

Rebecca shook her head. “Wayne didn’t wanna compete. Said it was too risky to spend that many coins on a competition. If you ask me, he’s just a coward with no nuts.”

“Yeah. I’m sure you got huge nuts yourself.”

She gave him a dirty look that quickly turned to curious surprise. “Hold on.” She said, as she pointed above his head. “How are you only level 4?”

That’s right. Alex thought. Levels and classes can’t be seen in the main floors of the tower unless voluntarily shown. But in the Dominion Games, everyone’s level and class are displayed above their heads.

He looked at the small screen above Rebecca’s head, noting her level. “How are you level 8?”

“Wayne and I found a nice farming spot on the third floor. We worked with another group and slaughtered a lot of Baby Spiderwings. Good times. We also farmed quite a bit on the first floor, knowing that goblins would probably be the easiest enemies we’d face.”

That made sense. Compared to a typical ascent, Alex had rushed through the first three floors, so it was only natural he’d be under-leveled.

“That’s also why I entered the Battle Arena.” Rebecca said. “As an assassin, I have an advantage in an event that’s all about dealing damage. Thanks to my class I can make up for my slight level disadvantage.”

Alex was surprised that, for once, she was making a lot of sense. Maybe underneath that hard head of hers was half a decent brain.

A message popped up in front of each of them, and they stopped talking so they could read it.

Welcome to Round 2 of the Level 10 Battle Arena.

This round will assess your battle capabilities in a team-focused situation.

Here are the rules:

- You must complete the given objective in order to advance to the next round

- You will be eliminated from the competition if your HP drops to 0 or you fail to complete the objective

- You will receive an individual score based on your performance. This includes time taken to complete the objective, damage taken and received, and overall contribution to team performance

- The combination of team score and individual score will result in your total score

- The 32 competitors with the highest total scores will move on to the third round

…

Your objective is:

- Destroy the OrcRing Amulet

…

This Round will begin in 10 seconds…

As the timer counted down, Alex checked his HP. It had fully replenished between rounds, just as he’d suspected. Underneath his HP, two scores were displayed.

Alex: 0

Rebecca: 0

Those must be our individual scores.

“Sounds easy enough.” Rebecca said. “Just gotta destroy a stupid amulet.”

The timer hit zero and the barriers that held them in place dissipated.

Alex looked around the empty arena. “So, where’s this amulet?” There was nothing but grass on the ground and concrete walls surrounding them.

As if to answer his question on cue, a hulking monster spawned in front of them. It was immediately recognizable, with its characteristic leathery green skin, bald head, and pointy ears.

Orc General HP: 550

The creature held a large hammer on each hand, and an amulet shaped like a hollow ring hung from its neck.

Rebecca stepped forward. “Don’t get in my way. I can handle this on my own.” She threw a dagger at the amulet, but the orc swatted the blade out of the air with a swing of a hammer.

Alex analyzed the enemy, as it kept its gaze fixed on the two of them. It held a defensive stance, unwilling to attack unless provoked. Its only job was to protect that amulet.

Another dagger flew at the hammer but it, too, was swatted away.

“Bastard.” Rebecca equipped two more daggers from her inventory ring, and they materialized in both of her hands.

Alex entered Dragon Form. She’s really gonna keep trying the same trick, isn’t she?

Two more daggers zoomed toward the orc, but this time Alex was ready. As the metal from the weapons clanged off one another, he snuck a Dragon Head through the orc’s defenses. The dragon went right through the amulet as if it wasn’t there, hitting the orc and doing a little damage.

“Looks like its no use.” Alex said. “We’ll have to kill it first.” He turned to Rebecca. “Let’s think of a strateg-”

“Sounds like my kinda thing.” Rebecca said as she sprang into action. “I’m going in.”

Alex shook his head. She’s so reckless.

Rebecca’s charge was met with a swing of the orc’s hammer, which connected and sent her flying into the concrete wall. The HP bar above her head dropped by 30%, and the scores in the corner of Alex’s vision updated.

Alex: 10

Rebecca: -60

Rebecca got up and spat on the ground as she readied her blades once more.

I have to work around her. Alex thought. She’s gonna tank our team score if I let her do whatever she wants.

Alex followed her motions as she charged in once again. As the orc began to swing its arm, Alex extended his dragon head and locked it around the monster’s wrist.

“Nice!” Rebecca blurted out as she cocked back her arm.

Alex fought to keep the orc’s arm in place, but it was no use. It broke free and charged its shoulder at Rebecca, sending her flying back once again.

