Larian and Star minced the Oni into a bloody meat bag, while occasionally getting hit by its greatsword.

As Larian and Star alternated attacks and the crowd was getting excited from the amount of bled shed from the Oni, but Larian couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

The Oni, who should have already fallen from all the cuts, had stopped bleeding at some point. Was there no more blood coursing through its veins?

When Larian stabbed the giant in it's back he noticed it's masked turned onto him like a vulture staring down on a rat. It was grinning widely.

*ROAR!

A mighty roar stunned Larian. It shocked his eardrums and he could feel the vibration though his entire body.

The Oni turned with newfound speed and punched Larian directly. If the first hit felt like getting hit by a car now it felt like the entire train slammed into him with full force.

Larian shot through the air like an arrow and smashed into the arena walls.

He blacked out for a while.

"...arian…"

'... Who's that?'

"Larian!"

Larian awoke from the shouts, he saw Star in front of him.

"O-oni… Where is it?"

Larian looked around in a panic but Star reassured him.

"I killed it."

Larian tried to push himself up, but he realised he was embedded into the wall. His nerves were starting to come back to him and he could feel a dent on his ribs.

'Fuck… What a serious injury.'

Larian immediately injected another Metabolic potion. He felt his body puff out and the ribs started to mend. By the end of it he still felt like his bones were still fractured and it hurt to simply move.

"Are you alright?"

Larian fell to the ground, panting from pain.

He nodded to Star. But he was not alright, his ribs were still fractured and injecting a potion after every fight was making his mind foggy.

He could topple any moment but he still pushed on. This was not the first time he endured.

His hobble slowly picked up into a slow walk, Larian saw the corpse of the oni. It was lying with his head decapitated from it's body.

He had missed the most important part of the battle, even though the enemy died this was a definite loss to Larian.

'I'm improving, but the battles are not letting me gradually grow. I won't last if I get heavily injured each fight.'

Thinking back to his fight, he had done the best he could with his limited strength. Unsupressed he had the peak strength of a human body, but battling monsters who could punch people across the room was beyond human limits.

And utilising his magic would directly expose his ability to overcome the metal collar. Star was an exception since it was obvious his talent and potential was beyond most humans.

Even though Larian had removed the suppression on Star's collar he understood the importance of keeping it a secret and only used the right amount of strength he had already shown.

'I'll keep pushing with my mundane talent. I'll never let it end up like the battle in Shinon Castle again.'

Larian's eyes looked hollow, but he continued his walk to the next arena.

The next arena was a Chimera in the most identical state to the myth Larian could imagine. A lion's body, a goat as its shoulder and a snake as its tail.

Without much commotion, the monster and duo charged at each other.

Star fought with immense speed and agility while Larian tried to mimic him.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The Chimera's three heads all attacked with independence, the cunning of a snake, the bluntness of a goat and the ferocity of a lion.

…In the end Larian laid broken again. Star had to finish the beast entirely by himself.

Bordering on the brink of unconsciousness, Larian stood back up. He had no idea how long he fought but the shoulder goat had slammed down on him as he was contending with the snake.

Pushing himself off the ground Larian's bones ache and hurt. His jaw had already lost its grip from how long he grit his teeth.

Enduring through the pain was useless now. He was simply suffering.

Turning away from the corpse, Larian glanced at the crowd of spectators. The smiles and joy from their faces looked like they were laughing at his insignificance.

'I've become a burden to Star…'

Star's concerned look at Larian's hobbling figure did not help.

Limping to the next gate, Larian urged Star to continue.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to. We can rest."

Star's soft voice almost made Larian agree. But he understood, only though strong enough would be picked for the competition. Larian didn't know exactly what Star wanted to achieve here, but the competition was one of his goals so he had to continue even if he was hurt.

Seeing Larian's stubbornness, Star continued onto the next stage.

In the middle of the circular stage stood two humans, their face hidden behind a metal visor. They stood tall and strong while fully clad in metal armour.

One was armed with a sword and shield while the other wielded a spear.

Their silver armour looked dirty and stained with blood ranging from red to black. One could only assume how long they have fought here.

"A new lad?"

A haggard voice that Larian recognised.

"Swordsman uncle? From the cages?"

The knight turned around in surprise.

"You're already pitted against the senior combatants? Wow. How many wins does it take for a new blood to reach this stage."

Larian looked down. He was embarrassed to talk about his performance since it was obvious he was getting carried by Star. How could he say he had won all the previous fights if he could barely hold his own against the monsters in this arena?

"Hmm, too shy to talk? I'd love to hear the rest of the story when we meet back in the cage."

The man he had talked with in the cage readied his sword and shield. His companion remained speechless and simply assumed a stance with his spear.

The two warriors fought with incredible insight. Their wits and cunning allowed them to fight together as a unit. When a sword was swung down, a spear would come down over his friend's shoulder to defend any counterattacks.

