Chapter 8: Chapter 6: Transported

After birth… how many days has it been? Due to hunger, I could no longer determine the exact date. Anyway, early in the morning, I sensed multiple footsteps approaching towards the basement. I knew two of those footsteps belonged to the detestable Georg, whom I see every day, and the young master who occasionally came to check on him as his employer.

However, I did not recognize any of the other footsteps. They were all much larger than Georg, judging by the sound of their footsteps, with wider strides and taller statures. It seems that there were around twelve of these large males of human species. What in the world was all the fuss about?

“Carry it out.”

“Also, be careful not to shake it too much. I’ve reinforced it so that it can kill you and the others in a moment’s notice!”

The first words came from the young master and Georg, who opened the door and came in. The other twelve males were all slaves, as evidenced by the collars around their necks. They all seemed to belong to the Furu race and were wearing shabby clothing.

The men were startled at the sight of me. Hey, hey, the slave girl took great care of me every day, yet she’s never been as scared as you guys. It seems that, despite their size, their courage was lacking.

The slaves hesitated to approach me, but the young master urged them to hurry up, and they surrounded the cage with fear. Then, together, they lifted it up and started carrying me somewhere. I knew what awaited me. It was almost certain that I would be forced to fight to the death in the debut match of the “Battle Beast Tournament.”

Since birth, I had been trained for combat. I had killed various creatures in life and death instances and consumed their flesh and blood to grow stronger. But no matter how many times I repeated this, I could never come to like fighting. As someone who bore the mission to survive for a hundred years, it was impossible for me to enjoy an act that involved risking my life. I really didn’t want to go, but I had no choice… sigh.

The men carried the heavy cage, and I started to feel sick from the constant shaking. Did these guys not think to be considerate of me? Even Georg had told them not to shake it too much…..They had much worse manners than the slave girl. If I wasn’t bound by chains, I would have beaten them to death.

The young master, Georg, and the slaves were oblivious to my dangerous thoughts as they continued to walk through the hallway and up the stairs to the ground floor. Ohh, this was the first time I’ve ever felt sunlight against my skin; it felt very warm….. Although I was capable of withstanding temperatures hot enough to melt iron without using any fighting spirit, the warmth of the sun permeated my entire body in a way that I had never experienced before.

Using my compound eyes, I scanned my surroundings without moving my body. It appeared that the basement was connected to a courtyard, and the well-maintained mansion that surrounded it was currently occupied by many slaves who were working on cleaning and gardening at the command of the household staff. It seemed that the nobleman had a considerable number of slaves under his control, as one might expect from a member of the aristocracy.

“Aah…!” Suddenly, the slave who always took care of me let out a cry upon seeing me being carried out. Although I couldn’t see the right half of her face due to the bandages, I could tell from the tremble in her remaining left eye that she was worried about me. Was she concerned for my well-being? She was truly a kind-hearted individual, that slave.

As we passed through the mansion and headed toward the back door, I was placed onto a wagon that was waiting there. The moment I was loaded onto the wagon, the four horses that were pulling it became restless.

Though, this kind of reaction was only natural. After all, I was a much stronger being than the horses. If I myself had an opponent behind me who could kill me at will, while I could not escape because I was tethered to the carriage, I would also be terrified. No matter how much the horse was trained, it could not resist the fear that instinctively arose from its heart.

The coachman seemed to be desperately trying to calm the horses, but his efforts proved to be in vain. However, I heard Georg muttering something while lazily holding his staff, and then some kind of spiritual art seemed to have been invoked, as the horses immediately grew docile. That old man could use various types of spiritual arts, it seems.

“Let’s depart.”

Upon the order of the young master, who boarded a different carriage, the wagon I was being carried on and the carriage in which he rode left the mansion. U go go….The wagon shook quite a bit, and the chains dug in painfully with each sway. It hurt a lot since those were unprotected parts of my exoskeleton.

While I endured the oppressive pain and rubbed my small claws together, the carriage continued to move along the road. After a few turns, our speed slowed down and the shaking subsided, and eventually, we came to a complete stop.

“Bring it down. Be extremely careful,” Georg ordered from outside the wagon.

The men who had carried me out of the basement to the wagon began to approach with synchronized breathing. They lifted the cage and carefully brought me down from the wagon.

This seemed to be some sort of storage facility, as the young master and Georg’s carriage were nowhere nearby. My cage was placed on a cart as if it were cargo and then pulled away by another slave. A wooden tag with the number “197” attached to the cage, making it easier to keep track of me.

I was led through a dimly lit passage, similar to the basement I had just came from, and so it didn’t feel like a different location. However, the walls were embedded with stones that emitted a bright light at regular intervals, so it was slightly brighter than the basement I had been in before.

“Mr. Georg, this is an incredible specimen! The dark emperor scorpion, known as the strongest of all scorpions… While it has competed in the “Battle Beast Tournament” before, this one’s size is truly astonishing!”

