Shopping trip time! Well, kind of. For the very first time since leaving the Tutorial, Jake wasn’t loaded and had to actually think twice before spending haphazardly. It wasn’t even sure he wanted to buy something, despite the urgings of both Polly and Owen.

Not long after the encounter with the mysterious dark elf that was totally not a teaser for a fight much later in the Challenge Dungeon, Jake and company arrived in the section of the Colosseum that dealt with selling items.

This part looked like a huge shopping district still placed within the massive structure itself. Despite having spent over a week in the Colosseum so far, Jake had far from explored close to everything, and he knew there were even restaurants and stuff somewhere. It was a big place, which it kind of had to be with the many different arenas and huge training facilities.

Luckily, one didn’t have to shop around for equipment. There was one place to go, where everything was gathered. It was a large shop with what looked like magical screens where one could simply search for items and browse for anything they wanted as long as it was on sale.

As a Gladiator, Jake had unlocked a lot better items than before… and maybe it was time to spend some points. Not all of them, though. He did need some new shoes for sure, and after searching through the footwear for a quarter of an hour, he settled on a pair he liked.

[Fleetstep Boots (Rare)] – Leather boots enchanted with powerful magic. These boots are incredibly durable and were created to make their wearer quicker on their feet, allowing them to go in and out of combat more easily. The enchantments placed on these boots make your steps lighter and increase Agility. As a rare item, these boots are insured, so should they be destroyed or lost, you can instantly get a replacement. Enchantments: Insured. Fleetstep. +1 Agility.

Requirements: Soulbound. Gladiator Colosseum Rank.

Cost: 1000 Colossem Points.

It was a bit funny that boots were the first item he bought. It was an investment for future fights, and if Jake had to spend one and a half to two years more in the arena, he would need equipment at some point anyway. Something like boots was something he could get now and keep till the end. Especially boots like these that offered not only a bit of Agility and proper durability but even a lightness effect. That was pretty nice when fighting on sand.

Moreover, they were insured. A very silly name, but the gist of it was there. This meant that even if Jake ended up destroying them – something his destructive arcane energy had a tendency to do – he would get new ones. That was far better than Owen, who would just lose his spear if he ended up breaking or misplacing it.

This entire insurance thing seemed a bit out of place thematically, but Jake could see it being necessary to entice people like him to buy anything before they began losing their lives.

“How do they look?” Jake asked after putting them on. The boots were made of thin, lightweight leather he could barely feel on his feet, and when he stepped down, it felt a bit odd. It was like he had indeed become lighter, but only from the perspective of the ground he stepped on. That is to say, Jake wasn’t actually lighter if he decided to kick someone in the face, but if he walked on sand, he wouldn’t sink in as much as before. Overall, good stuff.

“Decent,” Owen nodded. “Definitely better than no boots. Also, are you seriously wearing leather boots without socks on?”

“Yes,” Jake answered with a deadpan expression. That is what he had gotten used to, and he was not going to stop.

“Now that is just weird,” Owen shook his head. “Also, have you considered looking into any weapons or-“

“Kicking is good for now,” Jake cut him off.

“How about a wand to make use of your-“ Polly tried, Jake once more unreceptive to the suggestions.

“Kicking good.”

Both of them looked exasperated, but Jake was steadfast in his opinion.

Now, Jake would admit that buying a weapon would have made what happened the next day a lot easier and a lot less… messy. Alas, hindsight was twenty-twenty.

After spending a thousand points, Jake stuck around and watched one of Owen’s matches, where he saw his dungeon-buddy struggle for a good five minutes before finally itching out a victory. He considered staying for Owen’s promotion match but instead headed back to the training area for Gladiators to work on his own stuff.

Usually, outside the dungeon, Jake filled all his downtime with doing alchemy or playing with his Puzzle Box, but here in the Colosseum of Mortals, that wasn’t an option. Instead, Jake would focus on things he usually neglected. One of those had been internal energy control and familiarizing himself with his weakened body and, of course, the practice and creation of Fear Gaze, but he had one other thing he wanted to practice pretty badly.

For melee combat, Jake got extremely lucky with the Myriad Paths event and got a perfect teacher and sparring partner in Sim-Jake, allowing him to train in melee fighting. Even if he didn’t have a specific melee fighting skill outside of Fang of Man, he was undoubtedly better at melee combat when it came to pure technique compared to his preferred weapon.

Even Minaga had pointed out that Jake seriously needed to practice his archery. So Jake went all the way back to the basics – something only possible due to the Colosseum of Mortals.

It seemed counterproductive and useless to improve shooting an arrow as a normal human, but from talks with the Sword Saint and even Sim-Jake, it became clear he was very wrong. Jake had been good at archery before the system, yes, but he hadn’t been an expert. He hadn’t been a complete monster with the bow, the same as the Sword Saint was a beast with a sword.

