The Arcadian Forest is the home of two apex predators. The Orbweaver Queen and the Elder Treant King have staked out territories in the forest. Wisperium has made an alliance with the Orbweaver Queen, guaranteeing food and resources in exchange for their highly coveted spider silk. A mysterious and invasive monster has been seen battling with both factions; a large, white, mutated Dire Bear. It is unknown how the creature found its way into the forest, despite being dozens of kilometers away from its natural habitat. Nevertheless, it has adapted and evolved in accordance with its change of environment. It is highly recommended to avoid the Arcadian Forest due to the high monster sightings over the past few years.

~ World Forests, 18th Edition by Whitney Naver

The difference between the betting machine in the casino and the coliseum was like night and day. It was a class of its own; standing ten feet tall and twenty feet wide, the betting machine was made of a lustrous, silver metal. Several workers hurried to accept bets as the contraption belched out tickets and adjusted the odds ever so slightly.

“Is there a betting limit?”

The employee nodded, somewhat out of breath due to the dozens of customers he had to service. “Yes, twenty gold is the maximum bet.”

Chester fished out twenty gold pieces from his bag, handing it to the man and receiving a ticket in return. The paper listed his potential winnings at over a hundred gold.

The standings had Damien listed at the upper middle of the contestants, and that bet had pushed him into the top three.

A few minutes later, a woman placed another bet on the vampire. Her face was obscured by a hood. An eighteen gold wager that would yield her eighty six gold.

“Twenty on Rose! Take it!” A red-haired man with a vicious look in his eyes handed the sack of coins to the harried employee.

The massive sums of money being wagered on the boy had pushed him to the top of the rankings, a runaway favorite to win the weekly tournament. The muscled warrior, Jasiah, was a distant second in the odds to win.

Unfortunately for the red-haired man, this meant his winnings from betting on Damien was a meager forty two gold.

Everyone began to whisper about the odds, looking for the other people that had bet on the vampire. The woman and black-haired man were nowhere to be seen. Others began to place wagers on the vampire boy, assuming that the people before had known something they didn’t. But the payout was ridiculously low now that Damien was the overwhelming favorite.

The red-haired man had vanished, making his way towards the stands as fighters began to pour into the arena.

The commentator could be seen on a massive stand, waving his arms wildly as he introduced the combatants below. The crowds were packed, yelling and cheering at the slew of fighters glaring at each other with fierce determination.

Some could be seen coldly analyzing the fighters down below, with particular scrutiny on the pale-faced child and the shielded warrior.

‘Damien’s got some attention on him. I wonder if they’ve figured out he’s a vampire? Doesn't seem like a well-kept secret.’

Chester’s disguise vanished along with the invisibility, scaring several people around him as they witnessed a man pop into existence. In his hand, he clutched three tickets betting on the boy.

“Well, I suppose I should join in with the rest of them.” He said to himself, before whooping and hollering louder than anybody else.

“OOOH GET ‘EM! SHOW THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS WHAT YOU GOT!”

Damien’s ears perked up and he looked above to see the man fist pumping in the air. He put his hands in his face, doing his best to ignore Chester's wild shouts and cheers.

“A friend of yours?” The mummified assassin, Victor Lupin, asked the boy. Leather armor covered their forearms, torso, and legs. Every surface was covered in bandages. Although Damien gauged that they weren't a large threat, he still kept his guard up.

The vampire shook his head. “No, just an idiot.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter to me. I applaud your potential and ability, but it will not be enough to defeat me.”

Damien rolled his eyes. “Yes, the spearman said the exact same thing. I have no need to prove myself to you.”

The tense silence was broken by the announcer smashing the gong, ringing it loudly to signify the beginning of the battle.

Victor attacked first, launching a slash aimed at the boy’s neck. It was deflected with ease, but Damien was forced to avoid the second dagger targeted at his thigh.

He retreated, ducking to avoid a mace from another combatant. In a burst of speed, Damien launched himself towards the assassin. He switched to a reverse grip mid-dash, unleashing a strike that they could barely deflect.

The dual-wielding assassin shook off the force, but was unprepared for the kick to their gut.

