8. The First Challenge

"Where are my manors? Looks like the human doesn't have a weapon. Will anyone show him kindness before the Manticore has its snack?" Roaring spectators threw all kinds of things into the arena. Trash was the majority of it but a rare few threw in a knife here, a pair of gauntlets there, and a mysterious being in the king-like stand threw out a long bladed scythe. His gaze almost mesmerized, Zeik immediately ran for the beautiful weapon that had landed point down about 10 feet away from him. The demon dog was shocked and quickly turned to glare at the beautiful mistress seated to the left behind him. She simply shrugged at him before smiling innocently. He growled before turning to face the arena again.

Zeik gently grasped the long hilt of the scythe and it slid smoothly out of the stone with a hum. The weapon was almost 6 and a half feet long with a blade that was around 2 and a half feet long and wickedly sharp along the crescent inner edge. The hilt was pick black with a comfortable etched grip along the middle that fit perfectly in his hand. The blade was a bright vibrant blood red that was crystal clear. He twirled the weapon in a deadly ark transferring it behind his back from his left to right hand. The blade stopped dead glistening with the fire light as he stared at the hole.

The manticore leapt from the depths of the dark passage with a booming roar that shook the very stones below. It's human head showed nothing but a ferocious animal like look, it's massive red lion body had patches of dragon like scales here and there, and it's long scorpion tail had 3 separate stings on its end. It didn't waste any time as it raced towards Zeik it whipped its tail forward and the 3 barbs shot towards him like speeding bullets. Zeik reacted by jumping to the side. He slammed the blade of the scythe into the ground on his right and heaved with all his strength trying to get out of the way as fast as possible. To his dismay he was still nicked by one of the barbs and it felt like lava piercing through his left side. He cried out as he spun away before getting in a fighting stance.

He darted forwards activating his Robust Legs skill and shot off like an arrow. The beast and him traded blows ferociously leaving shallow wounds all over each other. Zeik slammed the hilt of his weapon into the beast's paw as it swiped at him, throwing it out of the way and leaving the beast wide open. He spun to the right and slashed powerfully with the scythe leaving a gash about 6 inches deep and about a foot long on the side of the beast. It roared and batted him away with a massive paw which he caught on the shaft of his weapon. He was thrown a good distance away and slammed into the ground rolling for a few feet before coming to a stop on his stomach. Groaning, he forced himself up trying to fight against the pain he was feeling everywhere. As he raised his head he saw the beast less than 5 feet in front of him and closing. Without a better thought he rolled right over barely avoiding the beast before he leapt up and swung at its passing back side.

*Shink squelch *

The blade passed clean through the base of the beast's tail and a fountain of black blood started spraying everywhere from the stump that was about 9 inches in diameter. Roaring and howling in pain the manticore started thrashing recklessly about being unable to even see straight through its pain. Not wasting the opportunity Zeik dashed forward with the scythe over his right shoulder. As he came in front of the beast he slammed his foot down and with every ounce of power, momentum, and strength he could muster he slammed the tip of the blade against the top of the manticores skull. It passed straight through the top and out of the bottom of the jaw, however it didn't stop there. Its entire body rocked forward as it's head slammed into the ground, the blade sinking in deep to pin the beast there. The entire coliseum fell silent for a few heart beats.

*clap.....*

*clap clap clap...*

Suddenly it sounded like someone hit the unmute button with the volume all the way up. Shouts and cheers could be heard everywhere while the entire stands area erupted into praises for Zeik and his performance. Jerking the scythe out of the beast head he twirled it before leaning it on his shoulder. He turned in a slow circle looking around at all the cheering undead shocked he was still breathing. The scythe felt like it was a part of him now as crazy as it sounds and he was hoping silently that he would be allowed to keep the weapon.

Soon the demon dog man stood from his throne and silently raised his hands. The stands slowly quieted before his booming voice rang out," well, I can say I was not expecting you to make it through the first round, little human. Granted you were given the Zypher Bloodstone Scythe, a weapon who's never chosen anyone, you still performed admirably. Maya," he gestured toward the beautiful young dragon like girl behind him," is he worthy to wield such a weapon?" The girl who was just said to be Maya stood before looking over the stands. "I think I speak for many when I say he is. However father don't cheat him out of his reward for the first stage just because he has been chosen by that scythe." She glared at her father knowing he was trying to do just that, cheat the boy. You weren't supposed to pass these tests. He wanted to act like the scythe was his reward so he didn't have to give up any treasures to the young man. Gritting his teeth the demon dog gestured for her to sit before saying," I would never cheat him. I simply wanted to know if he should be allowed to keep such a weapon."

Zeik caressed the hilt of the scythe as his gaze moved towards the one called Maya. He caught her gaze and they stared deep into each other's eyes before she turned away to sit back in her seat. Just as her eyes were about to leave his however Zeik heard a female voice that sounded like music in his head saying one word,' win.' He gripped the scythe tighter before fixing his gaze on the dog man again. " Firstly, I Anbak manifestation of Anubis, hereby congratulate you on completing the first task." Anbak waved his hand and the beast burst into a neat pile of the important parts of it. After that a box came from the ground in the middle of the coliseum and floated at about waist height. "As a token for a good show I will gift you all of the manticore parts along with your reward for completing the first test. Challenger collect your belongings quickly and enter the passage below me. We await you there," with that he snapped and a crisp note echoed throughout. Suddenly everyone but Zeik vanished. Dazed he picked up the manticore parts before going towards the floating box. Inside the first thing he found was an ornate ring that looked like interlocked black scales all the way around it. Examining it closely, his A.I.M. pulled up a description for him.

[ Draconic Ring ]

[ Grade: Planet ]

[ Description: Transforms the user's arms from the finger tip to their elbows into that of a dragon. Long claw-like nails will extend from the fingers, muscles will become more powerful, and lastly dragon scales that can't be pierced except by items graded higher than this one. This use has no limitations or drawbacks. Can be activated and deactivated freely with the command " Shift ".]

Zeik dropped the items from the manticore in the box completely struck by the ring. This was only the first item he took from the box and it was already over powered? He quickly put the ring on his right middle finger and it tightened to fit perfectly on his skin. Grinning, he quickly checked the rest of the box. Next he pulled out a small pouch with 6 vials in it. Inspecting them he found 3 Mana potions and 3 health potions. Finally he pulled out the last 2 items. The first was actually holding the last inside, it was just a simple pack for him to carry things in. He dumped out a pair of white boots and put the potions and manticore parts away in the bag. He looked at the boots and soon his A.I.M. gave him the details again. He noticed however that each time he had A.I.M. analyze an item a huge chunk of Mana would be spent up his Mana bar was now about level with his health bar at half. Ignoring it for the moment he looked at the boots stats.

[ Cloud Stepper Boots ]

[ Grade: Rare ]

[ Description: Allows the user to find a foothold where none exists. By twisting the air beneath its sole, the boot creates a foothold for the user to kick off from. ]

[ Limitations: The user can only create 6 air platforms back to back before the boots go into cool down. If the user gives a 10 second break between their air steps the boots 6 counter will restart. However if cool down is activated the boots will cool down for a full minute before being able to create another air step. ]

Drooling at his luck Zeik quickly put the boots on and jumped up and down to get a feel for them for a second. To his surprise they were the most comfortable pair of shoes he'd ever put on and he loved them. He decided to drink one of each of his potions so he was in absolute top form for the next test. Grinning from ear to ear he put his bag on his back and picked up his scythe. Confident in himself he dashed off through the passage where the manticore had come from.