The four of us were standing outside the city’s Grand Arena on a brisk early summer day. The arena’s construction was impressive to behold. Grown out of tightly packed sequoia-type trees, the reddish trunks towered high in the sky and were topped by green conical canopies. The trees were grown in a circle in the center of a wide marble plaza with numerous fountains and green spaces where flowers and bushes grew. Guards patrolling the plaza were, in addition to watching out for petty crime, there to chase away any pop-up street vendors from clogging the walkways.

  “We have nothing like this back home,” Tizek commented as he craned his neck to the sky. “Our homes are carved out of rock.”

  “I’m always amazed, too, buddy,” I said as I patted Tizek’s back.

  The four of us were decked out in our leather armor, wooden helms and our weapons. Lia was awkwardly messing with the large sword on her back as she stared with a terrified look on her face at the arena.

  “You can do this,” Void said as she stepped in next to Lia. “I saw you hitting those moving target dummies yesterday.”

  “But they didn’t hit back,” Lia muttered.

  “They’re not going to give us anything hard. Unless we’re dumb enough to ask for an Advancement 1 fight,” I replied. “Most of the monsters they have captured in there are Advancement 0 nuisances found along the roads. As long as you don’t get complacent, you’ll be fine. Plus, you have the rest of us to watch your back.”

  Lia swallowed hard and took a step forward. The rest of us followed our brave little battle tank as we headed toward an entrance to the arena.

  The entrance we walked up to was the competitor’s entrance. It reminded me of that tree out in California where you could drive a car through the trunk. A pyrography sign with fancy lettering above the entryway indicated it was the competitor’s entrance. Out front on a black slate sandwich board sign was another message stating the arena was currently reserved for VIP competitors. I was a P, though it was debatable by the king’s standards if I was VI.

  I walked up to the registration window and, inside, I saw a bored looking deer-clan man. He had a fairly impressive set of antlers growing out of the top of his head. “Your antlers grew in nice over the spring.”

  He looked up from his slate where he was reading a news article. His mind registered who I was. “Hey, thanks. I just got a new polish to try out.”

  “Looking snazzy,” I replied. “We’re here for some training.”

  The man flicked through his slate and looked at the glowing blue words. “Alright, you’re on the list. Can I see some ID?”

  I gave him a big smile. “How many people look like me are running around?”

  The man’s eyes fell back into bored bureaucrat mode. “ID?”

  My face sagged into a frown. I hated this part. I pulled out my ID and looked at it. On it was my Exterminator’s Guild information. Where I lived, my name, my clan, my Advancement, my rating and my picture. The part I hated was my photo. No matter what I did, the image always came out poorly. Just like at the DMV.

  I peered at myself a moment before handing it to the arena employee. I had a dumb grin on my face and my eyes were caught in a half-blink when the image was taken. There was also a draft from the overhead vent system where it blew part of my hair on the left side of my head to standing. I looked ridiculous.

  I handed it over to the employee. He looked at the photo, looked at me and nodded. “Alright, you’re good.” This reaction always made me feel self-conscious since no one had any trouble recognizing me when looking at that ugly picture.

  The pictures of the other three didn’t look any better. Lia’s photo was a wide-eyed surprise with her fangs baring like an elementary school shoot. Tizek got distracted by something and had a blur in his photo where he looked to his right at something. Void looked like she had just finished smoking a joint and had a dumbfounded look on her face with bloodshot eyes. None of it caused pause with the deer-clan man behind the window.

  “Everything is in order,” the cashier said when he handed Void’s ID back. “Unfortunately, it seems the palace only paid for five parties. You’ll need to cover your entry fee of four gold Sovereigns.”

  I slipped the four coins on the counter, bringing our finances down to six gold coins. I knew Void had money of her own from her old job, but I wasn’t about to ask her to dip into her savings for things like this. He swept the coins into the box and pointed to a sign hanging next to the window. “Is anyone in your party literate?”

  “I am,” Void said.

  “Great, read the rules and then head on down to the waiting room. You can’t miss it. And good luck,” the deer-clan man said before going back to reading his slate.

  Void went over the rules, which were fairly simple. No fighting outside the arena floor. If you get in trouble, call for help and arena personnel will assist in defeating the monster. Your entry fee includes emergency healing. The arena and the city are not liable for loss of limb or life. The usual.

