At the Colosseum, Cai Wenji and his party were calmly watching the ongoing fights. They were seated in a large waiting room in which several large screens were displaying different fights. They could alternatively go into the spectating area of a specific arena to watch the fight more closely, but in that case, they would only be able to watch one fight at a time and right now, none of the interesting figures of the Fleeting Clouds Sect was fighting.

"This is so boring! No one wants to fight me," exclaimed The One Hero on the side. The normal players did not dare to challenge him after seeing him win against Wang Hao earlier while those who were stronger than him just did not bother challenging him. He was actually challenged by another member of the Wang Family, but the fight still ended in his victory. After that, no one else fought him while all his friends were challenged at least twice.

"That's what you get for showing off so much. We are only there to fight the new recruits. You should conserve your strength for hunting the monsters. If you want, you can go look for the Boss Monster," replied the ranger.

At that moment, Cai Wenji heard a short jingle and promptly opened his interface.

"I am at the Colosseum. Room number?"

He quickly typed: "You are late. Room 4729. Password: Fleeting Clouds"

...

Li Wei was standing at the reception of the Colosseum. He had several options; Casual battle, Ranked battle or Custom battle.

The Casual battle was simply matching random players together. There were no stakes. Winning or losing would not make a difference. It was only a mode for fun.

The Ranked battle was a more competitive option. Players were matched according to their rank. But there were also stakes. Players had to bet a certain amount of gold depending on their ranks to fight ranked battles. Since Li Wei never fought ranked battles and was still unranked. He did not need to bet anything. After 5 fights, he would be attributed a rank and he would then need to bet every time. This was also the mode in which Li Wei would need to achieve consecutive victories if he wanted to claim the Moon Stone.

As for Custom battles, they were essentially arranged matches. Players created rooms in which they invited their friends for duels. This mode was particularly useful if someone wanted to fight players of different rank or just wanted to fight with a friend.

Each mode also had options such as the map, the number of players and restrictions. The win condition was typically the depletion of the opposite party’s HP but this could also be modified in the Custom battles.

Li Wei had already sent a message to Cai Wenji for the room number and he did not have to wait for long before he heard a jingle which indicated that he received a message. With the room number and password, Li Wei proceeded to enter the Fleeting Clouds Sect's room.

The room was large; it was undoubtedly one of the most expensive ones. Players could be seen everywhere in groups; they were all watching screens displaying fights between players. There was a similar atmosphere to pubs on Friday nights. Upon seeing someone enter the room, many nearby players glanced at the newcomer, but they quickly turned their attention back towards the screens.

A few seconds later, Silent Day appeared and waved at Li Wei. "Come. Everyone is over there!"

Li Wei nodded and followed Silent Day as she led the way to the party. It was not easy to navigate their way through the players. Silent Day often had to excuse herself as she asked a player to allow them to pass but eventually, they reached their party.

"Hey Seven! Want to duel me !?" excitedly asked The One Hero as soon as Li Wei arrived. The others quietly greeted him with some nods and smiles.

"This... I'd rather not," Li Wei awkwardly smiled.

"What? Even you are chickening out?"

"No no. It is just that my fatigue is already very high. I already have reduced stats. I would rather fight you in best conditions instead. And I still have to train my technique later on," replied Li Wei.

"My fatigue is also quite high. D*mn, I might not be able to train tonight. I’ll let you go this time, but we need to have a match later on. Invest some points in Endurance, it will decrease your fatigue generation rate. Come hunt with us tomorrow. It is easier to keep an acceptable level of fatigues in groups once you get used to it," declared The One Hero. Although he liked to boast about winning, he would find no pleasure in defeating a weakened opponent.

The difference in fatigue was mainly due to his different fighting style. The One Hero used a sword and a shield and did not rely much on movements to dodge like Li Wei.  More importantly, he was already used to fighting in teams and trusted his teammates. Li Wei, on the other hand, made a lot of unnecessary movements.

"About that. I would like to leave the city for Abe's Forest tomorrow," said Li Wei while looking at Cai Wenji.