Rolling on the ground and recovering with ease, Victor had to move once again to avoid a bull-rush by Jasiah. They gracefully landed on their feet, readying their blades to face off against the most physically imposing man in the arena.

Now separated, Damien turned to face the flail-wielding warrior behind him. No words were exchanged, and he nimbly avoided the swings. To the boy, dodging the telegraphed swings was simple.

Flustered at how the vampire closed the distance, the warrior unleashed a punch that hit nothing. A swing of Damien’s sword had separated the man’s fingers from his weapon-wielding hand.

“AHHHHH!” His screams of pain were stopped by a blow to the head using the flat of his mithril blade.

The vampire scanned the battlefield, seeing the major fighters being ganged on. Jasiah and Victor were embroiled in a duel; the warrior being too good at defending to hit, and the assassin displaying superior speed and quickness. Several fighters had been put out of commission trying to interfere in their battle.

Two men had charged at him, and he was forced to evade several consecutive blows. His speed was far beyond a regular human’s and it was showcased in this fight.

‘Axe aimed at left shoulder. Sword for my right leg. Dodge left? No, right would let me do this…’

In a split-second, he rolled off to the right. Getting behind one of the men and cutting into his Achilles tendon. Damien ran towards his last target, he changed directions to avoid a wild axe swing that would’ve hit him in the head.

He swept the man off his feet with a leg sweep, before stabbing his hand and kicking him in the chin while he was prone on the ground.

The vampire could feel the euphoria running through his body, and his breathing became harsher as he tried to fight the urge to lose control. He did not want to get lost in his bloodlust. Damien tore his eyes away from the sight of blood and gore. Steeling himself, he withdrew the sword and made way for his next target.

Chester admired the fighting in the second round. It was significantly more entertaining as the average ability of each contestant was higher than before. Even the ones Damien dispatched were skilled, but compared to the young prodigy they could only do so much.

The mage, Rex Sawmann, was doing his best to ward off five attackers at once. Three bodies were on the ground, sufficiently charred after being on the wrong end of his fiery attacks.

“You don’t think I’ve seen this before?! You idiots are just coming in like lambs to a slaughter!” Rex taunted, brandishing his wand in a threatening manner.

A blast of fire hit a gladiator behind him, and they rolled on the ground as they were set aflame.

Two attackers turned around to face another oncoming threat; a small boy armed with a mithril sword.

Damien stomped on his closest opponent’s knee, bending it inwards. A pommel strike rendered him unconscious, collapsing onto the ground. The second attacker, distracted by the boy, was blasted by a wave of fire magic, and he screamed in agony as the heat consumed his body.

The vampire didn’t hesitate. He overtook the mage in sheer speed upon seeing the opening. Rex’s eyes went wide at the rapid momentum, and unleashed his trump card.

“Fire Blast!”

A concussive force of flames exploded outwards, enveloping everything in a two-meter radius in an explosion.

“Shit, is he okay?” Chester’s palms became sweaty at the idea of Damien being felled in combat. Partially for the boy’s safety, but mainly because it meant losing all his hard-earned money. The crowd seemed to roar in awe at the powerful attack.

As the smoke and dust settled, Rex panted in exhaustion. Prolonged fights had been the primary weakness that kept him from winning in the tournament, even with equipment that accelerated his mana regeneration.

‘I was saving this for that Jasiah fellow, but I had no choice…It will take some time before I can use it aga-’

“As I thought, you are dangerous.” Damien muttered, his hair barely ruffled. He coughed, inhaling the dust from the attack.

A hasty Shadowshield took the brunt of the damage, and it faded to the floor after serving its purpose. The smoke obscured the spell, and to the crowd it looked as if he had taken the spell head on without a scratch.

Not expecting the boy to be standing upright, much less unharmed, all the mage could do was use his remaining mana to sling spells at the approaching enemy. A chill went down his spine after seeing the look in the boy’s eye. Darkness spread from the boy’s body, enveloping the mithril sword with a black energy.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” He screamed in a panic. His wand glowed with power, casting fireball after fireball in an attempt to keep Damien at bay.

