The crowd roared.

The bright lights and mind-blowing performances that were expected from the Gladiator Games’ openings played out on the massive stage floating in the middle of the realm.

As she sat on the ultra-comfortable chair in the VIP section, separated from the press of bodies beneath, Jessica had to admit there was truth to July’s words.

Just mere weeks ago, when her mother had the ear of the World Tree, getting a VIP ticket to one of the most anticipated events of the decade would have been child’s play. Now, disgraced as she was, a regular one was the extent of her means.

The thought of having to wait in long lines and compete for the bare minimum held no appeal to her. Not to mention having to deal with the loud people. Though perhaps it had some benefits. She had a hard time looking down on regular people now.

The past week had revealed just how much she relied on her mother’s position, even with their strained relationship. Having to deal with cancelled memberships and revoked rights for many of the groups she was part of.

No one wanted to have the daughter of the idiot druid in their exclusive group, regardless of how much they tried to deny it. Which was why she had been ecstatic when Bornie had come to her about the Games.

After knowing them for years, it was clear they were not the type of people that would abandon her over her mother’s crime. Still, seeing it in action sent waves of gratitude pulsing through her heart.

Her thoughts soured at the memory of the tremann. She had gone to her earlier, trying to understand her motivation. The conversation had gone about as well as expected, with the old druid talking over her and barely actually answering her questions.

Even in jail, her mother was still adamant about the tree, claiming she was at peace with her current situation and only wanted Jessica to continue the family legacy.

She wasn’t sure what to feel about everything, truth be told. Her mother was a neglectful, manipulative fanatic whose adoration of the great trees was only matched by her awful parenting.

Jessica didn’t particularly care for the older tremann. Even now, that obsessive adoration of the great trees did not allow her to admit any fault. She was defending its honour, according to her, and there could be nothing wrong with that. What happened with Xiao Lee was simply a matter of being unfortunate enough to be there.

Thankfully, she had long since given up on expecting logic from her mother.

July mentioned her name, drawing her attention away from her thoughts. As she stared at her friends, the only ones she had now, all she felt was gratitude.

Even after what happened, Xiao Lee still angled his head respectfully in her direction with a smile. They still made an effort to go out because of her. Sure, Louisa and July wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but she knew for a fact that Lisa detested the Games.

Yet here she was.

Jessica Eldratre, for the first time in a week, put aside thoughts of neglectful parents and the future of her Grove. For that brief period, she became Jessica, the tremann with friends that cared. And she gave them her full attention.

They deserved no less.

* * *

Anticipation.

All around the pocket dimension, among the multiple massive viewing halls placed in specific locations that would improve the viewing experience, tension filled the air.

Every single one of the million plus cultivators that were privileged enough to get a ticket waited in eager silence for the start of one of the most talked about events of the decade.

Xiao Lee, sitting in the soundproof VIP section his connections afforded him, was not excluded from the tension. Though he supposed it was mild in his case. July was visibly shaking.

Only Lisa looked bored. He looked at Jessica and was glad to see her also staring at the stage with interest.

The anxiety reached a new high when a presence descended upon the realm and a voice spoke.

“Citizens of Lasvania, and esteemed guests from around the world. We welcome you to the third High Battle of the Gladiator Games. The two opponents have travelled far from their homes in deep space for this. A lot of people have made sacrifices to be here, I am sure. For that reason, I am sure most of you are very eager. Worry not, the most anticipated Gladiator Match in history, starts now.”

The way the world seemed to pulse in response to the voice erased any doubts as to the level of the speaker. Only High Cultivators could affect reality so casually.

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“Introducing our first gladiator, with just under a decade in the High realm, a ruthless and proficient fighter he is! Indeed, anyone who follows the Intergalactic Monster Control should have heard of his exploits. A true defender of our Great Nation, please welcome, High Major Leonardo Malley.”

The crowd cheered, and he was grateful, at that moment, for the noise dampening the room provided. The sound of tens of thousands of cultivators cheering with qi empowered voices was almost painfully loud, even seated in the VIP section as he was. He couldn’t even imagine how it loud it was outside.

A man dressed in elaborate armour casually floated out of a portal that appeared above the massive stage in the middle of the realm. His eyes stared at the crowd with apathy from behind his helmet.

Lee recognised him from their backstage as the man with the quiet voice. His eyes caught the major’s own, and the man cocked his head slightly. Though the stage was impossibly far, only made visible by some sort of projection inside the buildings, there was no doubt that the High Cultivator had been staring at him.

The announcer’s voice drew his attention again.

"His opponent, one of the youngest High Cultivators in history. The man, the myth, the legend. The Shining Beacon of the Orion and the Protector of the Northern Gate. Ladies and Gents, please welcome, Thayne Lorax.”

