DC: The Gamer

[1st POV]

Then the guards came for me and took me... to the arena.

The arena was quite large, almost the size of a football stadium for about ten thousand spectators.

It was completely crowded.

They led me to the center of the arena and left me alone.

The VIP box was on a stage hundreds of meters above me, and Hippolyta and Diana sat there.

Queen Hippolyta stood up and delivered an impassioned speech:

"Ladies of Temiscira! This man, Isaac Dinklage, has come here by the cruel hand of fate. He did not wish us harm. However, according to the laws of our society, he must be executed for the prohibition against men being on this land."

The crowd murmured.

"But! I cannot ignore the fact that he has accused my daughter Diana of attempting… to rape him…"

"Execute the liar!"

"... Yes!"

"... She couldn't even imagine of such a thing..."

The Amazon chatter began.

I thought it would continue for a long time, but Hippolyta's leadership qualities were exceptional.

With a single moment and a wave of her hand, she silenced the commotion and continued:

"Therefore, I have decided to conduct a trial by combat. If the Gods will it that this man lives, he must defeat our champion in a fight to the death."

"Ding!"

[New Quest: Hunger Games

Description: You have landed on the island of Amazons where strength is respected. You now have a rare opportunity to defeat the overly powerful old… system sentence, ancient feminists.

Reward:

+5000 Experience

+Increase in relationship with ?????

+10 Attribute Points

[Failure or Refusal: Death]

[Do you want to accept this quest?]

[Yes/No]

Of course, yes.

I see I have no choice at all…

The girl with red hair, Artemis, stepped out of a door on the side. She was dressed for war and carried a sword and shield.

"If you win, we will let you go and help you return to your land. If not, you will die here. But take pride in yourself because few have had the right to an honest fight and such mercy from us."

"Am I allowed to have a weapon?"

"You can choose any weapon. Just say it, and it will be brought to you."

"Dagger!"

"And that's it?"

Artemis asked in surprise.

"What about a sword or shield?"

"I don't know how to fight with swords, and a shield would just get in the way with a knife or dagger."

"Understood."

She gave me a stern look.

"Since you won't have a shield, I won't need one either. That's only fair."

She tossed it aside.

"I don't like favors. If it's a fight, then it's a fight."

"I'm beginning to realize that this isn't a fight, but a simple murder of the weak."

I didn't like her tone.

"But it has to be done. You dared to say such shameful things about my sister, and you must be punished."

"It's not just words; it's the truth!"

"R-r-r-r!"

They brought me a dagger with a blade about thirty to thirty-five centimeters long, quite light.

"Let the trial begin!"

Hippolyta shouted and struck a gong… or was it a drum?

Artemis took her stance and stood still.

It seems she decided to underestimate her opponent.

Well, I will strike… with what I have that is the most dangerous.

"Artemis, can I ask you a question?"

"We're in the middle of a fight but… make it quick so we can get this over with."

"Why were you named Artemis?"

"Um… they just named me that."

"Strange. I thought it was because they considered you beautiful."

"I-I'm beautiful?"

She replied in surprise.

Attention!

[+100 relationship with Artemis.]

"Yeah… no, of course not. Just a guess. Besides, gods are usually portrayed as beautiful and powerful in human perception. You clearly don't consider beautiful and powerful to me."

[-100 relationship with Artemis.]

"Rrr! Attack!"

"Although the concept of beauty is quite subjective. For example, let's take a general definition: 'Beauty is an aesthetic category that signifies perfection, a harmonious combination of aspects of an object, whereby the latter evokes aesthetic pleasure in the observer. Beauty is one of the most important categories of culture.' There are many concepts and thoughts on this matter. Ancient Greek philosophers perceived beauty as an objective and ontological phenomenon, related to the perfection of the Universe, with the understanding of cosmos as a world order, purposefulness, and adornment. The School of Pythagoras tied beauty and mathematics together, noting that objects whose proportions adhere to the golden ratio seem more beautiful. Classical Greek architecture was based on this understanding of beauty. Since the time of Socrates, beauty began to be considered not only in an ontological sense but also as a category of reason and consciousness. For Socrates himself, beauty was one of the most important categories of existence. Aristotle. however, associated the concept of beauty as an embodiment of goodness and perfection with a strictly moral, non-rational category. According to Plato, a person exists in the realm of beauty and pure thought before birth. The perception of beauty and goodness as the highest idea is the main motive of his philosophical work…"

At that moment, Artemis couldn't withstand the flow of information and realized that I was teasing her just a little… And she charged at me.

