Chapter 117 — Crimson Arena
The day had finally arrived.
Moon stood in front of the teleporter chamber, the silver frame of the device humming faintly, its runes glowing with threads of crimson light. He raised the small slate of code he had been given, pressed it against the control panel, and the machine responded at once—red light flared, and the doorway shimmered like molten glass.
He was about to step inside when instinct pulled him to glance back.
Behind him, James and Kai stood, both wearing the same expression—calm, determined, proud. Without a word, they raised their hands and gave him a firm thumbs-up.
Moon nodded once, quietly, then turned back. His hand clenched into a fist. A breath in, and then he stepped forward into the light.
The world dissolved.
It felt like being torn apart into streams of data, like being stripped into light and numbers. Around him, the space looked unreal—holographic grids and shifting symbols floating like smoke. Suddenly, a badge shimmered into existence before his eyes. His own name glowed across its surface: Moon.
A mechanical voice followed, echoing inside his head:
> "This badge will monitor your health. If it falls below five percent, you will be instantly healed and transported out of the match. You will be returned home immediately. That will count as elimination."
Moon slid the badge onto his chest, the faint hum of essence vibrating against his skin.
Then—impact.
The hologram dissolved in a violent ripple, and suddenly Moon was no longer a collection of pixels and light—he was a body of flesh and bone being hurled downward with the raw brutality of gravity itself.
The plunge was merciless. Air howled around him, a thousand knives tearing at his skin as he ripped through the atmosphere. Clouds shattered on impact with his body, exploding into vapor trails that spiraled outward. The world below rushed up like a furious tide, a vast sphere painted in emerald and black.
The pressure in his ears was deafening. His vision blurred with speed. For any ordinary being, this descent would have been death before landing. For Moon, it was simply the opening chapter.
Dhaam!
The earth did not welcome him—it broke beneath him. He struck the ground like a meteor from the heavens, the impact shaking the jungle for miles. Soil burst into the air, trees trembled, and a crater yawned open around him, its edges smoking. Shattered stone rained down like hail.
Moon lay still for a breath, his body half-buried in dust and debris. Then, slowly, with the casualness of someone rising from an afternoon nap, he pushed himself up. His shoulders rolled, joints popping in quiet satisfaction. Not a bruise. Not a scratch.
"Still soft," he muttered under his breath, brushing dirt from his arm.
The crater's smoke cleared, revealing the jungle that stretched in every direction. Towering trees, their trunks wider than city buildings, pierced the misty sky. Roots thicker than rivers coiled across the forest floor. Strange cries echoed faintly in the distance—some animal, some perhaps not animal at all. The air hung heavy with moisture and the faint metallic tang of essence.
Moon extended a hand, and with a shimmer, his spear appeared. Its polished shaft gleamed even in the shadows, its blade catching the dim light with a predator's glint. He rested it lazily across his shoulder, posture loose, as if he were strolling through a market rather than stepping into the deadliest game of survival in existence.
He reminded himself of the rules:
One week.
Seven days in this hellscape.
Fifty points to collect, or he was out.
His lips twisted into a grin. "Easy enough. Or at least it better be. Otherwise this is going to be boring."
His feet carried him forward, light and effortless, as though his body weighed nothing. He bounded onto a thick root, then leapt upward into the branches. The world below became a blur as he vaulted from tree to tree, moving with the fluid grace of someone who had long since transcended human balance. Leaves whipped against his skin, the canopy cracking open to flashes of sky above.
And then—
Ding.
A sharp chime rang through his mind, and a glowing panel of text appeared across his vision.
> Reliyah is eliminated.
Cyclas is eliminated.
Abdullah is eliminated.
Messiah is eliminated.
Andrew is eliminated.
Moon blinked, landing lightly on a branch. His head tilted as he scanned the words.
"…Already?" he murmured.
Not even two minutes had passed, and five names were gone. Vanished.
He let out a soft laugh. "Damn. They're dropping faster than Kai's patience during math class."
The corner of his mouth curled upward. He pictured Kai's face, brows furrowed, lips tight, snapping his pencil in frustration while Moon sat beside him, bored and smug. It made him laugh again, a small ripple of sound lost in the vast jungle.
He crouched, coiling his body, and leapt again.
Craaaaack.
The branch beneath him snapped like brittle glass.
"Shit—"
He plummeted straight down, crashing onto the forest floor in a shower of leaves and splinters. The landing was far from graceful; he rolled, dirt clinging to his clothes, until he skidded to a halt with his cheek pressed against damp soil.