That pure level of skill and understanding of the basics had transferred to conceptual power far beyond anything Jake had for the Sword Saint. So, while it was a bit late, Jake wanted to shore up some of the fundamental flaws in his basic archery.

To do that, he had booked a private shooting range. A privilege of being a Gladiator. It wasn’t a big place, but it was big enough for Jake to set up targets and, with his bow and practice arrows, do the most basic of basics:

Target practice.

With no pressure from being in a fight, Jake could focus on every detail of his movements. The position of his feet, the way the muscles in his shoulders moved, the fluidity of motion when he drew the string, and his method of aiming. Jake had most of these basics down already, and as mentioned, he was pretty good… but if Jake wanted to reach the top, “pretty good” was far from enough.

Several hours later, Jake left the training room as he had to go and get dinner before sleeping to regenerate his resources and rest his sore body. He ate with Polly and Owen, who both seemed interested in his practice, especially as Polly had discovered that Jake had gone and gotten a huge batch of practice arrows and even an extra bow from the Quartermaster through her basic information-gathering.

Neither seemed to seriously consider Jake could be an archer but nevertheless encouraged him to train with a weapon. The brainstorming on how Jake could sew arrows to his boots wasn’t that welcome, though, and no, it wasn’t a “great way to add penetrative power to his already strong kicks.”

Jake had already tried that and knew it wouldn’t work.

The next day, Jake could not do another Gladiator Match, but that did mean he could try out the other option. Show Matches. Sure, he could only do one of them, but he felt a bit excited to see what he would be able to face.

Going to the Battlemaster, the man only nodded as Jake said he wanted to do a Show Match.

“This is your first time doing a Show Match, so I have some words of wisdom for you. Don’t think it is like a normal duel. This is a true fight. Also, I know you aren’t a fan of killing, but for the Show Matches, there often isn’t a choice. Your opponents won’t show any mercy to you, either. I don’t even think they know the meaning of that word. You can’t surrender either; it’s kill or be killed in there,” the Battlemaster warned.

Jake nodded, pretty much having his suspicions confirmed as to what kind of fights these Show Matches were.

“Here, let me illustrate the point. These are the options for opponents you have available today. Remember, you can only pick one fight a day, so take your time to consider the options. Oh, and the higher up on the list they are, the harder the fight is, which should be pretty obvious, considering the rewards are also higher,” the Battlemaster continued as he handed Jake a list written on a thick piece of parchment.

He wasn’t going to question why the words on the list looked like they were printed with a modern printer.

Show Match Opponents Available:

1. Goblin Hunting Squad (6x opponents) – 300 Colosseum Points

2. Feral Orc Berserker – 250 Colosseum Points

3. Zombies (3x opponents) – 200 Colosseum Points

4. Sharpclaw Badger – 150 Colosseum Points

5. Wood Puppet – 100 Colosseum Points

“I take option 1 against the Goblin Hunting Squad,” Jake answered instantly. It wasn’t really a choice. He would just pick whatever gave the most points.

“Hm, not surprising considering your track record, but do be warned. There are five regular goblins and one hobgoblin leader. They will all have different weapons too, so even if you are stronger than each of them individually, if you mess up, things can get messy quickly. Especially considering you are not wearing any proper armor,” the Battlemaster explained. “Group combat is also very different to duels, so watch out.”

“Got it, chief,” Jake nodded with a smile.

“Alright then. Gate three, the match begins in thirty minutes… unless you need more time or have reconsidered?”

“I’m good,” Jake waved him off as he went and waited for his match to start. He saw the timer above the gate appear and begin counting down. Half an hour later, he walked through the large tunnel toward a slightly different arena than any he had been to before.

This one was about the same size as the Gladiator arena but had a lot more clutter spread around. Badly built five-meter tall wooden towers, parts of walls, with there even being a few rusty weapons and pieces of armor in piles around the perimeter.

However, the most noteworthy aspect of this place was the sand. It had an almost black color, dyed from the blood of countless creatures who had died there.

Jake stood behind the gate, looking at a large cage on the other side of the arena with six goblins inside. One hobgoblin with a machete, two small goblins with bows, two with spears, and one with a club. Just by looking at them, it became clear these were not the same as the goblin Jake had fought in his very first fight. They instead looked almost feral.

The Battlemaster had indeed been right. He was effectively fighting non-sapient monsters. There was only one way to truly win that kind of fight.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome! Today, we have a very special Show Match for you, one of new beginnings or untimely ends. I am sure you all already know. In fact, it’s why you’re here, isn’t it!? That’s right, it’s Doomfoot’s debut in the Show Match Arena! He will be facing off against six ferocious goblins captured while trying to raid a village. Their judgment has been passed down… but will Doomfoot be able to carry it out?”

