Before my vision cleared, I was shoved forward, and something heavy and loud slammed behind me. I stumbled forward, blind, until I hit a stone barrier of some kind, and a wave of laughter washed over me. As my vision began to clear, I heard a voice come into focus.

"As always, you ask, and the Crimson Kingdom delivers! In front of your very eyes stands yet another fresh contestant ready for the slaughter!"

A wave of clapping and laughter washed over me. I started to be able to pick out some of the nearby conversations.

"... So handsome..."

"... Gonna get torn apart..."

"... I bet fifty crystals on this match... Don't let me down..."

"This specimen's one of the few, the brave, steadfast, loyal, mmmmmmmightyyyyy Templars of Lights Hope Temple!!!" The voice shook everything around me.

Cheers exploded out of the crowd.

"And tonight, he fights his first battle in the Pit down here in the Dregs, the only place where you can find the blood, sweat, and carnage you so desperately crave!"

More cheering.

"Get your bets ready, ladies and gentlemen, because you have only a few moments before our challenger, the mighty, the magnificent, the magnanimous Runo the Bonebreaker enters the ring." The voice, a man's, growled out his final word with as much promised bloodshed as I'd ever heard.

In response, the entirety of what I realized was a coliseum exploded in applause and loud conversation.

"... Runo!"

"... Cut him down!"

"... Have my babies!"

"... Good bet..."

"... Well built..."

"Oh, fuck no," I muttered, squeezing my fists so tight my joints creaked. Reaching for my scabbard, I found that my sword was missing. So was my shield. "Fuck!" I'd forgotten I'd thrown my gear down when I'd saved Ennel's dumb ass.

Whipping my head around, I took everything in at once. I was in a gravel fighting pit. It was dug maybe twenty feet into the ground, and all around it, a massive stadium was carved into the stone. Hundreds of people of all races and walks of life filled the bleachers. Looking up to the sky, I saw what looked like stars, but they didn't seem right. Wiping my eyes, I looked again. On second glance, I realized they were bright, multicolored glowstones.

I was underground.

"Oh shit."

"This match is sponsored by The Broken Pickle Tavern, the premier destination for nobility, merchants, and laborers looking for some liquid relief after a long, hard day. And don't you forget, no matter your race, size, or tastes, the ladies and gentlemen down at Madam Phea's Palace have the cure for what ails ya! And, make sure you grab a drink at one of our many concessions. The drink of the evening is Leaky's Pink Cherry Sour Ale. They're going fast, so get 'em while they last; otherwise, you'll be..." There was a long pause. "... Aghast!"

A new round of applause answered the announcer's advertisements.

"That wasn't even a good rhyme!"

There was a grinding noise behind me. Two men wearing some sort of bronze armor, red hoods, and face coverings walked out of an opening in the stone wall of the pit. One was holding a shield and sword, and the other had a quill and paper in his hands. When they got close, the former thrust the weapons into my hands and said in a thick accent I didn't recognize, "Take these."

I held my hands up and got ready to scrap. "Where the fuck am I?!"

The man who'd carried the gear shook his head. "Your new home." He pointed at the sword and shield. "Our men said you used those. Take them or don't. I don't care," he said, throwing them into the gravel and dirt, then crossing his arms. "Fight well or die. Your choice."

In a nasally voice, the other man asked, "What's your name?"

"Fuck Yourself. First name, Fuck. Last name, Yourself."

"I see." He began scribbling on the paper. I tried to peer over to see what he was writing, but he shifted so I couldn't make out his words. "I wish you the best in your match. If you have any questions, kindly hold on to them until you're safely in your quarters, if you make it to them. And remember: the matches last until one participant dies or the lords decide they're over. Don't hold back, or you're done for."

Both men turned and marched away. Seeing my chance, I dropped down, picked up the gear, and charged at them. Swinging at the paper guy's neck with as much strength as I could, I nearly cut his head off, but before my blade hit, a horrible pain shot through every nerve in my body.

"And look at that! We have a fighter!" The announcer's voice boomed all around me. "Even in the jaws of certain death, his animal ferocity shines forth! But what will happen when he encounters the wrath of Volkash? Find out in just a few minutes! And remember to purchase your drinks early! I swear, they vanish in the blink of an eye!"

Reaching up to my neck, I felt something clamped around my throat. It was some sort of metal collar. When had that even happened?

The two men disappeared into the opening they'd come from, and I was left alone in the middle of the pit, heart pounding, butthole clenched in terror.

I was gonna fucking die.

"This just in: the name of our mighty warrior from the great temple to the south is... Sir Say-It-Again-and-See-What-Happens!"

The entire stadium started cackling at me. This was not my proudest moment.

"Everyone, feast your eyes: Runo the Bonebreaker enters the riiiiiiingggg..." He really had that growl down.

A gate on the other side of the pit ground open, and a figure stepped out from the darkness of the tunnel.