Whenever Star tried to rush towards the less defended Spearman, the shield would bashed straight towards him and restrict his movements.

They wielded their experience like a deadly weapon. And Larian who was inexperienced could barely help.

The spearman would always remain on alert for Larian and chain his trust between Larian and Star. The man had a great talent with his spear.

Larian was stabbed in the abdomen and legs but he got nothing in return. The strategy of trading flesh for bone did not work and he was simply getting pushed back with the minimalistic movements of his opponents.

It was quick and efficient.

Eventually Star was defeated by the experienced duo.

This was as far as Star could fight alone. He never revealed the trump card of his unlimited magic against these knights and Larian didn't expect him to.

"Not bad, but not too good either. I'm surprised you made it this far. It's rare that the stewards of the arena make an error in their judgement but this is the first easy fight I've had in a long time…"

The rambling of the Haggard voice was toned out.

Larian laid on the bloodied floor. Thinking back to everything… Had he really achieved anything?

He broke his limits that suppressed him and regained his human strength. He had fought and lost many of them.

When his limiter came undone he thought his life would change. But he remained mundane with his talent. Even when he returned to 'normal' and regained his legs he was still so…

Mediocre

What had he endured through to gain? Did all of this pain mean nothing? Because it certainly felt like he had achieved nothing.

'If I don't have talent, experience and control. What else do I have?'

Larian endured the pain of his wounds and stood back up.

"..? Lad, there is no point in continuing the fight. You've already lost your strongest. It's obvious where this will end up if it continues. Just stay still and eventually they will bring you back."

But his words fell on deaf ears.

Larian charged towards the duo and the Spear immediately swung and knocked him down.

"See? What did I tell yo-"

Larian stood back up.

"..."

Larian kept charging. He dived and weaved through the attacks of the duo but his spear could barely connect against them since they wore metal armour.

The spear and sword came down on him and cut his shoulder and torso. The ribs which were fractured now broke and his chest caved in slightly.

It was hard to see, but the Haggard voice could see from his experience.

"Stop! You're killing yourself. There is no need to go through this hassle, it'd just be painful for both of us. Just give up."

Give up. Give up. Give up.

The words bounced around Larian's mind but he never registered it and charged lifelessly again.

His strike lost all form and his body was sent tumbling down.

His body was battered up and the cuts went deep enough until he could not feel some of his hands and legs.

Larian injected the final potion he could and his mind turned blank

His eyes were entirely blind. And he was on the verge of falling unconscious but he forced himself to stay awake.

Somewhere in his heart, the voices spoke aloud in unison.

'Give up.'

Larian imagined that he was seeing everyone he had ever met.

His old parents, his old friends from school and their equivalent here, his greatest enemy Shinon and surprisingly Star, the person who was so young yet so talented and surpassed in every aspect.

Their voices echoed for him to give up. To lay down and rest.

Larian was covered in scars and mentally exhausted. Compared to everyone who has achieved much more in life, his series of failures made him seem so small and insignificant.

'Give up…?'

But behind those eyes a sign of life sprang from within. A fire that burned deep.

'Give up! After everything I've been through? This world has been hell ever since I arrived. Is this how an author is treated? I can't even achieve satisfaction after death, even in a world I made with my own hands! Does living as a failure once mean I have to constantly fall?'

Once again the chains that bound him formed around him.

But now no cracks were formed, Larian did not seek to break them any longer.

If his body refused to move, he forced it to move.

'If I ever fall... I will fight til the end!'

Controlling the chains with all his might, the chains wrapped around his physical body like a puppeteer.

The lifeless body stood back up.

Larian held the spear in one hand. His wounds had slowly recovered from the potion.

Like a puppet on strings, Larian dashed forward in an speed unimaginable to his past self. The spear whipped towards the knight's forehead and and dented smacked it's metal casing. His teammate came bashing with a shield and Larian hugged the blow.

Taking the blunt shield to his face, Larian curled his arm over the shield and thrust down the spear.

It was brutishly bestial and it contained his full force. It fell down like a colossal and poured down with Larian's entire weight like a crashing waterfall.

It slipped into the neck of the Knight and cut into under the armor.

Larian landed a clean hit, but unfortunately, it didn't completely slip through the thick clothes underneath his armor.

The shield knight immediately retaliated and stabbed Larian through his abdomen with his sword.

As it sunk into Larian's lungs, Larian clenched his fist and smashed the knight in his face. The unexpected blow caused him to fall back.

Larian grabbed his spear and pressed it's tip on top of the knight.

Laying his entire body on the spear Larian tried to tear through the metal armor, but as he stared down on the dazed knight he saw blood spilling down onto the armor. His blood.

The injury from his lungs was spilling out. It didn't take a genius to know how lethal of a wound Larian had suffered.

The blood spilling out was turning Larian's body cold.

This was it, even if Larian controlled his body with everything he had, this was the human limit. Without air and blood, he was simply a corpse.

Laying so close to killing the fallen Knight, Larian's body went limp.