The fighting arena.

One of the places most capable of turning someone into a millionaire overnight.

That is, if they survived.

It bore a striking resemblance to the gladiatorial arenas of old, but without any real rules or restrictions.

Nor was it legal in the first place.

The place served as an entertainment venue for the wealthy, who came to enjoy the spectacle of blood and violence whilst betting their money on the fighters.

As for the fighters themselves... their lives were the price.

I had arrived in the city of Talarsam about an hour ago, and I was standing not far from the luxury hotel.

The building looked as if it were a separate entity from the rest of the city; its gleaming facades reflected the streetlights, and its windows shone as if made of gold.

A few metres away stood an old, dilapidated pub.

The contrast between them was stark. One screamed of wealth.

The other reeked of poverty and crime.

But the irony was that both led to the same place: the fighting arena.

The hotel was the entrance reserved for the rich, the nobility and the gamblers.

As for the pub... it was the entrance used by the contestants.

And most of them were nothing but criminals, mercenaries, or desperate people looking for money at any cost.

That is why the difference between the two entrances was like the difference between heaven and earth.

I stood in a dark street corner not far from the pub.

The city lights didn’t reach that spot, making it perfect for surveillance.

I put my hands in my pockets and waited. Looking for a suitable victim.

I didn’t have to wait long.

A man in his thirties appeared.

Several scars ran across his face, whilst a sword hung from his waist.

But what caught my eye most was the small red patch pinned to his shirt.

I smiled the moment I saw it.

"I’ve found you."

I took several gold coins from my storage pouch, then stepped out of the shadows and hurried towards him.

"Wait... hold on!" I called out to him, panting deliberately, as if I’d been running for a long time.

"C-can you help me?" I stopped in front of him and rested my hands on my knees, pretending to be exhausted.

"Do you know where Thaksat Street is?"

As I spoke, I let the gold pieces glint clearly in my hand.

The man picked up on it immediately.

I saw him cast a quick glance at the gold before a small smile touched his lips.

Then he stepped closer to me and said in a friendly tone.

"Of course I know him. You must be terribly tired. If you like, I can show you the way myself."

My smile widened.

Because I knew exactly what he was thinking.

And more importantly... I knew what I was going to do to him in a few minutes’ time.

"Are you really going to do that? Thank you, I really appreciate it."

The man glanced around. A few passers-by were crossing the street at intervals, before his eyes settled on the dark alley I’d just come out of.

"It seems you’ve got a bit confused. You’ve been on the right track all along."

"Huh?"

"Follow me." He said, heading towards the dark alley, and I followed him in silence.

We walked a few steps before he spoke again:

"Hey lad, you must be new here, aren’t you?"

"Yes."

He smiled faintly and said:

"Didn’t your parents teach you not to follow strangers—" He turned towards me mid-sentence.

Shhshsh!

The small dagger pierced his neck clean through.

The words died in his throat before they could escape, and blood gushed from the wound, spilling copiously onto the ground.

Without hesitation, I pulled the dagger out and stabbed him again.

The man staggered backwards, and when I saw him reaching for his sword, I lunged forward and kicked his legs with all my strength. He lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.

I didn’t give him a chance to catch his breath.

I pulled the dagger from his neck once more, then plunged it forcefully into his chest.

Thud!

His body shook violently. I plunged the blade in again, then once more.

His eyes stared at me in bewilderment, but the light in them began to fade little by little, until they became completely vacant.

He tried to catch his breath, but no air was reaching his lungs.

After a few moments, everything stopped.

I stared at him for a few seconds, making sure he was truly dead.

"Huh..."

The breath left my chest in fits and starts.

The dagger fell from my hand and landed on the ground with a soft thud, whilst I felt something strange stirring in my stomach.

A heavy... and sickening feeling. As if my whole body was only just realising what I had done moments ago.

I threw up immediately, as a strange feeling washed over me after killing that man.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I had no other choice. If I wanted to sneak into the arena, I had to do this. Keep my identity hidden at all times.

At least... I didn’t choose an innocent person.

So, yes. All I did was rid the world of a scoundrel, and benefit from it myself at the same time.

Two birds with one stone, but what if I was wrong?

What if he wasn’t really a criminal?

My features hardened slightly.

I hope that isn’t the case. I stopped my thoughts there, then stepped towards the corpse and raised my hand above it.

[ The Hazy Forms ]

The next moment, I saw wisps of grey mist rising slowly from the corpse.

As the amount of mist emanating from it increased, the man’s body began to disintegrate before my eyes.