If the previous cheering had been loud, then this was deafening. He knew the Beacon was popular from what little research he did, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.

Unlike his counterpart, a portal didn’t appear for Thayne. Instead, when he appeared, it was as though he had always been there. Lee was no expert on space but from his limited perspective, he doubted anyone that was not a High Cultivator could pull it off.

A blinking notification in the corner of his vision brought his attention to a request he had been expecting.

A fight between High Cultivators was not something most people could even process. There was apparently a way for neural processors to change that. Bornie and July had tried explaining it, but it was far too complex for him. Like most things in Lasvania, he simply accepted that it worked.

He accepted the request to give the Games’ access to his processor. What came next was a bunch of permissions he had to approve, including some like affecting brain activity that had him worried.

Still, he had confirmed the safety of the procedure already. Considering all the important people present, the organisers could not afford any safety issues. The Eldratre scandal still ran fresh in everyone’s minds, after all.

After his agreement was confirmed, a message popped up in his vision.

HOLD ON WHILE WE RECALIBRATE YOUR PROCESSOR.

The world slowed to a crawl.

The change came suddenly. One moment the world was moving at a pace he considered normal, the next, everything from the particles of qi to the people around him were moving at glacial speeds. Even the simplest twitch of his finger took an eternity.

It took him a few moments to adjust to the fact that his thoughts were now moving much faster than his body, even though he had tried to prepare for it.

It was not a feeling he enjoyed.

The only thing he could control in real time was his point of view. It was incredibly strange, as he was able to change perspective without moving his head. He also found that he could make things appear both nearer and farther to an incredible degree. He thought it was a necessary feature, given the sheer size of the pocket world.

He was still exploring what he could do when the announcer’s voice returned.

“The moment we’ve all been all been waiting for. Gladiators, take position. Fight!”

Lee kept his eyes glued to the massive stage where both fighters floated. Though he was not sure how large it was, his new senses had revealed even more of its impossibility. It had to be thousands of kilometres around, he was sure.

The major struck first, and even with the enhancements, Lee had to be careful not to miss it. The man simply flexed his arms a little and his opponent flew backwards with a loud boom that sent him crashing far into the distance.

The resulting crater, when the dust cleared, had to be as wide as an entire city.

The were both back at their original positions in an instant, looking completely unaffected.

Thayne stretched his hand out and pointed leisurely. He made it clear, in that moment, the reason he was called the shining beacon. A too bright beam shot out of his palm and hit the Major in an instant. It disintegrated even the ground below it as it passed, leaving a crater that stretched on for most of the length of the platform.

The first two strikes, going by the previous matches Xiao Lee watched, were always low powered strikes both meant for the opponents to test each other, and to set some baseline expectations for the crowd.

From what he had been told, the platform they fought on was so reinforced that no one below Master could even scratch it. Something Lisa had confirmed.

To see so much of it destroyed in just a single exchange. Though he supposed he should not be surprised given all he had seen about High Cultivators.

After the initial exchange was over, the fight began in earnest. With new senses granted by whatever the organisers did to them, he felt all the space around the stage almost harden to the point where it was impossible to teleport.

The space for a large area around Thayne became full of thousands of spatial blades and hidden traps, ready to tear the Beacon to pieces should he try to escape.

His opponent trapped, the major finished a technique and the space surrounding his opponent started moving at much slower speeds. Yet the man did not immediately launch a direct assault, clearly still wary of his opponent.

It was understandable, given that the man’s stance was still casual and the small smile that tugged on his lips. That caution was indeed rewarded as a very potent wave of star qi filled the space surrounding him.

In a split fraction of a millisecond, the qi collapsed on itself, creating a consuming force so potent; that it sucked in even the surrounding light. Everything from the time dilation bubble to the vast field of spatial blades were sucked in before the force relented.

Lee wished he could talk at that moment because he was wondering how the man was able to wield his qi so quickly even with the dilation. He thought perhaps July would have the answer.

A message popped up in his vision just then, requesting his approval to join a chat with Bornie. He accepted it, feeling a little foolish for not thinking about using the chat feature, since he could use it without speaking.

“I’ve added him guys.”

Bornie’s mental voice was the first thing he heard when he joined the chat.

“Welcome back dude,” July greeted. “Hope you weren’t too lonely in there.”

He gave a mental head shake and was surprised by how much the emotions carried over. The times he had used the chat with Lisa had felt more serious because emotions didn’t transfer well. Perhaps the Games had something to do with it.

“Do you know how Thayne could use his qi so fast?” he directed the question to July, who shrugged.

“It’s High Cultivator nonsense. Don’t expect to know how it works.”

He felt July turn his attention back to the fight, which prompted him to do the same.

What he saw left him shocked.