Chapter 91- Warming Up

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The night went on without a hitch, there was a little scuffle between the level 75 teams of Rowgen and Auraria but that was it. They headed back in a convoy with the king to his estate where they stayed the night. They were each given a room by themselves.

Elora kept playing on Sol’s mind, she felt embarrassed to be around him in the upper class. He understood it but at the same time it was rude of her. And her mother, she disliked him but he couldn’t care less about her. Of course, he knew it wasn’t important to get on with her.

The next morning, the group met up in a large canteen where guards and the other teams were eating breakfast. 

Tower was the last to come in and sit at their table, he had a rough night.

“You good?” Sol asked.

Tower rubebd his temples simultaneously and sat down heavily, “Fucking champagne, goes right to my head.”

“Eat,” Sharp stated, “We will need the carbohydrates for today.”

Sharp pushed a plate of sausages, eggs, bacon and pancakes in front of him along with two smoothies and some headache medication.

“Are you guys nervous about today?” Tower asked, giving the hint he was.

Spike shrugged, “It’s an easy mission when you think about it, no risk of dying, high pay and we get to go to an afterparty.”

“Good point,” Tower replied as he wolfed down his food.

“I get where you’re coming from,” Sol said, “100 million people are expected to watch it, 5 million will be in the stadium.”

“Fucking hel,” Tower said.

“The number is staggering,” Sharp added, “They had something called the Olympics on Earth, it was about athletics instead of the clash of swords and killing of monsters.”

“Athletics?” Sol pondered, “Like running and shit?”

“Precisely,” Sharp replied.

“How boring,” Sol mused.

Mute seemed relatively calm with the group, she was not a fan of people nor crowds. Since she didn’t speak though, it was hard for her to convey emotions.

“What did her mother say?” Tower asked, stuffing his face.

Sol took a long sip of orange juice before replying, “She hates me, I’m not good enough, I wear second hand clothes- you know, expected stuff.”

It gave the group something to laugh about.

“I would not worry,” Sharp remarked, “Parents of hers only expect the best for a woman like Lady Evergand. I’m surprised she hasn’t been put into an arranged marriage yet.”

“That sounds awful,” Spike said, “What if they suck in bed? Or got a small cock- terrible.”

Tower slapped Sol on the back, “Well he doesn’t have those.”

“Yeah, thanks Tower,” Sol sarcastically replied, “Nice to know I’ve got those things going for me.”

A bell rang out and the entire canteen stood upright. The group was a little unfamiliar but they too followed. The king walked in and cleared his throat.

“We will be leaving in 30 minutes, do not be late.”

The canteen bowed towards him and the king left without saying another word.

“He’s talkative,” Spike said, “Real charmer.”

“I idolize him,” Sharp added, “Perfect model for a king.”

The group finished eating and Tower quickly hoovered the rest of the breakfast up. They headed for the exit of the estate with their badges on and weapons hooked- it was time to go to the games.

They got into the same car and were driven to the stadium. The stadium itself was enormous, twenty times the size of old football ones and could sit 5 million people. It was just a giant oval shape with the stands stretching up hundreds of metres into the air.

There were different stands around the stadium, the royalty, high class, middle class and the poor where the seats were made of cheap plastic. 

Again, once they got close, the streets were packed with fans of all nations and people were singing and drinking in the streets. It was always a momentous day for the western hemisphere of Gaia and the people of New London.

They pulled up into the back of the stadium where thousands of people were waiting for their arrival. They started hollering and chanting different songs when they saw the vehicles approach.

“No speaking to anyone, we are still representing the Unwanted,” Tower said.

“Yes, Sir.”

The driver of the vehicle opened the inner door of the car and Tower stepped out first, the car shifting upwards slightly as the suspension relaxed.

Cameras started clicking and people were screaming for them.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t wave,” Tower said to the group as he started waving.

“Now who’s the one enjoying the limelight, huh?” Spike rhetorically asked.

The group all exited and followed the level 75 team into the stadium building. They were designated a locker room just for them.

10 minutes after getting there a knock came at the door. Tower asked everyone to put on their masks and then opened it.

“Elora?” Tower questioned.

She was standing there in a lovely dress and a bright smile.

“Come in, come in,” Tower pleaded.

She smiled and skipped into the room. Sol stood up straight away shortly followed by Sharp with a bow.

“Good morning, lady Evergrand,” Sharp said politely.

Elora curtseyed back, “I hope you are all ready for today.”

Spike bowed with elegance, “Of course, m’lady,” he said in a posh voice.

“Sorry to butt in, but I came to speak with Immortal for a moment.”

There was a moment of silence from what Elora was conveying, Tower finally got it and he instructed the rest of the team to leave the locker room for a moment. When they had left Elora hugged Sol. He embraced her back.

“What are you doing here?” Sol asked as he sat down.

She sat down too and started twiddling her thumbs, “What did you talk about with mother?”

Sudden guilt overswept him and he leant back, “We just talked about you and your interests.”

“That’s a lie,” Elora smirked, “She completely flipped her view on you.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, she- she hated you, sorry I should have told you but now she wants you to come round.”

