Jak escorted Tony to the Pit Barracks. The craggy man had gotten quiet after Tony shut off access to his character sheet.

Tony didn't mind.

The barracks were packed with fighters, living up to its name well. He saw no other Ashtar in the pits, or Celestial Elves, or any other races he was actually familiar with, but there were a few that he could make sense of.

There was a large man with red-hued skin and a tremendous underbite, rippling with muscle, covered in tribal markings, and armed to the literal teeth with all manner of blunt and bladed weapons. Tony rationalized that he was some sort of orc, and with what he was able to glean from his "nameplate" that he would be... problematic in the arena.

Name: Vultog Brekkenfeis

Class: Berserker (Unbreakable) Level: 24

Race: Orkken

Aside from Vultog, he saw what looked like an Ent, a walking bear, a bird person, a zombie, and a dino-werebeast; then there was Rania.

Tony spotted the Padinus woman and frowned.

"You two know each other?" Jak asked.

"Yep, sure do. She tried to kill me."

"Were you the one who took her sting?"

"Yep."

"That explains a lot."

"Does it?"

Jak sighed, "When a Padinus warrior loses their sting, that's it, all done. Doesn't grow back, so, they're useless as soldiers. If that's all that they lived for, to fight, they lose all status and become slaves, at best."

Tony nodded. That did make a lot of sense. He had taken her chance to be a warrior from her, just like the Archon had tried to do to him.

Tony shook himself. They weren't the same. Tony was an Ascendant, fighting for the sake of all sentient races in the known universe; Rania was one of the Empress' lackeys who tried to murder Tony by manipulating the slave collar around his neck because he killed someone she knew trying to escape from a life as an indentured table dancer.

"Gonna have to deal with that anyway," Tony grumbled.

"Well, everyone here has to go through Locusnettle over there, so pick out your weapons and warm up. You'll be called in soon. See you in the tunnel."

With that, Jak moved toward another door and disappeared through it. Locusnettle lumbered toward Tony and extended a gnarled limb in his direction. His speech was slow, breathy, and drawn out.

"Welcome, human. I look forward to the initiation match."

Name: Locusnettle

Class: Sorcerer (Root and Vine) Level: 30

Race: Acer Sapien

Tony arched an eyebrow at him. He was only level 16, how was getting the bag beat out of him by a being twice his level prove anything?

"Yeah... sure."

The large tree-man shuffled away and Tony moved toward the weapon racks. There was a large battleaxe. Tony had the strength and expertise to wield it, but bringing an axe to fight a tree felt rather pointed. If it were actually a way to assess his abilities, he would need to find a double edged weapon, or use his "Channel Dreadblade" talent, which had a limited number of uses.

As his eyes moved over the stowed weapons, he spotted an oversized gladius, some daggers, and an Arach Longsword. Tony looked back over the huddled masses of warriors, he saw no people from the Arach people here, so where had this sword come from?

Not wanting to pass up the opportunity as the other fighters bustled around him, Tony snagged the Arach weapon and the Gladius, leaving the daggers for someone else to take.

Dhomroke's Vow Rarity: Uncommon

Durability: 85% Enchantments: None

Slashing Damage: Good Thrusting Damage: Good

Parry: Average Riposte Multiplier: 2x

You have received a new side quest!

Fulfilling Dhomroke's Vow: You have discovered an Arach Limb Melded weapon. To gain favor with The Archon, discover the vow made on the blade and complete it for the departed Arach.

Tony scoffed.

Fuck the Archon.

"You, Ascendant!" the Pit Boss, a male Padinus of impressive bulk and exoskeleton, bellowed, "you're up! East Tunnel."

Tony moved toward the tunnel, waited for the large iron gate to slide open, stepped through, and steeled himself as it slammed shut behind him.

"Okay, Tony," Jak's voice came from the shadow he stepped out of, directly next to Tony, making him jump.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Tony demanded.

"No no, see, I usually pop in here to give the new fighters a pep talk or some strategies to try before their fights, figured you could use some pointers," Jak explained.

"Okay, so he's a sorcerer, Root and Vine specialization, and twice my level, what else do I need to know?"

"Well, unlike most sorcerers, Locusnettle has made a heavy investment in Strength and Endurance, almost all of his spells are Ensraring, and if he catches you, he'll beat you to a pulp."

"Good tips, does he have a lot of brawling ranks?"

"Nope, he just heaves his arms around," Jak explained.

Tony furrowed his brow and tossed his head back and forth. "Got it."

The pallisade that kept the combatants in the tunnels slid open on both sides of the arena. The battleground itself was dark, but fine sand, like mud made in the desert that maintained the color that came with saturation and none of the weight. Tony double checked the fastenings on his armor before jogging out toward the center with his head down.

