CHAPTER 24: THE WINNER

The smell of turned earth and old smoke was the first warning that Archenval was no longer the quiet town many old maps described.

The dirt road ended in a wide clearing, where carts and merchants crowded under makeshift awnings.

Tattered flags, in garish colors, fluttered on crooked masts — crests of local guilds, hastily made and full of ego. A stuffed harpy dangled from a stone arch where it read: "Where monsters kneel, men rise."

Eren pulled the cloak tighter around his body. The gray tunic underneath did a good job hiding the dried blood on his ribs and the recent scratches.

The hood covered most of his face, but his gaze remained alert, hidden among shadows and calculation.

Nyssa followed closely behind, covered from head to toe by the black fabric of the assassin’s cloak — the item still worked, muffling her steps, softening her presence in the environment as if she were a liquid shadow.

Kaela walked to the left, body tense under a dark brown cloth that hid her tail and pointed ears. She sniffed the air constantly, like a wary beast.

Three silent figures, crossing a field of men who liked to shout.

At the entrance, two poorly shaved guards held spears and feigned posture. Their gaze shifted between the stuffed harpy and the newcomers. One of them held his breath upon seeing Kaela, even hooded.

The other wrinkled his nose at the sight of the slime’s silhouette moving slowly beneath the fabric.

"What’s your purpose?"

Eren didn’t slow his pace.

"Sale and observation. Non-active goods."

The guard’s eyes slid over the two figures at the man’s back. He didn’t know exactly what they were. And he preferred not to know. The wave of disgust and fear was masked by a throat clearing.

"You may pass. But keep control. We don’t want trouble."

Eren nodded, without stopping.

They crossed the gates under the muffled sound of something very similar to boos — not explicit, but present in the air, like murmurs held between clenched teeth.

Ordinary people stopped on the sidewalks and stared. Not with admiration, as happened in other cities when someone passed by with two monsters in tow.

Here, the gaze was different. Filled with a strange repulsion. As if Kaela and Nyssa were wild dogs about to bite a child.

"Should those things be loose?"

"Monsters don’t think. They just obey. Until they stop obeying."

"Where’s the control seal?"

Eren heard it all. But he didn’t react.

The city was... theatrical. The center was decorated with ropes where domesticated monsters were tied on display.

Beasts with golden chains around their necks, posed poses, roars repeated at every command. Children clapped.

Parents sold toys with monster miniatures. There were grandstands set up in rotten wood to watch scheduled fights between "elite creatures."

It was a circus with a smell of death.

That’s when he saw him.

In the middle of the main street, standing on a wooden box, was Vildren. Tall, muscular, clothes too tight, skin tanned by magic, not by sun. A broad smile, teeth too white.

He gestured enthusiastically, showcasing his creature — a live harpy, chained by wings and neck, covered in dyed red feathers and eyes opaque with submission.

"This here is the future, my friends! Not these hooded rats pretending to have power!"

Eren stopped. Just beyond the crowd. He said nothing. Just watched.

"Monsters have to be dominated! They are tools! Dogs. And if you’re weak, they bite you! But if you’re strong... they lick your feet!"

The audience applauded. It was easy to like someone like Vildren. He smiled forcefully. He knew where to aim the words. And he liked having an audience.

That’s when he looked directly at Eren.

"You there. With those... ’walking sheets’. Are you selling or hiding?"

Some laughter erupted around.

Kaela growled low. Nyssa just lowered her head. The fabric trembled.

Eren didn’t move. His eyes locked on Vildren for exactly three seconds. Then they shifted away.

"Ah... ignoring? Coward. Must be another one of those who think bond is love. Bet he sleeps with the creatures."

The crowd laughed again.

Eren continued walking. One step at a time.

The inner streets of Archenval had a different smell.

Not just of old blood, or rust, or the sweat of bodies vying for attention — but of something denser. More... rotten.

