I sprinted across the blood-stained arena floor, my boots pounding against the dirt and stone as the crowd cheered and the broodmaw's body swelled. With every step I took, I watched as its black skin stretched tight enough that I could see the writhing shapes of horrors preparing to emerge from its flesh for a second time.

If I could hit it hard enough, maybe, just maybe, I could stop it before that happened.

The crowd's roar faded out as I closed the distance. There were only my footsteps, my heavy breaths, and the clinking of my armor.

Twenty feet.

Ten.

Five.

[Provoke]

The monster's tentacles shot out to entangle me, but before they could wrap themselves around my limbs, I leaped. My sword blazed in the glowstone light as I soared through the air. Then, with every ounce of strength I could muster, I brought the blade down in a devastating overhead swing. The monster looked up just in time for the metal to bite into its flesh, sinking deep and severing half of its long, worm-like neck in one strike. Black blood sprayed across my armor as my steel kept going, bolstered by my body weight and momentum, carving through flesh and muscle and guts, opening a massive gash from its neck to its hip.

The broodmaw's scream was unlike anything I'd ever heard, sounding like a screechy inhalation and a wet gurgle. As my feet reached the ground, it reared back, tentacles thrashing wildly, and whipped its dangling head in a broad arc.

[Iron Skin]

The monster's thick neck slammed into my side and threw me like a rag doll. I tumbled head over feet for a good twenty feet before coming to a rest face down in the dirt. Looking up, I saw that it was still moving, its torn stomach still writhing with baby monsters, but I'd hurt it. I hurt it good.

The broodmaw's body convulsed, its wound gushing dark blood that spurted in long, thick lines through the air.

For a moment, I thought I'd won. The spawning process seemed to stall, and its body deflated slightly.

Then, with a wet, tearing sound, the broodmaw's skin split open in massive gaping lines, and three horrible things began to crawl out of its ruined body.

"Look out!" I scrambled to my feet as the monsters exited dying monster's body. These weren't the small, fragile creatures from before. Each was roughly the size of small bears, their eyes glowing red in the arena's light. They were insectoid, with large chitinous plates covering their bodies in segments and two massive scythe arms where their paws would be. As their carapaces hit the warm air, the broodmaw's slick goo dissolved off their bodies, and, one by one, they stood upright and began chittering to one another.

Reapers.

They were called reapers. And they were notorious for the carnage they inflicted on commoners in the fourth age. Those I remembered from Arden's books. I'd had nightmares about them.

Something else, or maybe two, slipped out of the far side of the broodmaw's body, and the latter monster deflated like a balloon. As it did, words appeared in my mind:

You complete the quest [Slay the Broodmaw].

You reach level 27.

+1 Strength, +1 Resilience, +1 Agility, +1 Power, +1 Will

I shook the words out of my vision. Whatever the flying thing was, it was fast. I couldn't even make it out before it darted into the air and circled overhead.

"Alex!" Davik's voice cut through my shock. "Behind you!"

I spun just in time to see black wings and glinting teeth. Whatever it was, its massive jaws were opened wide. I raised my sword and caught it across the snout, severing its nose in a single strike, the impact jarring my arms, but the creature's momentum carried it forward. Its claws raked across my breastplate, causing the metal to screech and leaving deep gouges in the metal.

[Iron Skin]

My body hardened just as its claws began sinking into the skin beneath my armor. The monster flapped its massive wings, and we went airborne. We rose three feet, five, ten. Another flap of its wings sent us above the lowest row of seats in the audience.

"No, you don't!" I flipped my sword around and plunged it into the thing's neck. The blade sank deep, its wings spasmed, and we fell a good five feet, but the monster was able to recover. I pulled my sword free to strike again, but its ruined mouth snapped around and latched onto my helmet. It jerked, and its teeth scraped against my helmet as its black blood poured onto my face.

[Iron Skin]

My vision swam as my skin hardened again. I was using my skills too aggressively, but I had to do it. Without them, I'd be dead.

Using the moment my metal skin afforded me, I drove my sword upward, straight into the monster's throat. A thick wave of blood washed over my face just as my stomach dropped. We were falling.

[Second Wind]

A thousand, thousand coffees' worth of caffeine poured into my veins an instant before I struck the ground. The bat monster landed on top of me, its mouth still around my helmet, twitched, and died. Another wave of blood poured from its mouth, coating my... everything.

[Provoke]

I couldn't see or hear anything, but I knew the others wouldn't be able to take the reapers alone. Pulling my ruined helmet off, I wiped the blood from my eyes just in time to see all three of the insect monsters turning to look my way.

"Shit."

"Chchchchchch"

The monsters' noises made my skin crawl. Worse, I had no idea how I was going to face all three.

I was fucked.

"Folks, it looks like our hero may have finally bit off more than he could chew!" The announcer's voice cut through the rapidly hardening blood filling my ears. "What do you say? Should we call it?"

"No!!!"

"Yes!!!"

