Chapter 15 - Understanding

Titus couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed. Two Blue-Ranked Contestants, but no, more than that, two young individuals who weren't much older than Titus himself, had just been killed. Killed in front of everyone, and nobody seemed to care.

A lump formed in his throat as the crowds began to filter away from the arena sands, though Titus didn't feel like leaving with the rest of the Contestants because when he tried to stand up, his legs felt like jelly.

He couldn't take his eyes off the empty space before him, still stained with the blood of Silas and Evangeline. All evidence that the Rockhide Ogre had been a part of the fight had all but been erased too, the giant creature having been subdued by a number of Instructors and arena workers that Titus hadn't recognised, and taken away back through the large iron gate and presumably to the dungeons below.

"Come on Titus!" Petra urged the shell-shocked boy, but Titus barely heard her. The images of the Rockhide Ogre smashing the two Contestants with its bare fists - and head - were just so much to take in. So much to try to shake from his mind. But there, mixed in with his anguish and sorrow was the thought that one day, it could be him out there, crushed into the ground and beaten to a pulp.

Then Petra grabbed his arm, and Titus looked up at her. Tears filled his eyes as hers met his.

"Why wouldn't they help? Why wouldn't they stop it?" he asked pleadingly.

"Because it's not how things are done," Petra said. "It's just... hell, I don't know why they don't, but it's not up to me, and sitting around here moping isn't going to do anyone any good. So come on, we have to go; we have work to do."

"HA!" Henderson's voice came out of nowhere, and again, the boy seemed to be exactly where no one wanted him to be. He took a bite of a shiny red apple that crunched loudly and spoke with his mouth full.

"You're telling me this is the first time you've seen someone die? That's so cute!"

"Piss off, Henderson," Petra hissed. "Learn when you're not wanted, alright?"

Henderson smiled, not deterred by Petra’s comment.

"The thing is," Henderson spoke down to Titus, "is that you're going to have to get used to this eventually, you know, because it happens all. The. Time."

"I'm warning you..." Petra said and she grabbed Henderson's arm.

"Get your filthy hand off me," the large boy growled. "I thought you might've learned your lesson the last time you... well, never mind," he said, straightening up. "Tell you what. I know just how to fix this little problem of yours. Just you wait and see. No need to thank me once it's all over..." Then he batted Petra's hand away, glared at her and turned to walk away. Then he stopped, holding a finger up. "Just one more thing. Touch me again and I'm going to kill you."

Henderson disappeared, and Titus watched him go. He'd barely paid attention to what Henderson had been saying, but there was one thing that stuck in his mind.

"Maybe he's right," Titus said quietly. "Maybe this just isn't for me. I'm only here because my goddamn father got sucked in by some witch. I don't know how to deal with death. I don't know how you're supposed to watch while someone's killed and just feel nothing. Do nothing. Just like what happened out there."

Petra bit her lip, not sure what to say to Titus to bring him back around.

"Hey…" Jordan said. "It gets a bit easier the more you see of it, but it still hurts. I know that sounds bad, but when you come to terms with stuff like this, the next time you're here watching a fight, you remember the stakes. And the danger. It reminds you that this is real and not just some game. And then you remember what the Contestants and the Hunters do it for."

Titus placed his head in his hands and spoke through his fingers.

"What do they do it for? So the crowd can cheer and laugh? …this is just all so much…"

Petra and Jordan exchanged glances, and Titus didn't move for a long time.

"I think we should go and see Miss Kane," Petra said so they could all hear. She might be able to explain this better than we can."

"But we…" Jordan started to say, but a glare from Petra forced him to shut his mouth.

"Come on Titus," Petra said calmly. "I'll take you to her office. Just walk with me."

Petra took hold of Titus' arm and guided him to his feet. He didn't resist, but neither did he help very much either. Then when he was standing, Petra led him away from the arena sands and back down the stairs with Jordan in tow. A few torchlit hallways and staircases later, the three were knocking on the plain wooden door that led into Miss Kane's office. On the door was the single embossed word: Grandmaster.

Petra knocked loudly on the door, and Miss Kane's voice immediately returned with a short "come in".

The three entered, though Titus didn't look up from the ground. He was still reeling from what he’d just seen.

"Miss Kane?" Petra said. "I've brought Titus..." she started to say, but Miss Kane, who was sitting at her desk, immediately looked up at the three and stood.

"He's not in great shape, is he?" she said, concern etched on her face.

Petra shook her head. "It was the arena fight..."

Miss Kane interrupted Petra again, "Why don't you all take a seat and we can talk about what happened out there today. I know it can be confusing, even distressing to see something like what you all just witnessed. It just doesn’t usually hit so hard."

All three of the Contestants sat down, with Titus now moving under his own steam, and he took a moment to look at his surroundings.

The office was large and arranged over two levels. There were bookshelves, bookcases, books, and scrolls littered about the place, and if there was any rhyme or reason to where everything had been placed, Titus couldn't figure it out.

He could also see paintings covering most of the walls. They depicted arena battles between humans and monsters of all shapes and sizes, and he wondered how many of them had resulted in the death of the Contestant.

The chairs felt warm and comfortable, and Titus couldn't help but relax a little as he looked up at the Grandmaster.

