The Damn Damned Coliseum

The cleanup after the bandits were all taken care of was swift. After the enemies' mages were all slain, they tried to run, but were quickly cut down by Frank and Humphrey.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and lasted for another three hours. When they eventually arrived, Jason realized that he never did ask where they were going. they were currently at the city of Elion, at the edge of the great deserts of the east.

"Wow, I have never seen anything bigger that our village, but this, this is incredible!" Aris said in shock. They were currently standing outside of an in. looking around, Jason realized that it really was amazing. The streets were made of a yellow stone, and the hoses were made of a white plaster, with red shingle rooves.

"This way kids" Frank said as he led them down the winding streets, until they arrived at a coliseum made of gray stone.

"Welcome to the Coliseum of the Damned! would you like to purchase seats for the next showing? It will feature two convicted murderers fighting to see who will be set free!" A lady at a desk said, positioned right next to the front gates. As I looked at Frank, I realized that he looked furious, and I could hear him muttering under his breath.

"Stupid director.... Disgrace... Repentance arena... Above this"

I could only really make out half of what he was saying, but from what I was able to hear, I was wondering just what this place was.

"No, he is here for the Ikhoris placement tournaments!" Humphrey bellowed in a very masculine voice, clearly trying to impress the lady at the desk.

"Ahh, ok. Please, take the left gate then. Someone will be waiting right around the corner for you." The lady said with an awkward smile plastered across her face.

With a disgruntled and slightly disappointed grunt, Humphrey walked past the attractive attendant and into the left gate. Following behind them, I was talking with Aris, when a man in a black robe ran out of the crowd right towards us.

"Look out!" I yelled, before pushing her ahead and through the gate. I had no idea if it would keep her safe, but I quickly realized that the gates were magical as the man collided into me with inhuman strength, launching me through the center gate. As I was flying through the air. I watched the man in pain as he held a crystal up to his mouth and said something, before melting into the shadows. The last thing I saw of him before passing through the gate was a flash of onyx horns.

[You have entered that proving ground]

{To get out of the proving ground, you must prove your innocence through an ocean of blood.}

Opening my eyes, I found myself in cave with sheer, smooth walls. The cave was perfectly symmetrical, and after a second the haze that covered my thoughts cleared and I could think clearly.

"crap" "System, what is this place?"

[This is the maze of the Damned, inside the Coliseum of the Damned. to escape, you must find an exit without being killed, then you will be entered into the gladiatorial games, where you will fight in one-on-one combat to the death.]

Standing up on shaky legs, I tried to focus on my mana reservoir, only to see that there were chains that were running through it. When I tried to cast a spell, a sharp pain could be felt from my core (the physical manifestation of the mana reservoir) and all my mana seemed to leak out harmlessly through my pores and into the environment.

"Damn, so I can't cast magic."

I started walking, hoping that I would be able to escape this without having to fight anyone. After all, I didn't have any weapons, rations, or water.

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Above the Coliseum, Frank was yelling at the owner of the establishment...

"What the Fuck do you mean that you can't do anything? This is your Damn coliseum, and as such, you should be able to pull him out!"

"I'm sorry, but the gates are magically warded, and have been for over 100 years. No one alive has the ward key, and even if we did, unlocking that gate would spell the death of hundreds of innocence. There are truly some heinous criminals in our prison!"

"I DONT care for you excuses! As of right now I have a student that hasn't taken even one class stuck in a prison, unguarded, and surrounded by criminals! By god you better hope that he comes out of this, because if he doesn't you can expect all hell to break loose on your country. Ikhoris and Drohan might be on good terms for now, but if you get one of our top applicants KILLED because you can't even unlock your own fucking doors, then we will raise this place to the ground. I KNEW that bringing our students here was a bad idea, but no, the headmaster thought it would be an ingenious idea."

Shaking in fear, and realizing what was at stake, the old man collapsed into his chair, clasping his hands onto his earn rests like they were a lifeline.

"But sir, you can surely see that this is not our fault! If you would have taken better care of your students, and watched them closer, than he wouldn't be in..."

Frank cut him off with a burst of anger, bunching a wall that left a hole in it 2 feet in diameter.

"Are you saying that your failure to post guard at the FRONT GATE is our fault? NO! You got cocky because no one has ever escaped our prison, so you thought it was safe! You and the god that made this coliseum can burn in the infernal realm for all I care!" Frank said before turning around and storming out of the room, wisps of fire left in his trail.