As I continued down into the strangely red-light of the tunnel the space quickly grew from a crawl-space to that of a normal-sized walkway fit enough to have two lanes of people traveling in ether direction...not that I imagined a lot of people would actually be taking this specific tunnel at a time but the point still stood. 

It was interesting to say in the least. The tunnel was at least seven feet tall and twice that wide, seemingly built like a dungeon than a tunnel and eventually the cacophony of roaring and screams reached my ears through the silence. I didn't really have a choice but to go forwards towards the noise or go backwards and back to the meat shop... 

...Yeah. I didn't really want to do that...

I eventually reached a four way intersection with the tunnel going forward, left, and right being at least two...no, three times bigger than the tunnel I had gone through earlier, but the screams were coming down the tunnel leading forwards more so than they were coming from the sides and I stood there for a moment pondering. 

Should I or shouldn't I? 

Going forwards might end up with me meeting some huge, dangerous monster or something else entirely, but going backwards meant going back to the boring, dark streets of the city...

...Yep! Forwards it is. I hopped out from the tunnel and creeped my way through the middle of the giant one. Both ears on high alert and all of my senses going absolutely bonkers with all the things I was smelling. There was meat, screaming, blood, the strange sea-water, musk, and plenty of other not too appealing smells. Most of which belonged in bathrooms and kitchens...and not the good kind of kitchens; The ones that dealt with animal carcasses and sweating, usually fat men sweating and cutting up giant portions of meat. 

Nothing like the decently smelling meat-market I'd been in earlier...hopefully no one came by and stole the pile of gems...hopefully they got back and weren't mad that I took their entire stock once they saw said riches. 

I looked back at the tunnel for a moment, the twinge of regret and guilt tugging at my chest: however, I stuffed those feelings down and went forwards. What was done was done and whatever happened now was no longer my problem. I paid my dues and even though I took everything, and left the payment out in the open with a bare, defenseless shop, I held no regret for what I did. 

My heart thumped loudly in my chest for some reason, and the screams ahead chased my thoughts away. 

Yeah, this was probably a mistake. My curiosity was probably going to be the death of me this time, but I wanted to know what was going on. If I had to run for my life I'd think about what to do later, but for now I needed to see what was going on...

It took me what felt like a half hour to reach an area where the screams seemed to originate from: it seemed to be a giant hallway leading towards stairs down into a sort of arena. Like a stadium of sorts, but underground...why was there a stadium underground? Unless this was actually a fighting arena...what if it was a giant Colosseum! That would be amazing! 

I quickly skipped over to the top of the stairs and peeked a head over the edge, into the giant screen of reddish-yellow light, to look at what was going on. 

It was a fighting arena! It wasn't as big as a Colosseum but it sure looked like one: the entire thing was a circular area with a floor dressed in red sand...a bit strange of a color for sand but I wasn't going to complain; it had seating in the thousands, maybe even the tens of thousands and it looked like every seat was filled with screaming people of many different races, mostly Beast-kin, but there were plenty of humans too. 

I guessed it was probably a sixty:forty ratio between them...and it seemed like there was a match going on as well! I saw two people in the center at least, and it looked like they'd just gotten there because one of them was looking extremely determined, and the other looked almost bored. Unfortunately I couldn't smell any thing other than the stench that permeated the place, but the announcer soon floated down into view. They had a sort of Jester flare to their suit and a polka-dotted top hat that looked much to large to be on their head, oh, lets not forget to mention they seemed to be a rabbit beast-kin too...

Were mad-hatters a thing here? If so I wanted absolutely nothing to do with one... 

"Aaaaalright folks! You've all seen how things have played out so far between Fist Hammer and the countless people he's crushed tonight! Almost fifteen by my count! What do you all think about this new participant?! Will they too be crushed under the planets Mr. Hammer weilds as natural weapons?!Or will they be the one to come out on top and claim the spot of Fifth for the up-and-coming Dark Gladiator Games!?!" The announcer scanned the crowd with arms splayed wide as the crowd roared with a thirst for violence and blood. "Well, you all know the rules: Last one standing wins!" 

"Begin!!!" The rest of the area went dark as the announcer disappeared, with only the ring being the part of the Colosseum that was bathed in light. A giant cage of metal weaved itself over the entire ring but the competitors didn't wait for it as they closed in on each other. I watched as the male with the earlier determined expression changed face to that of a person with Fear as the other person released an aura that got even me wanting to trip over my tail and run away as fast as I could. 