“Indeed. Its size and strength are impossible to find in the wild… This is the result of elite training, Mr. Manager.”

“Is that so? I look forward to witnessing its greatness in the arena.”

Georg and a fat man called the manager walked ahead of me, discussing such things. Elite training? More like elite abuse, you damn old geezer. I refuse to accept that torment as training.

The two of them, oblivious to my feelings, continued their conversation. It seemed that there were three theories as to what defined or contributed to the rise of the strongest creature in the “Battle Beast Tournament.” The first was the “Wild Theory” which asserted that individuals who have survived harsh conditions in the wild were the strongest. The second was the “Training Theory” which claimed that individuals who have been thoroughly trained and disciplined could surpass the limits of their species. The third was the “Artificial Theory” which stated that artificial life forms created through spiritual arts were superior to the laws of nature.

Georg, the trainer, was a supporter of the “training theory,” obviously. Although the manager did not explicitly state which theory he supported, he hyped up all the creatures Georg had raised as being powerful. I thought it was blatant flattery, but Georg seemed pleased with himself.

As his title suggested, the manager was in charge of the “Battle Beast Tournament.” For this fat man, the most important thing was to profit from the matches, and he probably only considered creatures like us, who fought and killed each other, as disposable goods. It made me feel sick to think that this man was enjoying the sweet taste of victory because I was going to risk my life in fights.

Oh, how I wish I could move freely. Then I could kill everyone here and escape. This wasn’t just arrogance from my part; after all, I was confident that I was several times stronger than Georg in terms of pure fighting power. If only I hadn’t had the “soul binding” attached I would surely have had the ability to kill.

But as long as I had this “soul binding,” I couldn’t seek vengeance. I had to fight to survive and continue to win, just to stay alive. It was all because of this damn old man. As I let the flames of hatred burn in my heart, which had become rough from hunger, the cart suddenly came to a halt. And my cage was lowered to the ground.

“In any case, it’s quite a spectacle to see so many battle beasts gathered like this. Of course, mine is quite inferior”

Surrounding my cage were cages of various sizes, each containing a creature like myself—a battle beast bound to participate in the “Battle Beast Tournament.” I estimated there were over a hundred of us. Even if they were all going to be my opponents in battle, I was overwhelmed by the sight, as if I were attending a fair showcasing beasts.

Most of the beasts here were mammals and reptiles; unfortunately, there were no insects like me. Even if there were, it would be meaningless since we couldn’t communicate, but for some reason, it made me feel sad. Though I wondered how I could still feel lonely even in a place like this.

“Well then, I’ll head up. Call me when this one’s turn approaches.” Georg addressed the manager.

“Understood.”

The manager bowed respectfully as he watched Georg leave. Once he was gone, the manager raised his head and snorted contemptuously, as if mocking him.

“Still obsessed with training. What a training maniac, you creepy …… old thing. Hey, there’s not much time left until the opening. Make sure we can start the preliminary lottery anytime! And get the mages in position! Don’t forget to tighten security for the VIP seats!”

“Understood.”

As the manager gave orders to his subordinates and slaves, he moved away from the crowded area of cages. Finally, it was time for my debut match. I felt sorry for my opponent, but I had no choice but to mercilessly kill them so I could survive.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

(POV change)

In the spring of the 823rd year of Altera, on a beautiful sunny day, the annual “Great Beast Battle” of the Harlasia Kingdom was about to take place in the capital. The “Great Beast Battle” was a large-scale tournament held only four times a year, and the spring tournament was also known as the “Rookie Battle”. The reason for this was that all the beasts participating were required to be first-time competitors.

The beasts that survived the “Rookie Battle” were called “Rookie Kings” and were given special treatment in the regular tournaments and even in other “Great Beast Battle” tournaments. For example, they could become seeded participants in the tournament or be allowed to skip the qualifying rounds and advance directly to the main event.

Owning a “Rookie King” was a great status symbol for a beast owner. Since only one beast could earn the title of “Rookie King” each year, the rarity of such a beast was especially valuable.

Naturally, many beasts gathered for the “Rookie Battle”, and many of the beasts that participated in other tournaments with hopes of winning also participated in this tournament, making the level of competition extremely high. Therefore, the “Rookie Battle” was the most popular tournament, and the “Rookie King” was a strong beast that had overcome tough battles to earn the title.

The number of beasts participating in the “Rookie Battle” has been increasing year by year, and this year, the number of entries has exceeded 200. To prevent the tournament from taking too long, the beasts were divided into 16 groups, and the 16 surviving beasts from each group would then compete in a single tournament.

Amidst all of this, one nameless scorpion was oblivious to the fact that the tournament he was about to participate in was not only the most popular one but also the most intense. He simply waited quietly for his turn to compete while feeling hungry.