Chapter 752: Nevermore: A Man With A Plan

Jake was not the only one experiencing the Colosseum of Mortals or who had at least experienced it prior, for that matter. There was, of course, the Sword Saint, who was also hard at work, and as a far wiser man, had heeded the warning upon being confronted with the Benevolent Monk. He had responded by buying a good sword as well as some basic equipment, which had ended with him drawing blood early on in the fight without taking any major damage himself. This didn't mean the fight had been easy... just that he had offensive prowess allowing him to easily bypass the challenge.

Carmen had also chosen to enter the Colosseum as that appealed to her far more than any of the other Challenge Dungeons. Losing her variant human race and becoming a G-grade once more did shock her at first, as suddenly becoming a soft shell of her former self was difficult to accept... but then she adapted.

She had been an okay boxer before the system arrived, and she was acceptable for her age group and weight class but still firmly an amateur. But now? Now, she would have been able to beat the living shit out of every single boxer that had ever lived pre-system. Not just because her physical specs matched any male boxer if they had equal stats, but because of the sheer quality difference between pre and post-system martial arts.

All stats equal, Carmen was superhuman with conceptual empowerment in every single one of her punches or kicks. Even without her skills, she could still imitate some of the weaker ones she had in lower grades, and even if her body had become far less durable, she knew how to make up for that with proper equipment. A good pair of gloves and high-quality bracers could go a long way for any pugilist.

Was reaching the rank of Champion possible? Hard to say, but she was sure as hell gonna give it a shot.

However, there were people who had a far harder time. Caleb had attempted it but quickly found himself facing difficulties. His fighting style simply didn't fit the Colosseum, and while he could go decently far, he was in no way a contender to become the Champion. It was a bit embarrassing to say, but Matteo, who Caleb was doing the dungeon with, performed way better, being a skilled fighter even before the system.

Casper was much the same. In fact, he had it harder than Caleb, as adapting to his level 0 body was more difficult for him than others. He hadn't become human again, but a level 0 Risen, something he had never tried to be before.

Even if he had been able to adapt, his fighting style also sucked. Plus, he didn't have Lyra with him anymore, nor could he properly wield his curse magic, use his traps, or his dungeon architect skills. All of this is to say the guy was fucked.

Maria fell into a weird middle ground between Carmen and Caleb. She was a skilled archer even before the system and had only gotten better. Plus, fire magic was known for its power, even at low levels, making her pretty strong even at level 0.

And then there were two more individuals of note when talking about people from Earth. Both were considered monsters and pinnacle geniuses in their C-grade forms, but when they were reduced to only G-grade... well, the outcome spoke for itself.

Arnold was thrown out of the dungeon after getting promoted to Initiate Fighter, having already lost two lives as a New Blood from goblins clubbing him to death. Eron, having lost all his skills and being too used to being effectively immortal, had no idea how to fight at all, and while he did manage to reach Fledgling Fighter due to his arcane affinity and having some basic knowledge of vital points due to his former life as a surgeon, he also flunked out spectacularly.

This was a very important part of Nevermore. Most people simply did "okay" in the arena, even among the top geniuses. Many believed it was unfair that some were put in worse situations than others due to the nature of their Paths, but they all had missed one vital purpose of the Colosseum: adaptability.

If they had truly wanted to, Eron or Arnold could not have fought every day but spent time training with weapons. They had the stats to fight and were still C-grade, with insights and developed Paths far beyond what any G or F-grade could ever have... but perhaps they both knew they didn't have the talent to become skilled in combat and thus chose to focus their efforts elsewhere.

When looking at people of note, not from Earth, there were many outstanding individuals, but also many who did far worse than expected. People like Ghost King Azal did just as well as expected, cleaving through the ranks while happily building up power by consuming the spirits of every single opponent he met in the arena to use them as resources for when times got tough.

Others from the Dao Sect also did well, as expected, while Arnold's party of void freaks were hard to figure out. Many other elite groups also entered, with the difference in performance varying widely between each individual member.

Ah, and when speaking of notable people who did the Challenge Dungeon, there was also Ell'Hakan, who performed as expected. As for what this expected performance was, not even the Malefic Viper knew. Because the Wyrmgod refused to show him.

Anyway, this stark difference in performances, not just between groups but every individual in each group, was one of the primary reasons why it was often said that the true winners on the Leaderboards would be determined in the Challenge Dungeons, not the regular floors.

It eliminated some people entirely as they were weak as individuals and only strong in groups. Naturally, those who were only strong as individuals but sucked in a group had a harder time on the regular floors, and it wasn't like these Challenge Dungeons could make up the difference. Not truly.