Groaning, he pushed himself up to his knees, coughing out dust. His glare turned upward to the broken branch swaying mockingly above.
"Damn branches. Fuck you," he spat, brushing twigs from his hair.
His complaint lingered for only a second before something shifted in the air. A chill prickled along his neck. His head turned, just slightly, instinctively—
Shnnnnk!
An arrow screamed past his ear, close enough to shear a few strands of hair. The air split with its speed, and the shaft vanished into the dark of the forest beyond.
Moon froze, lips curling into a smile that was anything but amused.
"Oh," he whispered. "So that's how we're starting."
But nothing. Whoever it was had cloaked themselves well. Until—
A flicker.
Right behind him.
A red-clad figure lunged from the shadows, dagger raised, aiming directly for the base of Moon's skull.
Slash—
But instead of hearing the sweet chime of elimination, the man gasped. His dagger hand ended in nothing but a bleeding stump. His palm was gone. He stumbled, eyes wide—
And then—
Whoosh!
A spear screamed past his face, so close the tip cut the skin of his temple. The man didn't even have time to process before his badge lit up, and his body was yanked backward in a beam of light, teleported out of the arena entirely.
A notification blinked across Moon's vision:
> You have eliminated Richard.
Gain: 1 Point.
Total: 1 Point.
Moon didn't even read it. He was already moving, sprinting deeper into the jungle. He had sensed them—four others, strong, their signals burning with power equal to his own, all thanks to Eternal Volt Sutra .
And then they appeared.
Three figures burst from the treetops, weapons flashing, descending upon him like predators.
Moon spun, spear braced, and the forest rang with the clash of steel. Their blades hammered against his weapon, sparks showering as he skidded backward across the ground.
"Three of you, huh?" he said, grin twisting across his face. "So where's your fourth? Don't tell me he's the sniper… hiding back there, too scared to face me up close?"
He chuckled, a wild laugh spilling into the air. "Pathetic. Don't worry, boys. I'll save you the trouble—I'll take all of you on. Come at me. Let me slap some of your ass cheeks!"
His blood surged, adrenaline flooding his veins. He lunged forward, spear flashing in tight arcs, the clang of weapon on weapon turning into a brutal rhythm. Each time he parried, another arrow hissed past, forcing him to duck, twist, and dodge with fluid speed.
"Shit aim, archer!" Moon yelled mid-spin. "Are you aiming at me or trying to trim my hair?!"
He blocked a strike, shoved the attacker back, then snarled at another. "Come on, is that all? I've had tougher fights against Kai when he's half-asleep!"
The three pressed harder, their movements synchronized, weapons cutting in lethal precision. Moon countered with sweeping arcs, his spear spinning like a storm. But the pressure was building—the constant arrows from the unseen fourth forced him to split his focus.
"Seriously? Four against one and I'm still standing? Embarrassing! At this rate, I'll start charging you tuition fees for this training session!"
Another clash, and then—
Craaaack!
His spear shattered, the shaft splintering in his hands. He staggered back, pieces falling to the dirt. The three enemies grinned, triumphant.
"Now you're done," one of them sneered.
Moon tilted his head, smiling lazily. "You three really don't get it, do you?"
They froze for a fraction of a second.
Moon dropped the broken weapon and cracked his knuckles. "I'm not a spear user."
The three scoffed, ignoring the words, rushing him with blades raised.
Big mistake.
Moon's body blurred. He slipped past their strikes as if the air itself bent around him, his fists and elbows slamming into their chests, throats, and ribs. Their eyes widened in shock—they couldn't even track him. One by one, their badges lit, teleport beams dragging them out of existence.
Three gone in seconds.
But Moon didn't even pause. His head snapped upward—
Fwip!
An arrow screamed down toward his face. Without hesitation, Moon raised two fingers, catching the shaft between them a breath before impact. The wood cracked under his grip. His grin widened.
"Nice try," he said, voice low. "But let me show you how it's actually done."
He snapped his fingers forward, releasing the arrow with ten times the force it had arrived with. The shaft ripped through the air like lightning, faster than the eye could follow.
The hidden archer barely had time to gasp before the arrow struck. His badge flared, and then he was gone.
A final notification pulsed across Moon's vision:
> You have eliminated 4 hunters.
Gain: 8 Points.
Total: 9 Points.
Moon exhaled, rolling his shoulders, calm settling back into him. He glanced at the broken spear on the ground, smirk tugging at his lips.
And with that, he vanished back into the trees.