Walking through the winding streets of Shark Village, Ged arrived at the arena.
The arena had a concrete bowl-like structure with a clean, polished finish, its design greatly contrasting the derelict shops that surrounded it.
Ged walked up near the entrance, where two large doormen dressed in black halted entry to a line of people. They wore red baseball caps with "Rua" lettering and were checking the Fighter Cards of the people entering.
After a short wait Ged reached the front of the line and presented his Fighter Card, entering into the arena.
The interior featured a high ceiling and a spacious circular clearing that led to several branching hallways, each leading to a different fighting arena. Each hallway had a locked gate and was marked with a different sign at its top: "Rookie," "Bronze," and "Silver."
Nearby and off to the side, there was a small glass shop selling vibrant-looking plants and suppliments.
In the central area, a small kiosk stood, occupied by a bald and overweight man, wearing a red baseball cap with "Rua" lettering. He seemed to be oblivious to the people around him and was smoking a pipe and reading a book.
There above him a sign in bright red font which read "FIGHT."
Ged walked up to the man and presented his Fighter Card. Without even looking, the man took the card, swiped it through a reader, and then returned it.
He took out his pipe from his mouth, glazing over the waiting Ged. "Your name's Ged, huh? You injured anywhere?"
Ged shook his head in response.
"Good, go to the lobby and talk to the lady inside to set up your next fight." The man replied.
He then got comfortable in his chair again bringing up his book to his nose ignoring Ged once more.
Ged looking lost, questioned to the man, "Which way is the lobby."
"Rookie fighter hall," mumbled the man in response
"Where?" Ged asked in clarification.
"Rookie. Fighter. Hallway." The man put down his book and pipe looking sharply at Ged.
"Go down the hall," he grumbled, exhaling in annoyance. He pointed towards the hallway marked with the "Rookie" sign.
Ged grumbled over the man's poor attitude.
He moved onwards towards the hallway the man pointed towards. There a gate with an electronic display beside it showing a red 'X' was stationed.
He pushed on the gate in an attempt to enter inside, but to no avail it didn't budge
Ged spent a few minutes pushing and pulling but still nothing, it wouldn't open.
Embarrassed and frustrated Ged scanned the gate trying to figure out how he could get inside. He looked back over to the kiosk, annoyed, he contemplated walking over and asking the man for help.
A stroke of luck came his way as a woman appeared from behind the gate. She looked at the boy with great amusement.
"You seam to be in great distress," she remarked, opening the gate with ease.
Ged turned around to see the voice of the person that taunted him. Her appearance was slightly older than Brit with glasses and brown put up hair in a red "Tolu" baseball cap. She gave off a comforting aura of knowledge and intelligence.
"You have no idea." He shook his head.
"I was losing my mind over this stupid door. Couldn't they make it a bit more obvious? How do you even open this damn thing?" Ged pointed at the gate to emphasize his frustration.
Laughing, the girl moved over to Ged's side and shut the door. She pulled out her fighter card and held it up to a black scanner. With a ding sound it opened and the display now showed a green 'O.'
Ged felt foolish as he looked at the demonstration of the simple procedure.
The girl smiled at Ged. "This must be your first time here. I'm Jen, and I run the rookie fighter hall. Why don't you step inside?"
"I'm still trying to get used to everything. I'm Ged, by the way," Ged responded shyly, enamored by her charm.
"Okay, Ged, why don't you follow me inside?" Jen said.
She then walked down the hallway, with Ged following, passing by a giant wall listed with names...
100. Zerna
99. Bunchez
98. Hugo
97. Thighwave
96....
Ged scanned the wall with great interest.
Jen interrupted his focus to say, "This is the Rookie leaderboard. It has the names and faces of the strongest Rookie fighters in town, the pride of our younger generation! Maybe someday your name will rank on here as well."
Ged stared at the board of names making a mental note of the fighters listed.
At rank 28 he recognized a name...
"Brad..." he muttered to himself.
The two walked further down the hallway until they reached a list of names encased within a gaudy frame: the top ten rookie fighters. Most of the list had fighters he didn't recognize, but in the number one spot was someone a bit more familiar...
"Polka..." he muttered.
I have to get stronger and someday crush those two rude people! Ged thought to himself, nodding with determination.
