Chapter 51

  As the shock of what they’d just witnessed wore off, the arena grew loud once again with people cheering, talking excitedly over what they’d just seen, and so forth. Some people around us had tears running down their faces, and I saw one man hopping around, kissing the person next to him as he yelled about how he’d just won the jackpot. Must have bet against Julius.

  Meanwhile, down within the arena, Julius made his way towards Mikael. The Frost Fox sat happily at Mikael’s side, wagging its tail this way and that as it watched the approaching Keeper.

  “What’s going on now?” I asked, ignoring the flashes of light as some people began to leave the arena. There was a message floating in my mind from the system of the place, telling me departures were allowed, but restricted at the moment. Judging by how many people were here, I was guessing they were only allowing a certain number of people to leave at a time, so as to overwhelm the space we’d been teleported from.

  “Now that Mikael has won the battle,” Guy answered, “Julius will unlock his Gauntlet, which will upgrade the Gauntlet to Tier 8.”

  Mikael wasn’t smiling as Julius approached him. His lips were in a thin line, his posture seeming like he wanted to leave, now. Meanwhile, Julius was clapping for the man, a smile on his face, the shock of his defeat having already worn off. If I had to guess, being a Keeper meant he didn’t expect to win every battle. And he probably just enjoyed battling in general, no matter who won. As long as the battle was a good one, that is.

  “You said Julius is the strongest Keeper,” I began as more people disappeared, “but with this increasing Mikael’s Gauntlet to Tier 8, he still has one other Keeper to battle, if he wants to reach Tier 9, right?”

  “That’s right,” Guy said with a nod, “and considering he defeated Julius, I’ve no doubt once Mikael’s Muns reach level 100, he’ll have no problem defeating whichever Keeper remains for him to challenge.”

  “Level 100 is max for Muns, right?” I wanted to double check. “Do you think he would go for Tier 9? That Tier is for taming Ancient Muns. Is, is it worth risking the ire of the Cult?”

  “I’m honestly not sure.” Guy watched below. Julius was nearly to Mikael, “Tier 9 would also give him the ability to utilize Mythic tiered Augmenting stones and Amplifiers, on top of the Ancient Muns. For someone as obviously talented as he is, it would be a waste if he didn’t. But… at the same time, the Cult would likely not turn a blind eye to him pressing his luck.” He paused. Julius was exchanging quick words with Mikael, though their headsets were gone, and whatever they were saying was far too quiet to hear in the arena. “I’m really interested to know more about him.”

  “What,” I began sarcastically, “you’re interested about the mysterious unknown Tamer who just defeated Julius? I never would have guessed you would want to dive into such gossip.”

  Guy laughed at me, then got quiet, “take note now,” he pointed down at the two. Julius was holding his gauntlet out, palm upwards. Mikael placed his own gauntlet atop it. Then, a flash of brilliant light erupted from Julius’s Gauntlet, enveloping Mikael’s, flowing across it before seeping deep within. For a moment, the gauntlet remained glowing, before the light faded. Not even trying to hide his intent, Mikael’s Frost Fox disappeared a split second later, as his gauntlet retracted, turning into an unassuming bracelet, which he promptly hid under the cuff of his cloak, before disappearing.

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  Julius let out a heavy sigh, offered a wave to the small group of individuals still within the arena, and then disappeared himself.

  “Whoever our mysterious Tamer is,” Guy said as Julius left, “he’s definitely not one for manners.” He shook his head and sat back down. “We’re going to likely be part of the final group to leave.” He motioned for the seat next to me. “Might as well sit back down and figure out your team for your own upcoming challenge.” He tapped his wrist, as if there was a watch there. Which… I guess, considering all the capabilities of the Gauntlet, wasn’t entirely wrong. The map function did have an actual clock built into it.

  “After watching that battle,” I said as I sat back down, “I’ve a feeling I am going to be extremely underwhelming to Julius.”

  “Well, I doubt anyone’s going to swing by and watch, that’s for sure,” Guy said, “though, who knows. There’s a chance people may hang around since they’re already here. And if that’s the case,” he looked at me, his moustache twitching as his eyes sparkle, “why not go for the shock and awe factor?”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked, fidgeting absentmindedly with my gauntlet. If I twisted it just right, the light hit the gems of my Mun stones in a way that made them sparkle almost like Opals. Looking at the empty slots for Augmenting stones, I couldn’t wait till I had the ability to begin truly customizing my gauntlet.

  “You already know the early on battles are usually tipped in a way to favor the lower Tiered Gauntlet user. Though, a battle still isn’t guaranteed one way or another.” He pointed at the first stone on my wrist, the one that housed my Cogberus. “That being said…” he trailed off, and I knew what he was getting at.

  The system would put whatever Muns Julius summoned down to level 20, just as it had when Ember and Aaron had battled me. And if it was a similar situation, even if he was using Evolved Muns, their stats and such would be appropriately brought down and nerfed. In that sense… I had an extremely unfair advantage, at least for now. Because Cogberus’s stats at level 20, based solely on his HP and how much damage I’d seen him do and how little he normally took from attacks, made him an absolute monster of a Mun at level 20. If I set up my other Muns appropriately, for a three versus three battle against Julius… there was a likelihood I could defeat the Keeper without, potentially, having any of my Muns faint.

  Sure, I didn’t have delusions of grandeur, and I wasn’t aiming to become the best Tamer out there. But… after watching Mikael’s battle with Julius, the competitive part of me did want to at least be somewhat memorable…

  I touched the apostrophe tattoo on my wrist as I pushed darker thoughts aside, and began planning out my battle against Julius. I didn’t know what team he would use, but did know the types of Muns he was limited to. My plan would be simple… give Cogberus all the buffs, and one-shot every Mun that was thrown out against me. Err… triple-shot, I guess, considering Cogberus’s Bite attack always hit in threes.

  My lips curled upwards as my mind lifted from the momentary darkness. Soon, very soon, my Gauntlet would be Tier 1, I’d be able to start using Augmenting Stones, and I’d be able to get back to training up my Muns, capturing new ones, and enjoying the strange world that was Mutopia. There was far too much newness and excitement, to let the past, even with all its darkness and fears to grasp me. I wasn’t my past. And I was damn sure going to make sure my future was what I wanted it to be. Mainly… fun.