Chapter 5 – The Gift of Immortality

White Contestant Armband

Value: Unknown

Effect: Prevents the wearer from dying while in the confines of the arena and the surrounding area.

Effect: The wearer will gain no experience or ability points while wearing this armband.

Titus stared at the description that had appeared in his field of view the moment he tied the armband around his bicep. He glanced at Miss Kane with a questioning look.

"It's good, isn't it?" she said with a smile. "Try not to take it off while you're here in the arena. Not only does it signal your rank, but it also keeps you safe, along with our investment of time and effort into your training. Please also note that these items are fairly expensive, so do try not to ruin them."

"I... can't die?" Titus asked.

"It's never truly been tested, thankfully. But no, all the time you wear that armband, you are unable to die."

"But what if..."

"If you were to be chopped up into tiny pieces and fed to a wild animal? Then eventually you will be passed... and slowly your body will rematerialise. Trust me though, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for you, or the people tending to you. Suffice it to say, if you wear the band, you are safe. If you remove the band, then you're on your own I'm afraid."

Titus' head was spinning. Just like that, he'd been given the gift of immortality, and it amazed him that no one else seemed to be taking this as miraculous.

"You might've noticed the experience caveat," Miss Kane said. "It might seem like nothing now, but you'll see just how unfair that particular effect is." Then she looked away. "Now, on with the lesson of the day: Levels. You have all probably noticed that you are at level one. This is standard for anyone awakened to The God of Balance. You can treat those who have not been awakened as level zero. But what does this mean? I'm sure you've noticed that your primary and secondary statistics, if you've shared them with others, are all the same. That's because The God of Balance has assessed in its infinite wisdom that human beings are base creatures, and although we do tend to vary from person to person, our scope of existence is, well, ordinary. But from this moment forward, these statistics can and will be artificially enhanced. Every time you level up, you will be allocated five skill points to distribute as you wish, and one ability point to be spent on an ability you have unlocked, or one that the God of Balance seems suitable - because that is the way to learn a new ability: you must encounter it, learn it, and then spend an attribute point to unlock it. However, there's a catch. You can't gain experience while wearing the white armband you have on. It's the trade-off for your safety."

Titus raised his hand. "Then how do we get the next armband if we want to progress?"

"That is something that happens at a minimum level threshold for armbands other than white, but also know that I can influence the decision if I believe that an individual is not ready," Miss Kane said. "So once I am satisfied that you won't immediately die the moment you set foot in the arena, you will be awarded a blue armband. Certain competencies must be shown at the blue level and then you can progress to purple after you have reached level twenty, then brown at level forty, and then black at level sixty. Teachers, professors, lecturers, Instructors — however you wish to see us — are denoted by our red armbands and will always be a minimum of level sixty. Understood?"

Titus nodded.

'So, we can't start levelling up until they think we are ready,' he thought to himself. 'I better get learning fast if I want to become stronger because, by all accounts, it sounds like this place is a dangerous place to be.'

"Now, let's discuss stat points and how they should be spent," Miss Kane said. "But it will be a rather short discussion because it is ultimately up to the individual how they decide to spend their stat points. It's mainly factored on what their Class and specialisation will be, something you will learn about shortly. But this time, I will not be your surprise Instructor."

"One gold coin says it's her with a fake moustache," a boy Titus saw who was named Kai whispered.

"I'll take that bet, Kai, and you better cough up because you're going to meet Mr Sinclair in a moment, and it's not simply me in a fake moustache," Miss Kane replied with a smile. "Though I must say that his moustache is rather large," she added thoughtfully.

Most of the Contestants laughed at that statement, and then eventually, Miss Kane joined in, and the entire group laughed uncontrollably. It got even worse a moment later when Mr Sinclair walked through the door, and his handlebar moustache was seen in all its glory by all, and it was just as large as Miss Kane had described.

Miss Kane barely controlled herself as she gestured to Mr Sinclair, "Excuse me," she said as she passed him, and then left the room.

"Hello, Contestants," Mr Sinclair said in a heavy accent once the Contestants had managed to contain themselves. "I will teach you about Classes and specialisations. But be warned that it is impossible for one person to teach everything there is to know about these subjects. For that, you need a hundred lifetimes of firsthand experience, and although we do our best here, it is something we simply do not possess."

He paused for a moment, then spoke again. "Now, we shall start with the professions because professions are perhaps the easiest to explain, though not the simplest by any means. They are more intuitive than you might imagine because a profession can be in anything, not just a select few items or exclusively for arena Contestants. A profession can be broad or specific, and it can also be changed depending on a person's preferences and skill sets. For example, a person might have the profession of 'Instructor.' They could further enhance that to a profession of 'skills teacher,' or, to take the opposite, a skills teacher might become an 'Instructor,' where they will be able to teach a broader range of subjects with more aptitude."

A large boy named Henderson raised his hand.

"But why bother?" he asked. "What is the point of a profession if all it does is label you as what you are?"

