Please let this be a nightmare. Please let this be a nightmare. Please let thi-

“Hey hey hey we got ourselves here an ‘unblooded’ boys, just look at how shakin’ happy this little grunt is so early in the mornin’. Smilin’ and readyin’ for battle. *GRRRRRRR* You excited for some killin’ and gloryin’ brat?”

Goddamned bloodthirsty monsters. Literally fucking oversized, densely muscled, one-eyed, two-eyed, half-eyed, no-eyed wait holy shit I can only see empty scooped out sockets on that one...jaw snappings, tongue lickings, foul smellings, beautiful savage armours, big ass halberd bladed weapons, whoa look at the size of his lashing tail! Well bend me over and...terrify looking, claw flexings, saliva spittings Kroctars. This has got to be the worst living fucking nightmare in the history of nightmares. A lone powerless human baby and his shiny ass delivered on a platter about to be eviscerated by a pack of hungry apex predators.

“I cAn’T WaiT tO Wake Up fRoM ThiS Nightm-”

“HAHAHAHA y’all heard that boys? Da little human couldn’t rest well sleepin’ so now he’s wakin’ up blood seekin’ to fullfillin’ his warrior callin’.” The largest one out of the bunch calls out.

Thumping in place with a pee-pee like dance a heavily armoured Kroctar answers, “Ya boss I heard it but I think he just stretchin’ so he could be fightin’ for the waitin-”

“This human smells of bloodlust mixed with fear,” the eyeless Kroctar chimes in.

“Shut ya trap and keep on smellin’ my farts you blind cripple! How dare ya interrupt my speakin’ to da boss?!”

“I might be blind but I can see things far better than you vermin.”

“Call me that again to mah face and I’ll gut ya hide!”

“You can’t even gut a dead corpse properly, my belly is too thick for you to poke through with the stick you call a weap-”

“HAHAHAHA you boys are always crackin’ me up in the mornin’.”

At least these creatures seem civilized enough not to chomp at a tiny and frail little human on sight. I wish I can make myself smaller so these jawed heads wouldn’t notice me at all.

“Heh I like your attitude kid.” The ‘boss’ Kroctar looks like he could be the biggest bipedal reptile I’ve seen yet. Dwarfing over me in both size and mass, the gleeful bastard’s pointy jagged tail almost skewer straight through my face earlier with a random sneeze. It was a good thing that he missed though and impaled the wooden wall behind my head instead. With a massive meaty left arm resting on my shoulder and the other twirling with a battleaxe, his massive jaw opens in what looks to be a feral grin. My legs are ready to buckle sideways against the vertical added weight of his sturdy arm.

“Survive.”

Well no shit that’s basic survival instincts but thanks for the tips. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind to whatever comes next.

The giant brute growls the single word while licking his rickshaw pointed teeths. Letting go of my shoulder, the Kroctar hollers at his goons to break up the nearby ensuing brawl.

“Warriors form a circle around me! We goin’ to do some quick plannin’ for today’s games.” The ‘boss’ yells as he waits for the dozen or so of his rowdy subordinates to gather. Wait do they even care about me listening in on their strategic meeting? This is making me feel more out of place than I already am.

“Before I begi- Hey! Knock it off you two before I start cloberin’ your heads!” roars the ‘boss’ at the bickering duo from earlier.

“Alright before I begin our plannin’ this human standin’ right here is our newest recruit. Try not to let him die too quickly I need som’ more diversity in our team. Count your lucky stars for being paired with us kid, do as I say and you’ll probably live till tomorrow. Drag us down and I’ll swallow you whole, bones and all. Got it?”

How encouraging. If only I coul-

“This new recruit is at your command boss kroc sir!”

“HAHAHA no need to sound so excited uhh…”

“Shin boss! My name is Shin.”

“Welcome to the team little Shin.” After the said boss voiced his initial greeting, a chorus of grunts and growlings can be heard cycling through from the dozen creatures around:

“Fight strong little childling.”

“Hey ya da human Shin.”

“How’s it chewin’?”

“Don’t be useless human.”

“Hope you can last longer than the last human, human Shin.”

“Shin Shin welcome welcome, I am no longer the smallest among you reptiles hah!”

Hell yeah baby! Time to stick it with the big boys for now. I’m ditching these thugs at the first opportunity I see though. Things seem pretty fucked up around here without me being on my own on top of that. I can probably learn a thing or two being part of this group temporary. Yay for simple pack mentality!

“HeLLo TeaM.”

“Alright y’all can introduce yaself later,” says the boss. “Today’s gunna be a ‘survival’ bloodfest. Ten individual teams against incomin’ set monster waves. Numbers could be one hundred, could be one thousand trying to kill us depend on their power and sizes but who cares! We’ll smash all the enemies standing in our way just the same.”

