Chapter 42

  Just like when I’d fought those cultists, the arena was a massive, Roman-Coliseum esq feature that felt straight out of the movie Gladiator. All around, seats were filled with people, from all walks of life, dressed in probably the wildest array of fashion I’d ever seen before. The sheer number of people in the space made me think that almost everyone within Silver Springs had to be there, to watch this battle. Apparently, Guy had not been understating how rare of an event this was.

  Floating high in the sky above the floor of the space was a massive screen, similar to something you’d see at a basketball game. There were also big screen monitors spaced in various strategic positions, that for now were simply counting down the time to the battle. Below, the space was empty, no sign of the challengers yet.

  “I really think you’re going to enjoy this,” Guy said as he summoned a drink from one of the crystals he’d bought. It was a bright green, and in a cup, very much so like a movie theater cup, with bendy straw included. The coliseum seats, which were cushioned, thank goodness, had cup holders. Take that Ancient Rome.

  “Epic battle between two high leveled Tamers?” I started, trying to hold back my excitement, “I guess that sounds like something spiffy to watch.”

  I was buzzing with excitement. The challenger was trying to up their Gauntlet to Tier 8. As a Tier 7 Gauntlet holder, his Mun would obey him up to level 90! And that meant when they battled, all of the Mun being used would be that strong. What was the maximum level of Muns? Was it 100? If so, this challenger nearing the pinnacle.

  “Spiffy indeed,” Guy took a sip of his drink, and grinned, “it’s pretty rare to be present for such a battle. Especially nowadays. Most Tamers that reach these ranks are usually… recruited into the Disciples of Grand Nox, or forced into hiding.”

  That made my skin tingle, as I thought of Sasha. Had she just happened to be in the area? Or did this challenger wait till she disappeared, to make the attempt to level up his Gauntlet? Did the Disciples of Grand Nox really go after people who were just trying to get stronger?

  “Usually, when you’re trying to control the masses,” Guy said, noting my expression, “it’s frowned upon allowing people to grow strong enough to challenge your hold.” He shrugged, “granted, their largest stop is on people attempting to reach Tier 9 and Tier 10. Tier 8 isn’t as worrisome to them I suppose. And, now that I think of it,” another sip of his drink, “I figure sometimes they let people get that strong just so Liz and her Pillars have someone to waste their time on while they wait for Granos to once again appear.”

  I summoned my own drink, and it appeared in a similar cup to Guy’s, though mine was a bright orange, like fire. I took a sip, and as a mixture of sweet, tangy, orange swam across my tongue, mingled with a spice like cinnamon, I couldn’t tell if I loved it… or hated it. Another sip, and then another, and the jury was still out.

  “I know it was mentioned Liz was trying to use Granos for her plans,” I said, while my tongue still worked to determine if my Bullow’s Blast was a hit or not, “but are you saying she doesn’t have Granos yet?”

  “That’s correct,” Guy answered, “Granos is one of five Progenitor Muns. They aren’t like normal Muns. They are so powerful that they are generally locked away in a deep hibernation within the planet. And only through extensive rituals, preparation, and time, can one be summoned. The Disciples of Grand Nox have been hard at work paving the way to bring about Granos’s awakening. At which point,” he sipped his drink, and I wondered what the bright drink tasted like, “Liz will have to defeat it. Only those with Tier 10 Gauntlets can even stand before a Progenitor Mun to battle it, and, in the rare event they win, tame it.”

  “So, that’s why they want to keep people from reaching Tier 10.” I said as I set my drink it its cup holder and pulled out my burger. My stomach, now that I’d been drinking something, was telling me I was hungry. “Why Tier 9?”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Tier 9 Gauntlets, on top of giving a Tamer the ability to utilize a Mythic Amplifier, allows Tamers the ability to challenge and Tame Ancient Muns. Special, one of a kind Muns that roam the world, often with very unique traits, and move sets. Those Mun are the kind that the Disciples three Pillars are actively hunting for, because the Ancient Muns are impossible to predict where they will appear, and if you fail to defeat one… it will teleport somewhere else in our world, making the hunt begin all over.”