Knowing mages didn’t have a high HP count, the vampire elected to pummel the man and avoided any lethal blows. Several punches and kicks later, the man laid on the floor thoroughly beaten. His wrist was snapped in two different places. A mage stood no chance against someone with superior strength and speed.

‘Maybe I should just be a scholar, this clearly isn’t my thing…’ That was the last thought Rex had before falling into a blissful sleep.

The fighting had scattered throughout the arena, with only a few people remaining. Damien kept an eye out for any opponents as he observed the fight between Victor and Jasiah.

The assassin was beginning to tire. A never-ending chase had left them reeling, while the warrior was content to keep running with an endless reserve of stamina. The other contestants would be sent flying after Jasiah slapped them away with his shield, or hurling them at the assassin with relative ease.

Victor burst forward, and an icy aura began to emanate from the daggers. Damien could sense that it was an attack on par with the fire mage’s blast. The mummified combatant leapt into the air, aiming to collide with Jasiah.

The warrior’s grin widened, meeting them at the apex of their jump. A powerful blast of ice encased the shield and the man’s arm in frost.

“Nice try.”

The frost in his arms began to melt, and the marble-like shield glowed brightly as it returned the icy attack with just as much power.

Victor collapsed to the floor, struggling and injured from the frost magic. The bandages did nothing to protect their bare skin from frostbite and cold burns. Jasiah picked the vulnerable assassin up by the leg, and slammed them onto the ground.

Repeating this a few times mangled Victor’s leg, who had passed out from the pain. As the bandages on their face fell, it was revealed that the dagger-wielding combatant was a woman. Bloodied and maimed, he tossed the fighter aside.

“Huh. Guess that’s all you have." He muttered disinterestedly. "Next!”

“The mysterious assassin has fallen! Jasiah is an unstoppable, brutal force!”

The lustrous shield showed a reflection of what was behind him. Jasiah turned to block with his buckler.

Damien spun around, changing the course of his sword to avoid the man’s shield and hitting him in the torso. His top speed far surpassed that of the assassin’s. The added momentum, Damien’s strength, and the lack of protective armor had cut deep into the man’s side.

“Fucking bloodsucker…I’ll enjoy crushing your skull.” Jasiah growled, his bronze skin being tainted red. Damien gripped the sword tighter upon hearing the slur escape the injured warrior’s lips.

His mithril blade was embedded deep, and he removed it quickly to avoid the retaliating blow as Jasiah attempted to turn the boy’s head into mush.

The ground cracked under the white shield’s edge, unable to withstand the force. Damien retreated slightly, unwilling to hold back after witnessing the man’s casual display of power.

“Darkfire.”

Black, writhing flames spawned from his hand, and Chester cursed. The man grabbed his face in panic.

‘That idiot! He’s already seen what the shield can do! He’s gonna use it against him!’

Unlike his expectations, Jasiah did not reflect the spell back at him. He opted to tank it with his shield, allowing for the shield to take the brunt of the subsequent explosion.

Damien’s eyes gleamed upon confirming that the skill he had used to send the spell back at Victor had some sort of cooldown or came at a cost. Jasiah’s unwillingness to replicate the feat gave him added confidence.

As dark energy poured out of every pore in his body, he continued his onslaught. His blinding speed allowed for a few hits to bypass Jasiah’s impressive parrying skills. Even with a serious injury that cut through half his abdomen, the man was still standing.

‘A regular person would be struggling to collect their innards from the floor. His tenacity is no joke.’ Chester thought to himself. Even though he was still utterly certain the man stood no chance against him, the illusionist admitted it would be somewhat difficult to take him down.

With a powerful kick, he forced the shield away and Damien capitalized on his chance. Just as his blade was about to rip open the warrior’s left thigh, a blinding flash overtook his vision.

You are blinded for two seconds.

The light energy emanating from the man left Damien struggling, and despite the reduction from light damage that his ring provided, it was enough incapacitate the vampire.

“HAHAHA! YOU’RE A STRONG SONNUVA’ BITCH!”

