After birth… how many days has it been? Due to hunger, I could no longer determine the exact date. Anyway, early in the morning, I sensed multiple footsteps approaching towards the basent. I knew two of those footsteps belonged to the detestable Georg, whom I see every day, and the young master who occasionally ca to check on him as his employer.
However, I did not recognize any of the other footsteps. They were all much larger than Georg, judging by the sound of their footsteps, with wider strides and taller statures. It seems that there were around twelve of these large males of human species. What in the world was all the fuss about?
“Carry it out.”
“Also, be careful not to shake it too much. I’ve reinforced it so that it can kill you and the others in a mont’s notice!”
The first words ca from the young master and Georg, who opened the door and ca in. The other twelve males were all slaves, as evidenced by the collars around their necks. They all seed to belong to the Furu race and were wearing shabby clothing.
The n were startled at the sight of . Hey, hey, the slave girl took great care of every day, yet she’s never been as scared as you guys. It seems that, despite their size, their courage was lacking.
The slaves hesitated to approach , but the young master urged them to hurry up, and they surrounded the cage with fear. Then, together, they lifted it up and started carrying sowhere. I knew what awaited . It was almost certain that I would be forced to fight to the death in the debut match of the “Battle Beast Tournant.”
Since birth, I had been trained for combat. I had killed various creatures in life and death instances and consud their flesh and blood to grow stronger. But no matter how many tis I repeated this, I could never co to like fighting. As soone who bore the mission to survive for a hundred years, it was impossible for to enjoy an act that involved risking my life. I really didn’t want to go, but I had no choice… sigh.
The n carried the heavy cage, and I started to feel sick from the constant shaking. Did these guys not think to be considerate of ? Even Georg had told them not to shake it too much…..They had much worse manners than the slave girl. If I wasn’t bound by chains, I would have beaten them to death.
The young master, Georg, and the slaves were oblivious to my dangerous thoughts as they continued to walk through the hallway and up the stairs to the ground floor. Ohh, this was the first ti I’ve ever felt sunlight against my skin; it felt very warm….. Although I was capable of withstanding temperatures hot enough to lt iron without using any fighting spirit, the warmth of the sun perated my entire body in a way that I had never experienced before.
Using my compound eyes, I scanned my surroundings without moving my body. It appeared that the basent was connected to a courtyard, and the well-maintained mansion that surrounded it was currently occupied by many slaves who were working on cleaning and gardening at the command of the household staff. It seed that the nobleman had a considerable number of slaves under his control, as one might expect from a mber of the aristocracy.
“Aah…!” Suddenly, the slave who always took care of let out a cry upon seeing being carried out. Although I couldn’t see the right half of her face due to the bandages, I could tell from the tremble in her remaining left eye that she was worried about . Was she concerned for my well-being? She was truly a kind-hearted individual, that slave.
As we passed through the mansion and headed toward the back door, I was placed onto a wagon that was waiting there. The mont I was loaded onto the wagon, the four horses that were pulling it beca restless.
Though, this kind of reaction was only natural. After all, I was a much stronger being than the horses. If I myself had an opponent behind who could kill at will, while I could not escape because I was tethered to the carriage, I would also be terrified. No matter how much the horse was trained, it could not resist the fear that instinctively arose from its heart.
The coachman seed to be desperately trying to calm the horses, but his efforts proved to be in vain. However, I heard Georg muttering sothing while lazily holding his staff, and then so kind of spiritual art seed to have been invoked, as the horses imdiately grew docile. That old man could use various types of spiritual arts, it seems.
“Let’s depart.”
Upon the order of the young master, who boarded a different carriage, the wagon I was being carried on and the carriage in which he rode left the mansion. U go go….The wagon shook quite a bit, and the chains dug in painfully with each sway. It hurt a lot since those were unprotected parts of my exoskeleton.
While I endured the oppressive pain and rubbed my small claws together, the carriage continued to move along the road. After a few turns, our speed slowed down and the shaking subsided, and eventually, we ca to a complete stop.
“Bring it down. Be extrely careful,” Georg ordered from outside the wagon.
The n who had carried out of the basent to the wagon began to approach with synchronized breathing. They lifted the cage and carefully brought down from the wagon.
This seed to be so sort of storage facility, as the young master and Georg’s carriage were nowhere nearby. My cage was placed on a cart as if it were cargo and then pulled away by another slave. A wooden tag with the number “197” attached to the cage, making it easier to keep track of .
I was led through a dimly lit passage, similar to the basent I had just ca from, and so it didn’t feel like a different location. However, the walls were embedded with stones that emitted a bright light at regular intervals, so it was slightly brighter than the basent I had been in before.
“Mr. Georg, this is an incredible specin! The dark emperor scorpion, known as the strongest of all scorpions… While it has competed in the “Battle Beast Tournant” before, this one’s size is truly astonishing!”