Jen interrupted Ged's internal thoughts, speaking, "The rules of the arena are quite simple."
"Lower your opponents vitality to 0 or knock him off the arena platform."
"But, before you prematurely enter your first match, you should watch a few fights to get a feel of what they are like."
She pointed towards set of stairs leading to the arena seats. Ged nodded in agreement to her suggestion.
"Once your ready come back down and I'll get you queued up for your first fight." She said smiling, as she stood by a hallway blocked by a red rope. "In the meantime, if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them."
Ged paused to think before asking, "Why do all the people here have 'Rua' on their hats, but yours has 'Tolu'? What's the difference?"
"Those are just ranks used by the government to distinguish the strength of its employees. 'Dua' is rank one, 'Rua' is rank two, and 'Talu' is rank three. There are ten ranks in total, each corresponding with their fighter rank. With ranks 6-10 being split up between the Diamond and Master tiers," she responded.
Ged pondered for a moment, remembering the officers that brought him here. He asked, "What rank would 'Ono' be?"
"'Ono' is a sixth-ranked officer. They are a pretty darn rare sight to see, and their strength would be around that of a lower Diamond-tiered fighter," Jen replied.
Ged felt a little discouraged, realizing the gap in strength between him and the mysterious officers.
With no more questions, he said his goodbyes to Jen before making his way up the stairs to the arena seating.
He followed through a short hallway to an opening, where rows of seating offered a panoramic view of a deep pit in its center. Floating high above the ground in its hollow center was a well-lit concrete platform. There, two fighters with red and green pinnies engaged in heated exchanges of martial arts. Above them, a giant 360-degree screen displayed their names and three bars marked to their stats.
The seats were sparsely filled, and the viewers exhibited a strange aura of focus and intensity as they watched the fight before them.
Zerna was a behemoth of a woman, with large rippling muscles and a bowl-like hairstyle. She attacked with slow but deadly kicks.
Hugo was a medium-built fighter, with long rippling sideburns. He chipped in with small combos of rapid punches during short openings.
Ged watched closely, trying to soak in as much of the fight as possible. Attempting not to miss too much, he searched for a seat among the spectators.
Among the crowds of people he spotted two familiar faces seated in the back row of seats above the entrance.
It was Jessie and Zen!
Zen looked on to the arena with fiery passion, while Jessie looked a little bored.
Ged ascended the steps leading to where the two were seated, looking to join them and watch the fight.
Jessie not caring too much for the fight was the first to notice the approaching Ged. He turned to Zen to say, "Oh look Zen, it's that kid from earlier, what's his name? Greg?"
Zen also looked up to see Ged ascending the steps.
"No, that's Ged. That's the chump who thinks he's stronger than me," Zen spoke, frowning, before adding, "Do you think he's on his way to sit with us?"
"I don't know him all that well," Jessie replied. "Do we really want to sit with him?"
"I don't care; at least he doesn't have Brandon with him," Zen replied flatly, his focus returning to the fight.
Jessie sat beside himself in thought.
The one thing that Jessie desired more than anything, was a friend whose interests went beyond battling in the arena and working out.
He contemplated the possibility that Ged, being an immigrant, might have different interests from the others.
Could Ged be a charming man with many girlfriends? A perfect wingman for Jessie, who struggled to get a date.
Could Ged be wealthy? Someone who takes his friends on luxurious vacations and provides them with expensive gifts.
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Ged continued up the steps, and when he reached the row near the two boys, he gave Jessie a sharp glance.
Feeling the intensity of Ged's stare, Jessie cracked under the pressure.
"Ged, right? I didn't know you would be here. Why don't you come sit with us?" Jessie spoke up, realizing he wanted the answers to his questions.
Ged smiled and thanked Jessie, moving to sit beside him.
Jessie was not a patient man. He bluntly asked Ged, "I heard some wealthy farming families came to our town. Are you from one of them?"
Ged replied a bit shyly, "Although I did come from the farms, I was just a farmhand, and it's hard to say we were ever rich."
A cold sweat dripped down Jessie's forehead.
Zen this time spoke up, asking, "Hey Ged, do you like to fight?"
