"After taking a brutal left hook, The Iron Sentinel goes down!"

[Unbreakable]

If it weren't for my talent, I was absolutely sure my jaw would have shattered. Even with it, all I could see was stars, then glowstones, then dirt. So much dirt.

The arena erupted in cheers.

"Can he return to the fight, or is he done for?"

As the announcer's voice faded, I could make out the fans' screams:

"Garl!"

"Rip his throat out!"

"Get up, Iron Sentinel!"

That last one was for me. Did I finally earn a fan?

"Get your ass up and make me money!"

Oh. Not a fan.

In the two weeks I'd been down here, I'd leveled twice. But, aside from Elise, who'd been absent since the first week, I hadn't gained a single fan. I knew I wasn't down here for the fame, but it was starting to get to me. Not that I'd won a match, but still. I was pretty okay.

"Three seconds remaining... Two... One..."

With a groan, I pushed myself up. Looking up, I found a foot flying at my face. Before I could defend myself, it connected with my chin and threw me a good five feet into the air.

[Unbreakable]

That time, [Unbreakable] saved my poor, poor teeth.

"Ohhh, that one had to hurt."

It did, announcer man. It did.

After that kick to the face, my hearing went out. Slowly, it started coming back, and as it came back, I heard, "Nine... Ten... Garl wins the match!"

The crowd cheered Garl and booed me.

Dropping my head into the dirt, I let my mind go. As everything went dark, I saw the Goddess's words:

You complete the Shield task [In Enduring, Grow Strong]

You reach level 19.

+1 Resilience, +1 Will

***

"Say what you will, but the Iron Sentinel can take a beating like no other!"

The crowd cackled at me. That pissed me off, but it wasn't wrong. Either way, I had one motivating thought this past month:

Fuck 'em.

It had been a month. I'd been down here a month. No one had come. No escape had presented itself. It was just my cell, the Pit, and beatings. Nonstop fighting. Nonstop beatings. Oh, and they had me mining glowstones in my off time. That was new. Since I wasn't a good boy, as Aerell said, I wasn't allowed to do anything else.

Why couldn't I learn to obey like all the others? That's what she always said.

Wham

Kalnari's fist collided with my eye. "Fighting, hummie! No distracted!"

"Huh?"

"Fight!" She punched me again. This time, I managed to block.

"Good. More fun when fight back!"

I blocked one, two, three punches, but the fourth got me in the gut. I wanted to curse, but all that came out of my cracked lips was a pitiful groan.

Oh well.

The fight was over, anyway. She'd been giving me the works. Once she put me down, I'd just sit in the dirt and let the countdown happen. I was done for the day. All I knew was that I'd leveled again yesterday, and that was good. The levels had been coming slower, but at least they were still coming.

You complete the Shield task [In Enduring, Grow Strong]

You reach level 20.

+1 Resilience, +1 Will

***

"Use it!" The Count lifted his hammer far to the side. With a massive heave that actually cracked the ground under his feet, he swung.

[Iron Skin]

The dwarf's massive hammer hit my shoulder, vibrating my body and throwing me a good ten feet to the side.

"Better! You're not going so far now!" He was so excited.

For one straight month, I'd been getting my ass handed to me by the Count. Training with him was like training with someone's big brother when you were in elementary school. He threw me around like a ragdoll. Every time I got hurt less, he congratulated me. That was something, I guess.

"Again!"

"Okay." When I wasn't training with him, Aerell and a couple of the other handlers were doing their absolute best to break me. Little did they know, I was born under the sign of getting my ass beat. No one could take shit like I could.

The impossibly large hammer flashed.

[Iron Skin]

As I flew through the air, I got to thinking. It'd been two months and three days—I'd been carving the days into the walls of my cell—since I arrived, and I'd gotten much stronger. And, since Elise gave me her favor the first day, I was on the no-death-match list, so the Pit had been using me as a warm-up show before the real fights started. That meant I got put against Kalnari most nights.

Did I win those fights?

No, I did not. Runo had been the weakest of the Pit's fighters by a long shot, and she nearly ate me. Everyone else destroyed me, and Kalnari was insane.

But.

Did I get stronger when they kicked my ass?

Fuck yeah, I did.

Did Aerell know I was getting stronger from all the abuse? Nope. They thought I'd eventually break. Little did they know, their shit was getting easier to handle, not worse.

Bring it, bitches. Make me strong.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I hit a wall and fell to the ground.

"Again!"

You complete the Shield task [In Enduring, Grow Strong].

You reach level 21.

+1 Resilience, +1 Will

***

You're name's getting around out there." Aerell was standing over me, her boot on the back of my head. She was forcing my face into the dirt of my cell. "Don't even think about asking for more special treatment. I've told them I plan to remake you, and that's what I'll do."

