“A symbol?” I asked looking up at the enormous tournament organizer.

Unflinching in the presence of my entourage he nodded “They make it easier for those in the stands to tell which fighter is representing each Iliad member. Typically it’s a family crest but in your case... honestly this is just a formality. Doubt anyone needs a reminder who your lot represents.”

Drawing a complete blank for a symbol I slowly turned to Noire for assistance. Considering the scope of what I’m building a recognizable emblem was bound to be made eventually. I’d just never really given it much thought. I know Claire has a simple thundercloud for the Dungeon of Nimbus and the Crabro’s have a honeycomb design with some ants for the Dungeon of Arthropods. How best to represent the seasons...?

Thinking for a moment I came up with a rough concept and sent a mental image to Noire through our link. She replied with a wave of positive recognition and began casting a basic illusion spell drawing the image in the air in front of us all. The organizer simply shrugged at the image and began etching the symbol onto several pins to be worn on clothing. He must have been using some sort of [Scribe] skill as his hands moved with blistering speed across each of the accessories. By the time he was done he’d produced a few dozen copies of the illusion with perfect accuracy.

Pressed for time I’d gone for a rather simple design. A two trees mirroring each other halfway down their trunks, one side full of leaves, the other with only a few hanging from the branches. Behind the spring and summer like tree was a circle designed after the sun while behind the fall and winter tree was a crescent moon. I hadn’t expected the design to be in full color but the organizer even managed to copy the autumnal colors of the bottom tree’s leaves. In the end he and Noire had taken my rather basic concept and turned it into something resembling a proper logo. Perhaps a tad busy on a small accessory but it wouldn’t look bad on a flag...

Affixing one of the pins to his chest Almar smiled “Here I was thinking you’d reuse Burza’s flag Boss. I’m impressed.”

“Your eye for design is impeccable as always Milord.” Mulan praised choosing to attach a decorated ribbon to her 2 blades.

My other creatures let out similar praises as they proudly declared to anyone who saw they were fighting for me. I always knew their loyalty to me was strong but somehow just seeing them all wearing my mark brought a smile to my face. A funny feeling considering the fact I created each of them myself.

“All participants are to head down into the tunnels until you’re led into the arena. Mr. Sol someone will be here to escort you and your accompanying observers to the high class seating soon. You’ll have a great view from the first few rows. I hope you enjoy yourself.”

Stepping aside as the man dealt with the next group of competitors I decided to give some words of encouragement. I was never one for public speaking but I have to say something in this scenario! They’re going out to fight in my name so the least I can do is cheer them on. Let’s just hope I don’t look like an overenthusiastic parent watching their kid’s sporting event.

“Guys... I know I was excited about it but don’t push yourselves to hard to win that wyvern egg. Not that I think you’ll lose! Just... don’t think winning is an absolute necessity. In the grand scheme of things we have bigger things to worry about than beating up some mercenaries. You need to watch your mana capacities anyway so don’t worry about going easy on these guys.”

Everyone was giving me a look that betrayed their feelings. They were taking my words to mean I didn’t think they could win at all. Nothing could be further than the truth though. I’m much more worried about them killing someone on accident than being outmatched. Honestly I’d bet half my Rhilos Mulan and Almar fight in the finals. A battle I secretly want to bear witness too after so many sparring matches go unresolved.

Dialing back my worries I sighed, stood straight, put both my hands on my hips and gave my best smile “All that said... Do me a favor and let our N.A.S.A. friends know they made a safe choice, give Tushar a taste of the aid we’ll provide, and show every last one of those humans why fucking with the Dungeon of Seasons is a bad idea.”

Following my words the oni let out an excited group roar, my lamia slapped their long tails against the floor in a synchronized strike, Mulan bowed, and Almar grinned before turning away with a swing of his cape. Following behind their temporary leader as everyone in the lobby looked our way everyone besides Mulan began formulating a strategy in excited whispers. In contrast Almar was stoically silent as he planned in his mind while Mulan walked ahead of the group adjusting her blades.

Waving them off I said to Noire “They know not to use their monster forms right? I shouldn’t need to worry about an eel crushing everyone in the arena should I?”

“Probably not sir.”

“...”

“...”

“Could you send a reminder just in case?”

“Of course sir.”

---

The organizer hadn’t been lying when he said we had front row seats. The Iliad representatives were seated all the way around the first 2 rows of the colosseum with their personal friends and extended families. I’ll admit seeing the same stern faces from 2 days prior smiling as their children leaned over the edge excitedly humanized them somewhat in my eyes. Just like me each of them had someone they wanted to protect. Not sure how I felt about the cheers to destroy my participants though.

It didn’t take long to realize our involvement in the Tiff had been leaked early. We hadn’t exactly been discrete about it or anything but I hadn’t expected the general public to be aware. From our seats I could make out some of the whispering voices behind us and not all were nice. A few quiet supporters were curious to see how my creatures would fair against the mercenaries and private militia’s but just as many onlookers were eager to see some “monster hunting” by the end of the day. A sentiment I externally ignored but couldn’t wait to see proven wrong. If I know my [Named] they’re preparing a grand performance for us as we wait.

