Lewd Futanari Succubus Ch. 44

Beatrice looked up and saw that indeed many wooden barrels were rolled out and placed on the edges of the platforms while the citizens of Klapsus lined up with mugs to fill.

"Also know that this year we have even more lovely ladies and stud gentlemen for in-between round entertainment! Their booths will be located in all major spectator areas and provide you with various services: girl on girl shows; all-you-can-cum-on-sexy-feet booths, dick rating booths, and many others!"

Sixty-nine, huh? Beatrice looked at the number on her new armband that one of the masked men just finished tying around her arm.

"I see the numbers have been distributed," Thelicia said. "Which means that the upgraded view is long overdue!"

As soon as Thelicia said that the masked men that stood by the open chests sat down in lotus position and clapped their hands in unison as all twelve of them started mumbling some kind of spell. And it was a spell. Beatrice saw blue auras form around the men. Their magical auras grew out in all directions until they combined with the aura of their neighbor. Just a few seconds after that happened, those magical auras shot up high into the air and all flew over the arena toward the center until they combined together in a spectacular firework-like blast, high in the air, at the same level as Thelicia's platform.

However, that blast of magical energy did disperse as a firework would. The magical sphere grew, and as it grew, Beatrice saw something unbelievable within the sphere. Herself. The image then switched to one of the pathetic-looking participants. As if looking into some gigantic crystal ball, Beatrice, as well as every other person in the mine, could watch the participants in high resolution. As seconds passed, the image only got clearer, and soon Beatrice felt as if she was watching one of those gigantic, led, center-hung display cubes.

"Perfect!" Thelicia cheered. Even without seeing the girl's face, Beatrice clearly imagined the wide grin on the manic girl's face that no doubt exposed her little upper fang. "Now, we have sixty-nine participants! A lovely number! I even see that some of you have brought your own weapons. I just need a couple volunteers! Anyone?"

_

Beatrice looked around to see if anyone would volunteer. The succubus was a newcomer to these games and this world as a whole, but she was savvy enough to understand that the likelihood of anything good coming out of such volunteering was slim to none. And considering the reservation of other participants, as well as the unwavering excitement of the spectators, it was apparent that to Beatrice that she made the right choice.

"Hm... Not a single brave soul?" Thelicia asked with disappointment when nobody answered her call for volunteers. "And here I thought we had potential champions participating... It looks like this time we have a bunch of chumps instead! How sorry I am to all the spectators that have gathered."

Yeah, right! Beatrice would not fall for such cheap tricks. Thelicia spoke about "rounds" and this is some sort of pre-game diversion while the spectators place their bets. Either it will turn into a completely pointless exercise or it will end horribly for whoever gets involved.

Beatrice noticed Olivia clench her fist at the insult, but the ninja girl remained in place as well.

One man raised his hand. The giant sphere up above the arena zoomed in on the brave soul who had his skinny, trembling arm raised above his head, displaying him in spectacular detail for all the spectators to see.

"Wonderful! Now there's a heart of a champion!" Thelicia exclaimed with renewed passion. "Lucky number thirteen! Step forward, step forward! Separate yourself from your lesser competitors! Stand tall and proud!"

Many in the crowd laughed as Number Thirteen could not stand tall even if he tried. His only separation from the others was only in how unimaginable it was to think of him as a potential winner in a fight to the death. At a glance, he had about as many muscles as the bubblegum girl and his armaments looked like something collected from the corpses of low-level goblins if such creatures even existed in this world.

"Now, now, don't laugh!" Thelicia scolded the spectators. "Not all champions are musclehead brutes... Still, that rusty ol' dagger simply will not do! We should reward Number Thirteen for his bravery, don't you agree, everyone?"

The response was mixed. While some people cheered others rushed after the masked even staff and passionately pleaded and argued.

"Haha, while it is great to see so much passion for the predictions, I must ask that you do not pester the staff," Thelicia addressed the agitated minority in the crowds. "After you've cast your votes and confirmed them with our staff you may not change them no matter the reason!

As for our first volunteer... Can we bring him his reward?"

One of the scrawny masked men returned to the open chest and looked up to Thelicia for instructions.

"Let me see... Oh, it has to be The Cleaver!"

The scrawny masked man bent over the chest and pulled out a weapon so large, Beatrice found it hard to believe it could have ever hidden in the chest.

"Twenty-five pounds of stainless steel!" Thelicia described the weapon that looked like a giant's meat cleaver. "At nearly five feet in length, this portable guillotine offers impressive range and lethal area, and can cut through a skull like butter!"

The masked man handed the weapon to Number Thirteen who instantly let the heavy cleaver side of the weapon fall into the rocks blade-first as he was clearly unprepared for such weight.

"Now, do we have any other volunteers?" Thelicia asked.

Unsurprisingly, nearly a dozen hands shot up into the air, prompted by the idea of receiving a weapon to secure an advantage. This still did not make much sense to Beatrice.

"If weapons are so important, why didn't everyone just bring their's with them?" Beatrice quietly asked Olivia.

"Because usually they are decided at random," Olivia said. "Whatever they give you is what you have to use. Whenever someone came overgeared, they were made to regret it. Half the fun for the mob that gathers to watch these games is seeing others get screwed over mercilessly."

"My, now that's more like it!" Thelicia approved of the increase in volunteers. "Unfortunately, there are only five spots remaining, so I'll pick the ones that raised their hand first. Numbers... Seven, Sixteen, Thirty-five, Thirty-six, and Fifty-two! Step forward!"

The called-out Numbers walked forward to where Number Thirteen stood with his cleaver still in the ground. Four guys and one girl joined Number Thirteen, among them was one of the gigantic men that Beatrice dubbed the "walking double refrigerator". A cheesy and unpronounceable nickname, however, that was how Beatrice felt about the overfed, overgrown strongman that would make professional wrestlers blush. And lucky for Beatrice, she did not have to say her made-up nicknames aloud. Instead, she wondered if she could get away with dealing with that fridge the same way that she dealt with Steve.

"Perfect!" Thelicia exclaimed when all six volunteers were together in a small location. "Now, the rules are simple. For the First Round, we only need sixty-four participants. Whoever among you six remains standing after two minutes, gets to keep The Cleaver for the First Round!"