Since my level is unassigned, I could see how all the challenges I issued would be accepted: I was worth only a few points and with no clear level. As I started choosing more mid point opponents, I did not realize that my own point worth would be rising.
“Damn it,” I mutter.
“What is it?”
“I just realized another way through which this realm messes with us.”
“What do you mean?” She frowns.
I point toward the point benefit of the challenge. “We never stopped to think what my point benefit would show up as to the opponents. We started low, then went slightly up but we missed a crucial point.”
Her eyes widen.
“Your point benefit has been rising steadily, too.”
“And it’s likely eight now.”
“It’s unlikely low-point individuals will accept your challenges from now on,” she murmurs, mirroring my own thoughts.
“So whether I want it or not, Imustaim higher and keep aiming higher. Otherwise no one will accept my challenges.”
“This complicates things. A lot… I can’t believe we didn’t think of this before.”
My lips flatten into a thin line.
“I suppose there’s only one thing left to do.”
I pressAccepton the challenge.
“You’re sure?” she asks, her eyes flickering to me with worry.
I nod.
“I’ve fought level two before,” I say. “And I’m better now.”
I also have more points accumulated than him, though according to the system, we’re both worth eight points.
She watches me for a moment longer. Then she exhales quietly.
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
I grab her hand and squeeze tightly. “I’ll be careful.”
“You better,” she whispers.
The obelisk accepts my answer. The surface starts rippling outward from the contact. As always, the response is immediate.
The world fractures instantly.
The ground tears apart around me, the roaring wind and yellow stone collapsing into a vortex of crimson light. The ground vanishes beneath my feet, the sky folds inward, and pressure crushes in from every direction until the whole of reality compresses into a single unbearable point.
Then it releases.
Stone slams beneath my boots.
I stagger as the new arena forms around me.
A ruined black courtyard stretches in all directions, its floor cracked into uneven plates of obsidian-colored rock. Broken columns litter the battlefield, some toppled, others leaning precariously like the remnants of a dead civilization. Dust hangs in the air. The space feels closed off and oppressive, far more so than any other arena I’ve experienced so far.
