Elsewhere

The training center was something entirely different than anything Duke had seen so far in this world. It was a massive hexagon that was situated just outside of the arena. Apparently, there were three other similar hexagons for the other three major factions. On the way over, Duke had learned that there were four major factions and countless minor ones that participated in the arena’s fights. He had joined Leviathan but there were Rune, Stone, and Zephyr among the major factions. Each faction had its own theme and focus.

Leviathan, he had learned, was focused on flexibility in fighting and excelled at team-fighting. Rune was focused purely on spellcasters, and Stone was focused on purely physical fighters. The last of the major factions was Zephyr and they were focused on speed and agility. All of the factions had their individual strengths and weaknesses, and they all were convinced that their approach was the best. For his part, Duke was starting to get an “I saw this movie already” feeling. Escape was becoming even more of an urgent priority.

Ergo led Duke through the entrance which was decorated with all manner of accolades and awards. Apparently, Leviathan was at least somewhat successful in the arena. Beyond the grand award entrance there was a sizable room that had a reception desk with several corridors leading away behind. The person at the desk was like no one Duke had ever seen in his life. It was seated behind a counter so he couldn’t properly gauge how tall it was, but what he could see was that it had an oversized grey head with a pair of enormous, glossy, pupilless black eyes and slits for a nose. It had long, spindly arms that seemed far too long for what he could see of the body behind the counter.

It spoke up as they approached with a decided buzzing in its voice. Duke was not sure if his ability was kicking-in or whether it was speaking a language he could understand. Regardless, he heard it, “Welcome back, Ergo. It seems that you have found another stray. What is the story on this one? I heard that there was some sort of commotion in the arena today, but the details have not made it to me yet. Was this one involved?”

Ergo nodded gravely. “This one is called Duke. He fought his first fight in the arena today…against Graza.”

The creature behind the counter gasped. “Graza? Truly? How is this Duke still standing, let alone walking in here? Was it a declared submission match?”

“No, nothing so simple. It was a set-up. There were no instructions other than to fight. Garza did his best to chop Duke in half with his very first blow.”

Duke decided to interrupt. “It didn’t work out so well for Graza.”

The creature turned to regard Duke with confusion. “You understand me?”

Duke smiled, “I’m smarter than I look.”

“And stronger, it seems.” It added.

Ergo was beaming at this point. “Stone is now short one prodigy on their roster.”

The creature stopped all movement and slowly turned to regard Duke with a truly intense stare. It felt like something was burrowing into his brain. He winced in pain, grasping his temples as the pain ramped up. Just as it approached unbearable, he felt something pop in his head and the pain vanished to be replaced by a system message.

***Innate Ability triggered. MENTAL RESISTANCE has activated to prevent an uninvited mind probe. ***

The creature gasped again, shaking its head rapidly from side to side. “This Duke of yours is trouble. He resisted my probe and I have received some significant feedback. And he has made enemies with both Stone and whomever put him in that position in the first place. He will only bring us trouble. Why would you bring him to us?”

“He brought me here because I have the potential to be the best fighter this arena has ever seen. I already killed my would-be assassin and walked away from the fight. Give me a little while to hone my abilities and I’ll be able to take on anyone.”

Ergo laughed. “Oh, you see why I like this kid so much? He’s absolutely arrogant. He even tried to take me down with a punch to the jaw. Can you believe that?”

It responded, “You are not making a good case for him to join us.”

“Hey, if you don’t want me, fine. Rune will pick me up in a heartbeat.” Duke surmised that the factions competed heavily for fighters of quality. Pitting another faction’s name against their own seemed like a good way to tip their hand in his favor if that was the case. He decided it was worth the gamble.

Ergo nodded. “Agreal himself came looking for Duke after his fight. He was not pleased that I had already committed Duke to Leviathan.”

“Why would Rune be interested in him?”

“Because he blasted Garza to death with the biggest lightning bolt I’ve ever seen in the arena.”

Duke smiled at this depiction. He had no idea how big the blast was – primarily because it blinded and deafened him at the same time.

“A spellcaster? Well, that explains a few things. Are you sure, Ergo?”

“I am. Duke will be an asset, especially in Team SNE.”

“Really? Very well, welcome to Levithan, Duke. Here, wear this. It will serve as your identification within the faction and will show others that you are under our protection. There are very few that would violate that protection, especially after the King’s latest edict.” One of the too-long grey arms stretched out and placed a ring in Duke’s hand.

Duke took the ring trying not to shudder at the cold touch of the alien-looking creature. He placed it on his right ring finger and felt a pulse of magic pass through his body.

***YOU HAVE GAINED A NEW SPELL EFFECT

You have been successfully targeted by the spell “Mage’s Mark.” You can now be identified by this mark, even if you remove or destroy the ring that marked you. ***

Permanently marked? Oh, that could be a problem. A big problem. Why do I feel like cattle?

Ergo nudged Duke. “Come on, let’s get you settled in. I’ve chosen a room on the second floor for you. You’ll have the rest of the day to explore but expect tomorrow to be the beginning of your training.” He grinned evilly at Duke’s suppressed shudder and led the way.

Duke’s room turned out to actually be a small apartment. He had a bedroom, a small library or study, a bathroom, and even a small kitchen. Everything looked a bit odd, but the function of things seemed fairly obvious. “You are in room 23. Get settled in. You can wander around outside your room, but you are not permitted to leave the faction area at this time. Remember that you are still a sentenced criminal and leaving without permission would be bad. Get plenty of sleep. Tomorrow is going to be…difficult.”

With that, Ergo left and Duke was on his own to figure things out. His first instinct was to immediately head out and explore the faction area, but he also knew that he had taxed himself to, and perhaps beyond, his limits today. Rest was needed and he would have plenty of time for exploration later. He decided to lay down for a short nap. It turned out to be a bit more than a nap. He slept until his system prompts woke him up early in the morning.

