’Looks like it won’t be that easy, huh?’
As Rey sat in his carriage, Logan right next to him, he pondered on a few things.
The world beyond the carriage walls were blurred, since the vehicle was moving at absurd speeds, but he paid it no mind.
He had long grown accustod to the novelty of this new world.
Rather than occupy his thoughts with those external things, Rey was more concerned with matters that directly affected him.
In essence—
’My freedom... It might not co as easily as Amara made it seem.’
Although Rey had seen the girl’s sincerity and understood her desire to be with him, he could also see the hurdles that ca with her proposition.
In fact, there was one major obstacle.
His present Master!
’There’s no way Augustus will let beco Amara’s slave. Even though he couldn’t protect back then, he recognizes my potential and will never give to his talented sister, who already has everything going for her.’ After thinking this, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Nothing about his life had changed.
In fact, he was currently heading to the Coliseum for another event.
’But this is a rather special one...’
This was a Mid-Year Coliseum Event known as ’Dungeon Trap’.
Just as the na implied, it was all about Dungeon Exploration. The event allowed representatives of their Masters to enter Dungeons while everyone watched them from outside.
In this event, spectators could bet on many things. For example, who would survive the Dungeon? In what order? Who would die? In what order?
There were so many other options.
Naturally, there were also winners and losers in Dungeon Trap.
However, unlike previous events, this contest could have more than one winner. As long as the participant went out the exit before the ti was up, they would win and obtain rewards.
Of course,rewards were determined by the positions of each contestant.
Thus, theoretically... everyone could pass.
But how could it be so simple?
If it were that simple, how would it be entertaining to the audience?
’There are all kinds of obstacles in the Dungeon. That’s even where the na is derived from...’ Rey’s eyes narrowed as he mulled on the details he received from Logan.
’Dungeon Trap’ consisted of a secluded structure with many Floors—from one to nine.
There were stairs in random places that either led upward or downward, and there were several rooms that could teleport you anywhere.
There were also enemies one had to face when inside, and there were safe zones as well.
It was very similar to a ga.
Eerily similar.
The scariest thing about this event was what also made it so appealing.
Just as it was possible for everyone to pass, it was also possible for all contestants to fail. In fact, the latter was more likely to happen.
There had never been an instance where all participants won in the history of the Coliseum.
But all had failed at many points before.
It was just that brutal.
’Of course, I don’t intend to die this ti around either...’ Rey had already steeled himself from the start.
While he wanted things to work out in the Amara front, he had to keep up with his reality.
That ant surviving, no matter what!
"We’re here." Just as the carriage ca to a grinding halt, Logan’s steely cold voice echoed within the carriage.
Rey knew that ant he had to co down.
He did so without hesitation.
Once he got down and basked in the chilly air of the evening, he cast his gaze on the massive Coliseum.
The incredibly large structure felt overwhelming, but he controlled his emotions.
No matter what—
’I won’t let this place conquer !’
Upon hearing a hissing sound, he glanced to the side and watched as Augustus descended from his own carriage.
Not wasting any ti, he kept his head low, bowing until his Master walked past him.
’Ever since the incident, Augustus hasn’t said a word to . I was hoping he would compensate sohow for my troubles, but he beca cold and distant instead.’
Rey had a few guesses as to why this happened.
The most likely one was Amara.
’He must be quite resentful since he sees our closeness and has chosen to be harsher on rather than draw closer. His ego was also bruised by Alistair, and since I have seen his shaful side, he can’t properly relate with any longer.’
Rey imagined that if he weren’t so useful to this man, he would have already been killed.
Logan was the one who told Rey everything Augustus wanted, and he was also the one who took Rey inside the Coliseum and registered him.
Augustus simply took his VIP seat among the audience.
Since his slave was on a winning streak—one of the longest in the history of the Coliseum—he was now a hotshot in the Coliseum. As a result, he couldn’t be compared to regular custors.
As for Rey, he was treated no different from the other slaves.
After all, slaves were tools in the end.
He was taken to the waiting room, which many other slaves already occupied.
’Hmm...’ Glancing around, he noticed that there were dozens of them.
Almost fifty.
’So are new faces... but they look strong.’
Rey wasn’t surprised.
This was a Mid-Year Event.
Not only was it more dangerous than regular events, but the rewards were astronomically high.
Many Masters would purchase premium slaves specially for this event. So would even pour all kinds of resources and train their slaves for months... just for this particular event. They wouldn’t let their slves participate in any earlier challenges to preserve their strength and create a glorious first impression in their debut.
It was similar to how the participating slaves in the Bi-Weekly Variety Event differed greatly from those who were thrown into the Chaos Dweller Pit every night.
Slaves were tools.
You wouldn’t use a knife to cut a tree, nor would you use an axe to slice at.
Different grades of slaves belonged to different sections of the battlefield, since their worth simply had that value.
For these reasons, and a few others, the slaves that often participated in Dungeon Trap were strangers whom the Coliseum had never seen before.
So were previous winners, but for the most part... they were new challengers.
Slaves like Rey, who participated in Coliseum activities regularly, were rare among the number of slaves in this event.
Rey felt like the odd one out imdiately.
But so what?
He ignored all their gazes and sat, waiting for the door to open so they could begin already.
Then...
"Welco, everyone, to our Mid-Year Special Event... Dungeon Trap!"
... The announcer’s voice began to echo in the room. Rey sighed, closing his eyes as he listened attentively to the words of the host.
"As you all know, Dungeons are artificially created Labyrinths. In essence, it isn’t a natural place, but a special structure we have designed specifically for tonight’s event!"
Rey already knew all of this.
He also knew that all manner of fatal dangers awaited him—including, but not limited to Chaos Dwellers.
’I shouldn’t even be doing this...’
Rey knew Augustus was being reckless, which was why he prematurely registered Rey for such a dangerous event.
One look at the other participants, and one could tell that they were well-prepared and trained for this event.
They had all kinds of armor and weapons, resembling Adventurers from video gas or fantasy shows.
Their appearance even reminded him of H’Trae and the Adventurers that were present there. However, compared to H’Trae, these Artifacts appeared far more refined and held the universal energy of Ether.
’Sigh. Unlike them, I only have two asly Artifacts. One is my gloves, and the other is this necklace for defense.’ He rubbed the bronze jewelry around his neck and shook his head.
It was evident that his Master was impoverished, unable to even afford standard equipnt for his slave.
’It has always been like this. But because I always outperform in every event, he thinks he can keep using like this.’ Rey gritted his teeth, but quickly let his annoyance go.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do.
Failure ant death.
So he had to keep winning.
’My guess is that Augustus is very tight on money, which is why he has chosen to take this risk on . He must also be aware that Amara could take from him if given enough ti, so he wishes to use as much as possible until then. Even if I die in the process, he won’t feel too bad since I would eventually belong to his sister...’
It was sickening.
But Rey kept enduring it.
He already knew this wouldn’t continue forever.
So he kept persevering.
"Now, without any further delay... let us cheer for the contestants as they make their way to the stage!"
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