The Challenger's Return: Rebirth of the Rainbow Mage

Otto looked down from the air and saw the thousands of Throskarts who had fallen into the swamp.

Their limbs flailed wildly through the air as their feet were sucked into the mouth of the voracious swamp.

Otto watched their struggle quietly, face serene.

Screams of pain and terror rang out in the night.

The swamp's poison was mild in terms of actual damage, but only comparatively.

People with weak bodies would still be killed within a few minutes.

Plus, the swamp Otto created used ten times more mana than his typical cast.

The added mana didn't affect the area of the swamp.

It condensed its effects.

Not only was the poison of the swamp strengthened, but its debuff to movement was even more so.

The swamp grabbed onto the ankles of his enemies, unwilling to let them escape.

It had the effect of quicksand with the strength of glue.

Moreover, Otto had deliberately created the giant swamp underground.

Even if his prey muscled themselves through, they'd still have to climb up to the ground, opening themselves up to a bombardment of spells.

There would be, could be, no escape from his palm.

Otto's eyes were cold as he watched his enemies perish in great anguish, his expression uncaring.

But he didn't look away.

This was one of Otto's principles in his past life, and he would not break it now.

He would never allow himself to look away as his enemies died.

It was important for him to fully witness their fear, pain, struggle, and eventual death.

Perhaps as a twisted way to honor the lives he had taken.

It also helped reinforce his own belief in himself over the endless struggle for survival.

Perhaps it made him more callous.

But, in Otto's mind, looking away from the suffering he intentionally caused to another was a much crueler thing to do.

It signaled a lack of respect for the consequences of his own actions, and a disregard for the effect they wrought.

Thus, even though he didn't enjoy this process, Otto would always watch.

Many people cursed him as their bodies began to wither.

"You bastard human! You'll die an even crueler death than we did!"

"You'll never live a good life!"

"Even if I become a ghost, I'll never let you off!"

And many similar phrases.

Otto calmly accepted them all.

His eyes glinted, revealing a unique sort of wisdom that was gradually born over the decades of his own battle for survival.

Actually, most of these Throskarts wouldn't die so quickly.

Even after two full minutes, almost 80% of them still remained alive, though their condition was terrible.

Otto was no sadist.

He didn't particularly enjoy the suffering of his enemies.

So he decided to send them off quickly.

Otto started casting a spell.

[Blaze]

Fire Element

Level 10

Send a super condensed fireball at an enemy that rapidly spreads. Current spreading speed at 200%.

Mana Cost: 150

Cast Time: Instant

No Cooldown

Because he was dealing with so many Throskarts, he multiplied the mana used by 10.

Instead of growing larger, as with [Lesser Fireball: Unlimited], this fire didn't change shape at all.

But the fire grew exponentially hotter.

Moreover, [Blaze's] specialty was not to hit a single target for the maximum damage.

In fact, for a fire spell, its initial damage was actually on the low side.

It was the spread of the fire and the immense heat from its perpetual blaze that made it so deadly.

As Otto continued to feed the flame, the eyes of the four leaders uncontrollably widened.

They regretted.

They should never have entered the human's meticulous trap.

Why didn't they notice that the human was planning something?

Obviously, he didn't need so much food that he had to hit every single camp in the surrounding twenty kilometers.

Even the poison he had used was guaranteed only to enrage and humiliate, not to kill.

Perhaps it was meant to avoid killing too many of them, so most groups would still feel confident in charging over.

A shiver rolled down their spine as they pondered on Otto's previous actions.

They slowly realized that he had probably been planning on doing something like this from the start.

Everything had been beautifully calculated.

Even the intervention of the audience was taken into account.

Lenile, Lucretia, Rekara, and Bellario were extremely upset.

The human was not only powerful in terms of strength, but he was smart and sly, scheming and unafraid of using dirty means and methods to get what he wanted.

How could they fight against an enemy like that?

What threat could they possibly pose?

None at all.

Even the most prideful of the four, Lucretia, had to admit that if she were given another chance, she would absolutely choose to avoid this human at all costs.

He was too scary.

Sadly, it was too late.

The human would never give them another chance.

Even if a few Throskarts did eventually manage to escape from the swamp, all four of them knew it wouldn't be their turn.

They were the leaders of their factions.

So their tokens contained an astonishing amount of points.

It was a pity... none of their tokens were even close to becoming 'Blue.'

So there was no chance of revival, either.

Still, they would not simply sit and wait for their deaths.

All four of them boasted powerful bodies.

Though the swamp's poison was painful, it wasn't to the point where it would kill them, even if they laid in it for days.

Their recovery attribute was that powerful.

The strength they had built up with their points also allowed them to move very slowly through the swamp.

Perhaps, if they could defeat the human, they may have a chance!

Such naive hopes flitted through their minds.

It was at this moment that Otto's [Blaze] smashed into a few terrified Throskarts.

