"You are good at this stuff. Do you think you can take a look at my phone next? It has been acting up for a few days…"
Everyone watched as Emperor…or rather, Nathan, worked on the piping system. He was making good progress as well, joining the pipes without much confusion.
"I can try to take a look, but phones are not really useful if you have a system. So I did not bother learning much about them in my past lives."
Nathan's tone had become soft-spoken while he worked, and he had also mellowed out. Working at the farm had helped take his mind off anything unnecessary.
Andrew watched him work and assisted Nathan when he was asked to. Clara worked around them and checked on the plants, pruning the ones that needed it.
Lilianna quickly came out of the house with a few glasses and a pitcher of juice for them.
"Here, you all must be thirsty. You should have something to drink."
She put the tray down as she came to join them. The place looked peaceful, but the ever looming threat of the games made this peace fragile.
"The countdown is about to come to an end and the next game will start tomorrow. Are you sure you do not want to sign the contract?"
Andrew asked Nathan, only to get a scoff in return.
"I do not work under other people. If you want a contract, then you will have to sign one with me. Until then, let us consider each other as comrades."
Andrew did not bother protesting. He knew Nathan well enough to be able to tell that he was not going to change his mind at the current moment.
They worked quietly and left the fields during the late night hours. The clock in the sky kept ticking, reminding everyone that the next game was about to start.
The next morning, everyone woke up early and headed outside. The clock in the sky hit zero and the sky broke apart. The half-dragon appeared from beyond the portal and she looked incredibly happy.
"Welcome you all-! It's finally time for another game. Are you all happy and excited as I am?"
The half-dragon asked with a smile on her face. Her excitement did not seem like good news for anyone involved.
"I would say that I feel disappointed, but your input does not matter. Now, let's start the next game, shall we?"
She clapped her hands, and the world around her faded to nothing.
Andrew closed his eyes as the light slowly came back around him. When he looked around, there was a huge arena.
He was not the only audience in there, most of the other people were in the arena as well. He had both Lilianna and Clara around him, but Nathan was nowhere to be seen.
"Ugh, where are we?"
Clara questioned as she cleared her eyes and looked around. Lilianna also woke up later, and took some time to adjust to the place.
"It is nice to have you all here. Welcome to the arena match. Ah, doesn't this feel wonderful? You all can feel the spirit of fighting all around us as well, right?"
The female asked as she held her arms open and looked around. Her smile felt disturbing and everyone kept quiet, not wanting to speak.
"Hmm, what a heartbreaking response. Ah well, we should start our game 6th now."
The half-dragon announced, her excitement coming back as she looked at the arena.
"The arena is a place filled with dreams. It is a place you can fight to your heart's content. Now, pay attention to your system and read the rules of the game."
Andrew looked at the system screen, and so did everyone else.
[Game Six- the arena of power. Gather 100 points and challenge the boss of the arena. Time limit: None.]
[Game's difficulty will increase every hour]
"Did you all read the rules? They are simple enough, right? Now then, we shall start."
The half-dragon exclaimed happily. She was delighted at the game where the only goal was to kill and fight.
But unlike her, the humans were a little confused and scared.
"Is this…really it? For some reason, it feels…underwhelming."
"Can the game really be this simple? No way, right? Maybe it is hiding something…?"
People had the right to be cautious. But Andrew knew the system well. If it was hiding something, then the system would have indicated that in its description.
This game…was really as simple as it sounded.
"Wow, what a simple game…no wonder the overgrown lizard is so happy. This game is easy for them to understand."
Andrew's intention had been to rage-bait the half-dragon. And he could instantly tell that he had succeeded.
The half-dragon was looking at him like she wanted to kill him. But because of the rules of the games, she won't be able to interfere without putting herself in danger.
Andrew quickly jumped down into the arena and a counter appeared over his head.
"Since the first human has stepped into the arena, the game will officially begin now."
A hoard of monsters came rushing at Andrew and he quickly began to blast them.
"Clara, Lilianna, hurry up and come down. The more you wait, the harder it will be."
Andrew warned his companions, but his warning was meant for other humans as well. They all quickly exchanged glances and jumped down to join the fight.
The counter over his head continued to increase and he continued to gain exp faster.
[You have leveled up. You have reached level 20. You can select a new skill]
[List of available skills:
Magic enhancement (S) - Double all your stats for 5 minutes. Cooldown 1 hour
Invulnerability (Special) - You will become unkillable for 1 minute. Cooldown 1 week
Hell Fire (S) - The flames of hell will be yours to command. You can burn anything in the system's control]
Once again, my incredible skills have come forward. Andrew could not believe just how lucky he was getting.
'It all feels too ominous. I was never this lucky before. Just what is going on here?'
He wanted to ask, but he also did not want to kick his good fortune away. As for the skill, there was one here that was definitely superior to the others, and Andrew would be a fool to miss it at such a crucial point.