I followed Sharla to the back of the parking structure where the slaves were housed. There was a cordoned off area surrounded by bleachers of all things. The stands were packed with people cheering on or booing the contestants. Others were watching from the upper levels of the parking structure. Occasionally I would see a light blue flash as a dome lit up. It appeared to surround the arena area, preventing any errant attacks from getting through.

"I want you to accept ten duels, you are not allowed to heal during the fights. If you lose I am going to be very upset... are we clear?"

"Yes, mistress."

I stepped into the ring, my first challenger approaching from the far side.

Carlos Santiago would like to challenge you to a duel, this is a non-lethal duel and combat will end when one combatant reaches 10% health. All health and mana is restored after the match ends

Before I accepted the request I checked his stats.

Carlos Santiago | Knife Fighter | Level 9

The man was sporting two wicked-looking short blades, I believe they were called kukri. The man twirled the knives expertly in his hands as he stalked around me. I accepted the match and the fight was on. I ran towards the man, my staff ready to intercept his blades. This would be a good chance to see how my skills measured up. I expected everyone in this arena was a hardened survivor.

Carlos was quick, slicing at me with his knives as he tried to get behind me. I slapped his knives away while trying to stab him. He deftly maneuvered his body away from my strikes, while continuously harassing me with attacks. I finally saw an opening, whipping my staff at his torso. The blow connected... to a clone made of smoke. I tried jumping back but felt a searing pain below my ribs. I managed to get the man back in view as I placed my hand over my wound. It came back covered in blood.

The man smiled cruelly. Flicking the blood from his blade. I guess I had my answer to how my skills measured up. Not very well. I couldn't afford to lose these fights. I returned the man's smile with a glare of my own. I spun my staff flicking it horizontally in front of me while casting Stunning Gust. The man ducked below my strike but that left him open for the Earth Fist I smashed into his stomach. The man grunted as the spike of earth lifted him from the ground.

I ran forward to try and capitalize on his impairment, only to have the man roll off the stone pillar. Slashing me in the leg with his blade as he fell away. I winced in pain as I hobbled backward. The man had a large gut wound from my attack but he wasn't out yet. He was down a blade though as he had to hold in his intestines.

The man was barely able to stand with his wound bleeding out, but still, he persisted. I decided just to keep out of range until he bled out. The man cursing me as a coward as I backed away every time he got close. It took another thirty seconds for the match to end as he bled out down to the duel's threshold. The man spit at me as he stalked off the stage. Most people were booing me as I walked off. 'One match down, nine to go.'

I reeled back as the man slammed his elbow into my face. This was my fifth match and I was getting tired, making more and more mistakes. I ducked the spiked mace aimed for my head, running to the side to get some range on the man. The man calmly turned towards me, swinging his mace back and forth.

I wiped the blood from my mouth, keeping an eye on the fighter. The man stomped down on the ground causing a wave of rocks to shoot towards me from the ground. I had to dash to the side to avoid his attack. He rushed towards me his mace glowing bright white. I was forced to cast Area of Denial as Blink Step was on cooldown. The man had forced me to use Blink Step twice already in this fight.

The mace crashed down on my barrier causing a flash of light to blind me. I blindly threw my staff out towards his direction. It crackled with electrical energy from Imbue. I felt the staff impact on something soft. The man let out a scream as his muscles locked up. I rubbed at my eyes trying to get my vision to return before the guy recovered. I realized something was wrong as my sight returned. Dust was floating around me.

I glanced at my buffs, whatever attack the man had used dispelled Area of Denial. I ran forward to finish off the fight.

I stumbled into my eighth fight. Two hours of fighting were dragging on my body's ability to stay standing. Most of my spells were on cooldown or I had been forced to Multicast them. This limited my options in this fight. These weren't the pathetic excuses of Black Dragon fighters I had fought before. No, these were highly skilled combatants, forged to this point by surviving countless battles or having previous experience in bloodshed. I quickly scanned the woman.

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Sheila Hunter | Valkyrie | Level 12

She was an imposing woman, standing at over six feet, with a long braid of golden blond hair halfway down her back. She was wielding an axe in one hand and a round shield in the other. Both glowed slightly in the waning light. She didn't smile or try to taunt me as others had. No, she had the clinical look of a killer as she watched me. Her eyes seemed to catch every movement.

I readied myself as best as I could.

"You sure you want to do this in your state?"

I shrugged, not like I had much of a choice.

