Training Planet – Final Day.
The sound of metal clashing thundered through the dense green forest.
I stomped hard against the dark earth, shattering the ground beneath my feet to gain momentum, then launched forward. My sword sliced through the air in a perfect arc, aimed directly at Silver's neck.
He didn't dodge.
He simply raised two pale fingers.
CLANG!
The force of my strike should have split a mountain in half, yet the blade stopped violently just inches from his throat, trapped firmly between those two fingers.
I didn't hesitate.
I released the sword hilt with my right hand, twisted my body midair using the trapped blade as leverage, and fired a lethal kick straight into his ribs.
Silver finally blocked with his forearm.
The impact unleashed a shockwave that swept away the dust and obliterated the few trees still standing around our clearing.
"Fast," Silver commented calmly, even in the middle of the raging storm of debris. "But far too obvious."
The next millisecond, he released my sword and counterattacked.
His punch moved at the speed of light.
My eyes barely followed the motion, but the instincts forged inside hell screamed at me. I crossed both arms in front of my chest, concentrating every ounce of energy into defense.
BOOOOM!
The impact felt like a meteor strike.
I was launched backward. My feet tore through the ground, carving two deep trenches into the earth as I was pushed dozens of meters away, dust erupting behind me like gunpowder smoke.
But…
I didn't fall.
My arms trembled violently, smoke rising from the friction of energy, yet my stance remained firm. Slowly, panting, I lowered my guard.
Silver lowered his fist and observed me from across the crater we had just created. The wind stirred his silver hair. Silence ruled the battlefield for a few seconds.
Then a deadly smile appeared on his face.
"Your stance didn't collapse."
He walked slowly toward my sword lying on the ground, kicked the hilt into the air, and caught the weapon before tossing it back to me. I grabbed the handle firmly midair, avoiding the blade perfectly.
"Your bones didn't break," Silver continued. "And your eyes… they finally learned how to focus on victory, Suki."
I said nothing.
I simply took a deep breath and sheathed the blade.
"Go wash that blood off," he ordered while turning his back on me. "The two years are over. We're returning to Lavinsk."
The golden, fragrant air of Lavinsk felt unreal after spending twenty-four months breathing the stench of death and rot.
When the gates of Silver's residence opened, I stopped for a moment on the first step. I remembered this place as gigantic. Oppressive.
But now…
The magical pressure inside the mansion felt insignificant compared to the weight I carried on my own shoulders.
Silver entered first.
I followed silently behind him.
"Master!"
The sharp voice echoed through the living room. Laura rushed down the stairs, followed by Arthur. Kânia sat near the fireplace and smiled warmly when she saw Silver.
"Welcome back. The trip—"
Kânia stopped mid-sentence the instant her eyes landed on me.
Laura froze in the middle of the room.
Arthur merely crossed his arms.
They had been expecting the skinny, traumatized, harmless boy from two years ago.
The thirteen-year-old kid who walked with his shoulders hunched.
But that boy was dead.
He had died at the hands of that monstrous tribe.
I was fifteen now.
Much taller. Broad shoulders. Thin scars marked my arms and the corner of my jaw, and my eyes no longer carried that frightened light.
"Su… Suki?" Laura stammered, barely believing it as her crimson eyes scanned my body from head to toe.
I didn't smile.
I simply gave a short nod.
"Hm." Arthur grunted quietly, trying to hide his shock. He didn't move, but I could feel his aura instinctively retreating from mine.
"We don't have time for sentimentality," Silver cut through the heavy atmosphere. "Suki, go rest and readjust to the gravity here. The event begins in five days."
"Right."
Lavinsk's gravity was heavy, yes.
But compared to that cursed planet?
It was nothing.
On the third night after my return, sleep simply wouldn't come.
The silence of my comfortable room felt deafening compared to the night roars and blood-soaked air of the black forest.
I got out of bed, grabbed my sword, and headed toward Silver's massive training courtyard behind the residence.
I opened the door with as little noise as possible, crossed the hallway while suppressing my aura as much as I could. The technique was still difficult, but I was improving.
When I finally stepped through the glass doors into the courtyard, I realized I wasn't alone.
