*Clang!*

*Clang!*

*Clang!*

“Get up, Mika! It’s time for your debut!”

Mika woke up groggily to the sounds of someone banging on her cell. Outside the cell bars, Butcher stood with his arms crossed and a slight frown. 

‘How can she sleep so peacefully in this situation? Is she really just a child?’

Having been in this business for a long time, Butcher knew nobody liked being chained up inside a cage, not even animals.

‘Has she been in a similar situation before?’ Butcher thought, but shook his head, ‘It doesn’t matter. As long as she makes me money, nothing else matters.’

He opened up the cage and unlocked the chains holding Mika down. 

Once they left the prison, he picked up a worn and torn iron sword and gave it to her. 

“Since you use a sword, this should work just fine for you.”

Mika nodded, a trace of surprise flashing across her face as she didn’t expect this brute to know that. 

‘He's certainly not a normal person.'’ Mika thought, revealing a bitter smile, as the revenge she wanted to inflict on him seemed further away than before. 

“Good.” Butcher said indifferently, “Now, before I throw you in the ring, I’ll give you two options: Either you can stay stubborn and fight to the death, or you can accept me as your master, and you’ll gain your freedom.”

Mika snorted, “I guess I’ll fight to the death then.” Her eyes had no fear or anxiety, just an eerie calm, which surprised Butcher, but he didn’t think too much about it. 

He just shrugged his shoulders, “If that’s your choice, you do you. Just don’t expect any mercy from me even if you’re on the brink of death.”

Mika scowled and felt she should stay quiet after that remark lest she says something that might kill her.

‘Heh! Even if I was going to die, I wouldn’t ask for mercy from a bastard like you.’ 

Butcher dragged Mika through a series of tunnels for a few minutes before they reached a caged elevator. 

Without warning, he tossed Mika inside the elevator and brought out a tablet. He pressed several buttons on the tablet, causing the elevator to close and descend deeper into the earth. But before he was out of sight, Butcher left Mika with a few inspiring words.

“Since you want to die so badly, at least make me some money before you go.”

Mika ignored him and focused more on her surroundings. 

‘Can I escape from here?’ 

Now that no chains restricted her and she was out of sight from any prying eyes, she could use her mana freely. Thus, as long as there was an opportunity, she could use her [Blink] spell and leave. 

However, a single glance at the walls was enough for her to understand that they were more than a meter thick. The ceiling and floor might not be, but she didn’t know that, nor did she feel like testing it.

What if she Blinks into the ground and kills herself?

She’s not in too much of a hurry to leave, either. 

‘It's not like this place is all that bad. I can fight opponents here, possibly make some connections, and learn more about the Barlton Kingdom.’

By the time Mika finished her train of thought, the elevator had stopped and opened up. Before she could take in everything, the wall behind her closed on her and pushed her out. Afterward, the entire elevator closed shut, not allowing Mika back inside. 

Mika was surprised that the elevator could do that by itself but was more fascinated by the arena she was shoved into. 

“Woah!!” She let out a sigh of admiration. 

A large open space at least 100 meters in diameter, tons of artificial lighting that kept the stadium bright, and tens of thousands of people spectating! It looked exactly like a colosseum, just underground!

“OHHH!! So, it was true! The Black Mask Guild is really starting today’s show with a little girl!!”

“Fuck yeah!! It’s not every day you see a little girl have to fight with her life on the line!! I can’t wait to see what kind of surprises she’ll show us today!!”

“A little girl, huh? I doubt the Black Mask Guild is dumb enough to throw in some lamb waiting to be slaughtered. She must have some sort of ability. How interesting!”

The crowd went wild as soon as they saw Mika’s appearance, but not a single one of them felt any pity for the girl. After all, this was the fate of the weak in the world of the strong. If there’s anyone to blame for her current circumstances, it’s herself for being so powerless. 

In fact, many considered her lucky for even being able to fight for her own life in the Colosseum. There are many twisted people in this world, and thus, not a shortage of people who would want to pluck this pure, cute, and innocent flower.

This was also partly why Mika did not feel that her current circumstances were that bad. At the very least, she could keep her life and her purity. Sure, she might have to struggle and fight for that in this stadium, but putting her life on the line was nothing new to Mika.

However, she still felt like shit that not a single person seemed to care that she was a child.

‘Do the people in this city just have no fucking morals?! Is the entire kingdom as morally corrupt as this underground arena?! Or am I just surrounded by the worst of the worst?’ Mika thought, a frown forming on her face. Her impression of the Barlton Kingdom was decreasing by the second. 

She knew humans could be the vilest of scum when their true colors show, but she didn’t think it’d be this bad.

‘Sigh… Hopefully, the rest of the Kingdom isn’t like this, or finding my way back home might be harder than I originally thought.’

***

In a small room in the center of the audience sat two people wearing black masks which covered their entire heads. They even wore black bandages underneath their clothes to hide their genders.

One of them picked up the microphone in front of them and spoke with an androgynous voice, “Welcome, everyone, to today's gladiatorial battles! Some of you may have heard this already, but today is going to be a bit different! As you can see, one of the contenders is a young girl at the ripe old age of ten years old! Please put your hands together for… Mika!”

