Jake spent far longer than he would have liked to get home. How in the hell did an entire crowd even manage to gather outside the arena in the relatively short time spent just talking to the Battlemaster? He had no idea, but they somehow had. There were thousands upon thousands of spectators who wanted to see the new Champion and to celebrate him.

While he had wanted to avoid them entirely, Jake somehow ended up spending nearly an hour placating the crowd before using his injuries as an excuse to head back to the small townhouse. Speaking of the townhouse, Jake had been offered other accommodations from the time he hit Warlord, but he really didn’t want to move around anymore. He only ever slept or sat in meditation within the townhouse anyway, so why would he need a fancier temporary home?

At least his fans were nice enough to not follow him home, and when he got there, he saw Polly and Owen both already inside, having even set up the table with some snacks.

Jake, already feeling a bit better just from his recovery potion doing work, headed inside and went to the small living room where the two of them were sitting patiently chatting among themselves. They quickly went silent when they heard Jake, and both greeted him the second he walked into the room.

“You made it all the way…” Owen said with a smile, but he clearly hid some apprehension.

“It’s amazing!” Polly said, with a far more purely positive attitude. “I must say, I was fearful when I saw the Valkyrie summon that giant sand hill, something I honestly think was cheating as she clearly couldn’t even fully control or supply the spell with enough mana by herself, but then you pulled out that bow of yours! Your archery training clearly paid off amazingly well.”

“I don’t think Jake just trained archery during the Colosseum,” Owen added. “You were already an expert before you came here, right?”

While “expert” was a bit of a loaded word, Jake definitely was one by level 0 standards even before arriving at the Colosseum of Mortals. Probably mid-tier C-grade standards, too, but due to the high level of his melee skills, Jake hadn’t been super confident calling himself an expert archer before. Now, though? Now, he thought he had earned that title, even in the outside world.

“I was originally an archer, yes. In fact, my katars are usually my secondary weapon I switch to when using ranged attacks isn’t viable or optimal,” Jake responded truthfully. “And, not gonna lie, I was just waiting for someone to force me to pull out my bow. The Valhalian Valkyrie definitely warranted it.”

“I will admit, you never struck me as the highly strategic kind, but to keep your best weapon for so long was damn impressive,” Owen smiled, but that smile quickly faded. “I also get the feeling that you aren’t done with the Colosseum yet… are you?”

“What do you mean?” Polly asked, confused. “He is the Champion already! What more is there to do?”

“The Gauntlet of the Grand Champion,” Owen said in a serious tone. “A… difficult challenge, to say the least. One that very few have ever attempted, much less completed. Jake… by now, I guess you already figured out the Lightning Monarch is my father?”

Jake just nodded, reading the atmosphere enough to know that joking with Owen right now wouldn’t land well.

“Remember when I said my father used to teach me a bit? Yeah, that happened because he tried the Gauntlet and failed, making him go back to a quiet life for a few years before returning here. And he didn’t just leave because of the Colosseum rules, but to recover. He spent nearly a year recovering before he could fight again.”

Polly looked at Owen with sad eyes as she put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Owen looked at her with grateful eyes as he continued.

“And now he wants to try again. He is training to try again, but I fear things won’t end as well the second time around. I know I have no right to ask you this… but please don’t kill him if you fight him. Yet, at the same time, don’t let him off easy. Make him never return to the Colosseum again, but return home to my mother and siblings. Return to the damn home he has abandoned.”

Owen looked visibly angry as he said the last part. Jake finally began to get a proper understanding of Owen … he was there to beat his father or at least somehow convince him to go home.

Jake’s pet theory was that Owen was meant to be some kind of rival to the regular Nevermore Attendees, while he served more as a guide and an introduction to different aspects of the Colosseum for those on the more powerful side while also creating a more personal connection to at least one of the Champions.

After being silent for a few moments, Jake nodded. “Alright, I will do my best, but no guarantees. As a Champion, he is no doubt powerful in his own right, and I can’t say for sure if I will have any leeway to hold back or even have a convincing enough victory.”