"You gonna make me into a bear? Or how about a turtle?" The words came hard on account of all the dirt in my mouth.

"I'll make you a dutiful servant if it's the last thing I do." She snapped her fingers, and the same black tendrils as always entered the collar around my neck. "So, let's get started."

I started to feel like I was drowning. "This one again?" I managed before I couldn't speak anymore.

"It's a good appetizer," She purred.

We'd played this game many times. She could make the pain anything she could imagine, and she could imagine a lot. I'd been burned alive, drowned, electrocuted, eaten by zombies, eaten by ants, eaten by worms... eaten by everything, really. On and on it went, each day bringing new pains and a reminder of who my master was. She didn't care if I was a good fighter or not. She just wanted to break me.

"How does it feel, knowing that your last breath is entirely mine to give?"

Not great, but in all honesty, it didn't hurt so bad anymore. I could take it. She'd remade me, made me more than I was, but not in the way she thought she would. " You know..." I coughed the imaginary ocean water out of my lungs. It even stung the way ocean water did. "I've been thinking..."

"About?" The black tendrils grew thicker, as did the pain.

"You... should... speed... bag... my... balls..."

"Quiet!" Illusory water rushed into my mouth. The imaginary stuff she subjected me to became real-ish when she channeled hard enough.

I held on until the edge of unconsciousness. As it approached, I cleared my head. I could hold my breath for a long time now. It had been three months of this, after all. I could handle a lot, now.

When she knew I was at my limit, she backed off, allowing me to cough and spit the shadow water out. "Are you going to be good?"

I nodded.

"What do you say?"

When I could breathe again, I said, "You know, if you took my whole cock and just stuck it right in that tight ass of yours, you might become less of a wretched cun—" More illusory water cut off my words. After a few seconds, I coughed, and at least a gallon of the transparent liquid poured out of my mouth.

"I guess today will be another hard day, then."

Vral snickered next door, her voice echoing through the grate in the floor. "Dumb bitch."

"Don't!" I hadn't meant to shout. We tried to never acknowledge one another unless we were alone. But the idea of her getting targeted for me... Looking up, I could see that Aerell's eyes were bugging out of her head.

With all the venom in the world, she said, "I'll be with you shortly, filth!"

Vral laughed. "We both know you can't do shit to me. Your magic doesn't work on me anymore."

A wicked grin crossed Aerell's face. "Who says I'll use magic?"

"Who says I can't break these chains and cut your throat?" Vral shot back.

"Looks like it's time to teach a little goblin some—"

"You're working with me!" I reached out, grabbed her ankles, and squeezed.

"Let go of me!" She wrenched her feet back and kicked me in the side of the head.

I knew the cost of cutting her off, but it was fine. She'd forget about Vral now. "You said you were going to teach me to behave... so do it."

"How many times have I said it?" the woman's voice was shrill, "You speak when spoken to!" She stomped on my head and snapped her fingers.

My lungs filled with water. No, not water. It wasn't real. But just because I knew it was illusory didn't mean I wasn't involuntarily gasping for breath. As my eyes began to grow hazy, I felt my stomach groan, then clench. I retched, and more phantom water poured out of me and onto the floor before wisping away into the shadows.

"I'll fucking kill you, whore. Just wait." Vral's voice was filled with fire.

"It's so cute when you people think you have any power here." Aerelle stepped on the back of my head. "Now, let's push you a little harder and see what happens." The amount of shadow snaking out of her fingers doubled. When they touched the circlet around my neck, every single cell in my body felt like it was going to split apart.

You complete the Shield task [In Enduring, Grow Strong].

You reach level 22.

+1 Resilience, +1 Will

***

"And that's a match! As usual, Kalnari's the winner!"

The crowd wasn't all that excited this time. How could they be when one contestant always won? At least they'd made a game out of how I would lose each night. That was kind of fun.

"Up, boy!" The orc woman reached down and grabbed me by the belt and breastplate. Hoisting me into the air, she started spinning. "Can't kill you, but can hurt you bad. Fight good, hummie! Not here for play!"

Apparently, orcs didn't really use pronouns in their language, and they didn't speak much common. Due to Kalnari's speech patterns, it was hard to follow her at times. That being said, I just wanted her to let the timer run out. I shouted, "The fight's over!"

"Not over. Not over until say is!" I didn't quite understand what she meant at first, until she heaved me straight into the air, threw me up, and smacked my ass with her palm.

"Woah! Knock it off!"

"Fight me!" The orc roared.

"Put me down!" I tried to wiggle out of her grip, but it was no use.

