Chương 16: 15. The Hidden Arena

Weights, dumbbells, presses… that and a lot more filled the large room, along with a series of red and yellow faceless mannequins placed there to assist. With a few silver coins, one could complete the equivalent of weeks of training in hours. In terms of practical development, there was nothing special about it. Given enough time, anyone could achieve the same results after a few months of dedication. The Grand Arcana sped up the process and eliminated the afterpain. The level of pain and exhaustion remained.

All new participants spent as much time in the gym as they could afford. It didn't grant skills and powers, and didn't boost stats like monster cores, but they were a needed step everyone had to take. Veterans referred to them as the basics. Depending on the circumstances, they were as vital as good gear. There was a time when I would go through great lengths to gain as many silver coins as possible to get myself into shape.

Often, I would think of my life before the trial and bitterly regret wasting all those years doing nothing. Strength begot strength, it was one of the leading principles of the Arcana. Everyone else was left struggling at the bottom of the barrel, fearing that each trial would be their last. This time it was going to be different; this time, I would no longer be content with being average. The prices were listed on large boards on the walls. A silver coin was enough to rent a single piece of equipment for an hour.

For an additional coin, a mannequin instructor would help with the necessary intensity and style of exercise to achieve the best outcome. Ten silvers granted full access to all equipment for eight hours, with an additional five for assistance. I made my way up to the dumbbells. They ranged from the pathetically light to the outright insane.

"One hour," I tossed a coin to the red mannequin nearby.

"Weights." The entity nodded, remaining in place. Marcus and several people watched me as I started my sets. The strength gained from two goblin busters let me handle twenty-pound dumbbells with ease. Despite that, I went along with the ten-pounders. A few other participants peeked in out of curiosity. Seeing me train quickly made them leave and go for more urgent things such as food and sleep.

"Want to join in?" I offered Marcus.

"I can lend you a few coins."

"No," he turned around.

"I'll get here on my own later." He walked out. That was weird. Originally, it was thanks to him and Cathy that I'd become aware of the gym's importance. As any athlete, Cathy had made it a habit to come here often. I, myself, didn't join till later. By then, both of them had been split into other higher-ranking groups, leaving me with the losers.

"Careful what you drink," I said just as he was about to leave.

"Some of the others might have gotten gifts." There was no reason to elaborate. The implication was clear. From what I had seen, none of the other participants had formed pacts, but there was clear evidence of gifts provided. I started my training. The exercises remained the same. To the few looking from the sidelines, it seemed as if I was working on my arms and biceps. The truth was that I was fulfilling a requirement. After one hour of training in the gym, a special option would become available.

It wasn't officially mentioned, but as long as someone was willing to sacrifice a card, they'd be allowed into the combat chamber. According to the rumors during my previous run, sacrificing a major arcana card brought up special opponents. That was a lie. I had sacrificed a duplicate rare card to find nothing happening. Bit by bit, the pressure in my arms built up. After an hour, they felt like rubber. As long as that would speed up my improvement, I gritted my teeth.

One of the mannequins approached, reminding me that my time was over.

"I'd like to continue," I said. Instead of offering a coin I took out my Three of Swords.

"I want access to the combat chamber." The mannequin nodded and grabbed the card. He then went up to a bare section of the wall and gestured for me to go past. I took a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, then walked up to the hidden entrance and walked through. A new room was revealed, combining elements of a boxing ring and a gladiatorial arena.

Single Opponent: 1 Silver Arena Run: 1 Gold The prices were written down on a large wooden sign at the top of the stairs leading down to the roped section of the arena. I didn't remember it being this expensive. Then again, I hadn't only started using the arena after it had been officially announced. Back then, the place would frequently be full to the brim with people. Participants from multiple groups would fill the stands, watching, betting, often challenging each other.

While no one could be killed, wounded, or incapacitated between trials, this remained the one place in which we could legally inflict pain.

"An arena run," I took out a gold coin and tossed it towards the arena. The moment the shiny piece of metal touched the ground, it disappeared with a ringing sound. The entry fee had been paid. I readied my aelf blades and made my way past the ropes. A single goblin materialized before me. Without a moment's thought, I swing my weapon, decapitating the creature on the spot. Stolen novel; please report. Before the torso could even stain the arena, the creature vanished. Two more emerged several steps away.

Before they got a chance to blink, I cut off the head of one and pierced the other through the chest. It was remarkable how easy fighting was now that I was no longer under pressure.

"Come at me!" I shouted, the adrenaline fueling my confidence. More waves of goblins emerged. Each time I'd kill them off, the total number would increase by one. Stains of blood covered the arena floor. Once I killed off a wave of ten, the first goblin leader appeared. Finally, things were getting challenging. I took a defensive stance, waiting for the creature to approach. Stamina management was vital, and now that I wasn't facing overwhelming numbers, I had to conserve it.

My goal was to make it all the way to wave one hundred. That was the point at which I'd be given a reward. My past self could only watch it happen. Even in the best of times, I hadn't managed to go beyond wave sixty. Not that it was a bad result. Each wave was the equivalent of hours in the common gym area; each kill helped my body get re-accustomed to the skills I had worked so hard to obtain in the past. And still, all that paled in comparison to the prize.