***Well, well, well. THAT was entertaining. You were asked to entertain us, and you delivered, and how. Prepare to be rewarded for it!

You killed Garza in arena combat in front of a crowd of hundreds. You also did so in a spectacular fashion. Experience rewards doubled! You gain 1,400 experience points. You have enough experience to reach level 2.

LEVEL UP! You gain 6 Characteristic Points. Each Characteristic has been increased by one because we felt like spending the points for you. Your Maximum Health is now 138. Your Maximum Mana is now 138. Your Mana gain is now 34 per minute.

You had a busy day Ability-wise.

AURA CONCEALMENT – You continue to use this Ability near continuously. You gain 2 levels to Untrained 7.

TONGUES – You have kept this Ability active and used it to successfully engage in conversation. You gain 2 levels to Untrained 9.

REGENERATION – Oh boy did you use this one. You knew that you were down to your last Health point, right? You gain 5 levels, bringing you up to Initiate 35.

LIGHTNING – You used this spectacularly. You gain 10 levels. Don’t expect to ever see a gain like this again but that was so fun to watch. You now have this Ability at Novice 11.

OVERCHANNEL – You unlocked this Ability. It will take some experimentation to see how you can more effectively use this Ability. You have gained it at Novice 5.

MENTAL RESISTANCE– You also unlocked this Ability and have it at Novice 1.

You also have absorbed the spell “Mages Mark”. You now have this an Ability at Untrained 1. Sure hope it doesn’t mess everything up for you.

You also improved your Skills some.

Brawling – Well, you thought about using this one but got tackled instead. It increased to Novice 11.

Dodge – You really needed this one and it saved your bacon. You gain Dodge at Untrained 2.

You have done well. We eagerly await to see what you will do next!

***

At least that was a positive message. Guess I just need to nearly die to get the carrot.

Duke levered himself out the oh-so-comfortable bed. It took quite the effort, but he managed it through his extraordinary willpower. The first thing he noticed this morning was how refreshed he felt, as if he were completely restored whereas he knew that he hadn’t gotten a full night’s sleep in a while. The second thing he noticed was that there was a set of clothes draped over the chair next to his desk. He didn’t think they were there when he went to sleep but he might have just been too tired to notice.

Rather than just throw them on, he walked over to his bathroom and went to take a shower. Stripping naked, he stepped into the shower and was instantly confused. There were no knobs to turn, only a single lever large to pull. Bracing himself for what he expected would be a dousing of shockingly cold water, he was doubly surprised when he was instead greeted with a flash of light and a system message.

***YOU HAVE GAINED A NEW SPELL EFFECT

You have been successfully targeted by the spell “Cleansing.” Your body has been cleaned and will emit a cleansing aura for the next hour. ***

Duke contemplated his situation as he dressed in the loose-fitting shirt and pants that had been left for him. Even the boots fit his feet well. The leather they were made from was soft on his feet, but the outer shell was as hard as a steel-toed work boot. He nodded in admiration.

Oh, now if ever there is a spell to absorb, it’s that Cleansing one. Duke’s day was getting better and better. He began to smile and immediately stopped himself. I’m here to see how horrible this nation and this king is but it seems a bit mixed and I’m not going to see a whole lot of things from inside the faction area. I have to get out of here and do some investigating on my own. Or I could stay here and get some magic and combat training. That seems like something I’ll need in this world. It’s not like I can just fire up a jet and fight my battles that way, right? Do I really owe that Baslin guy anything? I could just stay. After all, it was his crap portal that screwed up my TELEPORTATION. Damn, someone give me an easy decision already.

He inspected himself in the mirror and noticed that his beard was starting to grow in, passing right through the scruffy stage. Maybe I can use that disguise spell to hide the beard. Oh shit! My passives! Duke immediately went through his suite of Abilities and activated TONGUES and refreshed AURA CONCEALMENT. Huh. I must have not slept as long as I thought since that Ability was still active.

His musings were interrupted by a heavy knock at the door. Duke strode over and opened the door to find Ergo waiting for him. “Good, you’re awake and ready. Good choice. I really didn’t want to have to get you up by tossing you across your apartment.”

“Those are my two options, eh?”

“Something like that. I am the head trainer for Leviathan and I have standards to keep. That’s no quip. If you step out of line, I WILL make sure you don’t do it twice. Do what you’re supposed to do, and we will all get along great. The rules are not onerous, but they are enforced. The first one you should already know – no leaving the faction area without permission and likely an escort. That is as much for your safety as it is for the good of the faction. We don’t need you out and about, getting into trouble that the rest of us have to fix. There’s enough tension between the factions as it is.”

As they walked, the layout of the building became more clear to Duke. The building was arranged in hexagonal rings that spanned multiple levels. At each corner, there was a set of stairs going up and down in a spiral. Duke was a bit surprised as he thought they were on the ground floor. When he remarked upon it, Ergo concisely responded with “Basement.”

After a full circuit of the outside ring, Ergo led Duke to a door simply marked “Hand to Hand”. Ergo slapped Duke on the back, “Here is your home for today.” He opened the door for Duke. Duke proceeded in and stumbled as Ergo gave him a firm shove, slamming the door behind him. Duke barely caught his balance before he came face to face with a freaking demon.

The demon stood about 1.6 meters tall and was barely dressed in black leather which accented his red skin rather well. He had small white horns that reddened towards their tips. His face had an otherworldly beauty right down to his goatee. His eyes had red pupils that seemed bright enough to glow in the dark. He stared Duke dead in the eyes and asked, “Who are you and why are you in my hall?”