Jake wasn’t surprised to hear the same announcer also worked in the Show Match arena, though he did wonder when the hell the guy slept, assuming he was even real. Okay, he definitely wasn’t real, as Jake even heard the same guy commentate Owen’s matches, but Jake did wonder if a person had put their voice to it or if it was an army of projections or something.

Anyway, tangent aside, it was interesting that the announcer gave context as to why these goblins were there and even gave a justification for killing them.

“Doomfoot is known for not having killed a single opponent so far, but today there is no choice. Will Doomfoot be able to overcome his merciful nature and be their executioner, or will the rising meteor stick to his principles and crumble to dust? Let’s find out! Lower the gates!”

In retrospect, the entire situation was a bit funny.

For Jake to be known as someone merciful that didn’t kill, and for the announcer to ask if he could overcome his nature? It was definitely bizarre. Jake was certain that Villy was laughing somewhere at the insinuation, as while Jake was many things, someone who refused to kill wasn’t one of them.

And it was time to make that clear to the Colosseum of Mortals too.

The second the gates lowered, Jake stormed forward, his new boots allowing him to run even faster than before on the soft sand. At the command of the hobgoblin, the smaller goblins reacted fast as two arrows were loosed the second Jake got within range.

With a single sidestep, he dodged both as he closed in. Two spear-wielding goblins met him first. Their weapons were raised to stop his charge, not realizing how inadequate their stances were. Arcane energy had already wormed its way into Jake’s legs as he clashed with the two goblins… though to call it a clash wasn’t exactly fair.

With a single sweep of his leg, two spears were broken in half, and with a spinning motion, Jake brought down his foot in an axe kick, squashing the skull of one of the goblins. The other one couldn’t respond in time as Jake kicked it in the stomach, sending it flying toward one of the archers, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

The archer was hit by the corpse of his comrade and fell over before he could nock another arrow. The club-wielding goblin was next on Jake’s list as he sprinted over. He tried to swing his club, but Jake kicked it, making the weapon smash into his own head, embedding itself.

Ignoring the hobgoblin, Jake ran past him as he took out the archers next, saving the best for last.

Seconds later, a broken bow flew into the air along with a decapitated goblin head. A foot was brought down and crushed the skill of a second archer who was still prone from his comrade hitting him. Leaving only one.

Turning toward the hobgoblin, Jake saw only fear in his eyes, mixed with pure feral instinct. His opponent screamed loudly, charging with reckless abandon, the machete raised over his head, ready to be brought down. Jake simply shifted his feet a bit as he got into a stance. The hobgoblin closed in, and right as he got within a few meters, Jake took one step forward, as he rotated his hips, and performed a rear kick.

His offensive move had surprised the hobgoblin so much he didn’t even have time to swing down. The kick hit the goblin in its side, his entire body bending over like a folded lawn chair as Jake’s kick continued, leaving a trace of crackling arcane energy in its wake.

Jake spun all the way around as the resistance he met was less than expected, and as the shower of blood from the rapidly spinning bisected upper body of the hobgoblin rained down all over him, Jake remembered one of the reasons he had held back on killing his other opponents.

It could get bloody messy – pun fully intended.

“And we have a winner, no, an utter dominator in the arena! Who said Doomfoot was merciful? Who said he was unwilling to kill?”

You did… Jake grumbled internally as the announcer said some more fluff that Jake zoned out, only really listening in to the last part as he walked back out of the arena again.

“The kick of doom has brought justice! Now go, valiant combatant. Rest, recover, and I think I am speaking for everyone here when I say… return to fight another day!”

Trying to look at least a little dignified despite his messy appearance, Jake walked out of the arena with steady steps, the sand a slightly darker hue than when he entered.

Fifteen minutes later.

“Jake… what are you doing?” Owen asked as he looked confused down at Jake.

Jake grumbled to himself as he sat in a big washroom, wearing only a wet shirt and underpants in front of a basin of water, trying desperately to clean his blood-covered pants, boots, and armor. The shirt also still had marks on it, but that one had at least been under his leather armor. Seriously, why wasn’t Self-Repair a thing here? The cleaning function of that was just awesome.

Looking up at Owen and Polly, Jake wanted to complain to them as he stopped what he was doing.

Suddenly, he looked at Polly with a sinister smile. “Hey… I remember you saying you wanted to help me, right?”

Polly pepped up. “Have you finally decided to take me up on the offer? I am sure I can be of great assistance!”

Jake nodded slowly as he turned back and looked at the bloody water. “I have a great job assignment for you.”