Almost instantly, they burned into ashes.

There was no suspense.

Otto controlled his mana to feed the fire and send it spreading in all directions.

[Blaze] showed its true might when used against a crowd.

The flames spread rapidly in the confines of the underground swamp.

A corrosive green steam poured out from the swamp and flooded the air underground, but it was as if these flames were impervious to water.

They swept from the center of the swamp, slowly burning outwards.

Otto acted as if he didn't hear the desperate cries of pain and rage that inundated his ears.

But his lips couldn't help but curve upwards in a barely discernible arc as the trickle of points entering his token turned into a stream.

As the blaze spread, it became a raging torrent of flame.

Otto's token rapidly started to darken, and then change colors.

His body grew more powerful bit by bit as the points did their job.

At this point, he caught sight of a Throskart who was about to escape.

This man had painstakingly climbed up the packed dirt and was preparing to sprint into the forest.

Otto grinned.

He recognized this particular enemy.

Since this man's actions caused Jackal to receive an arrow to the shoulder in his place.

Khana could only grow increasingly anxious as he struggled to make it to the ground.

If he didn't take the chance to leave now, he knew he would soon die by those terrifying flames.

He had barely been able to climb up so high since he was already positioned at the very edge of the swamp.

Only a few more meters until he was home free!

Otto just watched him from afar for a few seconds.

He briefly considered leaving the man alive to spread the word around.

That this human was not so easily provoked.

Even he didn't enjoy being constantly chased and attacked.

Just because he could handle it didn't mean it was pleasant.

But Otto had a thought.

He realized that the audiences of all these Throskarts had been watching his actions the whole time.

They would be able to spread the word just fine.

He didn't need to leave any additional witnesses.

A grin emerged on Otto's face as he made his move.

Otto swooped down with his wings and cast a wind element spell.

[Winding Restrictions]

Wind Element

Level 10

Encircle enemies with forceful wind to restrict their movement and limit their speed in all directions by 55%.

Mana Cost: 125

Duration: 3 minutes

Cast Time: Instant

No Cooldown

Khana's all-out sprint instantly slowed down to a light jog, or even a brisk walk.

He almost cried.

He knew he'd been caught.

Khana roared in anger.

Tears and snot streamed down his face.

He also didn't want to die!

He turned around to face his attacker, prostrating himself on the ground.

His shouts were almost covered up by the roar of the fire behind him.

"Please, please! Leave me a way out! I'll never offend you again! I don't want to die!!"

Otto tilted his head and gazed at him calmly.

Then, he shook his head.

"There is no medicine for regret in this world. You no longer have a choice."

Otto ruthlessly kicked the kneeling Khana as hard as he could.

Sounds of bones breaking were heard as Khana flew ten meters through the air, falling right back into the swamp to meet his doom.

After all, despite falling far behind his magical attributes, Otto's strength was still nothing to sneeze at.

Even more so when it was boosted by the power of the points he was granted.

Otto stood by the side and looked coldly on as the fire swept through the swamp.

By this point, seeing how quickly the fire spread compared to their own movement speed within this disgustingly sticky swamp, three of the four leaders had essentially lost all hope of getting out alive.

But Lucretia still had a card up her sleeve.

She started mumbling to herself at rapid speed as if she was casting a spell.

Only she wasn't casting a spell.

No.

She was rallying her spectators.

Her eyes brightened slightly as she received a few initial positive responses.

Actually, in the outside world, Lucretia was the head of a large family clan.

Her clan was very traditional, with a main family and branch families, and all the political struggles that entailed.

Theoretically, when it came down to it, when facing outside threats, her family was supposed to be united.

So they should be willing to spend the large sum of real money to send her a gift that might allow her to escape her predicament.

But reality was not so kind.

Everyone had some self-interest.

What Lucretia wanted was a magical tool that would cause them to spend almost a fifth of the entire family's wealth to ~maybe~ help her escape her predicament.

Was she, as nominal head of family, worth that much?

To some, absolutely.

But others might not agree.

Moreover, one didn't become the head without stepping on a few toes.

Lucretia had her fair share of enemies on the inside as well.

There were quite a few members of the family who were very much hoping that Lucretia would die in the forest ring.

Her supporters found that their access to the family's money was suddenly cut off.

Lucretia herself spoke until her throat was dry but did not receive the gift she had wanted.

Her eyes reddened, but there was no longer anything she could do.

The fire blazed ever closer.

Otto continued to watch without making any moves.

Until the fire finally swallowed his enemies whole.

All that remained of them was a thin coating of ash and many small piles of coins on the ground.

****************************************************************

Julia was not suited for this.

She felt gross, dirty, and her hands were stained with so much blood she wondered if it would ever come off.

But she had no choice.

The only way to survive in this place was to kill, kill, and kill some more.

Yet these stupid commenters were really messing with her mind.

Not only would they leave derogatory comments after each of her kills, they even told other contestants where she was so they could come and ambush her.