Without anyone nearby to speak with I simply observed the coliseum itself. Compared to the famous Roman Colosseum back home the Centrilliam Colosseum was in much better shape. Instead of crumbling rock the entire structure was formed out of expertly cut stones which were pleasantly cool to the touch. It may have just been my poor memory but I thought the colosseum was much taller as well, easily 300 meters. What struck me as strange about this was that the seating didn’t continue upwards as well. Everyone in the stands was just surrounded by giant windowless walls with foreign characters inscribed across them. Thankfully lighting was still good with the noon sun beating down on us from above but surely it would become a problem in the afternoon?

The unevenly spaced glyphs did catch my interest though. While wondering around the festival I’d heard a booth owner telling children some legend about the “87 Glyphs of Power” or some such nonsense. Supposedly if someone were to discover all 87 runes around the colosseum in a certain sequence they would be gifted some legendary skill when next they dreamed. This legend was responsible for the annual scavenger hunts held to keep kids preoccupied between matches throughout the day. At first the mystery seemed easy to solve, just locate all the glyphs and lead people to them in different orders until someone gets the skill or not. What intrigued me though was the fact no one knew where all the glyphs were. Only 62 are publicly known while some are kept secret by the hardcore hunters. Some were easy like the massive glyphs along the towering walls but others were hidden amongst the stands, no larger than a coaster. Some long time hunters who’ve studied the structure wonder if the missing glyphs are perhaps carved within the walls themselves.

‘But why would anyone bother carving all those runes in the first place? From what I recall this place served as a military base within the city a millennia ago when the old elven tribes declared war before being retrofitted into a colosseum post Superiority War. If elves and S class were involved maybe there really is some secret skill... Not that I want to join the scavenger hunt or anything! That would be ridicule- ‘

“Please begin your investigation now Ms. Mary. It appears the proceedings will begin soon.” Noire said over our link interrupting my thoughts.

“I’m going to avoid the royal douchebag’s little podium. I think Valentia can see me somehow. You got that zone covered?”

Eyes taking on a shade of bright pink for a moment Noire adjusted her glasses “That shouldn’t be a problem. I shall leave the stands to you then.”

“Remember we’re specifically looking for mages and archers guys. Weapons shouldn’t be allowed inside the colosseum except for the competitors so they’ll probably be hidden.”

“Master there’s a chance they could be posing as competitors y’know? How about you watch the field while we handle the stadium itself.”

“That sounds great Ms. Mary. I ask you please observe the field Chairman.”

Realizing they just wanted me to feel important I nodded “I’ll watch them like a hawk.”

“Just don’t forget who the real stars of this operation are even if we are less flashy.”

Waving her goodbye with a hand below my waist I turned my attention to Noire and asked “How did you know it was about to start by the way? They haven’t said anything.”

“Put a hand out and you’ll understand sir.”

Curious I reached forward with both hands only to find an invisible barrier. The solid surface in front of me didn’t ripple or show any sign of give. It was if the wall had always been there. I hadn’t even seen anyone cast such a large scale spell.

“Could you do this with enough juice?” I said marveling at the magic.

“A barrier of this size and density...? If I had a sufficient number of mana sources I believe so. It is not a complex spell, although they are certainly increasing the cost by making it completely transparent. Such shields aren’t terribly useful in battle though. They have lengthy cooldowns and unless an extreme amount of mana is used only work in one direction. Did you have an idea sir?”

“It wouldn’t work if they only face one direction but I was thinking about enemy funneling. Trap them in a hallway of [Barriers] then send a few [Fireballs] flying down it. You’re the expert though.”

Looking over I found Noire with a furrowed expression on her face. Even as the competitors began heading out onto the field she kept whispering to herself.

“Using [Barrier] not as a defensive spell but rather as a means of controlling one’s enemy? That should be possible on a smaller scale... perhaps trapping an individual within a cube of walls? No... even with repeated castings the spell inherently desires an opening to exist. Trapping someone completely would be impossible without incurring extreme skill strain... What if I left a single opening? Would the size matter? If I left a hole large enough for a fly to pass through would that still result in excess strain? Then there is the matter of attacking from outside... Could a spell target something within the barriers? If I were to generate the spell from within rather than aim it from outside then it is not impossible...”

Smiling at my magic nerd but realizing we needed to focus I elbowed her gently “See anything on the podiums?”

“Ah, excuse me.” She gasped refocusing on the task at hand with a blush. Eyes turning the same pink as before Noire peered towards the podium intently. As King Rylen and his guard were seated privately in a podium that stretched out in the air over the first 3 rows. There was another podium mirroring his across the field but in that moment a single question entered my mind I’d never considered.

‘Why is Rylen the only member of the royal family? I thought nobles were all about having kids to succeed them?’

I didn’t have time to dwell on the question however as Noire suddenly gasped and sent a concerned message across the link.

“Chairman I see 4 suspicious individuals at present.”

Careful not to draw attention to myself I toned down my surprise and immediately asked “Where? They aren’t near Rylen are they?”

“No sir, they are nearby though. Each is standing in the second row of seats around the arena.”

Scanning only to find everyone seated silently as the competitors arrived on the field and awaited their introductions I gave Noire a confused look “I don’t see them.”

“Of course not sir. They’re invisible.”

“Shit... that’s pretty suspicious alright. Are they doing anything right now or just hiding?”

As the crowd erupted into cheers as the first competitors were named my blood ran cold at Noire’s answer. To everyone in the stands the fight was down below. But to those of us aware of the conspiracy unfolding in our presence a silent war was about to begin.

“They’re behind Ms. Claire, Mr. Crabro, Calla Banely, and Mr. Drahok. They... appear to be targeting dungeon masters sir.”