Laura was already there beneath the pale glow of Lavinsk's moons.
She looked at me.
I looked at her.
Neither of us said a word.
The exchange of glances was intense.
Maybe she thought the exact same thing I did, because she shifted from a relaxed stance into a combat position the moment our eyes met.
She tilted her head slightly.
"Why not?" I answered with a short laugh.
Then we simply charged.
That night, in the dead silence of darkness, I finally met the real Laura.
I never said it aloud, but crossing blades with her felt almost identical to fighting one of the savage monsters from my training planet.
Her style was lethal. Untamed.
Her greatest strength was a bizarrely sharpened instinct. She didn't think before defending; her body reacted and predicted my attacks before my muscles even finished contracting.
It was like trying to strike a shadow.
And unlike anything I had seen before, Laura didn't fight with forged weapons.
She fought with her own claws.
Metallic claws that extended from her knuckles, sharp and deadly enough to rival the steel of my sword.
The night disappeared beneath the endless sound of clashing steel and pounding footsteps against stone.
One hundred defeats.
Seventy-eight victories.
That was my score against her.
By the end, we both collapsed flat on our backs against the cold training floor. Our chests rose and fell violently. We were soaked in sweat, completely drained of energy.
My sword rested carelessly across my chest as I struggled to breathe.
"You…" Laura panted while staring at the golden stars above us. "You became ridiculously strong. I never imagined… you'd reach this level."
I smirked faintly and wiped sweat from my forehead with my heavy forearm.
"The planet Silver took me to was pure hell," I murmured, feeling old scars stretch with the movement. "Most days, dying felt easier."
I closed my eyes briefly.
I remembered my mother's warm touch and her face inside my subconscious.
Lavinsk… they'll take care of you. Be kind.
The echo of her words still resonated inside my chest, calming the blind fury within me and leaving behind a strange sense of peace.
A comfortable silence settled between us, broken only by our exhausted breathing.
"You're going to win, aren't you?" Laura suddenly asked.
Her voice sounded different.
Lower.
Without her usual armor of arrogance.
The question silenced me for a moment.
Every second of my hellish training flashed before my eyes — shattered bones, endless vomiting from pain, black blood dripping from my hands.
I turned toward her.
"I have to win."
Laura didn't smile, but her expression softened slightly.
She lifted her exhausted arm from the ground and extended her fist toward me.
It wasn't a challenge.
It was a silent promise that we would survive whatever was coming.
I raised my trembling hand and lightly bumped my fist against hers.
The Fifth Day.
The Arena of the King's Forest.
I wasn't nervous.
I was excited.
Silver and I woke early that morning. The "stars" of the competition were required to arrive before every other participant and wait inside exclusive preparation chambers.
He walked beside me until we reached the enormous double doors of the reception hall.
Then he stopped.
Without saying a single farewell, he turned and walked away.
I understood why.
I didn't need to hear "good luck" or "you can do this."
There was no such thing as luck.
I had to win.
Failure wasn't an option.
The moment I pushed open the heavy doors and entered the luxurious reception area, I noticed someone was already there.
I had no interest in conversation.
I simply walked to a chair in the far corner and sat down in silence.
The first participant I saw looked around my age.
He didn't even acknowledge my existence.
Or maybe he simply didn't care.
His skin was pale as snow. He wore black clothes beneath a crimson cloak lined with white fur. Short, completely white hair fell over his calm, sharp face.
He merely stared at the gigantic arena outside through the panoramic glass wall.
There was something strange about him.
Something dark.
A silent presence that made one thing perfectly clear:
He would not be an easy opponent.
Some time later, the heavy doors opened again.
Two girls entered the room together, already talking as if they knew each other.
"Haha! We finally made it! I've been insanely excited for this!" the older one shouted with chaotic energy.
"You're always… this excited…" the other muttered shyly.
The energetic girl was tall.
Very tall.
Nearly six foot three.
Her skin was darker than mine, covered in tribal tattoos that stretched down her arms and neck. Her explosive posture made it look like she was ready to tear someone's throat out at any second.
The other girl was her complete opposite.
Small. Quiet. Delicate.
