They had improvised a small arena where the eating tables were. Someone had drawn a few circles with strange shapes that resembled an alchemy circle at the place we were supposed to fight. Despite the early hour, a crow was already around it, passing money and shouting excited by the fight. I noticed that the ones who were more eager for it seemed to be the slaves, which I found odd since we both were also slaves.

Maybe people simply didn’t care.

Michael came running toward me, giving Arlam a suspicious look. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard. You are really fighting?”

“Yeah, it had to be done.”

“I don’t like it. It’s too dangerous.”

“He is going to be alright, slave,” Arlam told him, cold as ice. “I’m sponsoring him and I doubt Cain will best my investment.”

Michael got silent, despite his face telling me he wanted to argue back. He was smart, and wouldn’t make anything worse for him against a knight. Suddenly, a fire sparked in his eyes and he put his hand over my head. “God will protect you.”

I didn’t know if I would need god’s protection, but who I was to deny any help? The winners took what they could and used what they were given. Only the losers tried to succeed without relying on everything they could get.

“Thank you,” I told, and I meant it.

“Come on, we need to go,” Arlam told me, almost shoving me to keep walking.

I entered the circle, feeling a strange sensation like when a spell was cast near me. I didn’t see anything different, but the circles had to mean something. What I did see, was Justin looking at me with a poker face, with Rodrigues behind him like a good bodyguard.

All I wanted to know was what he was thinking allowing Arlam to help me. It felt like I was being punished, or that he gave up on helping me out of the blue. I was sure I hadn’t done anything wrong and worth his anger; and now that I could get a godly weapon, I was sure he would increase the help offered to me since it would benefit them the most.

Maybe his intuition was telling him that letting me die would be for the best now, who knew?

The voice of the crowd shouting my name like some sort of mockery was also making things bitter. Things seemed to have spun against me for some crazy reason I couldn’t see. All I could do now was to fight, get my vengeance and show them to not fuck with me.

Trumpets echoed around us, looking out of place. Cain came off from inside a building with a group of people following him like he was some sort of celebrity. On a closer inspection, they also seemed to be blocking the view of someone, probably the tattooed man. Which was confirmed when everyone started to shout Anderson over and over again, which could only be his name.

Cain stopped in front of the circle, but his people were still blocking the tattooed man's view.

“Ladies, gentlemen and slaves. Today is a bright and wonderful day, for you are all to witness a battle rarely seen!” He walked around the crowd, happy to get the attention. “A fight to the death to end a blood feud between two men who are at each other throats since they arrived here!”

He entered the circle and pointed a hand at me. “Aron scarface! The only slave to ever survive a few days inside the cursed [Memoir]. The man who will be fighting today to save the honour of his believed wife.”

Only a few cheered for me. Mostly those who were near Michael.

Drums started to echo now, from where I had no idea. “And from this side, the man who looks like a human canvas. The man who for some reason decided to torment Aron. The one I’m sponsoring for this fight! Anderson!”

The people surrounding him opened a path and as soon as I saw him, my heart froze, while everyone went silent.

He looked like a dark night from an RPG game. Clad in a black and thick metal armour; holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Both look to be of great quality. But it was not simply the heavy investment in armour that made everyone silent.

“A [Silver Core]!?” Justin shouted angrily, breaking his poker and cold face. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Cain looked perplexed. “Why? No rule said I couldn’t give him one.”

Justin went silent. Cain was right about that and we had already agreed on the fight. I looked at Arlam, guessing that this had been his plan all along, but the look on his face told me otherwise. He was genuinely surprised.

Surprised and angry.

“A [Silver Core] is too much for a slave!” He spat, “They are not worth one.”

“This one is mine, and I’m his sponsor. I think the prize he will be getting will be worth it.” He smiled. “You were the fool to not think about it, you could have given your fighter a [Gold Core] for all I cared. But now it’s too late, and I will fill my pockets with money.”

I hated Arlam for all he had done to me, but now I hated Cain even more.

“How fucked am I?” I asked Arlam, just to be sure.

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“He has 1000 points of mana and his core has two to three effects, his shield had twice the capacity of yours. Maybe her even has a linked rune on it.” Arlam veins popped up when he answered me. “Unless he is a loser, you won’t win this.”

Anderson entered the arena. “Ha! I told you I would fucking kill you!!”

Closing my eyes, I breathe slowly, thinking of a way to win against him. I already knew he was a weak coward, but depending on the spells he had at his disposal, even a coward would be able to win a fight. My best bet was to make him lose his cool to spend his mana pool wrongly or to never give him the chance to fight back. The last option wouldn’t normally be hard, but I was not sure how his capabilities were increased by his armour set.

For all, I knew he could be twice as strong and fast as I was.

I opened my eyes and pointed a weapon at him. “You are all talk. Like a dog who only knows how to bark.”

My comment made the crow mock him. I could already see hints of him losing his cool, especially by the way his lips were curling.

“Ok boys, time to fight. This will only end when one of you falls dead on the ground.” Cain said and immediately jumped out of the circles.