It was as if the very ground had absorbed, over the years, the stifled scream of hundreds of monsters tamed by force, reduced to spectacle. A scream that now fermented under the stones and returned to the surface as an invisible vapor.

Eren walked in silence, hood low, eyes fixed on the details others ignored.

The painted stalls, with vibrant posters of tamers smiling with their "loyal partners," violently contrasted with what he saw behind them.

There was a showcase — if it could be called that — hidden under a battered tarp, right next to an inn. Inside, pieces of creatures were on display like butcher meat.

Basilisk eyes preserved in jars. Manticore claws serving as virility amulets.

A partially dried chimera heart, bound with silver threads, with a sign: "Pulsed for 32 days after capture."

Eren showed no expression. Just walked.

"Nnh..."

Nyssa whimpered softly behind him.

Her body trembled under the cloak, not from fear, but from deep discomfort.

The presence of living death made the slime unstable.

Her contours retracted and expanded involuntarily, as if the very air were corroding her form.

Kaela, on the other hand, walked with tense shoulders. Jaw clenched, golden eyes attentive to every alley, every suspicious figure that emerged on the edges of the crowd.

Eren stopped in front of a dry fountain. The city’s sound didn’t cease — applause, screams, false roars. But there, for a moment, he saw nothing. Only remembered.

Lee Min-Jae.

The old name.

The other world.

He remembered Archenval as a peripheral city in the game. A transition point between kingdoms. There, he sold loot, bought upgrades, exchanged event items. Everything was aesthetic. Digital. Dead.

Now he was there. In flesh and blood. Surrounded by men who believed themselves gods because they mastered creatures they couldn’t even comprehend.

"It’s not just a game now."

"It’s economy, influence, and the cult of domination."

The system’s voice interrupted the line of thought.

[Arena Event Activated – Archenval]

[Registrations open – Central Square]

[Rewards: Gold Coins, Rare Equipment, Spots in Local Guilds]

[Mandatory public display]

[Fight until surrender or incapacitation]

Eren looked at the gray sky.

"So this is it..."

Kaela approached.

"What?"

"They’re selling reputation."

Nyssa spoke in a drawn-out voice, muffled by her cloak:

"Are you going... to enter?"

Eren didn’t respond immediately. He watched the crowd heading towards the main square. The rooftops were decorated with colorful leaflets, improvised banners, and ropes where the skins of smaller monsters hung like trophies.

"The problem is getting out."

"Do you think it’s a trap?"

Kaela asked, her claws already semi-extended.

"I think it’s a test. But not for me. For them."

They passed through a few more alleys before reaching an area where the screams were no longer from tamers — but from civilians.

An old man, with disheveled beard and hollow eyes, was shouting from atop a rotten wooden box.

"Can’t you see?! These creatures were pure! Pure! They were made of earth, mist, and spirit! But man... man corrupts! Chains! Collars! Runic shackles! YOU DISHONOR THE VEIL OF EXISTENCE!"

Some watched. Others laughed. Guards approached.

"These heretics... these tamers... imprison sacred beasts! They turn soul into chain! The world will retaliate!"

Eren stopped.

Kaela growled.

"Want me to shut him up?"

"No."

Two soldiers grabbed the old man by the arms. He continued shouting, now foaming at the mouth. The crowd didn’t know whether to laugh or ignore.

Some spat. When he was dragged away, Eren noticed what was behind the box he had stood on.

A wall, peeling, dirty with soot. And there, with almost dry paint, someone had drawn an eye in ashes, bleeding. The stroke was hurried, but the impact... brutal.

Nyssa felt it. Her body recoiled.

Kaela turned her face.

"This is... new."

The sun hid behind Archenval’s crooked buildings, tinting the improvised arena with a dirty, almost rusty orange.

The central square had been transformed into a coliseum of wood and cheap iron. The stands trembled under the weight of a people thirsty — not for spectacle, but for easy blood. There, strength was measured in seconds, and glory was a choked scream between bets.