Wait, what’s up with those insane odds?! Our team has only like a dozen dudes, at least I think all of these guys are dudes since I have no idea about their race’s biology. Whatever. A private question to ask at a later time I guess. These hotheads seem pretty confident in winning, I mean I would too if I have an intimidating body like them.

“We form a tight defensive perimeter with me at da center and maneuver as necessary. Shin you just follow what everyone else is doing and do as ya’ told, got it recruit?” says the boss.

“Aye aye sir!”

Damn bloodthirsty thing acts like I have any say in the matter. It’d be best to just lay low for now. Based on what Vinn had said before they zapped us out of our cell, this world worships personal strength and thrives in violence. How else would they have a battle arena for fighters to cultivate combat talents? Fucking bizarre and plain right barbaric. Okay so maybe I was the only one that got zapped away since Vinn just stood up and strolled out as soon as the cell’s door was unlocked. Discriminating the newcomers much? Race is probably not the issue so maybe it’s the difference in our status? Vinn mentions there are slaves and volunteers fighting here and based on my shitty luck so far slavery seems like another slap to my hapless, swollen ass. I still don’t have a good grasp of what’s going on but I refuse to roll over and die like a pile of waste being a said slave or not.

“Adapt. Improvise and overcome to survive.” Damn it’s that muffled voice ringing in my head again. The advice seems plausible in my current situation so maybe I should heed its warnings nonetheless. I’ll take whatever freebies I can get since beggars can’t be choosers.

“TIME TO GO TO WORK GLADIATORS AND MAY YOU BE BAPTIZED IN BLOOD AND GLORY!” The Kroctar that zapped me awake on my first night here and backhanded me in the face this morning screams as he activates some sort of amber lever switch thingie. Yeah I’ll remember you motherfucker, just you wait. With an audible *click* the current platform that I am standing on begins to rumble and slowly elevates skyward. Gradual sounds of shoutings and applaudings can be heard as each second that passes increase its volume up to thunderous levels.

Tucking in a small wooden round shield closer to the chest with my left arm, my body begins to tremble in discomfort. I am having difficulties breathing and there is a numbness feeling in my hands and fingers. Facing the unknown terrifies and excites me at the same time. How conflicting since my senses are telling me to hide but my instinct demands action. There is a dreary sense of deja vu about it all, perhaps a resonating echo of my warrior’s past? I am a fool to not realize what my own body is telling me. An enduring mad craving to destroy and enjoy the sufferings of those who dare stand against me. The thoughts of combat coil themselves around me like a familiar sweet lullaby that I can’t ignore. Call it what you want but this is the correct mindset that I need to adapt in order to crawl my ways out of here. How thought provokingly refreshing to accept the violence that is part of me.

As the platform makes its complete stop after an incalculable amount of time I look around in complete silence, mouth hanging agape by the awe-inspiring views of my surroundings. My mind numbs out the deafening roars of the hundreds of thousands of spectators present around us. Humans and beastkinds alike dressed in colorful tunics and leathery robes shrieking in excitements at our dramatic entrance from underneath. There is a light chill in the morning sun as gusts of wind carrying the revolting stench of death permeates the breathing air and covering dried bloody grounds in heaping sand dunes. Scattered pieces of body parts not a few days old in decomposition and broken armaments litter around our standing platform.

This is a fucking public killing field and I am to be one of its victims.

“ThaT PErsoN is-”

“Ah a pre-combat ritual to our warrior patron saint? Hey y’all don’t let the new recruit outplay ya lot! Pay your respect properly!” barks the boss.

At a moment of alarming epiphany I go down to both my knees. My sword arm is pointing at a colossal lifelike statue looming overhead the sandy arena. A human warrior titan sculpted in gleaming ivory so detailed and authentic I had first thought it to be alive.

With a blade drawn with one hand in mocking challenge and the other freehand holding a helmet at the waistline, the imposing figure is silently screaming at unseen foes by the end of his sword. I have seen that face once before in my recurring dreams, howling in desperate agony as his skin is boiled and seared alive underneath the very same armors that are embellished on the current figure. A sense of nausea engulfs my senses as my stomach threatens to churn up all of this morning’s contents in recalling the gory images.

“Who is that?” I look sideways at the boss and ask, finger still pointing at the warrior titan. The other Kroctars are all kneeling down in one knee toward the direction of the ivory statue in what looked to be silent prayers.

“Hahaha are ya daft boy? Everyone knows that is the legendary Blademaster Paladin Rayshin, killer of demons and savior of our world!”