"Tell me, slave, what is your name?"
The question sliced through the tense silence of the Arena. A spotlight flared to life, pinning Kael in its glare. The man before him—undeniably powerful, unsettlingly beautiful—had shattered the hush that had gripped the crowd.
"Kael." The name left his lips before he even processed the question.
A slow smile curled on the crimson-eyed man's lips, amusement flickering in his expression. His voice was almost hypnotic as he replied, "That's quite an odd name." He paused, studying Kael as if assessing a rare find. "Alright, Kael. You've impressed me—something that rarely happens in this place. Because of your... display, I've decided to offer you a chance at freedom."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Then came the gasps.
"Win five major fights against the Arena's top warriors," he continued, "and you walk free."
The stunned silence shattered into frantic whispers. The Arena had seen blood, death, and spectacle—but never an offer like this.
Freedom was a myth, a legend in this place. Slaves fought, they died, and their bodies were thrown into the channel pit.
Upon hearing the offer, Kael suddenly felt a sudden flood of foreign emotions that he had no control of suddenly well up in his chest.
The emotions ranged from, rekindled hope, suspicion and an unwavering determination.
At the same time the translucent screen of the system, suddenly shimmered into existence.
[Task Assigned: Survival]
[Objective: Win five major fights ]
[Failure: Termination of subject]
The words were clinical, devoid of emotions, yet they hammered the reality of his situation.
Kael did not know what the system meant by the term Termination, but he could tell that it wasn't anything good.
After a few moments of silence and observation of the system's message, Kael finally realized that the crimson-eyed man, was still waiting for his response.
The man's smile had long faded, replaced by a murderous and impatient expression.
Fearing for his life, Kael stammered an respond, before things could go worse.
"l.. accept your offer."
The suffocating aura, that had been building up with the man's impatience, suddenly vanished the moment he responded.
The calm smile then returned to his face. With a composed tone, he then said.
"Good...l look foward to your fights. Don't dissppoint me."
He gestured dismissively towards the creature's corpse. "That was…unconventional. But ultimately, inefficient. I believe you can do better."
After saying those words, the dark skinned man turned away, his armor swishing as he walked back towards the archway. "Krill," he called, without turning around. "See to it that he is… prepared. He will be fighting again soon."
Krill, the chrome-limbed guard, snapped to attention, his metallic face contorted in a sneer. "With pleasure, Lord Valerius."
Lord. The word resonated in Kael's mind. So this man was a lord. Probably the master of this brutal arena, the architect of this twisted game. And he had just caught his attention.
Valerius disappeared into the darkness of the archway, leaving Kael to face the consequences of his actions.
The hybrid Kriss, them approached him, and escorted him towards his chambers.
As they exited the Arena, and enter the ramp corridor, Kael couldn't help but recall his recent fight.
He dazedly walked through the corridors in a daze. Behind him two cybernetic including Krill, treaded slowly behind him throwing all kinds of jests and insults.
Kael absently minded?, did not listen to these insults. He was busy recalling his recent fight in the arena and the aftermath.
The strength he-no this body he was in, had shown was terrifying to say the least.
Kael couldn't fathom how an ordinary human who as far as he knew had no extraordinary abilities, could possess such impressive strength.
"l guess if my theory about this dreamscape being that person's physiological trauma is correct, then the fact that the this guy's strength is beyond my comprehension is not out of the norm. After all only someone who was a monster of the same level could leave such an deap impression on seven star dream walker."
While in midst of his thoughts, Kael absent mindedly soon arrived at a dimly lit cell chamber.
The two cybernetic hybrids behind him, halted abruptly outside the door.
"Get inside, slave," Krill barked, his voice a grating rasp.
"Lord Valerius wants you ready for the next fight. And believe me, it's coming sooner than you think."
He shoved Kael towards the entrance, nearly sending him stumbling.
Another guard, his face a mass of wires and chrome, tossed a tattered rag and a dented metal bowl filled with a watery gruel onto the floor of the cell. "Eat up. You'll need your strength." The sarcasm dripped from his tone.
The steel door clanged shut, the sound echoing in the claustrophobic space and leaving Kael in the desolate silence of the chamber.
He surveyed his prison. It was small, barely large enough to accommodate two people. The walls were stained with grime and scarred with claw marks.
Kael picked up the rag that had been thrown by the guard. It smelled vaguely of disinfectant and old sweat. He wiped the grime from his face, trying to clear his thoughts. He needed a plan. Five fights. He had to win five fights against the Arena's best. And if he failed, he faced "Termination." whatever that meant.
He looked back at the system's message.
[Survival]
The task was clear. But how? He knew nothing about this body, this Arena, or Lord Valerius. He only had one advantage: the System. But what was it capable of?
Kael took a deep breath, trying to center himself. He closed his eyes, focusing on the translucent screen. He tried to will it to show him something, anything, that could help him.
He focused on the word 'Status,' and the screen immediately changed.
[Dreamer's status
[Subject: Kael]
[Species: Human (Augmented)]
[Strength: 13]
[Agility: 20]
[Endurance: 16]
[Skills: Basic Combat, Brutal Efficiency]
[Potential: Untapped]
He blinked. Augmented? What did that mean? And Brutal Efficiency? What had this body been through?
He frowned as he inspected the stats, at first he was confused as to what the numbers represented. Then by intuition, he understood that they represented the level of how proficient he was with a specific trait.
"So this body is already stronger than average... interesting."
He tried to access the statistics again, but was unable to.
Then a thought entered into his mind.
"Skill"
He willed for the system to show him the details of his skills. In an instant the System complied.
[Skills: Basic Combat: LVL 1- Is knowledgable with all forms of basic combat (Unlocks new abilities, as the levels increases)]
[Brutal Efficiency: LVL MAX: Can perform brutal moves for one hit kills]
He rubbed his chin in thought. One skill was at MAX level, while the other was at minimal level. This was very intriguing.
The screen then vanished, leaving Kael in the dim light of the cell. He now knew a little more, but it was still far from enough. He needed information, training, and above all, he needed to understand what he was up against and where he was.
'Just what sort of nation am l in, anyway?'
Although the world had advanced in the art of technology, especially the western continent, Kael had never heard of a place with as much advancement in technology as this one.
Without having any luck in figuring out his predicament, Kael could only push these thoughts aside.
For now, he would eat the watery gruel. He needed to be ready for whatever the Lord Valerius and his brutal Arena had in store for him. His life, and potentially more, depended on it.