Mangowo
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Chapter 192: Blessed Monsters Are a Renewable Resource
🕑 Added 2025-11-27 01:30:04 +0000 UTC[Phase Two, and the main body of this arc, will kick off next chapter. I had a few extra plans, but they’d only end up delaying the core of the arc, so I’ll be wrapping this part up soon.
Anyway, happy reading! (And sorry for the delays, life’s been doing its thing, and I’d rather give myself a little extra time than burn out while pushing chapters.)]
It was the same glorious spectacle, repeating year after year without fail. Prodigies from every leading sect and great family were gathered into one lethal arena, a place where the fear of death was shed for the sake of display, and raw power was put on full exhibition until the spectators were left staring, wide-eyed and breathless.
The announcer surveyed the arena with that same wide stare, a broad grin stretched across his face. Yet something felt… off this year. Three of the five major clans, each one part of the Five Claws, had all sent their children. That alone should have guaranteed a merciless contest. The one thing that troubled Jabez, however, was the conspicuous absence of Flameclaw’s prodigious heir. Weren’t there whispers that she had stepped into the red core not long ago? The youngest in history to accomplish it, no less.
Then again, it had been recent. Perhaps she simply hadn’t had the time to settle into her new strength. There were any number of explanations, and none of them could hold his attention now. Lifting the enchantment closer to his mouth, he let his voice ride over the roar of the crowd.
“And once again it seems Tomaš Taranov has claimed victory. I doubt that surprises anyone at this stage. Steva Zorin put up a fine fight, but she found herself in the wrong place at the wrong moment. And Tomaš continues his streak, no one else finishes fellow red cores in a single strike with such consistency. One does have to wonder what exactly the Taranovs are feeding their heir.”
Laughter rolled through the stands in response. Jabez swept his gaze across the field. Though several contenders still remained, the arena projected only the most ‘engaging’ clashes through its illusion wards, limiting the sight to five or six highlighted scenes at any given time.
One figure, however, never left the display. Naturally, it was Tomaš. The same Tomaš who had already slain a blessed beast, cut down four fellow competitors, and now stood at the summit of the board.
In second place, unexpectedly, stood Vanya Kravic. She, too, had killed one blessed monster and defeated one other competitor. She lacked Tomaš’s ruthless efficiency, but at this moment, he felt less like a person and more like a calamity.
Not everyone could end a red core opponent in a single blow. While the second and third kills credited to Tomaš had not been struck directly by his own hand, those two had attacked him and his cohort and died in the attempt. The Colosseum had counted them all the same. Even stripped of those, he would still have led.
“What do you think that shadowed creature was, partner?” his fellow commentator asked, breaking his train of thought.
Jabez glanced sideways at the man beside him.
“It was my first time seeing anything like that as well, an… interesting specimen. To take on a shape so close to our own, and to face Tomaš head-on and survive at all. It was certainly a blessed monster. Possibly a spatial type. It struck under layers of darkness, but it couldn’t have been a shadow dweller, those sacrifice durability for that state of intangibility. This one was durable to a frightening degree, and its combat prowess was every bit as remarkable.”
“Seems like the Colosseum planted its very own death trap this year.”
“Well, ‘death trap’ is certainly the right term for it.”
Jabez shuddered faintly as the memory resurfaced. Movements so fast that even his trained eyes struggled to follow, lightning-quick pivots, layered feints, relentless strikes. To an ordinary viewer, it would have looked like a storm of raw force given form. Even the ground and surrounding trees had failed to endure that exchange. Since the opening of the event, that clash had remained the undisputed highlight.
The thought that the Colosseum itself had chosen to bless such a monster left Jabez unsettled. Yet he also knew the Colosseum to be impartial. If such a creature had been allowed, then something must have justified its presence. Most likely, it was Tomaš himself. There was no denying that he stood well above the rest of his peers, by a wide margin, both in strength and in acuity. Perhaps the Colosseum had sensed that imbalance and placed an obstacle in his path accordingly.
That was the only conclusion Jabez could reach for now.
Even so, Tomaš would not go untested for long. As overwhelming as he was, this year’s tournament was not short of exceptional combatants. One such contender was already drawing closer to him. Vanya Kravic was moving steadily in his direction, and more than that, she was clearly employing some form of divination to guide her.
