Thanatos looked around the common room. It was full of wounded people. Some of them were missing a hand or an entire arm; parts of their faces were burned or torn by force; there were blind eyes and scared faces everywhere.

They were all slaves or criminals sentenced to fight for the rest of their lives. The Council had a zero-tolerance policy for crimes. Anyone who disturbed the order was sentenced to work as a slave for the rest of his life or to the coliseum.

Most criminals chose the coliseum since there was a chance for them to climb the ranks. Some of the current council leaders were criminals who paid their sentence by climbing to the top and defeating one of the previous members.

That chance was only given to demi humans. Thanatos would never be allowed to leave, even if he became the strongest fighter. At most, he may be hired as a bodyguard for the owner of the coliseum, but he is a slave nonetheless.

He walked around looking for an exit.

Not a single window here. Not even beds or furniture. This is the lowest part of the coliseum. I know I saw windows in the entrance. They must be on the other floor. I’m guessing the better your ranking, the higher you’re allowed to live.

"Stop!" a human covered in bandages screamed as the guards dragged him outside. They were taking him to a fight.

"I lost my left eye and you want me to go back again? Please have mercy! Just kill me then!" He yelled as he grasped the ground with his nails, but they took him anyway.

Humans had no value here. As Beru Beru called him, he was dead meat. He was only a distraction for the people, or a sacrificial pawn to hype the warriors. The humans here were mostly civilians captured by the Council or tribes that sold them. It wasn’t surprising that they were the first ones to die.

Thanatos sat down and began to classify the warriors in the room with him. Most of them were demi humans so they were stronger than average soldiers. Only a few were around the lever of an army sergeant.

I could kill this whole lobby and the guars no problem. But the collar is going to cause me pain. Maybe I can remove it with magic, but I don’t want them to think I’m more than a fighter. I need to take this collar off before escaping. Ideally, I don’t have to use my magic for that.

He slept with his back against the wall. The first day began.

"Dead meat 44, you turn. You’re coming to your first fight!" A guard called his name, and he followed across a dark hall.

"Aren’t you guys going to give me a weapon or armor?"

"If you want a weapon, pick up something from the corpses."

The metal bars were raised, and he stepped inside the arena. The sounds of thousands of people watching filled his ears. All of them demi humans. There were so many kinds that he couldn’t count them.

Several other door gates opened, and more slaves entered. A total of thirty people, five of them humans. The announcer's voice echoed in the coliseum.

"For today we have a fight with the bottom of the barrel. Our new warriors and slaves fight for a chance to live a couple more days. Thirty people, but only one winner. Who will be climbing to the next fight? Begin!"

The fight began, and the humans were the first targets. All the demi humans were equipped with shields and weapons. Thanatos ran to a sword sticking out of the ground. He grabbed it and felt the weight on his hand.

"Man, this is crap. It's totally old and has rust on the side. They expect us to fight with this?"

I should probably end this quickly, but I don’t need to show too much power. They may get suspicious.

A dog, like a demi human, attacked him with a spear. Thanatos only stepped to the side and sliced his face in half with the rusty sword.

"On second thought, I think I should attract attention. This is a spectacle after all."

He moved around the arena, killing everyone with a single hit. He attacked between the armor and the shields with great speed. He made sure he was just fast enough for the spectators to see.

A dance of death. He cut heads, limbs, and bodies in half with the sword as he was taking a stroll in the park.

"Please spare me, you’re human too!" The last one alive begged for his life, but Thanatos sliced him in half.

Well, I’m not a demi human but I’m also not entirely human either. Back luck.

He didn’t apologize in his mind. Those people were doomed the moment they were captured. If not by his hand, they would have been killed by one of the other warriors.

There was a mix of cheers and boos. They didn’t like seeing a human win, but it was unusual to see a human so strong. Taking advantage of the crowd hype, he raised his rusty sword and screamed aloud.

"What the hell, that’s easy! I didn’t even have time to warm up. Bring me more warriors, so I can show you all a real fight!" The crowd seemed to take that as a challenge. They were demanding another fight.

He looked at the fanciest balcony. He couldn’t see well, but he was sure the secretary and the man in charge of the coliseum were sitting there. His plan would change depending on their response.

Would they allow him to fight more? Or would he be punished? After a minute, the announcer spoke again.

"Looks like this human wants more carnage. Then let's throw him into the cooking pot!"

