"We're taking bets right here all night!"
"Line right on up, Fifth Class battle bets all night, Fourth Class battle bets during tomorrow night's special cup!"
"Hunter Snacks! Get your hunter snacks over here! 20 silver credits per bag, 40 silver credits for three! Next ten minutes only."
"Registration! All unregistered hunters can register for the battles of the Underground Battle League here."
Bas King wore black combat clothes and a black mask that hid everything under his eyes, revealing only his dreadlocks as he wandered through the thick crowd of people in this underground sewage junction that had been converted into a fighting arena. Bleachers lined the area outside the cage as if there was a wall to support them. After confirming his direction, he walked up to a teenager probably only a year or so older than himself who was wearing brown scrubs.
"You a new Hunt Neophyte, kid? Do yourself a favor and scram out from here, would you?" the teenager berated Bas heavily but was upset when he saw Bas ignoring him totally. He sneered, "Well don't blame us if you die later. Give me your name."
"Bazzy. Bazzy Dagod." Bas King shamelessly added god to the nickname his mother called him to remain incognito. At the same time, he released a wisp of aura.
"Bazzy, Hunt Neoph...th...that...Hunt Foundation?!" the teenager was dumbstruck. This brat was ever more talented and powerful than himself. 'Hunt Foundation at such a young age? He must be the one.' The teenager completely changed his behavior towards Bazzy Dagod, bowing in a servile manner. He flipped Bazzy Dagod his own token after wiping away his remnant energy, "My name is Eric Masters. Please, accept this bronze underground hunter token as an apology."
"Bronze token?" Bas looked at the token that landed in his palm with curiosity.
"You don't know?" the teenager, whose name was Eric, raised an eyebrow. How did this kid reach the Hunt Foundation stage without even knowing about the token system? Either way, this was a chance for Eric to curry favor with a superior hunter, "Underground Hunter Tokens serve as currency in the Underground Battle League. The higher the grade of your token, the more you win for fights. After ten victories you can upgrade your token. Of course, down here, silver hunter tokens are the highest grade. Those with a silver grade underground hunter token can use it to hide their hunter aura. As long as they repress it, you won't sense their aura at all even if you're a Qi Producer."
"Makes sense," Bas nodded as he had already experienced the evidence of this earlier. "In that case, I'll thank you now. How do I sign up for the battles? How much can I win with a bronze token?"
"First, you use your atmosphere to leave an energy marker on the token. Then, you compete against others for their credits!" said Eric animatedly. He talked with his hands and exaggerated his actions.
Credits were what was used as currency in this world. They were separated by grade, starting at copper, bronze, silver, and then gold. Above gold were the highest amethyst credits.
"By equipping a mecha-hand, one would be able to condense large amounts of energy into a small crystal coin known as a credit." Eric was incomparably excited by this point. One could tell he really enjoyed working here, "However, doing so yourself would take at least a week per unit. It is far from economical to create your own credits. In the Underground Battle Arena, credits come in the standard-tier silver, mid-tier gold, and top-tier amethyst. One amethyst credit is worth 1,000 Gold and 1,000,000 Standard Silver Units. The Underground Hunter League awards those who win with 500 silver credits as a standard, and this increases with your win-streak: two challenges win a gold credit; four challenges nets 2 gold credits; eight nets 10 gold credits; and sixteen challenges yields 15 gold credits. Make it to 32 challenges and you can compete against the champion for a chance at bigger prizes! There will probably be a new Fifth Class Underworld Champ crowned tonight since Texas was injured so badly by Ms. Evans."
"Ms. Evans? Is that the name of that pretty announcer?" asked Bas King when he heard this new name.
That announcer was the prettiest woman he had seen in this life, and she was a Hunt Expert! Looking at her incomparably fair skin, Bas felt she should be in her early 20s. She was thin and graceful, but hid a lot of power! This meant that she was of decent talent. Perhaps, if she wasn't from the mortal country this wouldn't be impressive. However, if she was indeed born and raised here then there was no way her talent would be normal.
"Yes, Miss Brenda Evans is the daughter of Sid Evans, the owner of Kennesaw Metropolis' Underground Battle League, the biggest battle league in all of Mortalee," Eric presented some news that surprised Bas a little.
