Having regained his freedom, Christopher had a choice to make. Where was he going to fight for the end of this loop?

It would be wise to fight in a location where he would not get in trouble due to his new criminal status. He wanted to fight off the Blight after all, and not his allies.

Would anyone even recognize him? Not many in Lumen would even recognize his face, and with the new guard cap and uniform it would take someone that knew him well to make the connection. Christopher also kind of doubted that his facial features had been widely shared in the Lumen Forces, especially after how they had treated the Sunchal situation on the low. Only the people that already knew him might become a problem.

‘So where should I go?’

Probably a place where nobody knew him. Going to the Academy was most likely too dangerous, he would have to travel all the way to the other side of the city, and it had been some time since they sounded the Alarm already.

Swift Keep probably held the most risk for him. Lieutenant Gara had surely been informed of his actions and imprisonment. Something told him that it would be a bad spot to go, even if it was his official placement.

Could he stay and defend the people at the Lumen Dungeon? It was an option, but he had knocked out a guard and that female guard had seen him nearby. They might connect the dots and take a closer look at people in guard uniform. Honestly, a part of him did not want to walk back in there after his earlier imprisonment.

The Lumen Arena was rather close though. Nobody should know him there and it was a stronghold as well. It was probably also a good position to get some use out of his new Endless bow and Adenium arrow, allowing him to attain some Soul Points that way. The open space of the plaza should give him plenty of chances to fire some arrows.

‘I might as well, should be an interesting place to go.’

It had not been his plan at all, but they would likely appreciate another helping hand. Feeling all but safe, Christopher quickly set out as his decision was made.

He heard the first shriek of a monster while on his way to the Arena. He spotted it quickly, a Razor Wing raced across the sky high above. Christopher figured he might as well give it a go, so he quickly summoned his Endless Bow in his left hand and the Arrow of Adenium in his right. A second later he had nocked his arrow while aiming for the Razor Wing. In total, it took only around three seconds for him to loosen his arrow since he had first spotted the monster.

It was not even close… Christopher had severely misjudged the distance, and his accuracy was far off regardless. His shot did not even have the power to reach that high. He was not apparently not able to hit a quickly moving target from such a distance without a lot more training. He did manage to dismiss the arrow back into his Soul while it was still sailing through the air, which was good to confirm.

Despite his lacking skill and the failed attempt, he was grinning slightly. He liked his new weapon a lot, it clearly had a lot of potential. He dismissed the bow and arrow again, taking back the sword that he had dropped in his haste to fire at the Razor Wing.

Christopher made quick progress towards the Arena, he discovered that he had reached a point now where he was not that bad at navigating the city. He might take a wrong turn occasionally, but he always knew the general direction of the different landmarks. It would probably still be wise to learn the layout of the city in its entirety, sooner rather than later, it would save him a bit more time on occasions like this.

Some stragglers were still moving through the streets as well, trying to reach the closest Stronghold. They first moved towards the Dungeon, but soon they ran the same way as Christopher, towards the Arena.

He heard a few more shrieks before he reached the Plaza, but he was nevertheless surprised with the fact that he had not seen any ground-based monsters yet. ‘Maybe we are doing better this time?’

Christopher reached the plaza in record time, and it looked rather peaceful still, no monsters or damage could be seen from this angle. The large colosseum type structure of the Arena loomed massively in its center. Quite a few people were still rushing towards the Arena gates, seeking safety within the large structure.

The citizens had a hard time making progress across the plaza though, since some of the forces were hard at work in order to make the whole plaza an unnavigable mess. It was apparent that Christopher had not been the only one to think of the trick with Soul Current and Soul Frost.

The soldiers, and even some of the citizens, were unleashing torrents of water, spreading it over a large surface area all across the plaza. A few other individuals threw bags full of metal spikes at certain areas of the flooded plaza, after which they used some Soul Art to point all the sharp points up, as if they were attracted by a magnetic force.

Other soldiers finished it up by using Soul Frost to freeze the thin layer of water into ice, the spikes now protruding and firmly lodged. It seemed as if they were working hard to get as much of the very large plaza covered in this way as possible. Any approaching monster would certainly have a hard time reaching the walls of the Arena stronghold with the spikes and the slippery condition.

The Arena stronghold was kind of like a miniature version of the outer Lumen walls. Christopher hoped that the horde would be a miniature version by the time they arrived here as well.

Christopher really had a great overview over a large part of the plaza, and he imagined it would only get better on top of the Arena walls, where he already saw soldiers moving about.

Christopher had decided to carry his bow for he wanted to make it clear that he could use such a weapon. He did not want to give the mistaken impression that he was a master in possession of a Soul Bound Bow either

There were still a few paths for him to take that were not yet covered in ice and spikes due to which Christopher soon reached the massive double doors of the Arena. Members of the Lumen Forces were directing the remaining trickle of people inside in an organized fashion. His guard uniform has him quickly singled out from the line by a young woman with sharp azure-colored eyes from the Forces, and she looked at him questioningly.