Short white hair. Extremely pale skin.
And pointed elven ears.
An elf.
I listened silently, gathering information while they talked. The quiet one was named Sallys.
The explosive one was Kimiko.
Not long after, the atmosphere inside the room shifted violently.
A man in a suit entered the reception hall.
His presence dominated the entire room instantly.
The organizer.
"Welcome, stars," his deep voice echoed through the hall.
Silence immediately fell.
Kaichin didn't even look away from the window.
"What I have to tell you is simple," the organizer continued, a disturbing smile stretching across his face. "This competition will not be like the previous ones."
He slowly spread his arms.
"This time… we will have a true horror show."
I remained silent, arms crossed.
"For you, this may mean everything. Survival. Glory. Eternal life." His smile twisted further. "But to the gods…"
His gaze turned cold.
"Sick entertainment."
Kimiko immediately raised her tattooed hand.
"And the rules?"
The man burst into laughter.
Loud.
Disgustingly amused.
"There are no rules."
The atmosphere became heavy as lead.
No rules…
I remembered what Silver had told me the night before.
The last tournament had been considered "boring" by the gods.
Too controlled.
Not enough blood.
Not enough real death.
So they changed everything.
They wanted carnage.
The organizer spoke again, interrupting my thoughts.
"To be direct: you four are the only demigods participating."
He slowly walked across the room, examining each of us.
"Many idiots dropped out once we announced the removal of rules. In total, there will be fifty participants inside the arena. Humans, elves, monsters, aberrations, and mercenary races."
Then he grinned widely.
"But you…"
Power leaked from him, nearly shattering the glass walls.
"You four are the Stars."
His voice exploded with savage ecstasy.
"SO CRUSH EVERYONE WHO STANDS IN YOUR WAY! SHOW NO MERCY! THERE ARE NO FRIENDSHIPS OUT THERE! GIVE THE GODS A TRUE SHOW OF HORRORS!"
He extended one hand toward the dark tunnel leading to the arena.
"WELCOME TO HELL!"
We were escorted toward the gigantic iron gates separating us from the battlefield.
The way we were treated was grotesque.
Divine servants looked at us with a mix of fear, admiration, and pity.
As though we were rare beasts about to enter a coliseum built for slaughter.
The moment I crossed the final corridor and sunlight exploded against my eyes, I finally saw it.
The Arena of the King's Forest.
It was colossal.
The stands rose so high they vanished into the clouds. Millions of voices echoed simultaneously.
Screams.
Roars.
Betting madness.
Absolute insanity.
A gigantic holographic panel ignited above the battlefield.
The xnarrator, still invisible to us, had an absurdly energetic voice that shook the bones in my body.
"WELCOME, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO THE MOST ANTICIPATED COMPETITION OF THE YEAR!!"
The arena erupted into deafening applause.
"As many of you already know, I AM HESIOD — THE GREATEST NARRATOR ALIVE!"
Kimiko grinned from ear to ear as the hot wind swept across her face.
"This is amazing! I'm so damn excited!"
I scanned the arena, calculating its size and exits.
"In a way… me too."
The words slipped out unintentionally.
Kimiko immediately turned toward me, surprised.
"Hm? So you do talk?" she said, crossing her muscular arms. "You sat back there like a corpse, shorty."
I glanced at her briefly, expressionless.
"Sorry for being rude."
Then I looked back toward the battlefield.
"I just don't usually chat with my enemies."
Her smile vanished instantly.
"Hey."
The pressure around her body exploded upward.
"You have no idea what you just provoked, brat."
Sallys quickly stepped forward nervously.
"Hey… you two…"
But at that exact moment, Hesiod's voice exploded through the speakers again, drowning out any possible fight.
"LET'S PRESENT OUR STARS!!"
The crowd roared.
The ground beneath my boots trembled.
"STARTING WITH HIM!"
The hologram displayed the perfectly bored face of the white-haired boy.
"THE BELOVED SON OF THE RIKU FAMILY! THE HEIR OF THE FEARED GOD OF PRIDE!"
Hysterical screams flooded the arena.
"KAICHIN!!"
Kaichin remained perfectly still.
