More time crawled by at a snail's pace as he sat there in utter stagnation, awaiting anything to give him sensation as his stomach growled, reminding him of the very concept of his mortality.

I completely forgot about food..I'm so hungry, he thought.

As he questioned where and if he could find a meal, he was startled at the jarring sound of metal rattling. It was confusing at first; foreign amidst the continuous silence that persisted until that moment.

Frozen for a moment in this perplexion, he jumped to his feet, grabbing the bow beside him and making sure the rusty dagger was still tucked in his pocket.

..Is it finally happening? Now? Right here? He questioned.

Anxiety bubbled in his heart as he ran into the center of the minimalist, but pillar-filled room, finding the leftmost and rightmost gates of sturdy bars being relinquished.

What left him worried was the fact that both previously closed gates were now opened. It wasn't something he put much thought into, but he naturally expected there to be one enemy awaiting him in the metal colosseum.

He held his ground, drawing an arrow from the quiver strapped to his bare back before pulling it back alongside the string of his bow.

"...Phew.." He slowly exhaled, calming his thumping heart as he focused up.

Without knowing which direction he should set his sights on, he was given a perfect cue at what sounded like a wet footstep slapping against the flooring down the left gate.

There, he thought.

Drenched steps continued echoing against the acoustic flooring, filling the once deafening silence with gnawing anticipation for the young Dragonheart.

He aimed the drawn arrow down the shadow-filled corridor to the left, though the footsteps suddenly cut out completely.

historical

"Ribbit."

–The sole sound met Emilio's ears in complete doubt for the young man who questioned what he just heard, "...Ribbit?"

As he repeated the sound with his lips, he was given no time to question it as the air suddenly shifted, causing goosebumps to rise on his arms as the instincts inhabiting his body forced him to roll to the side.

"Ghh–!"

The air was penetrated by something diving in with sharp speed, propelling right past the spot the young man just stood.

For a moment, nothing filled his mind but fog; it all shifted too suddenly from sensory deprivation now to an overload as adrenaline flourished in his veins.

What was that..? He questioned.

He had landed on a knee after successfully evading the swift attack, turning around to witness a sight that left him with more questions than answers: it was a tall, bulbous humanoid with green skin, slimy skin.

While it mostly pertained to human physique, its head was completely devoid of normalcy, instead resembling that of a frog with a large mouth, croaking and expanding its vocal soak to unleash a bellowing call.

A frog..? No, not quite–a frog demi-human? He realized.

It had webbed hands and feet, unveiling a long, grotesque tongue as it parted its mouth, whipping its tongue out directly towards the young Dragonheart.

"Nngh–!"

He rolled again, taking cover behind one of the pillars as the saliva-covered appendage of the frog freak smacked against its metallic form.

How am I supposed to fight something like this..? He questioned, no magic, and my Dragonheart System isn't active at all–how?!

Rattled and left feeling naked without any spells to aid him, he was hardly able to react as the green-skinned, humanoid amphibian dashed around the pillar, confronting him.

"--!" Emilio's eyes widened.

His body didn't move in tandem with his own reflexes, unable to be bolstered by magical reinforcement as he raised his arms.

The powerful legs of the frog demi-human dropkicked against his forearms, causing the young man to be brutally flung back. As his back slammed against one of the metal walls, the air was knocked from his lungs.

"Pyuh..!" He gasped out.

Looking at his own arms, they instantly became swollen and bruised to a purple like bulbous grapes; the two limbs quivered, shaking tremendously as the impact rattled his bones.

This was a deathmatch, if such a thing truly existed in the afterlife; however, despite the overwhelmingly one-sided odds stacked against his powerless self, he felt a fire burning within him–invisible to others, but bubbling within himself.

It wasn't the blood of the Dragonheart pumping through him, even as his heart resonated with an ignited will.

This was his pure, unfiltered resolve–the strength of Emilio Dragonheart; of Ethan Bellrose.

"Fine. I'll win without any special abilities. I'll show you the strength of a human–no gimmicks, nothing–right down to the marrow of my bones, I'm just a normal human, but I'll still claim victory," Emilio promised out loud.

It was unclear to him what level of intelligence the frog humanoid possessed as there was no verbal response to his words, only a lifeless look in its deep, yellow eyes.

"Come on, then. Let's do this," he provoked quietly.

Without any further invitation needed, the beastly, bipedal frog lowered its stance as its green-skinned thighs bulked up, bulging with veins as it empowered its legs. He could almost hear the creature's muscles coiling with inhuman strength.

Here it comes! Emilio watched.

There was no doubt a hefty amount of strength in those legs belonging to the unorthodox beast, building up before it leapt forward like a spring of great tension being released.

The air whistled from the foe that launched itself like a cannonball, hurling towards the young man who rolled to the side only a split-second before being caught in the path of the amphibian warrior.

–It's so fast! That was pure luck–nothing else, he admitted.

It was on a direct course for slamming into the wall, though to the dismay of the Dragonheart, the frog beast caught itself before crashing into the metal barrier, instead landing with its sticky, webbed feet latching onto the material.

There was hardly any time to get his bearings as he lifted his head, witnessing the beastly, slimy foe's legs bulk up against as it compressed itself against the wall before–FWOOM.

Again, it sprang forth like a cannonball piercing the air, causing the wind to howl by the young man's ears as he threw himself to the side at the last moment.

I have to catch it..! He thought.

Knelt on one knee, he steadied his bow and drew the arrow he held between his fingers along the string, taking aim in the direction of the giant amphibian. Of course, the lack of experience meant this entire process took him too long, resulting in, once more, being one step behind the spring-like antics of the frog demi-human.

The air blasted again in the path of the beastly warrior's speed, interrupting him from releasing the arrow as the wind pressure alone caused him to stumble to the side despite the frog missing its launch.

"Ghh–!" Emilio let out.

He felt it in a new light; the strength of the monstrous frog was something that normally wouldn't have been all too special–it fell short of many opponents he's fought. However, devoid of the grace of mana in this moment, it felt like a true monster stood before him.

As he spun around to face the creature, it was already midway through launching a one-legged kick towards him.

There was no chance for him to dodge, only reluctantly raising his arms to block the kick, though it was a regrettable choice as his already bruised and swollen forearms were smashed into again by the powerful limb of the frog warrior.

"Nngh..!"

He could swear he heard his bones cracking, feeling them ring with a sharp pain throughout his arms as the blocked blow caused him to slide back a good couple feet.

The moment he relaxed his arms somewhat, they flopped down, nearly causing him to drop the bow that was as light as a feather, as even holding such meager weight became painful for him.

Shit. It's strong. I can't stop on the defense–evading its attacks is mostly a matter of luck and guarding against it is just going to get me more and more broken, he thought.

He used the opportunity with the frog standing there, croaking, to run back to the otherside of the room, putting more distance between himself and his enemy. Briefly, he hid himself behind a pillar, leaning his shoulder against it as he caught his breath; sweat dripped down from his chin as he breathed out.

..Alright. Let's do this, he readied himself.

An arrow was retrieved from the leather quiver on his back before he pulled it back along the string, showing himself from the pillar again as he took aim towards the amphibian beast.

It was painful just drawing the string back; the few pounds of pressure felt as if it was tearing at his swollen forearms–still, he pushed through it as he closed one eye to aid his aim.

There! He found it.

Pointing the arrowhead towards the green-skinned humanoid that stood in the center of the room, he released his hold of the string just as it ran towards him.