The next morning, Vasa and I stood near the battle arena. It was a gigantic multi-story structure that resembled the central arena of the capital, though it was somewhat smaller. The entire facade and the surrounding territory were decorated with sculptures and other various artistic depictions of battles. On numerous projections above us, clips of the best fights from renowned arena fighters played in a loop.

  “A hundred High-Rank Ancestors will really gather here?” I asked Vasa.

  “Of course. After all, the first place Ancestors from across the Northern Empire come to is this arena. It’s the only place where you can quickly make a name for yourself. Plus, the money paid to fighters per match isn’t small. Even Battle Ancestors who’ve lived in the capital for years often come here — to hone their skills and earn some extra coin.”

  “Hm, interesting.”

  “I should warn you, it’s forbidden to deliberately kill your opponent in the arena. The owner, by the way, is no weaker than me and keeps a close eye on that. So, Aney, control yourself.”

  “Understood, dear Vasa.”

  “Alright, let’s go register.”

  Vasa moved like a beast through the dense crowd gathered near the arena’s entrance.

  “Out of the way! Get out of my path, brats! You’ll only stand there when your balls get bigger than mine, you little hatchlings! Move it, I said!”

  And I have to admit, her shouts and arrogance worked. The not-so-weak crowd skillfully shifted aside, letting us through without resistance. In the arena’s foyer, Vasa grabbed the first staff member she saw, who nearly fainted upon recognizing the Goddess of War beside him.

  “We need to register. One-versus-a-hundred fight. Newcomer. High-Rank Battle Ancestor. Lead the way and be quick about it.”

  Holy hedgehogs, she’s a goddess of dealing with strangers. I applauded her in my mind. As expected, I was first led to a strength evaluation, where I easily, with two hits, demonstrated peak High-Rank Battle Ancestor power. Unfortunately, the indicator needle didn’t even twitch toward the “God of War” mark. Sigh. I had small hopes for that. After receiving my participant token, we proceeded to the fight registration desk.

  “Sorry, but a newcomer going straight into a ‘one-versus-a-hundred’… that’s not right!”

  The fight registration clerk, who looked like he had just rolled out of bed, stood his ground.

  “Listen here, you hatchling!” Vasa was already boiling with rage. “That kid is my student. Are you saying I, Vasa, can’t train a worthy fighter for your arena? You’ve completely lost your survival instincts! Where the hell is Hank?! If you won’t do it, I’ll make him register my student myself!”

  “Dear Vasa, Mr. Hank asked not to be disturbed…”

  “Haaaank!” she roared so loud the office walls trembled. “Get over here before I bring your whole arena down!”

  It seemed that’s how she summoned the owner. What am I going to do with her…

  “Dear Vasa, maybe forget it…” I tried to calm her down.

  “Nobody asked you! Stay here, I’ll handle it!”

  But she hadn’t even closed her mouth when the office door opened, and in stepped—or rather squeezed in, because the door was too small—a massive, half-naked man with a gleaming bald head. Whoa! He was a monster! I stared in awe at his rippling muscles, which seemed to move even on his bald scalp.

  “Vasa! Did you really decide to visit me?!”

  His voice matched him — low and raspy. I wasn’t even sure anymore if he was human or some kind of beastman.

  “Hank! What kind of fool did you put in charge here?! I brought my student for a fight, and he’s hesitating instead of doing his job!”

  “Now, now, we’ll sort it all out right away, just don’t be angry, my dear!”

  “Hands off, you scoundrel!”

  Vasa slapped Hank’s hands as they reached for her waist.

  “As fierce as ever! So who did you bring?”

  “My student! I want to put him in a one-versus-a-hundred fight.”

  Hank looked me over.

  “He looks a bit weak for a hundred. You’ll ruin my reputation with this, Vasa!”

  Yeah, anyone would look weak next to you, probably. But I’m not fighting you in the arena.

  “Weak? What nonsense are you spewing, you bald pot! My student could even take on the God of War!”

  “Hmmmm… I’m not so sure… I’ve seen many fighters challenge the one-versus-a-hundred, and they were all far better than this little runt — and still they lost.”

  Little runt?! This bald fool trying to piss me off? But Vasa stopped me.

