A little bit more than a year went by since Lucy and Aarav exited the palace. The mermanian and draconian battle raged on for months till Lankani exited the mansion and stopped them. He had the two draw up a treaty and agreed to no longer fight around the palace.
Ever since all battles were prohibited in the vicinity, many warriors were sent here to enter the palace to train. Slowly other races tested the neutral zone, realizing the no battling rule applied to them too. Now a large area of tents and building were erected nearby.
This place was named after the Guardian who stopped the fighting. Lankani City became the first settlement to have all the races at it. If one were to enter the palace, you would see thousands in the first domain. Even more, flooded the 2nd domain and third domain.
A few draconians and mermanians exited the palace after failing the last trial. Little did they know you had to be human and of moral character.
After their tales of trials, even more, races flooded to the palace to grow stronger.
Lankani City was busy every day. Many were trading goods, supplies, and even standard cultivation techniques.
On a day like no other, a human appeared. The boy was 18 years old and sporting a buzz cut. He had sharp eyebrows and gave off demeanor of noble. He had a large mace strapped to his back, and he was wearing a buffalo mask.
This boy was Leo. He had finally finished training and entered the Early Mana Fighter stage. Leo was told upon his exit the outside changed a lot. Even he was surprised at how this city was erected overnight.
A mermanian walked up and looked at Leo. "Hello, human, congratulations on completing all the trials. Do not fear what you were told in the Palace. Here no race can fight. Take this."
The mermanian handed him a coin with the palace on one side and a star on the other side.
"This coin lets everyone here in the city know you are a warrior who has passed all the trials. This will also allow no one to mistreat you in fear of facing the council."
Leo was blown away by what mermanian was saying. He could hardly take all this in. He took the coin into his hand and brushed his hand over it feeling the grooves of the palace and star in it.
"We would also like to extend an offer to join the council. You are the first human to receive that coin."
Leo thought over what he said. He didn't want to pledge allegiance to anything he didn't know too well. Leo made that mistake before with the renegades. He didn't regret joining them; he wished he knew more about them before entering.
"I do not wish to join but extend my thanks for the offer to the council."
The mermanian smiled and nodded. "If you need anything head to the building across from the palace and council will help you to the best of our ability." The mermanian walked away.
Leo looked down at the coin and realized there was the number 7 on the coin. He wondered what that number signified. If he ran into that mermanian again, he would ask him.
First thing, Leo decided to explore the city and get a better understanding of it. He discovered the building closest to the Palace were reserved for high-level cultivators or council members. Asking a merchant selling food, Leo learned that right now the four on the council were two mermanians and two draconians. None of the other races had completed the trial yet.
On the south side of the city, there was mostly tents. This area was for any race that wasn't draconian or mermanian — these two races set up tents and hard buildings on the west and east sides of town.
In the middle is where the city felt alive. Stalls were everywhere, and even metal building was erected. Mana ships became mobile shops. Leo saw many things for sale here. There were slaves for sale, technological weapons, all kinds of exotic foods, and even beast for sale. The currency they were using was mermanian money. It was digital money stored in a keychain looking thing.
With no way to contact the renegades, Leo needed to earn him some money. He looked around and found a flier for a battle arena outside the city limits. The Council approved of the arena if it was never humanoid vs. humanoid.
This caused a massive influx of captured creatures to be brought to Lankani City. Thinking back to his fights in the Coliseum, Leo decided to give it a try. Especially since the poster said for every win, the opponent will receive 30 units, which is a lot in Lankani.
Leo talked to a few more shop owners to get a better idea of this arena. All of them were tight-lipped until he showed them his coin. Each one would apologize and then tell him anything he wanted to know.
Leo learned that most Mana Fighters that go there don't survive. There was a beast that is unbeatable. He also discovered that having the coin also automatically gave him a discount on all items within Lankani.
After gathering up enough information, he walked to the stadium. It was no surprise that the beastmen were the ones who erected the arena. Leo walked up to one who was welcoming all those who came to watch. He was taking units from everyone who entered.
"Oh, it's a human. Human, no one gets in here for free."
Leo showed him his coin and said, "I wish to fight."
Seeing the coin, the beastman freaked out. He called someone on his communication device. "I apologize for the remark before. The boss said to let you enter. You will go right once you enter the building and wait to be called to enter the arena."
Leo nodded and walked past him. The beastman was sweating. His boss told if offended the man before him, he would be taken away from Lankani City and disappear forever. He was glad he didn't insult the boy any further.
Leo could hear the announcer introduce himself and told them Trial Completer has asked to fight in the arena. The crowd started to cheer louder than it has ever cheered. The doors in front of Leo opened, and he walked forward.
Leo looked out unto the small arena and saw all kinds in the crowd. The Announcer holding a communication device gave Leo a head nod to indicate he must be the boss. The beastman was golden-brown and a variant he had never seen before.
"Today our challenger shall face a new beast we just captured. Behold the cat beast. A Siberian tiger walked out of the different gates. It was not the color or the size of the creature that caught Leo off guard. It was that the tiger was only at peak Tempered Body.
"Why would the arena pit him against a beast they know he could easily defeat?" Leo muttered to himself.