Ged replied, "I haven't fought much. I just like the idea of being strong. When I heard about the strong king and his weightlifting achievements, I thought he was the coolest!"
Zen looked at Ged with fervent agreement, while Jessie held his head in deep disappointment. Zen moved out of his seat, now sitting on the opposite side of Ged.
"Brother, I've misjudged you."
"To think there was another person on this planet who understands me..." Zen spoke with passion, his eyes watering with tears. "Strength truly is the most important thing a man can have in his life."
Jessie rolled his eyes.
Ged nodded at Zen's words. "I just wish I knew where to start. Although I felt fulfilled after my weight training, I don't get how it all relates to actual combat in the arena," he replied.
Zen's face turned serious; he pondered momentarily over Ged's comment. Jessie, meanwhile, had completely lost interest in their conversation, now fiddling around with a piece of paper he found on the ground.
Zen looked out at the arena platform; the two fighters were standing at its center waiting for the other to make a move.
"You picked a good fight to learn. Zerna and Hugo are some of the best fighters in the entire Rookie division."
"Most fighters can be categorized into 'fighter archetypes.' These help define the kind of style they use in combat." Zen continued.
"Hugo is a 'Pressurer.' He uses his quick speed and reflexes to execute fast combos of punches and kicks to quickly reduce his opponents vitality."
"While Zerna is a 'Controller.' She uses attacks with high knockback and fights to control her opponent away from the center of the platform and off the stage."
"Power dictates how you hit and how much you hit for. There are three main ways to hit your opponent: stunning, knockback, and damage. Watch closely at the fight and take note of how they hit each other."
The fight started to heat up as Hugo sprang at Zerna.
Zerna
Power: 700/700
Endurance: 150/300
Vitality: 300/600
Hugo
Power: 300/300
Endurance: 400/400
Vitality: 500/500
Hugo unleashed a stunning right fist at Zerna, depleting a small amount of his power.
In response, Zerna flexed her muscles, making Hugo's fist seem as if it hit an invisible wall.
Zerna then countered by swinging a heavy punch at Hugo, depleting nearly half of her power.
Barely managing to crouch to avoid the fist, Hugo swept at Zerna's feet from the ground, using the remainder of his power.
Zerna flexed her legs, managing to block some of the impact, but her vitality still dropped from the outcome, causing her to stagger.
Regathering herself, and before Hugo could get too far away, Zerna utilized the remainder of her power to deliver a brutal kick.
Hugo was sent flying to the outer edge of the platform, taking heavy damage to his vitality as he staggered back up to his feet.
Zerna
Power: 000/700
Endurance: 000/300
Vitality: 130/600
Hugo
Power: 000/300
Endurance: 200/400
Vitality: 300/500
Ged pondered the fight. "That's strange. It seemed like sometimes their hits did nothing, like with Hugo's initial hit on Zerna."
"That's because Zerna 'shielded' Hugo's hit," Zen explained. "By flexing your muscles in a specific way, you can utilize some of your endurance to defend against a hit. And if you manage to defend against the hit in its entirety, it's called a 'shielded hit'."
Ged nodded at Zen's explanation and was now flexing some of his muscles to try and mimic blocking and shielding hits.
"Your power and endurance deplete with every hit or defending exchange, and although they regenerate, you need to be strategic about when you use them."
The two fighters spaced out, recovering from the earlier exchange.
Hugo made the first move again.
Using his speed to get close to Zerna, he executed a 4-hit combo. The first hit was an uppercut fist, knocking Zerna airborne. Following it up, he threw a hard left, sending her diagonally. Then, he sprinted closer, delivering a brutal elbow that knocked her down to the ground. He finished the combo with a decisive kick, sending the hulking Zerna towards the edge of the platform.
"C-C-COMBO!" Zen got excited over the fighters exchange.
Ged looked at him curiously.
"What Hugo just did is what's called a combo. With the proper training and if your combo starter isn't countered, you can execute an uninterrupted array of attacks onto your opponent." Zen explained.
Ged thought about the three consecutive attacks he learned from Maurice.
"Would the attacks I used yesterday be a combo?" Ged asked.
"Technically, yes, but only because I wasn't expecting it. Had I been more prepared, I would have easily blocked the first hit and countered back with my own attacks," Zen replied smugly.