"Now this is something that I was going to address with all of the White-ranked Contestants anyway, but I didn't think I was going to have to do so so early on in the season."

"You don't need to explain to me," Jordan said. It might have sounded like he was being arrogant, but his tone suggested otherwise. "I've seen loads of arena fights... and I've seen a lot of Contestants die."

Miss Kane gave a small smile. "That's... well... that's not a good thing," she said. "But I'm glad you're coping well." Then she turned her attention back to Titus and spoke like she was talking only to him.

"The first thing you should know is that it gets easier with time and frequency. The longer you're here... well, I suppose the more 'normal' it gets. I suppose that's not a great thing to say, but it is the truth."

Titus felt his shoulders drop slightly, only now realising that they had been tensed since he'd watched the Rockhide Ogre smash Evangeline into the ground.

The mental image was still there, but Titus could feel a definite warmth begin to rise up into his body from the wooden chair below him. It was comfortable, calming even.

"The question that we are asked the most is why do we not interfere? Why do we not stop things like this from happening?"

Titus snorted.

"Well, you may not be aware, but it is something that we used to do. We used to wait until the last possible moment to intervene and save the Contestants from their gruesome deaths. And we were damn good at it too."

"What?" Jordan asked. "I didn't know that!"

Miss Kane smiled and nodded. "It's true. Back then, the Arena saw so few deaths and it was such a rare thing that when it did happen, people reacted much like Titus here, so know that it is not unusual nor is it 'weak' to display this level of compassion for your fellow man."

"You hear that big guy?" Petra asked Jordan quietly. "It's normal to show compassion."

"Then why did you stop?" Jordan asked, ignoring Petra.

"It is complicated," Miss Kane sighed. "Before I can explain it, I'll need to teach you a little more about how the Arena works and why you're here. Tell me, what have you learned so far? Why do you think the Arena exists?"

Petra was the first to speak.

"The Arena trains Contestants to become Hunters. Hunters keep the monster populations down and away from the City."

Miss Kane nodded. "Good. That is exactly what the Arena was designed to do. But you've learned something more now, haven't you? About The God of Balance and the system of levels, skills, and Professions. It is Hunters that need these things the most, given the strength of the monsters they face out there beyond the City walls."

"Then why bring them back inside?" Titus asked. "Why don't the Hunters just kill all the monsters, and we wouldn't have to deal with any of this."

"Again, the answer is not short, but let us assume for a moment that this is simply the way that things need to be," Miss Kane said. "But know that the Arena creates Hunters at a constant rate and will do so for the foreseeable future. If Hunters killed all the monsters, then who would be there to take their place when they grow old and weak?"

"But there wouldn't be any monsters!" Titus objected. "So we wouldn't need Hunters. Nor Contestants, nor the Arena!"

"Until the day that we do," Miss Kane replied. "Anyway," she said pointedly. "As I said, it is not all as simple as that. The Arena creates Hunters, and the way it does that is by letting the Contestants gain levels and skills - which are a by-product of gaining experience."

"But that doesn't explain..." Petra started, but Miss Kane held up her hand to stop her.

"What we found is that the experience awarded is in direct correlation to the challenge that a Contender faces. We are not entirely sure how this works, but in the early days when Contestants weren't in any real danger per se, the experience awarded after each battle was a mere fraction of what you will find now. And when I say a fraction, I mean a fraction. It was a difficult time then. The monsters outside the city walls were growing at a faster rate than the Contestants, and the only thing that's changed the ebb and flow of war is the fact that we can now keep up with them."

"And I suppose the City benefits from the taxes on ticket sales, right?" Titus asked.

"Where that is true," Miss Kane replied. "It is something that has been made good from a necessary evil. People love the Arena, and they love what it stands for. But make no mistake that without it, and without the Contestants and Hunters who have trained within, none of us would be here today."

Titus had no response to that. If increasing the danger had made the Arena Contestants train and level up faster, then who was he to say that it wasn't a good thing? Who was he to decide that the deaths that he'd just seen hadn't been a part of what this place was?

But it didn't take away the feeling he had at watching two people die whilst they were turned into some kind of morbid spectacle.

"It doesn't bring them back," Titus muttered.

"No, it does not," Miss Kane said. "But it does not mean they died in vain, just as it is with any Contestant or Hunter that falls. There is one more thing you should know though. Once an awakened is killed by a monster, their experience is given to that very monster, and it will level up, just as the Contestant would have."

"That's why you keep the monsters who win! I was wondering about that," Jordan said, entirely missing the unhappy atmosphere in the room.

"Exactly," Miss Kane said. "Because then when they fight again, they are stronger, a bigger challenge, and that means they will award more experience when they themselves are beaten."

The more Miss Kane had explained, and the more that he sat in her presence, the easier Titus felt. It was like she was a calming presence upon him, and by the time she'd finished speaking and asked if they were all OK to carry on with their day and their training, he nodded truthfully. He did feel much better.

The three friends then eventually stood and walked from Miss Kane’s office. But Titus couldn't help but feel like something else had happened in there. Something that had been done to him to make him accept the situation a little easier.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he wondered if the Grandmaster had cast some kind of spell on them.