Additionally, one had to remember there were five Challenge Dungeons in total. Each of them tested different things and had different themes. Reaching the top of the Nevermore Leaderboards wasn't just about being the strongest in a fight but about having well-rounded abilities and the ability to adapt. Some would perhaps claim this was unfair, as being at the top of the Leaderboards didn't even mean you were strongest, just that you were good enough in many different fields while naturally still being extremely strong. But, ultimately, this was the Wyrmgod's domain, and if that is what the Primordial deemed to be the true criteria for being recognized as a genius, no one dared complain.

Jake, despite not being a person many would describe as well-rounded, was multi-talented and skilled at adapting. That is one of the reasons both he and the Malefic Viper had confidence Jake could do well on the Leaderboards.

Of course, there was one more thing to consider with the relationship between these Challenge Dungeons and the Leaderboards outside of the top contenders needing to be multi-talented. One big difference-maker that in many prior eras had led to people taking the top spot:

Someone performing so much better than everyone else in a Challenge Dungeon that it made up a mediocre performance in the others.

Doomfoot had been a legend in the lower ranks of the Colosseum of Mortals. He was a true master of kicks who had become a Gladiator by only using his feet. Even when he evolved to the Arcane Doomfoot, he was still a martial artist and a connoisseur of the art of kicking... but that all ended the day he met the Benevolent Monk.

On that fateful day, Jake had used his hands, and there was no going back from that. Not that anyone in the audience, nor the announcer, had expected the Jake that entered the arena the day after his "victory" over the monk. Nor did they expect how the fight would go.

Jake had still been hurting from his injuries despite waiting till the evening before he fought, so he didn't want to drag things out. Based on his opponent's movements, the orc also seemed to realize Jake was still injured and wanted to capitalize. Jake couldn't really blame him and invited his eager opponent to try and finish the fight quickly.

He had allowed his opponent to get to him first as he didn't want to waste energy running around. Dodging the first strike from the orc's sword, Jake stepped forward and punched once, his katar penetrating the chainmail of his foe and knocking him back with a massive bleeding wound on his stomach. Jake didn't even need to do a follow-up as the orc promptly surrendered, probably not wanting to bleed to death as Jake had hit more than a few important places internally.

The following days proceeded much the same as Jake returned to peak condition, keeping up his streak of fighting daily. Every single fight ended nearly instantly as Jake was done playing around. He had nothing to learn from his opponents in the arena, and it wasn't even worth it trying to practice there. Hence why he just viewed it as something to get done every day as he practiced other things.

He did consider buying a bow once he saved up enough points but wanted to wait till Polly informed him he would face a tough opponent to get the best thing possible. That was another big change from then till now: information gathering. He even once spent a few points to buy information on an opponent Polly warned could have been dangerous. The elven mage didn't turn out to be that strong in the end, but he didn't regret being a bit more cautious than usual.

Weeks passed, and soon enough, he once more found himself at ten wins and ready to meet his next opponent for a promotion. When he went to the Battlemaster to schedule his Promotion Match for the next day, something very familiar happened.

Walking up to him and requesting the match, the Battlemaster looked a bit befuddled as he sighed loudly.

"I don't know how this happened... but it looks like we got a similar situation on our hands as we did when you were about to be promoted to Veteran Gladiator. Another big anomaly stands in your way, this one a dwarven mage that also hasn't faced any real difficulties in his ascencion through the ranks," the Battlemaster warned him. "There is no way to tell if he is stronger than the Benevolent Monk, but he doesn't strike me as the sort to enter a similar deal, so it will be a full-on fight without any honor rules outside the Colosseum's usual ones."

The Battlemaster made it sound like this scenario was truly out of the ordinary, but Jake had fully expected it. How couldn't he? The bonus objective last time had very heavily hinted at him unlocking these kinds of fights as long as he managed to win against the Benevolent Monk.

But, this time, Jake would not go in blind.

"I naturally accept the fight. But do you have any information on what kind of mage he is, or should I just gather it myself?" Jake questioned.

"Can't tell you if you need research or not, but I can give you some basic information. It's a dwarf using some nasty earth magic, and he is real good at it. As I told you, he has yet to face any problems so far, simply because no one can break through his stupidly robust defenses, and if you mess up just once, you end up with an earth spear through your gut. Ah, but he doesn't seem to be able to control the sand but has to fuse it into larger rocks before he strikes with it. At least he has done that in all prior fights," the Battlemaster explained.

Jake nodded along to the man's explanations as he also checked the notification he had received from the system about a new bonus objective.

