Gomu flew back down, his one eye clearly showing signs of exhaustion which Maxwell was quick to mockingly point out, and after getting his face wailed on by Gomu’s fluffy white wings, the two got down back to what matters, planning their next move.

“using my flight for scouting huh, don’t let it go to your head but that was smart, unfortunately I didn’t spot anything too interesting, there aren’t any other contestants or monsters that I could see. I say keep going forward, there is lake not too far away from here, it seems like a good place to hide [Legendary] equipment.”

Maxwell was squatting on the ground, using a branch to draw lines on the dirt, formulating a plan from what little information he got from Gomu’s quick trip to the clouds.

“did you see a way out of the forest, or at least where the forest ends?” Maxwell looked up at Gomu just to be met with a wing chop to the face.

“IDIOT, this whole floor is nothing but forest, its just trees and mud all the way, and its massive too, thankfully Lord Loki places an illusionary barrier around the floors to limit where the games take place, anyway, we should get moving, staying still is not wise. I didn’t see anything dangerous but its very easy to hide from my eyes in this form.”

Abandoning the urge to complain about the gods and their twisted ways, Maxwell got to his feet and pressed forward, brushing past one tree branch after the other until he reached the lake Gomu mentioned.

If it wasn’t for his rather unfortunate situation, he would’ve actually taken the time to admire the beauty of the lake’s clear water, teeming with colorful fish the likes of which he’d never seen. It was as if he walked into a painting made by a man who sees the world though rainbow-colored lenses.

“this is…beautiful.” Maxwell exclaimed as he submerged his arm under water, and to his surprise, all the colorful fish swarmed towards it. “oh, how adorable, hey Gomu, look—”

Maxwell looked back at Gomu while playing with the hoard of colorful fish, only to see it crashing into his face at top speed while screaming obscenities at him. The force was enough to knock him down, pulling his arm out of the water and causing the fish to scatter away.

“ow, what the hell was that fo—” Maxwell tried to ask, but before he could let the words out, Gomu was already lecturing him.

“YOU FUCKING IDIOT, ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?” so many veins appeared in Gomu’s eye that Maxwell that it was about to popout of its socket. “those monsters are the variegated scourge, they are native to this floor and are extremely dangerous, STOP PLAYING WITH THINGS YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU FOOL.”

“pfft.” Maxwell smirked, refusing to believe that the little colorful fish were anything more than what they appeared to be. “I’ve had my arm in there for a while and its just fine, maybe you’re the stupid one, those things don’t even have teeth big enough to actually bite through anything thicker than paper.”

“you absolute dolt, their teeth are small because they feed on magic power, they weren’t playing with you, they were draining you! The only reason you aren’t dead is because you’re so weak, all living things have mana, but the stronger a creature gets, the more mana it generates and its magic channels open wider to compensate, that’s what those things target. Had you been the same rank as the other contestants, they would’ve sucked away over half of your mana already.”

Magic power, or mana for short is one of the most essential tools in the arsenal of anyone who intends to go into battle, adventurers, knights, and common soldiers alike, however, no two people use mana the exact same way.

Mages spend their days researching spells and incantation of old before eventually developing their own unique ones, and while there are many different subclasses under the mage umbrella, almost all of them focus on long rang battle to compensate for their lack luster physical abilities.

On the other hand, barbarians and swordsmen as well as their subclasses use mana to increase their already formidable physical abilities and charge into battle head on.

Many other classes exist that use mana completely differently. Assassins, summoners, brawlers and many others; however, no matter how strange and absurd one class gets, it still uses mana as a foundation no matter what. It is the source of all life and the most potent way to take it. Every warrior and adventurer knows at least the basics of what it is and how to use it, including the simple fact that running out of mana means instant death.

Maxwell, much like everyone else, knew about the dangers of being drained of mana as well, which is why he was still left speechless by Gomu’s terrifying explanation. He looked at his wet arm curiously and after focusing a little bit, he could actually feel that he was missing some of his mana.

“if you want more proof just look at the lake, do you think those things are looking at you like you’re a friend?”

As he looked at the shimmering water, Maxwell saw the hoard of colorful fish staring right back at him, standing motionlessly, as if waiting for dinner to be served. He shuddered and looked back at Gomu, this time with an obvious frown on his face.

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“and you wanted me to dive in there you bastard!!?? No artifact is worth such a painful death, [Legendary] or not.”

“obviously I didn’t see the scourge from so far away, you idiot! If I had, we wouldn’t be here, you can probably kill them and try going in but the water is too deep to see all the way through, so there might be more of them down there, or maybe something even worst. Its not worth it.”