Using his mana sensory abilities to locate Jasiah, Damien pinpointed his location and blasted him with another Darkfire spell while blinded. It missed, and he felt a vice grip crush his windpipe.

He grabbed the boy by the neck, and as the light died down, it revealed that all his major wounds had closed up. The massive warrior rose to his full height, and slammed him down onto the ground.

“Tell me, bloodsucker. How’s it feel to get hit by a holy weapon? Without this artifact, I probably would’ve been hurt badly against that ice bitch!”

Struggling in his grip, Damien was hit in the face by the glowing shield. Jasiah avoided a point-blank Shadowbolt, resuming his vicious beatdown. The crowd had roared and many began to scream as the boy was ruthlessly beaten in front of a massive audience.

“JASIAH KNOWS NO BOUNDS! A SAVAGE! HIS CRUELTY AGAINST A CHILD SHOULD BE CRIMINAL!” The commentator was hysterical, calling the vicious man all sorts of obscenities.

“Close your mouth, boy. Or you’re gonna be missing those fangs of yours.”

Chester’s voice sounded out through his skull, as all noise faded into silence. He remembered listening to one of the man’s inane ramblings during their ride to Elway.

‘When you’re in a fight with a man, it's best to always go for the-’

The vampire’s consciousness began to fade and in a last-ditch effort, he kicked the man in the groin.

A squelching noise could be heard and the man’s hands immediately went down to his testicles. Blood pooled around and something had fallen on the floor. Damien wheezed and coughed as his lungs were finally given the opportunity to breathe.

“You…you…”

The vampire struggled to get up, and he could see an iridescent metal crawling back underneath his metal boots and into the chinks of his armor. He was unsure if he was hallucinating.

‘Chester?’

Not willing to waste this opportunity, Damien struck. A vicious kick to the head sent Jasiah into the dirt. He stomped on the man’s head, and kicked it once more to ensure he was down for good.

Blood gushed from Damien’s head like a fountain. He blearily saw that his health was below three digits. His mana was at half capacity, steadily draining as he left his Darkness Infusion activated.

The clanking of armor alerted him to someone behind him. The vampire turned to see a combatant who had managed to avoid everyone’s attention, shaking in his boots. It was a middle-aged man with average features, who looked terribly out of place in a pit of killers and assassins.

The boy stepped towards him. His face was drenched in blood. The iris of his lone eye turned red, and he whispered in a soft voice.

“Surrender.”

Although the man was fully aware the boy was at the brink of death, his self-preservation instincts screamed at him, telling him that engaging in battle was a stupid idea. The ominous aura surrounding the boy did nothing to soothe his nerves.

He dropped the sword and backed away, before breaking out into a full sprint.

“IN THE GREATEST MATCH OF THE YEAR, THE SUPER-ROOKIE DAMIEN ROSE WINS IN HIS VERY FIRST ENTRY!”

The crowd screamed and cheered, not expecting the boy to bounce back after Jasiah’s final attack.

As Damien collapsed, he felt strong hands grab his body, carrying him and shouting for healers and medics.

The last thing he saw was Chester cussing out the workers and dropping a health potion into his mouth.

An hour after the tournament’s conclusion, Chester sat at the medical wing of the coliseum, watching over the injured boy with a worried look on his face.

The boy laid on the bed with a serene expression on his face. Most of his clothes and armor were taken off and he rested in a simple nightgown. The man had decided to put Damien’s armor away in their extra-dimensional bag, but left his clothes neatly folded on top of the table beside his bed.

He was kicked out of the room when the doctors and the healers arrived. They didn’t allow him inside for almost thirty minutes. During the wait, he collected his winnings which came down to two hundred and thirty three gold.

Despite his initial happiness, he couldn’t help but stress over the boy’s physical state. The warrior had done a number on his face, and he had almost leapt out the crowd to save him.

His timely intervention, which came in the form of an Attainium blade to the nutsack, was a result of a stroke of genius and desperation.

‘I can move it away from my body, so I figured that it could turn itself into a tool to help secure the win. I didn’t think I’d need it to save his damn life.’

