Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Conflicted he looked at the small vial in his hands. How much he had longed for this tiny thing back in the day. The power it promised, the life it would give... but now he was hesitating. He was scheduled to fight a cultivator in the seventh match. From what he saw of the preliminaries, he stood no chance.

If he took the serum now the transformation might be finished by the time he was supposed to fight, then he would stand a chance, but... What if the next fight continued to grow shorter and shorter? Even if everything went well, what if Minas Mar found out about him over the course of the next few fights?

Stuck in his worries, he didn't notice the shadow slithering into the room from below the door.

“hehe, you can't beat Choon Long, you know it yourself, right? You are worried they will find out who you are when you transform, right? Your tiny worries are so easy to read,” a smooth, silky voice whispered in his ears. Although he didn't notice it enter, he didn't panic.

“What do you want?” He had already recognized that it was a demon talking to him. Since a demon dared to enter his private booth like this, his was probably not hostile, but sent by their allies. Although he understood that this shaky bond was necessary, it didn't mean he liked working with them.

“Right to business, good. You are not the only one who knows you probably won't be able to win against the cultivators, that why my lord sent me here, to give you a chance,” the demonic voice whispered.

“Don't make such a face, it's not like I'm here because I want to either, but we need more people in the next round for the plan to work out,” it said annoyed when the man grimaced. Yeah, it was all for their secondary plan.

“Fine, how does this work?” he said, placing the vial back in his inventory. he would listen first, to see if the demon's suggestion had a lower risk. the shadow that came in from below the door stretched and separated from the surface it was cast on, becoming a dark, transparent snake.

“You just have to reach out your hand and repeat the following sentence. I accept the Blessing. Then you will be given part of the powers of the great demon. Easy, right?” the snake spoke enchantingly. The man nodded. Since demons were also participating, the blessing of a demon would draw less attention than sudden immortality.

“Fine. I accept the blessing,” he said and stretched out his hand. “Good boy,” the snake laughed and bit him. When it bit his arm, a dark tattoo appeared, looking ugly and infected. He didn't utter a sound, but his face distorted when he felt the dark, burning power infect his body and mind.

<Ding! You have accepted the Blessing of Ja'Quus. All your physical attributes have risen by 50. >

<Ding! You have new skills in your skill window. >

“And now, I would be much obliged if you gave me that vial,” the snake said haughtily. The man didn't want to, but his body moved on its own. he took the vial from his inventory and handed it to the snake.

“Don't worry. the power up is real, just, don't tell anyone I took the vial,” the snake said and left with a sinister laughter. He slumped on the bed when the control over his body finally faded. Just what had he done?

....

Someone knocked on the door

“Sir Onyxheart, your match will start soon. Would you please get ready and enter the arena?” a staff member informed him.

“Alright, I'm ready;” the dwarf answered. he had already worn and checked his armor thoroughly. he had just been doing the last touch-ups on his weapon and shield. Maintenance shouldn't be neglected, even with magical weapons.

When he opened the door, he found a man in a suit waiting for him. He was one of the staff from Minas Mar. The participant's rooms were protected by several layers of defenses, one of which was a labyrinthine structure of hallways and stairs that led to them.

Although none of them would stop someone with a member's pass for the Participants, the structure alone usually needed a guide. This was why an employee would lead the participants to the arena, and also to make sure nobody interfered on the way.

The noise of the crowd greeted the dwarf as he stepped out into the stadium. Rain hit his helmet and shoulders, but found no gap to enter his armor. On the other side of the oval, he saw his opponent also stepping into the rain.

Polter had spent the morning watching the replay of the preliminaries. Despite his skewed personality, he had to admit that the giant of a man was going to be a tough opponent. Like Tien Shen he used no obvious energy techniques in the preliminaries, however, his physical might itself was several steps above the cultivator Byron fought.

Bare fists that punched through high-quality armor, bare muscles that stopped epic-rated blades. The analysis from the fight in the preliminaries made it quite clear why he didn't use weapons, the man's body was refined to the level of an epic or higher-rated equipment.

It seemed like he was confident not to need any external items. A notion that was foreign to the dwarf. No matter how strong one was, a force multiplier would always come in handy.

Stepping on the stage, the quirky moderator appeared floating over their heads, however, Polter didn't care much for her drivel. His eyes had met with Dumm Ting. The other gave him a gaze full of cruelty, his looks making clear what he intended to do with the dwarf. Sparks were flying between the two, one angry to have his chance for groping the well-endowed barbarian babe taken from him, the other feeling offended for being perceived as easy prey.

The round, attractive face of Umi Kaldrops slowly lowered between the two and whispered in a way the audience was unable to listen, her voice cold and threatening.

“Listen here you little shits, stop sharing romantic gazes and get ready. I will announce the start of the fight now,” surprising both of them with her crass words. Why was SHE of all people suddenly pissed? And why was his hair standing on end like this?

What Polter did not know, because he concentrated on staring back at Dumm Ting and ignored Umi's “drivel” was that she had already tried asking the two pigheads five times for their confirmation that they were ready.

“Since our contestants are finally ready, let's start the fight!” she called out to the audience in her usual, upbeat voice. However, she did emphasize the finally.

Hurriedly, Polter took his stance. It was time for the fight people had been looking forward to. With Dumm Ting fighting barehanded and Polter carrying a poleaxe, the onset of the fight resembled the first one between Tien Shen and Byron. While one tried to get close, the other used his superior reach to his advantage.

As similar as it looked in the beginning, it became soon clear that the standard both participants were acting on was a lot higher than the first fight.