Charlemagne bawked in annoyance yet again as he reappeared back in the enormous open area that housed the battle simulations. Although he had made some significant gains in leveling his Skills, the pesky wave 40 Boss kept freezing him solid within a minute of the fight starting. To take the metaphorical sting out of his string of defeats, he took another look at his recent gains.

  He had almost figured out how to turn his Ember shield off and on at will and could now dial the intensity up and down without too much effort. Most of his efforts had gone to increasing the output of the almost invisible barrier in the hopes that it would protect him from the Endless Blizzard attack that inevitably sapped the warmth from his bones and overwhelmed even the immense output of his Ember Core. The rooster both admired and disliked the Boss for its string of victories, but, since there was no permanent harm done, was not filled with murderous rage. Yet. Perhaps it was the thrill of growing his Skills or the fact that he survived each fight just a little longer, but rooster was actually feeling quite good about slamming his head against this proverbial wall.

  Charlemagne made his way back to get in line when the Squiggles returned, this time with an unwelcome message.

  As powerful dimensional energies embraced Charlemagne and prepared to whisk him away, the rooster had a comforting thought: if he played his cards right, he could probably eat some of the other competitors. This thought sustained him as he reappeared on a giant stone platform that seemed to be surrounded by a vast emptiness. In the distance, stars twinkled merrily, as if sanctioning the impending violence with a wink and a nod. His three Party members appeared a few moments later, standing near him. There were many other creatures of all shapes and sizes spaced evenly throughout the platform, standing in small clumps. He couldn’t help but note that most of the groups contained five individuals.

  “I do wish that Bridget had survived the asteroid,” Phatagin complained.

  “Bawk,” the rooster responded coldly.

  “Ouch,” Ndiogou responded as he used his Extra Sensor Perception to evaluate the competition.

  “Stay sharp, there’s something that doesn’t feel right about this platform,” Sirius barked.

  And switch to Party chat, she added telepathically.

  All right then, Phatagin added, not missing a beat. What’s the plan here?

  The plan is to stick together and don’t die. That’s how us canines have done it for millennia, and it seems to work well for us. Sirius quipped.

  The chatter was interrupted when dozens of powerful spotlights appeared out of nowhere and converged on a spot high in the air. An enormous being floated in midair, its bright red robes flapping in a breeze that didn’t seem to exist anywhere else. The mysterious newcomer had neither hands nor feet. A long, thick, green neck emerged from the top of the robes, reminding Ndiogou of an enormous stalk of broccoli. A stalk of broccoli absolutely covered in eyes.

  “I AM THE ALL-SEER, ASPAR’AGUS,” the being’s voice boomed out over the platform.

  Ndiogou fell over, clenching his sides as his mouth contorted.

  “Ndiogou!” Sirius yelped, sniffing at the human.

  “What seems to be the matter?” Phatagin added, unrolling enough to reveal one of his small, beady eyes. “Is it some sort of sonic attack that our human friend is weak against?”

  “Bawk,” Charlemagne answered, his gaze never leaving the absolutely delectable-looking being lording over the arena.

  “He’s laughing?” Sirius asked, confused. “Why?”

  His…name…can’t…too funny! Ndiogou managed to send through the Party chat.

  Ah, I think I understand, Phatagin chimed in. The announcer looks like a vegetable and his name sounds like a different vegetable.

  That sounds like a ridiculous coincidence, Sirius said as she moved away from the still prone form of Ndiogou and scratched at an ear with one of her hind legs.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Well, it is and it isn’t, the pangolin started to say, but the flying creature interrupted him.

  “WELCOME TO THE FIRST EVENT IN THE SYSTEMIC GAMES. I WILL EXPLAIN THE RULES BRIEFLY. THIS WILL BE A FREE FOR ALL BATTLE ROYALE. EACH GROUP WILL TRY TO ELIMINATE THE OTHERS. COMPETITORS ARE ELIMINATED BY YIELDING, BY FALLING INTO THE VOID BELOW, OR BY BECOMING INCAPACITATED. SHOP POINTS WILL BE AWARDED FOR ELIMINATING OTHER COMPETITORS, BOTH ON AN INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP LEVEL. A TEAM WILL BE ELIMINATED WHEN IT HAS FEWER THAN THREE MEMBERS LEFT. THE LAST FIVE TEAMS REMAINING WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT EVENT. VIOLENCE BETWEEN TEAM MEMBERS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. THERE WILL BE NO QUESTIONS. THE EVENT WILL BEGIN WHEN I SOUND THE CHIME.”

  All across the platform, differently shaped beings looked all around them, trying to decide where to head once the event began. Charlemagne took a few moments to locate the most powerful nearby individuals based on how strong a reaction they provoked from Food for the Stomach and the Stomach for Food. Based on what he could tell, the platform was chock full of potential meals. Hopefully their bodies would not disappear the way that the fake monsters in the battle simulation had.

