Chapter 32 – A Hole in the Head

Titus stared at the noticeboard in their room, Jordan to his left and Petra to his right. He chewed on his bottom lip as he peered at the names of the monsters they were able to fight next for the enjoyment of the people carved into its hard surface.

"Do you think it's a mistake?" he asked, tilting his head to try to see if he was missing something.

"Do you think something like this is going to make mistakes?" Petra asked.

"Maybe?" Jordan asked. "But that just seems... a little... harsh, doesn't it? I mean what did we do to deserve this?"

"You think it's some kind of punishment for taking on an opponent you managed to beat with two, but one we planned for three?" Titus asked.

"Can we wait for it to change?" Petra asked.

Titus shook his head, still not taking his eyes off the single line of words carved deeply into the stone noticeboard.

"That would definitely be taking the easy way out, wouldn't it?" He said. "You can't just wait until there's something on there you fancy. You have to play the cards you're dealt."

"But... level three?" Jordan said in almost a whisper this time. "We went up against a level two Deadlands Boar, and it nearly killed the both of us... and now we're supposed to go out there against a Level three Frostbite Spider? I mean, I've seen those things out there, they're terrible." He wrapped his muscular arms around himself and shivered slightly. "And you know what... I never did like spiders."

"Then maybe that'll work in our favour this time; you can look forward to smashing them with your shield," Petra said.

Titus read the single line of text on the board again and finally exhaled, knowing what it meant, but to this point not wanting to admit it.

Frostbite Spider: Level 3

There was no other choice to make. No way out of this as far as he knew. So as he'd done before, he placed his finger into the small round indent next to the monster's name and allowed the noticeboard to prick his finger, sealing the contract of blood. Similarly and without further argument, both Jordan and Petra mimicked the act after Titus, signifying their own acceptance of the fight offered.

And again, right before their very eyes, new words faded into existence, carved into the stone noticeboard. This time though it was very clearly a countdown clock.

"Nine AM, two days’ time," Petra said after a moment of clear calculation.

"I hate spiders," Jordan repeated.

"Yeah well they hate you too," Petra said. "And usually I'd say they're more scared of you than you are of them, but this time it's going to be a higher level than you, with most likely some kind of ice spells. AND it's actively going to be trying to kill you. So your best bet is to train as much as you can in the next two days, and hope its fangs are smaller than your head."

Titus watched as the blood visibly drained from his friend's face, leaving his complexion pale. He couldn't've been positive, but Titus was sure he could see Jordan's bottom lip trembling.

"Don't worry, big guy," Titus said, slapping Jordan on the back. "Just hide behind Petra, and she'll take care of the big scary spider for you."

Petra stuck her tongue out at both of them.

"I'm right though," she said, her voice turning more serious. "We need to train for this, and I mean really train. We got lucky against the boar last time, really lucky," she remembered just how close they'd been to zeroing out and shuddered. "And that thing had no spells, abilities or whatever. This spider sounds like it could be something else entirely."

"Nah, it'll be fine," Jordan said, regaining some bravado. "The boar was strong because it had none of that other stuff. It had nothing to lean on, so strength was what it was all about. Frostbite Spider, though… it's not going to be as strong as the boar, even being a level higher. Likely it's got a venom that freezes you in place or something, but it probably won't rely on physical attacks. At least not as much as the boar did."

"That's good to know," Titus said. "Maybe then we'll get a chance to use our actual tactics against it? That's if they're still going to work."

Jordan nodded. "I'd say the basics are always going to be the go-to. I draw and defend, Petra darts in to deal poison and damage, and you do whatever it is you do to keep us on our feet."

"Still no promises on that front," Titus said. "But I'll do what I can."

"And if you're useless, you can always pick up a sword and fight like a real man," Petra announced. "Your sword doesn't count," she added quickly, pointing at Jordan. "I saw you discard it in the last fight. Honestly if that's your plan, you may as well carry two shields."

"That's not a bad idea," Jordan said thoughtfully. "But I only threw it because I was never going to be able to hit that thing. Did you see how fast it ran?"

Petra nodded enthusiastically. "I did, I did see how fast it ran as it charged towards me."

"To be taunted at the last moment to allow you to inflict poison on it!" Jordan complained.

"Whatever," Petra said. "All I know is that next time I want a better plan than 'use the Rogue as bait'," she air-quoted her last statement.

"Something like… skip the fight and get beaten to death instead?" Titus asked. He smiled along with the statement, but a part of him was still upset he'd let his friends down. And annoyed he hadn't been a part of their opening fight.

Then he remembered something, and his expression darkened.

"Guys," he said. "There's something I need to tell you."

His friends stared at him with concern etched upon their faces.

"When I said I thought my health points had reached zero… It wasn't exactly the truth; I know I zeroed. I just don't know how I came back from that."

The pair stared at him for a long moment in silence.

"Maybe you just imagined…" Petra started.

"No," Titus said with total confidence. "I zeroed. It wasn't for long, but it happened. I swear it."

"You… you can't…" Jordan started, then paused.

"I can't what?" Titus asked.

"You can't tell me that on top of this unique and special Class you have, not to mention that ability… that you're also immortal… I don't think my brain could take that, let alone my pride."

Petra punched Jordan hard on the arm.

