Fauna left the mansion and headed towards the colosseum. It was near the center of the city, only a short walk from the palace. The walk took them nearly an hour as they went at a leisurely pace. They had left just after dawn, and the registration wasn't supposed to start until around nine that morning. They would need to register their party and wait for the three hours allotted for registering before lots would be drawn for the matches.

The matches would be done through lottery. Each team would be given a slab when they registered. It would have their group number and what arena they would be in. The slabs would be random so a party would never know if the parties around them would be their opponents early on or if it could be one far from them in line. The slab would match with another one that was given when a party registered. This would indicate which group and arena the parties would have their match in.

During their walk, Gaia sensed many other groups moving in the same direction. She guessed they were either other parties and groups going to register or to watch the matches. When they reached the colosseum, Gaia sensed a large group of people clustered in front of a single person. She guessed that was probably the registration table, since she'd been in a similar situation before. Granted that time hadn't been for a fighting tournament, so this would probably be different.

Fauna went to the back of the line and waited their turn. They stood in their spot and waited until the time for registration came. More groups lined up behind them as time passed and they started to talk to the two teams around them. Griff started the conversation by introducing Fauna.

The group in front of them introduced themselves as Traskior. They were an established stone rank party with six members. There were four men and two women. Their leader introduced himself as Trast, followed by Franca, Aria, Gerret, Yfrit, and Melkior. From what Stephanie described to Gaia, they each carried their weapons. Franca had two short swords, Aria a staff, Gerret had a shield bigger than himself, Yfryt carried some Chakram, and Trast had a bow.

They were extremely friendly and were happy to talk to the party. Neither one discussed their classes or anything important, since they would be competitors, but they each wished the other good luck. The main thing Traskior was curious about was Gaia's bonds. She told them that they'd have to find out during the matches. They laughed and said that they were looking forward to it.

Eventually, Traskior turned to talk to the party in front of them and Fauna turned around to talk to the party behind them. Gaia was the one to start the conversation this time, but the party behind them wasn't very talkative. Gaia could partially sense their weapons, so they were magical in some fashion. The weapons they carried were a rapier, pair of tonfa, a set of katar, and an pair of odd dual bladed weapons with a handle between the blades. They only introduced their party, which was called Noblesse. After that, the party just ignored Gaia and everyone else in general. They only spoke in hushed whispers to each other, which unluckily for Gaia, she could hear.

"How dare they make us wait in line with these peasants. We are Noblesse, can't they tell we're better than them all?" One young woman asked the others.

"There's nothing we can do. The tournament has strict rules, even for us. Although, I do find the rabble we're surrounded by as loathsome." A young man replied.

"Oh, please. The party in front of us have monsters in their midst, and one of them is sitting on top of one. I can't stand being near them. Can't they see, they're causing problems for everyone?" Another stated.

"They're obviously, in the wrong place. I mean they don't even have weapons, the only one who has one is the half-dwarf. Could they not afford them? This is the problem with commoners." Another continued.

"They don't know their place. Should we show them? Only to ensure they aren't embarrassed in front of everyone? We'd be doing them a favor after all." A final voice said.

"Why are they even here though? They're obviously out of their league." They continued.

Gaia did her best to ignore them, but they were just constantly saying horrible things about her friends and calling everyone peasants. They were looking down on everyone and being rude. She put up with the comments and remarks until it was time for registration to start.

Luckily, the "line," which was more like an ambiguous blob, went rather quickly when the time came. Registration was so quick because each party just had to say their party's name and the registrar would put it down. They'd be handed something and were allowed in enter the coliseum. Griff read the slab they'd been given.

"The slab just has the numbers seven and five. Seven is first so I think it might be the number of the group we're in. I think the five is probably what arena we're in. It's probably random so we don't know who we might be up against. Registration will probably be busy until the last minute."

"Alright. So, do we just need to sit and wait until everything starts? I'm guessing we need to stay here until the preliminaries are over right?" Gaia asked.

"For the most part, yes. We are free to roam the entire colosseum, but can't leave until the end of the day is called. If we do, we are disqualified and won't be able to make it to the actual tournament. If the preliminaries take more than a day, though, you are free to return to your lodgings. Those are the only rules for leaving the colosseum." Fergus explained.