“You are rather late. What platoon do you belong to?”

“I was stationed at the Academy, but I probably cannot safely make it there at this point.”

The woman nodded. “That is certainly rather far and dangerous right now.” She looked him over again with a calculating look. “Whatever, their loss, our gain. There are plenty of squads that are missing some of their members here as well. Please report to Major Tenne, I am sure she will be able to use you somewhere.”

“Thanks. Where can I find the Major?”

“Through the entrance and to the right. She will be directing the other Forces.”

Christopher thanked her again and moved inside the Arena. The Arena was still very empty with not that many people in sight. The chairs had all been removed in the stands, probably to make it easier to navigate.

A lot of fighters were on top of the premium viewing boots, which seemed to function as the defensible positions on top of the walls. It should allow the soldiers a good view and a clear shot with their bows. It was clear that the Arena had been properly designed as a defensible stronghold should the occasion arise.

A scan of the Arena showed him that the regular citizens were directed to the tunnels through which the fighters normally entered the actual fighting pit, likely towards bunkers underground. However, there were also a lot of regular people that remained on the sands of the actual fighting pit. At the moment they were just sitting there, doing nothing. Christopher would have to ask what that was all about.

Christopher went right, walking towards a small group of people busying themselves halfway up the spectator stands, many of them moving equipment and constructs. He guessed at the identity of Major Tenne by the air of authority that hung around one well-armed woman in the group. Or maybe it was simply because he recognized her from her battles in the Arena.

He knew that she was placed somewhere around the 25th position, and that she fought with an impressive looking longsword, which was nowhere in sight. ‘Maybe Soul Bound?’ Christopher had even placed a winning bet on her one time and he could not help but be just a little starstruck as he approached.

He walked up to the presumed Major, who had looked him over once already, noticing his approach. She was only a head shorter than him, with long auburn hair and a lean muscular frame on which she wore simple looking light leather armor. Christopher had always thought that she looked very striking, even from the stands. Now that he saw her up close, he understood why she always caused some of the loudest cheers in the Arena, she was absolutely breathtaking.

At the moment she bore an expression of irritation, which she luckily already sported before she saw Christopher approaching.

“Yes, what is it?” she asked in a hoarse voice before he could introduce himself. A few of the others paid attention to him as well.

“I was hoping that you had use of me. I was originally placed at the Academy.”

Major Tenne took a quick scan around the Arena, stopping her eyes on another small group halfway up the stands.

“There, you can join that newly formed squad.” She pointed at a small cluster of people. “Tell Sergeant Mason that I sent you.” She immediately returned back to her task, looking rather stressed. Christopher was clearly dismissed already, and he was not disappointed at all at receiving only the shortest regard. Not at all…

He quickly made his way over to the pointed-out group of people, the squad he was supposed to join. There were eight of them, so with himself included they should only be one short of a full squad. Most of the members sat on the stairs that normally held the chairs for the spectators, checking over their gear.

“Amazing, another straggler, just what we needed!” barked out a bald man of around thirty-five who stood slightly separate from the others. An unkempt beard decorated his small mouth. The man had clearly spoken sarcastically.

‘Great, what is this guy’s problem?’ Christopher assumed that this was Sergeant Mason.

“This is a real mess of a squad but beggars can’t be choosers. Everyone, we will be setting out soon!” The Sergeant spat to the side. “New guy, what role can you fill?” Christopher was not allowed to introduce himself today, which suited him just fine with his criminal status, it saved him from having to lie.

“I can fight up front but I would prefer to fight with my bow. I would say I am mostly a beginner in both. I can also use four of the basic Soul Arts as well.”

“Beginner…. Fine, we can use a second ranged fighter. Hang back and shoot the monsters we encounter while the rest fight the ones up front. Don’t even think to shoot anywhere near any of the other fighters unless absolutely necessary.”

“Yes sir, where are we going if I may ask?”

“We will keep an eye out for monsters around the eastern city block adjoining the Plaza. Do you have all the equipment you need?”

“I would love a quarterstaff if there is a spare one.” The Sergeant grumbled at that.

“Quickly check the crates back with Major Tenne. We need to leave now so keep an eye on us and be sure to catch up.” Christopher was already moving as he heard the sergeant yell “Let’s go” towards the other members of their squad.

Christopher ran back to the open crates strewn about around the group of the Major, hoping to find a suitable quarterstaff somewhere among the mess. The Major and the others ignored him as he searched the crates.

There was a crate filled with crossbows, and a few crates had close range weapons. Another one held constructs that he knew shot out clusters of metal spike grenades, he had transported a lot of those at the Lumen Constructors. It seemed that he was unlucky since he did not find anything resembling a staff among the equipment, and his squad was about to leave the Arena. His current weapons would have to do then.

Christopher set out at a run to catch up with Sergeant Mason and the rest of his new squad. Things were certainly happening very differently than he had expected, but Christopher was just going to consider everything that happened from now on as a bonus after his escape. Hopefully he could earn himself some points!