The moment we were thrown back into the cell, my body made a decision without consulting me.
I sprinted—well, limped—straight to the farthest corner of the cage, curled up like a dying cockroach, and… yeah.
Let's just say I "unloaded trauma" in the most primitive way possible.
The girl gagged.The boy turned away.Even the corpse in the corner seemed to judge me.
"Don't look at me," I muttered. "Nature called. I picked up."
I wiped myself with the least moldy piece of straw I could find and collapsed on the ground, spirit defeated, dignity crushed beyond repair.
Nowhere to go.Nothing to clean with.No escape.
Just cold iron bars and the stench of reality.
Minutes passed.Or maybe hours.Time becomes a myth when you're sitting beside your own biological betrayal.
Then—
CLANG!!
The cell door burst open.
"Up!" a Naga guard hissed.
Not again.
Before I could resist, they dragged us out once more, our tiny bodies bouncing against the ground like fragile vegetables being delivered to the wrong store.
The girl whimpered.The boy sobbed.I… accepted the L and moved on with life.
We were hauled down the familiar colosseum tunnel, the roar of another bloodthirsty crowd echoing through the stone walls.
But this time—
Something was different.
Standing beside the entrance was…
A healer.
A real healer.
Except—
massive arms
huge chest
thick fur
long snout
and actual curved horns
He looked like a half-human, half-bison priest.
Or a gym trainer who found religion.
I blinked.
"A… bison?"
The girl whispered, "He's the… healer?"
The boy muttered, "I don't wanna be healed by someone who looks like he eats children."
The bison-man sighed like our existence personally annoyed him and lifted one enormous hand.
Golden light swirled across his palm.
Then—he touched my torn shoulder.
WHOOSH!
Warmth spread through my body.Pain vanished.Wounds stitched themselves.Bones snapped back into place like broken chopsticks magically repairing.
My shame, tragically, stayed the same.
I stared at him with sparkling hope.
"Bro… what type of protein powder are you on?"
He snorted and shoved me toward the gate.
(Absolute healer L.)
We were pushed into a side cage—the same kind the other prisoners had watched us from during our goblin disaster. Bars separated us from the battlefield.
Inside the arena—
Two warriors waited.
A female tiger-kin, muscles like woven steel, striped orange and black fur, claws gleaming.
(Yes, like Kung Fu Panda. Amazing movie. Zero resemblance here. This one looked like she'd bite my legs off for fun.)
Opposite her stood a massive bull-kin, horns so big you could probably hang laundry on them.
Both were humanoid.Both terrifying.Both looked NOTHING like the neat, stylish manga versions.
Reality was worse.Way worse.
The girl beside me gulped.The boy hid behind her.
(Great bravery, my guy.)
I wrapped my hands around the bars, which vibrated like they were trying to disco dance under the pressure of the fighters' auras.
The Naga announcer boomed:
"Exhibition Battle! Tiger Tribe vs Bull Tribe!"
The crowd screamed.
(In excitement. For someone about to die. Very normal.)
The fight began.
The bull charged, the ground cracking beneath each step.The tiger moved like lightning, dodging with predatory grace.
Claws sliced.Horns smashed.Dust spiraled.
Then—
A golden shimmer burst around the tiger's fists.
Golden energy erupted—swirling around her arms like burning light.
The bull roared as his horns glowed the same gold.
Their strikes collided—
BOOOOOOM!!
A shockwave blasted across the arena, slamming us backward into the cage wall.
My vision flickered.
Then—
DING!System Alert:"Golden Qi detected. Higher Life-Force energy signature registered."
I froze.
The girl froze.The boy froze.
(They froze from the fight. I froze because WHAT IN THE RPG WINDOWS ERROR MESSAGE WAS THIS.)
Another notification:
DING!"Observation limit exceeded. Host must grow stronger before witnessing higher-tier combat."
I stared at the invisible message.
"Bro… I didn't ask for early access to the DLC."
The tiger leapt again, golden aura sweeping.The bull charged, horns blazing.
Their powers clashed once more, shaking the entire arena—
And we could only watch.
Bleeding.Tiny.Absolutely unqualified to be in the audience.
Their battle raged for who knows how long.
The colosseum was closed at the top, so the golden energy lit the entire sealed dome like a miniature sun.
Finally, after brutal minutes, the announcer roared:
"Victory! Bull Tribe!!"
Victory meaning—
The tiger was dead.
I blinked.
Brain barely functioning.
"How… the hell… does a bull beat a tiger? One is alpha predator and the other is buffet food."
Earth logic clearly didn't apply here.
Then—
The announcer shouted:
"Next match! Three rat-kin… versus the Bulldog Gang!!"
I didn't react at first.
Then I saw the other two rat kids turning pale.
Then I realized.
Then it hit me.
Oh.Oh no.IT'S US.
We were the next match.And the dogs entered one by one.
For any dog lovers listening—please sit down.You CANNOT pet these things.They're at least six feet tall, built like gym trainers who bully you for not drinking protein, and walk in a pack of five. Damn, where is the rulebook? Where is the balance? Where is my lawyer?
The cage opened, and we stepped forward with faces so pale we could qualify as ghosts. The dogs—especially the one with a head like Chihuahua from my old street—looked at us with a smile. A smile. Why do dogs even smile like that?
And of course, as any respectable MC in a death arena… i was about pee but somehow the boy near me did first .What else was I supposed to do? Give a speech?
The others held their weapons tighter, but all I could do was pray for a sudden heart attack.
Then came the real shock:Another gate opened.
A massive shadow stepped into the opposite cage.
A troll.
A three-meter mountain of muscles, tusks, and "I will ruin your insurance premium."
So now it wasn't just us versus the dog-men…It was all of us versus that.
Great. Perfect. Who wrote this script?
ding!!
defeat the troll !
To unlock the system function .