The man on the ground screamed and writhed as if poison had touched his skin.

"HOW DARE YOU?" the man screeched hoarsely. "HOW DARE YOU, LOWLY MORTAL, TOUCH A CHOSEN MAGICIAN OF THE GODS?"

Nero recoiled. He had only bumped into this person and done nothing else. He didn't understand what the man's problem was. He clearly seemed to be insane.

Nero sensed that he had a problem.

The man was tall and very muscular. He had disheveled brown hair and was probably around thirty to forty years old. Madness gleamed in his brown eyes.

Mortals started to gather around Nero and the man on the ground.

"He must have found a new victim..." Nero heard one of the mortals murmur.

"Oh no, that poor boy," said another.

"He is so unlucky. It's only one week..."

Nero's suspicion grew stronger. He was certain that this man couldn't mean anything good.

Speaking of, the man finally calmed down and stood up. He glared at Nero with hatred.

"Who gave you the right?" he hissed.

"What right?" Nero asked, even more confused.

"TO TOUCH ME!" he screamed so loudly that the people around them flinched back a few steps.

Nero sighed and simply turned around and walked away. There was no reason to deal with this lunatic.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU FILTHY LIVESTOCK!"

Nero continued walking and just ignored him.

"YOU WILL REGRET THIS! I WILL SEE YOU IN THE ARENA! I WILL KILL YOU!"

Nero paused for a moment, tilting his head to the side.

-Arena? - he asked himself internally, then continued on.

Two days later, Nero returned to the community leader's house. On the way, he noticed people around him looking at him sympathetically.

They whispered and murmured among themselves. That familiar sense of unease returned to him.

What also troubled Nero was the pain within him. It had been growing stronger in the past few days. Although it was still bearable, it became increasingly difficult for Nero to simply ignore the pain.

He wished he could use Ramor's symbol that indicated his body's status, but the stone didn't work.

To use the symbol that Nero had on his palm, he had to press the stone against it. There had to be some kind of magic stored within the stone that would transfer to the symbol. However, when Nero pressed the stone against Ramor's symbol, he immediately felt pale and empty, but the symbol still didn't react.

Nero then had to go to the nearest Task Hall to have it recharged for a small fee. Nero reasoned that Ramor's symbol required far more energy than the one on his palm.

Nero feared that the pain came from something very dangerous, but he could do nothing but wait. He had already searched for a doctor, but, of course, there was none qualified enough in this camp.

After about five minutes, he arrived at the community leader's house. He knocked on the door and stepped back.

Soon after, Christina opened the door. She looked at Nero with concern as he greeted her warmly.

"There you are. My father has been waiting for you. Come quickly!"

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Nero furrowed his brow. "What's going on?"

"He will tell you. Just follow me!"

Nero rolled his eyes but followed her into the house.

They entered the familiar living room once again. Koal sat back in his chair, eyes closed, and a wine glass in his hand.

He seemed relaxed.

"Father! How can you lie around here when Nero's life is in danger?"

"My life is in danger?"

Nero suspected it had something to do with the deranged man from two days ago.

Koal opened his eyes and yawned heartily. "Don't exaggerate, Christina. Nero's life is not in danger. The rules forbid murder in the arena."

"And what about Jake?" she asked defiantly.

"That was different. He was already seriously injured."

Now Nero grew somewhat impatient. "Excuse me, what is going on?" he asked, confused.

Koal looked at him. "You don't know yet?"

Nero shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't know what exactly you're talking about."

Christina raised an eyebrow. "That's ironic. You're probably the last person in this district to find out, even though it concerns you."

"Nero," Koal asked, "What do you know about the arenas?"

Nero pondered for a moment. He had a suspicion, but he wasn't sure.

"Unfortunately, nothing," he then replied.

"The arenas are specially designated places in the camp where mortals engage in combat against each other. And in a week, you will be challenged to a duel by Kiel," Christina explained.

Nero sighed. "Kiel is the madman I encountered recently, isn't he?"

Christina nodded. "Yes, Kiel is a deranged man who lost his sanity a long time ago. He believes he has been chosen by the gods themselves to become the most powerful magician and that he will be their successor, ruling over the galaxy. Of course, that's utter nonsense. He is just as mortal as we are."

Koal continued, "The arena is a fundamental rule in the Ascension Camp. Every person can challenge someone to a duel once every six months. The winner then can demand up to a thousand credits."

"Can I simply decline the duel?" Nero asked, not very hopeful.

Koal shook his head. "No, unfortunately, you cannot refuse this duel. But there are rules in place to prevent the arena from being exploited. Children or teenagers under twenty have the right to decline every challenge. The age difference cannot exceed ten years, and there can be no gender crossing. So, if a man challenges a woman, she has the right to decline at any time. Additionally, community leaders like me and district supervisors are completely free and decline as we wish unless someone of equal or higher rank is the challenger."

Christina took over again. "However, one can still exploit this rule. Since Kiel arrived in this camp, all he does is engage in duels. He always seeks out people who appear much weaker than him. Unfortunately, he's only thirty-two, which means you cannot decline the challenge. You have to fight him, but it won't be a fair fight. Kiel may be insane, but he's incredibly muscular and talented in combat. In the twelve years he has been doing this, he has fought thirty duels and hasn't lost a single one. In the first few years, people still challenged him, but after one year and eight fights, they realized they didn't stand a chance against him. You stumbled into his path at an incredibly unfortunate time. It's now been half a year since his last duel, and next week is the time."

Koal nodded. "But don't worry. Killing is prohibited during the duel. He won't risk it because he would face severe punishment."

"Still, he can break your bones, paralyze you for life, and leave scars," Christina said fearfully.

"And how can I end the duel?" Nero asked.

"Once one of you surrenders," Koal replied.

Nero tilted his head. "Then I'll simply surrender immediately. That way, nothing can happen to me."

Nero knew he had no chance against this man. While he had been trained in close combat by Shire and was fairly skilled, he wasn't strong enough. He was lean and also experienced a strange pain in his chest. This, of course, would be a disgrace and he would lose his face, but dignity and reputation meant nothing to him if he could protect his life.

"Unfortunately, that's not possible either," Christina said sadly.

"Many people pay to witness such a fight, and to prevent the fight from ending too quickly, you can only surrender after five minutes. The only other way to end the duel earlier is to be knocked out or... to die."

"After this tournament, will I get a break, or can I be challenged again immediately?" Nero inquired.

Koal shook his head. "Of course not. After the tournament, you can be challenged again, but you have the right to decline any match for six months. There are exceptions as well. For example, if someone has a very good reason, like if you've cheated or harmed someone. So, after the fight, you should lower your head, go into hiding, and try not to give anyone a reason to forcefully challenge you. But this rule always applies and supersedes all others. For instance, if Christina stabs someone in the thigh with a knife, they can still challenge her without her being able to decline, even if it's a fifty-year-old man."

"That helps maintain balance in this camp without judges or law enforcers. Unfortunately, there are always people like Kiel who exploit such situations to their advantage... Can you fight?" Christina asked Nero.

He nodded slightly. "I was trained by a great fighter in fist and sword combat for a long time. But I still won't be able to win against Kiel. I don't have the physical condition for it. Do we fight with weapons or bare fists?"

"That's for you to decide. I would recommend using weapons. Sword combat would be best if you're skilled in it since Kiel excels in hand-to-hand combat, and you don't have the strength to harm him purely through brute force," Koal assessed.

Nero sighed inwardly. Why did this have to happen?