The First Colosseum was in a gigantic cavern.

  Milo of Boundkeep looked up at the ceiling above and wonder why the dungeon core built such a high ceiling for the arena. The ceiling was at least a hundred metres above him, and the walls of the arena stretch for fifty metres on either side. It was hardly the biggest arena Milo had ever seen, but the high ceiling wasn’t not the only odd thing about the First Colosseum.

  The First Colosseum was filled with broken statues and there were visible chips and cracks along the walls and stone floor which gave the arena an aged look. The aesthetics and decoration gave the impression that the arena was old and historic.

  It was nothing of the sort.

  Milo was a new Classed, only receiving his [Duellist] class less than three years ago, but he had heard stories about The Challenge Arena. The dungeon was first discovered about sixty years ago, old but nowhere near as ancient as the aesthetics would have you believed. Still, Milo finds that he like the aged ambiance of the dungeon. It gave gravitas to what he was about to do.

  Milo was not an adventurer. Despite the wishes of the Adventurer Guild, not all Classed become adventurers. In fact, most Classed have no wish to risk their lives and prefer to live peacefully. Milo is one of them. He loves the sword but loves living more. He has no desire wasting his time chasing treasures when it could be better used training and perfecting his swordsmanship.

  Unfortunately, Milo has little choice in the matter.

  Milo took a deep breath to calm his nerves and look at the figure standing on the other side of the arena. It was a gigantic golem, its body made of bronze plates over a bronze skeleton. It was carrying a greatsword with both hands and was watching Milo with cold passionless eyes. It was the Guardian of the First Colosseum; a golem adventurers called The Bronze Sword.

  From what older adventurers told him, The Challenge Arena was a little different from most dungeons. Unlike most dungeons which had floors with branching paths, and a Boss monster at the end of each floor, The Challenge Arena was more straightforward. Routes to the Bosses of the floors were usually clearly marked and adventurers could reach them if they could fight past the minor monsters on the floor. There were almost no traps or puzzles in The Challenge Arena which makes The Challenge Arena a simple, and slightly boring, dungeon to delve into.

  The dungeon core seemed to be aware of this reputation because it built several rooms and hallways off the main routes of the floors. These rooms and hallways were entirely optional and were for adventurers eager for challenges.

  Called Challenge Rooms by The Adventurer Guild, adventurers love them as the rooms offered treasure and experience without having to face a powerful Boss. Older adventurers joked that the Challenge Rooms were openly displayed secret rooms.

  The First Colosseum was one of these open secret rooms, and The Bronze Sword is its Guardian.

  Milo tried to calm his nerves. He remind himself that the Challenge Arena was not considered a difficult dungeon. Its monsters were tough and challenging, but not impossible if you are skilful enough and of the right level. It also has a reputation as the best dungeon in the region for Classed that uses the blade, which is why there was a social aspect to the dungeon.

  As the dungeon was considered challenging but fair, over the years it became a mark of honour to beat the various Guardians of the dungeon. Classed boast about how many Challenges they had completed, and those who uses the blade were looked down upon if they did not beat at least one of its Guardians.

  That was the only reason Milo was venturing into The Challenge Arena. As the third son of a minor noble, trained in the sword since young, he needed to make his mark, and he could not do that without completing at least one of the Challenge Rooms.

  Milo picked the easiest one for him to complete.

  Like most of the Challenge Rooms, the First Colosseum has rules that a Classed need to follow to complete the room. According to the Adventurer Guild report, the rules of the First Colosseum were simple.

  - Only one person may enter to challenge The Bronze Sword.

  - The challenger must beat the Guardian alone.

  - The challenger must only use swords.

  Rules that were perfect for a [Duellist].

  “You’re ready?”

  Milo turned to look at the adventurer who spoke. Aiden was the leader of the Howling Blades; a party Milo had hired to bring him down to the First Colosseum. Society may require Milo to beat a Guardian, but no one said he needed to challenge the dungeon alone. Classed like Milo usually hires adventurers to guide and escort them to the Challenge Rooms, and the Howling Blades was one of several adventuring parties who make their living doing these escorting quests.

  “Don’t worry,” Aiden said. “We’ll be in the stands. If things look bad, just cry out and we’ll jump in. You’ll fail the challenge, but you’ll live.”

  Milo was hardly the only Classed who hired adventuring parties to bring them down for a challenge, and over the years, ensuring the safety of the client had become part of the standard escort quest. Milo took a deep breath, gave Aiden a nod and walked into the Colosseum.

  In the stories, heroes would always charge at the monsters with certainty in their hearts and fires in their veins. Milo of Boundkeep knew he was no hero because he only felt fear. To keep his mind off the impending duel, he looked at the terrain for any advantage and could find none.