Gaia was silent for a moment as she let the information sink in. "So, we can roam the entire area of the colosseum? Are there food stalls or something?"

"We can roam everywhere but we can't leave the premises. There are multiple food stalls and we can always just eat the stuff we have in our space bags. For now let's relax and watch the matches or talk to the other parties." Stephanie suggested.

"Sounds good. Let's relax for a bit and we can try to find some interesting parties. All I ask is we stay far away from that Noblesse party. They're terribly rude and haughty." Gaia stated.

Her companions stared at her for a moment before speaking again. "They were very dismissive of us, but what do you mean?" Fergus asked.

Gaia explains what she heard them say about them. Her companions stopped and looked at her.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Griff asked.

"You guys were talking to Traskior again and they were only loud enough for me to hear because of my hearing. It wasn't worth causing a scene since they seemed like influential nobles, and they didn't seem like they'd care anyway." She replied.

"It's nobles like that, that make us look bad. I hate people like them. Nobles are supposed to protect and take care of those under them, not the other way around!" Fergus said as his voice raised in anger.

Everyone looked at him after this and he took slow breaths to calm down. "Sorry. They make nobles look bad, but that's how many view things. I hate people like that." He finished calmly, she could feel his fist was clenched when she took one of his hands.

"We all know there are nobles like that. I'm more surprised they were allowed to become hunters. Wouldn't that cause problems?" Stephanie asked.

"Sadly, no. They are likely given requests made by nobles, who specifically ask for them. It's how a lot of parties made up of only nobles work. They only take requests from nobility, and if there aren't any their families will request them for something." Griff replied.

"That's how it works for many nobles in big cities. Don't get me wrong some are upstanding and actually put in effort, but the ones that talk like that aren't them. I just hope it doesn't cause any incidents." Fergus stated.

"Do you really think it could lead to something? And why would they even enter this tournament? Don't they know it's not just nobles?" Gaia asked.

"They do know the participants aren't just nobles, but many participate to show the superiority of Nobles. They tend to have better equipment and win because of that, so they say they win because they're superior. It's just that their expensive items cover up their incompetence. It's ridiculous honestly." Fergus explained with obvious frustration.

"Really?"

"Yep. I actually kinda hope we're matched up with them. I'm a bit angry and want to teach them a lesson, but we'll find out soon." Fergus added.

"I just hope nothing big happens because of their actions or loss." Gaia finished.

They sat there in silence as they waited. Each one thinking about the upcoming battles and hoping they were up against Noblesse first. They all wanted to teach the arrogant nobles a lesson. This was when Gaia realized she hadn't asked the registrar something important.

"Did anyone ask if there were any limitations for my bonds? I wasn't going to use my aura for long either but I should probably ask about that too, right?" She asked her companions.

"I didn't think about it." Griff replied.

"Me either." Said Stephanie.

"I didn't and you probably should." Fergus finished.

"Would one of you mind going with me to find them or a judge or someone?" She asked.

"I'll go with you." Stephanie replied.

"I'll make sure he doesn't do something stupid out of anger." Griff added, motioning to Fergus.

Stephanie walked over and hopped on Malachite's shell beside her as her grew a small bit. She then began directing them back towards the entrance. They didn't exit but found a worker by the entrance and asked them. They ran to ask someone and were soon led somewhere. Gaia heard a knock and a muffled voice from in front of her.

"Come in." She heard the voice say.

They entered and she heard the door close behind them.

"So, you two had some questions about abilities or limitations for a class?" A deep female voice said.

"Uh, yes." Stephanie replied.

Gaia couldn't sense what the woman looked like, but she was tall. Too tall to be a normal human. It cut an imposing figure in her mind, but otherwise it didn't matter, she was just a bit nervous. She was brought from her thoughts when the woman spoke again.

"I'm Natasha, the owner of the colosseum. What are your questions?" The woman Natasha asked.

Gaia sensed Stephanie motion for her to speak and did so. "Well, I have an aura ability that can be extremely dangerous, I was wondering if I needed to not use it or what the rules stated about that. I was also wondering what the rules were for my Tamer class. Can I use all of my bonds or can I only use a few or what limitations are there for these types of things."

