Only the next match was on my mind as I trained for it. I was going to kill him. It was not just for Anda though. I did want to avenge him, but at the end of the day, he was just an NPC. Winning this 1 on 1 would bring me up to 7 wins. I would be one step closer to getting out of slavery. Doing that was just the best thing for me. Since Anda was one of the only ones that actually liked me, things were not going to go well for our cohesion. Nuzri still liked me, but it was clear she was dead weight at this point. I was going to have to do what I could on my own. Chonmo still had a distrust of me. On the day of the match, it was a foregone conclusion in my mind that I was going to win the fight. I made sure that I ran up to him to keep the fight close and personal. They were a swordsman, but he was more of a two-handed wielder. I had my shield to block his heavy blows and I was also taking pot shots at him. When I won the fight, I made sure to finish him off. The audience wanted him to be saved, but I did not care one bit. As a result, I was beaten up and forced to fight another opponent at half health.
If it was a person, I would be in trouble. They could vary in martial style and proficiency based on their weapon and level. However, this was a monster. That meant that I could wait a bit to find out their attack patterns. It was still a tough fight against the manticore I was against. When I put the monster down, the crowd. That was my eight win with no losses. I was taken down to the pits and the demi-humans all cheered me on for the bravery I showed in the fights. That was fine with me. Chonmo and Fimzi warmed up to me a lot after as well. Anda was their identical triplet after all, so it was to be expected. The next day, I was swarmed with offers from brazen nobles and merchants. It made me roll my eyes. These were not the well respected ones either. They were upstart minor houses and third and fourth sons of the elite houses. Shady merchants that dealt in black market wares and even one mercenary company down on its luck were the non-noble buyers interested in me. Being a noble here sounded interesting, but none wanted to marry me to their daughters. I then turned them all down.
Personally offended, they would huff and look at the others in the group. They also declined. Some were even more rude than me when saying it. They did not leave the pits happy. Having some peace and quiet restored, we got in a pile and purred for a bit. It soothed the wounds and passed the time. More matches were being held. Alvin got a match against a newly enslaved trio of centaurs. One was black, one was a chestnut brown and the third was a female white centauress. They stood no chance against the Golden Boy. He slaughtered them all and that was is ninth win. After he came down to the pits, still covered in blood, he sought out Clover. "Looks like we are both at 9 wins now." he said. Clover just snorted and crossed his arms. Alvin smiled and said "I wonder which of us is going to taste freedom." Not phased in the slightest, Clover said "If you have to ask, there must be a problem with you." He then walked away. Alvin shook his head and said "I can already tell the fight is going to be legendary." It certainly was going to be the case. Everyone here was waiting for this.
