Immortal In A Death Game-Chapter 161: Adam vs. Caleb

"Alright, Caleb! Show the new guy what the RLRD can do!"

"Crush him. And crush him good."

"Make it quick, big man. I’ve got dinner plans."

They were now outside the field behind the RLRD building, but even with a large empty space around them, the voices of the members of the unit still reached Adam’s ears loudly.

Everyone was cheering for Caleb, except Sabrina, who sat with her legs crossed in the air while raising both his thumbs up for her. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Suffice it to say, Adam was... confused. He barely even knew the names of these people, much less what their abilities actually were... and yet here they were.

"Are we... really going to fight?" Adam asked Harvey, who was between him and Caleb. Now that they were outside, Adam could finally see just how big Caleb actually was—he didn’t even know humans could actually get that big.

"Dead serious," Harvey grinned. "Welcome to RLRD, man. Don’t worry about it... this is just some friendly sparring."

Friendly... sparring?

Adam looked at Caleb again, and Caleb was staring at him like he wanted to eat him. The one with the fancy dress, Selene, was also there beside him... and was also staring at him while whispering something to Caleb.

And from the way she was staring... she probably wasn’t whispering anything good.

"Alright, listen up!" Harvey stepped away from Adam, clapping his hands together. "Rules are simple—there are no rules. Fight until someone can’t fight anymore or gives up. You don’t have to worry, we have a state-of-the-art medical facility here in case one of you fucking dies."

Harvey paused, scanning his other colleagues. "And before anyone asks—yes, all bets are final. No crying when you lose your money. Alright, understood?!"

After Harvey finished setting the rules, Selena approached, still holding her skirt delicately as she moved with an almost theatrical grace.

"Gentlemen," she said, bowing deeply to both Adam and Caleb. "May the best warrior prevail."

She straightened, then clapped her hands once, and all of a sudden, the empty field around them started to shift.

"Hm...?" Adam stepped back as the grass beneath his feet rippled like water. The area around them moved upward, stone materializing from nothing. Columns erupted from the ground, growing taller and thicker until they supported massive archways. The open sky turned yellow, and seats appeared from afar that climbed impossibly high.

It was... a coliseum.

"Huh..." Adam crouched, pressing his palm against the ground. It still felt like grass beneath his fingers, even though his eyes saw polished marble.

"Illusions...?" he whispered.

"The finest you’ll ever experience," Selena smiled at him, once again bowing. But then, she suddenly leapt back.

And without even any warning, Caleb lunged.

The massive man charged forward, bone spikes erupting from his knuckles as he swung a devastating right hook. Adam couldn’t do anything—the punch connected with his jaw, lifting him clean off his feet and sending him flying across the arena.

Adam crashed into the far wall with a sickening thud, but his body just went through it.

Caleb raised both arms, his knuckles gleaming in the afternoon sun. Gleaming too much, even—most probably another illusion by Selene. "Too easy!"

The members of RLRD cheered again, everyone except Sabrina, who continued to spin in the air.

"Pay up, Harvey!" Evan shouted, still bobbing his head and drumming with his hands in the empty air. "That was what, three seconds?"

"Beatrice owes me fifty." Derek said, the shadows beneath his feet forming into hands.

"I... y-you also owe me. I need food for... Buster." Ryan whispered, shaking his head.

"Why are you guys even talking like Big Bones already won, eh?" Harvey smirked at them, crossing his arms.

Then they saw Adam slowly emerging from the wall, completely unscathed. Grass fell from his clothes as he rolled his shoulders, a quiet snap whispering in the air as his joints reattached themselves.

There wasn’t even a bruise on his face where Caleb’s punch had landed.

"Hm..." Adam looked at his palms, opening and closing them as he gave Caleb a glance. Although his attack threw Adam far, he didn’t really feel that much pain at all.

Caleb’s celebration died on his lips when he saw Adam staring at him.

"Heh..." He spat into the sand, bone spikes extending further from his arms.

"Let’s go!" Caleb growled, then rushed again.

This time... Adam still didn’t move. Instead, he stepped forward and caught the bones protruding from Caleb’s shoulder.

"That’s a bad idea," Leona called from the stands.

Adam felt his hands blown away as Caleb’s momentum proved unstoppable. The bone-covered Hero continued forward, ramming his shoulder across Adam’s smaller body with a force that almost blew him his entire frame again.