Natasha was silent for a while as she thought, and spoke a few minutes later. "I don't know the specifics of your aura ability, and don't need to know. Is there a way to use it while ensuring safety? If not reliably, don't use it just to be safe. As for your class and your bonds, feel free to use all of them. There are no rules because you're the first Tamer to join or that I've even heard of. Therefore, everything is allowed, at least at first. We might adapt or add rules as the tournament goes, but until you are told new rules by myself, or a worker that uses my name, everything is allowed."

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"Ok, just to make sure I understand and we're on the same page. Everything is allowed for my class. That might change as the matches occur but until someone uses your name to tell me otherwise, everything is fair game. My aura is mostly off the table, for safety reasons." Gaia asked, repeating what she heard.

"Yes. That sounds about right. Do you have any other questions?"

"Oh, is there a restriction on artifacts? I haven't used it but figured I'd ask." Gaia asked.

"No there aren't, and bound items are allowed as well. Mainly because they are items you would use normally. This gives some parties advantages over others but that's just how the world works."

"Understood. So artifacts are allowed as are bound items and no killing. Ok. I think I have the main rules down." Gaia stated.

"That's pretty much the main one, don't kill your opponents." Natasha stated.

"Alrighty! Thank you for clarifying all of that for me. I didn't want us to be disqualified due to a restriction we didn't know about."

"It's fine. Was that all you needed?"

"Yes, ma'am." Stephanie replied as Gaia nodded.

"Very well. You may show yourselves out. I'm very busy overseeing everything and have a lot of work left to do." Natasha stated as the girls left.

Gaia and Stephanie rode Malachite back to the guys and relayed what Natasha had told them. They all agreed it was rather fair seeing as her class hadn't been seen before, or at least been recorded before now. They talked about strategies, planning them based on the composition of the other parties. They planned to watch as many matches as possible as well so they could see how others worked together and learn more of their abilities.

They sat and waited until the beginning of the matches. Fauna was in group seven so they would likely be closer towards the last groups. During the hour they sat waiting, Fergus described the colosseum to Gaia along with some of the other parties he noticed.

At the center of the colosseum, where the fights would happen, were eight square arenas. Each had a number painted on the side and was somewhere around a hundred feet wide allowing for movement and ranged attacks. They were flat and uniform made of large tiles, making the upcoming matches based off teamwork and skill, without giving any advantages based on the environment. There were steps leading up to the arenas' surfaces with no walls or pillars, making them platforms.

The area the arenas were in, was the lowest section of the colosseum where fights would normally take place. The ground there was made of silvery sand and consisted of the entire center. There was a large wall surrounding this with some kind of enchantment. Fergus described the enchantment as a string of glowing script, symbols, images and lights since it changed as he watched. He didn't understand why or what the enchantment was, but thought it looked cool. Gaia agreed based on the description before he continued.

Surrounding the wall was the audience seating areas. It was divided into eight pieces by stairways from the bottom section to the top. There were also entrances to the sections along the stairways that led from below the seating. This was where the food stalls and, what Gaia really wanted to call concessions, were. The last thing he described were the parties he saw as strong.

He noted four of them and described them. One was Traskior, who they'd talked to, so they roughly knew what to expect with them. Another was Noblesse, mainly due to their equipment which Gaia could barely tell was magical in her senses. The third was a group of three with what he thought was a vanguard of some kind, a mage and a scout. The vanguard had armor with a shield and mace which seemed odd, the other two had a staff and daggers. Some of their equipment felt magical but they weren't sure how strong. The last party was a group of four like them. They had a bowman, healer, mage of some sort, and someone with a trident. They seemed strong but were too far away for Gaia to sense if anything was magical. These were the main parties that Fergus saw as strong and likely to give them difficulty in a match. Most of the others were strong but not like those four.

Fauna was seated near the wall, but Gaia knew she would be bored while the matches happened. Each arena was the size of her aura, so she would only be able to sense what was happening in one if she was in it. She was in for a boring wait; she'd be able to hear the matches but nothing else. She heard the announcements for the first group.

"Group One, please proceed to the floor. Do not jump over the wall, head below and follow the guides." Natasha's voice rang over the colosseum.

A few parties nearby got up and went below the seating, around ten minutes later she heard Stephanie say the parties were in the pit. Gaia sat there frustrated at the situation, she couldn't sense anything due to the large area where everything was happening. A couple minutes later she heard multiple judges call for the beginning of the fight. A moment after, the chanting of spells, names of skills, and clash of weapons could be heard.

