Two men fought bravely in the colosseum, each clash of their tridents sending violent ripples through the arena.
Devyn slammed his legs onto the battle stage, shooting forward toward his opponent and stabbing his trident toward his neck.
The man tried to dodge by countering with his own trident, but his eyes widened as his trident broke under the force, and he was sent flying.
Slamming his back into the hard walls, green blood sipped out of his mouth.
Devyn, seeing his opponent sent flying, didn't follow up but gathered all his strength before flinging his trident at him.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!
The water was ripped apart, circular waves erupting around the trident due to its speed.
Its sharp throngs slammed the man into the wall, driving him deeper into it.
The man stood there wide-eyed as the trident's throngs nailed his forehead, mouth, and heart.
Life slipped off him, and quietly his hands dropped to the side.
Devyn walked toward his opponents, pulling out his trident from his head, with eyes filled with arrogance and disdain.
He didn't feel remorseful, no, not at all; this was him showing mercy for daring to be challenged.
"Devyn!"
"Devyn!"
"Devyn!"
"Devyn!"
"Devyn!"
"Devyn!"
To the world roaring his name with fervor, he raised his trident in pride, then roared into the water, sending a powerful ripple through the arena.
-- -- --
Zeras looked at the man, Devyn, then looked away and at the dead man instead.
He confirmed the man was truly dead, as he wondered what kind of extremely brutal fight this was.
And the entire crowd seemed to want this, as they chanted his name as if he were a hero of sorts.
Devyn left the battle stage, and the crowd also left soon.
Zeras mixed in, exiting the gigantic colosseum as he arrived outside.
In the streets, gargantuan sea beasts moved through the waters, with Atlanteans riding them on their backs.
Beautiful multi-colored light from the pearls was stacked and placed throughout the place, acting as a light source.
The place bustled with Atlanteans who swam around, going to and fro for their daily needs.
He was impressed by what he saw.
It really was a different civilization altogether. Although there was no sign of technology, it was still a beautiful place, nonetheless.
It made him wonder whether there was ever a night or a day, as everything was lit so brightly.
The Atlanteans' homes were triangular with a long tip, and the smallest was about 10 meters in height.
The walls were painted white and blue, and the doors were emerald green and made of some jade-like rock.
He checked his body and found that scales also covered his arms and face.
No wonder he could blend in so easily.
If he were a pure human, he would have stuck out like a sore thumb.
He tried to move up, but he found it a little strange.
The Atlanteans are not exactly walking; they are levitating and moving forward strangely.
That was why their movement was extremely fast, twice as fast as a grown man running.]
He also moved up, but it was difficult to move forward, so Zeras spent some time observing how they were moving.
He watched a carriage dragged by a dolphin-shaped fish pass by him, and he clung to its end as he used it to learn to swim slowly.
It was like trying to learn to skate with skating shoes.
After about five minutes, he finally got the hang of it and left the carriage, moving on his own.
The Atlanteans around him looked at him strangely due to that. But Zeras ignored them; it wasn't like they could understand.
"System?" Zeras muttered as he walked around with no particular sense of direction.
[Yes, Host.]
"Oh, you're still there."
He was a little shocked by that. It seems the system was able to even follow him through the trial.
As if being able to listen to thoughts:
[The system is bonded directly to the host's soul, so it can't leave the host unless the host's soul is separated, an assumption that only means the host's death.]
"So, I'm like stuck with you till I die, huh?"
[It is more of the system being stuck with the host.]
"Tch, damn system..."
Zeras muttered as he ignored the AI's smart cursing.
"So, system, where are we?"
[Host is present in an extremely advanced holographic dimension. Whatever lies in this dimension is unreal.]
[That means even though the host can kill a character in this hologram, using Chaos Devour on them won't work because they are essentially just holographs.]
[Host need not bother about the complexity of the surroundings and should instead work on quickly completing the trial, which means automatic exit from this holographic dimension.]
[It would only hurt Host due to his low intelligence.]
"Tsk, damn system. If you were so smart, then become me."
Zeras hissed, ignoring the system.
"Get out of the way, fool!"
An angry voice followed Zeras as he moved quickly out of the way.
A colossal octopus moved past him, no doubt crushing him if he had been even a second late.
"Why are all Atlanteans so violent?"
He wondered before continuing his aimless wandering, but then something caught his eye.
It was a poster on a wall just across, and the poster read five words that made Zeras stop dead in his tracks:
The Atlantis King Battle Competition.