Gino’s room is Dana’s storage room where she keeps many of the non-perishable goods for her restaurant. His bed is a hammock from the ceiling in the corner, while his sister’s is just below his own. It’s cramped, sure, but it’s also warm, safe, and surprisingly soundproof. Hopping out of his hammock with practiced ease, Gino takes a quick glance at the hammock of his sister. Usually, she’d still be sleeping and he’d have to wake her up with how much of a heavy sleeper she is. Now though, the hammock lies empty.

Stretching and yawning, he opens the door to the sound of conversation near the entrance. Walking past the kitchen and around the corner, Gino stops at the sight of Quasi sitting on a table and Dana mopping blood off the walls.

“Gladius is a pretty recent city- I’d argue a good couple hundred years old. It was initially settled as a mining town after Copper and iron veins were found inside the cavern- only for the residents to realize that the veins they found were actually all of them. But, by then Gladius came to exist and the land outside the city was already transformed into sustainable farmland to support the population. So Gladius then became a farming city that grew large enough to have a place for the wealthy, a place for the merchants, and on for the slums. It was here that the first two gangs known as the Royals and the Gamblers came to be.” Dana explains. She grunts as she puts more pressure to remove a bit of dried blood.

“The Royals were initially a bunch of rich kids that flaunted wealth and started paying people in the slums to fight for their entertainment. Eventually, the Gamblers came along and started betting on the fights. This escalated to the point of creating larger and larger rings, eventually creating the colosseums of today. Once the colosseums were formed, the Warriors gang came into their own- consisting exclusively of former [Gladiators] too old to fight but too skilled to retire. They became the muscle for the Gamblers and Royals so as to keep everyone in line.”

“What about the Undercrust? How’d this underground city form?”

“I was getting to that.” Dana says. She leans away from the wall and then notices Gino.

“Gino, you’re awake.”

“Y-yeah. Did something happen? Why is there blood on the wall? Why is Quasi here?”

“It’s a long story- but the short of it is that I came to see you, but you were asleep. So I slept on the counter, only to be awoken by several men stealthily breaking their faces on walls until they went unconscious. It was a very odd sight. Anyway, I disposed of the bodies and awoke Miss Dana here of the bloody mess. Now she’s regaling me of how Gladius and the Undercrust came to be.”

Gino blinks for a moment. Then realization hits. “They came for me!”

Quasi rolls his eyes. “If they did, they wouldn’t have been breaking their faces on the restaurant's walls. Anyway, Dana, please continue the tale.”

Dana chuckles at Gino’s surprise.

“With the rise and popularity of the colosseums, Gladius became a hotbed for anyone who wishes to not only watch, but also fight and gamble. Most specifically, it was a place where the wealthy [Nobles] came to spend trist. At first, the money from the nobility flowed into the city’s coffers, enriching the city more and more. Unfortunately, this led to a point where too many were trying to enter into the city- resulting in such congestion that the city’s size couldn’t support. In the end, the city implemented significant taxes on all gambling, greatly reducing the profit margins and reducing much of the congestion to something more manageable. Unfortunately, such high taxes resulted in underground gambling located in the cavern. These dens became the first places for the formation of numerous gangs and where illegal activity started to prosper. Once the leadership of Gladius, most of which are now the grandsons and granddaughters of the Royals and Gamblers, found out about the underground fighting- they too started to join in. They secretly created fighting rings throughout the cavern, even going so far as to create a colosseum sized one at the bottom of the cavern.”

Dana licks her lips and sits down on a nearby chair. “The largest gang at the time other than the Royals were known as the Crusts. They consisted of [Gamblers] and [Merchants]. They facilitated the trade in trist for all residents as well as created laws. To enforce the laws, they hired former [Gladiators] that, once again, created the Warriors gang. At some point, the name Undercrust began to stick and the city under the city came to exist.”

“What about the black cards?” Quasi asks.

“Those? It’s to avoid the previous problem of too many people. Instead of making taxes, the Crusts use these black cards to restrict access to the Undercrust. They provide a certain number of cards to the minor gangs in exchange for the gangs to guard the access points to the Undercrust.”

Quasi nods and then stands up. “Thanks for the history lesson. I appreciate it.”

“Is that all you needed to know?”

“Oh, I’ve got more questions, but time is of the essence. The tournament is about to begin and I want to make sure that Gino arrives safely.” Quasi glances at the kid. “You ready to head out?”

Gino blinks and then nods.

“Wait,” Dana quickly stands up. “You both still have time. Let me get you something to eat first.”

Before Quasi can answer, Dana rushes back into the kitchen.

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Gino walks up to Quasi. “You knew this would happen.”

Quasi shrugs. “Cillian made seventeen thousand trist from that little fight yesterday- the same one you cheered at. That much money is not something people are willing to walk away from.”

“Thank you.” Gino says truthfully.