Gaia was annoyed she couldn't sense anything and nearly asked Shadow if she could watch through the wolf's eyes but stopped when she felt the bond's excitement at watching the fight. Gaia sat back and instead worked on her aura control, if she could increase the range, she might be able to watch the fights. She tried this for a bit before remembering her mana shaping and shaking it so she could sense a cone in front of her. This gave her the desired effect.

When she shaped her mana into the cone, it caused her aura to shape too extending its range forwards by a couple hundred feet. It had the detriment of removing her ability to sense anywhere outside of the cone though, so she didn't do it often. It allowed her to sense a couple of the arenas though. Three, to be specific. The only reason she knew was that she could sense three fights occurring at once in three different areas, each a decent distance apart.

The mana shaping was taxing on her mind as it made her forcefully change the shape of her mana, so she only kept it in the cone until the fights ended. After that, she hung her head due to a headache. The fights had lasted around ten minutes in total, so she'd kept it up the entire time enjoying the spectacle. She could sense the participants moving and could imagine the rest from the sounds, which made her happy. She felt like she was finally enjoying something normal with her party.

The headache was worth it to her; she'd been able to "see" the matches like her friends. That made her immeasurably happy. She'd been planning to just sit and listen to the entire tournament because of the size of the colosseum. She'd be able to hear what was happening and would only be able to imagine it but decided to work on her mana shaping so she could sense the matches. She wanted to watch her friends compete in their own matches, and now she had a way she could.

The matches that followed sounded interesting but she didn't want to strain herself, so she only heard them. The time passed quickly with each group having one round of matches before the next was called out. Around an hour and a half after the first group was called down, Fauna's group was called.

"Group Seven, please proceed to the pit." Natasha's voice rang out again.

After the first two groups, she'd stopped telling everyone not to jump over the wall. Everyone luckily listened and no one had ignored the order. Gaia wondered why Natasha made a point to state that but didn't think she'd find out. They headed below the seating, Gaia riding Malachite and feeling many gazes on her as they went and found a worker waiting. They led the party down hallways and through what Gaia guessed was a large room based on the echo before exiting into the pit.

Their guide left them at the exit before walking back, likely to return to their post. Fauna, a bit nervous with this being a tournament and lots of people watching, stepped into the pit following Griff. He led them forward and started looking for their arena.

"Over here!" Someone called out to them.

Griff led them over and they spoke. "Can I see your slab?" The man asked.

"Sure." Griff replied as he handed it over.

"Okay. Group seven so you're with the right group, and… arena five. Got it, arena five is on the far side, second from the right. When your opponent has arrived, we'll send them over. A judge should be there when you reach it." The man stated as he took the slab, tossing it somewhere.

Gaia guessed it was some basket based on the sound of wood clattering. They left the man, heading towards their arena following his direction, as he called out to another group that had arrived. They reached their arena a minute later and were greeted by a man.

"I'm Dustin. I'm a bronze rank healer and will be the judge for your first match. There are three things you need to know for your matches. Firstly, you may not attack the other team before I call a start to the fight, your party will be immediately disqualified if you do. Second, when I call a stop to the fight, you stop attacking. An attack already in motion should be diverted as best as possible in this circumstance. Thirdly, do not use lethal force unless the other person is doing so. I can heal you from most injuries, but I cannot do anything for fatal wounds. I will intervene as best as possible in the event I notice someone trying to strike a mortal blow. Do you understand these, rules?" Dustin asked after explaining.

"Yes." Everyone replied.

"Good, now I have been informed one of you deals conditions. Would you mind explaining what they are, so I can prepare to heal after the match if needed?"

"Ah, that would be me." Gaia stated before explaining about her conditions and those her bonds could inflict. She didn't say anything about her aura since she only planned to use it to sense their opponents locations.

"Got it. I'll prepare some light-based spells beforehand. Thank you for divulging this information, it helps immensely. Now, I believe that is all I require unless you have any questions or any other information you believe I should know." Dustin said waiting for their response.

"I think that's it. Thank you." Griff replied.

"Then you're free to go ahead up. I'll be having a similar discussion with your opponents when they arrive. Once they're in the arena, I'll come up and start the countdown for the match." Dustin finished before turning to wait for the other party to arrive.