She wanted to break down and cry. When would this end?

But she persevered.

Why?

That was what she had been trained to do.

Julia had never felt more grateful for Ramesthes pushing her so harshly.

Her sense for combat- where to move, when to strike, how to strike, how to conserve her stamina over long battles, was the best it'd ever been.

So why was she struggling so much with this floor?

Julia quite frankly didn't understand how other challengers would face this floor if she herself was facing such difficulty.

There was something she didn't know, however.

The difficulty level also served as a hidden barometer.

For the folks who picked the basic difficulty, the trial itself would be vastly easier than the trial faced by harder levels.

This was not taking into account the goals of the missions assigned to them.

If a challenger took the basic difficulty mission or the low difficulty mission, they wouldn't be given the identity of an 'enemy' at all.

They could simply survive to clear it like a normal survival game.

In the medium and high difficulties, challengers would be nominally an 'enemy.'

They would not be able to get gifts from the audience, but the hostility shown by other contestants to them would at most be a tad higher than the hostility shown to normal contestants.

It was only in the 'very high' and 'extreme' difficulties that challengers would feel that they had to fight against the world.

And even in the 'very high' difficulty, it was unlikely that a challenger would be singled out immediately.

In other words, Julia's struggle was, if not normal, definitely expected for such a high difficulty.

She just didn't know that.

Julia had also used up almost a full quarter of the potion mixtures given to her by Otto.

They made her a seemingly undying monster.

And thankfully, the more people she killed, the stronger she got.

At the beginning, Julia relied on her superior technique and the few skills she had to pummel her enemies, focus on defense, and wear them down.

Now, her strength was high enough to kill most of these people in a single strike.

Currently, she was sitting pretty on a pile of points.

[Current Rank: 6,185,554]

[Top 20%]

[Total Points: 1,084]

However, Julia knew best that there was no place to relax in this hellish forest.

Night was also on the verge of falling, bringing who knew what new, deadly dangers.

****************************************************************

Otto wiped the nonexistent sweat from his brow.

It was a symbolic gesture, more than anything.

He wouldn't get tired from only this.

On the contrary, he actually felt more energetic after he collected all of those gold coins.

His token had completely jumped over the yellow and green colors, and was currently glowing in a beautiful deep blue.

That was his reward for massacring 40,000 enemies.

It was truly a shame that most of his enemies had been rather more destitute.

Otto checked his game screen.

[Current Rank: 6]

[Title: Top 10,000]

[Title: Top 1,000]

[Title: Top 100]

[Title: Top 10]

[Points: 248,199]

Before he got a chance to check his new titles, though, his rank changed.

[Current Rank: 7]

Otto sighed with helplessness.

The [Tower] had truly pitted the challengers on this floor.

Even such a monumental feat wouldn't guarantee his passage through the insane [Titled I] level of difficulty.

Right at this moment, other contestants were receiving enormous gifts from their audiences that they would turn around and sell to strengthen themselves.

Plus, the first floor wasn't like the tutorial.

He couldn't leave immediately just because he had technically 'entered' the top 1,000 already.

Otto would still need to finish the survival game.

His thoughts stopped as he heard a notification.

It wasn't from the game system.

It was from the [Tower].

He mentally cheered.

At least the [Tower] wouldn't let him go unrewarded.

And per his expectations, the blissful notification quickly emerged.

[Congratulations. You have made an exceptional achievement.]

[Achievement Type: Genocide III]

Description: Massacred 10,000+ members of a single intelligent species within an hour.

But instead of showing a reward like Otto had expected, the [Tower] showed him a different screen.

[Calculating…]

[Calculating…]

Otto had long understood that the [Tower] tailored its rewards based on the recipient.

Its reward was proportional in fairness to the achievement, and always consisted of something a challenger needed or could use.

But in Otto's memory, this was the first time that it actually needed to calculate something before handing out its rewards.

Otto pondered for a minute, expression obscure.

It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

The calculation slowly stopped.

Otto's eyes widened when he read the screen.

There were no AP given to him this time. Nor was it another spell book or tome.

Three lines were presented to Otto.

[Innate Trait Booster]

Use to raise your innate trait by two levels (no maximum).

Expires in 60 seconds.

As soon as Otto finished reading the description, his gaze turned downward.

His hand held a small yellow bead.

It was perfectly round, and its outside was opaque.

It almost looked as if its color was painted on.

Otto could vaguely see small snakes of mana twisting around the outside while he palmed it in his hand.

He didn't have time to scrutinize it more closely; the countdown had begun.

Otto needed to use the item with in 60 seconds.

60…59…58…57…56…55

Luckily, the relevant information appeared in his mind along with the bead itself.

It was a reward, after all, not a puzzle for Otto to solve.

Otto took a deep breath to steady himself.

This…might be more painful than he expected.

Otto crushed the bead in his palm.