A few days later, after we'd managed to shmooze with half of the powers in the Dregs, I was in the Pit's arena once again, and I was about to do something really stupid. But I needed to get stronger, and Aerell wanted the crowds to invest in me. This was the only way we knew how to do both.

"For the first time since he arrived, the Iron Sentinel is taking off Lady Elise's favor!"

Pulling on the half-bow I'd made when I tied Elise's favor around my arm, I pulled her blue ribbon free. Holding it up into the air, I showed it to the crowd, to their clear delight. The rumbling in the bleachers today was louder than I'd ever heard.

I'd been fighting monsters the past few days, but none of them were strong enough to drum up much interest. Since I was on the no-kill list, the Pit was being cautious. However, after a long talk with Aerell about doing something big, she'd finally agreed to letting me pull off something new.

So, today, I was going to fight hard against some powerful monster from the Depths, and if I wasn't good enough, that would be it. The thing was, I wasn't about to go down today. Not a chance.

"I don't want to die!" A woman screamed next to me.

"Please! I'm not supposed to be here!" A man shouted behind me.

"Free us!" Another man pounded his fists on the arena wall, his voice hoarse from screaming.

"Keep your lips stiff, cowards." A third man had his thick arms crossed and was shaking his head. Of all of them, he was the only one who looked like he'd fought before.

Looking around, I took in the five people around me. Aerell had told me a new batch had arrived the day before, and these ones were supposed to be the worst the Pit had seen in some time. But, as I took them in, I had my doubts. Sure, two of the men and both women were filthy and wore torn peasant's clothes, but none looked like a hardened killer or anything. Even the muscular guy wearing the nicer clothes seemed fine, if a little dissheveled.

Aside from the latter man, whose thick muscles and scarred skin marked him as some kind of fighter, every one of them looked like a peasant. They talked like peasants, too, and the dark circles under their eyes and bruises covering their skin indicated they hadn't been treated particularly well. Their sunken cheeks also meant that they'd likely not eaten in days. Remembering back to my first week, I could definitely empathize. They didn't feed me for ten days.

I shook all the thoughts out of my head. I didn't want to get attached. I couldn't. I had to keep my head clear. That determination didn't stop me, though. I couldn't help but wonder what they'd done to deserve this. Were they like me, simple victims of circumstance? Or were they actually bad people? Considering every one of them likely wouldn't be alive in an hour, I'd probably never learn the answer, but that didn't stop me from wondering.

"Remember to place your bets, folks! If you guess how many survive today, you'll get a voucher for a free session at Madam Phea's Palace. Because remember: If you want to have a great day, you ought to go see Madam Phea!"

That one made me laugh. I'd hated the announcer's constant hawking for months, but at this point, he was kind of a buddy. One who wanted me to die every time he saw me, but still. He was one of the few things that was consistent about my life anymore, so fuck it. I decided I'd laugh along at his stupid ads.

"Five minutes until the match starts! Get your treats and head to the arena. You won't want to miss this!"

I started stretching. It wouldn't be long now.

"Hey. You. I didn't see you in the holding cell."

"What?" Looking up, I saw the muscular guy was talking to me.

He walked up to me and looked me over. "You're not a peasant. Who are you?"

I shrugged. "They call me the Iron Sentinel down here."

"That's an okay name."

I liked it, asshole. "It works for me."

Nodding, his eyes moved to my sword and shield. "You a knight, then?"

"Nope. Just a guy with a sword and shield doing his best."

"I've heard your accent before. You from Deneir?"

I shook my head. "Ohio."

"Where's that?"

"Earth."

His eyes lit up. "A traveler, huh?"

"That's me."

"Thought you people were all hand-picked by the Goddess. How'd you get so unlucky as to end up down here in hell?"

"Wrong place, wrong time." I really didn't want to talk to this guy or hear his story. If I did, his death would weigh on my conscience, and I'd seen enough people get cut down for a lifetime. "And unfortunately, the Goddess didn't choose me. I was a tagalong. At least, that's what I've been told."