There were limitations to the powerful metal. His connection to the metal was akin to having an extra limb. Not only did it require practice to shape and form, but having it function so far away was unfamiliar territory. He had only thought of it just before Damien left, and had no time to practice.

Predicting his next move was an absurd task, and Chester knew his only moves were limited to a knee or a kick in such a disadvantageous position. Guessing correctly had differentiated between a painful defeat or a close victory.

“So, what were his injuries? Any problems?” He turned to the doctor, inspecting his patient with an observing eye.

“Primarily head injuries. Stitching up his face and restructuring it so that it heals properly was easy enough. Another health potion and some rest would do him good.”

Chester wasn’t sure if healing magic interfered with a vampire’s physiology, but was relieved to hear there were no complications. Leaving the boy to rest, he left with the intent of getting food.

Several food stands were set up outside, and many milled about as they gossiped about the fight. The sky was still dark, as the event had taken place during midnight. Many were waiting outside to meet with the combatants, eager to recruit them into their many organizations.

Several had left the coliseum already; Rex Sawmann was patched up relatively quickly, announcing his retirement from gladiator combat. He had reportedly joined the Tower of Magic after being offered an internship. The female assassin, Victor Lupin, had left upon regaining consciousness, avoiding all who tried to approach her.

He had seen the warrior Jasiah at the opposite of the medical wing, having passed out from the battle. From what the illusionist had heard, the man’s testicle couldn’t be saved due to how mangled it was. Chester thought that it was a fitting punishment, for being so needlessly cruel towards his sidekick and putting their financial situation in mortal peril.

The man purchased a steaming hot blueberry pie, getting two so that there would be enough for him and the vampire once he awakened.

‘Does he even like pie? Eh, whatever. Who doesn’t?’

Returning to the boy’s side, he opened the door. With most of the injured asleep, the doctor had left them unattended. None had been in a position to get up and move around.

Chester opened the curtains to reveal a hulking man towering over his sleeping partner, holding a bloodied, surgical blade. His pelvis was wrapped in bandages and stained red.

He could hear the man mumbling under his breath, his grip on the blade tightening so much that the metal instrument bent.

Reacting instantly, Chester dropped the boxes and kicked the man in the kneecap, causing him to collapse.

“What the-”

Jasiah was getting strangled. He grabbed the illusionist’s hands, trying to rip him off but to no avail. His large, muscular arms bulged in an attempt to wrestle Chester’s hands off his neck. Although he was weakened, the warrior was shocked to see that someone's arms didn’t snap under the force. His grip tightened, and the massive warrior struggled even harder. Chester's legs wrapped around the man's back to minimize the struggle.

He grew desperate, and began bucking wildly. The power he displayed during the tournament was a shell of itself, without the proper accessories and a full recovery. He couldn’t muster up the strength necessary to break free of the man’s hold. Rapidly losing consciousness, he tried to punch the assailant, but the hold on his neck only grew stronger.

Muffled screams rang out as Chester attacked the exact same spot Damien did in the tournament, slamming his heel into The man's bloodied genitals. Pain flooded his nerves, and tears formed in his eyes.

“I didn’t get to say thank you for how you treated my buddy over here. HERE’S. YOUR. THANKS!”

Every word was emphasized with another stomp, and the man’s attempts grew feeble, and he passed out from the pain.

More blood pooled down below, as Jasiah’s groin looked like it had undergone a five round boxing match with a hydraulic press.

Damien’s eyes opened, and he got up clutching his head in pain. In front of him, he saw Chester standing over Jasiah, and a pool of blood forming in the man’s groin area.

“What in Pernatia’s name is going on?!”

The man turned and gave the boy a hug. “Buddy! I thought you nearly died! Quick, let’s get out of here before the doctor comes.”

As though he were in a fever dream, the boy dumbly complied and got dressed. Chester ran out and entered an empty patient’s bed, snatching a marble-shield and the rest of the fallen warrior’s equipment while Damien was putting on his clothes.

“Grab the pie!”

Damien collected the boxes of blueberry pie, stepping over the twitching body. The two vanished into the night, leaving the profusely bleeding man on the floor.