Most of the fans that were outside began following Siergi and his team back to their carrier, leaving the others enough room to escape to the waiting station for Labrisson's Public Carrier System. Janus, Itzel and Gurk waited for the next carrier with Enidri.

"That was a lucky break you guys got there," Enidri said. "Nice chunk of Tokens to get in a single afternoon."

"Managed to clear out a decent bit of my debt with the winnings," Janus replied with a wide grin.

"Not bad, huh?" Gurk grunted at Itzel.

"Oh, you're talking about Siergi? And the rest of his team?"

"Uh-huh."

"I suppose they're not as bad as I had originally thought.” Itzel then paused, looking back at Gurk with a shred of embarrassment on her face. “Can you blame me though? Their personalities on the Broadcast can be so... one dimensional. But maybe I should stop being so quick to judge people. First Janus and now Siergi and his team."

"Good idea," Gurk replied.

Enidri activated her personal projection. She scanned the screen before promptly deactivating it. "I'd love... I mean... I'd be willing to stay longer but I've got another Visitor's Appointment with my brother. The message I just received said that they had some news. Hoping it's good."

"Let us know how it goes," Janus said.

"Sure."

"And let me know if ever need someone to come by with you the next time you visit Donva," Itzel said.

"You wanna tag along or something?" the swordswoman asked with confusion.

"Like I said, maybe he could use a bit of help getting to know Labrisson." Itzel shrugged her shoulders while avoiding eye contact with Enidri.

"Why are you always acting so weird whenever Donva gets brought up, huh?" Enidri asked while cutting her single eye in Itzel’s direction.

"Just trying to be friendly."

"You? Being friendly? That's not one of the words that comes to mind when describing you. Especially in regards to someone that you barely know and wanted you dead less than a week ago."

"Didn't I just say that I need to stop judging people? Maybe I want to give Donva a second chance!"

Enidri rolled her eye. "Yeah. Sure.”

“I’m being serious!”

The swordswoman turned around. “Like I said, I've got to get going. I'll see you three later. Try not to spend all those Tokens you just got in one place." She tucked her hands inside the pockets of her jacket and headed towards the lot on the other side of the street.

"Bye Eni!" Gurk waved at the woman as she stepped inside the lot of parked carriers. She vanished among the other vehicles before reemerging on the far side of the lot on her flying machine and soaring into the distance. With her gone, Janus looked at Itzel, giving her a raised eyebrow.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"What's with the sudden interest in Enidri's brother?"

Itzel's face turned red. "What? Don't tell me you think there's something more to what I said too!"

"You seem pretty invested."

"Is it really that out of character for me to worry about someone's well-being?"

Gurk and Janus looked at each other then back at Itzel. "Yes," they responded simultaneously.

"Thanks guys," Itzel said sarcastically. "It's nice to know what you really think about me."

"Any time," Gurk said.

"Let's just get home. We've got a decent amount of Tokens to work with now. Maybe we should take up Siergi's advice and start looking into Broadcasting our Rumble Circuit matches."

"Our?" Janus asked.

"We're the Slayers. We've already got a Ranked Challenge win under our belts and a whole bunch of eyes on us as a team." Itzel clapped her hands together. We've got to keep this momentum going! There's a chance that we might actually make a name for ourselves as fighters."

Janus blinked twice. "You're right Itzel. I guess the realization is just kicking in. Never thought I had the skillset to be some sort of entertainer, let alone one that has to fight other people."

"Don't worry, Janus,." Itzel gave him a pat on the back. In the distance, the public carrier began to lower in their direction. "You've got potential. Being able to adapt is probably the number one skill a pro Rumble Circuit fighter could want. You managed to take on Maluk with only two Techniques! Not many people can do that. Not to mention you're learning attacks faster than anyone I've seen. If you stick with the craft, you could make it to the top."

"With help!" Gurk added.

"That's a given, big guy!" Itzel said. "Janus here couldn't even kill a Lurker without a bit of intervention. He'll definitely need some guidance in learning the more intricate details of Ranked Challenges."

"I wouldn't dream of pursuing this without you guys!" Janus said with a grin.

"Exactly. And that's why when we're getting home, we're going back on the grind. Studying. Sparring. All of it."

"Great." Gurk moaned and leaned his head all the way back.

"Hey! That battle with BRUTE did you some good. Not to mention all of that studying you and Janus did. It may not be fun, but my advice gets results!"

The carrier landed in front of the trio. The swing doors opened wide, letting out a long hiss as it did so. The robot piloting the vehicle remained focused on the space outside of the front window. Some of the passengers sitting in the carrier however, looked at Gurk through open doors. The rumblings of the riders became audible as the trio got closer to the vehicle. Itzel stepped on first and was greeted with a small applause by some of those sitting down. They waved at her, making her return their attention with an embarrassed grin.

"You did pretty good on that Broadcast!" a teenaged-looking individual said as Itzel walked past him by the front seat.

"Thanks," she replied as she headed to the vacant spots in the back.

Janus entered next and received much of the same reception but to a lesser extent. The teenager smirked, hiding a snicker as Janus walked by. Gurk entered last and received the most attention. Those that were on the bus and watched Siergi's Broadcast whistled, clapped and stomped their feet. Gurk paused once his entire body entered the vehicle, basking in the admiration.

"That fight!" the teenager said to Gurk. The crocodile turned around. The boy looked at him with a smile and raised one hand, requesting a high-five. "That was wild! I didn't know Siergi could actually lose."

"Thanks!" Gurk slowly extended his open palm, accepting the teen's offer.

"Do you Broadcast?" he asked with big eyes.

"Maybe."

"Can you let me scan your code to your Broadcast page?"

"Sure." Gurk showed off his UIC. The teenager, along with a few of the passengers that leaned forward over their seats, all scanned the code.

"You just got a Follower!"

"Me too!" Another voice called. "Same here," a separate one added.

"Thanks guys!" Gurk said. he grinned all the way to the back seat, plopping himself against the back chair. Janus looked at his two teammates. Itzel and Gurk sat side by side, an air of confidence emanated from both of them.

"You two seem happy," Janus said as he leaned in forward, making sure that his words were only heard by them.

Itzel leaned back in her seat, maintaining her assertive grin as she rested the back of her head on her arm. "What can I say, Janus? Even just a taste of fame can change someone."