Kent

As I broke the token I felt like I was being gently picked up and carried across worlds. When I fully regained my senses I was in an arena like building with sand and walls. With two gates where gladiators would come out to face each other.

I slowly turned around in a full circle. The arena was beautiful. The walls were made of a yellowish gray stone that I had never seen before and the stadium surrounding the arena had wood seats that actually looked comfortable. The arena was currently empty so I was confused. Where was the trainer?

“Looking for me?” A deep rumbling voice called out from above me. No voice had the right to be that deep. It was as though the ocean was talking. I looked up and saw a giant being standing above me, lightning crackling across his arms.

He had 4 arms with glowing fists that seemed full of power. He had shaggy pale gold hair, eyes that seemed alive with lightning, so much so that I couldn't tell their original color, and a beard the same color of his hair.

It was as though this man was made of lightning. He had tattoos racing up his arms with dragons, wolves, demons and other mythical creatures. When he saw my expression he let out a deep booming laugh that seemed to crack the air around him.

His body twisted and suddenly he was roughly my size standing right in front of me. He looked me up and down. “A little on the short side but that's okay. Your avatar will change that.” He mused to himself.

I was confused. “Um excuse me sir, but… who are you?” I asked as politely as I could.

He looked at me for a second before smiling. “Oh my, please excuse my lacking manners. I am Keraunan, last elder of the storm titans.” He boomed in his deep voice as thunder cracked behind him, and he struck a pose with his hands on his hips looking off into the distance.

I smiled. I liked this guy. He was a little dramatic but that didn’t really bother me.

“Shall we get started?” He asked, turning to me.

“Started on what?” I asked, confused.

“Your personal training of course! We need to make you as fit as a fiddle and with enough skill to go along with it. Since we only have 6 hours we will just have to do the best we can.” He told me confidently.

I nodded at him. “Then let's not waste time.” I said, popping my knuckles.

He gave me a smirk. “I like you. I agree he waved his hands and lightning cracked again.The gates started to creak open, and two large red wolves bounded out.

“First I need to see where you are. Kill these two beasts and show me where your powers currently lay. We will work from there.” Keraunan said, jumping into the stadium to watch. Suddenly the arena was filled with faceless people cheering and clapping as the wolves charged at me.

I turned to the creatures and raised my fists, scales wrapping around them. They barked out a challenge and snapped their jaws at me. I stepped back and whipped my fist out crushing into one of the wolves eyes.

It head snapped back and I heard a *crack* as its neck snapped. It fell limp on the sandy arena floor, dead. I turned to the other wolf and barely ducked out of the way as it lunged at me, jaws hanging open.

I lashed out hitting it in the side with a Lightning Punch, sending it hurtling backwards. I zoomed after it, hitting it again with another punch before it died.

I heard a sound of disapproval, and then Keraunan was suddenly in front of me. I yelped and stumbled back. “Do you want my honest opinion of how you did?” He asked me suddenly and seriously.

I calmed my racing heart and took a deep breath. “Yes I want your honest opinion on how I just performed.” I told him, trying to act confident.

He just glared at me. “You're a horrible fighter. You're slow, your reaction speed is terrible, you didn’t once use a spell, which would have destroyed them, and you are sloppy with how you use your skills. It is like you're almost relying fully on the system to do everything for you..” He snorted, still glowering at me. “You need a lot of help, with almost everything.”

He looked at me for a moment, then suddenly grinned. It was terrifying and made me want to find the nearest hole to hide in. “But that's what I'm here for, to help you.”

My life became heck for the next 2 hours.

***

I breathed out heavily. That had been horrible. Keraunan laughed at me as I lay sprawled out on the sand. “Oh cut the dramatics. You learned more in those 2 hours than you would have found out after 12 days of constant training alone.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I sighed. Even though it had been horrible I had learned a lot. “You're right. What are we doing next?” I asked him standing back up.

“We are going to have you do a rematch.” He told me and the gates started to open.

I groaned. “But I already beat them!” I readied myself for battle as I heard the wolves howl from behind the gates.

He snorted. “Not in my book you didn’t. You won so sloppily that it could barely be called a win.”

The gates opened fully and the wolves walked out. Without wasting a beat I sent 2 bolts of lightning hurling at them. They both yelped but they couldn’t react fast enough to dodge. The bolts slammed into them ripping them off of their feet and slamming them into the closed gate, killing both of them.