Adam violently skidded across the arena floor, sand and stone spraying in his wake. But even as he slid, he once again grabbed Caleb’s tusks.

Weird. Caleb can throw you away, and his momentum feels almost unstoppable, Adam. But... is he actually stronger than Bjorn?

No... I don’t think so.

Adam suddenly crouched while he was still sliding back, grabbing both of Caleb’s ankles and tripping him. The massive Hero violently stumbled forward, but Adam wasn’t done.

He pulled Caleb close, causing him to slam on the ground before he crawled up on his back. He then grabbed the back of his head with both hands.

"I’m sorry about this," Adam said, then smashed Caleb’s face into the arena floor. Well, it sounded like he hit marble, but it was still dirt and grass beneath the illusion, so... he should be fine.

The impact created a small crater in the sand. Before Caleb could recover, Adam lifted the much larger man over his head.

"God damn!" Harvey clapped several times before shaking Beatrice wildly. And although Beatrice looked incredibly annoyed, a hint of a smile was still creeping on her face.

As for the others, they just watched with wide eyes as Adam slammed Caleb down with enough force that they felt it beneath their feet.

The members of RLRD fell quiet, their cheers dying in their throats.

Harvey cheered, pumping his fist in the air. "That’s my boy! Two hundred dollars, baby!"

"Hmn." Beatrice nodded.

Sabrina suddenly landed back on the ground and then started pointing at her other colleagues. "Yes! Yes! I knew it! I knew it! I knew there was something special about Adam when I saw him take the Hero Evaluation! You guys can suck it and suck my ass!"

The other members of RLRD turned to stare at her, confusion written across their faces.

"Wait," Evan stopped drumming. "Did you bet on the new guy...?"

"Of course. Of course, why wouldn’t I vote for the new guy?" Sabrina spoke. There was almost no pause between each word, but the members of the RLRD seemed to be able to understand her clearly.

"What?" Derek emerged fully from his shadows. "When?"

"Right after Harvey made his bet," Sabrina said. "I put down three hundred."

"You know the new guy is strong? Why didn’t you tell us?" Mira crossd her arms, the shape and color of her eyes almost changing.

"Meh." Sabrina shrugged, spinning in place. "I did tell you. I said I’d seen him on the internet, remember? None of you listened. I told Ryan specifically. If only you listened to me, then maybe you all could’ve earned some money, too. Ah. Poor Buster, he could’ve had steak. Except, it would be me eating steak later."

"Wha..." Ryan fidgeted. "You... you talk too fast. How could I understand what you said...?"

And while the RLRD started arguing, Adam nervously reached down toward Caleb to help him up, not knowing how he would react. Caleb stared up at him from the ground, grass stuck to his face, and bone spikes slowly retracting.

"Heh..." Then Caleb reached up and grasped Adam’s offered hand.

But as Adam helped him to his feet, Caleb suddenly tightened his grip and drove his other fist into Adam’s stomach.

"Kh!" Adam coughed violently, hunching over from the unexpected blow. He looked at Caleb, but Caleb just smiled at him and then raised his hand.

"The new guy’s tough, everyone!" He cheered. "Adam the Endless! Welcome! Welcome!"

"Yes!" Harvey celebrated even louder from the stands. "That’s what I’m talking about! Welcome to the team, Adam!"

"Ugh... I guess?"

"Whooo!"

The other members began applauding, their earlier shock and grief now completely gone. But then... Mira suddenly stepped forward. Her eyes were still glaringly fixed on Adam.

This woman... she’s been glaring at you ever since you arrived, Adam. Do... you know her?

"Good job," she said quietly, cracking her neck as the color and shape of her eyes changed to that of something else—almost like an animal.

"Now, it’s my turn."

Everyone instantly turned quiet as they heard her words. Even Sabrina, who was still egging on everyone, stopped moving and retracted her fingers.

"Mira." And even more surprisingly, it was Beatrice who spoke up. And... she seemed careful, too. "Maybe we should—"

Before anything could happen, a piercing siren echoed across the facility.

And all of a sudden, everyone immediately stopped whatever they were doing and started running back inside the building. The elaborate coliseum dissolved around them, revealing the simple grass field once more.

Even Mira, who was glaring at him, just turned around and sprinted back to the building.

Adam didn’t even ask any questions, quickly following behind them. He knew exactly what was happening.

Alright, Adam... time to work.