30 Chapter 30 (1/2)

—— Strem Pov——

Strem walked behind the guide as they headed further into the Colosseum, he glanced around, sizing up the people surrounding him. They were likely to be his opponents, from what he had gathered the first round generally tended to be a free for all, the last twenty five people standing would move on to the next phase, meaning only one in four of people present would move on to the next round. The seven meter tall individual was among his group, standing out like a sore thumb. Strem felt the sudden urge to go and talk with the giant of a man, but never got the opportunity.

The guide suddenly stopped, he stood in front of a gate leading into a large open area behind him. He could hear muffled roars and shouts coming from past the gate. ”In a few minutes the gates will open and you will be able to enter, walk through the gates onto the field, do not engage other combatants, the fight will start a minute or two after everyone has entered, those of you worried, just walk through the gate, it is enchanted it will 'store' your body and copy it moving your own consciousness into that copy, you won't even notice the change.”

One of the combatants raised her hand, the guide nodded to her, ”How does that work, who created the enchantments, I haven't heard of magic like that.”

”The gate and its enchantments were created by the S rank adventurer Runic Royalty, not much is known of this S ranked adventurer that is the founder of the Inaho dynasty. He was the ancestor of the current royal family of Yalisia and he created this Colosseum hundreds of years ago, mages still have not figured out how the system works, making this an unique building, which is also the reason why so many warriors come here to test their martial skill.” The guide proudly told her.

The woman nodded, a lot of others having thoughtful expressions.

The sounds from the Colosseum started dying out, soon after they heard an echoing voice call out. ”Congratulations to the twenty-five remaining Combatants, you may now stop fighting and proceed to the resting area!”

The guide explained to them that the current combatants would leave through a separate gate, regain their original bodies, and could use the resting area until the next phase.

”The next phase of Bronze combatants, please enter the arena!”

The gates opened and the guide rushed them through the gate, Strem ran through behind the other contestants, the sun glaring in his eyes. His eyes widening as he saw the area he just entered, the field itself was a simple dirt area, he had heard that it could change into different geographical locations . He looked around and saw the rows upon rows of people looking down into the arena. The Colosseum truly was massive, there were over a hundred thousand people enjoying the event at any given time. The city had thrived around the Colosseum, most of its businesses centered around it.

Strem shook his head as he focused on the task at hand. He took of in a random direction distancing himself from the many combatants, others quickly did the same, dividing themselves across the area. Some moved in groups others moved alone like him. The giant simply took a few steps forward and sat down, his dark eyes daring any to challenge him.

Strem smiled and stopped running, he then walked back and sat across from the giant. ”Hi, I'm Strem, how's ya day goin?”

The giant had an incredulous look on his face as he looked down at the small strange young-man sitting in front of him, ”It has been going as well as can be expected I suppose.” The giant slowly answered, his deep voice sounding like an avalanche, or perhaps the rumble of a thousand bumblebees.

”Glad to hear it! So why did you enter this here tournament?”

The giant stared at him for a few seconds, ”I have heard this is a good place to grow in strength, as I can find here warriors that are not intimidated by my size and can beat me regardless of it.” The giant moved a bit closer to Strem bringing his face about a meter away from Strem's, looking him in the eyes, studying his expression, the giant sat back up. ”I am Ritka, of the Broken Cliff tribe. Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing.”

Strem tapped his chest, ”I'm Strem! Fellow warrior, student of the rapier, lover of ladies, and altogether a pretty fantastic fellow if I do say so myself.”

The giant paused, then laughed. The very earth shaking from the sound, ”At the very least you are an interesting guy indeed.”