“Uhh- yeah, I can come,,as long as it's after the games.”

Elora leant her head into Sol’s chest, her breasts brushed against his legs, “Sorry for coming in so suddenly, I wanted to say sorry for yesterday.”

“For ignoring my existence?” Sol questioned jokingly.

Elora looked embarrassed, “Sorry, again.”

“It’s fine, I can understand where you are coming from. What have you told your parents about me?”

“Not much, just your name by accident- they haven’t done any digging,” she said as she sat back up and smiled, “Not yet anyway.”

“Sounds like a threat,” Sol said with another smile.

She touched Sol’s arm lightly and looked him in the eye. He felt his trousers rise slightly.

“Can we get my team back in now,” Sol said.

“Oh, sorry.”

His team came back into the locker room and Spike breathed in loudly through his nose.

“Smells like a brothel,” Spike joked.

Tower slapped him on the back of the head before Sol did.

“Thank you for letting me speak with Immortal, I’ll be watching- good luck,” she turned to Sol, “I’ll send you the details.

Sol nodded with a smile under his mask.

Elora left quickly with a red face and Tower closed the door behind her. All eyes were on Sol.

“You lasted- what,” Spike pulled the time up on his phone, “Two minutes.”

“She wanted to apologise for yesterday, you know- for ignoring us.” Sol said as he hooked his pouch on his cargo trousers.

“Women can often be confusing,” Sharp said.

“Tell me about it,” Sol added.

“I can already imagine the headlines,” Spike said as he opened his arms out, “Elora Evergrand is dating the Immortal. But the real question is, will it fit? We might never know.”

“It does, thanks.” Sol said.

“Damn, she must have a wide-”

Tower threw a slap at Spike’s head but he dodged it, “Too slow. big man,” Spike said with a wink.

Another knock came on the door soon after. Tower’s giant figure took up the whole of the doorway. A tiny dear-kin was on the other side, she had a clipboard in one hand and was clearly a member of staff.

“T-t-th… “

“What?” Tower said.

“Urm- the brief- uhh- the brief is starting.”

Tower nodded, “We’ll be right out. You guys already?” 

“Aye, Sir,” Spike joked.

They were led to a large room where the guild master was on a stage. All of the other contestants of all categories were present. There were roughly 1000 people present, the best of the best that represented their countries.

Sharp had spotted the groups that were conspiring to cheat in the games, the team had put their faces into memory.

“Right!” The Guild Master shouted, “I will be monitoring every single game and every single team. First off, no torturing, soul magic, monster magic, void magic or space-time magic above the master tier.”

The fighters all grunted in response.

“That means to say no fucking cheating, do you all understand?”

Sol smiled under his mask, the Guild Master acted so polite when speaking to the public but in person he was aggressively rude.

“What about fucking the monsters?” A cocky teenager said.

“Since you’re so snarky to ask you little shit- yes, no fucking the monsters. Over 100 million people will be watching and you’ll be representing your country. Besides, no one would want to see that little prick in your pants,” the Guild Master said as he raised his pinky.

The fighters laughed and the teenage boy was humbled.

“Now, since the rules say that no one is allowed to die. You will all be fitted with these status beads,” he said as he raised up a small bracelet, “These will cover your body in a stasis when your health reaches 5%. You will be invulnerable to anything as long as the stasis tower is activated. When the event has ended, healers will rush out onto the field and repair your body while you’re still in stasis so you’ll wake up fine. They are soul bound and will take up one bracelet slot, so for all you rich kids you’ll need to take one off. Those that will not be wearing these stasis beads are Under 50s Immortal, Under 75s Kain Browse AKA Slime Guy and Under 50s Claria Heart. Their fighting techniques solely rely on their ability to die or reach certain health thresholds.”

“Are we all following along?”

The fighters nodded.

“The first event- Monster Rush will consist of every team. Your team will be teleported into a random place in the stadium. I do not know the different kinds of environment so don’t ask. Monsters will then be released into the stadium, depending on the monster they are worth points. The longer you last in the event the more points you get for your team. If you kill someone, you gain half their points. Basically, it’s a free-for-all. Just survive- there is no time limit- not yet anyway.”

“Those of you will be briefed on Capture The Flag and for the real strong bastards I will be briefing the duelers on the last day. Don’t ask any questions, I will not answer them.”

“Lastly, this is not just a competition but a show, I personally will be holding a style kill competition. 2 Gold is on the line for the winner.”

The fighters cheered lightly.

The Guild Master cleared his throat, “The Under 25s will be starting soon, the 50s and 75s will be led to the fighters box. You will all be checked and handed common pouches for your items as long as they follow the guidelines. Do I make myself clear?!”

“Yes!”

“Good, ‘cause the last thing you want to do is piss me off!”

Sol turned to Tower, “I like him,” 

“Same, but it gives me flashbacks to Boseman kicking the shit out of us in training.”

Spike shivered, “Don’t remind me.”

All of the Under 25s fighters went back to their lockers while the rest headed to the fighters box to watch the opening ceremony.