Jabez was aware that tension simmered between the Taranovs and the Kravics, with both families tied to sects within the Five Claws. The precise roots of the feud escaped him, but the convergence unfolding now felt inevitable. All he could do was hope that their collision would deliver a spectacle worthy of the buildup.
By this point, the crowd had chosen its favorites. By an overwhelming margin, Tomaš stood at the forefront. Jabez found that he shared their sentiment. Wherever Tomaš went, something followed. Dull moments simply did not gather around him.
Save, perhaps, for the strange routine that followed each of his victories, wherein he would feign weakness and shamelessly demand affection from his fluffy wolf companion. It never failed to stir laughter through the stands. Few would have guessed that the Taranov heir harbored such an indulgent fondness for soft creatures.
As time passed, however, a different pattern began to emerge. Tomaš no longer appeared interested in engaging his fellow competitors at all. Instead, he had shifted his focus almost entirely toward hunting the Colosseum’s blessed monsters.
“Hm… once again, Tomaš has bypassed the Moravec twins and instead tracked down the Tyrant Steel Arachne, choosing another monster over direct confrontation.”
“I’m beginning to notice a trend here, partner.”
“Oh? Then let’s hear it.”
“So far, the only ones who’ve managed to push Tomaš even a step are the Colosseum’s blessed monsters. Not a single fellow red core has forced him into a real exchange, not one. So the fact that Tomaš is actively seeking out monsters rather than challenging the other competitors says only one thing. And if you ask me, that one thing is honor!” Jabez’s eyes gleamed with a sudden spark.
“Honor?” his partner echoed.
“In a sense, yes. Thinking that his fellow red cores are beneath him would normally be a worrying flaw, but the results speak plainly. Every red core who has met him has been swept aside in a single, decisive moment. Right now, he isn’t avoiding them because he looks down on them. He’s avoiding them because he already knows the outcome. Fighting them would be a formality, nothing to test him, nothing to sharpen him. Instead, he’s turning toward the higher ceiling of challenge, the sort a noble warrior would seek. He’s chasing fights where his limits can actually be pressed. The blessed monsters are the only foes that have forced him to move in earnest, so he’s pursuing them.”
Jabez leaned forward, warming to the logic as it unfolded. “Think about it: if he crushed every competitor the way he has so far, the entire event would lose its spirit. A one-sided sweep would cheapen the victory. But by leaving his fellow red cores untouched, he isn’t humiliating them. He’s giving them the chance to rise, to show what they can do. And he’s reserving his effort for those monsters that can actually threaten him, even if just barely.”
A wild uproar surged through the stands. The crowd clearly understood the angle and roared Tomaš’s name as if it were a battle chant shaking the arena walls. Seeing such an unblemished display of what he interpreted as honor gave Jabez an unexpected surge of warmth.
“Tomaš knows by now that he may simply be too much for the others,” Jabez continued, unable to hide the pride creeping into his voice. “So he’s giving them a fair chance by not hunting them down. Instead, he’s going after worthy challenges, the blessed monsters that actually test his mettle.”
That thought alone made Jabez cheer silently in his own heart as well.
***
WHY were these things so absurdly tough?!
I slipped between the legs of the massive spider monster, narrowly avoiding being skewered as one of its barbed limbs slammed down where my head had just been. I struck straight into its abdomen the instant I cleared its reach, only for my blow to leave nothing more than a shallow dent in its armored plating.
Grinding my teeth, I kicked backward, lightning flooding over my fist as I surged forward again. This time, I drove straight through one of its legs, the impact shattering the limb in a violent spray of fragments.
The spider loosed a thunderous roar and hurled itself at me, its fangs— each as long as my forearm— snapping toward my face.
I caught them barehanded just before they closed.
And finally, I grinned.
“Gotcha.”
There was something shared among all of these Colosseum-blessed monsters. Every single one of them was wrapped in a strange, oppressive aura that granted durability beyond all sense. Even with my strength, even with proper strikes, I could barely manage more than dents across their armored bodies.
But that never meant my strength itself was lacking.
Poison streamed from the fangs in my grip, soaking into my skin and flooding into my bloodstream, only to do absolutely nothing beyond feeding me a pleasant surge of mana regeneration. With a grunt, I wrenched the hulking spider off the ground and slammed it down once.
