The mini catapult in the Colosseum.
When I first visited the Colosseum in the game, I had no clue it even existed. I just fought the monster to the death back then. But later, when I checked the gimmicks more closely, I spotted the catapult tucked away in a corner.
The cannon is so heavy and cumbersome that firing or loading it alone is a struggle, but the mini catapult? That’s manageable solo. Against tough monsters, it only stuns them briefly—barely scratches them. But for weaklings like Pienos, it’s more than enough to knock them flat.
So, drawing on that experience, I made a beeline for the catapult the moment the test started. I diligently twisted the slack ropes tight and loaded the prepared stone on top. I considered helping the newbies by firing it once before the fight kicked off… but then it hit me: this is reality.
What if I misfired and the stone hit them? Killed them? If I yanked the lever carelessly, the hunter test could turn into a bloodbath. With that thought gnawing at me, I froze, unable to pull the lever, stuck in a weird limbo.
Shouting wasn’t an option either—Pienos would lock onto me. If the aggro swung my way, I’d have to fight. Better to let the newbies have their moment. So, I decided to just watch them go at it.
Their teamwork was surprisingly solid. Seeing them flail against a measly Pienos brought back memories. I was like that once too. Every scar carved into your body makes you tougher—true in games and reality alike.
Lost in those old thoughts, my eyes met Yor’s. He was staring at me, blank-faced. This was my shot.
Quick, launch the stone and jump into the fray. If I stayed idle any longer, the Colosseum hunter might whack me upside the head. I could fail the test, so it was time to move. Their fight was so noisy my voice wouldn’t carry, so I gestured and mouthed the plan: I’ll drop the stone in the center, so lure it there.
Thankfully, Yor got it.
“Everyone, get clear!” he yelled to Ethan and Sophie before bolting off. Without a second’s hesitation, he charged Pienos and slammed his shield into its face. I couldn’t help but admire that fearless strike. Pienos’s aggro snapped fully onto Yor. No way I could let him down now. All I had to do was pull the lever.
And so began the game of tag between Pienos and Yor.
Pienos charges when its target gets too far away. Normally, you’d fight it up close, but that habit made it easy to lure—just like Yor was doing now. Time to drop the stone.
My gut screamed now. I yanked the lever and looked up. The catapult whirred, and the big stone perched on it soared through the air. Everyone had cleared the zone. The stone arced high, then crashed down, smacking Pienos’s head just before it reached Yor.
Boom!
“Kyaa!”
“W-What the?!”
“—GRRAAaaaaa!!”
The signal to strike back.
The stone shattered, and Pienos crumpled. A pained roar echoed out. My ears rang from it, but no big deal—I wouldn’t have to hear that sound again.
—
“Ohh…”
The Colosseum hunter couldn’t hide his excitement as Pienos toppled from the unexpected giant slingshot. Chewing his jerky, his face lit up with a strange thrill.
She went straight for the catapult. Fastest reaction he’d seen in a while among test-takers. He’d been watching everything, especially Alice, figuring she’d be the least cooperative. But before the fight even sparked, Alice broke from the group and sprinted to the catapult. Her steps were sure, not a flicker of doubt.
Did she know about it beforehand? Even if she did, it wasn’t cheating. Snagging info ahead of time is a hunter’s bread and butter. Still, knowing the catapult’s there and landing the shot without hitting your team? That’s the tricky part.
If she’d misjudged and hurt a teammate, the Colosseum hunter was ready to fail her on the spot. Even monsters don’t attack their own kind—grounds for disqualification right there. But that shot? Perfect timing.
They trusted each other. That’s why she could pull the lever.
Flawless.
But the catapult isn’t a one-shot kill. It dishes out solid damage, sure, but not enough to finish Pienos. Now they had to capitalize while it was down. Time for Alice to step in.
“Haa, haa…!”
Yor’s heart was pounding out of his chest. If the stone had come a second later, Pienos would’ve flattened him. A second earlier, and he might’ve eaten the rock himself. Perfect timing—but no time to gawk.
