For a moment, I halt at the entrance to the tower and stare atop the plaque until the words come into existence.

Here lies the test of the Hanged

Through Perception you will traverse the darkness

Through Mana you will fuel the light

Through Control you will move in silence

Ahhh, yes. Cryptic shit. Can’t just tell you what you’re getting into. Just go in and find out.

Shaking my head in my Fenrimorph form, I take a breath before I pass through the invisible barrier. Once past, I’m immediately hit with a lowered temperature shift. The generally eighty in Gladiusa seems to have lowered to less than half.

Thank god for fur.

I walk to the stairs and start ascending. By the time I reach the top, my natural night vision is working overtime to keep things visible.

This changes once I step outside the tower. Light becomes completely absent- to the point that I’m rendered blind. It is here where the Traverse the Darkness part of the plaque makes sense. Which also now makes the Fuel the Light make sense.

Focusing my mana, I shove a weak fire spell to my shoulders, igniting the air and smothering darkness in firelight. With light emanating from my shoulders, I realize that I'm deep underground and in what looks like a large cave system.

The walls of the cave don’t seem to be made of normal rock, but instead obsidian. The ground though seems to be made of soft dirt.

The ground should be much harder. I bet I’m dealing with some kind of subterranean monster.

Figuring that standing still and admiring the scenery is leading to nowhere, I start traversing deeper into the cave system. As I do, I’m met with a lot of silence. The only sound I hear is the thumping of my feet on dirt.

Eventually, the cave system starts expanding, growing larger and larger- to the point that my light barely reaches far enough to bounce off the obsidian.

It’s then here where instinct forces me to stop. I frown as I look around for whatever danger offers me this feeling.

Have you ever had this gut feeling that something is wrong? Generally, this is because your subconscious is finding minute environmental cues of danger that your logical thinking isn’t capable of perceiving in the moment.

Think of this as looking at a forest with a camouflage predator. You can’t see or find the predator, but your subconscious mind can see that the greens and browns aren't nearly as organic as nature expects them to be.

It’s the same here. So, I glance around at the walls, the ceiling, and finally the dirt. If you’re just looking, you’d not see anything out of the ordinary. But, with a keen eye, I notice that the dirt in front of me is slightly less packed.

Frowning, I raise my tail and wipe it in front of me.

The dirt explodes in a shower of soil as a clawed monster leaps out with a swipe of long sharp claws. The monster is larger than me by a good foot and reminds me of a monkey fused with a blind mole-rat. It has no eyes, so it clearly cannot see, not that it needs to. Seeing that it’s surprise attack failed, the beast twists and turns, swiping at the air. Eventually, it quickly stops moving.

For a second, I think it is about to burrow into the ground, but instead it vibrates a little like a cat would purr. It’s here where instinct warns me. I hop left just as the beast ounces in my direction. As soon as my feet touch the dirt, it turns.

Oh. You can sense the vibrations through the ground. That odd purr was to create waves through the dirt. Interesting, but there is a weakness.

Flicking my tail, I slap the ground next to me- causing the mole-rat monster to pounce in that direction.

As it flies towards the location, I bend my knees, retract my arm, and slam my armored fist into its side. To my surprise, its leather skin is thick and bones are extremely firm. If I’d not been wearing armored gauntlets, I might not have been able to apply enough force. I feel my fist rip muscle and crack bone before sending the monster flying. It rolls for several moments and immediately regains footing.

You’re pretty durable.

The beast seems to reassess the situation for a moment. It’s body rumbles again for a moment, at which point I prepare to dodge. It’s head shifts at me, knowing my location, but it does not attack.

Instead, it raises a clawed arm and taps the ground in a rhythm.

Before I can comprehend what’s happening, seven more mole-rats burrow out of the ground.

Fuck me.

They immediately start vibrating, so much so that I can see the particles of dirt shake.

Then every head turns to me.

You know, this wouldn't be so bad if they weren't bigger than me.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Like a swarm they pounce and I dodge. I attempt to use the same trick, but they aren't falling for it on account at least one of them is constantly vibrating.

Grimacing, I’m forced to take them on directly, which works surprisingly well. They pounce and swipe, effective if they hit, but easily dodgeable if I know it is coming. Which I do on account of my many eyes.

By the time I strike down two with enough force to keep them down permanently, I barely react in time to block a mole-rat as it burrows out of the ground under me. I feel my arms shake and see the sparks of their claws raking against my gauntlet.

Sneaky little shits.

Another rises behind me. I growl as I tilt my body to the side to dodge. My dodge is only partially successful as the claw rakes off flesh from my back with discernible ease.

Shit. I can't be holding back.

Growling, I grab hold my mana, form several runes of fire, and then send it down my arm- which I immediately use to punch one of the blind shits in the face.

Newly drilled tiny holes at the end of my knuckles allow the spell to activate externally. Potent explosive heat damages my knuckles and slightly cooks my hand. But the effect on the monster mole-rat is significantly more pronounced. Flesh and skin burn and melt, cooking the brain and killing the thing near instantly.