Locusnettle, however, ambled out waving his arms and bellowing, riling the crowd to his favor. Tony was familiar with the tactic, but he preferred his own plan when it came to spectacle fighting.

Look, Tony, paht a' boxin' is makin' sure the crowd knows who the winner is. Ya don't do that by showboatin', ya do that by goin' out there, plantin' ya feet and kicking the other guy's ass! Scott had told him before his first Exhibition match. It was solid advice. He'd won that match in the third round by TKO.

There would be no "technical" knock outs here though, no referee to call the fight if one of them couldn't protect themselves from the other. Just Tony vs the tree-man, Locusnettle... who was almost twice his level.

Clappers, hand drums, and brass castanets sounded throughout the stands of the arena and all attention turned to the high box. Serketzi, in all her regalia, a pair of attendants, and Vixie in the same hookah lounge wear that Tony had been forced to wear, came into view.

The Empress looked expectantly down into the arena.

Locusnettle bowed.

Tony spat into the sand.

The crowd booed and roared in distaste.

He didn't care.

Locusnettle's cadence was slow and labored, as if every word required incredible effort. "Are you ready to fight, little man?"

Tony had to look up at the Ent, even from across the arena, to look him in the eye. Always... always with the being bigger than me... why? Why do they always have to be bigger than me?

"Are you ready? You overgrown ficus!"

Locusnettle roared and surged at the Ascendant, the very sands of the arena shook at his charge. Tony squared his stance and held up his fists.

You are in Combat

Roots surged up from the sand and wrapped around Tony's ankles, almost all the way up to his knees, just like Jak had said would happen. A fist at the end of a long whip soared for the side of Tony's head. He fired a punch back, intercepting Locusnettle's attack. If it hadn't been for Tony's ranks in Martial Arts, he would have been flat on his back, legs still upright and ensnared. The blow still shook him, down to his bones, but his inate damage resistance mitigated the residual damage.

In an instant, Locusnettle was upon him, doing just as Jak had put it, "heaving his arms around." Dodging would have been much easier if he could move his legs, but, Tony had a plan and he intended to stick to it. The Ent's battle plan was simple, too simple; it had worked against anyone else he'd faced. Tony wasn't just anyone. If the tree man had circled around...

The large trunk limbs fell and swung at Tony over and over again, he weaved, ducked, and intercepted. His fists flashed out rapidly; blood, bark, and sap splattered the sands of the arena as the two combatants were locked in a furious exchange of blows. Tony's HP was dropping by the second.

A giant knot of a fist slammed into Tony's gut, sending him sliding back and away from Locusnettle... sliding away from?

Tony looked down at his feet, half expecting to see bloody ragged stumps. What he saw instead were broken roots and vines falling away from him. Another giant fist stopped short in front of Tony's face and detonated in virulent spores that he couldn't avoid breathing in.

Spores of Madness - Duration 30 seconds

Additional Effect - Rancor: Effects of Spores of Madness increased by 50%

Summative Effects: Strength and Dexterity increased by 225%

You can no longer control your actions

Tony's vision hued the same swirling yellow and green that the spores had been. He felt something slam into him, heard his bones creak and crack, but it was all so far away.

Adamant Grit - Activated - 5% Total HP Committed

Adamant Grit - Activated - 10% Total HP Committed

Fervent Contempt has Activated

Channel Dreadblade has activated (6 Dreadblade Shards remaining)

What the fuck is going on?

Tony's mind raced. He could, to a degree, feel what was happening. He could feel his muscles working, like in a memory, the hilt of Legion in his hands.

"Do you want to see?" his Dreadblade's fractured voice echoed.

Yes.

A series of menus flashed between Tony's eyes and the haze, too fast for him to keep track of, not that he would have understood what he was seeing if it were slowed down anyway. Glyphs and code were not a language that Tony could comprehend.

He was outside his body, watching himself fight.

His left arm was a crumpled mess, a rictus grin of manic rage was splayed across his face, and a shadowed projection of Legion in his right hand flashed out again and again, carving chunks out of Locusnettle everytime the Ent was within reach. Tony's heart slammed against his ribs and his breath caught in his throat, nearly choking him. The sorcerer must have thrown the spores expecting Tony to lose control, there was no way he could have known about Tony’s berserking talents. He’d signed his own death warrant.

That's... that's not me... he thought.

"It is you, Antonious King. The real you," Legion answered.

No, no it isn't!

Tony watched, terrified, as his body tore up one side of Locusnettle and down the other, blood, like amber sap sprayed out and coated Tony from head to toe. He was dragged back to his body by some sort of tether just in time for his right arm to be dragged skyward.

"Winner! Ascendant Antonious King!"