Don't meet your heroes.

The old adage confused Nil. He started off worshipping Adrian ‘Wildshape’ Wilson. Then, as he got older, the Gold Realm star’s business activities and political standing put him off the man. As Adrian addressed and spoke to them almost as equals, Nil couldn't help but feel starstruck. Nil’s heart raced, cheeks flushed, and he struggled not to grin like a moron.

“I know it sounds like I say this to everybody, but you’re the only ones I intend to say this tonight,” Adrian said, lightly smacking Shawn’s shoulder. Hexagons shimmered around the contact point. It didn’t surprise Nil. Shawn looked like the type of person who forever wrapped himself in a barrier. “But I think the three of you should consider joining Wilson Luduses.” He specifically looked at Shawn and Nil. “Once you’ve completed your ascension to Iron Realm, of course. I know the cost makes it daunting, but you won’t have much trouble finding sponsors working with us. I hear there are already a few people trying to sign you.”

“Thank you for the offer, Mr. Wilson,” Selia said, flashing him a polite but restrained smile. “I’ll certainly think about it.”

“You might not remember me,” Shawn said. He was cold but professional. “I grew up and lived in the Northwick Junior Ludus until five years ago.”

“Oh?” Adrian raised his eyebrows. “Why did you leave?”

“I was kicked out for not ascending.”

“Oh.” Adrian frowned. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. You must know, Shawn, that there are hundreds of managers, VPs, and assistants between me and all of the Wilson operations. I’d never allow anything of the sort to happen. People who age out and don’t get Summoned always have jobs waiting for them. We need civilians, too, to keep things running.” The man sounded genuine, but Nil didn’t buy the spiel for a second. It almost sounded rehearsed. Adrian knew how to say all the right things. “If you decide to come back to us, I’ll ensure you’re not charged registration fees. Perhaps we can sort out some discounts, and I’ll personally introduce you to sponsors, too.”

Shawn said nothing. He only nodded, and the response appeared to satisfy Adrian. England’s top Apocalypse Arena fighter finally turned to Nil, looking at him expectantly as he smiled. “What about you, Mr Roy?”

“I’d love to,” Nil replied, shaking the man’s hand again. “However, I’m locked into my contract with Symbiotech for another ten months and that involves me staying with Golden Aegis. However, once that passes, and if I have the funds, I’ll certainly apply to the Wembley ludus.”

“I’m glad to hear that!” Adrian clapped. “We have the best training facilities and unarmed combat coaches, so let's not forget our ties to Arthurtech. Whatever gear you need or custom practice equipment you need—”

“Why are you gushing over the meat, Adrian?” The voice's owner was surrounded by a powerful cold aura that put Iqbal Khan’s to shame. If she were a snowbank, he would be a glacier. The man was tall and skinny. After talking to his peers, Nil discovered that the most advanced attributes and those used for ascension affected the Summoned’s physique. It looked like the man ignored Strength and also gave Finesse low priority. The man pointed at Selia. “This one is the only one that will make it to the Bronze Gauntlet.” He nodded at Shawn. “Mr Highstrung is going to push too hard, fail to ascend the normal way, and get killed in Death Gauntlet.” The man grinned at Shawn. “If you’re lucky, you might be one of the little turds that gets put down by me.”

“Fuck off, Pietro,” Adrian said, almost sounding venomous. “Why do you even come to these things?”

Pietro shrugged. “It's fun seeing their innocent little faces before the arena crushes their hopes and dreams. And then they think they try to risk it all in the Death Gauntlet and—”

“Take your little villain speeches elsewhere,” Shawn said, waving the man away dismissively. “Find someone stupider for the melodrama and cheap scare tactics.”

The interaction only amused Pietro even more. He glanced at Nil, looked him up and down, and smirked. “You look like the kind that burns out and quits.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Nil replied, smiling. He didn’t know who the man was and didn’t particularly care. Nil had learned long ago that politeness pissed them off more than reactions like Shawn’s. “It’s nice to meet you—

“That’s enough.” When Adrian stepped up to Pietro, the man threw up his hands in surrender, grinning. He looked more like a weasel than menacing.

“Fine. I’ll leave you lot alone.”

“No. You’re leaving.”

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“Are you going to make me Adrian?”

“Yes.”

When Adrian marched at Pietro, the smaller man backpedalled. He looked more excited and manic than scared. The pair disappeared into the banquet hall leaving Nil and the other qualifiers behind. All of them stood in silence for several long moments. Siela and Shawn didn’t look as surprised as he felt.

“What the fuck was that?” Nil asked when no one said anything after a couple of minutes.

“Pietro the Frost Emperor,” Shawn said. “He’s a coward. The bastard got to the peak of the Iron Realm and Iron Gauntlet and stopped climbing. He doesn’t take part in any matches unless they’re part of the Death Gauntlet.”