Fauna walked up the steps and moved to the far side of the arena. They figured it wouldn't be as awkward that way and wanted to be considerate since they arrived first. They regretted doing so when they heard one of their opponents speak.

"Please, peasant. Who cares for your rules. We'll win so we won't need your pathetic healing. Just start the countdown. It'll be over quickly enough." A familiar and obnoxious voice said as Fauna realized their first opponent was Noblesse.

The party of nobles was also surprised seeing Fauna there. They stopped for a moment before laughing and speaking back to Dustin. "These are our opponents? These country bumpkins who can't afford armor or weapons for themselves? I was hoping for a party to at least put up some resistance. I definitely know we won't need your healing after this farce." One of the nobles said as he laughed.

"The only one with a weapon is the half-dwarf, and it looks ridiculous." One added.

"The earthbound has vines around their arms and monsters around them. Could she not even get an actual class?" Another snorted.

"The last two are the worst. One has a breastplate and nothing else aside from what a dagger?" They started laughing harder and continuing. "No, wait! That's a giant broken arrow! They couldn't even get him a dagger!"

"The last one's a kid! He doesn't even have armor or a weapon; wait I feel mana from him. He's a mage without a wand or staff!" The last one guffawed.

Gaia could sense her friends tense at the nobles words and her own anger flared, but no one acted. Griff calmed them down through their telepathic link.

"Calm down. We'll show them how incompetent they are when the match starts." He said.

Gaia could hear the anger in his voice, even through the link. She also heard her bonds complaining.

"We're not monsters!" Shadow cried.

"They're rude. Can I attack yet?" Antonio asked.

"They made fun of mom! And us! And our friends!" Malachite yelled in indignation.

"Can I poison them? A lot?" Liv asked.

Gaia smiled at her bonds as she pet Shadow and Malachite's heads trying to calm them down and keep her own anger in check. "You're not monsters. You're my children, no matter what others say or think. Don't attack until Dustin finishes counting down. After that, feel free to. I think everyone else is going to do the same." She whispered to them.

Dustin spoke cutting everyone off. "Noblesse. Fauna. Are you ready?"

Both sides nodded and got quiet.

"Then, we'll start in Three." He started.

Both groups tensed prepared for the fight to start. Griff got ready to sprint forward to catch the party off guard.

"Two."

Gaia focused on the party of nobles, trying to sense any changes in their mana to indicate a spell or skill being prepared. Stephanie pulled her multi-weapon out and prepared to hop on Malachite to keep up.

"One."

Fergus gripped the Arrow dagger, before loosening his grip and relaxing. He put his hand forward instead as Dustin finished his countdown.

"Begin!" Dustin called as he dashed backwards between the two parties as they charged.

Noblesse started dashing immediately only for one of their members to yell as a wooden arrow struck him. Roots grew from it and wrapped around him, binding him to the spot. He dropped his longsword from the pressure of the roots as they grew. The next to be taken out was the fencer. A ball of webs landed in front of her and exploded outwards catching her feet as she went to dodge. This meant her momentum caused her to faceplant into the mass of webs binding her to the spot and poisoning her.

The third was the one with the set of katar. He was struck by one of Antonio's phantasmal stings and cried out in pain, tripping into Griff as he went for a shoulder charge. This sent the man flying out of the ring as he collided with Griff while airborne. To Gaia's senses he went flying as if he'd been shot out of a cannon, screaming the entire way.

The last was the wielder of the two dual bladed weapons. She was fast enough to reach the party, but her target had been Stephanie, since she was the slowest in the group. This was a mistake for a different reason, as Stephanie made her multi-weapon grow and the woman collided with the blunt end at full speed. She hit the pole and just stopped. Stephanie looked at her before making the pole shrink, and the woman fell forward gasping for air. Stephanie then just walked forwards and stowed her weapon, before making her great hammer appear from her ring. She just laid it on the woman, as she laid there trying to breathe.

There was silence from the party and Dustin as they processed what had just occurred. Gaia was the one to break the silence as she started laughing. Her companions joined in a few moments later. Their laughter was overtaken by Dustin's announcement a short while later.

"Preliminaries Group Seven, Arena Five. The winner is Fauna, by total incapacitation! You may now leave the arena. We will tend to your opponents."

Fauna walked off stage, still laughing at the anticlimactic but very entertaining match.

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