"Don't know much about that, but it looks like you're bad luck's about to get worse. At least you won't have to worry about it much longer."

I started stretching my arms. "I'll be fine. I won't die here today. I've got things I need to do."

That made the man laugh. "Yeah, well, I heard they pulled a broodmaw up from the Depths. I wouldn't be so sure of yourself if I were you."

Shit. I knew what that was. "You sure about that?"

"Yeah. Least, that's what I heard."

Not good. Broodmaws were large monsters that spawned other monsters. They lived pretty far down into the Depths and were strong. I'd have to be careful. "Thanks for the tip."

"Anytime." The man started stretching with me.

Okay, curiosity was getting to me. I couldn't help myself. "What's your story?"

"Served the wrong noblewoman. Gonna end up dying for it. Tried to run, but it didn't stick."

The muscles made sense now. "You're a knight then?"

"Yup. At least, I was."

Huh. "Who was your lady?"

"Lady Sophia Ishal d'Arante."

"The old duke's daughter?"

"The same. Nice girl. A real shame her dad had to go and die on her like he did."

Small world. "Why'd you run away? And how'd you get caught?"

Something passed behind his eyes. "The captain came and told me to run west, so I did. Ran for five straight days, until I was out of Calvareth and in Velmire. Found a cave and hunkered down. Figured I'd gone far enough and made a little home for myself. Went out once a week to steal food. Last time I went out, I messed up."

"How so?"

"I got caught by a farmer. A week later, the Duke's men had me in chains. Now I'm here."

"A shame."

"Yeah. Should've kept going west. Could've made it Khosad Adar in two weeks, then I could've kept going out into the western Verge. Hell, I should've just kept going straight into the Reach and climbed the damn wall. At least out in the Wilds, I'd have a chance."

Something about his story stuck out to me. "Why'd your captain tell you to run?"

The man's eyes narrowed. "The new Duke locked our lady up in the tower. Said she'd come around eventually. When she didn't, he started cleaning house. I was part of the old guard, and there's not a drop of noble blood in my veins, so I was first on the chopping block."

Yet another asshole nobleman playing with people's lives. "What can you tell me about the new duke?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I have the favor of Lady Elise. If my plans don't work out soon, I may end up having to serve her."

His face dropped. "You'll end up dead if you do. Her father's as bad as they come."

Made sense. No wonder Elise was so mixed up inside. "Thanks." I looked him over. "What's your name?"

"Davik."

"Alex." I pulled my knife from my belt and handed it to him. "It's not much, but it's something."

"You're not a bad guy, Alex." He saluted me with the dagger. "Hope you make it through this. If I do, too, let's get a drink one day."

Before I could respond, the announcer drowned everything out.

"Alllllllright folks, get ready, because you're in for the fight of the centttturyyyyyy!!! Stomp your feet, because tonight's match is a deathmatch, and it'll be a doozy. You know the drill! Get to work!"

The crowd got quiet. Then, they started stomping their feet in a slow rhythm. I felt the vibrations through the stone beneath my boots. The sound echoed off the arena walls, growing louder and more unified until it felt like the whole Pit was shaking.

Then the gate on the far side of the arena opened.

A massive metal crate rolled into the arena. The thing was easily twelve feet tall and just as wide, built from thick iron plates that were heavily scratched and dented. Four hooded Pit guards were pushing it forward, and when they finished pushing it into the center of the arena, each of the guards pulled out a heavy key. Moving quickly, they unlocked a heavy lock set into each of the crate's sides. Then, they hustled back to the gate they'd entered from.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I couldn't blame them.

My protective instincts kicked in. "Back up," I told the other prisoners. "And get behind me!"

The woman who'd been screaming earlier grabbed my arm. "What's in there?"

"Don't know, but it's nothing good. Stay behind me."

Just as the guards left the arena, the metal walls of the box fell away and clanged to the arena floor. A cloud of dust kicked up into the air. When it started to clear, what I saw made my blood freeze.

"Ladies and gentlemen... A broodmaw!"