  “Then let’s make a bet! Huh, Hank? If my student wins — you give me ten percent of the arena’s fighter shares. And if he loses… well, name your price!”

  “My price? Why ask, Vasa? You know what I want. You — I want you, darling! So if this brat loses — you’re mine, got it?”

  Without even blinking, Vasa shouted:

  “Deal! Shake on it, Hank!”

  The giant reached out his claws to her again but got a hearty slap across the face.

  “Where are you putting those mitts?! I haven’t lost yet!”

  “It’s just an advance!” Hank’s face spread into a wide grin, revealing massive white teeth.

  “Go advance yourself, idiot!”

  “When will you finally be sweet to me, Vasa…”

  Instead, the Goddess of War grabbed me by the collar and pulled me out of the office.

  “Let’s go already, why are you standing there! Time to fight!”

  We headed for the battle arenas.

  “Esteemed High-Rank Battle Ancestors!” a voice echoed from the ceiling throughout the building, “A new chick has appeared in our paradise — one who immediately dared challenge the sacred trial — a one-versus-a-hundred fight! But should we not teach him a lesson for such arrogance and excessive self-confidence? Therefore, the arena administration offers fifty gold coins to each participant who joins the newcomer’s ‘education’! And a thousand gold coins to anyone who defeats him! Don’t miss your chance, gentlemen! Also, a separate betting pool will now be launched for this match! The fight will begin in Arena One in half an hour. We’ll see you there, dear spectators!”

  Everywhere with even a small crowd, holograms of me in full height lit up, displaying information about my age, power level, and so on.

  “Ha-ha-ha, twenty-four years old…”

  “He’s got no experience at all!”

  “Definitely boosted his level with pills…”

  “Let’s go, maybe I’ll make it in time to sign up for a fight with him…”

  “What an easy thousand! I’m in!”

  The murmur after the administration’s announcement grew louder. I pulled out a pouch with a hundred thousand and handed it to Vasa.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Dear Vasa, please place a bet on me!”

  “Ah! I’ll throw in a hundred myself! Easy money just flows into my hands! It’d be a sin not to collect it!”

  Excited, Vasa ran off to place the bet, while I slowly headed toward the first arena, listening to what the crowd was chatting about. Overall, no one believed in my victory. The only debate was how many fights I’d last and whether I’d lose in the very first one. Well, no one expected anything different. But that was an advantage too. Pretending to be weak so the bets against me would skyrocket right up to my victory! I’ll fleece you bastards good.

  Vasa caught up with me.

  “Done! Don’t let me down now, Aney!”

  “Dear Vasa, I’ve decided it’s best if I pretend to be weak for as long as the audience keeps believing it, so the bets against us will keep rising. What do you think?”

  “You cunning little bastard! I like your enthusiasm for making money! Do as you think best—just don’t lose. I don’t want to have to wring Hank’s neck if he comes crying to me.”

  Vasa shuddered at the thought, and so did I. A green light lit up above the first arena, signaling for the fighters to ascend.

  “Well, off I go!” I said to the Goddess of War as I jumped onto the arena.

  Above me, a zero lit up, which would change depending on the number of victories. The judge also stepped onto the arena, and after a short while, so did my first opponent. I sized him up. Nothing special—average height, lean build. Most likely quick and nimble.

  “Combatants, ready? One rule only—no deliberate killing. That’s all!”

  The judge jumped off the arena, and the barrier rose.

  “Son, give up right away so Daddy doesn’t have to beat you!”

  “You talk too much, you old junk!”

  I drew the spear my teacher had given me and spun it over my head.

  “Show me what you’ve got, you old fool!” I pointed the spear at my opponent and held it there until he rushed at me, drawing twin daggers.

  I might have overestimated him—he wasn’t as fast as I expected—but I still had to play my part.

  For about five minutes I pretended to barely dodge and block his blades, then, catching him in a clumsy attack, I swept his legs and drove the spearhead into his thigh, under the buttock, twisting the shaft to tear the wound at the hip joint.

  The ancestor collapsed like he’d been cut down, trying to clamp down on the deep, piercing wound. The judge then stopped the fight.

  The zero above me changed to a one. I glanced at the betting board—the odds were about eight to one against me, and they kept climbing. Good. To the audience, my win looked like a fluke.