  A loud and high-pitched sound filled the air, followed by cacophony of noises as hundreds of competitors pushed off the ground with their various means of locomotion. There was even a creature that appeared to be a living ball of rock rolling along with the rest of its team. Charlemagne and his Party were momentarily stunned by the chaos, all except for Ndiogou, who finally mastered himself and jumped to his feet.

  The first attack came swiftly, but was blocked almost effortlessly by Charlemagne, who threw up a mana shield to deflect a thick needle made of keratin aimed at Sirius. The canine yelped and flinched as the projectile impacted the mana shield with a thump.

  We need to find cover, Phatagin suggested.

  That’s ridiculous, Ndiogou hissed. Where are we going to find cover?

  The human punctuated his remark with a quick duck, narrowly avoiding another of the organic projectiles. We need to take out that sniper, he added.

  Bawk, Charlemagne sent to the group, warning them as he began to charge up a mana ball attack. Although the rooster’s Veins of Lava Skill now performed much of the heavy lifting when it came to cycling mana through his body, Charlemagne’s signature attack was generally limited to two factors: the amount of mana in his body and the power of his Ember Core. Neither of these had undergone any significant increases since he had fought against the asteroid, but it was still the best ranged attack that any member in the Party possessed.

  Focusing all of his willpower into a single point was second nature to the rooster at this point, so he had no problems forming an enormous ball of mana despite the bedlam around him. Unfortunately, creating such a powerful attack took both time and attracted attention, so it was only a matter of time before the surrounding teams ganged up on Charlemagne while he was at his most vulnerable.

  Protect Charlemagne! Sirius cried as she activated a defensive Skill of her own and leaping into the air to catch an evil-looking dagger with her mouth. She spat it out as quickly as she could.

  Poisoned, she noted.

  Phatagin was well-suited for a defensive role, and he drained the kinetic energy from over a dozen projectiles before one managed to slip through, scoring a glancing blow on Charlemagne’s flank. Ndiogou was a blur, snatching up anything that the pangolin drained of its velocity and returning the projectiles back. Together, they were able to keep a number of other teams at bay. Sirius ranged out front, her sharp jaws threatening limbs as she danced in and out of melee range, never committing to an engagement but preventing anyone from coming close.

  With his Party providing such excellent support, Charlemagne finalized his mana ball attack with minimal distractions.

  Bawk! He called out again, and the three other Party members immediately moved out of the firing line. And then Charlemagne let loose.

  Great gouts of blue mana tinged with bright yellow flames lanced out, forming an enormous beam of blazing hot, cohesive energy. Creatures that the beam struck simply turned to ash as even their bones were vaporized by the incredible heat. A few creatures here and there managed to either leap or fly over the channeled attack, safely avoiding the deadly beam, but the chaotic nature of the event meant that the majority were simply caught unawares. In just a few moments almost half of the platform was completely cleared of competitors.

  Please continue to turn, Phatagin sent. We’ll ensure that we stay out of your way.

  The rooster obliged, taking a few steps forward and to the right as he held the beam steady. The platform was now almost completely free of enemies. Charlemagne was a bit disappointed at this turn of events, to be honest. He had been hoping for a better challenge and a few delicious meals.

  The thought of a tasty meal brought his thoughts back to Aspar’agus, the overseer of this event. That particular being had looked better than all of the contestants put together. Charlemagne wondered if perhaps it was fair game. And so, he directed his beam toward the enormous green giant that continued to hover above the arena.

  “YOU DARE ASSAULT ME?” the plant-like creature boomed as one of its many eyes flared bright red. The rooster’s powerful attack was pushed off course and missed the overseer entirely.

  “TO THE PENALTY BOX!”

  Charlemagne’s attack ended abruptly as the rooster vanished from the platform. Ndiogou, Phatagin, and Sirius stared at each other in stunned silence for a few moments. The giant creature was chuckling, its loud voice drowning out the sobs, screams, and groans that seemed to rise from every corner of the platform. The scattered survivors slowly picked themselves up and regrouped, all combat between them forgotten. They seemed to have only one objective now: to take out the team that was responsible for such a devastating attack.

  Sirius barked angrily as she surveyed the remaining combatants, realizing that she had been counting on Charlemagne more than she should have.

  Stick together and we can get through this, she sent to the other two Party members. There are only a handful of groups left, and none of them seem to be full Parties. If we play our cards right, we can still win this thing.

  We only need to get into the top five, remember? That’s totally doable, Ndiogou added. Phatagin, don’t you have a bouncing attack that you can use to sow confusion? Why don’t you use that, and then I’ll take out a few from range while Sirius attacks from the flank.

  Don’t you have any suggestions that do not involve me risking my physical safety? The pangolin complained. I’d rather not die today if it’s all the same to you.

  Ah come on, buddy, it might be good for you. Put some hair on your chest, the human replied with a grin. Now, focus up, team, here they come!