  The one I locked in on was how arena fights went. The one gold allowed for a single entry into the arena. Once there, all participants would face a gauntlet of fights starting with an Advancement 0 monster and increasing from there. After each fight, the participant could either move to the next level up or call it there and be done for the day. That one was going to be important in a moment.

  The gold entry was fair since someone had to go out and capture monsters alive to bring back to the arena. Even at Advancement 0, that wasn’t an easy task. It was also costly maintaining the mana mixture in the air necessary to keep the monsters alive.

  I let Lia lead our procession down the hallway into the arena. I found it helped her improve her confidence when she was out front taking charge with us at the rear in support. It was definitely going to be important since she’d be up front in our future battles.

  The hallway was built like a basketball arena tunnel back on Earth. It was a long, mostly featureless rectangle carved ramrod straight into the distance. A series of lights were affixed to the ceiling to illuminate the path along the polished wooden floor. The walls had painted artwork of various different arena participants of some notoriety in their victory poses over monsters. Non-descript doors were set into the walls at a regular interval to give access to offices or maintenance areas.

  As we walked, I could hear a rhythmic thumping from above. Considering the summoned heroes were on-site today, the kingdom advertised the event around the city and a there was a full house. There were warmup matches going on right now and the crowd was enjoying it. If we moved fast enough, we’d also get to see a bout or two.

  Other than the low thump, the tunnel was surprisingly quiet. The wooden tree construction was well-insulated and we couldn’t hear any of the cheers or other crowd noise from outside.

  At the end of the tunnel was a set of double doors. It was apparent this was the right location since, above the doors was a pyrography sign reading “Contestant Waiting Room”. Of course, officially anyway, Void was the only one in our party able to read the words. She told Lia as such and we entered.

  Behind the doors was a large room. There were rows of tables with small chairs and couches set in small circles spaced around the room. The ceiling was a thick tangle of pine needles with lights hanging from the branches. This made the room silent and blocked out even the sound of thumping feet from above.

  The room was designed to allow participants in the arena to rest and wait for their turn on the sands. The arena also had locker rooms, but those were reserved for lengthy tournaments. Normally, participants were only there for the day and were expected to show up dressed for the fight.

  Inside, the other five heroes were present. They also each had three allies which the king introduced them to. The other fifteen people in the room were all teenaged sons and daughters of noble households looking to improve their standing in the court. Each of them was armed and armored with very expensive metal-forged gear. The five summoned from Earth with me were also wearing fancy new clothes. The king was certainly nice to the heroes he kept around and made sure to give them a somewhat useful start in this world. There were also various functionaries and guards in the room to watch the event.

  When we came in, I gave them a wave. Apart from Damu and Carolina, who waved in return, the rest didn’t respond. Aurelie was still angry about being here while Disha had only met me right after being woken up. Aoto was over in a corner showing off to his all-female party and acting like he was the main character of an anime.

  Along the walls and hanging on the ceiling were more black slates. Instead of boring words like at the Exterminator’s Guild, these slates were showing live images of what was happing in the arena. At the moment, a four-man team decked out in metal armor and weapons, clearly a very high-ranking combat group, was battling a pack of ten Howlers. The Howlers were dog-like creatures with goat horns and glowing red eyes. The ends of their tails had a flicker of flame while their coats were pitch black. They made a terrible cackle like high-pitched hyenas as they maneuvered in formation around the fighters.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  While everyone was engrossed in the fight, which I already knew was an easy victory for the participants, my eyes drifted toward something far more valuable in the room. Along one wall were four rectangular folding tables each filled with snacks. The king had brought in a spread for the heroes and I wasn’t about to miss out.

  I walked over to the food and looked for my prize. And there they were. Two dozen individual bags of warm goodness greeted me. They were sacks of roasted chestnuts. Not just any roasted chestnuts, Alvin’s roasted chestnuts. He had made a batch not an hour ago special for the heroes. I snagged four bags and returned to my group.

  When I got back, I looked up on the screen and saw a fox-clan man whipping a tendril of water out toward one of the Howlers and took its head off. The crowd cheered the spectacle as the man turned toward another foe. I held out three of the bags. “Anyone want some chestnuts?”