“Indeed. Its size and strength are impossible to find in the wild… This is the result of elite training, Mr. Manager.”
“Is that so? I look forward to witnessing its greatness in the arena.”
Georg and a fat man called the manager walked ahead of , discussing such things. Elite training? More like elite abuse, you damn old geezer. I refuse to accept that tornt as training.
The two of them, oblivious to my feelings, continued their conversation. It seed that there were three theories as to what defined or contributed to the rise of the strongest creature in the “Battle Beast Tournant.” The first was the “Wild Theory” which asserted that individuals who have survived harsh conditions in the wild were the strongest. The second was the “Training Theory” which claid that individuals who have been thoroughly trained and disciplined could surpass the limits of their species. The third was the “Artificial Theory” which stated that artificial life forms created through spiritual arts were superior to the laws of nature.
Georg, the trainer, was a supporter of the “training theory,” obviously. Although the manager did not explicitly state which theory he supported, he hyped up all the creatures Georg had raised as being powerful. I thought it was blatant flattery, but Georg seed pleased with himself.
As his title suggested, the manager was in charge of the “Battle Beast Tournant.” For this fat man, the most important thing was to profit from the matches, and he probably only considered creatures like us, who fought and killed each other, as disposable goods. It made feel sick to think that this man was enjoying the sweet taste of victory because I was going to risk my life in fights.
Oh, how I wish I could move freely. Then I could kill everyone here and escape. This wasn’t just arrogance from my part; after all, I was confident that I was several tis stronger than Georg in terms of pure fighting power. If only I hadn’t had the “soul binding” attached I would surely have had the ability to kill.
But as long as I had this “soul binding,” I couldn’t seek vengeance. I had to fight to survive and continue to win, just to stay alive. It was all because of this damn old man. As I let the flas of hatred burn in my heart, which had beco rough from hunger, the cart suddenly ca to a halt. And my cage was lowered to the ground.
“In any case, it’s quite a spectacle to see so many battle beasts gathered like this. Of course, mine is quite inferior”
Surrounding my cage were cages of various sizes, each containing a creature like myself—a battle beast bound to participate in the “Battle Beast Tournant.” I estimated there were over a hundred of us. Even if they were all going to be my opponents in battle, I was overwheld by the sight, as if I were attending a fair showcasing beasts.
Most of the beasts here were mammals and reptiles; unfortunately, there were no insects like . Even if there were, it would be aningless since we couldn’t communicate, but for so reason, it made feel sad. Though I wondered how I could still feel lonely even in a place like this.
“Well then, I’ll head up. Call when this one’s turn approaches.” Georg addressed the manager.
“Understood.”
The manager bowed respectfully as he watched Georg leave. Once he was gone, the manager raised his head and snorted contemptuously, as if mocking him.
“Still obsessed with training. What a training maniac, you creepy …… old thing. Hey, there’s not much ti left until the opening. Make sure we can start the preliminary lottery anyti! And get the mages in position! Don’t forget to tighten security for the VIP seats!”
“Understood.”
As the manager gave orders to his subordinates and slaves, he moved away from the crowded area of cages. Finally, it was ti for my debut match. I felt sorry for my opponent, but I had no choice but to rcilessly kill them so I could survive.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
(POV change)
In the spring of the 823rd year of Altera, on a beautiful sunny day, the annual “Great Beast Battle” of the Harlasia Kingdom was about to take place in the capital. The “Great Beast Battle” was a large-scale tournant held only four tis a year, and the spring tournant was also known as the “Rookie Battle”. The reason for this was that all the beasts participating were required to be first-ti competitors.
The beasts that survived the “Rookie Battle” were called “Rookie Kings” and were given special treatnt in the regular tournants and even in other “Great Beast Battle” tournants. For example, they could beco seeded participants in the tournant or be allowed to skip the qualifying rounds and advance directly to the main event.
Owning a “Rookie King” was a great status symbol for a beast owner. Since only one beast could earn the title of “Rookie King” each year, the rarity of such a beast was especially valuable.
Naturally, many beasts gathered for the “Rookie Battle”, and many of the beasts that participated in other tournants with hopes of winning also participated in this tournant, making the level of competition extrely high. Therefore, the “Rookie Battle” was the most popular tournant, and the “Rookie King” was a strong beast that had overco tough battles to earn the title.
The number of beasts participating in the “Rookie Battle” has been increasing year by year, and this year, the number of entries has exceeded 200. To prevent the tournant from taking too long, the beasts were divided into 16 groups, and the 16 surviving beasts from each group would then compete in a single tournant.
Amidst all of this, one naless scorpion was oblivious to the fact that the tournant he was about to participate in was not only the most popular one but also the most intense. He simply waited quietly for his turn to compete while feeling hungry.
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