Shadow Slave

As soon as the commentator mentioned Mongrel, the feed changed to the image of a menacing figure in black armor calmly walking through the forest, the blade of the infamous odachi resting on its shoulder. The lightless pits of the demonic mask's eyes stared directly into the camera, as if there was nothing but darkness beneath it.

As soon as Mongrel appeared on the screens, the chat exploded.

"YES! It's Mongrel!"

"Hail to the Lord!"

"Huh? Who is Mongrel?"

"...You mean hail to the LADY?"

Dimi laughed.

"Ah, yes. This guy. Well, Mongrel is a really impressive fighter, but the results may not be as predictable as everyone thinks. Every year, the same thing happens — at the later stages of the tournament, two distinct groups clash. One is the Dreamscape elites, and the other is newcomers attracted by the rewards. Historically, the newcomers tend to do better."

He sighed and shook his head.

"Plus, we don't really know a lot about Mongrel. Sure, he has a very impressive track record, but most of his wins were achieved against random opponents. Who knows what will happen when he faces the best of the best? If I were to bet, my money is still on Queen Bee. If anyone has a chance against the newcomers, it should be her."

Syclus nodded a few times, expressing his enthusiastic agreement.

"Sure! But, still, returning to Mongrel. Everyone is dying to know who he really is under that scary mask. And if anyone knows anything about you, Dimi, they'll know that you must have your guesses…"

The older man smiled, his eyes suddenly gleaming with excitement.

"Funny you should ask! Actually, I do have a theory…"

***

Corvus was

"Challenger Fry was eliminated."

"Challenger Erax was eliminated."

already turning into a flood of white sparks. These three Awakened attacked him as a group, and while their skill was not bad and even admirable, he

alive for more than several

the air, Sunny shook the drops of blood off its blade

bound to turn into sparks of light and disappear, too. But

each of them possessed a unique Aspect. They were cunning, resourceful, and unpredictable. That was why he had to act swiftly, making the fight appear

shadows to augment himself. He had decided against it a long time ago, since being able to crush his opponents with brute force was detrimental to his main goal —

were wrapped around the Autumn Leaf — the Memory he used to change the color of his

hair must have looked gorgeous,

jogged forward. He was in a rush to eliminate as many other players

problem with the battle royale format of the qualifying rounds — as soon as true

be a dozen fighters launching a

battle-hardened veteran like him, someone who had spent hundreds of days fighting for his life in the darkest depths of the Dream Realm, such

royale is going to be much

ancient tree next to him suddenly exploded into a cloud of splinters, and something sharp shot at him with incredible speed. Cursing, he dashed to the side and barely dodged

arrow whistled past him and embedded itself into the trunk of another tree, its trembling shaft as

over his shoulder and glanced at

'Curses! A sniper!'

another giant arrow fell from the sky, almost skewering him to the

teeth

***

string of an oversized bow. His mightly muscles strained, and when he released the string, a thunderous sound rolled down the slopes of

were not paying

Forgotten Shore survivors, but actually

at Dimi with a wide smile, and then turned the conversation back to the skirmishes in the

so! Well, that secret grandchild seems to be in big trouble! Despite Mongrel's savage victory over the three other challengers, now he seems to be in the crosshairs of one