Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 254: King Zelsh’s Test

“Follow me!” King Zelsh cackled, brushing past the young man’s shoulder. “Will you be staying for the show?”

“That was my second time using the formation today, so I’d prefer to return tomorrow,” Jarrit replied with a laugh.

“You just want to see him taken down, don’t you? But that’s fine. Stay the night if you’d like. But let’s not waste time!”

Both of the giant doors were thrown open by the king, startling Oli with the force he used so freely. But Oli followed nonetheless, curious to see what sort of test the king had prepared for him.

“Given a heads-up from Rhyner, I made sure to prepare various opponents for you. Make sure to put up a fight or you’ll ruin Rhyner’s reputation,” Zelsh added, turning down a new hallway. “Last at least a minute and I’ll be more than impressed.”

“That’s it?”

Pausing his steps for a moment, the king turned and locked eyes with the young man. Oli wasn’t sure what to think as he felt that weighted gaze. In a single expression, Oli could tell just how excited the king was for this, guessing it had to do with something that Rhyner had said in advance.

.....

“I heard you traveled a lot. How many types of beasts have you battled?”

“Too many to count,” answered Oli.

Keeping his grin, the king continued walking and talking, “And how many of those had a divine bloodline?”

“I... I’m not sure.”

“So none?” deduced Zelsh. “That’s fine. It just means this will be your first time.”

“What?”

“Did you think I’d send you to the mortal championship on a whim? What good will you be if you can’t fight an entry-level beast?” reasoned King Zelsh. “In the later rounds, most all competitors have a king-grade bloodline or come from a long line of human ancestors of the king plane. A beast with a perennial-grade bloodline should be a walk in the park, making you an equal to beasts with a king-grade bloodline. Now, it’s time for the test!”

The king rubbed his hands together as they neared the end of the hallway. There were no doors, only an open-aired archway. Stepping out of the hall, Oli almost froze at the sight of a tremendous colosseum attached to the palace. It was also his first time seeing outside of the palace, giving him a view of the area just beyond the palace walls.

“A swamp?”

“Got a problem with swamps?” Zelsh asked.

Shaking his head, Oli looked back to the empty colosseum. “No, not at all. Just surprised, that’s all.”

“Hurry up and get in there! Survive and I might treat you to dinner.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then you die. Did you never realize that?” laughed Zelsh.

Sighing, Oli began to understand Zelsh’s character more and more. “What if I do more than just survive?”

“You mean win?” Staring at Oli like he was crazy, the king shared a cheeky grin. “If you can win, then you can skip my round of the qualifier. I’ll send you straight to the prefectural round.”

Just before hopping onto the arena floor, Oli stopped and looked back. “And my opponent won’t be some peak-elder, picking on a novice like me?”

“I can promise you that, but you’re the one raising the stakes. Don’t expect a victory.”

“No elders?”

“No elders.”

“Works for me...” Oli finally hopped down, eager to see what was coming his way.

“Hmm...” Zelsh rubbed his hairless face in deep thought. “No elders, but you want a challenge... I guess I have no choice. KRAZ!!! YOU’RE UP!”

That echoing voice shook the ground Oli stood on. It wasn’t surprising but it was yet another reminder of how weak he still was.

However, Oli didn’t have much time to think to himself. There were two sets of double doors leading to the arena floor and one set was thrown wide open, immediately forcing Oli to change his entire outlook on the situation.

“Your minute starts now!” laughed Zelsh, finding himself a seat in the front row with Jarrit.

Oli had barely even seen his opponent and the match had already begun, forcing Oli to jump back to avoid his opponent’s opening attack.

Focusing on evasion, Oli scanned over the beast’s massive form. Its body was serpentine, dragging itself out of the double doors with terrifying speed. Hurried, rough guesses were all Oli could afford at the moment, estimating the body to be at least ten-krin long and more than two-krin wide. Large black scales armored the beast’s entire body, being mostly black with long, dark amber spikes along the spine. But Oli also had to watch out for the creature’s two long arms, which were longer than Oli’s gorilla body, brandishing dark amber claws.

As Oli jumped and dashed from attack after attack, the beast howled and roared but never showed a lack of control. Quickly, the beast shouted with telepathy, “Fight or surrender! Decide already!”

Staring back at the beast’s draconic head and muddy, brown eyes, Oli shouted a question, “Are you a wyrm?”

No reply came as the beast covered himself in sickly black essence, creating an almost ethereal, poisonous mist. With a single roar, a plume of that black mist flew toward Oli without mercy.

“Fight! Stop wasting your breath!” Zelsh continued to laugh from the stands, watching Oli’s every move.

As that essence crashed onto the ground, Oli was nowhere to be found. However, the large beast wasn’t worried and spewed a second plume of mist in an entirely new direction.

Suddenly, more dark essence appeared, but only to counter the mist. A slash of viscous dark essence slashed through the mist as the colliding essences tried to corrode each other. This bought Oli another moment, getting him a little closer to his target.

Again, the beast didn’t care and charged forward without hesitation. The dark mist around his body quickly dispersed as jagged, earth essence armor coated his entire elongated body. Both of his massive arms swiped at Oli with haste, tearing apart the ground like a plow through fresh-fallen snow.