Maxwell took a deep breath and got back up. “well, anyway, we should get moving, I don’t want to trip and become a meal for these colorful basta—”

“M-M-Max!” Gomu interrupted, but its voice no longer held the tone of anger and disappointment it usually had when addressing him.

“Max? what’s with the— wh-what?”

As Maxwell turned around to face Gomu, he saw something horrifying, the one thing he was trying to avoid most, another participant of the Tartarus tournament.

“hoh, finally someone else!! But you look so weak, where are your muscles?”

A man of his size could only be described as a behemoth, he towered over Maxwell in height and one of his biceps alone was the size of a normal man’s chest. His face was permanently decorated by many scars, and even more were hidden under his thick red beard. He was what the very definition of a berserker, wearing no armor on his upper body and carrying a weapon almost as big as he is.

In his hand he held a giant club, crudely made from a massive tree trunk, and already stained in blood. Noticing his horrified shifting eyes, the giant man let out a bellowing laugh.

“not very elaborate, but it sure is useful, there are a lot of weak monsters roaming around, yet these god guys summoned us here without our weapons, how stupid, how can they enjoy a tournament with no swords.”

The giant tossed the club over his shoulder, sending drops of fresh blood towards the lake and watching in confusion as swarms of colorful flesh fought over them.

“well, no point in introductions, let’s fight!” and with those words spoken, he vanished as if he was never there, leaving Maxwell confused, but relived.

Maybe he left, maybe someone else grabbed his attention, or maybe the gods did Maxwell a favor and teleported him away. All those ideas ran through his head at lightning speed, only to disappear just as fast when a massive shadow loomed over him.

“hmm, you are… a little too weak aren’t you? Are you sure you belong here?”

Maxwell looked to the side, and saw the muscle bound giant looking down at him, with his almost comically large club hanging only inches above his head, dripping blood down onto his face.

“there is no fun in beating a weakling, so I’ll get going, you should make yourself scarce kid, you aren’t fit to be out in the open. Ah, how unfortunate, I got excited and all…” The giant walked away, mumbling to himself with slumped shoulders, leaving Maxwell shaking in his boots.

As soon as he was far enough away, Maxwell fell to the ground, all strength leaving his body in an instant. “h-holy fucking shit, so that’s a [King] rank? I-I didn’t even see him move, just how strong is he.”

“y-you got really lucky to run into him of all the others… your people named him the first dragon slayer, Aslan the saint of Lumia, and thankfully he’s a battle junky who only fights those he deems worthy. Its twice now that your utter weakness saved you.” Gomu’s wings flapped haphazardly, matching his wavering voice, consumed with fear that he could only poorly hide.

“WAIT WHAT? Did you say Aslan the first dragon slayer? That guy was a legendary adventurer that died hundreds of years ago, everyone knows the story, but how is he here, it’s been so long since his death, Limia isn’t even a kingdom anymore! what are you talking about?”

“I never said the contestants have to be alive in the current era to join, the gods pick the roster from across history, the only reason you got dragged into this was because the king demanded we get more contestants from current times minutes before the game started.”

“you sure are saying some interesting things, I asked the flying brick following me about the current situation in Lumia but he didn’t know anything, I even used my famous persuasion skills on him but…”

The voice of Aslan caused the two to shudder in fear. They never expected him to stay after declaring that he was unwilling to fight Maxwell, let alone that he’d listen in on their conversation and even take attention in it.

“it sounds like you do, so I’ll be asking you next… but it looks like it’ll have to wait. Someone is coming, don’t move from there, I’ll keep you safe until I get what I want.”

Maxwell and Gomu shuddered upon learning of the arrival of another participant. They looked towards the tree line, waiting for under muscle bound giant to appear, but instead a young child marched out from behind the thick branches.

She looked as if she was no older than 13 years of age, her long meticulously maintained hair and elegant dress would fool most into believing she was a lost noble’s child, her youthful looks gave Maxwell a small sense of comfort at first, but he quickly noticed something wrong with her almost perfect visage, a certain glint in her eyes, one he only saw once before when he watched in terror as the demons ripped apart the lifeless bodies of his friends in delight.

It was the look of bloodlust so strong that it overpowers any sense of humanity or sanity one may have. It sent shivers down his spine, but it also brought forward a certain memory, one of him sitting around a camp fire in the late hours of the night, exchanging stories with the friends he held closest.

He remembered one tale in particular that unnerved him on that day, one of a legendary monster that existed long ago, one that twisted the very concept of innocence merely to drown her victim in despair. The expression of fear and anguish on his face worsened as he remembered more details of that horrifying story, and it all accumulated in him letting out a scream of horror.

“GOMU FLY AWAY, THAT’S—”