“Ugh… my leg…”
The snag was Yor’s leg. Must’ve pushed too hard running; a cramp seized his calf. It trembled uncontrollably. Clutching it, he groaned. No time for this—he had to get up and finish Pienos. But his leg wouldn’t budge. Panic crept in.
“What was that rock…?”
“Wh-What just happened…?”
Ethan and Sophie just gaped at the thrashing Pienos. The catapult stone had clocked its head, stunning it. It wouldn’t move right for a bit.
“We need to attack now!” Yor shouted. Since he couldn’t move, he had to send them in. They needed to pile on damage before it snapped out of it. He gritted his teeth. Leg, move. Come on, move.
We’ve landed a big hit, so we can stick to the plan. Wear it down. Ethan and Sophie as one team, Alice and me as another. Use its charging habit to plant all four bombs in one spot, then lure it there for more damage…
“Let’s stick to the plan…”
“It’s okay.”
Yor turned. Alice was looking down at him, her eyes cool and detached.
“You’re hurt.”
She was right. He couldn’t move for now. Given a moment, he’d recover, but would the monster give him that? “Sorry,” he muttered.
Her pale pink eyes studied him impassively, then: “You all did well.” After a glance at Ethan and Sophie, she turned toward Pienos.
Their reaction was too slow—the groggy window had closed. Aside from the catapult hit, it hadn’t taken much damage yet. Still, it was enough to tick it off.
A sudden fight, then a random rock to the face—even a human would lose it. When monsters get mad, they go blind with rage for a while, fixating on their target.
“—Grrrr!!”
Pienos shoved the rubble aside, fuming. Its bloodshot eyes screamed it was long past reason. Alice stepped up to it.
When their gazes locked, she calmly reached over her head, her hand finding the greatsword on her back. Gripping the handle tight, she stomped the ground hard. The impact felt like it shook the earth.
Drawing every ounce of strength, she swung the greatsword down in a flash.
Bang.
A clean decapitating strike. But the damage wasn’t enough yet. Dodging Pienos’s counter, Alice smirked. Yeah, it’d be dull if it dropped in one hit. She adjusted her stance.
Watching the newbies fight had set her pulse racing—she couldn’t hold back anymore. Now that it was her turn, her heart hammered like it might burst. A hunter’s instinct. The thrill of the challenge.
She was a challenger, defying the natural order in front of her. Flipping the predator-prey dynamic with pure skill. The greatsword’s dance began.
Ethan and Sophie tried to back her up late, but they couldn’t bring themselves to jump in. There was no danger here—her fight had no tension. Pienos’s attacks were dodged or parried with the flat of her blade, while her strikes landed dead-on. Selfish, but flawless.
To any onlooker, it was a perfect fight.
Alice’s once-white hair was now dyed red with blood. Not hers—Pienos’s. Drenched in its sticky gore, she charged to kill what stood before her. Pienos grew frantic as its attacks kept missing.
The rage didn’t fade, but the mounting damage dragged its senses back. Its life was slipping away. Pienos looked at Alice with tired eyes.
Which one was the real monster?
To Pienos, Alice was the beast.
Blood streamed from its smashed face. It couldn’t go down like this.
“—!!”
Pienos reared its front leg high, slamming it down with all its weight. A last-ditch swing. But Alice didn’t flinch. She stepped into its range.
“A-Alice!” Yor yelled. His voice didn’t reach her.
No need—it didn’t have to.
Alice met Pienos’s paw with steady, confident eyes. She stepped forward, planting her foot hard. Pivoting on it, she twisted her body, tweaking her grip on the lowered greatsword and swinging it upward.
It looked like a Full Moon Slash but wasn’t quite. She hadn’t posed to gather power. And she used the flat of the blade, not the edge.
When Pienos’s leg hit the greatsword’s face—
Clang!
A crisp ring as it bounced off.
“That’s…!”
The Colosseum hunter, glued to the iron bars, widened his eyes and gripped tighter. A life-or-death move that demands perfect timing and reading the enemy’s attack. Too risky—the Association doesn’t even endorse it.