Then again.
And again.
Each impact drove its own massive weight against itself, until the rocky ground beneath us began to crack and deform under the repeated punishment. At last, fissures spread through its armor. The plating shattered.
I hurled the monster through the air. It tore through the trees in a violent crash. In the same motion, I activated Thunderclap and surged after it, tearing clean through its broken armor and ending the fight in a single, final burst.
[You have slain a Level 72 Steel Arachne Matriarch (V)]
[Massive Experience Points acquired by slaying a special enemy above your level.]
[Level increased.]
[Level increased.]
[Level increased.]
I stared wide-eyed at the messages before breaking into a grin. I had finally turned my notifications back on, and seeing those level-ups again filled me with a familiar, nostalgic thrill.
It had been a long time since my growth had accelerated this fast. But the Colosseum had handed me a golden opportunity. When I checked my stat screen, I had already crossed level twenty, just from slaying five monsters. Each one was giving me at least two full levels.
So I wasn’t just earning the standard rewards from these kills, I was actively growing stronger from them.
A part of me couldn’t help wondering just how far I could climb before this was over. This phase was supposed to last an entire day… unless only eight participants remained before that happened.
Factoring in the time, the tracking, and the effort it took to hunt down and kill these monsters at a consistent pace, I was averaging one every other hour.
If I kept avoiding the others and focused purely on monster hunting…
I might break past level fifty before the Colosseum was done with me.
On top of that, I already knew that the Colosseum’s blessing layered onto these monsters was feeding me extra experience. The system didn’t spell it out subtly either— ‘special enemy above your level’ made that much clear. This wasn’t just good hunting at this point. This was a windfall.
Hitting level fifty here… that would be enormous. I’d been wondering where I’d even scrape together the experience for future levels. I’d half-expected to be forced into deep dungeon delves sooner rather than later. But now? It looked like I wouldn’t need to bother. And depending on what Phase Two had in store, I might even be able to brush the level cap before this entire ordeal was over.
That thought alone made me grin as I turned toward my little ‘cohort.’
Denis looked pale, still trying to process what he’d just witnessed. Moru, meanwhile, rushed straight at me, tail a blur, whining excitedly as he showered me with enthusiastic praise in rapid-fire wolfish noises.
“By the ancestors…” Denis muttered. “What kind of strength lets someone lift a building-sized spider and slam it around like it weighs nothing?”
I chuckled and raised my arm. Lightning still danced faintly over my skin. “I’ve got a technique that massively boosts my physical strength when I run lightning through my body. It’s not exactly free power. Burns through mana frighteningly fast.” I lied smoothly as I dropped down into a seated sprawl, playing up the exhaustion while fishing for more wolf cuddles. Bliss. Absolute bliss.
After downing a mana potion, I let out a slow breath. “And it’s not like I could’ve pulled that off alone. Moru drew its attention at the start, and you used the trees to lock down the movement of its spawn so they wouldn’t interfere with the fight.” This time, there was no deceit in it. My companions had earned their credit. Facing that thing alongside its swarm of spiderlings would have been a nightmare, not to mention a waste of precious time.
By the time the high-grade mana potion finished working its way through my system, I was already back on my feet. “Alright,” I said lightly. “Next target?”
Denis nodded, gathering himself.
And once more, I sank into the slow, methodical process of tracking down my next blessed monster. Tedious as the hunt could be, the rewards waiting at the end of it made every step more than worthwhile.
***
Snežana observed the ongoing battle with a faint smile. Gwen had been right about one thing at least; Jade had a natural talent for theatrics. Anyone who watched her for more than a moment was bound to be entertained, whether they meant to be or not. Even now, part of Snežana’s attention lingered on the fight.
But it wasn’t where her true focus lay.
No… her attention was fixed on the head of the Taranov family.
He sat only a few meters away from her, a faint frown etched into his face. By now, anyone close enough to Tomaš should have felt that something about him was off. And if anyone could sense it first, it would be his parents. Both of them had pulled polite smiles into place as they watched their son in the arena, yet beneath that façade was a volatile mix of pride and suspicion.
Snežana let out a quiet sigh and summoned Moryana.
‘The Taranovs are starting to grow suspicious. I can’t intervene directly, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give Jade a little more time to hold her disguise. There’s no certainty that the elders are watching the families of every participant… but Tomaš is receiving a very specific kind of attention. Any trace of doubt on his parents’ faces will be noticed. And that won’t do.’
