A bright pillar of light shot down from the screen, lifting him up in front of it. A deafening voice called out his name.
“OUR MOST ENIGMATIC COMPETITOR HAS SET FOOT INTO THE ARENA! THE ARBITER, A MAN WHOSE REAL NAME IS UNKNOWN, IS NOT ONLY THE FIRST BEING ON THIS PLANET TO FORM A DAO, BUT IN THIS ENTIRE UNIVERSE!”
The audience and the rest of the fighters erupted into a storm of whispering. Berrigious let them converse before he interrupted again.
“WILL THIS MAN CROWN HIS ACHIEVEMENTS WITH THE TITLE OF WINNER, OR WILL HE BE GROUND INTO THE DUST BY A MORE WORTHY OPPONENT? I DON’T KNOW, DO YOU?”
Sam was placed back down on the ground, noticing that every fighter in his ring had backed away from him to the edge of the area. Another figure was placed into the spotlight, the person who called themselves Anonymous. Unlike Sam, they were simply highlighted on the screen and a readout of their name and place scrolled underneath.
“BY FAR OUR MOST MYSTERIOUS COMPETITOR, NOTHING IS KNOWN ABOUT ANONYMOUS AT ALL. THIS THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY HAVE BEEN SEEN IN PUBLIC, SO WATCH THEIR ACTIONS CAREFULLY!”
The masked figure seemed incredibly uncomfortable under the spotlight and they twitched a bit as their name was read out. There were no other top ten leaderboard placers in this division, so the fight began soon after. Sam tested out his new ability, his aura. The effects were beyond impressive. This time, he imbued it with his Dao of the Arbiter.
Seraphic wings appeared behind his back and the golden outline of a pair of scales appeared over him. The inexorable force of Justice seemed to be called into being and the surrounding fighters were pressed into the dirt. Some of them resisted, but most did not and those who fell were whisked away by the System. The remaining combatants circled Sam warily and waited for him to make the first move.
He raised his mace almost lazily and brought it down on the hard packed sand. The result was like that of a bomb going off. A cloud of dust billowed out and a loud report like a gunshot cracked across the arena. In the confusion, Sam lashed out with his mace, sending fighters back to the stands with every swing. Eventually, he finished off the last fighter, an older man who wielded a sword, and he was teleported away to a large room.
A few hundred people waited there and all of them seemed to be avoiding each other. Sam saw the figures of the Angel of Death and Anonymous there, the latter of whom must have defeated their opponents just after Sam. Both of them stared at Sam, but he couldn't be sure if that's what they really were doing, because both of them had masks on. Sam found a place to sit and began to meditate on his Dao. He was sure that nobody would try to attack him, as none of them had attacked each other yet. After a few minutes, someone came over to him. He could tell that there was someone there without even opening his eyes, his senses were so strong.
“Yes?” He said to the air.
“Pardon me for interrupting you, sir, but are you the one known as The Arbiter?”
Sam opened his eyes and beheld a young Asian man who stood there with his head bowed.
“Who’s asking?”
“My name is Okita Masomune. I used to be a banker before the system came, but I now find that my expertise comes in handy elsewhere. There is no wealth leaderboard, but if there was, I would likely be at the top. I started a business selling monster parts, and it just took off.”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Sam smiled as he thought of his own stash of money, he was pretty sure that he would be on top with that.
“You didn't just come here to advertise your business, did you?”
“No, of course not, I seek an alliance. I have heard tales of your honor in battle and your defeat of a powerful criminal. As well as that, you are one of the strongest humans alive. I propose that we create formal ties, my money backing your power. No matter how strong you are, you cannot work on your own forever.” It was an interesting proposition and Sam filed it away for later.
“Come to me after the tournament and perhaps I will accept. In the meanwhile, you will need to prove the worth of this alliance to me.“
A few hours later, food and drinks appeared on the floor suddenly. Sam was very glad that his enhanced physical abilities made it that human excretory functions were no longer as pressing. He had seen quite a few caster types wincing as a result of full bladders. There were no bathrooms in the waiting area and it seemed as if they would be there for a while.
Two hours ago, the last fighters had trickled in, and judging by how long it had taken for the intermission last time, they had some time to wait yet. An hour later, two men appeared at the same time. Both of them exuded an aura of raw power and everyone around them cowered under it. Sam opened his eyes again and saw that they were actively using their auras to suppress those around them. One of them was a sallow man with a prominent scar running down the left side of his face. He was dressed in a suit of leather armor, and held a gun in one hand. His companion was a Black man dressed in a neatly pressed suit and tie. He had no weapon, but he produced a sense of authority around him. Sam pushed back with his dual Daos, fusing them into his aura. The eyes of the two snapped onto him and Sam stared back.
"Well, if it isn't the man we were looking for. The Arbiter, in the flesh. I don’t suppose you would take off that mask for us? We want to get a good look,” the man in the suit said. Sam didn’t answer.
“How remiss, I did not introduce us. I am Andrew Munro, otherwise known as the Scourge of New York, and my companion here is Rodney Kane. I assume that you know who we are?”
Sam nodded. They were the two people above him on the power leaderboard.
“I don’t want to talk right now. You can fight me all you like when the tournament starts.”
Rodney surged forwards as if to attack Sam, but Andrew held him back. He ignored them and sank back into his meditation. When he opened his eyes again, they were on the other side of the room and a few hundred other people had appeared. Two of them possessed strong auras, and he assumed that they were on the leaderboards judging by that. The day passed, with Sam sitting there and meditating on the nature of his Daos. It didn't seem to make that much of a difference, but it felt good to think about the nature of reality. The room slowly filled up until there was barely any room left. It was getting close to the number of fighters that should be there and Sam did a quick head count. There were a little over 4000 people there, which meant that the initial stage of the tournament was almost finished.
Like a bomb going off, a terrifying aura struck the room. The breath almost left Sam’s body, it was so strong. A man dressed all in black, with a cape on his back, and a mask fashioned after a snarling red demon, strode through the room and up to Sam. The symbol of a red fist was emblazoned on his chest and when he spoke, the air rumbled.
“So this is the man who gained a Dao before me, and even before Profound Visionary. Who are you, to possess such power? I have met the man who you supplanted, and he is the most unfathomable master of the Dao there is. What is your secret?”
Sam was cowed by the force of will that was contained behind the aura of the man, but he was able to resist enough to answer.
“Are you the Overlord?” Sam asked. The other man nodded. "Well, I have no idea why I got a Dao first, just luck I guess.” That was obviously not the answer that the other man was looking for and he raised his fist as if to strike Sam, but a shield formed between them.
“FIGHTING WITHIN THIS AREA IS PROHIBITED. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING,” a voice said suddenly.
The Overlord backed off and snarled at Sam. Then he walked off, a path opening in the crowd as he passed.