The Challenger's Return: Rebirth of the Rainbow Mage

The sun glared down upon the golden sand.

Contestants glanced around.

There was nothing to be seen for miles of their position.

Only the hills and troughs that marked the endless desert.

The area continued to increase in temperature seemingly along with the strength and intensity of the sun's rays.

Other than a single glass of water in Otto's hand, there was no other water to be found.

Otto was currently surrounded by 30 people plus his bodyguards.

They had moved a good 100 meters away from the larger crowd of 70 people.

5 of them were even stationed on watch to make sure the crowd wasn't able to approach unnoticed.

Apparently, the upcoming conversation was secret.

Otto was indeed sharing 'limited' information.

The 30 listeners pricked their ears.

Their crowd was made up of all sorts of people that Greer could find on short notice.

Otto's tone was subdued but amicable,

"I will give all of you a piece of important news."

"In a half hour, 31 different lanes will appear. Each lane will be host to some monsters."

His gaze landed solemnly on each person.

"Remember, each monster killed will reward one of you with a single merit."

"You all have a task to do."

Otto placed his hand on his chin, taking care to look exceptionally pretentious and aloof as he continued,

"In life, there will always need to be a winner and a loser. This round of the game is no different."

"What we need to do…is make sure that we are the winners."

"I don't want anyone but all of you … to kill a single monster."

"Do you understand?"

The group's eyes lit up as they nodded in tandem.

Greer rubbed his hands together.

It was a good idea to approach this big shot.

This kind of big boss would always be corrupt! And didn't he need a perfect underling?

Greer plotted and schemed in his mind as he listened to Otto continue,

"As a small gift of meeting, I will present you with these 10 drops of my special water."

"It should quench your thirst somewhat before we go out and fight."

Unlike Otto's bodyguards, these 30 or so people could be considered Otto's temporary contractors.

He didn't need them to do much.

Mostly to block out the remaining sixty some survivors from gaining any merit whatsoever.

Only then could the gap between the 'rich' and the 'poor' be fully felt.

Otto brought his new 'team' to stand over in a certain spot.

A few others thought the group looked odd, standing shoulder to shoulder in a horizontal line.

"What are they doing?"

"Do they notice something?"

"Notice what? This game isn't so hard, right? Just kill more monsters, drink more water, make sure you aren't at the bottom of the barrel each day?"

The woman looked quizzically at the man, who suddenly felt defensive.

"What, did I miss anything?"

She rolled her eyes.

"You make it sound so easy."

Half an hour later, the man saw that his previous speculation couldn't be further from the truth.

32 gray partitions blasted up from the sand, dividing the desert into 31 small lanes.

Most of the lanes were wide enough to fit only two Throskarts.

And that was if they both squeezed.

But they were plenty wide enough for a single person to have a one-on-one battle.

Otto's group immediately marched over to the lanes.

Before any of the others could react, they had already entered each one.

Otto chose the widest lane located directly in the middle of the others.

This was the most valuable lane, for good reason.

From what he remembered, it spit out 200 monsters every day.

He was planning to kill them all.

Well, Otto had to start building his wealth from somewhere.

The other contestants began to wake up from their brief stupor.

"What's going on?"

"What are these lanes for?"

They asked each other quietly, a seed of panic beginning to sprout in their minds.

But Otto raised his voice towards them.

"Don't worry everyone."

"We don't mind working hard for the sake of everyone."

"These lanes are where the monsters attack from."

"The kind folks to my left and right are planning to kill them for all of you."

"Otherwise, it'd be bad if they got out and started a rampage, killing all of you before you could react, right?"

It didn't take long for Otto's noble words to spark a streak of anger that revealed itself on the faces of the onlookers.

What was this 'noble cause?'

Did he think they were stupid?

Or perhaps pushovers?

These were all survivors of the terrifying free-for-all that made up the preliminary round!

It was a pity that their quality was somewhat lower than usual, thanks to Otto killing 100,000 of the Throskarts' best men…

Still, these contestants couldn't believe this person's audacity.

He just wanted to leave the water to all his new cronies!