Anderson took the initiative and cast a spell against me. Sparks appeared around his sword, and with a horizontal slash, he send a blade of electricity flying toward me. I ducked low, avoiding the attack that hit an invisible wall behind me and at the end of the circle.

“That’s the best you can do?”

“I’m only starting!” His next attack made the earth below me tremble. Debris started to spill from the ground right in front of me, until a spike made out of stone came out from it, aimed at my head. I moved by instinct, only avoiding it because of the 70% increase in movement speed.

The fight was getting dangerous, so I rushed toward him. I summoned my beholder, ordering him to keep his gaze focused on him and cast the decaying aura on my sword when I was close enough to hit him. A dark green aura surrounded both the weapon and part of my hand. I immediately felt my skin burning, and my nose was hit with the smell of rotten flesh. Even so, the pain was not enough for me to stop, so I attacked his head.

His mana shield took the blow, but it waved strangely, in a light green tone. He tried to attack me with his shield, but I got down and hit his groins with my second sword. This time his shield didn’t wave, which could only mean it was due to my aura of decay. I hit his leg next, hoping to make him fall, but the attack didn’t even make him budge.

A shield engulfed in electric energy hit me in the head. I felt my [Mana Shield] getting down to only 30% which was a lot for a single attack. One more and I would be open for him to kill me.

The crowd was shouting. I rolled back, getting some distance between us again. The inside of my hand was scratching, probably due to the healing effect saving me from the effect of the decay. Checking my sword with the decay effect, its durability was now at 90%.

“Even with all that fancy gear, this is all you can do?”

“Look who's talking! I almost got your head!”

I got up, smiling. “I will love to see your head rolling on the ground. Maybe I will even piss over your dead body.”

His answer was a second spike coming out from the ground. I cut it before the attack hit my chest, only for a third spike to come out from the second. It hit me hard, taking away another 15% of my shield. If I would guess, I had taken only 10-15% of his.

Having no other option, I closed the distance between us and attacked him again, doing my best to avoid all of his attacks and hitting him back with all I had. He wasn’t trained and was only relying on the boost provided by his core and gear. My aura was now doing more damage to myself than his lame close hand attacks.

After I managed to hit him in the head for the fourth time, he jumped back, laughing. “Having fun? I let you have your share just because of the crowd, now I will kill you fucker.”

I doubt he was only playing with me, so I rushed to keep beating him, which had been a mistake. The air around me vibrated like never before, to the point that everything became blurry for a second or two. four dark portals appeared around me, shooting chains that bound me, making it impossible for me to move my arms or legs.

"I told you, loser! Your wife will mourn your death tonight. Maybe I should send her after you?"

The image of Vanessa dead flashed inside my mind. That brought something dark from deep inside me. I felt a warm sensation pumping inside my heart and spreading to my chest until my body started to burn like my blood had become magma.

You have overcharged the mana inside your Mana Heart!

Your body is bursting with Mana!

You may die if your body can't handle the sudden Mana burst.

All your runes and powers are now stronger!

The aura of decay spread to my whole body, destroying it at the same time the aura of healing healed the injuries. I become a living circle of destruction and renegotiation.

The crowd went silent, or maybe it was I who wasn't able to hear them. The chains binding me in place became rusty and broken. I rushed toward Anderson, faster than before and hit him with both swords at the same time. His [Mana Shield] broke while both blades became rusty.

Bubbles appeared all over his skin, filled with pus and blood. He screamed as I cut his belly open with a single attack. Pus and black putrid blood fell from inside him. He fell to his knees, trying to hold the guts gaming out from inside him.

A primal hunger for pain took control of me. I held his head and spread the aura of decay all over him.

His skin was now greyish. He looked sick and frail. His eyes started to dissolve and blood fell from every hole possible.

Only when he fell dead over the ground, did my mind start to make sense of all that happened. My body was also covered in bubbles with puss, so I cancelled the aura of decay and started to roll in pain while my healing aura did its best to keep me alive.

It felt like my heart would explode from the Mana circling inside it. Bursts of pain shoot through my bones and muscles.

All I could do was roll and agonize, wishing for death to embrace me so the pain would go away. Suddenly, it felt like my skin was being priced by tens of needles, which slowly made the pain fade away.

You have survived a mana burst.

You have almost succumbed to the darkness inside you.

The Gods are now closely watching you.

Those Who Shouldn't be named are now closely watching you.

Feeling like trash, I ignored the messages and got up, almost falling again due to my lack of strength. All eyes were turned to me, most filled with horror and disgust. Even some of the knights looked afraid of me, or of what I have done.

Rodrigues was holding the hilt of his sword. Cain was looking at me like he had seen a ghost. Arlam was also holding the hilt of his sword while looking nervous.

Michael and the people around him were looking at me like they had seen the devil manifested. And I couldn't blame them for that after what I have done.

But Justin's reaction was the one that got me by surprise, for it was the only one who went against all the others.

He was simply smiling.