The broodmaw was a nightmare. It stood nearly ten feet tall, its body a writhing mass of black muscle that twisted and coiled in the glowstone light. Its torso was roughly humanoid, but it was fat and distended, looking almost like it was pregnant. Underneath the thing's skin, something pressed and pulsed. Something was inside of it, but it was impossible to say what. Broodmaws were basically monster factories. It could be anything.

Words appeared in my head:

You receive the [Savior of the Feeble] quest.

You receive the [Slay the Broodmaw] quest.

Well, that settled that. I knew what I had to do now.

"What the fuck?" Davik snarled next to me.

"Oh Goddess! Oh Gods! Dark Lord! Anyone! Please, save me!" One of the men began crying and praying to anyone who would listen.

"Be strong, man!" Davik grabbed the peasant by the collar and shook him. "All we can do is fight. Don't give up before the fight's started!"

As the peasant babbled and cried, I took the thing in. It was horrifying in just about every way, but its head was the thing that made my stomach turn. Where a face should have been, there was a gaping, circular maw lined with rows of needle-sharp teeth that spiraled inward. Thick lines of black drool dripped from its hole mouth, and the thing had no eyes that I could see. A long, needle-thin tongue snaked through the air, clearly looking for something to eat.

"Form up." As I spoke, I realized these people had never fought with me before. There was no reason to assume they would know what to do.

"Party with me," Davik said.

Relief washed over me as I realized at least one of them would be of help. I willed my system interface to do the thing.

Davik, Volkashan Human Knight of the Chalice 16, joins your party.

Davik whistled. "Damn, kid, you're strong. You take the lead."

"Sounds good." Davik was weaker than I was, but not by too much, and I was happy to have an ally. It was wild, though. I was stronger than a real ass knight. I'd never realized how much potential Renard's training had given me when I was at the temple, but I knew with absolute certainty it was because of his excellent, if unrelenting, instruction that I'd survived for as long as I had and grown so much. When I saw him again, I'd let him know just how much I appreciated that.

"The rest of you, party up with us."

"I don't know how." The woman said from behind me."

"Me neither," the other woman added.

"Wouldn't matter, anyway. This is on us, friend." Davik's eyes were burning.

As the gate began to close, a tentacle emerged from the thing's body and shot out toward the hooded Pit guards. Before the metal grate hit the ground, the broodmaw's black tentacle wrapped around the nearest guard's waist. The man screamed as he was yanked off his feet and pulled toward the horrible monster.

"No, no, no—" His words were cut off as the broodmaw stuffed him headfirst into its maw. Its massive jaws closed around the top half of the man, and the crunching sounds that followed made one of the women behind me vomit.

Unlike her, the crowd went wild.

"Listen to me!" I shouted over the crowd's roar while raising my shield. "If you want to live, you stay behind me and do exactly what I say. We work together, or we die."

Davik nodded and posted up on my left, dagger out, and the woman who'd grabbed my arm glued herself to my right. The praying man shuddered and got behind me, and the other woman pressed herself to my back.

Looking to the woman on my right, I said as calmly as I could, "Behind me."

She moved and embraced the other woman. That left one more...

Looking out, I saw that the other guy had backed himself against the wall on the far side of the arena and was violently shaking.

"Get over here!" I screamed, but I could tell by his face and movements that he wouldn't come.

"I can't," he sobbed. "I can't do this. I'm not a fighter. I just want to go home!"

Fuck. "Don't move! We'll come to you!" Looking over my shoulder, I said, "Stay with me. We're circling around to get him."

Just then, the broodmaw's body began to swell.

"Fuck!" I screamed.

"What's happening?" Davik's face scrunched up.

"Oh Goddess!" Both women started screaming behind me, and the guy ran backward, to the wall.

The broodmaw's torso began to expand like a balloon, its black skin stretching until I could see through its skin... where I could see something moving underneath its flesh...

No.

Not something. Somethings...

"Get ready!"

With a wet tearing sound, the monster's skin split open in half a dozen places, and the somethings began pouring out of its ruined body. The first creatures to emerge were small, about the size of house cats, but they had wings and moved jerkily through the air like bats. Gorelickers, if I remembered the entries from Arden's monster manual correctly. Screeching, they flew upward and circled overhead, chittering hungrily as they searched for openings. There were five of them.