Flowing Water.
Alice had pulled it off.
The greatsword reflected the blow back at Pienos. Its body jolted, stunned. She didn’t let the chance slip.
Keeping her momentum, she twisted the handle again. The blade, now edge-first, chased Pienos down. A Full Moon Slash flowed straight from the Flowing Water, slicing clean through its body.
Scrape!
The greatsword ripped through its hide, splitting its jaw. Pienos collapsed.
Alice flicked her blade lightly to shed the blood and sheathed it on her back. The monster was dead. The test was done. No cheers—just silence.
All eyes were on Alice. Amid the stares, she kept her usual poker face. After a glance at Pienos, she turned and strode toward Yor.
Yor stared blankly as she approached. Drenched in monster blood, she knelt slightly and looked down at him, pointing at his leg.
“Is your leg okay?”
“…Huh?”
That day, Yor felt an odd flutter in his chest.
—
Pienos, with its predictable patterns when enraged, is basically a punching bag. That’s why I used Flowing Water, a greatsword technique. It’s like parrying but a cut above—unique to the greatsword. More like reflecting the attack’s force back at the monster.
You’d never use Flowing Water on something like a One-Eyed Lugarak. Fast, pesky monsters like that don’t give greatsword users an opening for it. Against them, you just parry and shove back.
Mess up Flowing Water, and the motion locks you in place—helpless to dodge or block. A penalty. Risky in the game, potentially fatal here. So it’s a junk technique, only good for pushovers like Pienos or monsters with big, obvious moves.
But man, that deflection sound? Pure art. The greatsword’s full of romance.
I didn’t mean to finish it off, but Yor’s leg injury threw me off. Panicked, I rushed to take down Pienos, then checked on him. At first, I thought he’d caught the stone and felt bad.
“I-I’m fine! It’s just a cramp…” Yor flailed his hands, explaining.
Just a cramp. Suddenly, I wasn’t sorry anymore. I’d apologized for nothing—now I’m embarrassed. The vibe’s all awkward. What do I do?
Clank. Rumble.
Right then, the locked iron gate creaked open. The Colosseum hunter stepped in, clapping.
“Outstanding, truly outstanding.”
Did we look that good?
Well, our teamwork was tight. While Ethan and Sophie held its aggro, I fully prepped the catapult. Yor lured it to the center, letting us land a clean stone hit. …Yeah, something like that—we all nailed it together!
Pienos is a cakewalk. Even without me, I’m dead sure the others could’ve handled it. Seriously.
“You all did wonderfully. Truly…” The Colosseum hunter eyed us with awe.
“You’re… splendid hunters. You trusted your teammates. Great coordination. You didn’t use the bombs, but honestly, you didn’t need to. Impressive. Even I… couldn’t have pulled that off.”
Everyone nodded at his words. I nodded too, just to fit in.
Ugh, I want to wash up. My body’s caked in Pienos’s blood. My clothes are trashed—what a mess. And these aren’t even mine; they’re Association gear… Can I skip washing them?
Is Noah waiting at the Association? I want to rush over and tell her I passed.
“With that, no one fails. You all pass. Congratulations! Hit the Association counter tomorrow for your hunter cards!”
“Woohoo!”
“Return the bombs, though.”
“Aww…”
“The bombs aren’t souvenirs. They’re Association property.”
Sophie looked the most bummed.
I’m finally an official hunter. It doesn’t feel real yet—like I just did the obvious and stumbled into it. Probably hit me tomorrow. I headed out of the Colosseum, calm as ever.
Drip, drip.
Blood dripped with every step, splattering as I swung my arms.
“Ugh…”
“Eek!”
“Ew…”
The others kept their distance because of it. Especially Sophie—she freaked out hard. Breaks my heart. We were teammates, you know.
“…You should probably clean up.”
Yeah, I think so too.
Before leaving the Colosseum, I wiped off some blood with a cloth. Didn’t get it all, but better than being soaked. Even then, the hunter’s stare burned into me.
S-stop looking, please.