  This was going to be a pure duel between two enemies.

  Milo kept a wary eye on the Guardian as he slowly walked towards it. He glanced at the stands. The First Colosseum has multi-tier stands that overlooked the arena, and he could see the Howling Blades taking their seats. The adventurers had spread out and the [Wizard] of the Howling Blades was casting a spell to take a recording of the upcoming fight. Some adventuring parties like the Howling Blades have a side hustle recording the fights of their clients and selling them to the public. In fact, that was how Milo knew of the Howling Blades. He bought their products before.

  Strangely, Milo felt his confidence rising at the sight.

  Despite his fears, Milo was confident. He had information on The Bronze Sword and knew how to beat it. Milo had even replaced his usual rapier with a saber as it would be more effective against a golem. He had planned and prepared as well as he could for the fight.

  When Milo reached the center of the Colosseum, The Bronze Sword moved. It took a step forward, then another, and as it walks, clanks and clatters echoed through the First Colosseum.

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  “You have entered The Challenger Arena,” the golem bellows. “You may surrender now, and I will let you live. Fight, and you shall die. Choose.”

  Milo’s eyes widened. No one said that this Guardian could speak. Even he knows that dungeon monsters that spoke are tougher than normal monsters. Milo quickly looked over The Bronze Sword and noticed a few other oddities. The sword it was carrying was steel instead of bronze, and its head was shaped a little differently. Instead of the normal squarish head, the top of the golem’s head was shaped like a crown.

  The Bronze Sword continued forward, and Milo quickly dismissed his wandering thoughts. He needed to focus. Milo got into a defensive stance and cleared his mind. Nothing has changed, he still needs to beat the Guardian.

  The Bronze Sword was a big golem, but it was slow. Milo had a speed advantage, and if The Bronze Sword wants to hit him, it's going to have to catch him first. So, when the Guardian was within range, Milo shifted his posture.

  The Bronze Sword has the longer reach and as it lifted his greatsword high for an overhead slash, Milo stepped forward. [Quick Step] got him close, and he scored two hits with [Double Slash]. Against another Classed it might have been enough, but he was facing a golem and Milo quickly activate [Quick Step], moving out of the way just as the Guardian’s greatsword smashed into the ground. The stone floor broke and small cloud of dust appear, but Milo was well away. He had no time to admire the power of the Guardian though because the greatsword swung towards him again.

  Milo rolled beneath the backswing and immediately jumped back to his feet, a frown on his face. Something was wrong. The Bronze Sword was a lot quicker than reported.

  Milo quickly [Quick Step] backwards to gain some distance. The Bronze Sword did not chase him but instead raised its greatsword in front of itself in a sword stance. Another thing that was not in the report. The Bronze Sword was supposed to be a brute with a blade, not a swordsman golem.

  Something was very wrong.

  Then, the Bronze Sword went on the attack, crossing the distance between the two in a single lunge. Sword in front, it looks almost like a fencer’s lunge, a move Milo had seen thousands of times before. He quickly stepped to the side, the tip of the greatsword missing him by inches, and countered. His saber flashed as he stepped passed the Guardian, scoring a deep cut across the torso of The Bronze Sword.

  Milo quickly disengaged, moving backwards in a flash with [Quick Step]. He was already in his defensive stance position when The Bronze Sword turned to face him. Milo fought to keep from smiling as he heard the cheers from the Howling Blades in the stands. The Guardian may be faster than expected, but Milo still had a speed advantage against it.

  The Bronze Sword came forward once again, slowly this time. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Fourth step, and Milo realized he has a choice to make. He could either maintain distance by moving backwards or hold his position. He chose the latter. Milo was a counter fighter. He believes in his speed and reflexes, as long as he was careful in his defense and deliberate in his attack, he would win. He waited.

  At its fifth step, The Bronze Sword charged in. Milo held his position, and it was almost a fatal mistake because The Bronze Sword did something amazing. Something no golem, with their size and weight, should be able to do.

  It jumped!

  The Bronze Sword soared into the air, sword behind its head and Milo leapt away. The greatsword of the Guardian smashed into the ground once again, and the force of the strike was so strong a wave of air crashed into Milo, throwing the [Duellist] off his feet.

  “Get up!”

  Milo heard the cry from the stand, but it sounded wrong. It was loud and sounded nearby. He opened his eyes and saw that he was on the ground near the walls of the Colosseum where one of the Howling Blades was seated. The force of the strike had thrown him tens of metres!

  Then, he heard the clanking.

  Milo turned his head and saw the charging golem. He rolled just in time to avoid the follow-up strike from The Bronze Sword. Right up to the wall. Milo’s first instinct was to retreat and gain distance, but his back was literally to the wall. He knew he was cornered, and for a moment thought about screaming for help. One shout and the Howling Blades would enter the arena. The adventurers would easily defeat The Bronze Sword, but Milo would fail the challenge.

