Chapter 123 - Monke And Battle Royales (34 - End)
The moment the coin hit the ground, chaos ensued. Dozens of Dungeon Masters in their own groups quickly took out individual Dungeon Masters with them trying their best to survive. Other Dungeon Masters who were still new to this could only stare and gape, before their participation was cut short by an attack from another Dungeon Master.
More noticeably, casualties began to ramp up, but most of them came from the Dungeon Masters who had not joined a group yet and were also new, thus their lives were cut short due to the participation they probably had no intention of joining.
I, however, was also the same as the other new Dungeon Masters, shocked beyond belief at the carnage that was going on around me, but unlike them, I was able to snap out of it quickly and block a stray attack from another Dungeon Master who knocked another Dungeon Master out of the competition.
"Holy shit. This is going to hell really fast." I off-handedly commented as I blocked another stray attack with my arm, a tiny tuft of my fur getting singed due to the projectiles' flame property.
"Heh, just hold on and don't get knocked out or killed." Oshurkova replied as she nonchalantly blocked an attack coming from a Dungeon Master, a newbie, might I add, who thought that a stationary target was easy to kill during the chaos. For his efforts, the Dungeon Master, whom I noticed to be a human in his middle twenties (appearance-wise) was rewarded with a kick to the groin, effectively stopping him from fighting and knocking him out due to the pain he experienced.
His body turned into motes of light as Oshurkova stifled a yawn. Witnessing that attack made me clench my buttocks and tighten my thighs, my balls feeling a sort of phantom pain.
"Oh, is big and mighty over here scared of getting his crotch kicked in?" Beside me, Catalina cheerily taunted as she tapped my giant arm over and over again. "If so, then I can nurse it back to full health with my special… technique."
And now, that phantom pain became real pain, although a different kind, as my little Johnny strained against my pants, threatening to be released from its confines.
"… Why must you do this to me right now?" I wanted to facepalm, but the very hectic situation currently happening around us made me stay my hand as I struggled with the pain in my lower half.
"'Cause it's fun." Catalina shrugged with a grin, her cat-like eyes focusing on my body, before turning around and addressing another Dungeon Master who was about to pounce on us because she saw us seemingly distracted by one another.
Catalina dodged the pounce attack of the female Dungeon Master, her hands grasping some type of weaponized claws as they shredded the ground once they made contact. Using this as an opening, I pounced on the stuck female and bonked her in the head… Hard.
Her face smashed against the hard ground, and moments later turned into particles of blue light before vanishing into thin air.
"Nice follow-up." Catalina gave me a thumbs-up before dashing towards Pilips, who was having a very bad time because of the audience in the stands, and due to it, was making it very hard for him to fight effectively.
I mean, just look at him. He's diving away from the attacks like an idiot!
Quickly tossing the barebones blueprint of a plan on how to get rid of his social anxiety at the back of my mind for the moment, I focused on another Dungeon Master who was able to get close to me during the chaos. Scoffing at his vain attempt to knock me out or kill me, I blocked his blade with my staff, then coated it with flames, causing him to jump back and crash against another Dungeon Master.
The result was them tumbling to the ground in a heap, and capitalizing on that moment, I had my staff enlarge and further embedded them into the ground. Luckily, both of them were sturdy, so all that happened was them being knocked unconscious and kicked out of the event.
'Now this is more like a Battle Royale, except that I have a team.' I looked around and saw the various fighting, stray attacks (I dodged and blocked two more, my fur now standing on end like a giant puffball because it was made of electricity), yells and cries of agony (I saw one get dismembered, yikes), and of course, bodies of the fallen.
Those bodies were those Dungeon Masters who were killed during the ongoing chaos, and boy, there are a lot. I can count a few dozen, which means that it won't be long until this Battle Royal within the Battle Royale is over.
"You doin' fine there, greenhorn?" Tanjin, who opted to grow bigger in size, smirked at me, his weapon resting on his shoulder.
