"YES! Now come here, I’ll take your collars off too." Thanatos went to Robert's side and cast [Strengthening] on his hands.

With magic, the task was much easier, and he removed the collars in no time. With everyone free, step two was done, and it was time to move to steps three and four at the same time.

"Then please Hilrun, it is time to do your thing."

"No problem. I can finally show you [Root]" The mana came from his hand and extended, forming roots all around the ceiling.

They have already spent the last two days checking the layout of the coliseum. They weren’t allowed in the top, but they only needed to walk around and determine the place where the guards' restricted area could be.

It took some time, but with patience, his companions got to ask around the other slaves and learned that right above the bathroom, just a few meters to the right, there was a hallway that connected to the upper floors.

Hilrun moved the roots across the small gaps between the bricks and stone. He reached the part above in the hallway and cast another spell.

"[Constrictor roots] [Sensory flower]" The first spell was to increase the strength of the roots and move the bricks below. The other was to generate a small flower that acted as sonar.

Hilrun made sure that no one was nearby and moved the floor below slowly to make an opening. After a couple of minutes, he made an exit leading to the hallway.

"Is ready." They climbed to the top, and after blocking the exit, they separated for their respective missions.

"OK, we’re going to go to the lower floor and find the sewers. Gro left the tools there yesterday."

"I had to bribe a couple of guards, but they were shovels, so they didn’t give it any importance."

"Yes, don’t call attention, and if someone sees you, knock them out or kill them if you have to. We can’t raise the alarm before the collars are deactivated."

"Oh, 44, can you bring me a weapon if you find anything?"

"I’ll see if I can find anything good for you." With that, Thanatos went upstairs while his companions went below.

They were going to open a tunnel in the sewer by using shovels and magic. They could pass right below the people and join the main tunnels below. It was disgusting but effective.

While they were creating the hole, Thanatos was going to deactivate the collars by breaking whatever spell or technique was keeping them working. They were going to use the revolt to camouflage his escape underground.

He walked upstairs quickly, making sure no one noticed him. He was under a time limit. If someone found the bodies in the bathroom, the alarm would be raised. As he kept climbing the stairs, he found a group of guards blocking the entrance to the first floor. They were standing around talking to each other about work and meaningless things like their daily lives.

He could kill them fast, but where was he going to hide the bodies? He planted his feet on the stone steps and prepared to pass at maximum speed. He took a posture similar to Neo, putting his hand in front and then jumping over everything. Not only that, he managed to run through the ceiling for a few moments and landed in the corner of the stairs leading to the restricted area.

He took a moment to look at himself. He was faster and stronger than before. Experience is the basis of combat; the more he fights, the more he learns. Even that defeat in Raind was a useful experience.

I wonder what would have happened if I got summoned around here instead of the Republic. Maybe I would have been captured and made to fight. The result would be similar if I managed to live long enough. I would grow stronger with every battle, and they would kill me if I got too powerful.

In the end, he had no future in a place like this. He turned around the corner and was met with a pale blue-ish figure with dark eyes.

"Oh, how lucky. You came to me first."

"You…"

"Pleasure to meet you, human. I’m Jurgen the Ice Storm. I heard all about your little display and that you killed Uru. Let me congratulate you." He began to clap a bit and then stopped. "Unfortunately, your luck has run out. You have to face me now."

"Jurgen? Your skin and eyes, what kind of demi human are you?"

"Mphf, how rude and ignorant. I’m half Jotun. I should forgive your rudeness; after all, you only came here recently."

"If you are a slave in the coliseum too, then what are you doing wandering so close to the restricted zone?"

"The owner of the coliseum has offered quite a reward for your head in case you tried anything today. He’s a greedy merchant, but he has good instincts. I shall claim your head and put an end to his whole rumor about a super powerful human being in the coliseum. It is shameful."

"Wait, are all the top fighters here then?"

"Indeed, but you don’t have to worry about them. I'm more than enough to kill the likes of you." Jurgen raised his hands and ice mana began to emanate from him.

If more slaves are here, then I need to do this quickly or the guards will notice.

Thanatos got into position. He wanted to end this fast, but he couldn't underestimate his opponent. He could feel he was stronger than Uru. This time, however, he wasn’t going to hold back.

His claws grew and were ready to kill.

"Claws? Interesting. I have already studied your fight with Uru. After losing your weapons, you moved forward and cut him with something sharp. I’m guessing it was your claws, but why are you hiding them? It doesn’t matter. I can tell you are a close-combat fighter. I already took precautions. Even if you close the distance-"

Thanatos disappeared. No, it was more correct to say that he moved so fast it looked like he disappeared. He was pouncing over Jurgen and, with a single strike, slashed his face in half.