  I stopped, hamburger frozen between my teeth, its juices dripping, unnoticed, onto my tongue, as something about his statement clicked in my mind. The Three Pillars of the Disciples of Grand Nox had Tier 9 Gauntlets. Sasha was one of those three pillars… Sasha… was that strong? And I’d tried to kiss her? The fuck was wrong with me.

  Dommy Mommy vibes on point.

  I chased the thought from my mind as I bit into my burger, scolding myself internally as I chewed, trying to regain control of my traitorous mind. I’d always had a thing for the bad boy/girl vibe. And obviously, that had been isekai’d along with me. Just, still. Seriously. What the hell.

  “Anyway,” Guy summoned what I had to guess was the Dog Log, which looked like a footlong hotdog topped with some sort of dark red sauce and cheese, “that’s neither here nor there. The thing I was originally going to get at, was that this battle was going to showcase what your future can hold, assuming you’re as quick a study as I’m taking you for. Challenges to advance the Tiers of your Gauntlet are done as 3v3 battles, while utilizing your full Six-Mun team. At higher Tiers, strategy is of the utmost importance, as the synergy of your three Muns, the moves you use, the amplifier you have, the various Augmenting stones, they all play a part in how a battle goes. And if one of your Muns is defeated, which Mun you bring forth, how you fill the holes in your team, is just as important.” He took a large bite of Dog Log, going silent to chew, giving me time to actually enjoy a bite of my burger, now that my initial surprise over Sasha had faded away again.

  Just as with everything else in this world that I was really started to view as freaking heaven, the burger was the juiciest, most flavorful variant of hamburger I’d ever had. Back on Earth, I would have totally figured something this good cost like, sixty, maybe seventy bucks, and that was if freaking Gordan Ramsey made it himself. I immediately pushed aside any future complaints I’d been preplanning over the gross concession stand prices of the food for this event.

  “Additionally,” he began, as he finished swallowing his large bite, a bit of the red sauce now staining his moustache, “it’s common knowledge what Muns a Keeper will use for their battle. So, as a challenger, in theory, you could prepare a team to counter those. Granted,” he looked down at the arena, then back at me, “considering how slowly leveling Muns becomes at higher levels, and how amplifiers and augmenting stones works, that’s usually less of a common strategy after Tier 4” That made sense. If the experience gain shifted in any manner similar to the games I’d played, leveling would become a much slower process likely after you hit the level 40 to 50 range. And shifting your team around, or changing them drastically, once your amplifier hit ‘adult’ stage, from what little I knew of them, probably risked throwing off the synergy you’d been working for.

  All things that told me high level battles would be much more strategic, and challenging, than now. Which, considering Cogberus had practically solo’d Aaron and Ember’s teams once I’d brought him out, made me even more excited. Sure, sweeping your opponent with one overpowered monster was satisfying, but when it came to monster battling, fierce back and forth battles that relied on strategy and planning, and not just sheer level gaps or one or two overpowered monsters, were much more satisfying to win.

  “Alrighty,” I said as I finished swallowing down another bite of my absolutely delicious Calfer Burger that I no longer felt any qualms about eating given how tasty it was, “consider me intrigued.”

  I looked at the countdown clock, then back down at the empty arena floor. “I’m going to ask you not to tell me anymore,” he gave me a puzzled look, and I immediately answered, “I don’t want any spoilers, for what I’m about to witness.”

  He nodded and smiled, taking another bite of the obnoxiously long Dog Log, more sauce painting his moustache in an almost comical way. Honestly, if I’d been told a week ago I’d be sitting here, with the man with the crazy mustache and mullet, happily preparing to watch a battle, I’d have laughed in the person’s face. But now, honestly, a part of me was kind of sad. Would Guy keep traveling with me, after I Tiered up my Gauntlet? Because, weirdly enough, I was quickly starting to view him as a friend. And… I’d not had many of those back home.