"Oh?" Yemo raised his hand into the air, forcing the loud chants to a halt. The goblin took a few breaths to think about this proposal.
'So... he wants to bet himself against Balbam. If he loses, I get to own him as my slave... and if he wins...' A grin grew on Yemo's face.
He knew the horrors of that monastery.
'No mind... no thought or idea that resides within a mortal can return from the Ashen Hollow with their mind intact if they choose to steal that forbidden technique. This monkey... he will only become a brainless puppet if he goes there! Controlling him will be manyfold easier!' It was a win-win no matter which side the coin fell.
"Fine," Yemo said with a smile before turning and walking out of the arena.
The chants continued from before, thuds and roars shaking the very ground Midas stood on.
He glanced at the ground. Time seemed to slow for him. The rattle of the floor was no longer coming from the crowd... but instead, another force.
Loud, consecutive thumps reverberated across the floor.
Midas's gaze traveled upward.
He faced the entrance opposite him, his eyes slowly widening with surprise.
From the opposite entrance, a terrifying being encroached.
It was a cave troll.
The beast walked with long, slow, and lazy steps. Its legs were massive compared to those of a normal human, but small in proportion.
The troll stood sixteen feet or so tall (488cm) in stature, towering over the tallest of orcs that Midas had seen.
In terms of height, it was the tallest thing he had seen in his entire life, even after arriving on the island.
Its face was botched and ugly. Its lips swam from one side of its cheek and only reached the center of its chin before ending.
Its eyes were lopsided and crooked, dirt and murk lathered within.
If it were a normal-sized being, it would look to have scrwanny hands and feet, a slightly distended stomach, and a body like a wall of stone.
The hide that covered it was as thick as an elephant's.
But this didn't seem to be a normal troll. Its eyes were removed, and two massive iron spikes lodged in their place.
There were also small iron spikes dug into its shoulders, glutes, hamstrings, and torso.
The spikes connected to a single chain held by a goblin riding atop the head of the troll on a small saddle, holstered perfectly on its dome.
The scene was horrific, straight out of some sort of dark fantasy movie.
'Just... what did they do to this thing?' Midas grimaced inside, 'It seems to still be alive... but it's clearly being tortured every second that it lives.' He almost felt bad for the beast.
He glanced at the goblin on top of Balbam.
Lo and behold, it was Yemo. The king still had a grin stretching across his face.
"This is Balbam, the skull smasher!" Yemo yelled, boosting the noise of the crowd even more.
The troll reached behind his back, grabbing a massive wooden club made with gnarled wood. It was around half the size of the troll's body.
"Harrrfass!" The troll grunted, its mouth filled with decay and rot.
A horrible stench filled the air, forcing Midas to scrunch his face in disgust.
"Foul..." He muttered, grabbing his bone dagger.
"Balbam is no ordinary troll! He has, through my expertise, bested even high white orcs! With his normal slow reflexes and stupid decision-making abilities, it wouldn't stand a chance. However, its power is given to another being, like me, and its massive physique can be used for far greater outcomes!" Yemo screamed as the troll swung his bat left and right, even slamming the walls of the arena.
"Come now, let us fight!" Yemo shouted. The troll began storming toward Midas as if it could see exactly where he was.
Midas didn't flinch, however.
'Through my training with Gool, I have almost mastered the simple art of goblin dagger fighting.' He said in his head.
He wasn't just referring to the physical aspects of it, but also the mental.
With goblin dagger fighting, the two went hand in hand. One needed not just a strong body, but a mind forged by steel to stay in attack range at almost all times.
Midas was scared before the fight began, but after gripping his dagger, his fear dissipated.
His heartbeat calmed, his grip tightening as his limbs ceased to shake.
'This opponent... is the exact candidate to fail against my fighting style.' He thought to himself before breaking out into a sprint.
He dropped down and slid between the legs of the troll, slashing its left ankle as violently as he could in the meantime.
"Grahhhh!" The troll screamed with pain, dropping to one knee as it grasped its ankle.
Midas turned on his heel, leaping onto the back of the troll and onto the saddle atop its head within two forceful jumps.
Yemo looked back at Midas with a confused but also horrified look on his face.
As Midas raised his dagger above his head with both arms, Yemo's eyes flashed with terror.
He gasped, "W-wait! You have to defeat this thing, not me!" He blurted, hopping off the troll.
Midas lowered his blade, gazing toward Yemo.
"I... was just tryin' to have fun." The goblin sighed, walking toward the exit, "Thankfully... Balbam is even stronger when unleashed. Maybe even a bit too strong."
Midas turned to face the troll below him at this moment.
'It makes sense... a troll who's going through immense pain and torture. It will most likely start slamming into anything nearby and attacking everything in its vicinity.' Midas thought.
Just then, the troll began to stand again.
"Kraah!" It let out a scratchy battlecry before beginning to swing aimlessly in the air.
It slammed into the wall, accidentally sending a few goblins flying into the arena.
They were crushed by Balbam's feet as they tried to hurrily escape, turned into green and red paste in seconds as eyes popped out of sockets.
Midas was eventually thrown off and flung into a wall as well. However, he made sure to stay still.
He exhaled, 'My fighting technique was made for a slow and large opponent like this... I can not fail.' He once again fortified his mind.
With a leap, he was back at the center of the battle.
Thankfully, the couple of other goblins in the coliseum made his job a little easier.
One screamed in fear, running toward the entrance.
The troll instantly caught onto this sound, turning and running toward the goblin.
Midas dashed in, slashing the troll's left ankle.
Unfortunately, the blow wasn't powerful enough. It lacerated the troll's leg, but not enough to make it stop its rampage.
Seeing this, Midas furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.
Looking around, he noticed a couple of stone and bone daggers on the ground--lathered in goblin guts.
He put his dagger into his mouth, biting down so it wouldn't fall.
Then, he grabbed two daggers--one stone, the other bone-- and duel-wielded them.
He ran toward the troll, stabbing its back calf with the stone dagger.
The beast let out a wail of pain, smashing into a wall before turning around and running in the opposite direction again.
Midas raised his bloody bone dagger, stabbing it higher up into the troll's hip this time.
Using this dagger for leverage, he swung himself up into the air and grabbed the final dagger in his mouth.
With a fast swing, he slashed across the back of the troll's neck with bold precision.
Instantly, its spinal cord was cut in half. Its entire body came to a screeching halt as it fell face forward onto the floor before rolling two feet forward with a screech.
[You have slain a Troll!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have lev...