Eren Vale stepped onto the hard sand without any dramatic gesture. The gray tunic hung from his body like an old cloth forgotten in the wind.

The hood still covered part of his face, and his hands were behind his back — a gesture of disinterest. Beside him, two silent shadows.

Kaela adjusted her posture like a predator who already knew the taste of victory. Her golden eyes didn’t blink, attentive, vibrating with the energy of the field.

The claws were already semi-extended, and her tail slithered beneath the cloak.

Nyssa remained wrapped in her cloak, but there was a subtle glow beneath the fabric — as if her body was boiling inside.

The battlefield stirred something in her. Not fear, but memory. She had killed before. She knew what it was like. She knew the taste. And now she had permission.

On the other side of the circle appeared the "local favorite." A two-meter brute, bare-chested, arms tattooed with symbols of extinct guilds.

His chest puffed and his smile self-confident. Beside him, a creature — a kind of armored monkey, with bone plates covering its body and a flaming staff in its hands.

The crowd roared when the names were announced.

"VILDREN! VILDREN! VILDREN!"

Eren didn’t even look at the crowd. He just slowly took off his hood.

Vildren laughed from the other side.

"There’s the little coward! The cloaked beast! And he came for real?"

The judge raised the runic staff.

"Combat until surrender. Death will be tolerated. Begin."

Silence.

Vildren snapped his fingers.

"Kill all three. I’ll give you two days off."

The monkey roared. The armor vibrated. It advanced in a straight line, the staff cutting the air in flames. It was fast. The crowd vibrated.

Eren didn’t even move.

"Nyssa."

The whisper was almost inaudible.

The slime emerged from the cloak like black and silver fluid, sliding across the ground towards the enemy. The staff came towards her. She raised a thick wall with part of her own body — the impact came, scattering parts of her on the ground, but the weapon was now covered. And being corroded. Fast.

The monkey roared. Tried to let go. Too late.

[Skill: Directional Corrosion Active]

[Efficiency: High | Low Runification Metal]

The staff snapped and exploded. Melted parts hit the monster’s face. It staggered, grunting.

"Kaela."

Eren didn’t even raise his voice.

The feline leaped. A perfect arc. Too fast for ordinary eyes. She landed on the monster’s back like a living arrow. One claw at the neck. The other embedded at the base of the spine.

Snap.

The body fell with a dry thud. Dust rose. The monkey didn’t move. Didn’t roar. Didn’t breathe.

The arena... fell silent.

Vildren stood still for two seconds. Then stepped back.

"Wait... this... wasn’t supposed to—"

Kaela turned her face, still on the creature’s corpse.

"Are you next?"

The judge hesitated. Then raised the staff.

"W-winner: EREN VALE!"

The crowd didn’t roar.

There was applause. Some. But scattered. Forced. People looking around. Parents pulling their children away. A boy crying. Another vomiting.

Vildren ran off. Literally. Lost his composure.

Eren took two steps forward. His eyes scanned the faces. There was no glory there. Only... silence.

"Prizes."

The judge extended a pouch. A silver brooch. And a formal invitation to join one of the local guilds.

Eren took everything, storing it away without looking.

Kaela and Nyssa returned to his sides, speechless. Without composure.

As they exited through the side of the arena, Eren noticed. The people weren’t cheering. Nor admiring. They were... averting their gaze.

Before completely leaving the square, something caught his attention.

A group of three hooded women was walking in the opposite direction. One of them carried a scroll hanging on her chest.

He read the phrase.

Shaky letters. Dark ink. But clear:

"The land bleeds. The bond is corruption. Faith will come with fire."

Eren said nothing. But his eyes narrowed.

Kaela whispered:

"That doesn’t seem to be just about the fight..."

Nyssa added:

"They’re not afraid of the monster. They’re afraid of the tamer."

Eren walked in silence, heavy coin pouch, prizes in the backpack.