Alistair's alarm went off, informing him it was time to head for the arena. He halted his cultivation and started to head for the arena. Alistair had used some of the [Arcane] essences he had gotten from the Ambrosia to improve the flow of magic within his Skin and Ribs. He had gotten a good amount of passive increase in his [Control] stat from doing so. Additionally, he felt a surge of progress toward unlocking the missing components required for his desired augmented physiology. Turning his Ribcage into a kinetic storage had turned out much more difficult than expected.
Creating new augmented body parts was by no means easy. Alistair benefitted greatly from having a wide selection of augmented body part templates provided by his topic. However, developing new ones requires quite a bit of trial and error. Sadly, he could not just mash whatever essences together and intend for them to do what he wanted. It required him to temper mold and refine them into proper pathways to have them interact in the ways he wanted. Some concepts put a lot more stress on the body than others and required him to temper said body parts until they could handle it. There was also a limit to how much his Grade 10 body could handle, and he had gained a level from his cultivation session. This was the first time he had leveled up during cultivation, but he had suspected that advancing his body cultivation would provide him with records for a while now.
When Alistair stepped through the portal and arrived in the arena, he was greeted by a massive crowd. Apparently, almost everyone with a sufficient arena score would participate in this tournament. Alistair presumed it was because participation alone would increase the gladiator title. Alistair was about to call Riseth to tell her he had arrived in the Arena when she appeared in the portal behind him.
"Good timing. Let's find an alcove to meet with the others," Alistair said, waiting for her to step up beside him.
"I am pretty sure almost everyone is already here. Let me call Esta and check where they settled down," Riseth responded.
She was proven correct. Pretty much the entire clan had already arrived and claimed a space far away from any gates, as most of the arena dungeon was overflowing with people. They pushed their way through the crowd, and Alistair wrinkled his nose at the mixing body odors. Sweat was somehow one of the less bad body odors individuals could excrete. As they arrived in the alcove, they found that even Nessyra was participating with a mercenary she had hired for this match. Nessyra had learned to weaponize her contract magic to a degree and fought using spell lists and mental attacks. She also considered getting herself a Summon, but they had to find a suitable one.
His brother was wearing the power armor he had seen, though it had received an upgrade. A dual missile pod had replaced one of his shoulder plates. Alistair could sense a mana engine, and storage crystals had been embedded into the armor. Alistair could also make out a familiar thruster design that he was quite sure came from Aknis' mech. James formed a team with his girlfriend and mother. He held little hope for them winning their tournament despite being strong for their level. This tournament was sorted by grade, and they were roughly 15 levels shy of the cap, and besides his brother, none of them had undergone a racial evolution. Jessica wielded two curved blades and wore a sleek but less decked-out version of James's power armor. Alistair knew she did not have a strong arcane affinity, which led to her using magic more instinctively and leaning more on their self-made equipment.
Desily and Zathron actually had the best chance, besides himself and Riseth, to win their match, as they were both some of the highest-level people he knew and quite capable. Neither Zathron's nor Desily's appearance had changed a whole lot from their racial evolution. The most notable change was Desily's wings, which had become more etherial and her irses had become more a deep swirling purple. They were already betting on which one of them would be able to kill more opponents.
Esta and Simon had teamed up, though unless they got lucky with their grouping, they would also struggle. They did not know what levels the true elites had reached. Simon had undergone a racial evolution through his Grade advancement into an Obsidian Strider. His skin had taken on a darker tone with a slight sheen to it, while his eyeballs had become a deep, reflective black reminiscent of polished obsidian. It was somewhat uncomfortable to look at, but Simon had said he would take it in stride. Simon's evolution still rewarded him the [Man of Change] title as he did not use an Evolution Stone. However, he missed out on all his earlier levels that could have benefitted from the increased stat gains. Esta had become an Emberstorm Elf. Her transformation was remarkable. Fiery red lightning crackled across her now slightly darker skin in intricate vein patterns, especially pronounced on her arms and shoulders. Her straight black hair had taken on a slight red sheen, and her eyes blazed with a deep, burning red,
Alistair, who had not seen her in a while, congratulated her on her evolution and wished them luck with their tournament. They all exchanged a last few words before everyone received their invitations simultaneously.
Duo Free for all [Grade 10] Participation counts towards [Gladiator] title. Partner: Riseth Ryser
Defeat all opponents
Time left to confirm: 69 Seconds [0/2]
Opponents:
?/98
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Do you wish to Participate?
[Yes] [No]
Little was said as the group exchanged glances of determination. One after the other, the groups disappeared into the arena. Riseth and Alistair were among the last to leave, and they both appeared in the arena under the familiar dome. Sandstone brick buildings surrounded them, and the floor beneath them was tiled from the same stone. The air was dry, and two suns shone down on them from far above. Notably, the dome enclosing the arena was absolutely massive, indicating they were in a vast arena. They could not see any other domes as their dome was squeezed in an isolated alley.