“BOO!!!” 

“WOOOAAAH!!!”

The crowd was split between cheers and ‘boos’ as some were interested in how a child will perform, while others didn’t want to waste their time watching a girl get slaughtered.

“Now, now! I know what you might be thinking, but this girl is different. While her background is unknown, we have confirmed that she has a body as strong as adult Body Cultivators!”

Disbelief colored the audience's faces as they all turned to look at Mika. However, even after several moments, they still had a look that said, ‘Really? That small child is so strong?’

The masked person smirked but didn’t comment on their skepticism yet, “Her opponent this round will be a Stage 1 Black Core Iron-Hide Crocodile, an animal common around The Motionless Sea!”

“Now, get ready to place your bets! The odds are 20:1 if the Iron-Hide Crocodile wins and 5:1 if Mika wins!”

Everyone in the audience pulled out a tablet, phone, or some sort of electronic device and placed their bets. 

As Mika prepared for the fight, she couldn't help but overhear the spectators discussing their bets.

"How much are you putting down?" one man asked his friend.

"I'm going all in, 5000 USD on the crocodile," the friend replied, tapping on his tablet.

The first man whistled. "That's a bold move, but I think I'll play it safe and bet 200 USD on the girl."

Mika gritted her teeth, frustrated that her life was reduced to a gamble in the eyes of these people.

The currency in the Barlton Kingdom, and most human countries for that matter, is the USD, which is short for Universal Standard Dollar. It’s a decentralized currency backed by the Mana Stone Standard–100 USD is worth 1 Initial-Stage Mana Stone.

Immediately after the announcement, the two black-masked people looked at a screen and saw hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, all betting on the crocodile. However, a few with sharper eyes and stronger instincts felt this was a trap and went all in on Mika.

They could tell from Mika’s aura and the confidence within her steps that she wasn’t an ordinary child. Some people in the audience even noticed that the way Mika handled her sword was something only seen in those who had diligently trained for many years, an impossible feat for a mere child.

For such a person to be up against an ordinary magical beast like the Iron-Hide crocodile, they felt it was impossible for her to lose. Thus, this bet was akin to the black market handing out free money to those with a sharper eye.

After about a minute of waiting, the bets slowed, and the black-masked people figured it was time to start the show!

“Alright! Now that the bets are in, let the battle begin!”

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

*Clink!**Clink!**Clink!**Clink!**Clink!*

The deafening roars of the crowd reverberated through the colosseum as a gate on the other side of the arena opened up, showing a large grey crocodile. From the dull luster of its hide, one could see where it got its name, “Iron Hide”.

It came out of the gate, partially confused but happy that it was no longer chained up. But when it spotted Mika, a spike of rage enveloped its mind. 

If it could produce thoughts, it would definitely be thinking, ‘It was those two-legged hairless monkeys that captured me! How dare they confine me! I’ll kill them all!’

*Chet* *Chet*

It clacked its jaw a few times in anger, then charged at Mika, full force. 

The audience quieted, waiting to see how Mika would handle this ferocious creature, but when they looked over, they saw her staring at it impassively, almost as if she were bored. 

Some people shook their heads at the arrogant youth, while others felt their stomachs churn for some reason. The latter was mostly those who bet on the crocodile. 

The audience watched with bated breath as the crocodile ran at Mika, and when it finally neared her, the beast lunged forward!

Their butts clenched a little as they scooted to the edge of their seat, their eyes never leaving the little girl. 

When the crocodile was about to take a chunk out of Mika’s arm, her eyes sharpened, and she swung her sword.

*Shing!*

The swing wasn’t anything impressive, just a normal swing, but it was extremely sharp and accurate. Those who truly understood the way of the sword and its profundities knew that such a sharp yet simple and relaxed swing could only come from an expert.

A second later, the crocodile fell to the ground at Mika’s feet, its head rolling a few meters away. 

“.............................”

A palpable silence seemed to reign over the stadium as everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief at how easily Mika killed that crocodile!

“So easy? Heh! I thought it’d be stronger. I guess the name Iron Hide is nothing more than a joke.” Mika’s immature yet cold voice rang out, snapping everyone out of their stupor.

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! MY MONEY!!”

The crowd cheered in both despair and happiness as Mika had just made a few people rich and many poor! 

However, perhaps the happiest people of all were Butcher and the higher-ups from the Black Mask Guild. They made millions of dollars from that fight, which was tens of times more than what Butcher paid for Mika. And that was just from the first fight! 

Butcher, who was watching from the side, had a massive grin on his face. 

“I knew this girl would be my ticket to fortune! This is only the beginning. If I play my cards right, I could make tens, even hundreds of millions, from her talent. The possibilities are endless!HAHAHAHA!”

As the crowd erupted in cheers and jeers, Mika knew this victory was just the beginning. She had proven herself in her first battle, but there would be more opponents, more battles, and more challenges ahead. She stared up at the artificial lights, and a spark of defiance ignited within her eyes.

'I may be a slave for now,' Mika thought, gripping her sword tightly, 'but I won't be trapped here forever. I'll find a way out of this hell, and I'll make those who sought to exploit me pay for their actions.