"Don't fall, Sentinel!"

"You can do it!"

The crowd seemed evenly split between seeing me get cut down or seeing me persevere. So, I did the only thing I knew to do. I raised my sword high in the air and leveled it at the reapers. "Come at me!"

That did it. The first of the bear-sized monsters lifted its scythe arms and charged. Like a black arrow, it darted across the arena at me, its jerking steps carrying it five feet per stride.

"Come on. Aim high, bitch." The books all said they aimed for the head first. I hoped they were right.

The monster cleared the final step to me and slashed with both of its arms, aiming straight for my throat. Arden's books were right once again.

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"Got you!" I bent over backward and watched as both blades nearly took off my nose. Capitalizing on its crossed arms, I stood upright and stuffed it, slamming my arm into its arms to keep them locked. "Almost!" Pointing my sword directly between the plates of chitin lining the monster's throat, I lunged, and my sword slipped into the crack. The monster's head jerked backward, blood poured out of its ruined neck, and its red eyes went dim.

"Look at that! One down!"

I kicked the monster in the chest, sending it toppling backward. As the crowd roared around me, I couldn't help but smile. My sword work was clean and efficient. Renard's forms had drilled technique into my muscles until it was second nature. Once again, I vowed to thank him one day.

"Chchchch!" Something slammed into my back and sent me flying forward.

I screamed at myself in my head. Stupid idiot! Don't gloat until the fight's done!

Landing on my left arm, I rolled and sprang back onto my feet, but my back was screaming at me. The attack had punched through my armor and cut me good. Back on my feet, I stumbled forward, off-balance.

[Aura of Resolve]

Davik's skill washed over me, reinforcing my tired and injured body.

[Aura of Protection]

Another wave of force washed over me, and I felt my skin harden.

[Knight's Honor]

Fire ignited in my chest. The little bit of doubt in me burned away in the flames.

Turning, I raised my sword just as the reapers closed in on me. They were each coming from opposite angles. If only they'd overcommit...

[Iron Skin]

Four scythe blades whistled through the air and bit into my metallic skin. Grinding across my body, one of the blades carved a thick gash into its companion's side.

With a heavy swing at its elbow joint, I snapped the reaper's arm off like it was a twig. It screeched and backed off, giving me the space to roll forward. Mid-roll, I severed its other arm with a reverse cut as a whoosh of air tickled my neck. The reaper's blade had nearly taken my head off.

Its companion swung at the space where I'd just been and instead carved into its fellow's stomach. With a screech, the armless reaper fell to the ground, twitching as death took it. The remaining monster spun around, but it was too slow.

My sword cut one leg off at the knee, then its arm off at the elbow. Another two slashes, and it was squirming like a legless beetle on the ground. "Sorry, friend. I'm not about to die today." I drove my sword into its skull, killing it in one lethal cut.

That's when I realized how hard I was breathing. I'd never fought so hard in my life. Dropping to one knee, I pulled at the collar of my breastplate to give my chest room to breathe, but the movement caused my back to scream at me. That was going to hurt when I lay down on my hard cot tonight.

"More coming!" Davik shouted.

"What?" I looked around but didn't see anything.

"The Broodmaw!"

Turning, I saw that he was right. One final creature was emerging from the broodmaw's corpse. The fucker had to go out with a bang.

Shambling to my feet, I readied myself. It looked like another one of the winged things that I didn't have a name for, but this one didn't have wings.

Good.

The monster shook the gore off its fur and looked at me, its teeth gnashing.

"Let's get this over with." I threw myself forward, giving everything I had left to the monster. My sword was a blur of steel and light, cutting through fur and flesh alike. Black blood splattered across the arena floor in thick shining lines. As I cut it down, the black feelings I'd been struggling with bubbled up in my chest. I felt hate. So much hate. And... amusement?

I realized I was laughing.

The monster's eyes were wild, its screeches panicked, but I didn't let up. It was going to die by my hand, right here, right now.

The crowd's roar grew louder with each strike, their bloodlust fueled by cuts. The more blood they saw, the wilder they got.

The monster got a couple of hits in, ones I knew I'd feel tomorrow, but I didn't care. I kept hacking, too tired to use more skills and too angry to stop. But I was slowing down. Each swing took more effort than the last. My breathing was ragged. My vision was getting black. But the monster wasn't going down. I had to keep going.

With one last feeble attempt, the monster darted away, made a circle around me, and charged.

With cold precision, I sidestepped its charge, swung at its neck, and carved open its side. Blood and guts spilled across the stone as it took three or four steps before falling to its side, dead. For a moment, the arena fell silent except for my labored breathing.

Then, Davik screamed.

"Alex!"

I spun around and felt my blood freeze. One of the winged monsters had landed in front of Davik and was trying to get by him, trying to get to the peasants he was protecting. The knight's jaw was set, his stance was firm, and he had my shield raised high, but the dagger I'd given him was too small. All he could do was defend, and that only worked until it didn't.