She was a halfing.

At least, I thought she was. She was easily half my size, didn't wear shoes, had furry feet, and had a head of wild brown hair. She was wearing an actual combat bikini, was painted in some sort of Conan-esque warpaint, and wore basically nothing else. In her hands was an oversized butcher's cleaver, and her eyes were wild. Lifting her cleaver into the air, she roared the kind of roar that I was confident a rabbit would make.

Contrary to my expectations, the audience went ballistic. Everyone started screaming. Flowers, cups, even a pair of what looked a lot like men's underwear, cascaded down on us from up above.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The halfling snatched one of the flowers out of the air, bit the entire bulb off the end, and spat it at me. When the flower hit the dirt, she grinned.

I waved. "Um, hi. I'm Alex."

Her grin turned into a snarl, which turned into a roar. The crowd went wild again.

When I got teleported to another world, I didn't imagine anything like this.

Dragons?

Fuck yeah. Let's go.

Hot elf girlfriends?

Got one. Kind of.

People who cared about me?

Done.

Badass fighting skills?

I really hoped they were enough right now, because this bitch was starting to stamp her feet at me. Like a fucking bull.

"Fighters. Arrrrreee yyyyouuu rrrrrrreadddddyyyyyy?!"

"Fuck it." I lifted my shield and raised my sword. They were at least as good as the hand-me-downs I'd gotten from the temple. If I were going to die, at least I had some good gear in hand.

"Begin!"

Fast as an arrow, the halfling darted forward and slashed at my ankle with her two-handed meat cleaver.

"Shit!" I jumped backward and adjusted my shield. Aside from the goblins, who'd mostly used arrows, I'd never fought anyone so short. I adjusted my shield lower.

"Yeyeyeyeye!" The halfling slashed three more times, with each slash aiming for a vulnerable spot on my legs.

By the third strike, I'd gotten the right angle and blocked her cleaver. It buried an inch into my shield and got stuck. Twisting my body, I pulled my leg back, and, with the entire chain of my body, I punted her.

It was like kicking a five-year-old. My boot connected with her torso, and I felt the snap of bone reverberate up my shin. She flew across the arena, her cleaver skittering to the side and her feet dragging twin trails in the sand behind her, and slammed into the far wall and fell into a heap.

Was that it?

"What a strike! Sir Say-It-Again really lives up to the hype, don't you think?"

The crowd actually went wild.

The halfing woman groaned and looked up at me. I thought maybe she'd be ready to surrender, that we could figure something out, but no. Her eyes were wild. And yellow. And slitted. Like a cat's.

"What the...?"

She pulled herself onto all fours, then started crawling toward me. With every step, her body changed. Her bones popped and grew longer. Her hair got thicker and spread across her arms. She grew, too. Within seconds, she'd quadrupled in size. A tail, long and black, sprouted from her ass. Within seconds, she'd turned from a crazy halfling into a full-on black panther. The kind I'd dreamed of befriending when I'd first arrived in Reial. A man and his panther companion, taking on the world.

Was this my time?

"Hey, Runo? Want to join forces? We could fuck up all the bitches together!"

She snarled, snapped her fangs in my direction, and started to circle me.

"Yeah, okay." I knew that wouldn't work, but I had to ask.

The panther circled left, then right, clearly looking for an opening. As she circled, words appeared in my mind:

You receive the quest [Surviving the Pit of Galden: Runo the Bonebreaker]

I slowly rotated my body, doing my best to track her with my sword and shield. Even with how big she'd become, I didn't want to underestimate her speed or agility. "You gonna pace around, or are we gonna do this thing?"

She yowled and began walking faster.

Digging deep, I did a self-check in. It felt like I could use [Iron Skin] once, maybe twice more. Probably twice. If I used [Second Wind], I could use it a few more times, but I didn't want to waste the remaining uses I had. I'd have to chance it. If I could get her to attack recklessly, maybe I could get by with that one use. If not, I'd need to conserve. "What, the big bad kitty afraid to attack little old me?" I stuck my lip out. "Poor wittle puddy tat."

She snarled, and her body flashed. There was a soft pulse of energy, and her bones began popping. Her fur got thicker and brown, her muzzle grew longer, and her body doubled in size again. Within seconds, I was staring down a massive brown bear twice my size.

"Holy shit."

The bear woman charged. Crossing the gap in two strides, she threw her entire body at me, hurtling through the air like a bear missile.

[Iron Skin]

She hit me like a freight train, slamming into my shield and knocking the wind from my lungs despite my skill. I tumbled head over feet, barely clinging to my equipment, until I slammed into the stone wall of the arena. Springing to my feet, I raised my sword and shield just as she arrived in front of me. I stabbed forward, catching her face, but she didn't care at all. Her massive paw lifted into the air, and she swung.