"What? Why are you leaving the city so quickly? You have just joined yesterday," exclaimed The One Hero.

"You have already exchanged enough resources this week. Just do what you want. Come back next week for the sect's weekly activity though," calmly said Cai Wenji. Although he would prefer that the party trained together every day, the sect did have the policy of allowing its member to act freely.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Thanks! There is something I need for a quest there. I should be back in time," said Li Wei.

The One Hero continued to pester Li Wei but the latter simply ignored him and turned his attention towards the screens. This was the main reason he decided to come here; to observe how other players fought. But he was disappointed to see that none of the players in battle were actually using techniques. They seemed to only be using the skills given by the game.

30 minutes later, Li Wei started to regret his decision of coming here. He did not get to see any of the special skills of the Fleeting Clouds Sect. "Maybe I should have come earlier, the ones with special skills probably fought at the beginning," thought Li Wei. He deduced this fact since none of his party members went to fight after his arrival but they stated that they fought in the beginning.

While Li Wei was focusing on the screen, a voice came from the side; "Hey you! You did not go into the fighting arena yet. Want to duel?"

The owner of the voice was a tall paladin with a messy hairstyle. His IGN was Flying Tiger. He was standing a few meters from Li Wei surrounded by similarly built players.

Li Wei and his party turned to look at the group, "I would like to, but I can't right now. I already have reduced stats due to fatigue," calmly answered Li Wei. He had no interest in fighting others.

"What? You are already here. Everyone else already fought at least once. It would be impolite to be the only one not participating!" declared Flying Tiger. At the same time, his friends behind him also made taunting comments.

The surrounding players heard the commotion, "Who is that coward that do not even dare to fight a friendly fight? How could the sect have such a person?"

Li Wei frowned. ‘Looks like they have some hidden motives. Why else would they look for me specifically?’ He answered: "It is just that I have reduced stats due to fatigue right now. It would be improper since my performance would only be mediocre at best. Don’t tell me you want to take advantage of the difference in stats…"

"This... We all have high fatigue levels. That did not stop us from still accepting challenges." exclaimed one of the players.

"Yes. You should stop looking for excuses! If you don't even dare to fight, just leave the guild. We do not want cowards in our rank," said another player.

"But if the paladin does not have reduced stats, then the fight will really be unfair," said another but his voice barely stood out.

Flying Tiger frowned upon hearing Li Wei's excuse. He was only ordered to challenge the player named Seven by his cousin. He never expected that player to refuse and have a decent excuse at that. There was nothing he could say since he still had a decent fatigue level.

He was about to speak when a voice came from the side, "So you are saying that if you do not have reduced stats you will definitely accept any challenge?"

The voice belonged to someone Li Wei immediately recognized, Rising Dragon. He was the one that rejected Li Wei when he asked to join the sect at the fields.

The latter immediately frowned but quickly answered, "Of course. There is no reason to refuse in these conditions but why are you so inclined to have me fight? I recall Wang Chong did say it was optional."

"Grab this then. Your opponent is me," said Rising Dragon as he tossed a bottle at Li Wei. He completely ignored the latter part of Li Wei’s answer.

Surprised, Li Wei opened his hands just in time to catch the small bottle. With a quick inspection, he found that the bottle contained a Fatigue Recovery Potion. It was similar to the one he received from the Commander at Little Root Town, but this one was of lower quality.

[Fatigue Recovery Potion](Grade 0)

Reduce fatigue level by 20%

As they saw the bottle fly towards Li Wei, many players started to complain. Not many players recognized the potion, but those belonging to families immediately recognized it. It was the newly acquired recipe of the alchemists of the sect.

"This is so unfair! We all have high fatigue levels! Why is he the only one to receive this potion?" shouted a player.

Upon hearing that, the nearby players could quickly determine the effect of the potion and also voiced out their complaints. They all understood that items being able to reduce fatigue were very useful. That meant they could possibly spend more time training their technique and obtain their skills more quickly.

However, Rising Dragon ignored them. He simply looked at Li Wei, waiting to see if he would find another excuse.