  Void’s eyes lit up. “Are those what I think they are?”

  “Yup,” I replied. “Alvin’s. Now hurry and get yours. I want to eat mine before we go out there.”

  “Gimmie,” Void said and greedily snatched a bag. She didn’t waste time popping one in her mouth and shuddering with joy.

  “What are those?” Lia asked, eyeing a bag.

  I waved the two in my hand. “Trust me. These things are heavenly.”

  Lia took one and Tizek took the other. With my hand now free, I popped one in my mouth. The cinnamon-sugar delight washed over my tongue and I closed my eyes to savor the flavor. They were so much better when they weren’t burnt.

  “These are great,” I heard Lia say. I also heard loud chomping and, when I opened my eyes, I saw Tizek pouring the bag into his mouth. He didn’t quite comprehend how to enjoy little bites.

  “How are you feeling, Lia?” I asked as I popped another chestnut into my mouth.

  “A lot better. These took my mind off the fight. I think I’m ready,” Lia replied as she bit into another one. I smiled. Alivn’s chestnuts always helped lighten the mood. It didn’t do much good to obsess over your first fight.

  I looked out and saw my fellow summoned humans and their parties all staring at us in disbelief. They were clearly nervous and wondering why we were over here eating chestnuts when we were about to face our first monsters. The other attendants, on the other hand, didn’t pay us much mind since nerves were only common among first timers, especially the city dwellers who never had to interact with monsters.

  Out of all the runs, whenever I was in this room, this was a speech I always attempted. I had made different variations on it over the runs and even tried to get Lia, Void and even Tizek to give them a talk. It never led to a perfect outcome. Still, I had to try.

  I set my chestnuts down on a nearby table, clapped my hands and used my professor voice. “Hey! I’d like to get the participants to huddle up a second for a little talk.”

  My fellow summoned looked at each other and then, starting with Damu, began to come to circle around me. The rest, including the kids from the noble households, also followed along. The exception was Aoto and his little squad who remained over near the exit to the arena.

  “Alright everyone, I’m glad to see all of you are here safe and sound,” I started. “I know this is probably scary, it is for me too, but we’re in this now and I would like to make sure all of you stay healthy and, as best as we can in this world, happy.”

  Damu and Carolina nodded along with me and looked relieved I cared. Aurelie and Disha listened thoughtfully while the noble kids were wondering why they were standing here.

  “I’m sure you all know the rules and had good training. But there is one rule I’d like to remind you of. You can all quit when you need to and, whatever you do, only fight the first round. I talked to some Exterminator Guild members and they tell me Advancement 1 monsters are no joke. They’ll tear up a novice in a heartbeat. While Advancement 0 can fight some of the weaker Advancement 1 monsters, it’s a huge risk,” I said grimly.

  Now that I had them good and scared, I had to give them a little pickup, particularly the nobles in the group. “That said, Advancement 0 monsters aren’t beyond your skills, especially the ones rounded up for us today. I can tell you all have good parties. Trust each other and you’ll do well. As for you noble kids? This is also a great time to prove to the crowd out there you aren’t a bunch of soft, spoiled milk suckers. I know you all will walk out of there with new respect from the populace if you give it your all.”

  “Thank you for the talk,” Damu spoke up. “I was feeling nervous. If you think we can do it, then I think it’s worth a try.”

  Aurelie and Disha were, predictably, not impressed. Aurelie huffed and walked away with her party. She had a minor issue of panicking when a fight got out of control, so she needed the talk to prepare her for the fight. Disha had a good mind, even if she didn’t show it, and would do fine. Carolina smiled at me and gave me a silent thanks.

  After, I walked over to Aoto’s little team. He was wearing a katana-style sword, what was with the katana obsession anyway, on his belt and trying to smooth talk one of the girls. “Guys, this is really important. After your first fight, just head out. The next round isn’t something to mess around with.”

  Aoto huffed in my direction. “Really, old man? Why would I listen to a dud? I’m the most powerful hero and I have the best ability. I can heal any wound!”

  This was what I kept trying to fix. “Shimizu-sama? Please, this isn’t time for pride. If it gets too hot, call for help. This goes for you three, too. I don’t want to see your innards smeared all over the arena floor.”