"Come on, man! We can't hold out much longer!" As he spoke, the monster grabbed the peasants man's arm and tried to take off. The others grabbed the man before he could be scooped away, but it was strong I enough that it began to lift all three of them into the air. A loud crack sounded from the peasant's shoulder as it shattered under the weight, and he fell to the ground.

With a screech l, the monsters did a circle in the air and dove.

Against my body's wishes and without a single thought in my rattled brain, I exploded forward.

Time slowed.

Three strides left.

The monster reared back.

Two strides left.

Davik pressed backward, covering the peasants with my shield and his body.

One stride...

The monster's head shot forward.

Then, I was in front of them. I raised my sword to strike, but the blood coating the handle had made it slick. It flew from my fingers.

Pain exploded through my body as the creature's jaws clamped down. It snapped its neck, jerking me around like it was a dog and I was its chew toy. Its teeth found the gaps in my armor. With a screech, they broke through the metal and bit deep into my shoulder and side. I could feel as its teeth reached bone.

But the peasants were safe. Davik was safe. I'd protected them.

I was a fucking hero.

As the monster began to lift me into the air, words appeared in my head:

You unlock the heroic class [Guardian].

You complete the Guardian task [Protect the Weak].

You reach Guardian 1★

You reach level 28.

+5 Strength, +5 Resilience, +5 Will

You gain the Guardian talent [Rampart]

You gain the Guardian skill [Intercept].

Power flooded through my body like liquid fire. The broodmaw's teeth, which had been slowly crushing through my armor, suddenly couldn't penetrate any deeper. My new resilience held them at bay.

"Alright, bastard. Let's play," I snarled. Wrapping my arms around its neck, I put it in a guillotine and wrenched its neck with everything I had left.

The monster shrieked and let me go. I fell to the ground and landed hard. Overhead, the monster circled and fell out of the sky, directly at the injured woman. Davik threw himself over her.

[Intercept]

The world blurred around me as I vanished. Instantly, I reappeared directly in front of its face.

The monster's eyes widened in surprise. It desperately flapped its wings, trying to get out of my range, but it was too late. I reared my fist back and struck it with the whole chain of my body. My gauntleted fist punched directly through its eye and kept going, until my arm was in its skull halfway up the elbow and my fist was directly inside whatever passed for the monster's brain. The monster flapped its wings a final time before slumping to the ground.

Black blood spilled from its ruined eye socket. Only then did the arena finally, mercifully, fall silent.

I stood over the dead monster, my chest heaving, and looked back at Davik and the peasants. The knight was staring at me, a look a sheer bewilderment on his face. The peasants, too. Looking up, I saw that the audience was doing the same.

"We did it," I said through heavy breaths.

"Y-yeah..." Davik muttered. "Yeah!"

As the audience continued to stare at me, I did the only thing that came to mind: I raised my fist into the air and screamed

The crowd erupted. The sound was deafening. Thousands of voices screamed my name. They stomped their feet, clapped their hands, and threw everything they could throw. Not a single person held back from cheering for me. For the first time since I'd arrived in this hellhole, I felt something other than pain or desperation or fear.

I felt powerful.

The adrenaline surge was incredible. Energy coursed through my veins, and for a single shining moment, I forgot the pain, forgot about the blood loss, forgot about everything except the pure rush of victory.

I wanted to keep fighting.

I wanted to take on ten more monsters. No, twenty more.

I felt like I could conquer the world.

Then, my vision blurred, and I dropped to one knee.

The arena spun around me violently, and I thought I would be sick. As the world roiled, more words appeared in my head:

You complete the quest [Savior of the Feeble]

You reach level 29.

+1 Strength, +1 Resilience, +1 Agility, +1 Power, +1 Will

"Ladddddies and gentlemen!" The announcer's voice cut through my haze. "What a spectacle! What a fight! The Iron Sentinel and his brave companions have survived the depths of hell itself!"

I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn't obey. Blood loss and exhaustion were finally catching up to me. My new level and class had given me the strength to finish the fight, but that was it. I was done.

"And, as is custom, the prisoners will live to fight another day!" the announcer continued as hooded guards entered the arena. "But will they be so lucky next time? Place your bets now for tomorrow's matches! Garl the Incredible will be fighting the Mean Green Breast in an exciting exhibition match!"

Someone's hands lifted me from behind. Two Pit guards supported me as they half-carried, half-dragged me toward the exit. I managed to turn my head and saw Davik helping the peasants, my shield still strapped to his arm. The wounded woman was conscious again and was being carried on the shoulder of the peasant man.

Somehow, against all odds, they'd survived. We'd survived.

As the guards carried me through the gate and back toward the cells, I caught one last glimpse of the arena. Workers were already moving in to clean up the carnage, using buckets to wash down the stone and dragging away the monster corpses. Soon, there would be no trace of what we'd accomplished here.

But I would remember it. Until my dying breath, I'd remember. Not just the senselessness of it all, but the triumph, too.

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