Colosseum's Fight (1)

The journey took around six hours from Sassi city to their destination. The van carrying them consisted of three vehicles, with about ten people in total, three in two vans and four in another.

They could have used a portal, but considering that the portal only allowed them two hours to search for the item, they decided it was better to use vehicles to get to the Colosseum.

Ash sat in the back seat, between Liliana and a young woman named Yuki.

Yuki was an Asian woman with black eyes and long black hair. They talked about many things, especially about swords. Liliana turned out to have extensive knowledge about swords and shared a lot of useful information with Ash.

Liliana was a Hunter with an Advanced Skill in Assassin at level thirty-two. On the other hand, Yuki, who was also a Hunter, had an Advanced Skill in Warrior on level forty-seven.

Their stories about their experiences were very interesting to Ash, and he tried to absorb as much information as he could. He also learned that he could choose an Advanced profession after reaching level ten. 

'Oh sh*t,' Ash thought to himself. 'I'm still at level two. How much longer until I reach level ten?'

They also shared their experiences of finding items in this world, and sometimes they laughed together when those two women told their funny experiences.

After several hours of talking, they grew tired. Liliana suggested that they rest for the remainder of the journey.

Ash sat between them, feeling a little bit relieved. From their stories, it was clear that they all had a lot of experience, and he became confident that this mission would be safe and successful.

Suddenly, he gasped when Liliana and Yuki leaned their heads on his shoulders, on his right and left. Being a high school student, Ash felt very nervous and tense with two beautiful women resting on his shoulders.

The male companions sitting in the front seats laughed when they saw Ash with those girls.

"Haha, maybe they see you as their little brother. That's why they're comfortable being with you," they said, making Ash blush.

Even though he was happy, Ash felt uncomfortable because he couldn't move for several hours. Each time he tried to shift a little to relieve the numbness in his shoulders, he worried about waking up the two girls.

The group stopped twice during the journey to stretch their legs or change drivers, or if anyone needed to use the restroom.

***

Finally, they arrived at the Colosseum. They were there to search for an item inside the Colosseum, but according to Ash's companions, the search inside the Colosseum wouldn't be easy, as there were some guardians of the item who would prevent them from taking it.

Once they had rested enough and stretched their bodies, they started preparing by checking their inventory and equipping their armor and weapons. After all was done, they began to enter the arena.

The spectator seats were arranged from bottom to top in tiers or levels. These seats were made of limestone and formed a circular shape around the arena.

The arena itself was large and an open space in an oval shape. Its floor was made of sand.

When they entered and stood at the top row of the spectator seats, they heard the sounds of cheering spectators and the roars of animals in the Colosseum.

They exchanged glances with expressions of amazement, as they had never experienced anything like this before.

Before long, they saw several gladiators appearing out of thin air and standing in the middle of the arena. To their greater surprise, they also spotted centurions and minotaurs.

Gabriel showed a serious expression and said quietly, "It looks like we're going to be trapped and have to fight them."

He then turned around, intending to test his theory by trying to leave the arena.

But suddenly, a Minotaur appeared, standing at the entrance, blocking their way.

Several more Minotaurs blocked them on the left and right sides, forcing them to take the middle path, leading down into the arena.

Some team members tried to get past the minotaurs, but the minotaurs didn't budge.

"Dammit," thought Ash. He found himself trapped in this dangerous situation and cursed himself for recklessly volunteering for this expedition.

The minotaur blocking the arena door slowly walked forward, herding them down into the arena.

Carefully, they followed the minotaurs' lead.

Upon reaching the arena, the sounds of cheering from spectators were heard again, even though not a single spectator was visible in the seats.

'Damn, is this a finding object game or a gladiator game?' Ash thought again.

The ten members of the expedition finally had to draw and prepare their weapons.

Ash then noticed that Jagu had been growling since before they entered the arena area. He felt very foolish for ignoring Jagu.

Now Jagu stood in a ready-to-attack position, facing the gladiators, minotaurs, and centurions, but always in a position to protect Ash.

Then, all at once, the monsters moved to attack the entire team, including the minotaurs that had herded them.

Liliana shouted to Ash, "Stand behind us. This fight isn't suitable for you!"

Ash stood behind them with his sword drawn.

Gabriel, Liliana, Yuki, and all the team members moved swiftly, thrusting, stabbing, dodging, and swinging their various weapons, striving to take down their opponents.

But their enemies were too many. They only managed to take down the gladiators, but not the Minotaurs and Centurions.

Suddenly, they heard the scream of a team member injured by a minotaur's club. Shortly after, they heard Liliana's cry as her leg was pierced by a Centurion's spear.

Ash's mind raced as he quickly strategized. He had no intention of being slaughtered by these damn guardian creatures.

With his breath slightly quickened, he remembered Jagu and quickly gave a mental command for Jagu to return to his original form.

Jagu transformed into a larger and taller form, resembling the shape that Ash and Maya had found inside the pyramid.

He roared loudly, causing the enemies to freeze in place, their bodies momentarily immobilized.