A monster with no MP and no HP...

It can survive my advanced fire magic, and also can reform and regenerate without any skills or extra visual energy exertion whatsoever.

The only clue I have of how to defeat this thing is the single encounter I witnessed of monk punching the ghoul to death.

Every time his fist would impact the monster's body, I clearly remember its eyes glowing brighter for a fraction of a second, then the glow of the entire beast becoming dimmer every time.

Whatever this life force or energy is, most likely provided by its curse, it needs to be extracted from its body slowly, and the monster will die once sucked dry.

The real question now is, how...?

"I'll have to figure this out fast."

The Ghoul comes running at me again without a moment of rest with its silver blade glimmering orange, and leaving a trail of its residue behind.

I'm struck with a moment of clarity as I use my strength buff to counter the incoming strike of the ghoul and send it flying back again.

The faint cloud of orange mist that trails behind it looks eerily familiar, and things are beginning to add up. Not completely, but enough for me to comprehend what's going on to a certain extent.

"Soul Energy...."

I'm just unsure how and why this works, but theres a high chance I'm dealing with the soul energy of a Lich King. It's orange energy reacts to the air just like the red aura of the hydra's soul energy I'm able to use.

Our weapons clang against each other again and again, and I begin going down my list of skills one by one to see if anything works other than the one thing I'm hoping I don't have to do... After trying to intimidate, plunder MP, lifesteal HP, equivalent exchange health, and even attempt to use telepathy, nothing seems to be getting through to this mindless battle machine and my MP falls down to about half as I sporadically use my buffs to keep up with the monster.

It doesn't slow down at all. The movements of the ghoul are as precise and clean as the moment it was transported into the ring.

Even after slicing the Ghoul in half 4 more times, the crowd only gets more excited every time it gets back up.

The announcer begins to egg them on to start getting rowdy. After the last match of manipulation, the crowd deserves to have a nice win.

However, my mind is running at a million beats per minute trying to figure out a way to injure this monster or replicate the way Monk drained its life force.

Even if I had Demonic Energy on hand, I've found that it doesn't even react with soul energy either.

The only way I'm going to be able to fight on equal grounds with this monster is to use my own soul energy buff.

Its side effects are brutal, but weeks of work in gaining money are on the line here. If I lose now, showing off all these powers to tons of prying eyes would have been all for nothing.

I'll do a single hit, put my all into it, keep it quick, and if this fails too... then there's nothing more to do tonight. I'll have to grind in the arena for a few more days regardless, or find another way to make money and get into the inner walls of the city.

We run at each other once again, and moments before our blades collide, I activate my buff again.

"Red Hydra's Rage."

The less time I'm activated in this state, the better off I'll be afterward.

The shining orange eyes of the creature in front of me pulse brighter and brighter as a veil of red energy floods out from my chest and covers my entire body in an instant. My perception boosts drastically, my speed and power increase at an alarming rate, and my strength increase is so immense the ground beneath me starts crumbling away with every extra wind imbued step forward I take.

Our swords begin to collide, but the moment they do, the crimson energy surrounding my weapon finally reacts with the orange glow around the Ghoul's, disintegrating it on impact.

A chain reaction like lighting fire to tissue paper travels down the contact point of our swords and the Red Hydra's energy completely destroys the orange light that envelops the ghoul in milliseconds.

For the first time in our entire match, I hear the monster screech.

Before it can retaliate, my sword slices straight through its own, sending the two silver halves of metal flying off in opposite directions.

Right after this, the edge of my blade slices the Ghoul in half once again.

This time, obliterating every bit of orange energy and letting the two halves of the ghoul finally fall to the ground with lifeless eyes.

I plant my feet and come to a halt on the other side of the ring, looking back and confirming the ghoul is really defeated before deactivating my buffs and all my skills.

[Congratulations! 2.51x bet won on Fighter: The Flame Emperor]

[Your 400 Gold Base Bet has been returned to your account.]

[604 Gold Credits have been added to your account.]

[Stage 7 Fight Victory: Reward: 171.3000 Gold Credits]

[171.3000 Gold Credits have been added to your account.]

[Total Account balance: 12.5378 Platinum]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[114/1000 Mutant Ghouls Defeated]

As I deactivate my buff, the extreme fatigue hits me like a rock as usual, but I didn't have to use as much of my skills as I thought I would. The adverse effects aren't as extreme as after defeating the Demonic Minotaur a few days back. A single night of rest will heal me up just fine. Even now, I'd be able to fight at at least 80% of my fight capacity if needed.

As the announcer yells out the final results of the match, I still manage to stay on my feet and stare down at the odd text displaying a number of Ghouls defeated.

It itches at the back of my mind, but I soon forget about it and become more consumed in the 10 levels gained and the fact that I reached my money goal in a single night. I'll be able to see my teammates very soon.

The echoing voice of the announcer continues in the ring.

"The Flame Emperor! Will he be taking on the 8th Stage of the arena tonight?"

I ponder to myself what kind of monstrosity they possibly have to offer that's between the levels 700 and 800, but before I even get to make a decision for myself, the same four black knights enter the ring, moving so fast without my buffs active I can't even see them.

The only reason I realize they're here is because one stops no more than 5 meters in front of me and I see a pair of sharp eyes completely orange peer through the slit in the black helmet. I activate my all-seeing eye and buffs momentarily to see the other three.

An echoing noise similar to a telepathy skill sounds out in my head.

"Drop out of the match. The 7th Stage is as far as you will go."

Before I can even think to respond, the black Knight is gone, and its other partners with it.

I'm left in a state of awe and disbelief, wondering what that was about... and if Monk had the same thing happen to him each time he makes it to this point in the competition.

I gulp, and decide to take my winnings while I'm still up.

Crossing my arms and shaking my head, I look exactly like Monk did declining the man's offer.

"Another pass on the unbeatable 8th Stage of the arena. Maybe one day, we'll get to see our two new champions have at it and see who can defeat the 8th stage first! Next time-"

The Announcer goes on, but I'm teleported back to the underground training room in the same moment.

Facing me with looks of awe on their faces less than 10 meters from the teleportation platform are 3 out of the 4 legacy fighters. Max, Sia, and Ace don't say a word as I step back onto the white glossy mana-shielded floor.

Status Updates:

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