  He would be a failure.

  Something sparked within him. An anger, a rage he had never felt before. It may be the smart choice, but pride in his sword did not allow Milo to call for help. He needed to do this himself.

  The Bronze Sword attacked, a crosscut aiming to split Milo in two, and Milo jumped. Back and up onto the wall, his two feet landing on the stone surface before he activates a skill.

  [Leap of the Brave].

  Milo pushed off the wall, and the skill allowed him to leap over the golem. The Bronze Sword looked up, and Milo screamed.

  “Die!”

  His saber flashed and a deep cut appear across the face of The Bronze Sword. Milo landed on his feet, The Bronze Sword pivoted, but now the golem’s back was against the wall. The Bronze Sword was now the one that was boxed in, and Milo knew he would not have a better chance to finish this.

  [One Strike]

  Milo moved, his feet left the ground, his body blurred, and his saber flashed faster than the eye could follow. In a blink of the eye, Milo was past the Guardian and slammed into the wall behind The Bronze Sword. He heard a loud crack in his shoulder. He had moved so fast, there was no way for him to stop.

  Milo slides down the wall, his shoulder broken, his body in pain, but a smile on his face. He had aimed for the head of The Bronze Sword. A head that was no longer there. [One Strike] was Milo’s most powerful skill. A single all-out attack that sacrifices defense for one powerful strike to finish an opponent off. He just needed to risk his life. If the skill failed, Milo would be defenceless for the counter. Milo hated the skill, but it has its moments.

  The Bronze Sword slowly fell forward, a loud sound vibrating through the First Colosseum when it slammed into the ground. Milo heard cheering from the stands, but his mind was on another matter.

  When The Bronze Sword fell, a bright light appeared above the fallen guardian. This wasn’t unusual. The Challenge Arena is known to give out treasures when a Guardian is defeated, but this treasure was different. When the light disappeared, the treasure wasn’t a weapon or a piece of armor. It was a scroll.

  The Howling Blades had stopped cheering, clearly shocked at the treasure. The Challenge Arena was not known to give out scrolls. Slowly, painfully, Milo stood up and walked to the scroll which had fallen onto the body of The Bronze Sword. From the corner of his eye, Milo saw the Howling Blades jumping down onto the arena, but the [Duellist] had no intention of waiting for his escort. The treasure was his.

  Milo picked up the scroll and opened it. It was a painting, a full-length portrait of a man with a short sword drawn, his left hand resting lightly on the pommel, his right hand hanging loosely at his side. His face was impassive, and he is clad in a suit of fine black cloth, cut close to the body. The suit was well-made, befitting a noble, and the sword was finely wrought, a slim blade of exquisite balance, with a hilt of polished stone.

  The painting is signed with a simple 'C' in flowing script, and there were strange markings on the top right of the painting, but there is no indication of who the subject of the portrait is.

  Milo recognized that the man was in classic pose known as 'The Ready', one of the most basic stances used in swordfighting. The face of the man in the painting was not very well portrayed, and Milo could not help but wonder if this was deliberate as the artist was clearly skilled. He has managed to capture a sense of motion in the swordsman and even through the painting, he could sense that the man was an expert. Milo could almost sense the vibrant strength of the man’s strikes.

  Though he was by no means an expert on these things, Milo had some training in the arts. As a minor noble, it was something he could not escape from, and he could tell that the painting would fetch a good sum at auction even if it wasn’t a dungeon treasure. A small-

  The scroll began glowing.

  The strange markings jumped off the scroll, causing Milo to drop the scroll. It did not matter as the markings began circling his head. Milo retreated, but the markings followed. Then, the glowing markings dived towards him. Milo could not dodge, and the markings entered his body. Milo immediately touched himself, but there was no pain, no blood. It was as if nothing had happened. Milo wondered what was going on when he heard it.

  It has many titles. The Herald of the System; the Voice of the World; the Whisper of the Gods; and it spoke to him.

  You have gained a dungeon technique!

  [Dance of the Blade]

  Requirements: Survival of The Challenger Arena; Must be within three kilometres from The Challenger Arena

  First Movement: Fleet Footwork- Once an hour, you may increase your speed, agility and surety of your footwork for one minute. Please note that this is a movement technique granted by the dungeon, The Challenger Arena, and is only available if you are within the area of influence of the dungeon. Current area of influence is three kilometres. Area of influence may increase as the dungeon gets stronger. Should the dungeon be destroyed, the technique will disappear.

  Milo’s eyes widened. By the Pantheon! What was going on?