Zone 3, the Holy Land, Heavy Machinery's Arena.
Clang, clang, clang!
The moment the gong rang, Tree Hero could hold on no longer. His body went limp, and he collapsed.
Ten rounds. Ten whole rounds!
No one had expected Tree Hero, a rookie Hero barely at the bottom of the third tier, to defeat ten Monsters in succession, endure to the very end, and complete the Arena's grand slam.
After a brief silence, heated chatter erupted in the stands:
"Fuck! I bet he'd go out in the first round. What a loss! I'm canceling overtime pay at the company tomorrow to recoup some of it."
"Awesome! A match this good was worth the ticket price even if I died!"
"To watch a match this exciting, you really need a good Cybernetic Body."
"Shut up, announcer!"
Tree Hero did not react to the curses, cheers, and arguments around him. He merely gave the faintest smile.
At last, I'm free.
Just then, an intense wave of dizziness struck Tree Hero without warning.
Something's wrong!
Tree Hero's eyes widened. In an instant, he realized he had been poisoned.
Those bastards never intended to let me go!
Help! I don't want to die! I want to go home!
Once he realized this, Tree Hero struggled desperately, trying to stand and call for help. But his limbs felt filled with lead, utterly powerless and unable to move. As his heartbeat slowed and his breathing grew heavier, he soon lost consciousness.
"It appears Tree Hero burned himself out. Rest assured, everyone, we'll give him a Hero's burial." The announcer spoke passionately into the microphone. "Next, I have an announcement. This May eleventh marks the hundredth anniversary of our Monster-versus-Hero cricket fights. We'd like to do something different, something crazy."
"So we'll release a Black-Rank Monster in