It took me roughly half a minute to take the goblin leader down. Skilled and cautious, he wasn't one to blindly charge at me even after being provoked. After his death, common goblins also made a reappearance. The fights changed from simple one versus many to one versus a squad. The creatures combined their tactics. Sometimes the leader would keep his distance, letting the others tire me down. On other occasions, he'd be leading the charge like the tip of the spear.

No matter what they tried, I was familiar with the tactics. The number of leaders gradually increased. Other goblin types also emerged. At wave fifty, I faced my first goblin buster. The creature was slower than it had been during the trial. The lack of furniture and other obstacles made its actions painfully predictable. If it wasn't for the pain creeping into my muscles, I could have easily dealt with it in half a minute. As things stood, I required two. At wave seventy, a level four sharpshooter emerged.

Even alone, the pest presented a serious challenge. Fast and agile, it had the power to shoot while running, not to mention that it was sneakily equipped with a card of Swords. Had I faced it directly at the start, there was a good chance that I'd have lost. After all these rounds of fighting, by body was slowly getting accustomed to combat. Everything hurt like hell, but I could feel the progress. The nasty monsters maintained a steady distance between us, moving away at every opportunity.

Cornering it took a lot of work. I wasn't remotely as fast as I would like, and couldn't risk throwing any blade at it. Once a weapon left the confines of the arena grounds, it couldn't be used in the fight until after the next trial. It took me a lot of persistence and strategic thinking to finally get it within reach. The way the creature acted was slightly different from what I remembered, even if the basic flaw was there.

As a weak ranged attacker, it tended to always dash in the opposite direction I was going and as far away as possible. Doing a series of well-timed feints forced it down a path of mistakes, reducing the distance from me until there was no escape. As I neared a hundred, the composition of the squads kept on evolving. There never were more than ten, yet the levels kept on creeping up. All waves in the seventies involved archers, the eighties were combined leaders, sharpshooters, and busters.

Already I could see the logic: I was only being given enemies that I had already faced in the trials. That meant that the final opponent would be the aelf again. Each breath felt like breathing hot sand. My heart beat so fast I thought it would rip out of my chest. It's only an illusion, I kept on repeating in my mind. The arena was always safe. No matter what happened, dying there was impossible. Pain and exhaustion were only barriers thrown my way by Harlequin and the deities that watched.

No matter what, I was going to push through! My senses felt many times sharper than when I joined the Grand Arcana for the second time. My speed and reflexes, thanks in part to the boost and monster cores, had exceeded what a normal person would be capable of. Avoiding arrows and blows had become ridiculously easy. The giant goblins seemed to be moving in slow motion, allowing me to thrust my weapons into their skulls with ease.

In the rare occasions that I suffered a hit, the cards that the aelf leader had generously provided helped me stay in the fight. Finally, the last goblin of the ninety-ninth wave lay on the ground. Unlike all the ones before, it didn't vanish right away.

"You really are a curious one," I heard Harlequin's voice from the stands.

"Not only did you find the combat room on your own, but you got so far on your first run. You must have a really powerful secret." Breathing heavily, I maintained my composure. A scared participant would have immediately gone on the defensive, a stupid one would have become arrogant, convinced that no consequences would follow. I knew better. The only way to win the game was not to play, and that meant saying nothing.

"The deities are amused by your performance," Harlequin went on, disregarding his previous comment.

"From now on you'll receive greater scrutiny, but also greater rewards. Just be mindful that there are a lot of other participants of great potential. It's only after reaching the true trials that your worth could be measured." True trials? It was fortunate that I was looking at the ground. Had I been facing him, there was a good chance that Harlequin would have seen me blink. This was the first time I'd heard anything of the sort. Even the goddess I was close to in my past run had never said that.

Could it be that Harlequin had misspoken? The first five trials were commonly referred to as the tutorial trials: every survivor got to win a prize and, despite what it seemed, there were guardrails preventing mass slaughter. Yet, from the point of view of a rule-master, all of them were considered "real trials." Back in the previous run, Karl had specifically asked about that only to get the standard non-answer.

"Have you come for another bet?" I asked. This was possibly the only question that wouldn't get me into trouble.

"Bets are already being made," the porcelain mask stared at me intensely, creating the impression that it was one giant eye.

"Depending on the final outcome, many sponsors would be pleased or disappointed." It was just like him not to elaborate whether they were expecting me to win or lose.

"Be sure to show them a spectacle." Yes, always the spectacle… I brushed the sweat off my forehead and straightened up. Harlequin must have taken that for a sign that I was ready to continue, for the goblin corpse vanished from the ground. Then, at the far end of the field, my final enemy appeared. Goblin Berserker Level: 6 Cards: Five of Rings, One of Swords, Two of Chalice Special: Pain lust Weapon: Devourer Level 5 (0%) I swallowed.

In terms of skills and strength, an aelf leader was undoubtedly stronger than a goblin berserker. However, that was only when the special was in play. Without a shadow of a doubt, this creature was at least as strong as the trial boss, not to mention that he had a blood weapon to boot. That explained where Marcus had gotten it from. No deity had offered him a gift; he had managed to single-handedly kill off such a beast.

Given that I hadn't seen any of these cards in his status window, it was safe to assume that the trial berserker had also been restricted to some degree. This was the real thing: a true goblin boss with the weapon and cards to match.