“Green side ready?” They waved their green flag on a stick. “Red side ready?” They waved their green flag as well. “Fight!” I called out and moved to the judge’s platform on the side, right underneath the Imperial Box.

“Green unleashes a horde of green squirls quickly spreading out through the arena from their four members. The maximum team size in this format.”

“Red has deployed all manner of slimes. Three blue. Three brown. Three green. Three yellow. It appears each of the three members is controlling a full rainbow. Wait, the slimes are merging together!” They could do that?!

“Two of the super slimes are playing defense, while the third is going for green’s side. Their poison squirls are being ignored. The squirls are covering the distance much faster than the combined slimes! Will the defense hold up by the two that remained behind?”

“Red team is ready, as the slimes surround the base of their flag, leaving no opening. The poison attacks don’t seem to be working. Wait, the squirls are leaping together. One soars over the slimes and langs on the flag. Damage! Green team wins! Cease combat!”

The teams quickly left the field. The losing team left their flag behind for the winning team to take. It was seen as a status symbol. Taking other teams’ flags. “Great first match. Mobility and defense are key in summoning battles. If you defend, you better be able to counter an opponent’s tactics.”

“Next up we have the city sponsored team from Truth on the green side and a single competitor, who has taken up the moniker Thousand Eyes on the red side.” The two new teams were ready to come out as the last teams left the arena. We were going to keep things moving. Thousand Eyes raised his yellow flag.

I quickly went over. “What is it?” I asked without having my voice carry.

“I invoke the field rule,” he said. I noticed he was wearing armor and had a sword at his side.

“You do understand that there is a large risk of death. I cannot guarantee your safety? That you will be a target?” I asked him.

“I understand. I invoke that rule,” he replied, and I nodded and moved away.

“The red side has invoked the field rule! A single summoner can the field to represent their flag. Placing their own life on the line. The risk of death is very real and no quarter is to be given! Risk and reward go hand in hand! His stats are less than fifty, so it is allowed!” The last match had been a bit quick and boring. But this got the crowd really excited. Someone could actually die right in front of them. I could also check their stats as well. Level 2 had a stat limit of a five hundred and level 3 a stat limit of five thousand.

This was a safety measure, so the match could be called before they died, but they couldn’t win on their own. Any serious damage to them, and the match would be called. The same as with the flag.

This was no tame monster battle. While summoners could hide if they wanted to. I had included this field rule. I wanted to see if battle summoners were a thing. The mental strain would be immense, but if someone could pull it off, it would be huge advantage. Since they were their flag.

“Green side ready?” They waved their green flag on a stick. “Red side ready?” The red side raised their weapon. They would also not be able to use flags either. Which was another big risk. They couldn’t surrender on their own unless the referee called the match or they had someone else on their platform. But this guy had no one. He really was brave, but that was what made this so exciting!

“Fight!” I shouted out.

“Green team quickly deploys a combination of wolves with blue slimes on their heads for attack while also sending a group of red beetles into the air. Red team pulls out his summons! There are twelve grass elementals combined to make up that sword!”

People could really be creative. It was honestly impressive. The fact that it was a weapon that could be held, made it a lot less mentally tasking to use summons in battle. Which got around that limitation. “Red team rushed forward as the wolves move to pincer him!”

“Hah!” the man shouted out incredibly loudly and swung his sword. A grass elemental went flying off it from the momentum and struck the wolf in the head, digging into its eyes. The wolf quickly collapsed and the slime went flying. The man swung again, intercepting another wolf as it closed in on him.

The red beetles were closing in. I got ready to intervene if necessary. Fire was spat out. The man skipped to the side. He clearly had invested everything into Body. The last two wolves closed in on him. He swung his sword twice more. While the wolves tried to dodge, their summoners were too slow. The grass elementals dug into the wolves’ heads and they collapsed.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“Red team clears the monsters and reaches the flag! Red team wins! Cease combat!” I called out. The man took the flag and collected up his grass elementals. What a bold and daring strategy. It would be interesting to see if anyone else dared take the risk to act as a flag and invoke the field rule. It was a power multiplier, but the fear of death was real.

Better to lose a few nobodies to see if there was a viable strategy there than someone much higher level. It was the type of combat style that had to be worked up to and the right monsters chosen. Controlling multiple monsters was a massive pain.