“I don’t get it.” Nil frowned. “Why doesn’t he climb any higher? The games don’t pay as high as qualifiers—”

“You’re not familiar with Death Gauntlet, are you?” Selia sighed when Nil shook his head. “It's no surprise. There is a media gag order on it because the government doesn’t want people to find out about how barbaric it is. Apparently, governments have teams to scrub the internet of all information of them. Not even most Summoned know about it and only arena participants who really look find out about the matches. They’re televised as ordinary Gauntlet of Ten fights.” She peeked over her shoulder at the entrance to the banquet hall. No one seemed close enough to listen in. “Have you seen the matches with two combatants and some terrifying predator in the arena, too?”

Nil nodded. “Not many. Maybe half a dozen.”

“Did you notice how all of the matches ended with one fighter dying?”

“Now that you mention it—”

“That’s Death Gauntlet. There is no surrender or knocking out. The match continues until the one combatant is dead. The rewards are far higher than your average event or even the Gauntlet of Ten.” Selia paused, watching Nil’s expression. “The winner gets significant bonuses if they kill the predator, too. My caseworker says the Death Gauntlet was originally started to safely eliminate Scourge champions, Cursed Ones, and Void Minions, but it now attracts the worst of the Beacon Worlds. Murderers, perverts, and the bastards use the arena to get away with all of their fantasies.”

The standard events involved duo matches, Capture The Flag, Area Control, and Battle Royales. Winners got points to climb through the rankings and reach the top. The higher one’s score, the more and better-paying events they could join. The forums mostly spoke of them, commenting about the construct’s matchmaking skills. Nil had learned of the Gauntlet of Ten after joining Golden Aegis. It involved solo or duo matches, and the individual or team needed to win ten consecutive matches. Matchmaking wasn’t consistent, but apparently, the arena construct ensured disciplines that directly countered each other didn’t end up as opponents. A single loss would force them to start from zero.

“God of Death Gauntlet,” Siela continued. “That’s Pietro’s unofficial name. He’s spent the past five years only participating in Death Gauntlet matches.”

“The bastard almost always gets paired with other Earth arena fighters,” Shawn said. “No one knows why he tries to target us exclusively, but that’s just who he is and what he likes to do.”

“Sounds like the type of guy I’d love to punch in the face,” Nil commented. He had no intention of running the Death Gauntlet but understood the reason for its existence. However, knowing people like Pietro exploited it to fulfill their perverse desires horrified him. Nil doubted Apocalypse Arena would allow the event or people like him to continue partaking after three wins if people ran it instead of it as an emotionless construct. “There are more people like him. Aren’t there?”

Selia nodded. “Klocky Kennit. Windbag. Snow Flake. There are far too many in the Iron Gauntlet. Funnily, the numbers drop by more than seventy-five percent in Bronze—from our world, at least.” She sighed. “Anyway. Symbiotech.”

“I’ll think about and look into it,” Nil said. “I can’t make any promises. But your accusations are alarming, and if any of them are true, I’d rather not continue to associate with them.”

“Don’t take too long,” Shawn said.

“If you find anything useful, please let me know. Even if you don’t, I’d love to hear from you.” Selia smiled. “I don’t know what fucked up thing happened in your past to make you as amazing as you are, but I’d love to hear about it sometime.”

“Seriously?” Shawn raised an eyebrow.

Selia ignored him. They all exchanged contact details. Nil couldn’t tell whether the woman was flirting with him, but it didn’t matter. He was keen on befriending fellow Summoned and arena fighters. Shawn was still an abrasive ass, but Selia wasn’t too bad. In fact, her power and position intrigued him. Her information regarding Symbiotech, though unfounded and lacking concrete evidence, would prove invaluable to Layla.

Hopefully, the Nexus caseworker will have the resources to investigate the legitimacy of Seliaa’s claims. If they proved true, her experiences and abilities would be helpful in halting Symbiotech’s Cursed Energy experimentation and perhaps bring them down altogether. Nil remained noncommittal for the rest of the conversation.

Eventually, Shawn returned to his ludus mates and other acquaintances, leaving Nil and Selia alone. The banter became even more flirtatious, and he used the opportunity to get more information from her. Selia explained many more things about Apocalypse Arena that the public didn’t know. Earth media mostly treated it as a source of entertainment and didn’t get into the nitty-gritty of it. The conversation gave Nil a rough idea of where he wanted to start.

The Gauntlet of Ten had higher rewards than the standard, and ascending took far less time. Best of all, he would get to work alone and not get stuck in tough, heartbreaking situations like he did with Fatima. Nil still didn’t know what had happened to Xiang, either. He hoped the healer successfully reattached her limb. There would be more qualifiers, but if she ended up with only one limb, she would need to give up on the arena. Her future as a Summoned wouldn’t be easy either. While in recovery, Nil sent her a message, but Xiang hadn’t replied yet. He was desperate to hear from her but didn’t want to be pushy after the tough loss.