Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 48. Trial by Flame

Rick woke up to someone banging on his door so hard that the hinges shook. His eyes opened quickly, and for a moment, he didn’t know where he was. Then he remembered what happened yesterday and realized that dawn had come.

A harsh voice from outside yelled, "Trial begins in thirty minutes, mortal! Show up at the Grand Arena or lose by default!"

Rick jumped out of bed, his heart racing. Sebastian sat on the windowsill and looked concerned.

"Time to face the music," said the little butler. "I’ve looked around the arena while you were sleeping, and... it’s worse than I thought."

"How much worse?"

"Think of a Roman colosseum that is three times bigger and made entirely of black volcanic stone. A lot of dragons are already coming to watch."

"Rick, this isn’t just a test. They find it fun, like some kind of a blood sport."

Rick’s stomach twisted, but he made himself move. He saw armor on a table next to the weapons rack. The armor, a simple combination of leather and chainmail, appeared to have seen extensive use yet remained functional. His hands shook a little as he put it on.

Sebastian said, "You’re scared."

"No shit, Sherlock. I’m fucking scared to the bones! Five dragon warriors are going to try to kill me in front of thousands of people!" Rick tightened the last buckle and took a practice sword off the rack.

It felt heavy in his hands, not enough for what was about to happen. "But just because I’m scared doesn’t mean I can stop."

"That’s the way to go. Stupid, but admirable."

"Don’t worry... I know I’m the main character, so..."

"Nah... I’d win." Rick smirks.

...

The walk to the arena seemed both too long and too short. Rick was led through the citadel’s twisting halls by dragon guards.

Their faces were blank, but their eyes were full of barely concealed contempt. Other dragons they passed stopped to stare and talk to each other. Rick heard things like "dead man walking" and "won’t last five minutes," which didn’t help his confidence.

Finally, they came out into the arena, and Rick’s breath caught. The Grand Arena was a tribute to fighting dragons.

Huge stone seats rose in concentric circles, and thousands of dragons in human form were already sitting in them. Rick really hoped that the smooth black stone floor of the arena was stained with old paint and not dried blood.

There was a raised platform at the end where Sylvia sat on a throne of red stone. Her face was unreadable.

As soon as Rick stepped onto the arena floor, the crowd started to boo, laugh, and clap. The sound was so loud that it felt like it was pushing him down.

"People of the Dragon Court!" A dragon in official-looking robes stood in the middle of the arena, and his voice was magically louder. "Today is the start of the Trial of Strength!"

"Rick Rolland, the mortal who dares to court our queen, will have to fight for seven days to prove his worth!"

"Seven fucking days!?" Rick’s blood ran cold when those words were stressed.

He thought it would only be one or two fights. Seven days of this would actually kill him.

"The rules are easy!" the announcer said again. "Every day, our challenger will fight dragon warriors."

"He has to stay alive until the sun goes down. You don’t have to win, it’s simple, isn’t it? All you have to do is live. However, there is a real chance of death, and everyone involved knows this!"

The crowd cheered in agreement.

"Now is the start of Day One!"

"Bring forth the first warrior!"

One dragon came into the arena from the other side. Rick knew him right away. It was one of the younger dragons from yesterday.

He was a warrior with bronze scales on his arms and eyes that shone with confidence. He was bigger and stronger than Rick, and he moved with the grace of someone who had been training for decades.

"Korvan is my name," the dragon said as he got closer. His voice was easy to hear over the noise of the arena. "I volunteered to be your first opponent because I wanted the honor of being the one to break you. No hard feelings, mortal. You just don’t belong here."

Rick raised his practice sword, his heart racing. "We’ll see about that."

Korvan laughed. "Oh, I like your attitude. It will make it even more satisfying to crush it."

The person who was announcing raised their hand. "Let the Trial of Strength begin!"

His hand fell.

Korvan got up.

Rick barely had time to notice the movement before the dragon was on him. A fist hit his guard hard enough to make him fall back.

Rick tried to fight back with his sword, but Korvan knocked it away like it was made of paper. A kick to his stomach knocked the wind out of him and sent him flying.

People in the crowd cheered. Rick rolled to the side just in time to avoid Korvan’s stomp, which would have broken his ribs. He swung his sword wildly and hit the dragon’s leg with a glancing blow. Korvan didn’t even move.

"That’s the best you can do?" Korvan mocked Rick by grabbing him by the armor and lifting him off the ground. "What a sad thing to see..."

He threw Rick across the arena. Rick fell hard on the stone floor, and his sword fell to the ground.

His shoulder and ribs hurt a lot. He tried to get up, but Korvan was already there, hitting him so hard that Rick could barely block them.

A punch broke his lip. Another broke something in his ribs. He threw up after getting hit in the gut.

There was no fight. It was a brutal beating.

Rick could hear the crowd’s reactions, even though the embarrassment stung more than his wounds. Laughter. Cheers. Disappointment. They expected more from someone who had faced an Ancient Black Dragon.

He was failing to meet their expectations in a big way, but when Korvan raised his fist in what looked like a finishing blow, Rick’s heart started to beat faster. It wasn’t bravery or sudden strength. It was a stubborn refusal to give up.

He grabbed Korvan’s raised arm with both hands and hit the dragon as hard as he could with his head. The hit made stars explode in Rick’s vision, and it also made Korvan stumble back in shock. Rick took the chance to dive for his sword, even though his body was screaming in pain.

"After all, you do have some fight in you," Korvan said, sounding thrilled. "Good! I was afraid this would be boring."

The rest of Day One was very hard. Rick quickly realized that he couldn’t match Korvan’s speed or strength.

The dragon was better than the other creature in every way. Rick did what he had to do. He lived by avoiding more than he hit.

When Korvan pushed too hard, he used the arena’s space to get away. He took blows that would have killed a normal person and kept getting back up.

Rick was covered in bruises, cuts, and maybe even broken bones by the time the sun went down. He could barely stand, and his vision was blurry from blood and sweat, but he was still awake.

The announcer said, "Sunset! Day One is done! The challenger lives!"

People in the crowd had different reactions. Some people cheered, even though they were impressed. Some people laughed and said it was luck or dragon mercy.

Korvan walked up to Rick, who was on his hands and knees trying not to pass out. "You look weak, but you’re tougher than you look. At the end, I really had to try."

"That’s more than most people can say."

Then everything went dark.