Ran gripped the hilt of his iron training sword, his palms sweating against the leather wrap as he stepped into the arena.
It would be lie to say he wasn't scared, he was bracing himself for the absolute chaos about to happen.
The arena was packed. The core Bloodrune branch and their close vassal families filled the high ranking seats.
They were here to scout the new generation and recruit the strongest survivors into their personal squads. If you performed well, you have a use. If you didn't, you were discarded.
At the very top of the arena was the Patriarch of Bloodrunes.
Somes Bloodrune sat perfectly still, his blood-red eyes locked onto the five hundred children below. He looked completely calmly scouting this generation's prodigies.
On either side of him sat his brother and sister.
They are one of the elite swordsmen who had survived this same brutal ordeal decades ago.
To Somes' left, a bulky man named Roland took a long drag from a cigarette, blowing smoke into the air.
"A battle this early? Seems a bit much for their mental growth, don't you think, brother?" he muttered. "Most of these kids are going to be ruined for life if they even survive the trauma."
Somes didn't answer. His terrifying eyes stayed fixed on the arena floor, his silence casting a heavy pressure over the guards nearby.
"Oh, shut up, Roland," a calm voice cut in from the right.
It was Colette, a beautiful blonde woman in white armor. Despite her feminine looks, she was incredibly dangerous.
She had mastered the sword at an early age, and her thin, needle-like sword rested across her lap. Her blood-red eyes were flashed with cold amusement.
"We faced this exact same ordeal decades ago. Those who can't handle it are useless to the family anyway. Did you forget your own graduation? Didn't you kill a hundred and thirty of your own blood siblings to survive our era?"
Roland laughed it off, waving his hand.
"Hey, that was just a joke to pass the time."
Though he laughed, Roland shot a glance at Somes. The Patriarch hadn't moved an inch, staring straight into the space below.
Roland had a bad gut feeling. He internally monologued; I feel like this time the exchange event is going to be much harsher than anything they had put through. Is Somes that desperate?
Down in the pit, the rules were announced over the speakers. They were simple.
The guards were releasing three heavily weakened abyssal monsters into the arena. The children had to survive for three hours.
They could fight, run, or hide. Killing your own siblings was also allowed, and doing so would be encouraged.
Five hundred children stood in the colossal arena, gripping their weapons tightly. The goal was to survive the event.
Ran scanned the crowd and spotted Kael and Vael standing together. The twins were completely silent, their faces pale.
They were still weakened from the beating Ran had given them few months ago in the hallway.
Seeing the family's top prodigies looking so helpless made the spectators whisper, wondering if the twins would even survive.
Suddenly, the massive iron gates ground open, and three monsters stepped into the light.
Ran recognized them instantly.
A flaming Hellhound, a massive green Brute Orc, and a giant green Viper.
Ran felt a spike of anxiety when he saw the Viper. In the game world he remembered, a Viper was an Epic-class monster, while the other two were just Rare-class.
Even if they were weakened, there was no way a bunch of six and seven-year-olds could kill that thing.
But there was no time to think. The monsters charged, and the battle began.
The clash was instant and brutal. The Viper moved like lightning, snapping its jaws and spraying green acid.
Within seconds, dozens of children were ripped apart or melted to the bone. The Viper had the most kills, relentlessly tearing through the crowd.
Ran felt a wave of hesitation.
He wanted to avoid killing the children; despite everything, they were still just kids to him, and he couldn't bring himself to butcher them.
He decided to focus entirely on the monsters.
He ran toward a group already fighting the Hellhound. It would be a lot easier if he knew the official Bloodrune Sword Technique, but only the legitimate children were allowed to learn it.
Looking around, he could see some high-born kids already coating their blades in a thick red mana aura, fighting with unnatural speed.
While the hound was distracted by a group of branch students, Ran climbed up a broken pillar and launched himself onto the monster's back.
He reversed his grip and drove his iron sword deep into its shoulder.
Hot, foul blood spurted everywhere, soaking Ran's arms. His hands shook violently.
It was the first time this body had ever stabbed a living creature, and the raw sensation was jarring.
The Hellhound roared in pain and thrashed its body, throwing Ran hard into the sand.
Other kids tried to use the opening Ran left, but the hound swung its massive paw, crushing them into the stone floor.
Ran dragged his bruised body back to his feet and charged again, but the hound slammed the ground, shattering the stone beneath it.
The shockwave shook Ran's body so hard he almost fell.
But these kids weren't weak either. The brutal eighteen-hour daily grind meant they were highly trained and strong enough to lift literal boulders.
So some of them managed to survive.
Ran managed to stabilize his stance. He closed his eyes for a split second, forcing his internal mana down into his sword.
A faint, blood-red aura flickered to life around the metal. It was unpolished, but it is what it is.
Ran leaped into the air, swinging his sword in a clean arc.
The faint red energy slashed deep into the hound's thick neck, but the hide was too tough to cut through completely.
Seeing the opening, another child slid underneath and hacked at the hound's leg, cutting the tendon and making it lose its balance.
The hound crashed to the ground, and the surrounding children ganged up on it, slashing its body repeatedly.
In response, the hound let out a terrifying, high-frequency roar.
The sonic blast was devastating. The kids closest to the beast instantly went deaf, blood spraying from their ears, while some lost consciousness entirely.
This time, Ran didn't hesitate. The shaking in his hands replaced by a cold, menacing aura.
His mind locked onto one goal: kill the monster. His hesitation turned into raw strength, and his fear was completely consumed by his battle intent.
He enchanted his legs with mana and burst forward like a flash of lightning.
This hellhound dwelt in hot, dry volcanic areas and dense forest coasts. Its main weakness was the center of its neck.
Ran blurred through the dust. With a clean, lightning-fast arc, he completely decapitated the hound. He stabbed his sword through the severed head and held it up, confirming the kill.
Seeing the monster fall, the surrounding children immediately turned their eyes on Ran.
In their desperate minds, they thought that if this guy was powerful enough to kill a Rare-class beast, killing him would define their own strength.
"Get him!" a boy yelled, and a group of seven children attacked Ran in unison.
Ran completely lost his initial hesitation.
"If you want a fight, I will give you one"
He spun on his heel, parrying the first strike and cleanly cutting the boy's leg. As the kid collapsed, Ran stepped inside the guard of the next attacker, driving his blade through his chest.
He became a whirlwind of efficient butchery, cutting legs, hands, and heads.
The area around him turned into a complete bloodbath. Ran was entirely covered in the warm blood of his half-siblings.
If he was pushed to the edge, he had to do what was needed to survive.
Up in the stands, most of the spectators locked their eyes on Ran. The casual talking stopped.
Even Patriarch Somes shifted his posture, watching the blood-soaked kid calmly dismantle his attackers.
Suddenly, the entire arena shook violently, making everyone fall to their knees.
It was the Brute Orc. It had been pushed to the edge of death by another large group, but instead of dying, its skin turned a deep crimson, and a burning aura erupted around its body.
It swung its massive club, shaking the arena again and sending a dozen kids flying through the air.
So this a berserk mode in real life.
Ran remembered that this was the monster's key ability when pushed to the brink. It had lost its sanity, but its power was doubled, making it twice as difficult to fight.
What a pain in the ass, Ran thought, gripping his blood-slicked sword tightly.
The Orc leaped through the air and landed with a deafening crash right in front of Ran.
Ran didn't back down. He stood his ground in the clearing dust, looking up at the muscular wall of flesh.
Slowly, he extended his right arm, pointing his sword directly at the monster's chest in an invitation to attack.