“Look,” Tower said as they entered the fighters box, “There’s a bar!”

“With a view of the games,” Sol added.

Tower started taking everyone’s orders as the rest headed to their selected seats that overlooked the giant stadium and the center playing field. The field however was clouded in a white mist to not reveal the environment for the events.

“I feel nervous,” Spike said.

“It is only natural,” Sharp replied.

A waiter came over with the drinks Tower had ordered and placed a white package on the table in front of them. They were a little confused at first but Sharp identified what it was.

Sol opened the top and took out 5 small strips of clear plastic. There were wires coming in and out of it.

“I can’t identify it,” Sol said.

Sharp took one and showed the blue box to the team.

UNCOMMON- Voice Disruptor A small device planted on one's neck that when the person speaks their voice will be triangulated in 100 different voices at once making it impossible to identify their real voice. Soul Bound Durability: N/A

“So Ozark pulled in for us,” Sol mused.

“She really is a genius,” Sharp admired, “A mixture of programming and magic.”

“Oi,” Spike said, “The opening ceremony is starting.”

Tower came over and they put on the voice changers.

“How do I sound?” Sol asked in 100 different tones.

“Terrifying,” Sharp replied.

Thousands of people started to pile out onto the field, there were marching bands, dancers, magical showcases, it was a celebration of the games.
“The king went all out this year,” Tower said as he sipped a beer.

A huge ball of green fire shot up to the sky.

“Artificial Magic Colouring,” Sharp remarked. “Incredible.”

A large projector screen switched on from the back wall and displayed onto a side portion of glass. It showed better angles of the performance and then it switched to two presenters in suits.

They were 2 men in their 40s, they looked to be veteran adventurers with ruffled faces.

“What an amazing celebration of Kraos’s 31st year in Gaia. Countless kings, queens and representatives from around the western hemisphere have gathered here today to compete in the annual Adventure Games. My name is Thomas Cricket and this is my co-host Mark Fibber, we will be presenting and commentating on the games for the entire three days.”

“Over 5 million people are here today in attendance, the entire stadium is full with fans from around Gaia. Even with the probable attack from the terrorist group, fans are still cheering like there is no tomorrow.”

“Yes, Mark, there are a lot of special guests here today. We have the Succubus Queen from the Land of Monsters, the King of Auraria- Al Aura Scol. I really hope I didn’t butcher that…”

They continued on with names but Sol perked up when he heard a particular one.

“The world famous Henry Murdoch and his beautiful wife, Princess Selena of Kraos are sitting next to the king in the royalty box.”

The screen switched to a shot of the man himself sitting next to Selena the princess and the King of Kraos.

Sol’s teeth grinded against themselves and his fists were clenched. He calmed himself down and recollected the memories of that terrible day. Selena was the one that saved him and his sisters but she was also a part of the attack on his parents. She was there to kill his mother and father but not them. She had cast a spell on them in the basement making them appear to be dead when Henry walked in.

That wasn’t to say that he felt like he owed her something, she was a part of it all and still despised her.

“Hey, Sol, you good?” Tower asked.

Sol came back from his trip down memory lane, “Yeah, fine, just thinking about something.”

Tower leaned in close, his seat almost breaking, “Are your sisters here? Summer told me she was going to the game.”

“She speaks to you more than me now,” Sol said, “They got the good seats.”

“That’s great.”

Sharp shushed them as the King of Kraos walked out onto the balcony that overlooked the stadium. There were camera drones flying all around him.

“Welcome, everyone, brothers, sisters, kings and queens. Today we are here to not only mark Kraos’s 31st year in Gaia, but all the nations that are here today. We have our differences, there is only one thing that we can all agree on.”

The crowd all cheered.

“And that is the slaying of the creatures of the dark! We no longer hide from them anymore. So from myself and those behind me, I hope we can all enjoy this wonderful event. Let your life last long and your coin longer!

Again, cheering.

“These games are in the honour of the gods and of Gaia, may Odin watch over us!”

Storm clouds began to suddenly swarm over the stadium with powerful lightning flickering off. They began to move into a vortex and lightning struck through the white mist in the centre. It struck again, and again, now hundreds of lightning bolts began to strike the center of the stadium.

“Sharp, what’s going on?!” Tower shouted.

The whole stadium was standing in their seats, some were screaming in fear.

System Notice: Odin has blessed the Adventurer Games. He has seen your pledge and offers assistance in the games. The system has acknowledged the games and will now adapt to it. Please see the details below.

The white mist parted in the center to reveal a circular runic formation carved into the ground. The dirt had been electrified to a point where it turned into a jet black substance.

The camera zoomed in on it and soon the cheers came from the crowd.

“Thank you, Odin!” The king shouted, “Enjoy the games!”

The Ill-Favoured Five were a little shaken up, three of them had their jaws down and the others were in shock.

“That wasn’t real right?” Spike asked.

Sharp was studying the symbols furiously, it was incredible.

Tower started laughing and clapping, “I do not believe it.”

“What a way to start the games,” Sol said with excitement.

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Extra chapters ahead of schedule here.

Sivios.