"Shut up already! Just die!"

I dodged a wild swing of her sword.

Then I fell and rolled to the side.

She tried to reach me with simple thrusts of the sword, but I either managed to evade or redirect the trajectory of her strikes with my dagger.

I examined her movements and realized she was a very powerful fighter.

The fight lasted a maximum of a minute, and I was starting to tire.

I could feel my stamina and strength had already diminished from the recent events and hunger.

Now, I was fighting for my life against a demigoddess.

She strikes with her hands and elbows, and we exchange a couple of times with real pain.

It felt like hitting concrete or being struck in the kidneys.

During another deflection of her attack, I couldn't maintain my guard and ended up with a small cut on my shoulder.

Taking advantage of my hesitation, she suddenly strengthened her attack with even greater force.

In a moment of clumsy blocking, I lost my dagger.

Now, I was left without a weapon, and an enraged Artemis was still trying, with eyes blazing with hatred, to pierce my poor body.

'Damn! I just wanted to disarm her and hold my dagger to her throat to avoid unnecessary bloodshed...'

"Shit! I don't like hitting women."

In one of her following swings toward me, I suddenly sprang forward and tackled her, knocking her off her feet.

I spun around and, in one swift motion, kicked the sword from her hands.

My other leg aimed to strike her jaw, but her hand blocked my attack.

I immediately received a solid kick to the liver from her rather elegant yet incredibly powerful leg, sending me flying a couple of meters back.

"I don't mind fighting unarmed. I excel in any style…"

"What kind?"

'What the hell was I thinking, letting that slip?'

"Rrrrr!"

Where does she get all that strength?

It felt like she might have already broken my left arm, but I couldn't give up!

My life literally depended on the outcome of this fight!

"Ding!"

[You have randomly activated Berserker mode. For five minutes, all your attributes will be raised to the maximum. You will also not feel pain for the duration of this mode.]

Indeed, I felt an enormous surge of strength and fatigue vanish as if by magic.

I didn't even feel any pain in my arms.

"Well, let's fight !"

I said as I advanced.

After that, I was hardly aware of what I was doing.

It seemed to be an innate part of this mode.

I remember unleashing a flurry of blows on Artemis at an incredible speed, ignoring her hits.

I also recall the look of surprise in her eyes.

She was already fighting at full strength, taking it seriously, but... I managed to defeat her.

In one of her counterattacks, I caught her fist, pulled her toward me, landed several strikes on vital points, and delivered a knockout blow to her jaw.

She collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.

I saw her sword nearby approached, picked it up, and moved closer to her.

She could only watch helplessly.

I swung the sword and plunged it into the ground next to her head, the blade embedding itself halfway into the ground.

"Artemis! Ha-ha... I am not a killer. I am not you, and I do not judge people solely by their gender, race, or social status. I am not you! I refuse to kill everyone just because you command it!"

Then I stood up and turned to the now silent crowd.

"If you were waiting for her death, you won't get it. Just as you won't have mine beucase I am not a killer. Unlike you, I know the meaning of 'the value of life' and 'mercy.' Do you want her dead? Then muster the courage to do it yourselves. Do you want me dead? Then I'm right here, waiting for you. If, of course, you have the guts and bravery for an honest fight!"

"Ding!"

[The Berserker mode will stop to function in 3, 2, 1... The mode has expired.]

"Damn!"

I hissed, feeling all the pain and damage I had sustained during the fight with Artemis.

Because of this, I blacked out right there.

To be continued...