"I see," she stated as she walked out of the ring.

What the hell was going on. I watched her walk over to a few other people. One nodded her head and entered the ring. I decided to check the information on this one.

Moana Longview | Chemist | Level 6

Wait, were they sandbagging so I would win? She was also a non-combat class, why fight in the arena? Moana pulled out a rapier, giving it a flick. She gave me a half-smile and sent the duel request. I was more than happy to accept it. Moana looked to be of Polynesian descent, sporting a short afro on her five-foot frame. I saw the woman give an exhale as she put her sword up in a fencer's stance. Then she exploded across the arena at me.

I looked down at the sword sticking through my chest with disbelief. They played me, my rage overflowed. The woman must have expected the attack to end the fight, but she had missed my heart by the tiniest of margins as my armor deflected and absorbed a significant portion of the attack.

I screamed in her face, activating Banshee's Wail. The woman took it full in the face. Her ears bled as she was flung back with tremendous force. Nobody was meant to be that close when the spell was unleashed. I stomped towards her as blood poured from my wound. I didn't care, I only saw red. My staff was covered with rock and then fire as I double imbued it. Molten rock dripped from the blade, searing the ground and me as I neared my adversary.

Distantly I could hear people shouting but nothing would stop me from my goal. I reached the woman and was about to stab down, ending the wretch when my collar started to cause me excruciating pain. I tried to ignore it but the pain forced its way through my red haze of anger, managing to stay my hand. The woman recovered, her eyes going wide as she crawled back and away from my weapon.

All I could hear was the clapping and laughing coming from Sharla. She had stopped me, but why? Then I realized why, even if the match ended the molten stone would remain on my target, eventually, killing them. Oh god, I tried to force the anger back in the box but it refused to comply, it needed a target. That's when I spotted the Valkyrie step back into the ring. The Chemist having surrendered.

I exploded towards her as soon as the duel began. She held her shield up and I saw her blur forward two steps. A wall of air slammed into me, sending me tumbling off to the side but my rage would not let me back down. I slammed my staff into the ground activating Seismic Strike. The entire arena rippled with my attack, causing the woman to fall to a knee. I rushed forward activating Stunning Gust. Instead of a burst of air, my staff shot a bolt of molten rock at the woman.

I had to give her credit, she was quick on her feet, rolling away from my attack. I utilized Banshee's Wail again, my mana was dropping fast as I pulled out all my tricks. Sheila's shield glowed bright red as my attack battered against it. After the attack ended, she stood unharmed. She whipped her axe at me, forcing me to sidestep. Something felt off about this. She still had her hand outstretched. Then it hit me, literally, her damn axe hit me in the back.

I was sent sprawling to the ground. Bits of molten rock landing on me as it splashed up from my impact. I didn't care. The red haze was back. The impact had been just enough to knock my weapon from my grip, canceling my spells. I picked up the now magic free staff. I had just enough mana for Blink Step and Flurry. I blurred towards the focus of my hate and pummeled the woman into submission. She did her best to keep my strikes at bay but she couldn't match my Blink Step enhanced agility. I only knew the match was over when four men dragged me out of the arena.

Eventually, I was able to bottle my anger again. It was late so my last match would have to wait for tomorrow. I remember Sharla thanking a few people for their generous donations to her credits. Apparently, she had bet heavily on my matches. Now I knew why she didn't want me to lose.

The next day I was sore, but all my spells were reset so I was in a good position. I walked up to the arena, staff in hand, and buffs active. One last match and I was done with this nonsense. I scanned my opponent.

Obidiah Kooth | Monk/Juggernaught | Level 10

This couldn't be good. This man with his dual-class was essentially level thirty, and he was a slave. The crowd was going wild cheering for him as well. He didn't look like much. He was maybe five foot ten, with sandy colored hair sporting a few streaks of grey. He entered the ring with both hands casually behind his back. He also wore only a monk's robe of red with yellow accents. But you could feel the strength radiating from him. I didn't know if dual classes got double stat boosts at five and ten. If so he easily would outclass me in stats alone.

The match prompt came up and I readied myself. I hit accept and found myself flying across the arena to slam into a wall. I felt my ribs and back give from the impact. I only saw two things before I blacked out, the monk standing where I had been and a message.

You have lost the duel

Little did I know that this was Master Cotton's personal slave as well as the arena's current champion, undefeated champion, I might add. This didn't stop Sharla from punishing me for failure to follow her instructions.