[As you wish, Master.]
Moments later, the tension on the Taranovs’ faces eased. The faint lines of unease vanished, replaced by expressions of amusement and open delight, with arrogant pride settling comfortably where suspicion had just been.
Only then did Snežana allow herself another breath.
She expanded her senses outward through Moryana’s report, and what she felt there darkened her mood instantly. The elders were up to something again. As always, it was happening in the deepest reaches of the Colosseum, near the Hall of Fame, in the region where the so-called heart of the Colosseum was said to lie.
Snežana’s jaw tightened.
What the fuck were those fossils doing?!
***
‘Tomaš’ (the tragically misunderstood Calamity-in-Disguise)
Currently pretending to be exhausted again, solely for the medicinal properties of wolf fluff.
Suspected by commentators of having “deep honor.”
Reality: has deep desire for free EXP and cuddles.
"Ah… yes… I must rest after slamming a spider the size of a barn. Moru, quick, for my survival.”
Denis (permanently stressed wolf-kin)
Currently grappling with the following facts:
His teammate just suplexed a building.
That was apparently the fifth monster today.
No one else seems alarmed enough.
Moru (the Precious Floofy Wolf, Certified Comfort Burrito)
Status: Attached to Tomaš like a velcro cloaking device.
Tail: Wagging aggressively.
Translation of today’s wolf-whines:
“Strong! Good! Soft! Mine!”
Additional Note: Thinks the ugly spider deserved it.
Steel Arachne Matriarch (recently reduced to gravel)
Cause of death: Being used as a blunt instrument against the environment.
Last thoughts: “WHY IS THE GROUND COMING TOWARD ME AGAIN?”
Current Status: EXP.
Jabez (announcer & honorary priest of Tomaš’s ‘honor arc’)
Firmly convinced Tomaš is:
a noble warrior,
a paragon of restraint,
the living embodiment of chivalry
Snežana (the woman holding this entire farce together)
Currently playing “Whack-a-Mole” with suspicion, parental intuition, political tensions, and the collective idiocy of the elders.
“If Jade gets caught because she wanted fluffy hugs I swear to the Ancestors…”
The Taranov Heads (temporarily blissful, artificially)
Status:
Suspicion → concern → dawning horror → mysteriously erased.
Now proudly believing: “That’s definitely our son. Look at him go.”
The Elders (the fossils in question)
Still meddling in the Hall of Fame region, near the heart of the Colosseum.
Purpose: Unknown.
Sense of responsibility: None.
Comments
Peter Smith
Im going to laugh if they use their abilities to meddle to forbid the wrong person from the next stage. Especially if they somehow make the mistake of believing that jade can only impersonate a female, solely because they don't understand alchemy.
Summer Coff
Oh, it's a good sign if Moru is thinking "mine".
Alexey Gladkich
I think they want to claim the divinity of the "heart" for themselves. Like they did with Jade's divinity.
Shai182
TFTC! Hope Lotte can poke the fossils to keep them from meddling...
Narf
Please take whatever breaks you need, nobody wants a burnt Mango. I'm surprised how easily Snezana was able to mess with the heads of Tomas' parents. I guess she isn't the big head honcho for nothing. Very fun chapter yet again!
shiba
Hopefully she can eat these monsters bodies after phase 1 somehow the morphogen would be crazy for her organs. Also wondering if she finds a divinity source that she can consume which means she could get another new crazy evolution for her gold core options.
Garnet of Flame
Thanks for the Chapter! Shame we won’t be getting a duel between “Tomaš” and his ex, but if you think mini arc is getting drawn out too much then there’s nothing else for it. I am excited to see what happens in phase 2! The elders aren’t planning on just trapping all the competitors in the astral realm to die horribly to the native denizens on the off chance one of them might be jade are they?
jeffh4
> Last thoughts: “WHY IS THE GROUND COMING TOWARD ME AGAIN?” Answer: Because you are a bowl of petunias. Bonus points for the first to recognize that reference. Also, need some carriage returns before “Moru (the precious…”
Person0192837465
Can’t wait for phase 2, and for the fossils to get their comeuppance!
Person0192837465
Thanks for the chappie!