"Just fine. Most that come to me are weaklings." I stated this as matter-of-factly, causing Tanjin to bellow out.
"Hahahaha! That's one way to put it." Tanjin snickered as he brought his leg back, before kicking a Dungeon Master in front of him, sending them flying and vanishing into particles of blue light. "I'll see you then. Pilips is getting even more distressed."
Tanjin then made his way towards Pilips, who was now hyperventilating and looking around the area with crazed eyes.
'Yikes… I feel sorry for the dude.' I thought in my mind as I refocused back on the Battle Royale. 'You know what, how about I cut loose? Nah, I would be revealing my cards then, so I'll just wait this out.'
Nodding to myself at my decision, I held out with my group to survive this Battle Royale. The audience in the stands was now getting smaller as every time a Dungeon Master was disqualified, those monsters/humans/demi-humans in the stand associated with said Dungeon Master were instantly brought back to their respective Dungeons. As for the Dungeon Masters who died… Yeah, I have no idea where they go, unless they are sent to the Dungeon Master who killed theirs…
Which reminds me… I killed two Dungeon Masters, and their residents are probably inside my Dungeon now… Does that mean that those loyal to the Dungeon Master I killed are now inside my Dungeon?
'Well, once I get back, I'm immediately placing them under suspension until I'm sure I can trust them to roam freely without causing any undue harm.' I mused in my mind, and at the same time, blocked another overhead slash from the Dungeon Master right in front of me. Not taking any chances, I quickly pushed his offending weapon to the side with my strength, causing him to stagger heavily to the side, and smashed my staff into his face via the lengthening feature.
Needless to say, the Dungeon Master fell down on the ground but was still in the fight. I, however, quickly made sure that he wouldn't get up anytime soon.
And that was by bonking him in the head with my staff, knocking him out like a light.
"How long is this event going to take? I'm pretty sure more than 20 minutes have passed." My words went unnoticed due to the noisy background fighting. I sighed, and shook my head. 'Just tough it out, and make sure to not place a target on yourself. Just stick with your group, and everything will turn out fine.'
Sticking with Oshurkova, Reia, Keia, and Typhial, we covered each other's backs and made sure that none of us would be disqualified prematurely. A few minutes into the fighting later, Tanjin, Arekhus, Catalina, and Shrum joined us after having dealt with the Dungeon Masters who were pestering Pilips. The poor guy was shaking on his feet as he dealt with the fact that there was an audience watching him.
"Is this still going to take long? It's already 30 minutes into this non-stop fighting, and we still haven't reduced ourselves to 300 participants?"
"Some are just too stubborn to quit." Oshurkova looked at the various corpses, giving them a frown full of pity. "Anyway, it won't be long now. We've already cleared up a lot."
Just as she said that, a gong sounded out, causing all fighting in the arena to stop. Looking at the podium where Chythos sat, we saw him clapping slowly, a small smile hanging on his face at the display of carnage we showed.
Beside him was Uius holding a comically giant hammer used to sound the gong. Focusing back on Chythos, the God stood up and continued with his slow clapping.
A few seconds later, the rest of the applause was heard throughout the colosseum. The audience now joined in, giving us praise and respect for surviving this long.
"Marvelous. It seems that even though you are in a ruler type of situation, your fangs haven't dulled." Chythos stopped with his clapping and raised his hands in front of him as if trying to hug the air. "This display of power and skill, the mindset to persevere, and most of all, the freedom to enjoy what you have currently. All the Dungeon Masters still participating, I applaud you."
The colosseum grew silent at the praise of the God before us.
"Yet, it is with a heavy heart that I send you all back to your Dungeons. The next event will not be an easy one. It will also be the last one for this decade, so rest up and prepare. The next event will start in two days." Chythos then walked back to his throne, taking a seat on the regal looking chair. "Also, your rewards will be automatically given once you are back in your own Dungeons. Until the next time we meet, farewell."
And then, the transfer started again.
Shit, I am never going to get used to this sensation…