  A new opponent climbed into the arena—a big fellow with a broad sword that, in my opinion, could double as a shield.

  “You’re lucky, kid. But that ends now, ha-ha-ha!”

  “Old man, when you open your mouth, it stinks! Let me knock out those rotten stumps you call teeth because of your stupidity!”

  Hearing that, the battle ancestor lunged at me, but thanks to the step-sequence technique, dodging him was even easier than with the last opponent.

  After about three minutes of dancing around, I pretended to trip and sprawled on the floor like a sack of potatoes.

  Grunting loudly, my opponent jumped on me, raising his sword overhead for a strike. At the last moment, just before the blade touched me, I rolled aside, causing the strike to hit the floor, and in that same instant, I kicked the swordsman in the exposed ribs, turning his internal organs into mush.

  He flew back to the barrier and landed on his back, a fountain of blood spraying from his mouth. When I stood up, the judge stopped the fight. The one above my head changed to a two.

  I looked at the betting board again. The audience still believed I was just incredibly lucky, so now the odds were over eleven to one.

  Well then, let’s keep this fun going.

  Over the next hour, I fought fourteen more battles, doing my best to act like a lucky clown.

  But something bothered me—the odds had stopped changing. They froze at seventeen to one and stayed that way for four matches straight. Either the crowd ran out of money, or they were starting to catch on that they were being duped.

  Damn! I had to come up with something, and fast! If I showed my real strength, the odds might swing dramatically in my favor.

  I had to make them bet even their dirty laundry against me!

  When the twentieth match brought in a hand-to-hand combat master, I purposely took several heavy hits, then forced him to surrender by breaking both his arms using a hold that Vasa had drilled into me countless times.

  When the judge stopped the fight and declared me the winner, I acted like I could barely stand and was about to collapse from exhaustion.

  It worked! Eighteen to one. Twenty to one.

  A new opponent stepped onto the arena, armed with a staff.

  Twenty-one to one.

  He delivered a quick strike, hitting the inside of my thigh. I spun and fell to the floor.

  Twenty-two to one.

  He kept beating me with that damn staff for another minute…

  The crowd roared with excitement, thinking my defeat was imminent.

  Twenty-two to one. That’s it—they had no more money.

  I caught the staff with my hand and crushed it.

  My opponent jumped back, not understanding what was happening.

  Oh no, buddy. You were just smacking me around, and now you want to dodge responsibility?

  I got up from the floor and used the step-sequence technique to appear right in front of him.

  His pupils widened in horror. I don’t know what he saw, but my hands were already on his shoulder joints.

  “Goodbye, bastard!”

  I didn’t give him a single second to surrender. I clenched my fingers, crushing everything between them.

  What a pleasant sound!

  I dropped the limp body. The number twenty-one lit up above me.

  I shook out my hands, neck, ribs, and legs, which had taken quite a beating in the last two fights.

  That’s enough.

  The crowd in the stands was silent. People didn’t understand what had just happened.

  Or maybe they did and didn’t want to believe it.

  Yeah. Gotcha good.

  A new opponent climbed into the arena, but I didn’t toy with him—I smashed his face until he passed out in under a second.

  The number twenty-two lit up above me.

  I continued at the same pace for five more fights. The judge spent more time announcing the winners than I did crippling the challengers.

  When the number twenty-seven lit up above me, I loudly requested.

  “Judge, this is getting tedious. Let them come at me in groups—the number of opponents doesn’t matter.”

  Silence fell over the arena. Such arrogance had likely never been heard here before.

  “Let him!” I heard Hank’s voice from the stands.

  “What, you little devil, don’t want to lose the bet you made with Vasa? Fat chance, you’ll give her ten percent from the arena for sure!”

  The Battle Ancestors began entering the arena in groups of three, four, sometimes five. I shattered their weapons and bones, no matter how hard they tried to reinforce them with aura. The result was always the same — by the end of the fight, I stood amidst the wreckage while my opponents lay in it, groaning weakly.

  Above my head, the number seventy-four glowed when a familiar team of six Battle Ancestors stepped into the arena.