'So she's basically the princess of this place...'
Too bad, Bas was only turning 16 years old in a few days, there was no way such a woman would take him seriously. He should just focus on improving himself, for now. Love could definitely wait. Of course, he wouldn't neglect intimacy like his previous incarnation. Bas had no desire to be lonely at the peak this time around, as last time he was doomed too seeking companionship among those old monsters who could no be counted as humans.
While Bas was lost in his thoughts, Eric was still babbling in an attempt to thoroughly answer Bas' questions, "Including her, there are ten other Hunt Experts with Silver Tokens here tonight. Only in the Hunter's Society, where experts are said to be as common as the clouds, could one find such powerful opponents. Us Fifth Class Hunters can't even imagine their power."
Bas looked with disdain at this fanboy who was staring at the platform behind the northern bleachers. Over on that platform, five experts were seated while their individual subordinates stood around them. Brenda Evans was also ascending this platform, and she walked next to the middle-aged man seated in the middle of the five, before standing behind him to deliver a report. This middle-aged man had a very angular face and sharp features. He was quite the looker, and his long legs and torso gave away his height. Bas was confident this man should be a head taller than himself.
This was rather tall.
In fact, even Ms. Evans was only a bit shorter than Bas, at 176 cm. Her sexy low cut dress revealed her stunning legs to the crowd, making many men swallow their saliva and fail to look awake.
"I wonder what color they are?"
"Did you see them when she walked up?"
"I saw something way better. I don't think she's wearing any..."
"Disgusting." Bas King mumbled as he heard the pathetic discussion of the men surrounding him. Merely, he took another glance at this woman in spite of himself. "Ah, indeed freedom is the freest..."
"If she's already so powerful, then how about that guy in the center?" Bas King thought out loud. This middle-aged man had the atmosphere of a Hunt Expert, but he must be approaching the next rank. Otherwise, why would such a powerful lady be standing at his back, reporting to him? "However, how are these mortals so strong? This was definitely not the case in my era...mortals reaching Hunt Neophyte was excessively rare, let alone Hunt Expert. Has technology advanced to such an extent? However, that man should be close to Grand Hunter, Fourth Class. How is that even possible?"
In this land where the hunt qi was so thin and brittle as if it barely existed at all, it would only be possible with a powerful battle spirit. There was a chance that the powerful battle spirits of Sebastian's generation would belong to the Pharaoh Gods that Bas was familiar with from his own era. This was around the time they should all have successfully reincarnated unless they died long after himself. Some would return as battle spirits thanks to the Portal of Osiris' magical powers, while others would return as djinn due to the unfortunate circumstances of their demise or their lack of cultivation. Only Pharaoh Gods could enter the Portal of Osiris to bless their descendants with their power. Most of them would never remember their past selves like Bas King, who became an exception thanks to his Skylord Everflame. But why would they be reborn in the Mortal Realm? That was incredibly unlikely.
The Skylord Everflame, or whatever it had become now, had kept Bas' pharaoh soul dormant instead of being absorbed into the soul of his descendant. Now, as a result, when the battle spirit was awakened Bas absorbed the host soul instead. "I wonder what changes have occurred to my everflame exactly?"
"That man in the center is the one I told you about earlier, the controller of the Underground Battle League in Kennesaw Metropolis. No one dares to challenge his authority because he has the strength to back himself up. That's the famous underground legend, Sid Evans! He is undefeated with a record of 699 battles. He claims to want to retire after his 700th victory, and hand everything over to his daughter."
"699 straight victories? Not bad indeed," Bas King smirked as he found that this place was far more interesting than the city above.
Anyway, he needed to get his hands on a Silver Underground Battle Token. Bas already finished appraising the one in his hand. This token was a unique hunter tool, and once it reached the silver grade it's unique skill "camouflage" would become active. With "camouflage", Bas would no longer have to worry about his cultivation being discovered once he broke through to the Hunt Expert, Fourth Class. To reach this level, Bas had to win more than 30 battles without being defeated.
"All right, now I'm pumped!" Bas King's violet-gold eyes shined with a strange firelight. "Let's do it!"