"Ouch!" He exclaimed. "What? All I'm saying is, if it did happen, is it really such a bad thing? I mean what's the harm in our friend not dying as soon as he reached zero? And besides, do we really know zero means instant death? Or do you have to stay there for a minute?"

That was actually a good point, Titus thought. They hadn't known the specifics of how the health pool worked, or if death was indeed instant upon zeroing, and he made a note to ask that very question the next time he saw an Instructor.

"I think it's not normal," Titus said in a low tone. "I don't know how or why it happened, but I think it's just another thing we need to figure out around here."

"I'll add it to the ever-growing list," Jordan said. "But you know what we need to do tonight. We need sleep, you especially, Mr Capacitor. But try not to summon any monsters to your side this time, OK?"

Titus grinned. It had been just about long enough, and enough things had happened since the visit from the Spectral Harbinger during the night, but deep down he still knew he needed to figure out exactly what had happened that night.

He felt better knowing that Darius was probably still out there patrolling the hallways just in case. And if something was strong enough to get past that beast, then he wouldn't have stood a chance against it anyway.

The night passed thankfully without incident, and the next morning was the first of the Class-specific training sessions in the new rota, and although the Class was taken in the same room as the Spellcaster Class as before, and again with Ferran Torres, who Titus had at least a little bit more respect for after Jordan had told him of his fame in the arena, the Instructor was very clear that he wasn't going to be simply displaying spells for them to learn day by day.

"Being a Spellcaster is the most versatile, and I'd argue the most important Class within the arena," Torres said.

Titus, and he suspected the rest of the Blue-Rankers in the Class, could tell that Torres was probably a little more than biased in this speech, but they all sat quietly and listened to the lecture he was giving.

"The thing is that anyone can attack," Torres continued. "Anyone can deal damage and sure, some are better than others at causing physical harm to their opponents. Warriors are strong, Rogues are fast and Defenders… well personally I think a solid wall could do the job of a Defender but that's just me. My point is that everyone who walks out onto the arena sands can attack and defend in some way, perhaps even dodge if their condition is good enough. But it is the Spellcaster who stands alone as the only Class that can do all of these things. Offensive spells like Fireball. Defensive walls or obfuscating mists to hide and defend, even healing spells to keep their health points at an acceptable level to continue, and eventually win their fights. It is the Spellcaster alone who can display the versatility needed to be a true champion in the arena."

And then Titus remembered his question. It had been the mention of health points that brought his theory back to mind, and he raised his hand high in the air.

Torres frowned, perhaps even glaring at the annoyance of being interrupted by the boy he already had disdain for. But he nodded slightly anyway to allow Titus to ask his question.

"When your health points reach zero, do you die instantly, or does it take some time?"

Titus couldn't help but feel the eyes of the class upon him. The thirty eyes belonging to the fifteen Blue-Ranked Spellcasters. And he had the feeling that each and every one of them were annoyed at him.

"That's not really a question to be asked in your Spellcaster-specific class," Torres said matter of factly. "But I will allow it as it seems either your general schooling has been lacking to this point, or you otherwise haven't been paying much attention." Torres sucked in a breath. "To answer your question simply, when your HP hits zero, that is it. Your life force has been expunged, and there is no way that has ever been found, spell, potion or elixir alike that can undo this. So suffice to say, you should do your utmost to prevent your health pool from bottoming out. Understood?"

Titus nodded slowly, half shocked that the Instructor had taken such a long time to reach such a simple conclusion and half feeling like he had whiplash from the obvious chewing out he'd just suffered in front of everyone.

"Now if it's alright with you," Torres continued with a definite scowl directed towards Titus, "can we get back to the matter at hand?"

Titus was not silly enough to answer that question.

His question had been answered, but what he'd half-hoped would resolve his question, had just done the opposite. Why hadn't he died if his health had indeed reached zero?

Titus didn't feel the need to follow up with this renewed question aloud, mainly because he had been listening to Torres when the Instructor had said there was no way back from a zero health point situation. But it didn't stop him pondering inwardly.

While Torres spent the best part of the next hour talking about how Spellcasters were without a doubt the superior Class in all of the Arena and beyond, Titus dissected everything he could remember from what had happened to him, and eventually he concluded just one thing:

The voice that had called out to him had done something. And either it had made him think he'd zeroed out, or he had, and it had a way to help him.

From what Torres had said, that in itself was huge. And something Titus didn't think would be a good idea to share with anyone else until he could verify it for himself.

Titus didn't interrupt Torres or ask another question for the entirety of the class. He knew that it would serve no real purpose other than to bring him more of the Instructor's ire and possibly even annoy the other Contestants. Instead, Titus thought about what he was going to do when he saw his friends in the next class of the day: grouped combat, and how he was going to be able to help Jordan and Petra when they had to go back onto the field of battle again, especially against an enemy that he was yet to understand.

"Titus," Ferran Torres almost shouted after Titus had forgotten to at least try to seem semi-interested for the majority of the lesson. "Once again I find myself asking if you think that you know better than the rest of us because once again you don't see the need to listen to your Instructor in class. Let me tell you that if you step out of line just one more time, you're going to regret it. And I don't mean the 'going to see the Grandmaster kind' either."

As Titus returned Torres' gaze, he couldn't help but notice the flicker of flames within his eyes. It was clear that the threat had been very real, and would almost definitely have been very painful. And Titus needed another enemy right now about as much as he needed a hole in the head.