Cold.
Indifferent even to his own name.
"AT ONLY SIXTEEN YEARS OLD, HE HAS ALREADY DEFEATED MULTIPLE EXECUTIVE KNIGHTS OF HIS OWN FAMILY!"
More deafening screams.
"AND OF COURSE, HE IS CURRENTLY ONE OF THE MOST BETTED-ON FAVORITES TO WIN THIS COMPETITION! NOW… OUR SECOND STAR!"
The hologram shifted toward Kimiko.
"THE GREAT KIMIKO, OF THE FAMILY OF STRENGTH!"
She flashed the audience an arrogant grin and raised her tattooed fist toward the heavens.
"AT EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD, SHE HAS BECOME THE FOURTEENTH CHILD OF THE GOD OF STRENGTH, VANGOR! AND THE ONLY DEMIGODDESS OF HIS ENTIRE BLOODLINE!"
The audience applauded even louder.
"SHE CURRENTLY HOLDS FIRST PLACE IN OUR BETTING RANKINGS! EVERYONE BELIEVES IN YOUR VICTORY, KIMIKO!!!"
Thunderous applause rained from the stands.
"OUR THIRD STAR IS NO LESS IMPRESSIVE!"
Sallys' image appeared on the screen. She shrank awkwardly, clearly hating the attention.
"THE DAUGHTER OF AN ELF AND THE GODDESS OF ELVES HERSELF — QUEEN ELFHING!!!"
"SALLYS!!!!"
Part of the crowd exploded with excitement.
But something caught my attention.
One side of the arena, filled entirely with elves, cheered wildly.
Another elven section remained completely silent.
They weren't supporting Sallys.
Strange.
"EVEN AT ONLY FOURTEEN YEARS OLD, SHE HAS ALREADY DISTINGUISHED HERSELF IN COUNTLESS WORLD-CLASS HUNTS!"
But my political observations were swallowed by the reality of where I was standing.
Every single one of them was monstrously talented.
Raised and trained by powerful families since childhood.
They had probably awakened their divine powers years ago.
Meanwhile…
I had awakened mine in mud and blood inside a cursed forest barely one year ago.
Hesiod suddenly went silent.
The entire arena seemed to hold its breath.
They were waiting for the final participant.
"AND LAST… BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST…"
My image appeared across the gigantic holographic screen.
Immediately, the arena erupted into boos and insults.
The hatred crashing against me was so overwhelming it physically hurt my ears.
My teeth clenched from the sheer pressure of millions of hostile souls.
"THE PARTICIPANT WHO HAS BECOME THE BIGGEST RUMOR OF THE LAST TWO YEARS IN LAVINSK!!"
My body tensed.
"THE BOY TRAINED UNDER THE WINGS OF THE GREAT SILVER! THE FEARED NUMBER ONE!"
I frowned.
Number One?
"WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT HIM! HIS PERSONAL INFORMATION IS BEING PROTECTED BY THE SUPREME QUEEN HERSELF!"
The hologram zoomed aggressively onto my face.
"BUT I BELIEVE YOU LADIES AND GENTLEMEN ALREADY KNOW WHY!" Hesiod laughed wildly.
Then his voice exploded into manic delight.
"SUKI!!! THE ABERRATION OF LAVINSK!!"
The crowd erupted into furious insults.
"CURRENTLY RANKED DEAD LAST IN OUR VICTORY BETS! WILL HE EVEN SURVIVE INSIDE THIS ARENA?!"
The stadium descended into complete frenzy.
"AT ONLY FIFTEEN YEARS OLD, HE'S ABOUT TO SHOW US WHAT THAT MYSTERIOUS BLOODLINE CAN REALLY DO!!"
I let out a short laugh through my nose.
This entire presentation was ridiculous.
But now I fully understood the gods' sick theater.
They gambled on winners.
Chose favorites.
And transformed our blood, our lives, and our fear into luxury entertainment.
A slow, cold, dangerous smile spread across my face as my hand rested against the hilt of my sword.
Don't disappoint me, you bastards.
"LET THE COMPETITION BEGIN!!"
The entire arena exploded into chaos.