Alex let out a sigh. Looks like I gotta take the backseat on this one. She’s higher level so I should let her be the primary damage dealer.

“Use your Backstab talent.” Alex said. “Attack it from the back.”

Rebecca got up once again. “I’ll try. But the bastard’s quick.”

“Wait till I grab his arms. I’ll hold them in place, and you move around to his back side and damage him there.”

Rebecca nodded.

“I can only hold him for a second or two. Slice him up while he’s stuck then back off. We’ll repeat that till he’s dead.”

“Got it.”

Rebecca maneuvered to get around the orc, but the creature twisted its body to follow her movement. Alex threw out both dragon heads and caught the monster’s wrists. Without missing a beat, Rebecca darted in and swung two blades at the enemy as it struggled to break free. A second later it got out of the constraints and Rebecca retreated.

Orc General HP: 415/550

“Nice plan, know-it-all. It actually worked.”

“Thanks, loudmouth. We just gotta keep doing that. You ready for another round?”

Rebecca flashed her daggers. “Ready.”

Alex launched both dragon heads again and held the orc’s arms in place. Rebecca moved to its back side and got to work.

With each swing of her blades, her score shot up, climbing at a faster rate than Alex’s.

I’m missing out on points by not dealing damage. Alex thought. At this rate, I might not qualify for the third round… But there’s not much I can do. She’s a liability with her recklessness.

They repeated the tactic and the orc’s HP continued to drop. Alex looked over at their scores as Rebecca dealt the finishing blow.

Alex: 1095

Rebecca: 1580

The orc vanished and its amulet fell to the ground. Rebecca swooped in and picked it up. “Hah! I got a higher score than you. Consider it payback for what you did on the second floor.”

Alex gritted his teeth. He hated to lose, and he especially hated losing to someone like her.

But the competition wasn’t over yet. Destroying the amulet was the final condition, and the one who actually did that would get a boost in their individual score. He couldn’t let her get the final blow.

Alex walked towards her and placed his right arm behind his back, pretending to scratch it. “Don’t destroy it yet. It’ll lower our score if we do it now.”

Rebecca’s eyes narrowed. “What? Why?”

“Well… you see…”

He activated Dragon Head on his right arm. Then, like a gunslinger drawing a gun, he snapped his arm forward and extended the dragon head. With a bite and a jerk, the dragon’s jaws clenched the amulet and ripped it out of Rebecca’s hand. In one swift motion, Alex slammed the amulet to the ground and crahsed the dragon into it, crushing it on impact.

He watched as his score rose above Rebecca’s.

Alex: 1750

Rebecca: 1580

A message popped up.

Round 2 Complete.

Team Score: 900

Alex’s Individual Score: 1750

Rebecca’s Individual Score: 1580

Rebecca’s jaw dropped. “Did. You. Just. Steal. My. Kill. AGAIN!?” Her eyes sprang open with the ferocity of a starving lion. She pulled out her daggers and came straight for him.

Alex couldn’t help but crack a smile. Crap. She’s really mad.

Before the dagger could pierce him, Alex felt himself vanish from the arena. Soon after, he appeared in the familiar confinement of the pod that had transported him there in the first place. A screen lit up in front of him.

Congratulations! You have qualified for the third round!

The first PvP match will take place tomorrow at…

Alex noted the time and ignored the rest of the message. A quick glance at the leaderboard told him that he’d finished in second place, with a cumulative score behind only one other person: Max.

With the eagerness of a prey animal, he quickly ripped off the wires and jumped out of the pod. Before anyone else got a chance to exit their pod and get a look at him, Alex had already left the hallway.

Gotta get out of here before Rebecca finds me and stabs me in real life.

***

Luke leapt in the air and swung his axe straight through a Baby Spiderwing. The monster let out a screech before falling to the ground and disappearing.

Two more Spiderwings lunged at him, but he just barely managed to get out of the way. Three more closed in from the trees above.

Damn it! Luke thought. I killed about 10 of them and more are still coming. That’s what I get for letting myself get trapped in their nest with nothing but an iron axe.

He panted like an overheating dog as his attempts to steady his breath failed. The endless swarm of over-sized bugs had left his body completely empty, and he had nothing more to give.

Looks like I got carried away… I’m in trouble…

He opened his Skills page and looked over his abilities. There was only one trick he had left to try; one final gambit.

I really didn’t want to resort to this, but I don’t have much choice now.

This better work or I'm dead.