The remaining time until the tournament continued was spent wandering the town aimlessly. Now that Sam felt secure in his disguise, he decided that it was time to check out the competition. He searched for the other top ten people, but did not find any. They had all disappeared off to somewhere that was inaccessible to him and presumably everyone else too.
As he walked, he ran through the various alliances that he had noted among his competitors. It was quite clear that the number two and three men were working together, but he had no knowledge of some of the other top rankers. The Overlord was still an enigma as far as he was concerned. He had heard his voice, but that was it. He had never encountered some of the others such as Phoenix and Melissa Tang, and had only briefly seen Anonymous. As the tournament progressed, he would likely have to fight them. This next event would be what made or broke his chances. He needed to level up badly, as he was still stuck at the very bottom of the class levels. When he was teleported into the arena, it was a relief, and the sight of Berrigious was oddly comforting.
“Welcome to the Grand Monster Hunt! You will all be divided into teams of ten, and depending on factors such as your position in the arena and overall strength, you will either go first or last." On the scoreboard, a few hundred lists of names appeared. Sam was recognizable by most, so his teammates came over to him immediately. Seven of them were just random competitors, but the other two were people that he knew, either personally or from seeing them fight. The first one was Reaper, the man who had channeled the power of the grave against the Bear of the Motherland. The other one was Eduardo, the man who Sam had fought against recently. As soon as they grouped together, their name appeared on the board. There was no opportunity to create a team name and it was simply called ‘The Arbiter’s Team’ and they were near the top of the list. Sam’s presence as well as that of Eduardo and Reaper, who was at number 15 on the leaderboards, had nudged them up to the number three place.
The team above them was called Rodney’s Team, led by Rodney Kane. With him was the Scourge of New York and Anonymous. Finally, the top team was led by the Overlord, who on his own had sent his team to the top place. Everyone else in his team cowered in fear of him and he seemed to enjoy the effect that he was having on them. As the final team grouped together, Berrigious spoke.
“Now that you are in your teams. I shall tell you the rules. The 100 weakest teams will enter the arena first, then followed by the next hundred and so on. The arena has been modified with spatial magic in order to make it fit all of you and the monsters. The event theme is ‘Dark Forest’ and the arena will be set up to match. The winner of the event, the team who has killed the greatest number of monsters and with the highest average slain monster level will each be given a special reward. In addition, you will also be able to level up normally within this event. Inter team sabotage or assault is discouraged, but not banned. However, unless you are entirely sure of your strength, it would be best to abstain. Let us begin!” The gates of the arena opened with a clang, Sam had not seen the gates before so it must have been a theatrical addition, and the 100 weakest teams were ushered out. Muffled howls came from the arena, and the interior was pitch black. After a minute, the first human scream wafted out. Sam winced, but remained stalwart. Several of the competitors tried to run, but they were not allowed to.
“Tut tut. Did you not read the small print on the contract that you signed? Oh wait, it was in subatomic script, none of you are able to read that. I apologize for writing in such a style, but you must understand that I am used to dealing with far more powerful individuals. In any case, this should not be a cause for fear, but rather a gift.” Sam paled as he realized the implications of that statement. There could have been anything on that piece of paper, anything at all, and he would never know. What if he had promised the next decade of his life away to Berrigious? Sam calmed himself and forced his mental state to flatten. None of that mattered right now. All that there was to worry about was the next event. The next hundred people entered the arena, some of them visibly resisting the pull of the contract. One of them lingered for too long, and a surge of electricity danced across their skin, killing them instantly. Berrigious laughed in glee.
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“When you are all more powerful, remember this lesson well. Never sign a contract of any sort, unless you are sure that it is not trapped. That fool there suffered the consequences, and I hope that you all are wise enough not to follow her.” Sam began to feel his twin Daos pulse within him, demanding justice for the death, but he restrained them. If he tried to attack Berrigious then he would die. Instead, he banked up his Dao energies, resolving to one day enact justice. It sickened him that the seemingly genial man was in reality a stone cold murderer, but he supposed that in the Multiverse, power was everything. Nobody would care about what happened to a few frontier citizens, especially if they were only G Rank. it was indeed a valuable lesson, but beyond just the scope of what Berrigious had said.
It further inflamed Sam’s desire to grow strong enough to rise above all of this, and to be able to protect himself and those who could not protect themselves.
Finally, it was their turn to enter the arena. He felt a vague pressure begin to form around him, but he quickened his pace and the feeling vanished. They entered the arena, and were immediately plunged into darkness. It was like the essence of night had been summoned into the arena. All around, the shadowy outlines of dark trees could be seen. One of Sam’s teammates whimpered softly as he looked around him. Far above them, the beating of vast leathery wings could be heard, hinting at the presence of some leviathan hiding in the clouds. On the ground, all was still. The eerie silence of the shadow limned woods ate away at Sam’s resolve in a way that was definitely not natural. He began to output a steady stream of Dao energy, succeeding in repressing the effect of the woods. All around him, his teammates sighed in relief. Eduardo turned to Sam and whispered softly in his ear.
“Was that your Dao?”
“Yes. Why do you ask?” Sam replied, a bit apprehensively. He trusted the man somewhat, but anyone could be a traitor, especially in this new and twisted world.
“That must mean that this wood is suffused with Dao energy. I felt this ominous pressure until you used your Dao to beat it back. This is not a natural wood. It might not only be the monsters that we have to worry about,” Eduardo cautioned, his tone stern. Sam nodded in agreement and told the rest of the team what he had just been told.
“Watch out for any suspicious occurrences in the woods. They might not just be a backdrop for this event.”
The others nodded, but Reaper glared at Sam.
‘Why do we have to follow you anyway?” The man said, addressing the whole group. “What gives you the right to lead us?”
Eduardo began to angrily rebut the man, but Sam raised his hand.
“Please, let me defend myself. Look, Reaper, I was chosen to lead this team because I am the strongest among us. If it was not for me, you all would still be under the effects of the forest. If you think that you can lead us more efficiently, then prove to me that your power is sufficient to protect everyone here.” Sam crossed his arms and waited for the brash man to answer. Reaper scoffed angrily, but wisely did not attempt to press the point.