Sorcerer Manual - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Deathmatch Society

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Ash’s first impression of the Deadmatch Society was that it was dim.

Unlike all the other brightly-lit places in the prison, there were very few lights in the deathmatch club. Other than the arena lit with incandescent lights in the middle, there were almost no lights in the audience stands. The spectators seemed to be drowned in the darkness, leaving only the two people fighting on the arena in this world.

This was also the place where Ash saw the most number of prisoners. On the way with Runner, he had only seen a few criminals. When they passed by the library and gymnasium, Ash also caught a glimpse of more than ten criminals. However, after entering the Deathmatch Society, even without bright illuminations, just from the whispers he could hear and the shadows in the darkness, Ash could tell that there were almost a hundred people here!

“Runner, you are here?”

“Newbie?… Oh, the leader of the Four Pillar Deities. You’re a brave one to come into contact with the Four Pillar Deities.”

“Runner the Gourmet is here!”

“Runner, is that your little boyfriend? You’ve changed your taste!” a muscular man teased.

“Desmond, I’ll bite you to death if you continue to speak such nonsense and ruin my relationship with my boyfriend!” Runner scolded angrily. It didn’t sound like he was actually angry. Rather, he sounded a little shy.

However, the surrounding laughter quieted down. The burly man named Desmond hurriedly pressed his palms together and apologized. “Haha, Runner, I didn’t mean that. Oh right, aren’t you going to introduce the newbie?”

Runner snorted, as if he wasn’t going to pursue the matter any longer. Desmond sighed with relief and quickly shrank into the crowd.

Seeing this, Ash moved away from Runner a little.

He had sensed that the random bald passerby, seemingly “weak and easily bullied”, could very well be an infamous god of massacre in this prison.

“Ash Heath. He’s a new guy who just came here for a few days. He wants to join the deathmatch, so I brought him here to see it.” Runner smiled. “Who’s fighting now?”

“Tyger ‘The Diamond’ and Rudor ‘The Blind Beast’.”

“Why is Rudor… Ah, Tyger is so experienced. Why can’t he let go of these few contribution points? Didn’t you guys challenge Rudor?”

“Of course we didn’t want to let this easy win slide. But Rudor has never seen Tyger in a deathmatch before. He feels Tyger was an easier target, and Tyger’s stakes were high, so…”

Ash moved to the front of the audience and watched the one-sided slaughter in the arena below—an old white-haired man and a muscular green-skinned orc were fighting barehanded.

That’s right, it was a one-sided slaughter. Both sides were clearly attacking each other without any defense, yet the white-haired old man didn’t shake or pant even after being punched by fists the size of pots. There wasn’t even a red mark on his skin, as if the green-skinned orc was punching his chest with the strength of a baby.

However, on the other hand, each punch from the white-haired old man seemed extremely forceful. The sound of cracking rocks could be heard whenever they landed on the green-skinned orc. It made one’s scalp tingle.

By the time Ash arrived, the green-skinned orc was already covered in blood. There was not a single spot on his body that was whole, and a few of his teeth had fallen out. His eyes were swollen to the point that he looked like he was squinting.

With a heavy blow, the green-skinned orc was sent flying a few meters away. He crashed into the wall with a bang and dragged a trace of blood down the wall. He sat on the ground and did not get up again.

However, the white-haired old man took a glance at the top of his head and rushed over to continue punching the green-skinned orc.

He was scrubbing off the flesh of the green-skinned orc like a bathhouse worker doing body scrubs.

Ash could not bear to watch. “Isn’t the outcome already decided? Why isn’t it over yet?”

“You think the outcome is already decided? Not yet.” Someone laughed beside him. “Try extending your hand.”

Hearing this, Ash extended his hand, only to find that he had touched an invisible wall of air, causing ripples. Four invisible barriers appeared in the air, completely isolating the lower stage from the audience seats.

“Only when one of them is dead or unconscious will the isolation barrier be released. Then, the medical masters will appear from that door and drag the body back to the medical room for treatment.”

That person pointed at a very inconspicuous door in the ring. “As long as the barrier has not disappeared, they must not let their guards down. They must continue to suppress and kill the opponent.”

“Besides, there is no option for surrender in a deathmatch. There are only two possibilities for the loser: death or loss of consciousness.”

“Countless fools who took pride in their prowess and looked down on their opponents saw this place as the stage for friendly competitions, so they stopped halfway and wound up killed by their opponents instead. They lost a lot of contribution points and went right to the front of the judgment sequence at once… However, this is also the meaning of the Deathmatch Society: transfer the contribution points that don’t belong to you to someone worthier.”

Slam!

Hearing the muffled sound of the fist, Ash felt that the orc probably had his stuffings knocked out. He couldn’t help but ask, “Can he really be saved after this?”

“He hasn’t lost consciousness yet, but even if he can be saved, he might as well be dead. Look up there.”

Ash raised his head. Only then did he realize that the glowing spot on the ceiling was actually a hologram with battle information written on it:

[Tyger Norris Stakes 35 Contribution Points]

[VS]

[Rodor Tooth Stakes 5 Contribution Points]

Ash asked surprisedly, “The stakes aren’t equal. Why did Tyger stake so many points?”

“As long as both parties agree, even if the stakes are not equal, the match can still be established,” the person said leisurely. “Besides, there are very few deathmatches with equal stakes. According to the rules, for every deathmatch one participates in, they must place a higher stake than that for the previous deathmatch. Tyger has fought 34 deathmatches in the past, so he must bet 35 contribution points this time.”

“Then this is Rudor’s fifth deathmatch?”