I stared at where their corpses lay dead on the sand. “How the heck did these creatures give me any trouble at all? They could barely be considered monsters. They are closer in power to normal prey!” I exclaimed, confused about what had just happened.

Karaunan just let out a booming laugh. “Now you see why your previous win was wildly unsatisfactory to me. It was supposed to be one sided but it was almost equal!” He said, smirking at me from the stands.

I cracked my neck and turned to face the gate. “Alright, what's next?” I said confidently.

He smiled at me. “Now that's more like it.”

The gate opened and a giant crimson wolf bounded out giving me no time to react. I narrowed my eyes and shot out a dragons breath which was a weaker bolt of lightning with fire surrounding it like a shell.

The wolf shrugged it off and lunged at me, snapping its jaws at my face. I smoothly ducked under it and punched straight up with lightning wrapped around my fist. My fist connected with the beast's stomach and sent it soaring upward with a boom of lightning.

I manipulated my scales to create a dagger-like blade coming out of my knuckles. I punched up again, slicing the wolf's gut open, spilling out all of its vital parts. I stepped to the side and it fell beside me, dead as a door-nail.

I turned to the gate and let out a roar, challenging the beasts that lay within. It was returned with a roar of their own, a cacophony of screeches, roars, howls, barks and growls and other sounds of challenge from all sorts of creatures.

I grinned, bring. It. On. “Come at me! I challenge you to a war! Me versus all of you! Take me down if you can!” I roared out, challenging every creature in there to try their hardest to take me down.

And I wasn’t going down easy. Not at all.

Karaunan chuckled. “You most definitely have the blood of both a dragon and a storm titan coursing through you. No human would be so confident in their ability to take down that many beasts.

I grinned. Let the chaos begin.

Creatures of all shapes and sizes started to charge through the gate. Goblins, wolves, imps, drakes, orcs, and many others that I couldn’t even try to name.

I started to use my spells and skills in perfect harmony. Taking out monsters left and right, using my dragon scales to block attacks and to make my fists sharper so they would do more damage.

My punches were chock full of lightning and they were blasting through the beasts with every swing. These beasts were just too weak to do anything to me. I was like a storm of death.

You have upgraded your spell -Lightning Bolt from Weak to Average

My spell got upgraded? Oh, this will be fun.

I jumped away and cast my new spell at my closest enemy, an orc with red war paint in streaks on its face.

It practically exploded from my hand shooting into its forehead… and continuing through him as though he wasn’t even there. The spell was simply incomparable to the original. It was leagues better than what it used to be.

I roared out another challenge and started to repeatedly cast lightning bolts. It tore multiple enemies apart with each cast. Continuing through their bodies as though they weren't even there.

I had cleared out almost all of the creatures by now. There were only 4 remaining and they all seemed far more powerful than all of the other creatures. There was an orc with feathers and a staff, a deep blue wolf almost the size of a car that crackled with electricity, an imp with a storm cloud floating above it violently cracking lightning, and a dark yellow -almost gold- bull with horns that seemed to be made from lightning.

“Kent. Since you are of the storm titan line I have asked the system to let me do the ritual of the companion. You may choose one of these 4 amazing creatures to go with you on your journey. They are far weaker than their final forms but they will grow along with you. Which one do you choose?” Kenaunan’s voice boomed out across the sand.

“I don’t know, I don’t know any of them. I can’t just make them my eternal companion without a test of some sort.” I turned to the monsters. “Fight me! Whoever can survive the longest will join my team. You are against me and me only, You are also not allowed to sabotage your teammates. Understood?” I asked the creatures.

After they each nodded and I yelled and charged them. They both respectively let out a roar or screech, and charged me. I punched through the imp in one blow as it couldn’t dodge fast enough. Now it was down to only 3. I sent a bolt of lightning at the orc but it raised a magical field of lightning to block. I sent 2 more at the wolf and bull. The wolf pranced to the side and easily avoided it. The bull just snorted and tried to tank it. The bolt went a couple inches deep before exploding violently, killing the bull.

Then there were 2. I thought to myself. The orc sent a spear of lightning at me while the wolf just paced looking for an opening. I punched the spear of lightning, shattering it into motes of light and sent a bolt of lightning of my own. The orc hastily set up a barrier but this time the bolt smashed through it, killing the orc.

I turned to the wolf and pointed. “I want this fine creature.” I told the storm titan.

He smirked at me. “Good choice.”