Warlock of War: My Ares System

I fell to my knees, my hands gripping the pitch-black floor as I saw my life flash before my eyes.

And then, the sound of a single bell ringing across the endless void surrounding me dispersed through my ears, breaking the migraine and allowing me to look up, my body sweating bullets.

"Huh?" I gripped my eyes and then rubbed them as a massive card, probably about triple the size of me, floated in the abyss gracefully and gently. "A… tarot card?"

Its signature blue with a star design was immediately recognizable, but upon closer inspection, I noticed an almost demonic face sprawling across it.

It sent shivers down my spine, and my body, already sweating like I had just gotten out of a sauna, froze up.

"What do you want?" I glared at the card, attempting to keep a powerful presence up, but seeing how the thing just wouldn't stop smiling, I couldn't help but drop the act.

Slowly, the face faded away, and the tarot card slowly turned around, revealing the chariot yet again.

It was shining, bright, and brilliant, but the scent it emitted was that of a battlefield slowly growing with the stains of blood and death marking the world.

"You," A voice called out to me, causing goosebumps to erupt from my skin as the stone face on the card began to move, and its pitch-black eyes seemingly stared into my soul, judging me.

Fuck… what is this… pressure?

I felt my head bend downwards, and my body soon collapsed as I was pressed against the floor, the same pitch-black eyes scraping my skin.

"What a weakling," The face sighed before the world around me shifted with just the chime of a bell.

I didn't even blink. The world just appeared as the inside of the cell I was constantly in, sweating from head to toe.

The headache might've been gone, but the claws scraping the back of my neck wouldn't stop taunting me with their enormous pressure.

"What the hell is that… that was… as powerful as a fucking god," I grit my teeth, angry at how powerless I was but also a bit relieved to know that I hadn't died.

[You have been infused with the knowledge of your new skill]

There was no painful headache which served as a cover for the information getting injected deep into my mind.

There was no numbing to force me to pass out and altogether avoid the process… it was just simple and instant.

It was almost like I had reached an epiphany, causing information on how to use this skill to appear inside my mind, causing a light grin to crack onto my face.

"I thought it was just a buff skill… but this is just crazy."

…

[Side Quest: Colosseum Match Three]

[Description: Utterly destroy your opponent in this next match in order to reveal to the opposing settlers that you didn't come here to play around. Strike fear into the hearts of everybody watching and make sure your opponent doesn't come back with his sanity intact.]

[Reward: [Skill Book - Tarot: Heroic Persuasion]

[Penalty Upon Failure: Death]

[Time Left: 30 Minutes]

.

As I stepped out onto the dirt battleground, I sucked in the refreshing blood-stained, and burnt air surrounding me. It was a beautiful scent one just couldn't go without once addicted to.

"AND NOW! WE HAVE THE FATED MATCH BETWEEN THE WINGED RAPIER OF BLOOD AND THE INCREDIBLY BRUTAL DEMON OF BLOOD! BOTH EXIST FOR THE SAKE OF BLOOD AND FEASTING OFF THE OTHERS DEATH! WHO WILL WIN!?"

A bit overkill… it's not like I'm eating the other dude when I kill them.

As men, women, and even some children began to shout their favorite warrior and support the one they thought was going to win, I took a look at my opponent.

He had blood-red eyes and short bright-red air, matching with his tattered and almost broken bright-red wings lightly flapping behind him.

But this menacing presence that radiated from him and the honed bloodlust practically creating an aura of demonic energy was more than enough for me to take him seriously.

I was planning on just testing out my new skill, but if I didn't play my cards right, that slight moment of weakness before the skill activates could end up with my death.

Suddenly, the man's forearms split open, unveiling twin blades made from his bones that he gripped with his calloused and firm hands.

The adrenaline-laced through the colosseum air practically pumped me with a new sensation of determination, as if forcing me to become a beast and give in to my instincts.

"Hm… you're different," The man mouthed towards me with a devious smile, and just as the start of the match was announced, I took a step backward.

Just barely, I dodged the sprout of blood shaped into a blade that threatened to tear my head off of my neck.

I then planted my foot forward and then summoned my spear, causing it to come crashing straight into my hand just as I began to make a chucking motion as if the spear was a javelin.

FWOOSH

The spear tore through the air, but the challenger in front of me didn't run and instead did the opposite and charged towards my spear, just barely ducking under it while pushing his hands outwards.

He caught my axe kick which came from above, and then tossed it to the side, revealing my back to him as he firmly gripped his blades.

SHING SHING

With an X-shaped motion, he swung forward, threatening to tear a hole open in my back, but before he knew it, a wall of soft white flesh presented itself before him.

The muscles tightened, keeping the blades in place just as the vampire I had created distorted and turned into a puddle of blood.

"No need to drag this out," I muttered, curling my fingers around the handle of my spear and directing the blade downwards.

My opponent, who was near death and confused as to how I summoned the vampire, somehow remained calm and collected before clapping his hands together.

"[Domain of Blood]."