It said that there were a few minutes remaining and that the fighters with certain I.D numbers would be called up to fight. It seemed that there were 500 spaces in the arena, each of which could hold 1000 people. At least he wouldn't have to fight first. He could watch the fights as they proceeded. When the countdown finished, Berrigious appeared in the center of the empty arena and raised his hands in supplication. His voice was amplified as if some sort of invisible microphone was stuffed into his clothing.

“WELCOME TO THE FIRST TOURNAMENT OF THE PLANET EARTH. ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING PLANETS IN THE 10,239,428,157TH UNIVERSE, IT HAS ALREADY CREATED THREE DAO WIELDERS, WITH MANY MORE TO COME. THIS TOURNAMENT WILL BE SOMETHING TO REMEMBER, THAT IS FOR SURE! NOW, I KNOW THAT NONE OF YOU CAME HERE TO HEAR ME BLATHER ON, SO LET THE FIGHTS BEGIN!”

An entire swathe of the spectators vanished from their seats and appeared in the middle of the arena. The giant screen panned out, and started to focus on seemingly random things. One of them, a man in an old fashioned leather greatcoat and a plain porcelain mask, was focused on for longer than the others. On the screen, a line of text appeared.

The Angel Of Death, #8 overall power

A chill ran through Sam’s veins. He had not thought to bring a mask to conceal his identity, instead trusting in his choice of a pseudonym. He knew that he would be singled out by the screen as soon as he stepped foot on the stage. He was still at number four on the leaderboards and he would probably get even more fanfare than this man. As he thought desperately of what to do, Berrigious started speaking.

“IN THIS DIVISION, WE HAVE THE NUMBER 8 HUMAN ON THIS PLANET, THE ANGEL OF DEATH! A MYSTERIOUS FIGURE, NOT MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT HIM SAVE FOR HIS PAST AS A HUNTER OF DEMONS. ONE OF THE FINEST PRODUCTS OF THE HUMAN INSTITUTION KNOWN AS THE VATICAN, HE HAS SHOWN HIMSELF TO BE A CAPABLE FIGHTER BY HIS HIGH PLACE ON THE LEADERBOARDS. WILL HE RISE TO VICTORY, OR WILL ANOTHER STEAL HIS PLACE?”

Sam ignored most of what the alien was saying and he ripped off a piece of his clothing, placing it over his head like a mask. He ripped a pair of eye holes in it to see from. A few people around him gave him strange looks, but he was undisturbed otherwise. With the sound of a starting gun, the battle commenced. All across the arena, fighters duked it out, but all eyes were on the Angel of Death.

He had withdrawn a slim rapier from his scabbard and every swing of it created arcs of white light that mowed down his opponents. Most of the weaker ones were dealt with instantly by this, but about a fifth of the fighters withstood it. A few of them shouted at the man, but they were incomprehensible above the din of battle. People had begun to hit their stride, and magical abilities of all sorts started to be tossed around. A few of them missed their targets and soared through the air at the audience, but sparked off an invisible shield that covered the interior of the arena. Sam watched as the number eight man on Earth started to dismantle his opponents effortlessly. A large cross appeared on the ground, erupting into a pillar of crackling lightning that sent dozens of fighters back to the stands. Sam looked around the rest of the arena too, taking in the sights.

Most of the battles were not as one sided as the main one, and most of the fighters still remained in the fight. As expected, the Angel of Death finished off his opponents with a massive slash that sent a 25 foot wide arc of light straight through the last of his enemies. That arena lit up with a green light and the man disappeared. A few minutes later, another arena lit up green and a woman who had fought with fiery spears disappeared as well. The rate of arena completion sped up over time and after an hour, the battle was finished. Berrigious returned and addressed the crowd.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“THAT BRINGS OUR FIRST MATCH TO A CLOSE. NOW THERE WILL BE AN HOUR LONG BREAK FOR YOU TO EXPLORE THE TOWN. THERE WILL BE SHOPS FOR YOU TO SPEND YOUR CREDITS IN. MAKE SURE THAT YOU CONSERVE YOUR CREDITS, BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY WON'T BE MAKING ANY MORE DURING THE TOURNAMENT. SPEND THEM WISELY.”

Berrigious disappeared and they were all teleported out of the arena and into the town.

Sam walked around for 30 minutes trying to get an idea of the lay of the land. He had originally thought that the town was small because of its lack of high rises, but in reality it was a sprawling city that had seemingly endless rows of shops in it. He eventually stepped inside one of them to check it out. There was nobody at the counter, but when he picked up an item, a glowing screen appeared in front of him.

Shopping List

Basic Dagger x1

Total:500 Credits

Now he saw why there were no attendants. The entire system was automated and his bill would likely be paid as he exited the shop. He placed the dagger back and saw it be removed from the shopping list. He looked around the shop for another few minutes, but it was all low level trash, nothing that could be of much help to him in the future. His weapon far outstripped the power of these shoddy items and he had gotten quite a few stares for it, more avaricious than not. He needed to find some sort of container for the mace. Surely there were bags of holding here in some capacity. If magic existed then surely something like that would too. If such a thing was real however, it would not be found in this shop. Sam left it and walked back out onto the street. A heavenly scent wafted over the air and he followed it, making his way to a street vendor. The vendor was actually a robot, not a living being and it addressed him in a flat monotone.

“Hello, valued customer. I am food service bot 02543 in employment of the System. What may I do for you?”

Sam pointed at the source of the smell, a rack of grilled meat that rotated over an open flame.

"Can I get one serving of that?”

The robot didn't answer and instead pulled out a paper container from underneath the stall and pierced a piece of meat with its knife, placing it on the plate. Then it took a deep scoop of what looked like purple rice from a pot and put it on the counter. Sam picked it up and felt a small amount of credits leave his balance. He carried it away and sat down at a wooden bench on the side of the road.

Sam picked up his fork and took a small bite of the meat. His mouth filled with flavor and he wolfed down the rest of the meal. It was indescribably delicious, far tastier than anything he had even eaten on Earth by far. The meat was so tender that it fell apart in his mouth as soon as he put it there and the rice was perfectly seasoned. The flavors went together perfectly and by the time that he had fully registered them, they were gone. He threw out his plate in a receptacle and idly wandered about the town.

He tried to mingle with a few of the other people, but they were put off by his mask. Instead, he sat by himself in a bar, taking a few sips from a pint of a strange purple beer. It was made out of the same rice that had been served with the meat, so he had high hopes. He was not disappointed. It was the best beer that he had ever tasted, sweet, with a slight tang to it. He drained it slowly, wanting to savor it and looked out the windows at the town. He had no idea where he was but it looked like Earth. The sun was the same size, and the sky looked the same shade of blue. There didn't seem to be any sort of life other than the people however. Not even a bird was visible in the sky and every one of the stores that he had entered had been automated. As he took the last sip from his cup, he was teleported back into the arena. This time, he was on the arena floor. His heart began to race as he took in the people around him. It was time to see if his disguise would stand the test.