"If you would let me finish," Mr Sinclair said, "I was getting to that. And you should know that it is rude to interrupt your Instructor while they are teaching, you know. Professions do not define you. They are a reward by The God of Balance for being particularly skilled at one particular thing. It is up to The God of Balance as to how it may label your aptitude. For example, one individual may be labelled as a 'chef,' and another as a 'cook,' even though many of their proficiencies overlap. But the chef may have access to different skills that the profession is able to offer than the cook. Do you understand?"

There was a wave of uncertain nods from all of the Contestants in the room, but nobody seemed particularly sure.

Titus understood what Mr Sinclair had been trying to say, but he didn't fully understand the scope or the intricacies of what a profession actually was.

"So still, what's the point?" Henderson continued, rudely interrupting Mr Sinclair for a second time. "Couldn't someone be a teacher, for example, be out in the field teaching swordsmanship and call themselves a 'Swordsmanship Teacher,' and then come inside another Class and call themselves a 'Skill Teacher'?"

"Ha! If only The God of Balance were so thoughtful as to allow us to amend our professions at will and in such a regular timeframe," Mr Sinclair chuckled. "But no, professions can be changed at intervals solely determined by The God of Balance. Switching back and forth is rarely given as an opportunity. Most people begin with a broad profession though. To take your example, they might start as 'Teacher,' then focus on becoming a 'Weapons Tutor,' and from there, become a 'Swordsmanship Tutor.' There's something else about professions that I doubt you've recognised as of yet because I doubt any of you have analysed the text you saw when you called upon The God of Balance. I doubt any of you have focused your attention on your current profession of 'Contestant', have you?" He gave a devious smile beneath his large moustache, and it twitched appreciatively. Perhaps then you will see what a profession can do for you and how important it can be to the path that you lead."

Titus barely allowed the Instructor to finish his sentence before pulling up his own statistics, focusing on the word 'Contestant'.

Profession: Contestant

A Contestant of the arena

Effect: A Contestant will gather combat experience at three times the rate of any other profession.

'Three times,' Titus thought. 'Combatants will gain experience three times faster than any other profession.' Although Titus couldn't quantify that in any realistic way, it was clear that it was a significant advantage over anyone without the profession.

"Oh," Mr Sinclair said. "See now? Did you all understand what I've said, and can you see why it is important for you to keep an eye on your profession, not so much while you are a Contestant, as there is no other way to be while in the arena and competing, but eventually new professions will be offered to you by The God of Balance, and then you will see how useful they can truly be."

Mr Sinclair clapped his hands and tapped his head. "Oh, we have to go! I almost forgot you've been brought here on this day not as a coincidence, but because of what you can learn from the very first fight in the arena this season. We will be watching as the arena is filled with citizens who have purchased tickets to watch Contestants from the arena destroy monsters for their enjoyment and safety!"

"We're going to watch an arena battle?" Titus blurted out before covering his mouth. It was something he had always been told to ignore because the arena was not a safe place, and certainly not for anyone under the age of eighteen.

"We are, Titus," Mr Sinclair replied. "Because that is the best way for you all to learn what we do here. Not just by speaking about skills and professions, but by seeing what others do with the skills they have."

"Yes!" Henderson exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. "It's about time."

"That is a very good attitude to have, Henderson," Mr Sinclair said. "I just hope that your enthusiasm is not curbed once you witness the horrors of the arena firsthand, because it is not always fun and games. Sometimes it is blood and guts, but it is always glory. Now, quickly, all of you, follow me." Mr Sinclair whisked out of the doorway and disappeared an instant later, his cloak billowing out behind him.

The Contestants all stood up and made a run for the door all at once.

Crash.

Titus felt the impact before he saw what had happened.

"You idiot," Henderson growled as the pair of them sat on the ground after crashing into each other. "Are you a bonehead? Can't you see where you're going, you stupid or something? I should've known with all those questions you kept asking."

"That wasn't his fault," a girl's voice came from somewhere behind Titus. He turned to see that it belonged to a small girl named Petra who he hadnt really paid any notice to until now.

"Why don't you keep out of it? This is between men, not the likes of you," Henderson sneered.

"Oh, is that so? Well, I didn't realise," Petra said. "Let me help you up." She held out her hand but quickly retracted it and pressed a knee into Henderson's chest, causing him to fall back onto his behind. Titus felt his cheeks redden.

Henderson got to his feet. "Just you wait, bitch. Just you wait until I tell my older brother..."

"And what, he's going to find his way down here to the arena just to help you out? I doubt he cares that much, just like I doubt your father cares that much. You might be from a well-to-do family, but it didn't stop them from sending you here, did it? Rather than stay at home and take over the family business or whatever it is you people do. So why don't you just pull yourself together and go on your way before you really do have to tell someone you got beaten up by a girl."

Henderson turned bright red with rage. He was so angry, in fact, that he couldn't seem to find his words. His fists were balled, and the veins on his neck and forehead were pronounced and pulsing. It kind of looked to Titus like the boy was about to explode.

"Come on, Titus, let's go," Petra said, ignoring the volcano about to erupt, and she took hold of Titus's arm and pulled him away in the direction that everyone else had gone without a single look back at Henderson.