Waking up early Salim jumped out of bed after fumbling around for a small bit getting himself untangled from what was best called as his sleeping arrangement.

Earlier before when he was walking back to the inn Vivyern had spied some of the people Lilac had with her. How she had actually remembered their faces Salim would never know but they made sure not to be seen as they passed by.

Still trying to get himself away from Vivyern he realized sleeping near her probably wasn’t the best idea. Not because she would kill him on purpose but she would probably smother him to death. He wondered how long he could hold his breath with enhanced endurance although Salim was not feeling keen on trying.

Finally pulling himself out of her grasp Salim got ready for the qualifier putting on his armor and hiding his knife on the inside of the armor.

The qualifiers started early in the morning and went throughout the whole day which was why he had woken up so early. Now the question was whether or not he should bring Vivyern. She was still sleeping but at the same time if they were both separated for a while who knows what type of trouble they could run into.

In the end, Salim decided to wake Vivyern picking her out of bed and dressing her up in clothes. She still was almost unconscious as she followed after Salim using their bond to unconsciously follow her master.

After trying food to wake her up Salim was forced to give her energy perking her up in seconds. Was his energy like coffee or something to her?

Either way, she was awake now so they began the journey to the Coliseum.

Salim began to think about who he would be fighting. He would struggle immensely against any heavily armored opponent due to his knife being literally more ineffective than his fist. He may be able to get Touch of Frost off and freeze the armor but there were no guarantees with that strategy.

Walking through the streets barely lit with morning light the closer they got to the Coliseum the more people joined them on the road. The crowd was mainly men although there were some women.

They must be people competing in the qualifiers and while most of the people that were surly and built to fight others had slimmer more average looking builds that could hint at being possible mages.

One woman was for sure a shoe-in as a mage as she carried a book and wore robes with a rather slim figure.

Although matches against mages where probably Salim’s best bet at victory. His stats would boost him allowing high speed to avoid spells and his high strength would ensure a quick knockout.

These matches were sure to be brutal, however. It was a fight to knock out or surrender which would lead to some pretty depressing outcomes in most scenarios. All it takes is a person who is willing to beat someone who is down and someone too stubborn to surrender.

Reaching the colosseum Salim departed with Vivyern promising her some energy if she didn’t cause any problems and stayed in the stands. Nodding Vivyern went up the stairs designated for spectators.

All alone Salim walked down the hall labeled for contestants along with the others.

The hall was rather crowded with many people bumping into each other which Salim did not trust a single bit. After getting robbed in places like this one tends to be a bit wary of large crowds.

Keeping an eye on his person Salim continued walking down the tight hallway. An opening was seen in the middle leading out into the main arena of the Coliseum.

Multiple stages were set up all around the arena with separate judges. The stages were a could of yards in size.

Everyone was told to get in a group based on levels. While Salim was qualifying to get into the eleven to twenty tournament the qualifier was eleven to fifteen with how many of that level showed up.

With this small advantage, Salim felt a bit safer but was still warry. Who knows what could happen… Especially him the king of getting his ass handed to him by luck.

The fights where to be set tournament style with a person either being knocked off the stage or being knocked out. It was illegal to hold someone from surrendering and once someone said that they surrendered they were out.

To these seemingly basic rules, Salim’s tournament group was going first being the largest.

All the pairings were seemingly random even as Salim got his first opponent. A rough looking older man who had a rather scared face. His weapon of choice seemed to be a rather well kept short sword.

Lining up on either side of their stage like all of the other fights the judges asked if Salim and the other man where ready. The man replied in a hoarse whisper that he was and Salim just nodded. The judge initiated the fight with a rather curt “BEGIN!”

Salim and the man started off with each other slowly approaching. The man seemed to be analyzing Salim and Salim was very wary of the man. The way the man looked at Salim was very sure he knew what he was doing and Salim did not like that at all.

Deciding to test the waters Salim tensed up before sprinting straight at the man. Boosting his speed with energy creation Salim jerked out his blade with a swift motion and met the cold metal of the shortsword.

Not committing the slash Salim let the shortsword slide off the top of the dagger as Salim slid by the man giving a short jab in on the man's gut. However unable to get away fast enough Salim received a kick to his back getting thrown into the ground.

Trying to somersault into a standing position Salim jerked his arm slightly causing some small pains to shoot through his arm.

Both combatants disengaged continued to circle as Salim sped up his recovery and began to grow stronger from damage over time. Challenge also activated boosting his stats slightly as well.

Coming up with a quick strategy Salim decided he did not want to use any of his active skills yet and keep them as a surprise.

The other man, however, was already ready as he charged Salim letting out a bellow as he brandished the shortsword with ease.

Salim utterly unready for the sudden attack readied himself allowing the blade to slam into his blade but lead it elsewhere throwing the mans shortsword out of the way. The sword was still in the man's hand but it had just been thrown to the side as the force of the strike being redirected knocked it away.

Not taking the open blow that he just scored Salim backed away from the man going closer to the edge of the stage. It was a risky idea but it would probably work.

The man either taking it as a show of flaunting or taunting became enraged at Salim charging at him once more. Reaching Salim he threw his body into a thrust preparing to skewer Salim on his blade.

However, Salim with superior agility stats was able to outmaneuver the strike by leaning to the side and with all his might grabbed the shortsword man’s head and slammed it down forcing his knee up at the same time.

And with a crack that sounded throughout the stadium over the noise of others fighting Salim had one his first fight.

The man who Salim had kneed slid down on the stage and couldn’t get up due to the large amount of bleeding coming from his head. Salim had probably broken his skull but that just came to show how dangerous it could be.

Salim nonchalantly came down from the stage and the judges told him he would have to wait for everyone to finish their fight so the next fights could begin.

There were a few who had actually finished their fights before Salim so he had no idea what they could do.

The woman he had seen earlier carrying a book had actually been fine and seemed not to have a scratch on her from the fight. She probably finished her opponent off in a single spell if the fight ended that fast.

Another person who interested Salim was a man who had a longsword strapped to his side along with a buckler resting in his hand. His armor was just simple leather that was easy to move around in. The only issue was that his sword was completely clean like it had just been cleaned and polished.

The man had either a magical sword or had used something else to force his opponent off with other means. Salim did not like being in the unknown about this sort of thing. He would rather not face an opponent he had no idea of.

Others were pretty obvious to tell. They had specks of blood on them or looked like wizard types so Salim could imagine how they got their opponent off.

The rest of the fights ended rather quickly and everyone got back in a group.

Salim got paired up against a woman wearing a cloak and dual daggers. They stared each other down. She was actually quite beautiful more than most. Salim felt a pang of jealousy through the bond that made him laugh.

The judge and the woman both looked at him oddly but continued with set up. The judge asked both if they were ready and with affirmative nods from both parties, he began the match.

As soon as the judge yelled begin the woman was gone vanishing off the stage and away from Salim’s sight.

Feeling something coming by the activation of multiple skills Salim jumped forward hearing the wind whistle by as something stabbed downwards into the ground.