The skin turned to dust. Then the flesh vanished.

Then the organs. Until all that remained was a dry skeleton lying on the ground.

At the same time, that grey mist began to draw towards me before flowing into my body.

I felt a shiver run down my spine.

Then... a few memories surfaced—memories that weren’t mine.

Strange, hazy memories that made me frown immediately.

I knew who the body belonged to. His name was Qil, whilst I saw terrified faces. Blood. Screams.

And women trying to flee.

The man had committed numerous crimes; from murder to rape, and other things I couldn’t fully comprehend before the memories suddenly faded.

Moments later, the last wisp of mist in front of me vanished.

I breathed slowly, then picked up the dagger lying on the ground.

I wiped the blood from its blade with the hem of my robe, then held it up to my face to use its shiny surface as a makeshift mirror.

And the moment I saw my reflection...

I froze in my tracks.

"What...?"

My eyes widened in shock. I had grown significantly taller.

My weight and physique had also changed completely.

I looked older and stronger than I had just a few minutes ago.

But that wasn’t what shocked me the most. It was the face that appeared in the dagger’s reflection... It wasn’t my face. It was Qail’s face.

...

...

...

I quickly put on Qail’s clothes.

It was a long-sleeved white shirt, dotted with several small holes and tears. I smiled when I saw it.

No one would easily notice the stab wounds; they’d just think they were old holes in the shirt, nothing more.

The bottom half was a pair of black jeans, held up by a dark belt made of animal or monster skin, most likely.

I didn’t know exactly where it came from, but what I was sure of was that it smelled absolutely awful.

Still, I didn’t have the luxury of choice.

I let out a soft sigh and said:

"Hello."

I was testing my voice. My eyes widened slightly. It sounded eerily similar to Qil’s.

It wasn’t just a resemblance... it was as if Qil himself were speaking, not me.

"Haaah..." I let out a long sigh. Then I left the alley and headed towards the pub.

Before that, I’d spent a few minutes cleaning the blood off his clothes. That’s why they were a bit damp. I tried to dry them as best I could, but time wasn’t on my side.

In any case, they weren’t wet enough to attract attention.

And even if someone did notice, I could make up a suitable excuse.

Click.

I pushed open the pub door and stepped inside. The place was buzzing with the sounds of customers and the smell of alcohol and smoke.

I walked straight towards the front bar, where the fat man was standing behind it, busy arranging some glasses.

I approached him and said:

"I’m looking for a new job."

The man looked up at me before shrugging his shoulders.

"Sorry, we don’t have any vacancies left. You’re too late."

I smiled faintly.

"No problem. I can make a place for myself."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Although I don’t know yet what sort of job I’ll get."

The chubby man stared at me for a few seconds, then gave a short laugh.

"We have all sorts of jobs here."

He put the napkin he’d been using to wipe the glass aside, then clasped his fingers on the counter.

"But tell me first... what do you think you’re good at? Let’s see if we have something that suits you."

"Although I’m not sure, hunting is something I’m naturally good at."

The man nodded quietly, then gestured for me to follow him.

She did so in silence.

We made our way through several narrow passageways and winding corridors inside the pub, until we finally reached a dead end.

I frowned slightly.

Had he taken a wrong turn?

But before I could ask, the man produced a small metal cup from his pocket in a way I didn’t understand, then secured it into a barely visible recess in the wall.

He then turned the cup anti-clockwise.

Click.

The wall in front of us shook for a moment.

Then it slowly split open at the sides, revealing a cylindrical lift resembling a metal capsule.

The man gestured towards it.

"Get in."

I stepped inside without hesitation. As soon as I did, the door closed behind me.

The next moment, the surrounding walls lit up in a shifting array of colours, before I felt my body hurtling downwards at breakneck speed.

"Whoa..."

If my physical abilities weren’t superior to those of an ordinary human, I would have been thrown to the ground by the sheer force of the acceleration.

The descent continued for several moments. Or perhaps several minutes.

It was hard to tell.

Then... the capsule finally came to a halt.

Hmm... The door opened slowly. As soon as I stepped out, I froze in my tracks.

"Oh..."

The word ’surprised’ wasn’t enough to describe what I saw before me.

A vast underground space stretched out before me; at first glance, the place looked like an entire city buried underground.

But the more I looked, the more I felt that describing it as a city wasn’t quite accurate. It was closer to a giant colony.

A massive shelter built by people who didn’t want to live on the surface. Or couldn’t.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure. But there was one thing I was absolutely certain of.

That this was going to be far more difficult than I’d expected...