One man, the defensive man who was always arguing with a woman next to him, spoke up.

He stepped up to approach Otto.

"My name is Poro."

"I do believe these lanes do not belong to the men in your group."

Suddenly, Poro sneered.

"Or is it that you think that cup of water you held makes you invincible?"

The water was no longer in Otto's hands, making others believe that it was all used up.

Which couldn't be further from the truth.

Otto had barely used a quarter of it so far.

He WAS dealing in drops, after all…

"Because here's a piece of information for you."

"We have the numbers advantage. Know that."

Otto raised an eyebrow.

"And what can a numbers advantage accomplish in these narrow lanes?"

"More importantly, you can't attack."

"How will you rip us out from the lanes if you can't even attack?"

The man's expression darkened.

He was about to retort when Otto shot a sunny smile in his direction.

"I don't intend to hog these for the whole time."

"Also, these things are the perfect example of first come, first served, are they not? Your folks should be faster next time."

He sighed,

"In truth, I can't bear to live such a desperate lifestyle, and I insist on receiving the best possible accommodation."

"Please forgive my selfishness, I guarantee that I won't interfere with anything that comes afterwards."

Otto shot Poro an 'apologetic' smile.

Poro merely glared at him and nodded with great difficulty. Mostly because there was no longer anything he could do.

Yet after Otto left, Poro's eyes glinted darkly.

Regardless of how amiable that rich guy was, he himself was no fool.

This was blatant bullying.

The strong taking advantage of the weak.

That person had used his advantage of information and the glass of water he brought in to gather a group of people to monopolize resources from the get-go.

It was nothing new in the society he came from.

But he had never stood for it before. It was why he'd come to this show in the first place, after all.

Why would he tolerate it now? In a game where the final winner had not been determined, no less?

Poro's gaze touched the sand below.

His eyes flashed.

His thoughts were unknown.

Other people weren't as patient as Poro.

After so many people entered the lanes as soon as they appeared, it didn't take a rocket scientist to discover that these lanes were definitely a good thing…

A few people attempted to enter after Otto's 'posse' had already occupied the lanes, but they quickly discovered that an invisible barrier had separated them from the people inside.

Those in the lanes could get out, but those outside could not get in.

One woman even banged on the barrier loudly with her fists.

"Please let me in! I just want to get a little bit of water, and then I promise I'll leave!"

A few thought that the monsters were a lie, that the lanes directly held the water.

The woman's cries went unheeded as the heat of the area continued to increase.

Agitation swept over the crowd, but there was outlet! The lanes were closed. There wasn't anything they could do!

Most people sat on the sand to conserve their remaining energy in the absence of water or food.

A minute later, the onlookers watched, stunned, as a conspicuous black maw opened at the end of each lane.

Monsters emerged, one by one from the maw.

They looked like a cross between a tarantula and ape, with thick fur all over them, disgusting jaws dripping with saliva, a half formed, misshapen head and beady yellow eyes.

Eight 3-meter tall legs that ended as spikes underneath them sprang into action as they rushed at their perceived prey.

Otto was completely unfazed at the sight.

It was only natural.

He'd seen them before.

Otto casually sent over a high-powered [Wind Blade].

The spider's head was chopped off before a single second had passed.

The next monster appeared.

Otto chopped its head off, repeating his action.

The bodyguards he'd hired stood at the entrance to his lane, watching with shock and slight fear as Otto's mana separated the spiders' heads with little effort.

Was this the life of the rich?

Was everything so easy for them?

Every other Throskart in the lanes was locked in an intense melee or ranged battle with the spiders.

Though all prevailed, the battles took at least 30 seconds, while some took up to 3 minutes.

Suddenly, Otto sighed lightly.

This was so boring.

Not a challenge at all.

The things he had to do to complete his plans…

Otto's four bodyguards eventually switched out with four other, tired Throskarts who couldn't or didn't want to kill more of these spiders.

A haul of 30+ merits was pretty decent, in any case.

Only Otto killed these spider monsters as fast as they came.

There were no holds barred.

As soon as a spider appeared, its head was cut off.