  “Go home if you’re scared,” Aoto waved his hand at me to back off. The three girls, though, seemed to understand what I was saying. The cougar-clan and otter-clan girls looked at each other worried while the deer-clan girl looked down at the grass carpeting in thought. Maybe I’d get survivors this time.

  “Will the first contestants please enter the arena?” an attendant at the door said.

  “It is time to reveal the greatest hero the kingdom ever knew!” Aoto announced. He was eager to get out and fight his bout.

  There wasn’t much more I could do. I even pulled out the respectful -sama suffix this time. I’ve tried nice, hard, angry, soft, complacent, disinterested, saying nothing and even pleading. I’ve sent in Void, Lia and even Tizek to talk to them. Nothing ever works. I couldn’t even jump in from the stands to call off the fight since they have a protective dome over the arena to keep monsters from attacking the crowd. My only hope was some little thing I did somewhere somehow ripples into changing the coming outcome.

  I returned to my party and looked back at my chestnuts. They suddenly didn’t look too appetizing anymore. “It’s time,” I said and gestured to a screen nearby on the wall.

  On it, Aoto entered the arena with his three party members. The announcer called out their names and introduced Aoto as the first of the six legendary summoned heroes. The crowd roared in approval. The effect of it was muted through the weak speakers built into the slate.

  “Today, our heroes will each face down six albatwitches! As you all know, the albatwitch is a pest which causes damage to our crops and annoys travelers on the road by throwing fruit at them. All heroes start out humble. Let’s see how their training has fared,” the announcer called.

  From the far side of the arena, the wall slid open and, from it, six thin sasquatch looking monsters bolted out. They stood around a meter tall and were covered in thick brown fur. Their fingers and toes were long black appendages which resembled writhing worms.

  The monsters wasted no time and sprinted toward the party waiting for them. The deer-clan and cougar-clan girls each held out spears in preparation to accept the charge. The otter-clan girl was a few steps behind the other three and was holding a bow. She drew an arrow and fired a shot across the arena. It impacted an albatwitch in the chest and slowed its charge.

  That reminded me to adjust my field quiver on my belt. I had it set on my right hip to make it easier to reach for arrows.

  The archer fired another arrow and hit a monster in the face. The monster dropped and skidded to a halt. The crowd cheered when the first of the six albatwitches died.

  Then Aoto screamed a war cry and charge forward. “Skyfall slash!” he shouted as he brought his blade downward in a sloppy chop. It landed hard on the collar bone of an albatwitch and crumpled the monster. His two companions looked surprised by the unannounced charge and had to rush into keep him from getting overwhelmed by the other four monsters.

  “Stone shot!” Aoto shouted again as a cloud of small pebbles rose up from the ground and pelted one of the albatwitches in the face, blinding it. The creature screeched and rubbed at its eyes to dislodge the painful gravel.

  “Why is he yelling out what he’s about to do and making up strange names?” Lia asked. Her face along with Tizek and Void’s were looking perplexed at the display Aoto was putting on.

  “The idiot read too many stories,” I said. It didn’t make much sense to tell them Aoto was copying typical shonen battle manga tropes to make himself look more heroic. They wouldn’t understand the reference.

  Aoto waded recklessly into the three monsters still capable of seeing and started swinging and shouting out more move names. As he did, he was taking hits from the monsters which left cuts across the exposed parts of his arms and face. He didn’t care much as he whirled his shining metal sword around and chopped through his opponents.

  Then it was done. The six monsters lay dead on the sands and the crowd was cheering from seeing their first hero battle. Aoto raised his katana to the sky and roared in victory. Meanwhile, the three girls pulled out daggers and cut into the monsters’ chests to extract their mana cores. After the murky tan crystal the size of a marble was removed, the monsters’ bodies began to dissolve into a black mist and vanish.

  Mana cores were useful reagents for magical devices and crafting. They could be sold to offset some of the cost of entry, not that the cores of an albatwitch was worth much. They’d only get five copper coins for one at current market rates.

  “What a show!” the arena announcer belted out. “Now, for our next bout…”

  Aoto shouted to cut off the announcer. “We wish to challenge the next monster!”