CRISH... The sound of ice breaking into hundreds of pieces, the face turned into an ice statue.

"[Ice clone]" Jurgen changed positions with a spell, leaving a copy of Ice to take the hit. It was only a single attack, but he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

What was that speed? He crossed the hallway in an instant! No, forget the speed! [Ice clone] was supposed to trap the target, but he destroyed it! His claws are sharp enough to slice the clone in half.

He was sweating. That attack was enough to shake him to the core. He had to take this seriously or he could die.

"[Ice spear]", six ice spears appear in front of him. "You can’t dodge in this tight hallway!" he launched them at the human.

It was impossible to dodge them, and he wasn’t wearing any armor. He wasn’t going to come unscathed by this. The human raised his arms and said something.

"[Strengthening]" his arms got reinforced with magic and shattered the ice spears as he advanced toward Jurgen.

"Impossible!" He couldn’t believe his eyes.

He can use magic? Potent enough to block my spell? Was he a caster specializing in defensive magic and also a fighter?

He thought for a moment before he compared him to the third strongest fighter, Ereba Zos. She was the same, a fighter and a caster. But in Ereba's case, she was a Skinchanger. A race that takes the bodies of others and steals their skills and abilities. What was this human supposed to be?

Yes, his mind gave up on the idea of him being a human. The claws and power made it obvious he must be a demi human, but which type? If he could figure out his race, he could find a weakness. He was getting closer.

"Tch, [Zone of cold]" he cast an area of effect around him, inflicting ice damage to anyone who got close. Since the hallway was so small, the area overlapped and extended through the entire hallway.

He could see the ice chipping away at his opponent's skin, but he didn’t stop and kept charging at Jurgen.

"Not yet! [Slashing winds] [Ice Bomb]" he sent a dozen of winds attack meant to cut him in half and made a sphere of ice ready to freeze him to the bones.

Jurgen watched as 44 skin got covered in more reinforcement magic. The slashes weren’t totally ineffective and managed to draw some blood.

They were supposed to tear his limbs off, but they only scratched him?! Then the ice bomb.

He threw it. The bomb was going to freeze everything in this hallway. As a half Jotun, Jurgen was immune to cold damage. So, he didn't have any problem standing in the middle of the explosion.

Before the ice bomb could explode, 44 raised his hand, and a ball of fire appeared. He launched it against the ice bomb.

[Fireball]? You can’t stop my attack with such a weak spell.

The ball and the bomb collided, and an explosion of steam sent them backwards. They have canceled each other.

"How? How could such a low-level spell compete with my [Ice bomb]? Unless his mana is that powerful compared to mine?"

Inconceivable. Jurgen was blessed with his race's powerful magic. He could wield the deadliest spells of ice and he had climbed to be the fifth strongest fighter in only three years. Having his spells negated like this was humiliating.

He didn’t care about the reward or the bet anymore. He wanted to get revenge solely for himself. He wanted to make this insolent fool pay for the shame he inflicted on him.

"You… How dare you!"

A lightning bolt came at him from inside the steam.

"[Ice shield]" he managed to raise a shield to block just in time. As soon as the shield was destroyed, another lightning bolt came at him.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" The electricity passed through his body. His body was burned, paralyzing his arms.

Not just twice, but a third lightning bolt came from the steam. Jurgen didn’t have time to recover himself; his reaction was obstructed by the pain and the paralysis. He managed to focus his mana and cast...

"[Ice wall]" He put a lot of mana into making the barrier, but it was worth it. The wall took the lightning bolt and was still standing.

"UF… UF… UF…" Finally, some room to breathe. With the ice wall standing, he could take a moment to think about his opponent's attacks.

He changed tactics after seeing my ice bomb and decided to fight from a distance. It makes sense, the longer he stays close to me, the more he gets hurt. He’s probably resting and thinking about his next spell. I can break this wall with a thought. I have the advantage.

Jurgen prepared his most powerful spell [Ice coffin]. With this spell, he could trap any person in a certain range. The coffin would teleport behind the target and trap him inside a hellish blizzard. His hidden ace, not even the rest of the top warriors could deal with it, with one exception, Cerbares the hell hound.

He took a lot of mana and concentration. He put his hands together and...

He wasn’t moving. His whole body was stopped as his muscles lost strength. The experience as a warrior made him aware of the familiar sensation. Not many people wield this power.

"Necrotic energy!"

The ice wall broke with a cut, and 44 came from behind. The lightning bolts were only a distraction for him to get close enough to use [Necrotic wave] and immobilize Jurgen.

Jurgen didn’t have the strength to keep talking. He could only watch as Thanatos walked up to him and slashed his neck.