Ged gave a wry smile in response to Zen's remarks.
Hugo moved in for another round of punches, but before he could get close, Zerna released a charged fist, using all her power. Hugo blocked, sliding backward on the platform and taking heavy damage.
Zerna
Power: 000/700
Endurance: 180/500
Vitality: 060/600
Hugo
Power: 200/300
Endurance: 000/400
Vitality: 050/500
Hugo and Zerna looked at each other from across the platform, hatred and battle fervor was in the air as the two caught their breath.
Ged started to get excited looking at the intense match.
"What happens when your vitality get to zero?" He asked.
"Muscles protect your entire body and when your vitality reaches zero, you enter a state known as 'muscle death', rendering you vegetative."
"One thing that can get dangerous is when both fighters are low like this is... because of... the platform..." Zen stopped his train of thought caught up in watching the fight.
Hugo rushed in to Zerna circling around him with attacks desperate to try and finish her off.
60... 40... 20... 10...
Zerna's vitality dropped dangerously low. Hugo jumped in to deliver a final blow. But before he could reach, Zerna gripped him within her pincer like arms, immobilizing him for the time being.
"NO WAY! A GRAB!" Zen stood up from his seat caught up in the moment.
The crowd began to cheer loudly over the sudden change in events. Even Jessie had woken up from his stupor, putting his full attention on the spectacle happening in the arena.
Ged watched the scenes unfold.
Hugo tried to shake off his hulking opponent's grip, but to no avail. Hugo began to panic as he was carried close to the edge of the platform. With a desperate effort to not be thrown off, he gripped onto Zerna's arms tightly.
Zerna had a dark expression on her face as she tried to shake Hugo off. In a heroic effort to turn around his fate Hugo released the grip of one of his hands to try and throw a punch and finish off Zerna.
But, in response Zerna jumped off the platform with Hugo still in grip...
"NOOO!" Zen held his head in shock. He leapt out of his seat, sprinting as close to the center of the arena as possible peering down below the platform and into the pit.
The crowd erupted in anger and horror. Jeers and boos could be heard throughout, as the people screamed at the conclusion of the fight.
Ged also got up out of his seat, joining Zen to see what was happening.
"MURDERER" A person called out. "KILLER BITCH" another screamed.
Below the platform a gory sight could be seen, Zerna was now seated in a puddle of flesh and blood atop of which was formerly Hugo.
Zerna struggled to her feet, standing tall. She looked up towards the crowd of people with empty eyes, not bothering to reply to their outrage.
A couple of Rua officers were now present, escorting the blood-splattered Zerna away from the crime scene.
This didn't seem to calm the people down at all. Several objects were now being thrown down below the platform at the retreating killer.
Strange green men arrived soon after with buckets and mops as they began to clean up the gory sight.
Zen spoke out with a melancholic tone, "Hugo..."
Ged was in shock over the terrifying outcome of the arena match.
Ged tried his best to comfort Zen, suggesting he sit back down. However, Zen remained glued to the sight of the deceased fighter, not budging an inch.
Not wanting to be around the aftermath any longer, Ged returned alone to sit with Jessie.
After the fight was over, Jessie was back to folding the paper he found, completely oblivious to the heavy atmosphere and outrage that had developed in the arena.
Ged sat down beside him, lost in contemplation.
"You ready to give up being the strong king yet?" Jessie asked nonchalantly.
Ged didn't have the words to answer.
Jessie sighed. "Although it is taboo for fighters to do it... death is way too common in this arena. That move that Zerna used is what's called the newbie killer."
"One piece of advice that imbecile probably forgot to mention to you..."
"Do not, under any circumstances..."
"get grabbed."
Ged took the advice to heart, mustering a response, "I-I see."
Jessie and Ged thought to themselves for a moment before Jessie broke the silence.
"Hey Ged. Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
Ged took a moment to think. Shaking his head, he responded, "None. To be honest, I haven't really even spoken to many girls besides my sister."
Jessie was devastated yet again by Ged's hopelessness. But suddenly, he came to a realization. Although Ged might be another strength junkie, he has a sister!
And she might be hot!
A big smile came to his face.
Meanwhile, the tension building in the arena finally came to a boil as a few of the spectators were now engaged in a roaring brawl.