“That’s all I can ask,” Owen said with gratitude. “I will, of course, help you with any preparations. Back during his recovery, he taught me the same techniques and concepts. I know his strengths and his weaknesses.”

Jake hid a smile as he gave the young man a nod. He wasn’t going to reject intel on any of the Champions if it came to him.

The next to speak was Polly.

Polly didn’t really fit into any solid mold when it came to determining her role within the Challenge Dungeon, though she had proven to be incredibly effective at gathering information despite not really having any rank to speak of. Somehow, she had a lot of contacts to pull on, and people were more than happy to discuss with her, even those at a higher rank. Of course, she still had her limits, and the information brokers still required payment before offering any help whatsoever, but Polly even got cheaper rates than Jake himself. So, even if she didn’t fit any mold, she was definitely helpful.

Ah, but Jake did learn she had one more “function,” so to say. One Jake probably should have seen coming, one that also helped explain why it was so easy for her to gather information.

“The Archmage… he never told me he was actually a Champion, but… that’s my teacher…” Polly said with a mix of nervousness and anger. “I just learned it today… and I didn’t know you wanted to do this Gauntlet thing, so I didn’t want to share it needlessly to ruin the mood, but now…”

“You also want me to not kill him if we ever meet?” Jake asked though he felt a bit unsure about his question as Polly seemed to have an oddly angry look on her face.

Polly just sneered before gathering herself. “You got an actual chance to win, right?”

“Duh,” Jake said, not really honoring the question with a proper answer.

“If you can, please kill that asshole,” Polly said, spitting venom.

“Wait, what?” Jake asked, confused. Owen also looked taken back. “I thought you liked your master?”

“I tolerated him… I had to. I was his student, and he is the chief mage in the kingdom I come from. When I was fifteen, there was this big evaluation event put on by the mage’s guild, and when I tested to have good affinities and talents for magic, the asshole practically kidnapped me. My parents protested but were told that should they cause issues, they would be arrested as traitors to the crown, with my new teacher also telling me that should I be a bad student, my parents would pay the price,” Polly said, giving exposition about her backstory.

It was a bit on the cliché end, and Jake seriously questioned any recruitment tactic that required you to first piss off whoever you trained to shoot fireballs, but he didn’t let it show. Instead, he just nodded. “He does sound like a royal asshole, so should I get the chance, sure. I won’t hold back.”

“Thank you,” Polly said, tears welling up in her eyes. Jake gave Owen a quick glance, the guy picking up on it as he took her hand. She grasped it, and the two of them sat there for a while as Jake looked at the cookie bowl on the table.

It would definitely be inappropriate to take one, right?

After a few minutes and Jake expertly sneaking a cookie, the two of them calmed down, and Polly also swore she would tell him everything she knew about the Archmage. She even offered to act as a double agent by going to the Archmage and giving bad information. Jake rejected that one, as that would just put her in needless danger. Even if he knew Owen and Polly were just natives in a Challenge Dungeon, he treated them as normal people.

Also, by now, he was kind of interested in whether the two of them would finally get together officially, considering they definitely had a thing for each other.

Anyway, from that day onward, the research into the seven Champions began. Polly naturally knew about the Archmage and Owen about the Lightning Monarch, but for the other five, he would have to gather intel from other sources. Well, as long as he confirmed that the Mistress of Shadows was indeed Umbra, it was limited how much Jake had to research on her, as he had a strong feeling no information he could get would be more useful than what he already knew.

When it came to the last four, Jake didn’t really know. The Warmaster was potentially someone more from Valhal – maybe even Valdemar himself – with the Necromancer, Phoenix, and Lord of the Hunt entirely new characters.

It quickly turned out that, no, the Warmaster was not related to Valhal or any faction Jake knew of. In fact, there wasn’t really much information on the guy at all. Apparently, he was a former general of some war and had been dubbed the Warmaster due to how dominating he was during that conflict. He was also a master of all weapons and a powerful warrior who didn’t have any magic to speak of. There were no recordings of his fights or anything, and he hadn’t fought in the arena for quite a few years but was considered semi-retired. Jake wasn’t delusional to think that would make him weaker, though… in fact, it may just have made him stronger if this Warmaster was slowly training to attempt the Gauntlet.