As the two teams left the field, it was time for the third match. “On the Green side we have the city sponsored team from the Forbidden City. On the Red side we have the city sponsored team from The Abyss!” Both teams raised yellow flags. One member from each team was taking the field. Both teams had three people on their platforms as well. I noted that their field members didn’t have any tethers.

“Green side ready?” They waved their green flag on a stick. “Red side ready?” They waved their green flag as well. “Fight!”

“Both teams field members retreat behind a formation of armed goblins. The formations advance. The Green side has red goblins which are using fireballs at the Red side. The Red side has deployed a single wolf with a blue slime rushing around behind the formation. No aerial monsters from either teams as the formations close in on each other.”

The cheers from the crowd increased as the goblins clashed. “The wolf is forcing the Green side to deploy two shield goblins to the rear. The Red side pushes forward against the fireballs.” I leapt off my platform, as I got a closer position to the action.

I needed to focus since both individuals were right in the thick of it. That was the official reason. The main reason, was that this was finally shaping up to be kind of interesting. They were level 1 monsters and the control was mediocre compared to the Ritualist. Still, it was just the intro to more exciting battles.

I didn’t do any announcing as both sides engaged in a brutal melee, trying to overwhelm the other side. The decisive move came when the wolf with the slime raced in at a blind spot towards the opposing platform. The blue slime propelled itself through the air.

“Ahhhh!” the man had brought his arm up at the last moment. It quickly began to melt.

“Cease combat! Medics!” I shouted as the slime was already dropping off. The man’s arm was wrecked. “Red team wins!” There were a lot of cheers as the man was quickly placed onto a stretcher and carried away. Since the team used a field member, they didn’t lose a flag.

“That is Monster Battle Arena! Put your life on the line or don’t! Only the most adaptable and clever team will win! Now let’s get ready for our fourth match.” I checked my sheet as I went back to my platform. Blood remained behind on the floor of the arena.

I thought back to when someone had lost their foot due to melting and that had been a death sentence. Now it was entertainment, and their city would foot the bill to heal them. That was required in the rules. If a team fought on behalf of a city and used the field rule, the city had to cover their medical expenses.

Individuals that weren’t sponsored were on their own. But they would get all the rewards themselves. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. I had no doubt, that if a city team won, the Rods of Taming would be taken and given to another team, or that the team had to grind at a higher level to earn more crystals.

There was a standard contract that Samantha had put together for such things. Otherwise, cities would use and dump their people. Since the Monster Battle Arena was being run by me, it was important that that people weren’t unfairly taken advantage of by being left crippled.

Regardless it was accomplishing its main purpose of making summoning mainstream as tactics were worked out. These tactics would play a key role in future battles. While we were unsure if other cities had developed summoning, we weren’t going to let go of this huge advantage. It was also a grinding multiplier, in place of skills.

There were only so many skills that could go around. Summoning through crystals was a way around this. While the energy cost was massive, and would struggle at level 5, it was would get people to level 4 zones they could grind safely and build up their stats even more. That meant more tax revenue.

All these people watching would see the different strategies and more would quickly be developed. That was the reason for the field rule and the flag. Summoners had to defend themselves while attacking. As I announced the next teams, there was another individual team of one that invoked the field rule.

They were covered in blue slimes. I shook my head at this. It was a stupid idea. The city sponsored team had one ranged monster unleash attack after attack, while having a goblin move the flag away. A much more balanced approach. The blue slimes were slowly worn down.

The real trick was that teams knew who they would face next and could make adjustments to their summoning lineup. That interval would get shorter and shorter. Planning ahead like that was allowed, but the teams had their own rooms to summon in, so they couldn’t be spied on.

How much could teams change their lineup? Would they change? How versatile were they? What would the other team do? It would make the matches even more interesting as teams planned and worked out possible strategies. They needed crystals on hand to make the changes to their lineup and to know how to use the monsters effectively. Monsters like the goblins had equipment.

All this played in a factor of one upmanship. I knew teams had people watching the matches and recording things down and working out counters and possibilities. In my mind the smart teams would have three to five strategies and compositions they were really good at and rotate between those. Or a core strategy with a couple spots for other monsters to adjust their tactics.