The Rise Of A Porter

"Is that all you wish for?" Heimdall confirmed with Arnold once again, "Once that wish is granted, I won't be able to grant you another wish."

"I just want this stupid contest to be over as soon as possible so I can go back to my family." Arnold shrugged his shoulders before he stretching in front of everyone there. 

"Fine then. Is there anyone who is willing to take on Arnold Ling?"

Heimdall asked the contestants, however, nobody stepped up. They all had just seen even the almighty Zeus could not harm him, how could they even think about challenging someone like that? Even the warriors of the world that came in the first place didn't dare to take a step towards the stage.

Initially, they were acting as if they owned the competition when they arrived there. After all, they were the ones who got to the first place. How could anyone else challenge them? But that attitude changed when they saw Arnold fearlessly challenging the gods. At first, they thought he was some fool who was so drunk on power he actually stood up against the god... but now they all were aware of what Arnold was capable of.

"No one? Not even in groups?" Heimdall asked again but there was no reply, "I didn't know the gods picked a bunch of cowards as their representatives... what a shame." 

Heimdall thought maybe provoking them would work, but even that didn't. At this point, there was no need to hold a competition anymore. Like, they should just save everyone's time and declare Arnold the winner. However, the gods were there for entertainment and not for some serious feud. The attitude of the vassals could actually make the gods angry and they might even decide to kill them all. 

"Then I shall ask the gods, are there any challengers for our prime contestant?" Heimdall asked the gods, if they were craving some entertainment, they can do it themselves, right? 

As soon as those words left Heimdall's mouth, Hermes hand immediately shot up, "I'll take on the mortal, but on one condition."

"And what would that be?" Heimdall was intrigued.

"A deathmatch of the old times. No surrender, the duel keeps going on until one of us is dead." Hermes said while nodding towards the other gods.

Hermes' proposal was intriguing and entertaining. There was no doubt in that. Also, since they had already witnessed that Arnold was capable of disarming Zeus, they wanted to see how will he counter Hermes' agility. In their eyes, it was a great way to start the tournament and maybe if Hermes managed to kill the contestant, he would be able to boost the other contestants lost confidence. 

However, at the same time, it was a bit unfair to the mortal. After all, the rules had been updated so that one could surrender when they felt like it and what Hermes was suggesting was more like intended to secure Zeus' lost influence. Everyone knew the two of them were close thus him trying to kill the mortal, under the guise of duel made a lot of sense.

"An intriguing suggestion but I don't think it's fair-" Heimdall tried to calm the situation, however, Arnold had a mind of his own and could decide what he wanted on his own.

"Challenge accepted." Arnold's voice boomed over the colosseum as everyone was stunned into silence.

Even Nandi was worried because of Arnold's one reckless action after another. Shiva, on the other hand, had a broad smile on his face. He already knew who the victor of this match was going to be. So far, the gods believed one could only master one stat among the nine.

However, they had never seen someone like Arnold before. A couple of his stats were already up to the Immortal one's level and it was just the beginning of the mortal's rise to godhood. Moreover, even if Arnold got rid of a god, he wouldn't face any backlash because he wasn't the one who challenged a god to a deathmatch. It was the other way around.

A god had underestimated the power of a mortal and challenged him wanting to avenge his father's lost pride. That was all. It was Hermes' plan to get rid of Arnold in the most effective way possible and now he would have to pay the price for looking down upon Arnold.

"W-What? Are you sure?" Heimdall was taken aback by Arnold's response.

"Well, no one else has enough guts to fight me, so why not? It's not like a roadrunner would be strong enough to run me over." Arnold smirked while looking at Hermes, "What are you standing there for? I thought you wanted to fight, or is it that I haven't hurt your daddy's ego enough to make you fight? That's the reason you challenged me for a deathmatch didn't you?"

"Run your mouth while you can, bast.ard." The smile on Hermes face dropped and the next second he was standing there in front of Arnold, "Let's begin then, shall we?"

"Yup, just a second." Arnold turned towards Talos and Tiamut, "Do not interfere, I got this."

"As you wish, master." Both of them replied and went back to stand with Nicole and Johnny.

"What is he thinking!?" Nicole asked the summons as soon as they walked off the stage, "If I knew something like this would happen, I would have stepped up to challenge him! It was better to put on a show for the gods than to risk his life like that!"

"Well... Technically it's not like his first time fighting against a god." Johnny shrugged his shoulders, "Or that he made an impulse-driven decision."

"Fighting Tiamut or Hercules was a different matter. This time he is facing a full-fledged god!" 

"Lady Nicole, do you believe in your brother?" Talos asked her one simple question. 

"I do but-"

"There are no buts here, with all due respect." Tiamut chimed in, "You have known master for longer than anyone else has. You should know that the master is no longer the same man he was all those years ago. He would have never accepted the challenge if he wasn't sure he could win. His decision was just as simple as that."

Tiamut's words silenced any doubts anyone had in their minds. Arnold was their strongest warrior. One even Zeus couldn't strike down. All they have to do was to watch as he defeats a god in front of hundreds of others.