Blood Assimilation

Shortly after the silver-armored guard left, the middle-aged man abruptly revealed a sinister grin and vanished on the spot. He had cast a long-distance spell to teleport to the closest location to the Imperial City.

Although the Imperial City could be said to be within the Royal Capital, it wasn't actually on the same platform as the Royal Capital was separated from the Imperial City by a wall that forms a landmark elevation. Though this wall was not enough to eclipse the height of the Grand Royal Castle, so it could still be seen while in the Imperial City.

The location where the middle-aged man's building was situated was directly within the Royal Capital. In other words, his building shared the same platform as the Royal Castle, except he was still a considerable distance away from the Royal Castle.

The middle-aged man reappeared again, and he had already traveled a few hundred miles away from his residence. Currently, he had transported himself to the gate that led to the Imperial City.

However, as soon as he appeared, he met a luxuriously decorated Carriage drawn by magical beasts who were already making their way through the gate with many entourage following suit. When the person inside the luxurious Carriage noticed the sudden presence and spatial fluctuation around them, they frowned and were about to berate them for having the audacity to use teleportation magic within the Royal Capital's vicinity.

However, the person in the luxurious Carriage blinked and immediately recognized the identity of the person who just appeared was using teleportation. Their expression instantly turned solemn and respectfully spoke: "So it is Great Lord Yonder. If the Great Lord is heading out without a Carriage, why don't you join this Princess? This Princess is currently making her way to the Coliseum in the Imperial City and I still have some space in my humble Carriage."

It was a voice belonging to that of a young woman with a gentle and soothing tone of voice. As she spoke, her tone was so polite that people who didn't know anything about the middle-aged man would wonder why a Princess such as her was speaking in such a respectful manner to the middle-aged man.

"Hm." The middle-aged man curtly replied. He didn't think too much about it and instantly disappeared and reappeared inside the luxurious Carriage and then sat opposite the young woman in the carriage with his eyes half-closed as if he was resting or meditating.

This young woman was the Crown Princess of the Human Kingdom of this world. She was dressed in a simple golden silk dress embroidered with the crest of the Royal Family all over, indicating her noble and royal status.

At this moment, she curtsied while sitting and displayed a beautiful and friendly smile on her gorgeous face, enough to captivate the heart of many men who saw her charming expression, but the middle-aged man was still expressionless in front of her, making her feel slightly awkward.

Along their way into the Imperial City, she would attempt to start a conversation with the middle-aged man, but he would only reply curtly without saying much. After their exchanges, they discovered that their destination was the same place, which was the Gladiators' Coliseum.

The Crown Princess was making her way to the Coliseum to watch the Gladiator match to see if she could find trustworthy aides to join her faction, as she needed people to take her side when the time came for the succession of the throne. Meanwhile, the middle-aged man was simply visiting the Coliseum to check out the newly arrived person for himself.

Thus, they quietly continued their journey without saying much else after discovering each other's destination.

…

On the other side.

After walking around some buildings and infrastructures while following the shortcuts suggested by Gutz along the way, Randy finally arrived at the Coliseum which was structured in a shape of a dome. Randy stood there to marvel at the Grand Coliseum which was about the size of one and a half Stadium before following Gutz's lead inside to register for a Gladiator match.

Before they registered, Randy considered and said to Gutz: "Is it possible to spectate one of the matches before my turn is up?"

"Are you trying to check things out before attempting your match?" Gutz guessed his reasons.

"That's right." Randy nodded and said: "Since this is my first time, I wanted to see how people fight before stepping on the stage. Is there a rule against that or is it allowed?"

Gutz shook his head and explained: "Actually, there is no rule against spectating other Gladiator matches as a fellow Gladiator. While it isn't stated in the rules, it is tacitly allowed for one to know their opponent's fighting style or at least some of the fighting styles used on the stage."

"Knowing this kind of information would be helpful when facing your opponent, as if you're lucky, your opponent might use the same fighting style as the one you would observe. As you'll find out later, most people use the same fighting technique while on the stage. The only difference would be their experience with their fighting technique."

"I see. So that's how it is." Randy nodded in understanding.

"Anyway, you can still register now. Afterward, you can spectate some matches as you await your turn. Trust me, you will enjoy your first experience fighting without your skills." Gutz said with a face full of smiles as he recalled his first time.

'This again? What does he mean by fighting without my skills.' That was the second time Gutz said this statement to him. He wanted to ask him, but he felt that it would make him look plain dumb or appear as a bumpkin who lacked common knowledge, so he decided to experience it for himself to confirm what Gutz meant by his words.

Right after their conversation, they went to the counter to register. They didn't require much for the registration process. Randy only needed to hand over his Dungeon Hunter Card to confirm his information and sign him up for a match with someone with the same strength. Furthermore, Randy told the receptionist to register him for indefinite matches until his temporary attributes get assimilated with his body.

That meant he would be having multiple back-to-back matches without any rest, but he didn't mind it at all. After all, he wasn't sure how long it would take for him completely integrate with his temporary attributes and turn them into permanent attributes.