Greenhaven was as big as two continent back on Earth but most of it was covered in wilderness. The only inhabited place wasn't more than fifteen percent.
And the Wilderness was filled with monsters, Dungeons and ruined cities because of the light of the Tower that has fallen there in the past.
The Light of the Tower of Heaven rarely falls but when it does, it changes the surrounding into a 'ruined city' even if there was no previous city there before.
What was more, when the Tower first appeared thousands of years ago, it corrupted everything with Noxium, bringing with it corrupted monsters and Dungeons.
But wherever there are ruined city, there would be outposts for foragers and bandits to carve out their own form of life. Eldros was familiar with such life.
From a mountain slope, Eldros gazed down at one such outpost.
The Outposts was towering mountains, but the mountains had been dug into to resembled what looks like a bee hive. The foot of the mountains were covered in tents where the lowlifes of the bandits lived.
Beyond the camp loomed a dark jungle veiled in mist. Even the sunlight struggled to touch its depths. The color of the jungle brought to mind the black skins he'd seen on infected victims of Noxium.
"What do you think about this?" Asked Jarek beside him. The rest of her team had dissappeared to do their own thing. When Eldros looked at their retreating back curiously she had shrugged, unconcerned and said. 'They'll return'
It had taken them three days to reach the place and Eldros had come to the conclusion that Jarek didn't mean him harm. For the others though..they didn't seems to care about him, which was absolutely fine by him.
Eldros studied the sprawl below. "Looks like home."
And he meant it. All his life he'd lived in places like that. Ironically, even his host was the same.
Jarek chuckled and started down the slope. Eldros followed, careful as always, cataloguing his surroundings with quiet vigilance.
As they reached the outpost, the full atmosphere enveloped him. No gates, no order. Just packed dirt, stray refuse. The noise was everywhere, loud, brash, and constant.
Foragers moved in all directions. Some were enormous and scarred. Others seemed half-dead from hunger. Eldros spotted several like himself, quiet, young, watching everything. Some had deformities, likely side effects of failed transformations from Noxium.
Many radiated with mana.
They passed through the chaotic foot of the mountain and climbed up into one of them, passing through hallways lit with touchs, but the mountain had also been hollowed out in a way to to let natural light to pass through.
The mountain was divided into different Wings, some far better than the others.
Jarek took him to an arena of sorts, inside was a pit that was surrounded by scattered tables and lined with cages.
Growls and shrieks echoed from within.
Near the arena were a few simple wings, more well-kept than the rest. From one emerged a thin man in long dark cloak. He exuded a faint but sharp mana pressure. He glanced at Eldros briefly, then turned to Jarek.
"A new one?" he asked. "There seems to be a lot of them this days."
"He knows what to do," Jarek said. "I have already told him on what he's here for."
"Name?"
Eldros.
The man snorted. "Lucky day, Eldros. A few more want to join our outposts. We've got enough for a test tomorrow. You should count yourself lucky indeed.
"Or maybe not. Depends on what you can do tomorrow."
With that he turned and strolled toward one of the rooms.
Jarek placed a hand on Eldros's shoulder. "You'll be fine. I'll check on you tomorrow, at least nothing should have by then. Unless you do anything, of course."
Eldros nodded, his gaze steady, his face cold and then he followed the robed man.
At the house, the man introduced him to a few others loitering near the entrance. "He's with the next batch. Don't let him wander."
Inside, there are five people. Three men and a girl. It makes them six in total.
The boys looked up couple years older, their eyes indifferent as they studied him, they seems not to have seen anything that impresse them.
The girl sat in a corner, huddled and tense, a long scar running across her face.
Eldros ignored all of them as well. But he secretly studied them, after all. They were to be his opponent.
Time passed. The room filled with quiet conversation.
Their talk circled around tomorrow's test.
Eldros listened carefully. It seemed the outpost held these test once enough candidates gathered. The rules were simple, fight each other and the winner get the chance to stay at the outpost.
Nothing happened to those who failed to win. They would be dead already.
The fights happened in the arena outside, and they weren't just for survival, they were also entertainment. Foragers bought tickets to watch. The one running the outpost also ran betting pools. Life and death turned into spectacle.
In this world, people's lives were worth less than a coin.
Eldros kept practicing, absorbing both energy and information.
Every moment counted.
At dawn, noise stirred outside. The door banged open. A Forager stood silhouetted in the light, voice cold.
"Time for your show. Move it."
They all stood and followed behind.
Outside, the mood was raucous. The path to the arena was lined with people laughing and shouting. By the time they reached the wooden arena, the noise was deafening. At least a hundred had gathered, watching with hungry eyes.
Even with all their bravado. They all trembled when they saw the arena. Six people must enter and only one would return.
Eldros said nothing, but his eyes swept the arena.
Not big. Wooden barriers all around. No exits in the fighting space. Just some concealed doors and a side passage. No room to run. No space to stall.
This has to end fast. He had to kill his opponent fast and quick. That was simply how he operated.
His fingers twitched. Mana flowed subtly through his body as his breathing slowed.
The test hadn't begun yet. But in Eldros's mind, the fight had already started.