"Whatcha thinking of? Have you been charmed by me yet?"

"Please don't repeat the question."

I send Flash Gordon in to finish off this tournament. I want him to get the final win for me. The mysterious third beast is finally revealed. The undead kid used an ability and brought forth the creature from wherever it was squirreled away. A twenty-foot-tall monster stands tall and looks around, staring at all the students watching the fight from a distance.

Its skin is a dark gray. Not a gray like a corpse, but still something unnatural for a living creature. It's humaniod in shape, but it doesn't look like it has any organs. It is horribly emaciated. Its arms hand down to its knees, and its four-fingered hand ends in sharpened points. Not claws or sharp nails, the fingers have been sharpened to points. It doesn't have feet. At the end of each leg is a stump similar to elephants, but not. It looks like it's wearing a wooden mask the same color as its flesh. It doesn't have facial features except for humanish eyes that dart around its skull before growing still. It has long keratinous horns that curve back before shooting straight up. The facial skin looks textured like bark from a tree, while the rest of the body looks like leather. It doesn't look artificially created like the abomination [Wolf Spider], but it doesn't look like a normal creature. It has no genitals.

[??? ? lv100]

"What is that thing?"

"You have a rock as a beast? Damn! Any other thing, including that undead you have, would've been great for me! A rock? Is it an elemental or golem or something?"

"Nah, maybe in the future."

"Shit! Maybe it will work anyways."

"What will?"

The creature starts to breathe even though it has no orifice. Its chest rises and lowers as an aura of gray light emanates from it. It's like a monochrome filter that affects the world. Light in it gets 'slower,' and the colors drain. It's not like the light overpowers the color but affects the colors themselves.

[Master, as a mage, thisss one is closer to mana. That creature feels off.]

Flash Gordon sits in the aura, monochrome but alright.

"Curious. That rock has a soul but not a life force. Have I told you that I hate you?"

"No, the opposite, actually."

"I want to die..."

The tamer slumps to the ground and starts pulling on his face and hair. He mutters to himself, but I can't hear what he says. I'm almost able to see his eyes, but his hair still keeps them covered. He starts giggling to himself incoherently.

The creature tries to leave the battlefield but gets stopped by an invisible force. It stares at the students watching, wanting the get close to them. It slams its hand against the barrier, and nothing happens. The judges tell the tamer to control his beast, but he's still unresponsive and laughing.

It gives up after a few more light-hearted attacks, and its attention is drawn to Flash Gordon, who is still floating there. I haven't given him the command to attack, and his lazy ass wouldn't initiate a fight without that. I motion to Flash Gordon that he should start, and he slowly floats closer to the creature.

"Something not alive or unalive going against that thing! HAHAHA. I sacrificed so much, and now my debut is ruined. HAHAHA, I'm fucked."

Flash Gordon only has one skill that uses mana, and that's the ability he got from becoming my rook. His size grows four times larger but still is dwarfed by the creature. He [Fragmentation] into seven pieces that shoot out and rip through the creature's body, spraying thick black blood everywhere. The thing doesn't flinch from the blow or any pain.

-217 (x7)

Flash Gordon's current size should double his damage or more. This thing took a minimum of half damage from each attack and is still up and moving. I would relate Flash Gordon's [Fragmentation] ability to a shotgun blast or a frag grenade. You shouldn't be able to survive it at point blank. People can live from those things with higher levels, but Flash Gordon's ability scales, so it all cancels out.

The thing doesn't heal nor be bothered by its injuries. The seven new holes in its body release more blood before stopping. The wounds are still gaping, but the blood flow has stopped. Flash Gordon reassembles himself back into one piece as this thing slams him into the ground, leaving a crater and a dust cloud.

-224

It starts pummeling the crater, adding to its depth and the damage to Flash Gordon. Each strike releases a different flurry of elemental energy. Flash Gordon's [Elemental Attunement] trigger when defending and attacking. Lightning, fire, cold snaps, and poison clouds do nothing to slow it down. It damages it but not by much. A flash of energy that I haven't seen Flash Gordon give off before momentarily staggers the beast, more in surprise than in damage. It did more comparing it to the other elements, but it's still a drop in a bucket. This thing must have as much health as I do, maybe more.

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The energy seems similar to radiance/light but different. The lapse in attacks allowed Flash Gordon to float out of the hole. He's back to his original size. His defenses should've increased with his growth, so now he could be in hot water if he doesn't play his cards right.

"HAHAHAaa.."

The tamer laughed himself unconscious. I look over at the judges and gesture questionably to the tamer. The judge talks to his companions for a moment and motions for me to continue. I shrug and look back at the battlefield. Flash Gordon has managed to wedge himself in one of this thing's wounds and is actively using that element to attack it from the inside. The thing is trying to dig Flash Gordon out of his body but seems unsuccessful.

Eventually, Flash Gordon gets ripped out and grabbed. The thing is trying to crush Flash Gordon in its palm, but the pain of the element causes it to loosen its finger enough for Flash Gordon to slip out and head straight for its face. Flash Gordon penetrates this thing's eye and completely pops it. The other eyeball shows no expression of pain until the spread of light is barely visible from the other socket. Weirdly, the light is the only thing with 'color.' It gets snuffed out quickly, but it keeps it long enough for it to be identifiable.