Bonus Objective gained.

Your rapid ascension through the ranks of the Colosseum of Mortals couldn't have been swifter. If you wish to keep this streak going, you will have to defeat an opponent with power out of the ordinary for this ranking.

Failing this bonus objective will lock out many similar future bonus objectives.

Bonus Objective: Defeat the Earthborn Faithful.

The Earthborn Faithful. Jake wasn't sure what to make of the name, but he sure wanted to find out. He had a full day before he would fight the dwarf and spent that time researching with Polly to make sure he would walk into the arena fully prepared.

A day later, he did just that as it was time for his promotion match to Master Gladiator. With good luck wishes from Polly and Owen, Jake walked into the arena with confidence and a plan.

"Welcome, to the arena! Today, we have a fight between two rising stars, two absolutely outstanding Gladiators! On one side, we have the Earthborn Faithful, a dwarf of one talent and one talent only: crushing every single foe with the might of the earth! However, his opponent today is no simple man and surely not one who would willingly see himself squashed," the announcer began as Jake reached the top of the stairs.

Looking at this opponent on the other side of the arena, Jake saw a somewhat stereotypical dwarf. Small, bulky, big beard and what looked like stone armor that covered everything except for the lower side of his head. Probably to make space for the beard. In his hands, he held a metal staff filled with gemstones, giving Jake the vibes of quite a powerful weapon.

"What do we even call him these days? Doomfoot? One-Stab-Kill? The Katar King? A man of many talents and many names, so who even cares what we call him? He sure doesn't... for I think he cares for no names but to walk out of here called the victor! Let's find out if he can do just that! Lower the gates!"

Jake internalized his complaints at the incredibly dumb names the asshole announcer had given him throughout the last few weeks.

"Oi! I heard ya beat that damn monk in his little competition a while back! Don't think this'll be as easy!" the dwarf yelled from across the arena in an incredibly loud voice right as the gates began lowering. "Ya could just surrender now and save yaself the trou-"

Jake jumped over the still-lowering bars the second he could and charged forward, stopping the dwarf in his tracks. He responded instantly as he slammed his staff into the ground, creating a wave of sand that condensed into a rain of stone shards flying toward Jake.

Dodging around a pillar, Jake disjointed all of them as he also proceeded to dodge several more attacks as he closed in, deflecting whatever stone shards he couldn't dodge with his katars or bracers. Getting within less than five meters, he felt what the dwarf was preparing and used his prepared countermeasure.

Taking a large stride, Jake's entire right foot was enveloped in dense arcane mana. With a stomp, Jake diffused more than two-thirds of his entire mana pool into the sand, hardening it. The dwarf who was about to unleash the spears he had prepared beneath the sand found himself unable to use his attack and instead tried to defend as an earth wall appeared out of thin air... but Jake had already jumped, having expected that response.

Right as he vaulted over the large wall, two spears shot for him, which Jake barely managed to avoid as he fell down toward the dwarf. Frowning, the dwarf slammed his hands together as a shell of stone covered his body while he also stomped, sending a wave of earth mana into the ground that broke the stabilized sand. Then, he used another spell, and he began falling into the sand as if it had suddenly turned into water.

With a mental command, Jake executed the crux of his plan.

The reason why the dwarf had been problematic for every other opponent was primarily due to three reasons. First was his offensive powers. Stone spears just fucking hurt, okay? Second was how durable he was defensively. Stone was also very hard, after all. The third, and likely the biggest reason, was because of his ability to travel through the sand to escape if he ever did get pinned down.

As the dwarf was half-submerged in the sand, Jake flipped the stability in the arcane mana that filled the sand all around them from stable to destructive. Instantly, the sand in a large area around them erupted as the arcane mana exploded, sending the surprised dwarf flying into the air through his own earth shell that his phasing ability made him pass straight through.

What he couldn't pass through were the two katars coming for his chest. In the very last moment, the dwarf empowered his stone armor to try and block the blow... but with everything else going on, he was off his game, and a Fear Gaze sealed the deal and stopped his final attempt to save himself. Two arcane-covered katars penetrated into the chest of the dwarf, tearing his armor apart and sending him flying through the air with two streams of blood trailing after him, mixing with the sand that was still falling from the arcane explosion earlier.

Jake landed on the ground a second later, sand still falling all around him. Looking at the dwarf, he looked like he struggled for a moment until he yelled in surrender. All in all, the fight had taken not even a full minute, the dwarf never truly getting a chance as Jake managed to near-perfectly execute his plan.

It was amazing how much proper equipment and going in with an actual plan could do. Who could have known?