  “Oh, I know you guys! They say you’re the strongest team here?” I pulled out my spear and pointed it in their direction. “Then show me that the name isn’t just for show!”

  “Alright, Aney, we’ll show you our best fight!”

  They were indeed a cut above the rest and fought worthy of high-rank Battle Ancestors. But… I had fought far too many battles with the Goddess of War, and then there’s also the spear Kruk’s technique… They didn’t stand a chance from the start. Though, let me say again, they held their ground honorably.

  Ten minutes later, the number above me turned to eighty. I waited for new challengers, but the pause dragged on — no one was in a hurry to throw down the gauntlet. The numbers on the betting board slowly shifted to twenty-one to one.

  “One hundred thousand!” Hank stood above the stands, shouting his announcement loudly. “One hundred thousand to the team of twenty fighters who step onto the arena and crush that little brat!”

  Whoa, so that’s your tune now? Seems like that ten percent share of the arena brings in far more than those hundred thousand gold coins you’re willing to sacrifice. Well, come on then. I haven’t shown all my trump cards yet either. And since this will be my last fight in this arena — why not?

  I looked at Vasa, who was laughing loudly, pointing at Hank. Well, at least she’s having fun. Hank did manage to gather a group of twenty fighters and shove them into the arena with me. The barrier rose. It was downright cramped inside with so many fighters — no one had expected twenty-on-one battles when the arena was designed.

  They all rushed me together, hoping to crush me under their bodies, to bury me beneath that living mass… But I just unleashed my bloodlust to the fullest.

  Thousands of high-level monsters had charged at me at once, so what were a couple dozen Ancestors to me?

  Crimson-black tongues shot out from me in all directions. Twisting and intertwining, they wrapped around the people around me and consumed them. My opponents dropped to the ground, convulsing like the sick. They screamed horribly, trying to crawl away, but only scratched at the dirty stone floor of the arena with broken nails.

  My bloodlust affected even a high-rank Goddess of War, so what can be said about these ones. They went mad and soiled themselves.

  “Well, how does five thousand each feel, boys?”

  I could have easily burned their minds to ashes so they’d never return to reality, trapped forever in a prison of horror, but…

  I walked among them, striking the backs of their heads to knock them out, and when I took down the last one, I withdrew my bloodlust.

  The battle of twenty against one ended within a few minutes. The judge lowered the barrier. Above my head, the number one hundred lit up. The betting board froze at twenty-one to one.

  “Ha-ha-ha! That’s my student!” Vasa flew over the arena. “All of you, know this! My student has won a battle one against a hundred! I, Goddess of War Vasa, trained him for this day! Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

  Oh, you fool… These people just lost over four million gold, and one of them lost ten percent of his business, and here you are yelling like that?

  Although, with her power, Vasa clearly didn’t give a damn about their feelings or emotions.

  Hank stepped onto the arena.

  “According to the laws of the Northern Empire, the winner of one hundred battles receives the Platinum Insignia of the Empire! I congratulate the winner! We congratulate the winner! The Empire congratulates the winner!”

  He turned to me and placed a platinum plaque into my hand.

  “Congratulations, Aney! I was wrong not to believe in you! You’ve done what hasn’t been seen in this arena for decades!”

  “Oh come now, dear Hank, I just got lucky!”

  “Ha-ha-ha, well, let’s say it was luck.” He leaned toward my ear and whispered, “And thank you for bringing me closer to little Vasochka. Now that she’s my business partner, we’ll be seeing each other more often. I owe you one.”

  Saying that and bursting into loud laughter, he walked off, but his spot beside me was immediately taken by Vasa. She snatched the platinum token from my hand.

  “Come on, let me see! Are you happy now? Then let’s go get our winnings!”

  Vasa pulled me, let’s say, to the cashier.

  “Two million one hundred thousand!” she kissed the ring-vault holding the money. “These are the easiest earnings of my life! Thank you, my student! You’re my lucky charm!”

  I stashed away my share and smiled.

  “Dear Vasa, so what now? Are there any other ways to earn a little extra?”

  “Fool, you think anyone in this country will still bet against you?”

  “Eh, and it all started so nicely…”

  Vasa took me by the arm and pulled me toward the exit.

  “Oh don’t mope, I’ll think of something!”