It writhes around, trying to dig Flash Gordon from its head. Its claws manage to kill it before Flash Gordon can. Like a switch being flipped because of this the 'death,' the tamer awakes and sits up.

The tamers instantly try to heal this strange creature, as it's the protocol for beings that get teleported out. Its low health and the combined healing of a few high leveled healers cause this thing to turn to ash. Everything is destroyed except for a heart and a pair of horns. The healers are stunned into silence, and the tamer still hasn't said anything. He continues to stare at the heart and pile of ash.

The judge comes out and declares me the winner. He stands next to me and gives another speech. He touches on the topic of potential and only going up from this point, but it doesn't matter since I don't listen to him. He does mention another bout that will happen and some prizes that'll be revealed tomorrow. After some confetti, I'm allowed to doff the platform and leave this pseudo-fracture with the other students.

I left the stadium, and Jerry approached me, probably to congratulate me, but the tamer I fought intercepted me first. His body language and voice portray nothing but distressing desperation. His first words sound like a drug addict looking for their next hit.

"Hey, Ellis. Can you do me a favor and execute me in an alleyway in the next five or so minutes?"

"What?"

"I can't kill myself, and I need a buddy before I get contacted. Can you do me a solid? I'll pay you back."

"No, I'm good."

He drops to his knees and starts hugging my thigh. Clinging to it like his life depends on it. His silver jewelry jingles. I walk us into an alley because I don't want to be seen with him in public. I shrug at Jerry as he decides it's not worth it anymore and walks back to the dorm.

"Can you hide me then or do anything? Please? I am literally willing to do anything."

"I'm not going to protect you. I have no reason to. Plus, you are offputting. Why are you asking me? Why don't you find some psychopath to do it."

"I feel you. I can smell that you are like me, and it's comforting. Kill me or save me. Please do one or the other. I'll be your wife in your next life or a slave in this one."

[Master skill gained!]

[Thralldom B (0/?)

A master deserves thralls. They aren't at the level of servants, but they are still the underlings of a master. Thrall has to be subservient to the Master. Thrall has to initially be willing to follow them. Danger: Thralls can break free if the conditions are met.

The Master will be aware of any intentional treachery or thoughts of rebellion by a Thrall.

The Master can locate a thrall at will.

The Master's words will hold more weight.]

Cool, slavery. I wonder if my [Master's Whip] skill works on thralls, it has an ability I never used which can punish servants at will. It's also a [Master] skill, not an [Unique Master] skill. I flip a coin in my mind and decide to give this weirdo a chance. Worst-case scenario, I'll keep him locked up in my mansions dungeon.

I use the skill on him, and his expression completely changes. Desperation turns to a sick joy.

"Hey, hey. I just got a system message. Does that mean you will help me? Will you really?"

[Thralldom (0/?) -> (1/?)]

I look around the alleyway, and I don't see anyone or any cameras. An alleyway door is nestled in between trashcans. I use my mansion skill and kick the guy inside before heading in.

~

"Where are we? It feels light like I can breathe for the first time."

I grab him by the neck and drag him inside and into my dungeon. He does not resist, nor does he look around. I can see his eyes for the first time, and it's horribly modified. His eyes were surgically split vertically, cutting the entire thing in half, straight down the pupil. It was poorly stitched back together, but it's slightly crooked. He has heterochromia, but instead of one eye being a different color from the other, it looks like the other half of his eyes were from a donor, and the colors don't match. Sickly green and a dark brown.

"Nice place. Kinky."

"Sit in that cell and start talking."

He reaches for a chain and tries to put it around his neck like a noose or a collar. I take it off of him and push him inside the cell, closing the door in front of him. The door locks, and I don't know where the keys are. He sits down and mews for a bit before asking me a question.

"Okay! Should I call you master or something else?"

"Don't call me master. Use my name."

"Aw."

A part of his enthusiasm dies. I don't know his name so I ask him my first question.

"What is your name?"

"Dylan Silvervein. Damn, I can actually answer? Where is this place?"

"..."

"I'll elaborate a little more, just for you, Ellis. I have an enchantment on me that's like an invisible tattoo. It keeps me from doing certain things like revealing information or specific actions. It's also a locator and something that they can use to hurt me. They don't use that last one, at least not on me. Not anymore."

"Who did this and why?"

"Ah. It was my - and - did it because I'm a part of a massive cult that follows the one pure being that deserves to lord over everything else. The great god of -! You're looking at me differently. Did I not say something?"

"The names were omitted from your sentence."

"What about -, or -, or Erebos?"

"Erebos? Why did I recognize that word?"

In the back of my mind, I recall the first thing I put in my [Lexicon], the strange journal I found in the catacombs in the [Endless Graveyard]. Dean Palmer called the language Erebos and warned me to not look into it because of those who know it. This weirdo might be more dangerous than he appears.

"It's the language of the dead! And it is beautiful!"