I knew it. He’s more concerned with keeping the show going.

The doors opened again, and dozens of slaves filled the arena. All were armed with weapons and armor. This wasn’t going to be a free for all, but instead a massacre.

"Fifty warriors vs. dead meat 44! He challenged the coliseum's strength, but maybe it was more than he could chew!"

"Oh, so they want to punish me with this? Fine by me, you can come all at the same time."

The gong sounded and the fight began. The slaves jumped at Thanatos; it was first come, first served. The one who held his head was going to get a price.

The little human was surrounded in a second and blood exploded everywhere. The public couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Like a madman, Dead Meat 44 was cutting everyone down. He stopped for a moment and changed the old sword for a good one. He dodged and blocked all the attacks. A shower of viscera and organs rained down on the arena.

In only a couple of minutes, he decimated the fifty warriors. He was covered in blood, standing on the body of one of the unfortunate souls, and he raised his sword and smiled at the crowd.

"Much better, right!" The public went wild with excitement. A single human killed fifty people on his own. Has something like that ever happened in the coliseum's history?

The door opened and the guards took him back. From the top balcony, the owner of the coliseum watched as his new acquisition was taken back.

"He's even better than you told me, Beru Beru. You said it was mercenary?"

"That’s what he claims, but is most likely a lie. Still, his fighting ability is nothing short of amazing for a human. He can offer entertainment if we put him against some of the lower-ranking warriors in non-lethal battles. Do you agree, lord Rashaka?"

Rashaka was the coliseum's owner and was half snake, half lion demi human. He bought it twenty years ago from the previous owner. He stroked his long mane and looked back with his snake eyes.

"What does my body guard think? Did he meet your expectations, Alumi?"

A robust half-bear man was standing in the back. He was wearing enchanted armor, and three magic weapons rested on his waist.

"Pfh… He was holding back, but I can tell his battle style is sloppy. He didn’t even use a special ability in the fight. He’s cocky, I’ll give him that, but he should be around top 180 at best."

"You say that, but he didn’t show his true power. I think we need to see how capable he is. Go talk with Uru, tell him he’s fighting tomorrow."

"HAHAHA, Boss, you’re a devil."

***

Thanatos was moved to another hall. This one had beds. He slept peacefully. His plan was going well. By tomorrow morning, he would fight against one of the stronger warriors in the coliseum.

The owner is going to cash in on my infamy and set up a fight with a bunch of best. He’s going to tell me at the last moment, but my opponent probably already knows. A wall for weaklings that he uses to stomp on the ones that are making too much noise. If I beat this wall, then he would have to acknowledge my strength and let me stay in the upper floors.

Once he was there, he could look around more and find the system that controls the collars. Maybe inciting an uprising could work, depending if he could disable all the collars.

The second day began after going for some stale bread and a piece of raw meat. The guards told him about the incoming fight.

"Today you’re fighting for a chance to be one of the top 200 warriors of the coliseum. Depending on how well you do against your opponent, you could get a high position. Congratulations, human."

They took him to the armory, where he could pick any weapon he liked. He walked around, observing the weapons. All were of around the same quality.

All of these weapons are trash compared to the handkerchief Lia made. He left it inside the black book in Neo’s hands. Before getting distracted, he grabbed a sword and a shield. The preparations were ready.

The noise of the crowd was higher than yesterday. They were pumped for the fight. The betting was done, and dead meat 44 had around thirty percent of the people on his side. He was still the unpopular one, but he got some fans for his display yesterday.

"Welcome to today's main event. Yesterday, a wild and unpredictable human made his debut. He was nothing more than dead meat, but more than fifty warriors fell to his swordsmanship. He returns to challenge one of the top fighters in the arena! Let’s give an applause for Dead meat 44!"

Thanatos entered the arena as the crowd cheered for him. They came to see what kind of fight he could put up against one of the favorites of the coliseum.

"Now for his adversary, we have one of the most beloved warriors. A legend that has been fighting in this arena for over a decade! In single battles, he has a record of 282 wins and only 22 losses! The third highest in the coliseum's history! Currently ranked 97, Uru the Troll!"

The bars came up and a giant troll came into the arena. The crowd went wild upon seeing him. He wasn’t wearing armor, and he only had a great sword in his hand.

Thanatos and Uru locked eyes, and they instinctively knew. That guy in front of me is strong.