Chapter 5 : Milites

"I'm ready for the trials." Emma declared after a few minutes of thought, seeing no other way to fulfill her objectives. Facing the Centurion, Emma was expecting another speech, or perhaps a dramatic opening of the gilded gate to allow her into the Academy proper. What she wasn't expecting was for reality itself to glitch, for lack of a better word to describe the phenomenon. All she knew was that one moment, she was outside under the cloudy English sky; the next she was center stage beneath bright sunlight in the Colosseum, as it must have looked before centuries of disrepair and looting took hold. Epitaph disappeared, Emma's rational side noted, whilst the rest of her was far too busy admiring the view. Pristine white walls loomed in every direction, filled with cheering crowds dressed in tunics interspersed with the occasional toga. A pack of wolves slowly circled the edges of the arena, staring hungrily at her but never ceasing in their patrol. Glancing across the stands, Emma could see what must have been tens of thousands of spectators, none of whom were immediately recognizable except for one. Sat in the lowest (and therefore best) seat directly facing the main arena was her brother, a single dash of purple in a sea of white, watching impassively and giving no sign of having noticed her presence at all. "An impressive recreation," Emma had to admit. "Not all the details are right though." Indeed, even a quick glance saw men and women mixed freely amidst the crowd; laudably progressive but historically inaccurate based on the scant seating charts available to scholars in the modern day. Likewise whilst Felix, as the Emperor had the best seats; he appeared to be surrounded by a cross-section of society rather than solely a delegation of the senatorial and equestrian classes. Then Emma blinked, feeling a strange sense of vertigo for a brief moment. When her eyes refocused, she could see that the discrepancies she'd noted were no more; women being assigned to the highest rows alongside the foreigners, slaves and the poor, whilst Felix was surrounded by only the elite of society. Oh wow, Felix looks annoyed now, Emma noted. [The Dungeon distorts to accommodate the whims of its Master.] And on that ominous warning; the cry of horns sounded, coinciding with the opening of the Colosseum's Gate of Life. Two massive lions emerged, each towering over Emma as they approached; one adorned in a coat of purest white and the other a midnight black, their eyes gleaming with intelligence as they took to the stage. There were no words from Felix to mark the occasion, no signal from the Emperor to begin proceedings as dramatizations often showed. Just another round of horns, and then the bout was on. [Dies & Nox - Level 3] "Day and Night," Emma sighed. "Very original." Holding off from re-summoning Epitaph, Emma waited in place, wanting to observe her opponents in action. They clearly had the same idea, leading to a full minute of staring before the crowd began to boo. That spurred the lions into action, charging towards her with a speed belying their bulk. Not fast enough though, as a short sidestep brought Emma out of their trajectory; Epitaph coming into being as her downward, one-handed slash carved a slice out of Dies' flank. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. [Anima: 6] "Not even close," Emma laughed a tad maniacally as she glanced at her status. By many metrics, she was in a really bad spot; barely standing whilst Dies was still mostly fresh barring a single injury to his flank, and rapidly approaching her position to boot. None of that phased the euphoric Emma in the slightest though; because for the first time since her rebirth, she'd finally secured enough experience points to level up. [50 EXP Gained. Level Up! Emma Knight - Level 2 Revenant Alignment: True Neutral Anima: 6/150 EXP: 135/240 Level Tree unlocked! Select one of the following: 1) Ability - Grave Song (Cost: 5% current Anima /second): Sing a song of death, causing increasing damage to the living the longer they hear it. 2) Ability - Ephemera (Cost: 10% base Anima /second): Become intangible while active, able to pass unhindered through physical objects and blows. 3) Trait - The Wolf: Your strikes are preternaturally sharp, tearing through flesh and steel with equal ease.] Smiling widely, Emma didn't hesitate to make her choice.