'After all that hard work, I lost my spear, but I managed to keep the knife. I dried myself as much as I could, and I should leave before I get another visitor.'

  Chris let the fire burn as a distraction, keeping to the trees and avoiding open ground. He hadn’t run into any competitors yet, but that meant little; danger could be anywhere.

  After hours of walking, the stench of blood reached him. It was heavy in the air, thick enough to mean only one thing: slaughter. He followed the smell into a meadow and froze at the sight.

  The ground was torn apart, trees uprooted as though a bulldozer had plowed through. In the middle of the devastation lay the minotaur he’d seen the day before, its massive body crushing the lizardman who had provoked it. Both were dead, their clash ending with no victor. Yet something about the minotaur’s death was wrong; its skull was pierced clean through, far too high for the lizardman to have reached.

  All around, the remains of others were scattered, mangled beyond recognition. Most bore the same unnatural wound. It wasn’t just a fight; it was a massacre. Whatever had cut through them, Chris couldn’t picture anyone walking away alive.

  A wolf’s howl carried across the distance. The sound chilled him. Bad omen. He needed to move far away from here.

  Chris found a safe place to rest, safe enough given his situation. He managed a few hours of undisturbed sleep before the afternoon sun woke him up. For his lunch, he managed to scavenge some wild berries; it wasn’t much, but it filled his stomach. As he was savoring his meager meal, a horn blared across the woods. Then came a voice, deep and commanding:

  “There are only two contestants left. To decide the winner, you will be moved to a special arena. Rest, recover, and then fight to the death.”

  Chris blinked, and in the next instant, he was no longer in the forest. He stood in a bright chamber, a long dining table stretching before him with all types of exotic foods; there was more food than he had ever seen in his entire life. The table, however, was split in half by a transparent wall. On the other side sat his final opponent, the beastman who had first found him at the start of the contest. The creature tore into the feast with an animal hunger, shoving food into his mouth, until he noticed Chris watching from the opposite end. Then he stopped, his eyes narrowed and fixed on Chris.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Little human, you have managed to survive for this long. Too bad that I am your opponent, I can’t wait to chew on your bones.”

  “So you were the one who was howling last night.”

  “That was just me having some fun after the hunt.”

  “You were at that fight in the meadow, weren’t you?”

  “I had so much fun, it was a free-for-all. I was fighting a minotaur when he went nuts at the sight of a lizerdman and began reaping every tree that stood in his way to the lizerdman. The two of them went at it, and I seized the chance to finish the big one off. Ended up with two for the price of one, since the lizard got crushed under the minotaur’s body. Strange fight, really.”

  “The lizerdman made fun of the minutour’s customs when we were waiting for the first group to finish their fight.”

  “Now it makes sense. Take this piece of advice from me for your next life: you should never insult their costumes if you want to keep living.”

  “Did you kill the rest of those people?”

  “Nah, I killed some of them, but the rest I just finished off.”

  They have heard another blare of the horn.

  “The last fight of this group will begin immediately, contestants, prepare yourselves.”

  Both of them were transported to an arena that looked like a coliseum. The crowd was bustling with the firm's employees. Abugan appeared floating in the middle of the arena.

  “All of you have come here to watch how these contestants will tear each other apart, so that will be what I’ll give you. Now choose your weapons and be ready to fight.”

  'A lot of people came to see one of us die, and I’ll make sure not to be me.'

  Chris chose a sword; for some reason, it felt easier in his hand. His opponent came empty-handed.

  “So you have chosen a sword, which is not the best weapon against me.”

  “Why are you empty-handed?”

  “My hands are the only weapons I need, as you will see. Before we kill each other, I wish to know your name.”

  “My name is Chris.”

  “What an honor, facing the one who awakened his gift so early. I’ll remember your name, and if I fall, remember that you have killed Alek of the Long Fang Tribe.”

  “I’ll remember it.”

  “Warriors, prepare yourselves for your final fight. Begin!”

  The two fighters lunged at each other with the intent to kill. The spectators held their breath, waiting to see who would emerge victorious.