At this moment, Li Wei had mixed feelings. He felt like he had fallen into a trap with no escape. "This is not right... I cannot accept this..." started Li Wei.

But he was immediately cut short by Rising Dragon. “Everyone. Many of you are not satisfied with the situation. You all have high fatigue levels, some even have reduced stats but you still accepted the challenges. However, none of you voiced out your concerns. You all kept silent about your fatigue levels while this person did not! The sect is not looking for cowards, but neither is it looking for brainless followers. We want dynamic members who would not blindly listen to orders but voice out their opinion and contribute to the sect," exclaimed Rising Dragon with a righteous expression.

"And therefore, since he was the first! I decided to reward him. I believe that everyone would agree that people taking initiatives should be rewarded. Rewards like these will be very common in the future. Prove yourselves and rise in rank. As long as you do so, you will be showered with treasures," continued Rising Dragon.

The surrounding players found nothing to say. What Rising Dragon said did seem right. It was their own fault for being timid. The players could only inwardly curse and grumble. There was nothing they could do besides looking at Li Wei with jealousy and envy.

The latter felt like the trap he was in suddenly closed itself. With all the players looking at him, he had no choice but to drink the potion and accept the challenge. Refusing now will be impolite and was certain to damage his reputation. He could only remove the cork from the bottle and gulp down the transparent liquid.

[System prompt: You have consumed a fatigue recovery potion, fatigue -20%]

"Go to arena 64. I will wait for you there," exclaimed Rising Dragon as he turned around and walked towards a door.

Li Wei found nothing to say, the attention of everyone was still directed at him. But now, their looks were different from before. Many were rejoicing thinking that he would soon pay for the potion.

Rising Dragon stopped in front of the door." Don't worry. I won't bully a newcomer. I won't use my weapons against you.” He tossed his spear at a nearby player before touching the door and disappearing from the waiting room.

Hearing that statement, many of the surrounding players frowned. The ones belonging to different families all knew Rising Dragon since he was one of the leading figures of the Zhang Family. Although he sounded like he was going easy on Li Wei, it was actually the opposite. The Zhang Family actually specialized in hand to hand combat. What they excelled at was using their own body rather than weapons to fight.

Cai Wenji immediately tried to warn Li Wei, but he was too late. Li Wei had already touched the door and vanished from the waiting room.

"Sigh, I hope that he won't be too careless. Let's go to the spectating area" declared Cai Wenji.

...

As he opened his eyes, Li Wei found himself in an arena similar to that of the Tower of Heroes. It was actually the map chosen by the sect. They opted for the simplest map. The only difference was, there was no mist surrounding the platform. Instead, he could see seats where spectators could sit. In front of him, Rising Dragon was standing straight with a relaxed expression.

"Since we are already there. Do you want to make a bet? Not much. What about 250 contribution points?" proposed Rising Dragon with an innocent smile.

Li Wei immediately frowned, he felt that he had been forced to fight against Rising Dragon. He did not want to fight to begin with. Yet, that guy was taking advantage of the situation and asking for bets. 250 contribution points could represent a whole day's worth of work. It was quite a decent amount.

‘Is it a coincidence that he picked 250? It is the exact amount of Contribution Point I had yesterday after submitting the loot.’

After a few seconds of hesitation, "Why not? It would make things more interesting." declared Li Wei. He was confident in himself and had seen Rising Dragon fight yesterday. Li Wei did not think he was weaker than Rising Dragon. Furthermore, he also had the weapon’s advantage. Why would he say no to free contribution points?

A system prompt appeared, asking the two players to validate their bets which they both immediately agreed.

A few seconds later, another prompt came in asking if both players were ready. Again, they both immediately accepted. With a loud “Ding”, a countdown of 20 seconds started.

Li Wei drew his two swords and took an aggressive stance; he planned to immediately charge at Rising Dragon and finish the duel quickly.

The latter simply readjusted his position. He also started to focus and took a fighting stance similar to that of boxing. He did not have weapons, but his gloves were similar to that of Li Wei. They had small protrusions that were round and flat.

[5]

[4]

[3]

[2]

[1]