Within a private booth observing the arena below sat a few hooded individuals. They were watching the battle in a sealed room through a high-quality holographic screen. There were five individuals. Three females and two males. In the centre of the group was the tallest among them, with a few strands of loose red hair spilling out of the hood. The others were clearly there to follow the person seated in the centre.

"No one here can challenge us when we reach Fafnir's grave. I don't understand why Siegfried sent us here. This is a Scenario Dungeon that collects people from mostly Lower Worlds and Some Middle Worlds. We are from a peak-level Middle World about to become a Higher World, we do not need to waste time scouting."

The speaker was a monkey-faced man with short black hair and big lips. He was particularly pleasant to look at but there was no denying the wisdom in his eyes. But unfortunately, that wisdom carried with it an innate arrogance.

"Pride comes before every fall. They might be from weak planets, but they still have Kings, Emperors, and Sovereigns. There is a chance that we might even see a Natural Born Sovereign here."

The speaker was a woman with glasses and short grey locks of hair that ended by her ears. She was one of the more informed in the group and had a calm character. Hence when she spoke, most listened.

"Listen you unevolved monkey, Melissa is right. We don't know what will happen. Do you want to risk Prince Michael his chance at glory?"

As soon as the name 'Michael' was spoken, everyone in the room focused on the figure seated in the middle, but he remained silent. He simply observed what was happening with a demeanour and let them discuss.

The third speaker was a woman called Hope with orange hair. Even though she was wearing a large cloak, her large breasts and explosive figure could not be hidden. She had a beautiful charming face and did not hide her attraction to the man beside her. She was seated on Michael's left while the monkey-like man was seated on the extreme right. To Michael's immediate right was the short and astute Melissa.

To the extreme left was another cloaked figure. She was beautiful but in a more reserved way. One different from Hope. If Hope could be described as a bulging volcano of heat on the verge of eruption, then this woman could be described as a cool calm mountain covered in beautiful white snow.

She was expressionless, but her long blonde hair and blue eyes could easily steal the attention of many a man. The resemblance between her and the equally handsome Michael was as clear as night and day.

Michael and his sister were quiet for much of the conversation, as the trio of escorts talked in front of their masters. They were waiting for the festivities to begin.

The activities that the group was normally engaged in did not include leisurely spectating the battles of others. But it was important to Michael. Someone had delivered important intel suggesting that this tournament was a facade and that it was just there to remove discontent from others.

Hercules was said to have mentioned something along those lines, but he refused to mention who it was that had caught his eye from among the other Truthseekers.

'I will learn, one way or the other.'

Michael was a young prince from a very powerful planet, out adventuring with his vassals. Just as Hercules was trying to recruit Will, the Norse Hero Siegfried was trying to recruit Michael Bellingham to be on his side in the exploration of Fafnir's grave. As the hero who had slain Fafnir, no one understood the perils of Fafnir's grave better than him. Hence Michael was happy following the deity's instruction concerning scouting.

Michael and his sister Isabel were both Truthseekers and quite talented. Isabel had no interest in the throne while Michael was fighting his siblings for it. Isabel had taken Michael's side, and in return, he had promised to make her stronger. She was a mage while Michael was a warrior with a knight-type class.

Knights were powerful because they could summon mounts and act in tandem with them. Isabel was a mage who also specialised in summoning but she was different.

"Don't forget, Princess Isabel's apprentice brother is also taking part in this. He is a favourite as well."

"Melissa, you have a bad habit of stating the obvious." replied the Monkey faced man.

Hope giggled and said, "How is it her fault that she can't speak ape. Sonny, you need to be more open-minded and accept good advice when given. If monkeys can be trained in using magic, surely you can do something simple like this right?"

Before the monkey-faced man, or rather Sonny could reply, Michael interjected for the first time. A smooth velvety voice overwhelmed everyone in the room with a few simple words.

"Silence, the battle is beginning. Observe first and comment later."

….

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

The crowd was at least a hundred thousand strong. All of them were bloodthirsty and ready for battle. There were people from all over the system, who through their local IB's, were able to have their consciousness projected here to observe the battles. This was quite costly in terms of points, hence only those of a certain pedigree could observe.

Suddenly, the stadium went quiet. The first entry had arrived. Michael, Sonny, Isabel, Hope, and Melissa all paid attention with rapt focus. They were messing around earlier but no one had forgotten that there was a mission. There was a reason why Michael had chosen them over the many other candidates he could have chosen. They knew when it was time to get serious.

The first participant of the tournament made his way on to the grounds. The black-clothed figure of an Assassin walked with slow steady footsteps as he entered the arena. He was a bit overwhelmed by the scale of things but he quickly readjusted. He focused his qi and got ready for battle. They were in an open coliseum and there was no place to hide from his gaze.