{Resistance Gained: (Fear Resistance (Lv. 1))}
{Skill Level Increased: Fear Resistance (Lv. 2)} 
...
{Skill Level Increased: Fear Resistance (Lv. 6)}

The man with the giant gauntlets released a roar that shook the metal canopy above the arena as he charged the other man. It only took two seconds before he was before the other with a gore-covered fist raised to strike, and it seemed that the effect had worn off by then as I didn't feel the absolute need to run anymore, but it was definitely a nagging feeling I had in the back of my head...

The smaller man dodged to the side quickly and took some distance as the larger one's fist buried itself into the side wall of the arena. He seemed like he'd been disappointed earlier, but seeing that his fist didn't actually connect he looked over and a little bit of malicious light entered his eyes. 

"Oh? You 'ere abl' to dodge tha'? Under th' effect of Fist's (Fear Aura)?" The bigger man, Fist if that was what he was calling himself, scoffed. "Fist'll come at ya with a lil' mo' powa now..." He suddenly disappeared, appearing before the smaller man and I watched as Fist's gauntlets came down from above like a meteor descending upon the other man's skull. The smaller man let out a sort of squeak in fear and promptly disappeared as well, reappearing at least a hundred feet away from Fist and looking a bit strained. 

I took that chance to (Spy) on Fist's stats: 

Name: Fistmr Blood
Species: Human
Condition: Blood-lust, Normal
(Class B+)
Estimated Rank: A
Job: Baker, Mercenary
Personal Level: 85/100
Health: 7165(+)/8000
Constitution: 800
Strength: 1100
Magic: 200
Dexterity: 600
Mana: 1500(+)/2000
Stamina: 6000(-)/12000

Skills: Enhanced Body (Lv. 65), Enhanced Might (Lv. 66), Roar (Lv. 56), Dash (Lv. 68), Blow Absorption (Passive).

Special Skills: Unstoppable Punch (Lv. 45), Piercing Blow (Lv. 48), Fear Aura (Lv. 52), Damaged Redirection (Lv. 63).  

Resistances: Physical (Lv. 98), Stamina Drain (Lv. 87), Magic (Lv. 46), Fear (Lv. 78), Death (Lv. 7).

Titles: Giant, Blood-thirsty Beast, Unorthodox Baker, Merciless Killer.

Holy Taloncakes! This guy was stronger than Redline is! I wouldn't want to be anywhere near a kind of monster like that...not until I had at least a thousand more points in (Constitution) and (Strength). Even then I would be hesitant seeing this guy also has strength in the thousands, even if only a hundred points over...

The other guy was barely above level 70 and his highest stat was (Strength) at 900, and his second highest being Dexterity at 450. The rest of his points seemed to have split between Magic and Constitution: barely giving him 2500 health, and half that was gone already! People in the higher levels were absolutely insane...Why would the other guy even try to challenge Fist with such a high level difference between the two?

...oh, wait. Most people probably couldn't see other's stats, so he probably thought he had a chance...

The smaller man with the (Teleportation) ability wasn't fast enough to dodge the next blow and Fist's gauntlets came down upon the poor human once again, ending in a splatter of brain matter and gore as they tore a bloody path into their ground. Reducing the other man into a bloody splatter of blood and gore all over the sand, and a giant roar echoed from the crowd as the light's came back on. 

Fist's level didn't seem to change though, so I guess there was a certain point in level disparity  where a being wouldn't get any experience for a kill...seeing this reminded me of how cruel this world was and how even at higher levels: a person only barely ten levels above another wouldn't stand a chance in the slightest. 

I needed to get stronger, but I also wanted to have a little fun in this world. As what use was there in being reincarnated into a fantasy if you didn't enjoy it...especially since I'm essentially a kid again. Though my instinct were both a blessing and a curse it seemed, otherwise I wouldn't have encountered this place and realized that I needed to be a lot more careful...period. 

                                                          --------------------------------

Red couldn't believe it--well, actually, she could--why does this keep happening to her?!

And why today of all days?! The worst possible day for everything that could go wrong, going wrong! First it was losing her targets, and then it was encountering a (Young) Dragon, then it was the guards switching out at the last minute just before getting in the city, and now the Dragon was no-where in sight...of course not literally, but he disappeared again without warning. 

And she had no idea where to start looking... 

Redline sat in her chair at the small alley-side bar, ears and tail drooping as she drank her milk and sulked. Sunrise was going to be in three hours! She was going to be home even later than usual, and it was all that damn Dragons fault! 

She felt a small tap on her shoulder and looked over to see nothing there...so he was finally back. Now of all times? Redline swore that she had the worst luck imaginable and set a few coins on the table for the drink. It was more than it was worth but she was there after their closing time and they hadn't bothered her to get her to leave, plus, she could easily afford it anyways.

She downed the rest of the warm milk and make her way out of the building, into a near-by alley where she lost her temper in the darkness. 