  “Are you sure?” the announcer said over the speaker system. “You will be facing an Advancement 1 opponent.”

  Aoto wiped away the blood on his arms and face, revealing completely healed skin. His Regeneration ability fully closed all of his wounds in a matter of seconds. “I am the great hero! I am rated at 210% and have the Regeneration ability! We can handle any foe!”

  “You heard the hero!” the announcer shouted excitedly. The crowd’s volume increased in response to Aoto’s boast. They had just heard the rating, which was the highest ever recorded in history. Some of the functionaries in the room, however, looked worried.

  I watched as the wall at the far side of the arena opened once more. Then it emerged. From the dark opening, a Red Speckled Stomper trundled out. The boss level monster was a ladybug the size of a rhinoceros. The monster let out a wild shriek and began to stomp its way toward the party.

  I turned away and sat down on a couch. I had seen this enough times to know the outcome. It didn’t make much sense to expose myself to pointless carnage. I pressed my hands against my ears to try and drown out the sounds from the screen. It didn’t help as I could still hear the noise through my skin.

  “Shooting star charge!” Aoto shouted. The crowd screamed in approval then I heard a loud crunch and the crowd went silent. The screams of the girls shouting for help immediately started. Another crunch then a third. Gasps from the crowd were all I heard as a loud squeal of the monster being put down by the arena guards. Then all that was left was the quiet sobbing of one remaining girl.

  “Please give a moment of silence to the fallen,” the announcer said through the screen. While death at the arena was an uncommon event, the people of Leoren never cheered for it. They gave a moment of silence.

  I felt my limbs shaking. My goofy confidence had just failed me once more. Apart from the apocalypse, this was the only event that was always set in stone. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t convince Aoto to take this world seriously. At least, from the sounds of sobbing I heard, I kept one of them alive this time around.

  A hand touched me on my knee. I opened my eyes and saw a grey hand gently resting on my body just above my pink boots. I knew who it was and turned up. Kneeling before me was Void. She was joined by Lia and Tizek. They all had looks of worry on their face. I gave my best smile and spoke. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I tried my best. I failed. Like I always do.”

  Void reached up and wiped away a tear from my eye. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how hard this is. You’ve been so upbeat and happy that I didn’t think about the toll this is taking on you. How many times have you tried to stop it from happening?”

  “Every time,” I replied. “Every damned time. No matter what I say or do, it doesn’t work. I tried breaking down the door. I tried to get you to pick the lock. Nothing works. All I can do is sometimes save some of the girls.”

  I peered over at the rest of the room. Everyone was too focused on what was happening on the screen to see me in my mental break. I looked up at the screen and saw it was separated into four quadrants. In one, a sheet was placed over the now headless body of Aoto. The Stomper had bitten his head off after his sword failed to break through the monster’s shell.

  In another screen was the mangled body of the deer-clan girl while the third showed the cougar-clan girl with a Stomper’s foot punched through her chest. The fancy metal armor didn’t do either of them any good. The final screen showed the otter-clan girl, bow discarded next to her, rocking in a fetal position while arena medics checked her for wounds.

  I wiped away the remaining tears from my eyes, gave my three friends a grateful smile and stood. “Well, we have to keep on moving.”

  “Are you sure?” Lia asked. “Wouldn’t you rather call it a day and rest.”

  I shook my head and pointed my chin to the others in the room. “No. They need to see a success. If we don’t show the way, they’ll end up too afraid to grow. The rest of them can easily handle albatwitches. They’ll be cautious going forward and do well.”

  “My lord? If I may, but why do you keep trying if you always fail?” Tizek asked.

  “Because, buddy, what if I don’t try and I succeed in stopping the apocalypse? I have to do everything right every time in case that happens. Otherwise, I won’t get another shot to make it right,” I explained. I removed my bow from my back and began stringing it.

  “Will the next contestants please enter the arena?” the attendant at the door announced.

  I looked at the other four groups and they remained still. I could see the fear in their eyes as they glanced back up at the now cleared arena floor on the screens.

  “Come on,” I said, forcing confidence in my voice. “Let’s show them they’re not doomed if they do this right.”

  Lia, Tizek and Void all nodded at me and we walked past the others and out onto the sands. I had to keep forging forward. There wasn’t an option otherwise.