"No." She snarled, then started shaking me. The woman was massive. I was a big guy, standing at a bit over six feet, but she was a good foot taller than I was and built like a linebacker. It was like fighting a giant. But fighting her was paying off. It was working.I could feel it.

"The ferocious, feral, fabulous Kalnari has decided the match isn't over until she says it is!"

Looks like this fight was going to go on. "Do your worst!"

"Will!" The woman started spinning me faster and faster. Then, with a roar, she threw me across the pit.

When I hit the wall, something in my neck popped.

[Unbreakable]

Wobbling to my feet, I looked at Kalnari, spat out some blood, and took a fighting stance. Kalnari was really going all out tonight. I could tell she wanted a real fight. She was on the no-kill list like I was due to having the favor of some baron, and the lack of killing was getting to her. I'd feel this later, but she wasn't going to let up until I gave her everything I had. "Alright, Kalnari. You win. Let's do this."

The orc woman's lower tusks stretched her lips as she smiled. "Good hummie. Fight good. Like man." She stood tall, lifted her arms into the air, and roared.

"Where does his resilience come from? How could anyone survive such an onslaught?! He may not win, but he sure doesn't go down easy!" For once, the announcer was gassing me up.

Looking up into the crowd, I saw that a good number of audience members were looking at me. No, they were cheering for me. Actually cheering for me. That was a first. Feeling a burst of emotion, I did the only thing I could think of: I lifted my fists into the air and screamed.

That did it. The stadium literally shook under my feet as the audience cheered.

"IT LOOKS LIKE THE IRON SENTINEL HAS FINALLY FOUND HIS VOICE! GIVE IT UP FOR THE WICKED TEMPLAR!!!"

Circling, I let my gaze shift from person to person as I did my best to work the crowd. And there, high above, in one of the boxes, high above and smiling down at me, was Elise d'Ranthil. She hadn't been present since the day I'd met her, but she was here now. Beside her was what looked like a veiled woman with striking blue eyes and another hooded figure that I couldn't quite make out.

They didn't matter, though.

I owed my benefactor everything. Without her favor, I'd be dead. I quite literally owed her my life.

When our eyes met, I lifted my left arm into the air. Showing off the favor I'd tied to my bicep, I pointed to her, grinned, and gave her a wink. Despite the distance, I could see her cheeks grow red. Her friends stepped up next to her, and all three of them looked at me with an intensity I wasn't exactly comfortable with. It had been a long time since I'd been looked at with anything other than resignation or disgust.

"What's this? Has love blossomed in the arena? This is madness. Utter madness!"

Love? There was no love to be had. Tristan wasn't here. Her beautiful face came to mind, but I pushed it away. I didn't want to think of her right now. It hurt too much, and I couldn't get distracted. I was alone down here. Alone... except for the Count... and Vral.

The goblin and I spoke every night. Usually, it wasn't much. How was the day? Did you enjoy your beating? How was your fight? That kind of thing. But without her, I'd have gone crazy. The Count, too. We talked less, but his training gave my life structure, and he was determined to make me the best fighter this place had ever seen. With their support, I could keep going. And I wasn't going to stop.

"Perhaps the Iron Sentinel, the passionate murderer from Light's Hope Temple, will be granted a pardon by the lady in blue?"

The crowd booed, and someone threw a cup at my head.

That was the story they'd made for me. After killing one of my fellow Templars in a fit of jealousy, I'd fled north and was captured in the forests surrounding Galden. As a criminal, I was destined to stay here until I died or was pardoned. However, Aerell made it clear that, even if I were pardoned, I'd never leave. She'd personally see to it. That's why I had to get stronger.

Once I'd finished my fanfare, I circled back to face Kalnari and saw that her face had twisted. I'd stolen her thunder.

She growled at me. "Ready, hummie?"

I nodded, then smiled. "Bring it."

With a bloodcurdling scream, she darted forward, almost faster than I could follow. An instant later, she was in front of me, pulling her fist back. "Ruaagh!" The fist came around, too quickly for me to dodge.

[Iron Skin]

Her fist connected with my face, and there was a loud pop. She shrieked and pulled her hand back, her fingers bent at the wrong angles.

"I did it?" I asked as my skin changed back. "I did it!"

"The Iron Sentinel has finally harmed the Pale Orc! "What will happen now that—"

Her leg snapped forward. An instant later, I tasted blood and foot. My head was thrown to the side, followed by the rest of my body, and I was in the air.

[Unbreakable]

Tumbling through the air, I struck a wall with the top of my head. There was a loud crack, and the world went black, but not before more words appeared in my head:

You complete the Shield task [In Enduring, Grow Strong]

You reach level 23.

+1 Resilience, +1 Will

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