[Iron Skin]

My vision blacked out as her massive paw struck my shield, shattering it. My entire body was thrown sideways, and I collapsed in a heap. Pain radiated from every joint.

[Second Wind]

As if thirty cups of coffee were poured into my veins all at once, I felt every inch of me burst with energy. Kipping up, I landed on my feet just as the Runo lunged at me. This time, rather than staying put, I jumped to the side.

She rushed past me and crashed into the wall, cracking it.

Slashing at her shoulder, I cut a thick gouge into her arm, opening her skin to the thick fat beneath.

Chuffing, she pulled her head out of the hole she'd made in the wall, turned, and narrowed her eyes on me. They narrowed, and she gave me what I could only describe as a bear smirk. It was unnerving. "You got more, or was that it?"

"Ruh ruh, ruh!" The bear grumbled the way bears do. Lifting onto her back legs, she began beating her chest with her paws.

Hopping backward, I readied myself for her next charge. This time, I had an idea. "Hey, bitch! Why don't we end this? You and me, one charge. What do you say?"

She dropped to all fours and glared at me. Considering me for a long moment, her mouth opened, and she roared.

That set the crowd off.

"It looks like this match is getting down to the finish line! Here's to hoping our bets were blessed by the Goddess! She knows I need the luck right now!" The announcer's voice echoed throughout the space, followed by the chattering of the audience. From the sounds around me, they were more on Runo's side than mine. They were about to be in for quite the disappointment.

Dropping into a running stance, I looked up at my opponent and did the only thing that came to mind: I roared at her.

Her eyes grew wide. Stamping her feet, she wiggled her butt, pawed at the ground, and charged.

The instant she moved, so did I. With every bit of strength I'd earned in this world, I rushed forward, digging furrows in the dirt and gravel underfoot with every step. Lifting my sword, I pulled on all the energy inside of me, threw myself headlong at her, and used the skill granted to me by the constellation of the Shield.

[Iron Skin]

My skin hardened. Grabbing my sword halfway up the blade, I aimed straight for her throat. She roared right before we collided, then we crashed together with the force of an earthquake. I was thrown backward, tumbling head over heels.

My vision was spinning by the time I got back to my feet, but I was alive. But my sword was gone now, and my shield was destroyed. Looking toward the bear woman, I saw her standing tall, paws in the air, her head straight up. That pissed me off. If I wasn't shit, she could at least finish me off. "What? Was that too much for you?"

A half-groan, half-whimper came from the beast.

It was then that I noticed her body was shifting. The fur on her limbs was falling away, revealing tanned skin beneath, and she was shrinking. As she did, a trail of blood poured from her mouth. That's when I noticed my blade was protruding from it. I'd buried it up to the hilt in her throat.

As she shrank, Runo's lips distended more and more, until the sword split her cheeks. Blood began pouring from her mouth as her throat swelled, the blade obviously cutting her from the inside. She reached from the blade's hilt and tried to pull, but it was stuck fast. With a final whimper, she teetered, her eyes rolled back, and she fell in a heap on the ground, dead.

"AND JUST LIKE THAT, THE MATCH IS OVER!!!"

The crowd went wild as the announcer hammed it up. As he did, more words appeared in my mind:

You complete the quest [Surviving the Pit of Galden: Runo the Bonebreaker]

You reach level 11.

+2 Strength, +2 Resilience, +1 Agility

You complete the Fighter (★) task [A Good Fight]

You reach level 12.

+1 Strength

"I don't know about you, but I just lost good money on this fight. Looks like the Goddess wasn't on my side this day."

A wave of boos fell down on me, along with more than a few cups of alcohol.

"Now, now. Show some appreciation for this newcomer. He fought hard and well."

The crowd gave a few begrudging cheers.

"Who knows? Maybe this one can finally be the one to take down the Slasher? Until then, let's wish Sir Say-It-Again good luck in his next match. Goddess knows he'll need it! And remember, there's only one place to fuel up after a hard day: The Broken Pickle Tavern!"

A wave of curses and cheers washed over me. I'd made, and lost, people a lot of money today.

Staggering over to my fallen opponent, I pulled my weapon out of her mouth, feeling her skull bones scrape against the metal as I pulled it free. Feeling sick about what I'd just been forced to do, I looked around, hoping to find an escape from whatever fresh hell I'd found myself in. Instead of escape, I found a group of masked and hooded men exiting the gate and heading toward me.

Lifting my sword, I pointed it at them. "Want to try me, too?"

One of the people, a man who looked suspiciously like the guy who'd snatched me in the forest, lifted his hands.

"What, gonna do that little Earth spell again?" I readied myself for the attack.

Unlike earlier, where green energy had floated off his body, black energy swirled around his arms. With a flick of his wrist, the energy darted away from him and directly at my throat. When it struck, my head snapped back, the sword fell from my fingers, and everything went dark.

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