Chapter 541: Chapter 540: New kid
Keith felt cold as his body froze in place. Then he saw the man in the dark hoodie actually look back and stare directly at him.
His body was on edge as it tensed up. His heart pounded like a war drum as he saw that faint grin that seemed to capture his soul. Yet, in this tense atmosphere...
A smile broke across Keith’s face as he looked back at the hooded man.
Their eyes met, and Keith noticed a flash of surprise before the being turned away.
Immediately after he turned away, the huge pressure disappeared as Keith took sharp breaths.
Even after he had grown for a year, he still felt so weak before him.
Keith’s expression twisted, but then a grin appeared.
"Doesn’t that make this interesting?" Keith muttered as his eyes glowed crimson.
---
"Alright. You all should be here," one of the middle-aged men spoke as he started catching all the gladiators’ attention.
"There will be new changes in the arena," he started.
"First, a new implementation of the Top Ten Strongest in the arena. The observation will be implemented starting today, as all of your strength will be observed. The past won’t be counted anymore. After all, just a year ago, one of the top gladiator, Valcarak, was killed," the man spoke as murmurs filled the room.
"Isn’t this interesting?"
"So now the battles won’t be just for survival but to get into the Top Ten Leaderboard?"
"I wonder what the reward will be?"
---
"Alright, getting onto the Top Ten Leaderboard has immense benefits. You can be accepted and trained to guard one of the descendants of nobility for a period of some years, then gain your freedom in the real world," the man dropped the bombshell as the room went silent and all the murmurs died down.
They gulped nervously.
Was this actually possible?
Freedom?
They hadn’t thought about that for a long time. After all, they had believed they would live and die here.
But it seemed getting into the Top Ten had a terrifying opportunity.
After all, everyone was aware they were still prisoners...
Just in a much more comfortable cell.
"Secondly... at the end of the year, a contest will be held for the strongest creature, presenting a chance to break through to Rank 0."
Gasp...
Everyone took deep breaths.
After all, they knew that although they were praised as supernatural, they were still within the extreme limits of humanity.
They hadn’t broken through it.
They were still mortals.
Only when they reached Rank 0 would they become beings above mortals.
The two pieces of news shocked everyone, including Keith.
After advancing, he had learned a lot, including how the strength system worked.
He, with his powers, wasn’t anything special.
There were many people stronger than him or with powers.
They were fundamentally leagues above him.
An example was everyone in this room.
Who here wasn’t stronger than him?
But no one, at least on the surface, had broken through to Rank 0.
If one did...
Keith wasn’t sure the arena would be able to contain them.
After all, to even be considered a Rank 0 entity, one should be able to easily level a building, jump dozens of meters, and be invulnerable to knives and other weapon slashes.
As far as he knew, everyone still used armor, showing they could still bleed and be affected by normal weapons.
"That will be all concerning the new changes. So be prepared. Starting today, your battles aren’t just for survival, but your end goal is to be on the leaderboard or prepare for the end-of-year contest. After all, these two paths provide you with a way to gain your freedom," they finished as the ten Arena Masters left with their guards, leaving the gladiators stunned before they burst into discussion.
At the back, Keith’s eyes glanced around as he processed that word.
"Freedom..."
It felt both familiar and foreign to him.
It had been so long.
He had already become used to being a captive.
But once again, the fact remained...
To break out of here, one needed strength.
It was all about power.
If you were weaker, you were controlled.
But the stronger you got, the more freedom you had to do what you wanted.
"Hey... you, new guy."
Just as Keith was about to stand up and leave to train, someone spoke to him.
Turning around, he saw a young man with scars across his face.
Yet his handsomeness wasn’t diminished in the slightest.
Keith frowned slightly.
After all, he generally didn’t talk to anyone except in the arena.
Other than his maids, this was the first gladiator to speak to him outside the arena.
Seeing the expression on Keith’s face made the young man laugh.
"My name is Pula. And judging by your expression, you’re most likely new. Maybe you were just promoted... and you look young," Pula spoke as Keith’s frown deepened.
"You need to relax. I mean, look around you. We are on the First Level after all. It is not about survival anymore. Just enjoy the moment. You’re just fighting to win," Pula explained as Keith looked around.
True.
After the Arena Masters left, the gladiators chatted like old friends, with laughter and chuckles filling the air.
They didn’t seem like enemies, but like friends.
This was new to Keith.
After all, he was used to everything being a fight for survival.
"Keith," Keith replied as Pula smiled.
"That’s it. Don’t frown at everyone, alright? Try to make a few friends," Pula said.
Hearing those words, Keith’s mind drifted back to his childhood friends.
His expression changed, and he frowned once more.
What good did having friends do?
They would betray you in the end.
"Can I ask you for a favor?" Ignoring what Pula had said, Keith asked as Pula raised an eyebrow.
"Sure."
---
---
Two men stood in one of the open practice arenas as Keith moved his scythe before speaking.
"Are you sure you don’t need a weapon?" Keith asked.
After all, they were about to fight.
Yes.
Keith had asked Pula to spar with him.
He was uncomfortable and unused to this kind of environment.
He was used to fighting and killing.
That was all.
But in this place, he felt weak.
Just how weak?
Keith wanted to know.
Since Pula had taken the initiative to talk to him, he felt he might use this chance to find out.
"Ohhh, the new kid wants to fight Pula."
"Hahaha, can you blame him? Those weaklings from the lower levels are like beasts. It takes a while to adjust."
Just as Keith looked at Pula, who nodded, he heard murmurs as the gladiators who had come to train gathered around the small arena to watch the spar between Pula and Keith.
"Don’t worry. It’ll be fine," Pula said as he looked at Keith calmly.
He didn’t hold any weapon as he smiled.
Soon, the news spread.
First, there was a new top-level gladiator.
Second, he was having a spar with one of them.
Soon, a crowd gathered as Keith took deep breaths.
Anyway, he had asked Pula if he needed a weapon, but he had said no.
Keith didn’t know whether Pula was simply that confident in himself or just foolish.
"Alright, this should be enough," seeing the dozens of gathered gladiators, Pula said.
"Let’s begin."
The instant he finished speaking...
Keith’s eyes turned cold as he attacked.
Siiiiiii!
The sound of his scythe cutting through the air rang out.
Then...
The world turned upside down.
Keith’s head slammed into the ground as he felt both his arms pinned behind his back by a knee.
"Wait... what?"
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