Bob looked up in confusion. The fight was over, his opponent was passed out. He didn't feel the need to just end this elf's life, but in the back of his mind, he felt like the elf was his enemy. He had a feeling that enemies should be put down no matter what. A figure blinked into the air above the arena. It sounded like the announcer.

"End him, or I end you," the figure said.

Bob shook his head as he summoned a fire flask. The crowd had gone quiet. He looked around at the boxes and the people behind them. Most wore a grim look on their face, others of pity, and some of anger.

"Fuck it," Bob said.

A light started glowing in the figure's hand. Bob had a feeling that if he didn't throw his flask, he really was going to be killed. He let out a sigh, not sure of his feelings. He threw the flask, and it smashed into the body of the elf, blowing it in half. The crowd started cheering again, and the figure blinked back out of the air.

"We have our winner ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said. "Avatar exit the arena."

Bob walked to the ante chamber doors that were opening.

~~~

"I hate what this has become," Luck said.

"It will go back to what it was," Pain said. "In time. We will make sure of it."

"All that aside, your man has gotten my attention," Hunt said. "I will grant him my favor. He fought well and knew when the fight was over. A shame about the end, but it is the rules for now. Kill or be killed, no mercy."

"I could feel the pain and emotions running through his head. He was a warrior in his previous life. Part of his subconscious was telling him to kill him as an enemy," Pain said.

"His past holds a lot of trauma, it might be better for him to not regain his memories," Luck said.

"That would only make things worse, the mental block would erode over time and memories would slip in making him go mad," Mischief said. "Once he wins his seventh battle we can grant him his memories."

"I am curious about his past life, I will look into it more later. For now, let us go and grant out favor," Hunt said.

~~~

Esmay watched Bob enter the antechamber. He had suffered from some frostbite and it looked like one of his shoulder was dislocated. She felt relieved, his wounds weren't too bad. She hated that she was forced to heal all of Pain's favored in such a brutal fashion. She knew healing was supposed to be a soothing experience, not one of excruciating pain.

"I see you survived," Esmay said, a small smile on her face.

"I did," Bob answered. "I am unsure of my feelings though. The end was, well, it just, it was a weird experience. Part of my mind knew the fight was over, the other part said the elf was my enemy. I have this feeling in my mind that says I need to kill my enemies."

"Best not to think of that right now," Esmay said, her smile faded after hearing his words. "Get that armor off and let's get you healed up. Your wounds are minor this time at least."

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"Did you heal me up last time," he asked.

"I did, and I am sure you are glad you were unconscious for that experience. Your wounds were severe," she answered.

"I am, I can't believe I slept for two days. Thank you, by the way, I don't think I have gotten a chance to say that to you."

"No need for the thanks, I am only doing my job. You just make sure you keep focused on your matches."

"Will do."

~~~

"My lord Death," a cloaked figure said as he kneeled in front of Death's throne. "I have word of a suspicious group favoring a specific avatar. Hunt, Michief, Luck, and Pain have all favored the same avatar."

"And," Death asked. "Why should this worry me? How many fights has this avatar won?"

"Four my lord."

"Pfft, only four, he will certainly die in the next round. Do not bother me with meaningless information."

"Apologies my lord. I shall leave you."

Death waved the man off as he sat in his throne. Life walked in shortly after the man had left.

"Hunt, Luck, and Mischief, hmmm," Life said. "Those fools don't have the power to do anything. Yet."

"They will never have the power they need. We made sure of that when we put Games down," Death replied. "They won't be able to do anything."

"Not unless they get more ascended on board. We should talk to the ascended, make sure their loyalties are still in the right place. We can not afford to have any of them be sympathizers of Games. At our next ball, let us host a private meeting with them as a group, and one by one, check their loyalty. I doubt any will crack, but it will be worth it to shake the nest a little. Who knows, maybe something will come out of it."

"What is the plan if something does come up? Do we get rid of them? I feel we should not expose any of them to the truly loyal. We should hide the fact we have found any disloyalty and monitor them to make sure they aren't planning anything we can't stop. Only the ascended will truly have the power to bring him back. The lesser are weak, and are of little concern in my mind, even if they had numbers."

"I like that plan Death, very devious. Let us plan the next ball then."

~~~

After the healing, Bob went to his cage feeling physically and mentally exhausted. He ate his dinner, however, and washed himself before going to sleep. He was curious what his new ability was going to be, as well as if the gods granted him any more favors.

Victory

You have unlocked your fourth ability

Ability: Ice Flask

You have gained favor of ascended god x1

You have gained favor of lesser god x3

You have gained three free attribute points

Current distributed points

Health - 6

Stamina - 3

Strength - 3

Dexterity - 7

Intelligence - 7

Wisdom - 3

Bob was in shock at seeing that he got an ascended god's favor. He didn't even know any of them were watching him. Up to this point he only knew of two ascended gods, so he was curious to find out who it was. He focused on his attributes, he still wanted his attributes closer to being balanced so he dropped his three points into his lowest attribute slots again. He did feel like he had better control over his body, and his mana pool was getting bigger. He felt his mana regeneration was still low, but there was only so much he could do about that for now. He hoped that his favors would balance him out more.

System notice

Granting of favor x4

Favor of the ascended god Hunt - plus one attribute point to all

Favor of the lesser go Mischief - plus on attribute point strength, plus one attribute point dexterity, plus one attribute point intelligence

Favor of the lesser god Pain - armor granted x2, leather bandolier, spiked leather boots

Favor of the lesser goddess Luck: plus one attribute point wisdom, plus one attribute point health