“No, this is his tenth match. Each prisoner has 50 contribution points at the beginning. Increasing the bet by one point per match means he bet a total of 45 contribution points in the first nine matches. By the tenth match, he only has 5 points left.”

The person next to him sneered.

“Therefore, if Rudor loses this match, he won’t have any contribution points left, and he won’t be able to earn contribution points through a deathmatch again. Unless he can dig gold coins out from his stomach, he will always be the first in the sequence of judgment.”

“Oh,” said Ash. He suddenly realized something. “Wait, does that mean he lost all nine matches before?!”

“That’s why he’s called ‘Rudor the Blind Beast’. He chose an opponent he couldn’t beat every time.”

Slam!

With a loud slam, the green-skinned orc’s head seemed about to explode. At the same time, a tinkling sound came from the ceiling hologram, showing the words “Winner Determined”.

The barrier of the arena instantly dissipated, and the door in the arena also opened. Three black-robed men wearing crow masks entered the arena. They dragged the green-skinned orc’s corpse away directly without using a stretcher.

“The old man is so mean. He pretended to weak and cheated the orc of his contribution points.”

“How is this cheating? I knew from the beginning that the old man isn’t easy to deal with. Rudor not just had poor judgment, he’s an idiot. Anyone with half a mind would realize that any elderly, woman or child that could stay in the Deathmatch Society would be tough to deal with.”

“How many people did the old man send away?”

“Just counting from the day I came in onwards, the old man has sent at least five people away.”

“Old man, you already have so many contribution points. Next time an opportunity like this comes up, you should leave the hard work to young people like us. That beast was so unreasonable, too. If he wanted to give away his points, why not give them to me?”

In the darkness, everyone was bustling with noise. The white-haired old man used a towel to wipe the blood on his fist. Suddenly, he coughed twice and coughed out several mouthfuls of bloody phlegm. He said in horror, “That orc’s punches were quite strong. I seem to have suffered internal injuries…”

“No one will believe you!” Everyone roared in unison. It seemed like they had witnessed someone being tricked when the old man feigned weakness twice in a row.

“He’s very strong in this arena.”

Ash looked to his right and saw Sword Maiden suddenly reappear.

Unlike the others, the dim light did not affect her at all. She seemed to be able to emit light on her own to disperse the darkness, and appeared rather out of place where she sat primly on the railing.

What was stranger was that she had actually changed into a new set of clothes. It looked like a tight-fitting kendo uniform for training, and her long red hair was tied up, turning her into a valiant female swordsman.

Ash asked without thinking, “Why is he very strong?”

“Because this arena only permits attacking, but still restricts the output of spells.”

The person beside him and Sword Maiden said in unison.

Sword Maiden glanced at Ash, who covered his mouth, and continued, “There are many types of sorcerers. Artisans, warriors, scholars, medics… But most sorcerers can only control their spell spirits through their spell energy. As long as their spell energy output is restricted, sorcerers are no different from ordinary people.

“However, a small number of sorcerers still have the power to surpass ordinary people, even without their spell spirits. They are the Physical Masters.

“Generally speaking, all the sorcerers involved in body-forging cultivation can be called Physical Masters. For example, Swordmasters, Fist Masters, Gun Masters, Spear Masters, Axe Masters… As long as they have suitable weapons, they can also fight against the masses. However, they only have the advantage of ‘skill’, rather than physical fitness. In terms of physical fitness, they are not much stronger than ordinary people.

“However, there’s a type of Physical Master who can continuously strengthen their body and even use the spell spirit to modify the structure of their flesh and blood. They use themselves as weapons, thereby obtaining an almost overwhelming level of power. For this type of Physical Masters, even without spell spirits, the strengthening effect on their bodies will not disappear. It’s not prominent anywhere else, but in this prison where spell spirits are forbidden, they can maximize their advantage!”

“This type of Physical Master is called the Infirm Master.

“They are infirm of flesh and blood, for their bodies are no longer constructed of flesh and blood.”

Ash looked over and saw that when the white-haired old man left the ring, crumbs fell off the railings where his fingers had brushed past them!

Tyger “The Diamond”… so that was what it meant!

“Since you’re here, hurry up and start fighting.” Sword Maiden said, “Anyone would work as long as you don’t fight that old man. Oh right, you’d better choose an unarmed opponent for your first battle. Also, you’d better fight unarmed too.”

[Why?]

“Because your body is too weak. If you were to use a real sword directly, you would probably be crippled after a few swings. Besides, if the opponent also uses fists, you would at least be able to contend with the opponent for a few rounds to buy some time for the experience transmission.” Sword Maiden crossed her arms and said, “Actually, I’m more afraid that your opponent would snatch your sword and behead you with one strike. To avoid such a gory scene, fight unarmed for your first round. I don’t expect you to fight, but you at least know how to take a beating, right?”

Ash accepted Sword Maiden’s suggestion readily and turned to ask the person who had been chatting with him, “I want to participate in a deathmatch. It’s best if the opponent is unarmed. Do you have any recommendations?”

“Unarmed combat? You’ve asked the right person, brother. I’m an unarmed combatant. Fight a match with me. I promise I won’t bully you.”

“Sure, sure. But this is my first deathmatch. I’ll only bet one contribution point. Even if you want to pretend to be weak, you won’t be able to earn much.”

“Don’t worry, brother. Not only will I not earn contribution points from you, I’ll give you contribution points. I’m very weak. After all—”

At this moment, all the lights in the Deathmatch Society suddenly lit up. The darkness in the audience seats was consumed by light.

Only then did Ash realize that the “kind person” who had been chatting with him was actually an acquaintance he had met not long ago.

“—even you want to punch my face.”

Igora looked at Ash and smiled. “We meet again, Ash with the cute punch..”