The most stand-out feature of this tournament was a large projection listing who was still alive and which team got the most kills. The top 10 were displayed as empty for the time being as a countdown ticked down, letting them know they had a minute before being released.
"Shit. The odds are that we want to be on that ranking for a separate title." Alistair cursed over the Akashic link as he did not wish to be overheard.
"We should be able to get some kills, turn invisible, and wait out the worst of the fighting from one of the cellars here," Riseth suggested.
"Why a cellar? Wouldn't it be better to go on a ceiling or higher floor instead?" Alistair inquired.
"What's with you humans always wanting the high ground? It's not over if you don't have it. The underground would protect us from most area damage," Riseth countered.
"Except for poison and other gasses and the fact that the building will likely collapse on us," Alistair pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"I can get us out of any collapsed building, and on the off chance that there are any poison gas users, we should be able to react in time," Riseth assured.
"Let's stick to the upper floor for visibility while we snipe some kills and go lay low in the cellars after?" Alistair proposed, seeking a compromise.
Riseth nodded, patting him on the shoulder, signaling that she wished to be picked up. She then turned them invisible shortly before the countdown ran out. Alistair immediately took to the air a nearby building complex, where explosions and combat rang out all around them. As they reached the roof, they saw that they were in a massive city surrounded by forests and a distinct Arabic palace structure in the center. Alistair could see people fighting in the courtyard as the yellow palm trees adorning the courtyard were uprooted by a massive explosion from a missile, killing both teams engaged in combat. They could see both plasma and kinetic rounds shot arc across from the city and the surrounding forests.
Alistair pointed to a gunfight in a market square as the fighters there seemed quite mediocre, and they both teleported into the fray dismissing invisibility.
Alistair sent out two razor blasts, cutting through the brick building and slicing apart one of the shooters before bringing down his new poleaxe on the second combatant, whose shocked expression was plastered across his face as the head went flying. Alistair grimaced as both of the fighters had been human. He still had a bit of a dislike for cutting down his own kin, even if it was in the arena.
Riseth had teleported to the opposing group of gunners. Piercing the throat of the first one with her bone blades, decapitating him and redirecting the bullets of the second shooter with her [Veil of Space], bending the bullets around her, riddling him with his own attack before finishing him with a slash of her extending bone blade.
Before they could link up, a missile hurled their way and forced both of them to take cover, running through their respective building away from the market square. Alistair presumed it was the enemy's goal to separate them. However, they knew each other's exact position due to their resonance and assistance from the Akashic link in map form.
As Alistair stepped into another alley, he was swiftly confronted by a red-skinned demon wielding two curved blades. The demon sported four black horns and three eyes, wearing a toothy smile and revealing sharp fang-like teeth. The demon had a sleek, skin-tight suit of armor made of adamantine and synthetic materials he did not recognize. Alistair could sense that his opponent also held the [Primal Revelation] title. Alistair returned the smile as he caught the two blades with his Poleaxe, extending his [Chrono Seizing Hand] magic through it after absorbing the impact, which shot out contained within a sphere.
The exchange confused the demon as he struggled to shrug off Alistair's time magic. Alistair seized the moment, stepping closer and using a charged, repulsive blast, which slammed his opponent into the alley wall. The demon crashed straight through the wall and the next. Alistair activated his boosting skills and blinked, hounding the demon. The demon caught himself in mid-air, shooting two force blades at Alistair, who swatted them away with his poleaxe, absorbing most of the energy. The demon frowned as he spat a black lump to the ground, enveloping the entire area in rapidly expanding black smoke.
Riseth had a pretty different opponent to contend with. A roughly three-meter-tall, mech-suit-clad demon was shooting at her with a rocket launcher. She teleported to avoid the explosions, using her automatic barrier to block the shrapnel flying her way as she attacked the vulnerable joints of the suit. She managed to cut into one of the leg actuators, damaging it as her space magic warped the metal and tubes, but lightning arched out. Her shield flickered, protecting her from the worst, but a small chunk of the defensive measure had been transmitted through her weapon.
As the Mechsuit spun around, Riseth swiftly began healing herself, anticipating the next strike. Its vibroblade lashed out, slicing through anything in its path, leaving a deep gash in the nearby brick building. Riseth teleported behind the suit again, trying to attack another leg actuator, but this time, a shield sprung into existence, blocking her strike. Riseth clicked her tongue in annoyance before gathering space energy for her [Vortex Tear] finisher.
Employing her light manipulation skill, Riseth flashed the demon with light as it spun around once more, temporarily blinding it. Seizing the opportunity, she swiftly targeted the other leg actuator, destroying it with a powerful strike from both her warping blades plunged into the joint. Electricity arced out again, but Riseth endured as she was shielded, teleporting some distance before unleashing her finisher. The demon, hindered in mobility, underestimated the threat posed by the bolt hurtling toward him. Determined to withstand the attack, he conjured a barrier. However, the barrier shattered under the force of the intense arcane explosion. Another minuscule rift tore open in reality, pulling in the hamstrung and disoriented demon, crushing him and his suit as he was drawn into the tiny rift.