Getting anything on the remaining three wasn’t exactly easy either. All Jake could get was the most basic of things, such as information that the Lord of the Hunt was an archer who used nature magic, much akin to druids. While that was something, it wasn’t overly helpful.

The Phoenix was indeed a beastkin woman who was probably related to phoenixes somehow. She used incredibly powerful fire magic and was a full-on mage based on all Jake could gather. Upon further research, Polly discovered that the Phoenix Queen also had some illusion magic, so that was good news for Jake.

Finally, there was the Necromancer, who did break expectations by a bit. Jake had assumed it to be another mage, but nope, it was more a warrior who just used death and poison magic. He wore heavy armor, always had his head covered, had very pale hands when he took off his gloves and apparently had a very cold handshake…

Yeah, he was definitely a Risen.

After a few days and some initial research, Jake was back in top form and went to the Battlemaster to issue his first challenge. Based on all he had gathered so far, he believed the two easiest opponents to be the Phoenix and the Dark Mistress. The Dark Mistress was indeed Umbra, or at least someone closely related to the Court of Shadows, and while he did not doubt she was incredibly powerful, Jake hard-countered assassins to a ridiculous degree.

When it came to the Phoenix, he believed she would be an easy opponent due to her being a mage and her illusion magic. Illusions did not work on Jake, and while fire magic was most certainly not something he wanted to play with, shooting arrows of stable arcane mana through the flames was something he was very confident in being able to do. His stable arcane energy was incredibly robust against magic, after all.

However, despite believing these two would be the easiest opponents, he decided to prioritize beating the Lightning Monarch and the Archmage. First of all, because he had more information on these two than any other opponent, and secondly, because Jake wanted to get the side quests of Polly and Owen done.

Ultimately, he wanted to beat all of them, so the order wasn’t overly important. Considering that, he may as well start with the two he had a reason to fight rather than any of the others.

“Hello again,” Jake said as he walked up to the Battlemaster, who looked like he had been expecting him.

“So, you’ve decided to commit and try to go the whole way?” the Battlemaster asked. “To attempt the Gauntlet of the Grand Champion?”

“Yes,” Jake said with resolution.

“Remember, there is no taking it back. You either reach the top or fall from grace,” the Battlemaster double-checked to ensure Jake was certain.

“I am fully aware, and I still wanna give the Gauntlet of the Grand Champion a go.”

“Very well,” the Battlemaster said with a huge grin. “Now, who would you like to challenge first?”

“The Lightning Monarch,” Jake said.

“Oh? Interesting choice; I was sure you would have gone for one of the mages or maybe even the Lord of the Hunt to have some kind of archery competition,” the Battlemaster said with some surprise.

“I have my reasons.”

“Fair enough. I guess it is related to the Monarch’s son, right? That Owen kid? You don’t have to answer; it doesn’t really matter. Either way, I will issue the challenge and get back to you when I get an answer,” the Battlemaster said.

Jake was thankful the man didn’t probe more than he had to. Jake really didn’t want to spill the family drama of others for no good reason.

“Thanks for the help,” Jake nodded. “Say, how will you contact me when he answ-“

“Alright, I got an answer. The fight begins in five hours,” the Battlemaster interrupted him.

“What?” Jake blurted out.

“The fight. You know, the thing you just asked me for? The one with the Lightning Monarch? Yeah, it begins in five hours, so get yourself ready,” the Battlemaster said, shaking his head while grumbling something about Jake being weird.

“I thought you said you were going to check in with the Lightning Monarch or something to schedule the fight…” Jake muttered.

“That is what I just did,” the Battlemaster said, exasperated. “Are you sure you are in any condition to fight?”

“… you literally just stood there for five seconds…”

“You asked me to schedule the fight, didn’t you?” the Battlemaster said.

“Yes…”

“So I scheduled the fight,” the Battlemaster sighed. “Now go get your head straight before the fight begins. It would be sad to lose because you aren’t all there mentally.”

Jake wanted to say more but held himself back. He realized he had committed one of the cardinal sins of Challenge Dungeons:

Trying to understand dungeon-fuckery.