Drake

As the darkness faded, we found ourselves standing in an ornate room, with 12 statues sitting on 12 ornate thrones. In the middle was a man who had a beard of lightning and looked like a grandpa, except he was jacked. He was wearing Greek clothing with a robe made of gold and white. He reminded me of zeus.

Wait… I think that was what these people were! The Greek gods! There was Aphrodite, Poseidon, Hera, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, Hephaestus, Hermes, Ares, Athena and Dioyonisos!

“Guys! These are the Greek gods!” I exclaimed to them in joy. I loved learning about the Greeks and their gods, so seeing statues of them made me happy and excited.

“Oh?” Minya looked surprised, looking more closely at the statues. “Huh, they are. What does that mean exactly?” She asked me turning to look at me.

I looked more closely at the room. We were still standing at the entrance of the room, but I felt like as soon as we crossed the border something would happen. “We should be careful. Try to see if you can find anything suspicious before we enter the room. I feel like something will happen the moment we enter the room.” I told them all, taking my own advice and looking around the room.

It had marble pillars behind each of the gods and their thrones, and I assumed it symbolized them holding up Olympus or something like that. They were all raised above the main floor with steps leading up to them, around a dozen steps leading up to them.

There were lanterns hanging from the ceiling with green fire in them, presumably Greek fire. There were also murals depicting all of the gods' acts. As I continued to scan the room, I found nothing that looked out of place or suspicious.

“I am not seeing anything suspicious,” I told them. “How about you guys?” I turned to them, trying to see if they had found anything suspicious that I hadn’t. They all shook their heads and Minya said, “No, nothing suspicious as far as I can tell.”

Plikt didn’t look so sure. “There is a hatch right in the middle of the circle.” He said, pointing.

I followed the direction he was pointing and jolted a bit. “Huh, there is.” There was a stone in the middle of the room, in the arena-like place beneath the gods.

“Okay everyone, are you guys ready to enter the belly of the beast?” Kent asked us all.

I smiled. “Heck yes.” I told him, stepping into the room.

I flinched as a spectral man appeared in the middle of the room and spoke in a monotone voice.

Challenger has entered the room, Arena of the Gods. Challenge an opponent if you dare.

The man floated upwards and looked at me.

Challenger registered. Drake has become a challenger.

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The rest of our group entered the room after nothing happened to me.

Challengers have entered the room, Arena of the Gods. Challenge an opponent if you dare.

Challenger registered. Emily has become a challenger.

Challenger registered. Kent has become a challenger.

Challenger registered. Minya has become a challenger.

Challenger registered. Brock has become a challenger.

Challenger registered. Layton has become a challenger.

Challenger registered. Plikt has become a challenger.

The man rose even higher and looked us all over.

You may each challenge one opponent. If you die in battle it will not count towards your death total. Each of the gods are limited in their abilities but are still each late E-Grade cultivators, they are not easy opponents, just weaker.

Minya looked at each of the gods. “How will we fight them? And which ones should we fight?” She asked the man, hoping to get a response.

The man looked at her.

I will tell you each god and their general abilities. To fight them simply enter the arena and state the god you want to fight.

Zeus, a god of lightning and the sky, wields a lightning bolt filled with power. In this form he is a Lightning Mage. One of the Big Three.

Poseidon, god of the oceans and water, wields a trident filled with the power of earthquakes. In this form he is a Water Mage. One of the Big Three.

Apollo, a god of disease and archery, twin to Artemis. He wields a bow filled with the power of ailments. In this form he is a Sniper.

Artemis, the maiden of the moon, goddess of archery like her twin brother. She wields a bow with the power of the hunt. In this form she is a Sniper.

Athena, goddess of war, and bearer of wisdom. She wields a shield of wisdom and a spear of war. In this form she is a Spear Tactician.

Hermes, messenger of the gods and divine trickster. He wields a caduceus, which is entwined by his twin snakes. In this form he is a Wind Rogue.

Ares, god of battle and slaughter. He wields a two handed sword covered in blood. In this form he is a Battle Master.

Hephestus, god of the forge and fire. He wields a hammer bathed in fire. In this form he is a Fire Warrior.

Demeter, goddess of agriculture and fertility. She wields a golden sword that has the sharpest blade of the gods. In this form she is an Earth Mage.

Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. She wields a whip powered by seduction. In this form she is a Love Mage.

Dionysus, god of wine. He wields a thyrsus infused with the power of wine. In this form he is a Wine Mage.

Hera, queen of goddesses. She wields a scepter infused with the power of all of the gods. In this form she is a Rainbow Mage. Queen of the gods.

That was… quite a bit of information. They all seemed very formidable, and I didn’t know what one I would like to fight. If any of them.

Kent smiled. “I know which one I am going to fight.” He said, cracking his fists.

“Oh? Which one do you want to fight?” I asked him, curious.

Kent looked at the statue of Ares. “Ares, he looks strong and he is the god of battle, what's not to like?” He asked, looking like he was gonna fight him any second.

“Calm down, calm down. You will get your fight.” I told him placatingly.

He just grinned at me. “Heck yes I will.” He said, before running into the center of the room and shouting. “ARES! I CHALLENGE YOU!!!”

The ground rumbled and a magical barrier appeared around the arena. Now we couldn’t get in.

The statue of Ares stood up and crouched down, before leaping into the arena with a crash. As Ares turned to face Kent, he drew his big sword and the ground changed into sand, making it look more like an actual arena from the Greek times.

With a smile the statue of Ares held his sword and pointed it at Kent. The spectral man boomed out in his loud, monotone voice-

Ares has accepted Brock’s challenge. Battle… Start!

Ares and Kent charged at each other.