"Those aren't strong, but they'll come for you if you get cut! Call them if they dive!"

The peasants nodded, their teeth chattering violently.

Next, long, black serpents snaked out of the monster's body. Four of them. They slithered from the broodmaw's skin like shining oil, spreading across the arena floor in a widening pool of darkness. "Shadowskulkers. They'll wrap you up if you let them. Don't." Inwardly, I thanked Arden for all the reading he had me do. When I got back to the temple, I decided I'd have to get another copy of the book he'd given me, and I vowed to be a good student from now on.

"Something else is coming!" Davik shouted.

I gripped my sword tighter. Long, thin arms broke through the broodmaw's skin, and three shriekers emerged from the largest tear in the broodmaw's side. Each was the size of a large dog, but they were built like nightmare spiders. All legs ending in sharp points, and fangs, and chitin.

"Stay away from those!"

I started moving around the edge of the arena faster, but I could tell the latter creatures had seen the solo peasant man and were already on the hunt. They were scuttling toward the screaming man with horrifying speed.

"Run! To me!" I shouted to him, but panic had taken hold of him completely.

One of the shriekers leaped, and its mandibles clamped down on the man's leg just above the knee. He fell hard, screaming wildly, as the creature began dragging him across the stone floor toward the broodmaw. A second later, the other two bit into his limbs, and they dragged him back toward the broodmaw. Blood flowed from his body, staining the arena floor, and two of the gorelickers dove down to drink the red liquid off the dirt.

"Please!" he begged, reaching toward us with one free hand. "Help me!"

I started forward, but Davik grabbed my shoulder.

"You can't save him," the knight said grimly. "But you can save the rest of us. I'm not equipped or strong enough to do it. You might be."

Just then, black tentacles emerged from the broodmaw's base and wrapped around the wounded man's arms and torso.

Watching it happen, I felt completely helpless. "Damn it!" Davik was right, and I hated it.

The broodmaw pulled the screaming man into its maw, and the crunching sounds resumed.

"Back up. To the wall." I ordered the remaining prisoners, and our little group pressed against the back wall. "Davik, I'll do my best, but I'll probably have to engage. I need you to guard those three. Don't let them get away from you. Everyone else, stay tight and watch each other's backs. Don't engage unless you have to, and don't run. You run, you're dead." I held up my shield and waited.

"Sir." Davik pressed his hand to his chest, then took a fighting stance.

For a long time, nothing happened. The broodmaw ate, the gorelickers flew, the shrieker circled. Only the shadowskulkers made their way at us, looking like giant grey leeches as they wormed closer.

"Above!" Davik shouted.

The Gorelickers dove first.

[Provoke]

The five bat monsters had been aiming at the peasants, but my skill ripped their attention away from the peasants and toward me. I caught one on my shield, the impact jarring my arm, and swept my sword in a wide arc that took another's head clean off. They were fast, but fragile—a good hit was all it took to drop them.

"Duck!" Davik shouted.

I dropped low as another Gorelicker swept over my head, its claws barely missing my helmeted skull. Davik's dagger caught it in the belly as it passed, spilling black blood across the arena floor.

With a reverse slash, I killed the creature that had hit my shield before it fell to the ground, then killed another with a quick stab upward.

One left, but there was no time. The Shadowskulkers were the real problem. When the gorelickers attacked, the worm monsters doubled their pacing, moving like liquid death across the ground, and one of them wrapped itself around the ankle of the woman behind me. She screamed as the serpent began to coil up her leg, its body constricting like a python. Its muscles tensed, and a loud crack sounded from her leg. The woman screamed and fell to the ground.

"Damn it!" I grabbed the creature with my shield hand and pulled, putting all my strength into it. The woman groaned in absolute agony, but the thing came free with a horrible tearing sound, taking some of her skin with it. The woman's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, blood streaming down her leg.

"I've got her," the other woman said, dragging the wounded woman back.

That's when I felt something clamp down on my own leg.

