The light portal at the end of Zone 1 faded, and once again, Lasron felt his body pulled by a powerful surge of energy. The familiar dizziness and nausea washed over him, but this time, thanks to his increased Stamina (STA) and experience from the previous teleportation, he wasn't as disoriented.
When the light dissipated, Lasron found himself standing on a surface of fine yellow sand, surrounded by towering, grey stone walls that formed a colossal circular arena. The sky above wasn't the familiar blue but a strange, dark purple energy dome, emitting a dim, eerie light sufficient to see clearly yet still carrying an oppressive, stifling quality. Opposite his position were seven massive iron cages, numbered 1 to 7, their doors shut tight. Below each cage number was a smaller, glowing red number.
A new series of cold, emotionless system notifications appeared before Lasron:
[Welcome to the S+ Trial - Zone 2: The Monster Arena!]
[Zone Difficulty: A+][Trial Rules: There are 7 monster cages, numbered 1 to 7. Every ten minutes, one cage will automatically open in sequence. The trial participant must survive until the ten minute timer for the 7th cage concludes.]
[Reward for completing Zone 2: +20 basic stat points (stored, free allocation) and one special hidden skill.]
[Note: A safe zone is designated at your current starting point. If injured, returning there before death will result in full recovery. Upon returning to the safe zone, the entire 70-minute arena progression and all hazards will be reset to their initial state, beginning with the first cage.]
Lasron's eyes were glued to the final notification. "The entire 70-minute arena progression... will be reset." That meant if he failed at the sixth cage, he would have to start over from the beginning, from the monster in the first cage. The brutality of the S+ trial was once again ruthlessly affirmed. His heart felt as if an invisible hand were squeezing it.
He looked towards the small red numbers beneath each cage: Cage 1 showed "15", Cage 2 was "18", increasing sequentially until Cage 7 displayed "35".
Lasron frowned slightly, trying to utilize his meager 5 points of Intelligence (INT). He vaguely guessed that these might be the levels of the monsters within. He recalled snippets of conversations overheard from overseers, or from older slaves whose former masters had been adventurers or warriors.
There was a simple rule of thumb in this world of Nonaria: each time a person leveled up, they received 3 stat points to allocate freely, not counting the innate base stats that appeared at age twelve. If this rule applied similarly to monsters, then a level 15 monster would possess strength equivalent to a person with 45 stat points (15 levels x 3 points/level).
"Forty-five points..." Lasron muttered, a chill running down his spine. "The first monster is already that strong. And the last one, level 35... that would be 105 points!"
He looked at his own status screen. Total Stats: 30 points. Plus the hidden "Resistance" stat reducing damage he'd previously experienced by 10%. But that 30 was so small, so pathetic compared to the estimated power of those monsters. How could he survive against these things? This arena was completely barren - not a single rock, not a bush, no special terrain he could use for traps or hiding like in Zone 1. This would be a pure battle of strength, speed, and endurance - all things he severely lacked.
GRAAAWL!
While Lasron was still lost in desperate thoughts, a terrifying growl echoed. The heavy iron door of Cage 1 slowly creaked upwards, emitting ear-splitting screeches. Lasron's heart nearly stopped.
A massive monster, almost twice his height, stepped out from the cage's darkness. Its entire body was covered in thick, rough, blood-red skin. Muscles rippled, its two arms were as thick as pillars, and its ferocious face bore a pair of bloodshot eyes filled with killing intent. It was a Rage Troll.
The Troll, having just exited its cage, immediately spotted Lasron. It roared again, a sound carrying fury and hunger, then charged straight towards him with a speed that belied its enormous frame.
Lasron panicked, instinctively trying to retreat. But the Troll was too fast. It swung a colossal arm, and before Lasron could react, a devastating blow struck him.
CRACK! CRACK!
An excruciating pain, beyond words, shot through Lasron's entire body. He felt as if both his arms had been crushed into a hundred pieces. He was thrown several meters, slamming hard onto the sandy floor. Blood gushed from his mouth, nose, and shattered arms incessantly. His vision blurred, his consciousness beginning to fade.