"What were you thinking running off like that without saying something about it?! You can easily get hurt here, or worse, and I would be the one taking the heat for anything that happens to you." She hissed and the glowing purple eyes of the (Young) Dragon appeared in front of her only a few paces away. They were downcast and sad, and she could tell that the dragon was feeling more than a little guilty at what he'd done. 

Redline sighed and set her head against the wall--dirty as it was, she didn't really care: she'd been in and had to push through worse before, "Okay look I will admit that I am annoyed with you, but I am not angry with you. Just please try to say something to me or show me something and where you're going to be going otherwise I'm going to be taking you to an artificer and getting an Aura Tracking Crystal to use..."

She saw that the (Young) Dragon had their head tilted in a curious manner and her mood lightened as she smirked in amusement, "That's an object used to track pets, creatures bound to another in a way that varies from a good bond to a collar with an Obedience Crystal embedded into it. Though those are generally looked down upon by the public they are still used in cases where an animal doesn't listen to a master, or is dangerous and needs to be contained." She saw the dragon's eyes move a little farther away from her and there was a hint of fear in the visible eyes, causing Redline to quickly ease the creatures thoughts with as genuine of a tone as she could manage. 

"We would never do that with you. With a Dragon period. Not only would it be dangerous for every party involved but it would only make everything worse in the long term." She waited for a few moments as the dragon processed the information and then he seemed to look at her with hopeful eyes, "Yes I will not allow anyone to try and force you into submission. I promise that and I'm sure Pops will make sure you're untouchable too once we go and meet him... Shall we?" 

There was a bobbing motion as the purple eyes went up and down at a slight angle and Redline nodded as they disappeared, "Alright. Follow me then, I'm sure we'll be there in no time now that we don't have to go through any more check-points..." 

She stepped out of the alley and traveled at a rushed pace towards home, subconsciously taking the quickest routes there and almost forgetting about Sc'the behind her until she heard an alarmed cry sound out behind her. Redline slowed a little and grit her teeth with frustration looking at her system clock. Still around three hours till sunrise and it wasn't that much farther away...Hopefully she'd be able to sneak in and pretend that she was just out training, though that was unlikely as there was no feasible way she imagined herself getting past Pops. 

Especially not with a clumsy Dragon following behind her with no sense of stealth other than the inherent invisibility that kept him from sight. She internally cringed at the amount of noise his claws were making just from scratching the pavement as he skittered along after her. Even if they were sharper than they looked he surely didn't know how to use them properly, as to make as little noise as possible; having retractable claws helped, sure, but that didn't mean he couldn't learn. 

Pretty soon the large expanse of land that Red called home came into view: it was near the middle of the second district, only a twenty minute walk away from the gates out of the city and about an hour away (walking) from the Noble District, and just the walk through the main or side roads took up most if not all of the travel time without using skills. It was--simply put--a giant of a mansion: with nearly half a hundred bedrooms on one floor alone, ten or more full sized bathrooms, a giant pool inside and another a short distance away in the yard, and a well kept, neat pathway full of different kinds of bushes and plants. 

Redline was used to the scene by this point so she just took the shortest path through the yard and lept up onto the overhanging roof to sneak around to a window on the second floor. She quietly used her tools (her knife) to open the latch on the sliding section and push the lower half up. Thankful that they were always so silent and smooth to open whenever she did this. 

She tried going through different windows on different floors every time she snuck in or out of the house, but every time her Pops was there sitting or standing. Inside or in the yard 'training' he was there...It was extremely frustrating for her. She stepped quietly onto the floor, looking around for any sign he was there and seeing nothing, but not believing it just yet, she quietly closed the window--after making sure Sc'the was inside of course--and re-secured it. 

She creeped over to the door, telling Sc'the to wait where he was for the moment and opened it to peek out and into the hallway. Looking both ways and waiting for several minutes she breathed a sigh of relief and stepped through. Leaving the door open for Sc'the to follow through as she crept her way down the long hallway towards her room. 

She quickly passed by several doors, all shut, and stopped several times to peek at the doors that were still cracked open a little before continuing down. She was about ten doors away from her room when her muscles froze in fear, turning slightly to the left was a door that was barely open enough to slip by her notice and there was a glowing red eye staring at her own from a ghost as the door opened slowly. 

Redline's fur puffed up and she smiled meekly at the glowing ball of fire, "Hi Pops. It's been a quite a night hasn't it?" 

[Author]
Nearing 3K words with this chapter, I'm hoping that I wasn't rushing this scene too much as I'm extremely bad with pacing in anything I do. 

Anyways I hope you enjoyed...onto the next chapter!!

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[/Author]

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