I then do the same with the others, dispatching them rapidly until corpses remain alongside my charred hands and half my mana-pool.

With no enemy in my immediate vicinity, I decided to take a short break to regenerate the injury on my back and hands. It wouldn’t be good to rush into another fight unprepared.

__________________________________________________________________

With the tournament fully underway and about two hundred contestants are on the field, multiple groups of one versus one battles take place. It is here where a combination of skill, class, and equipment decide who wins and who loses. It is here where [Gladiators] truly level and shine, where fighting and winning against multiple powerful individuals will almost assuredly get you that last level to become an advanced classer.

Not that having an advanced class assures victory. A [Swift Swordsman] will have a skill and trait advantage against just a [Swordsman], but unless that skill is truly potent, the difference is generally negligible. Not so negligible as to not have an effect on the betting markets, though. Hence, when you see the fan-favorite Boriss, a level twenty-four [Skirmisher] with a winning bet currently at the low six figures against a level twenty-five [Battle Warrior] in the seven figure mark.

Hence, when Boriss counters, diverts, trips, and places his greatsword at his enemies throat, you can hear the screams of those who bet on the wrong fighter.

The same is true for Gino, who battles another favorite. A level twenty-five [Hammer Warrior] who has beaten all of his foes with a single strike of his weapon. The man gained a skill that allows him to increase the weight of his weapon prior to impact, making it impossible for your average fighter to block. He’d shattered swords, spears, and maces- forcing the contestants to surrender.

Gino is unfortunately a good counter to such an opponent. Using speed and reflexes honed by his [Rogue] class, the kid dodges instead of blocks while stabbing at the open areas of his opponents half-plate.

Eventually, the kid hits a tendon, slowing his opponent down further and allowing Gino to win.

“He’s good,” Gond says. The man leans forward, impressed by the fight.

“Seems like a poor opponent and not a difference in skill,” Myers counters.

Gond shakes his head. “That’s true, but not nearly as much as you think. Specialists who wield hammers are known to win so long as they can land a single hit. Gino’s opponent swung twenty-seven times in that fight and the kid dodged each one. Consistency is a skill in and of itself.”

Myers folds his arms with a frown. He agrees with Gond, but he’s loath to admit it. How many [Captains] has Myers dealt with that are generally good, only to make a mistake a couple times a year under his command?

___________________________________________________________________

Once recovered, I make my way deeper into the cavern- which opens up more and more. At this point, I no longer can see the walls, though the ceiling is still visible. Staring at the ceiling, I memorize the position of the obsidian like one would a set of stars during the night. This allows me to know where I am and where the exit is if I can’t find the next tower.

As I get deeper and deeper into the cavern, I quickly notice that the ground is becoming more and more firm. Which seems like the mole-monsters haven’t traveled the area.

When I glance up to mark my position, the obsidian is no longer shining. Instead, it looks different and much darker. The stone looks smooth with no edges, as though it’s man-made. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to use as a directional tool.

I’ll need to scratch the ceiling.

Kneeling down, I pick up a small rock. Grasping it with my meaty palms, I take a stance. With a spin of my body for centrifugal force, I yeet the stone with as much force as I can.

A squish sounds is heard instead of a crash. Then I watch as a bat the size of a lion with a crushed chest falls onto the ground.

I stare at the corpse, then I look up again. I can now see a little hole of obsidian.

Then I watch as what I thought was smooth stone shifts in the hundreds to reveal blind bats.

Fuck this tower and fuck my luck.

The monsters open their mouths all at once. My ears wiggle as I hear a barely audible piercing screech.

Then, all at once, the swarm descends towards me.

For the next minute, my fists are in overdrive as I punch bats out of the sky, only for the swarm to dive with taloned claws. I can feel my flesh ripped and torn by numerous claws, but not deeply. What bleeding I sustain quickly stops, only to start again from another wound.

Damnit. I think I’d prefer the mole-rats instead.

With a grimace, I’m forced to do something I loathe to.

Something known as retreat. Currently, the swarm numbers too high and my healing is nowhere near enough to sustain me.

Bending my knees, I rocket away from the swarm into the darkness. Just as I’m free from the encirclement, I immediately transform into a bird. It is at this point I realize I should have done this from the start, for the entire cavern becomes visible.

Not that I can enjoy the scenery much because the bats are on the chase. Just because I’m smaller doesn’t mean they aren't going to follow. Thankfully, speed isn’t their strong suit, so my smaller form allows me to keep a respectable distance.

After a good minute of fast flight, I feel my stamina sag- just in time for me to find a small cavern twice the size of my Fenrimorph form. Diving inside, I transform back into a Fenrimorph and take a stance deep inside. The swarm compresses into the tight corridors.

I grin as I pull back my arm. Multiple runes form within my body, more than I’d used on the mole-rats.

Then, when most of the swarm is inside and several feet from me, I punch out. A jet of flame accompanies the sound of a cannon firing. The whole tunnel turns into a maelstrom of incineration, cooking bat flesh alongside my furr.