Atlas was cooking steak, its meat juice sizzling on the pan along with fatty butter and fresh thyme.
"Ding~ Dong~" the bell chimed melodiously. It has been promptly an hour since the call.
Atlas gently placed it on a clean plate, opening the door.
"Hello! I'm assuming your Mr. Atlas." A brown-skinned man cheerfully introduced himself as Wang Mou, his companion also smiling warmly. "We are here to present these passes for the Coiling Dragon Arena."
Atlas studied them with his Third Eye. One is a Tier 8 Elite, the other is a Tier 8 Tyro. Aura Masters as greeters? That's impressive.
The toned man handed Atlas five golden cards with illustrations of ferocious dragons, which to Atlas, were coiling into a turd-like shape.
"Five? I only required two."
"Don't worry. We have selected you to as potential members, so in case you've got any more recommendations, you could always use it."
"Thanks." He slid it into his pocket. "Care for a drink?"
"No thanks. We'll be departing right now. There is a private plane towards the Arena at the Daxrim airport 2 hours from now, which provides sufficient time for Warriors like you to prepare. Good luck at the arena!"
They hurried off, probably proceeding to the next client.
Atlas kicked Nova awake. "Wake up man!"
"I'm already awake! Ugh~" he burped, saturating the living room with the aroma of tender and succulent beef.
The plate on the table was empty, even the juice licked off, and Atlas felt his void stomach growling with rebellion.
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Upon their arrival, the Wang Mou was already awaiting at the airport foyer and welcomed them. His companion was nowhere in sight, probably running an errand.
They were rudely interrupted at the airport's strict security, as weapons like Nova's parazonium or the guide's pistol were prohibited, which started quite a commotion.
While Atlas and Nova shrugged with impotence, their guide took a step forward. "Who's in charge here?"
A plump man trotted out from the audience, raising his head arrogantly. "I'm the manager here!"
Wang Mou said nothing, displaying a bronze badge to the ignorant airport manager and placed it in his fat palm.
The manager broke into intense sweat as he saw the badge, both legs trembling vigorously. Returning the badge, he spoke with exaggerated flattery while his chattering teeth in fear. "Despicable people like me are constantly derelict! Please forgive my blindness! You are more than welcomed to bring any weapon you want!"
He retrieved his badge back, scanning the stunned crowd flatly and smiled at Atlas. "Mr. Atlas, let's get going."
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The awesomeness of boarding a fancy, private plane without spending a single dime was the best treatment and feeling they've ever experienced. It felt like walking on cotton, their feet light as feather.
Nova was overwhelmed with curiosity from the managers frantic reaction. "Wang Mou, What did you show him? It almost scared the sh*t outta him!"
"This." Wang Mou rubbed off a speck of dust on the badge. "When you're a member of The Coiling Dragon Arena, you will receive two items. An identification ID from the Coiling Dragon Arena and this type of badge provided by the government."
"Government?" The stairs of the plane slid down.
"Yes. The Coiling Dragon Arena is the token of the cooperation between the government and the Families in Capital city. This badge right here is recognized by all transportation system and provides passage to most facilities."
"Wicked~"
They just entered the plane.
The inner space was larger than they imagined. Other than the cockpit, there were about 20 spacious seats rowed up along the isle. Every two seats were vertically symmetrical, facing one another.
Four of the seats were occupied: Three male and one female.
Atlas and Nova rested on two different seats to obtain more area to move their legs.
Two of the men were identical, probably father and son, playing Chinese chess to burn time.
The sole woman was a young girl, about the same age as Atlas or Nova. She stared out the window, elegantly sniffing a flower in her hand.
Opposite of her was a young man with symptoms of a pervert, ogling the young girl's well grown breast as he tried to catch her attention to flirt with her.
As a gentleman, Nova couldn't sit still and allow this uncivilized behavior. But Atlas pinned him down.
"Why'd you do that for? I was gonna go hero and save a beautiful princess!"
"Shush," Atlas said. "Check her ranking."
Nova sneaked a peep at all four passengers to evaluate their rank of cultivation.
The son and father were tested first. The son was a Tier 1 Elite Axonn, while the father was probably a Tier 4 Axonn as his presence was more hidden and faint.
The young girl was a Tier 1 Expert, same as both of them. Atlas and Nova leveled up in their sleep after the intense battle last night.
The young man was even stronger, a Tier 2 Elite.
"Remember. These guys are recruits like us, so they must be Axonns. And also,we don't want to pick up a fight just to create more enemies, that'll not benefit us."
As Nova wanted to object, the girl suddenly stood out, heading towards their direction.
"Excuse me? If I'm not mistaken, are you Sync?"
"How'd you know?" Atlas glanced up, meeting her friendly gaze.
"You may recognize me by the nickname Petal on the Dexter Billboard," she giggled, inserting the flower into her hair like a pin. "You were later than me by about two days. When your name disappeared, the only explanation was that you are an Axonn."
"Answer my question first."
"I witnessed you challenging the previous champion. Explains a lot doesn't it? See that boy over there?" She pointed at the father and son. "He's Frank, Top 9 on the Dexter Billboard, and he has just ranked up today. Since I introduced myself, how about your cute friend over here? I don't think I've seen him before."
"No you haven't." Nova combed his hair with satisfaction from hearing the word 'cute'. "I'm Nova and..."
"ATTENTION passengers! We are about to take off."
It seems like they're this week's final batch.