"No... can't die here..." The thought flashed through his mind. With an extraordinary effort of will, Lasron used his remaining legs, struggling to drag his bloodied body towards the safe zone. The Rage Troll growled, about to finish off its prey, but Lasron managed to slide past the faint, glowing line just in time.
The warm light enveloped him once more. The pain subsided, but the sensation of shattered bones remained. Lasron looked down at his mangled arms, a wave of horror washing over him. The recovery process this time was even more painful and slower than when he had lost part of his leg in Zone 1. Each broken bone fragment was rearranged, each crushed muscle fiber regenerated. He could clearly feel the movement, the mending from within. It took nearly half a day for his arms to fully recover. Half a day lying motionless in solitude, with fear and helplessness gnawing at every cell.
When he stood up, Lasron looked towards Cage 1, where the Rage Troll had vanished, the cage door now closed. The reset mechanism had activated. He knew, the moment he stepped out of this safe zone, that monster would reappear, and the 70-minute countdown would begin anew.
The next seven days were a literal hell on earth for Lasron. He decided to always stay near the safe zone, so that if he took heavy hits, he could immediately retreat to recover. But it was easier said than done. The level 15 Rage Troll, with strength equivalent to 45 stat points, was too fast and too strong for him.
On the first day, Lasron died and revived no less than a dozen times. Each time he stepped out, he only managed to dodge for a few seconds before a punch or a leg sweep from the Troll grievously injured him, forcing him to crawl back to the safe zone. Once, it grabbed his leg, lifted him up, and slammed him violently onto the ground; his entire ribcage felt like it would shatter. Another time, it punched him straight in the chest, and it felt as if his heart had stopped for a moment. Each recovery was an ordeal of enduring the pain of bodily regeneration and, more importantly, mental erosion.
By the second and third day, Lasron began to observe the Troll more closely. He noticed that before a straight punch, its right shoulder would slightly rise. Before a leg sweep, it would let out a small growl. He tried to memorize its every movement, every habit. But knowing was one thing; reacting in time with a body possessing only 30 stat points was another. His speed was too slow, his strength too weak.
In the following days, Lasron no longer tried to attack or find the Troll's weaknesses. His sole objective was to survive. To survive the first 10 minutes. He moved constantly around the edge of the safe zone, trying to maintain distance from the Troll, baiting its attacks into empty space. Awkward but desperate jumps and rolls. Many times he thought he had succeeded, but a momentary lapse, a hint of fatigue, and he would pay the price with horrific injuries.
The repetition of failure and pain began to make Lasron feel hopeless. Seven days, facing only a single monster, and he still couldn't overcome it. The thought of giving up resurfaced, stronger than ever. But then, images of his humiliating slave days, visions of the precious rewards awaiting, and perhaps, a mad stubbornness forged in Zone 1, pulled him back to his feet.
At the end of the seventh day, after countless failures, countless times his body had been crushed and then regenerated, Lasron had memorized the Rage Troll's every move. He knew when it would attack, how it would attack, and how he had to dodge. This time, when the door of Cage 1 opened, Lasron was no longer panicked. He took a deep breath, his eyes shining with intense focus.
The Rage Troll roared and charged. Lasron moved. He wasn't faster than it, but he knew what it would do. A hook punch missed him by a hair's breadth. A leg sweep also failed to connect. He was like a tiny cricket dancing before the claws of a giant bear, in peril but still alive. Time passed with breathtaking slowness. Eight minutes. Nine minutes. Lasron felt his body reaching its limit, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
Ten minutes!
The instant that thought flashed in Lasron's mind, a cold, mechanical "ding" echoed throughout the arena, signaling that ten full minutes had passed since Cage 1 opened. The Rage Troll was still growling right in front of him, looking for an opportunity to attack after a recent narrow dodge. It hadn't vanished. Lasron panted, his entire body taut as a bowstring, not daring to relax for a second. He had survived the first ten minutes with it! It was a small achievement, but one paid for with immeasurable pain.
But the brief joy, or rather, temporary relief, had barely formed when another, even more terrifying sound, echoed from another part of the arena. The heavy, ear-splitting screech of metal grinding against metal... from the direction of Cage 2.
It was opening.
A new monster was about to appear, while the Rage Troll remained an immediate, existing threat right before his eyes. The true hell of the Monster Arena was only just beginning.