Chapter 542: Chapter 541: Friends
"What do you all think?" one of the Arena Masters asked as the ten Arena Masters gathered in another meeting room to discuss.
"Who knows? Anyway, the order is from above, but maybe something is happening outside," one of them said with a frown.
"Could it be a demon attack?" the Arena Master of Level 1 asked as the others pondered.
After all, it wasn’t s new news that the demons had been ravaging this realm for a long time, but they just didn’t expect them to rise again after the last war.
"Most likely it is, but I don’t think we have to think too much about it," the Arena Master of Level 5 spoke.
"Yeah, let’s just focus on getting more slaves into the arena," the Arena Master of Level 8 said with a chuckle as the rest looked at him with pity.
After all, he was the only one excited to have new fighters—not for the arena to prosper, but so he could do some "insidious" things to them.
They felt he had lost his way. After all, doing that to a child was just... extreme.
But who were they to correct him? It wasn’t like the nobles didn’t have such behaviors as well.
---
Back at the practice arena...
The gathered gladiators all laughed when they saw this, not surprised in the slightest. After all, to them, this was destined to happen.
They had also come from the lower levels and knew how it felt to reach Level 1.
Before Level 1, it was just a fight for survival in any way you could. You were like a beast.
But after getting here, one started to realize what having skill meant, or what training, battle IQ, and experience required.
You weren’t fighting to kill or survive anymore, but fighting to defeat and win against your opponent.
And you didn’t necessarily have to kill them.
You could simply disarm them.
For example...
This new kid.
It wasn’t like Pula was overwhelmingly stronger than Keith, but the difference was in skill, battle awareness, battle IQ, and many other things that came with experience.
Those were the things that left Keith on the ground and Pula the winner.
"Relax," Pula spoke as he slowly removed his knee, allowing Keith to stand.
Keith’s expression changed.
He couldn’t understand.
Everything had been going well.
He was fast.
Efficient.
He had targeted Pula’s neck.
Yet...
He lost.
And mind you...
Pula hadn’t even used a weapon.
Standing up, Keith looked at the calm Pula and the whispering crowd as he couldn’t help but feel this was familiar.
Wasn’t this how it had felt when he was bullied by those kids while their parents watched as though it were some sort of entertainment?
"Fuck!"
Keith’s eyes turned from black to red as his legs were coated in a crimson aura.
He grabbed his scythe from the ground and rushed to attack Pula.
But then...
Pula was gone.
His attack missed its target, and Keith stumbled forward.
Pula pulled him from the side.
"Being angry won’t help," Pula said from beside him.
It only made Keith angrier as he felt he was being mocked.
His scythe glowed crimson as Keith attacked again, this time even faster.
But Pula effortlessly dodged it.
Then...
"Sigh..."
Boom!
Keith felt his mind blank out for a moment as his ears rang and he fell onto the ground.
His chest heaved up and down as Pula walked over and stretched out his hand to help him up.
Seeing this, Keith’s expression darkened as he stood up, ignoring Pula’s outstretched hand.
He picked up his scythe and walked away from the arena under the laughter of the veteran gladiators.
To them, it was simply entertainment to see how strong the newcomers from the lower levels were.
They had never doubted that Pula would win.
With this small episode over, the rest returned to training with one another as Pula sighed once more.
He hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.
He had only wanted to introduce Keith to the top level, just as someone had introduced him years ago when he first climbed to the First Level.
But now...
It seemed he had only made things worse.
Most likely, Keith would isolate himself from the rest.
"Hey, cheer up. He’ll come around," just as Pula was filled with regret, a hand slapped his shoulder and a familiar voice sounded.
"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he does," the man added with a wide smile as Pula stepped away from him.
"Just make sure you don’t kill him," Pula said as he left the arena.
"Ahh, what do you mean? I’m a kind individual," the man said.
"I’ll just make sure I teach arrogant bastards like him a lesson. Has he forgotten he’s nothing but a slave?" the man said coldly.
---
In his room, Keith’s expression was serious.
His maids greeted him, but he ignored them as he went to take his bath.
"Is something wrong with Master?" one of them asked the maid who had followed Keith.
She shook her head.
"It would be better not to know," she told the rest as they looked at Keith with pity.
In the pool, Keith’s body relaxed as he felt his pores open.
Keith closed his eyes, resting his neck against the edge of the pool as Pula’s words echoed in his mind.
Then...
The words of the veteran gladiators echoed as well.
Keith just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
How could someone who had always lived on the edge and treated every battle as life and death suddenly start getting along with those he might kill in the future?
No...
Keith’s expression changed as an idea suddenly crossed his mind. If he could control his blood and return it to his body... then what if...
Keith’s expression darkened as he grabbed his scythe and then slit his wrist.
Blood poured out in large quantities into the pool as it was dyed red.
The massive loss of blood made Keith’s vision blur, but he held on.
Only when he saw every inch of the pool dyed crimson did he relax.
Then he focused his mind.
The pool trembled as Keith’s blood moved and re-entered his body.
Only this time, it carried with it the medicinal properties of the bath.
Keith’s eyes widened as immense energy flooded his body, and his heart pounded violently.
Minutes passed as Keith endured the pain brought by the sudden surge of immense energy.
At this moment, Keith stood in the one-meter-deep pool.
All of its water had dried up.
His body relaxed as a strange aura spread from him, one that filled anyone who sensed it with intense fear.
"I will not lose," Keith spoke, his voice growing cold and raspy as his back cracked and his veins lit up with a crimson hue.
At this moment, with his scythe in hand, he looked like a devil.
Any normal human would be scared senseless upon seeing Keith as he walked out of the room.
His body relaxed as the crimson hue disappeared.
His maids looked at him in shock.
"Mas...ter..."
"Your eyes..."
They struggled to speak as they felt their hearts grow heavy.
Hearing this, Keith walked over to a nearby mirror.
In it, he saw his reflection.
Only...
His pupils had turned crimson red.
Keith couldn’t help but grin.
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