Dana returns with two full bowls of stew. She puts them down on the table, both bowls glistening with large cuts of meat. She then turns to Gino and looks him in the eye.

Then she steps forward and gives the kid a crushing hug.

“Gino,” She whispers, her throat seemingly hoarse. “I don’t care whether you win or lose. Just don’t die.” She releases him from the hug and wipes a tear from her eye.

Gino nods slowly as he feels an overwhelming emotion in his gut. He’d seen Dana hug Julia, but him? This is a first.

Swallowing, he nods. “I won’t.”

A very heartwarming scene, one that clearly isn’t interesting enough to pay attention to for a fluffy kitten with a piece of meat in his mouth.

____________________________________________________________

Arriving at the Coliseum with Gino, I’m met with numerous long lines of people filtering into the colosseum.

“Shit. Are we going to have to wait in line?”

“Just you,” Gino says and points at a singular booth where Boriss waits.

Gino walks to Boriss who quickly grins when he sees us. “Comrade Quasi, I vas scared you be late.”

“Sorry for the wait. I was offered food and I couldn’t not eat it first,” I say to Boriss. “Thanks for waiting though. Where is everyone else?”

“Inside vaiting for you.”

I pout. “Why didn’t they wait for me?”

“Comrade Cillian says to fly inside to save money.”

Oh yea. I can do that.

“Good idea. I’ll head inside now. Both of you, good luck and have fun.”

Gino frowns at me. “You can fly?”

Without answering his question, I transform into a bird and ascend into the skies and over the colosseum. Looking down, I find that the colosseum is covered in a hill of sand that’s larger in the center and smaller at the outskirts. Throughout the arena, numerous weapons are strewn about- most of a rusted quality with edges quite blunt. Towards the center, the weapons are both larger and of better quality- though only in comparison to those found farther from the center. They still have rust, just not as much with edges that aren't going to function as blunt objects.

After assessing the battlefield, I quickly find my crew and descend towards them. Clay is the first to notice me. He opens his arms and I fly into them. Then I covertly transform back into a cat.

“Fluffy,” Clay squeals. “This is going to be fun.”

“Yup,” I answer and then pause. “Why are you here? Aren’t you too young?”

Then I notice that Myers isn’t here. “He doesn’t know, does he?”

Clay grins with a blush. “I left him a note.”

I shake my head.

Myers is going to skin me when he finds out.

“Welp, what's done is done. Is everyone excited for the match?”

They affirm and nods, though one of our group is far more excited than the rest.

“Yessss,” Nepenthes hisses in excitement. “This reminds me of the tests of slaughter between my sisters- where we race to hunt for the flesh of greater and more dangerous prey until such time we do battle with one another.”

Of course the crazy warrior-plant woman would be into this.

“Quasi,” Cillian voices to my right. “The center is a trap, isn’t it? The hill isn’t steep enough to allow upper-ground superiority. You’d have a longer weapon but you’d also be surrounded,” He assesses.

I nod. “Not just that. The sand’s not firm at all. Running is going to drain your stamina like crazy. Unless you’ve got a hell of a lot of endurance, you’ll be out of breath when you do reach the peak. It’s far better to take it slow and steady.”

Cillian reaches into his coat and retrieves a bottle that he opens and takes a swig of. “What do you think Boriss is going to do? Take it slow?”

I chuckle.

“Boriss is built different.”

______________________________________________________________________

Entering the holding grounds with Boriss, both are supplied a locked chest where they are directed to strip down until they are only wearing their undergarments. Until the tournament is over or you are defeated, your items will be unavailable to you. In the meantime, the colosseum will provide clothing, nourishment, and a place to safely rest.

Once Gino is practically naked, he looks at all the other competitors. Some have a more streamlined skinny build like his own. Others are more muscular. Then he notices Boriss. The man is wider, taller, and significantly more muscular than the competition. Hell, Gino can’t help but notice the abnormally large bulge between Boriss’s feet.

Boriss notices Gino staring. He waves at him with a smile. Gino waves back, thankful that the big man isn’t directly competing against him.

Once undressed, a numbered runed collar is wrapped around each person's neck. His number is one seventy-eight. The collar will allow onlookers to quickly designate who is who by number alone. His name and number will be public before the tournament starts, allowing for last-minute bets.

After an hour, he is shuffled to his starting gate. With a max of two-hundred entrances in the current arena, he expects to see fighters starting much closer than he’d like.

He takes a deep breath as he hears the rumble of a horn and the screams of the crowd. He can hear the [Announcer] speak with a magic enhanced voice. It booms loudly, shaking the stadium and forcing the crows to die down. The man speaks and makes introductions- nothing that Gino hadn’t heard before. Instead, he takes a stance and focuses his breathing.

Then he waits.

And waits.

And waits.

Finally, the horn is blown. The gate crashes open and he sprints forward.