Kailen met back up with Kenneth at the ground floor of the building, he saw him conversing with a bright, good-looking girl near the corner of the room. He could hear their laughter as he descended the stairs, he felt bad interrupting their moment, but oh well...
"Hey Kenneth, how much do I owe you for the drink?"
"Hm? Oh, Kailen. Don't worry about that, you repaid me in a different way..."
Kenneth laughed loudly remembering Nilen's disheartened face, the girl next to him pouted after hearing him clearly knowing what happened. Kailen looked at her closely and noticed a few resemblances to Nilen and quickly deduced her identity.
"So, this is?"
"Oh, I forgot. Kailen this is Nana, Nilen's sister."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nana."
"And you, I apologize for my brother's behavior. Being the only heir to our father resulted in him being spoiled throughout childhood."
"Forget it, it was only a minor inconvenience. I'll leave you two alone for a while, Kenneth I'll be back here later if you want to talk again."
After saying his farewells, Kailen approached the mature looking staff member.
"Hello, do you rent rooms here?"
"Yes, we do. There are two available each going for five silvers a night. Would you like to reserve one?"
Five silvers a night was expensive, though Kailen planned to go earn some money while enhancing his skills soon so he felt he could indulge himself.
"Yeah, two nights for now. I'll book a few more nights at that time."
Kailen paid the lady his one gold coin and remembered where his room was located, before leaving and heading back into the city. Kailen decided to earn money the only way he knew how fighting in the arena. There were two types of fights in the arena, slave fights which were to the death and fights with willing participants. It was entirely up to the victor to kill or spare their opponent, though it was normally the etiquette to spare good fighters.
After asking for directions he headed towards the arena and arrived after ten minutes of walking, the arena was a large round structure which towered over the local buildings. The surroundings were filled with people chatting excitedly, anxiously waiting for the next fights to begin.
"I heard Scorpa is fighting today!"
"I hope so, he's entertaining to watch."
Kailen overheard people talking in the crowd, his interest was peaked though he didn't bother to find out more. He headed to a large gate with a sign asking for fighters was present, he walked up to a hole in the wall where a man behind bars was waiting for the next willing gladiator.
"Hey, I'd like to fight today if possible."
"Sure, what's your name? And what time?"
The man asked excitedly, he was having trouble finding opponents today.
"Any time now, and its Kailen."
***
The procedure was simple, Kailen had his fight organized in the next thirty minutes. Turns out he was fighting the fan-favorite Scorpa, which must have explained the man's attitude. To be a fan-favourite you must be good, surviving enough fights for people to know your name is a great feat.
Kailen prepared himself in a small dark waiting room underneath the stands, he calmed his breathing and replenished his body with qi.
"Today we have an exciting match between a Lanza arena newcomer and the gladiator we all love Scorpa! Please welcome the newcomer, Kailen!"
Kailen stood up and walked through the door towards the arena, the announcer's loud voice seemed to overpower the crowds which he always found fascinating.
"A special physique, huh."
Kailen surmised, the familiar tough sand beneath his feet made him feel right at home. He hoped the opponents of the arena wouldn't let him down now that he'd increased his strength. Though from what he'd heard the non-slave fights were another level.
He heard the familiar cheers as he stepped into the arena, he patiently stood waiting for his opponents flexing his grip on his saber and ax. He decided to use both a one-handed ax and the saber for the fight, a homage to his gladiator days.
"And now entering the arena for the twelfth time, SCORPA!"
The cheers were deafening as a massive man with a huge battle-ax entered into the arena, he would tower over Kailen by at least a foot. His height matched by his powerful muscles which were mostly exposed as he only wore a helmet and a skirt-like piece that went to just above his knees.
His powerful chest was covered in old scars long and small, his face fierce almost growling as he glared at Kailen. The pressure he exuded made Kailen's expression turned serious, it was the first time in a while Kailen felt threatened by a human opponent.
"And now, the fight may BEGIN!"
The announcer's words had just ended as the big man blasted forward with extreme momentum towards Kailen. The speed of the man was incredible for his size, though Kailen could catch his movements. Anticipating the wide swing with the huge ax, Kailen twisted his body and delivered a quick slash at his shoulder.
Though the spray of blood he expected didn't occur, he was shocked as the man's ax swept towards him with extreme power. Kailen quickly delivered a chopping movement with his ax, which blocked the ax from hitting his body but it failed to stop the momentum.
Kailen was flung fifteen meters backward as he landed on his back with a body shuddering impact. He was trying to figure out how his slash did no damage, his only thought was a special physique. A physique that toughened his body? Or maybe he had cultivated with an enormous amount of earth qi? His mind was reeling with different possibilities as he quickly got back to his feet only to be met with another charge.
Kailen was once again on the defense as Scorpa swung a huge overhead strike, Kailen quickly stepped under his strike and past him while delivering another more powerful slash to his body. This time he managed to damage him, though the cut was shallow. He turned in time to see the ax hit the floor, which shook the entire ground causing vibrations to travel throughout his body.
"He has a serious power advantage, along with the hardness of his body... there's no wonder he's survived so long."
Kailen thought as he looked at the dust clouds with slight dread, a smile slowly creeping onto his face. This was the feeling he loved, a hard challenge to overcome, a situation where he was in total control of the outcome.
"If I can't defeat him in one blow, then he'll have to die by a thousand cuts."
Kailen took the initiative to charge this time, he provided a quick slash with his saber before following up with a powerful strike with his ax aiming for the man's arm. Scorpa wasn't just a brute with force and power exemplified by his skillful block with the hard handle of his ax. Knocking Kailen's ax away he followed with a quick strike with the pommel of his ax, striking Kailen in the chest knocking him back a few meters and causing him to cough up blood.
It was the most miserable Kailen had been since that night in the forest, though the tougher the challenge the better he thought. Scorpa charged at him full force once again, Kailen's grip on his weapons tightened in anticipation. As Scorpa approached within two meters, Kailen kicked up sand and dirt into his eyes before delivering two strikes in quick succession. With the saber, he aimed for his neck with the ax came in a chopping motion to his shoulder. The saber strike was narrowly evaded with a lean back, but the ax slammed deep into his shoulder muscle.
Red blood sprayed out for the first time, though it wasn't enough to incapacitate him. Kailen leaped back out of range before the follow-up blow could arrive. His speed and weapon technique seemed his only current advantage, he thought he'd become physically powerful after his cultivation with the fire stones but it seemed negligible in front of this cultivator.
"I need to rely on my timing and precision. After all, timing and precision beat power."
Kailen thought to himself, though he knew that against great power all it took was one mistake and that was it. This time Kailen was patiently awaiting his opponent's next charge, he twirled the ax around his wrist in anticipation.