A shrieker had circled around behind us, staying in my blind spot. Before I could even see it, its mandibles locked just above my left knee. Pain shot up my leg as the creature's razor-sharp mouthparts began to close, crumpling my cuisse like papier-mache. I could feel them starting to cut through the metal and into the flesh below.

I brought my sword down hard, trying to pierce the thing's head, but the angle was wrong. The blade skittered off its chitinous skull. With a twist of its head, the creature pulled on me, trying to drag me down.

"Got you!" Davik appeared beside me, the dagger I'd given him raised high. He drove it down with both hands, punching through the shrieker's head just behind its eyes. The creature's mandibles released immediately, and it collapsed in a twitching heap.

"Thanks," I gasped, testing my leg. It hurt, but I'd be fine.

"Don't mention it."

One of the other shriekers leaped at him.

[Iron Skin]

I stepped into the way just as my skill activated. Its jaws closed around my head and shattered. With a quick upward slice, I cut through its belly, and its misshapen guts fell to the ground.

"Help!"

I spun to see the remaining gorelicker biting the injured woman's leg. A quick slice of my sword took its head off, which remained latched in the woman's thigh.

"Behind!"

I knew I couldn't turn in time.

[Provoke]

Something slammed into my back and coiled around my torso. Pulling tight, I found myself unable to move, my arms pinned to my sides. With no other option, I dropped my sword.

"Davik. Take it!"

"Sir!" The man dove, snatched up my sword, and bounced to his feet.

[Aura of Resolve]

A wave of force pulsed off Davik and washed over me.

I felt myself grow stronger. Tensing my body and lowering my stance, I squeezed every muscle in my body. "Take on the others!"

"Done." Davik darted toward the other remaining shrieker.

[Perfect Strike]

His blade flashed, taking off one of the monster's legs. As its thin spider leg tore free, it shrieked, living up to its name.

Pulling on every ounce of strength I had, I pushed outward. The worm monster's spine cracked and crackled, and with a mighty heave, its body tore in half, spraying black blood all over the peasants.

"My sword!"

"Not yet!" The man had taken another of the shrieker's legs off and was about to kill it.

Confident I had a second, I took stock of the battle. Only two worms were left, and neither was advancing. The broodmaw was slowly crawling toward us, using its tentacles to drag itself forward inch by inch, but we had time. We were winning, but barely.

The spawned creatures were dying, but the broodmaw itself hadn't taken any real damage. And worse, I could see its body beginning to swell again. It was preparing to give birth to another wave of horrors.

"We need to hurt the main body," I told Davik. "Those things will keep coming until we do."

"How?" He tossed me my sword and brandished my dagger again.

I looked at the broodmaw, studying its movements. It was powerful, but it was also slow. Also, the spawning process seemed to leave it vulnerable. Maybe, if I could get up to it right as it spawned its next monsters, I could hit it hard. "Next time it swells up to spawn, I'll rush it," I said. "Davik, you guard the rest when I do."

Davik nodded grimly. "Let me have your shield. I'll need it."

Nodding, I pulled it off and threw it to him. "Take it."

I glanced back at our three remaining companions. The wounded woman was conscious and pale from blood loss. The other two looked terrified, but they hadn't run. That was something.

"You two stay here," I called to them. "Guard her, and remember not to run. Davik's got you."

"Y-yes, sir!"

"Of course, sir!"

As I turned back to the monster, words appeared in my head:

You complete the American task [Lead the Free].

You reach American 1★.

You reach level 26.

+1 Strength, +1 Resilience, +1 Power

I laughed. I'd never been patriotic, and I had no idea what I'd done to make the system recognize me just now, but I'd take it.

As one of the worm monsters made its way to me, I cut it in half, then made short work of the other. As long as I killed the broodmaw before it spawned more monsters, these people would be safe.

"It's happening." Davik pointed at the monster.

Following the line, I saw that the broodmaw's body was beginning to expand again, its black skin stretching tight and thinning.

"Don't die." I raised my sword and gripped it in both hands. Just as its skin began to grow translucent, I charged.

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