We arrived on a hilltop in sector five, on the academy's northern east side. A whole of sector five could be seen clearly from there.
PUFF
I puffed and flicked my cigar, burning it completely before it fell down, and walked towards the abandoned wood building that stood alone, looking like a ghost house. We entered and went down into the basement.
CREEK (5x)
A guard appeared out of nowhere. We all opened our subspaces and took out our masks. I used a white make with silver borders that resembled a monster's mouth; it was an artifact that increased my mana. Masks we used were unique, everybody had their own made by Louie. Everyone participating had to wear a mask for obvious reasons.
I channelled mana into my eyes, which glowed bright orange and had vertical black pupils like that of a snake's.
"Welcome back, boss." The guard greeted us, looking at our masks.
Henry who was at the front nodded and opened the door.
"Yeaaaaahhh!"
"WHOOOOHHH!!"
"Kill that son of a bit*h!!"
The arena was half the size of a football stadium, with two people inside who were half blooded and channelling their mana. Drinks were spilled everywhere, men and women walked around giving drinks to everyone who ordered them, and people who were too close to the arena threw their drinks on the fighters.
The arena is surrounded by a system that protects it from both inside and outside threats. This system was created with the help of Core, Louie, Arngrim, and me, while Henry assisted in the selection of strong and talented individuals for the arena.
Arngrim approached a woman serving a guest, grabbed her waist and pulled her to him, whispered something in her ear, and took her to the nearest room after waving us goodbye with a smirk.
There were numerous private rooms in the arena. Arngrim came up with the idea for private rooms, and he is the only one who uses it among us. Henry shook his head and sighed.
The arena was divided into three sections: one for everyone, two for those who paid more, and three for VIPs. We made our way to the VIP section.
A drunk guy bumped into me with a bottle in his hand.
"Watch it." I said in a cold tone.
The guy turned to face me and shuddered, his eyes were out of focus and he seemed to be high on something else too.
"Hey, move it." A guard came forward and pushed back the drunk guy before things got worse.
".... Hey, he was the one who bumped into me." The drunkard said while pointing his finger at me.
"..." I looked at Henry because he was good at handling this kinds of situations.
"Leave him." Core dragged him by arm and walked away.
"It's the arena!" Henry said as he shrugged his shoulders and walked away with Core.
".... You should know what he meant by that." Louie said, patted my back and followed them.
"Seriously?" I stood there and looked at them walking away in disbelief. I was still wearing formals.
"..." the guard looked at me like he was tired. I really wanted to hug him and console him for his hard work.
"Haa..." I sighed.
'I can't believe I'm even considering this.'
"Will you seriously fight this nobody, boss?" He asked while looking the drunkard with pity.
"Well.... Bet on me." I said as I patted his shoulder.
"Oh, easy money, hahaha." He hugged the drunkard and walked to the counter with stars in his eyes.
"Wanna go in there?" I asked the drunkard, coldly while pointing at the arena.
He grinned, finished his drink, and proceeded to the arena. I didn't even check to see if he was stronger because only people with rank-B or higher are allowed in, and everyone comes to pick a fight.
"We'll do a death match." He spoke to the guard stationed near the arena's gates. He gaped for a brief moment before pointing his finger at the drunkard and me in disbelief, and I nodded.
The guard asked the drunken man for his name, typed it into his smartwatch, and sent it to the control room, which will display the names on the arena's system and notify the fighters when the current fight is over.
"Hahahaha, greenhorn, get your neck ready!" the drunkard said with a nasty grin on his face.
'Guh, the cringe!'
*
DING
[Match in 0m : 59s.]
"It's finally time to kill somebody." I mumbled.
Two gorgeous women entered the arena, one holding a microphone to announce and the other releasing blue hue and replenishing the security system to be on a relatively safe side.
[NOW PRESENTING THE 33rd MATCH OF THE NIGHT.]
[TO MY LEFT, TODAY'S 33rd CHALLENGER!!]
[DIEMOS!!]
[TO MY RIGHT, TODAY'S 33rd FIGHTER!!]
[WHITE SW.....]
She looked at the other girl woman in disbelief, ran over to her and looked at the list of participants. She quickly looked around and found Henry, who raised his hand with a thumbs up, quickly changing it to a peace symbol.
[SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.]
[TO MY RIGHT, TODAY'S FIGHTER!!!]
[THE SNAKE!!]
I understood why Henry showed the peace symbol. He changed my alias to 'the snake.'
"Haha." I chuckled and entered the arena. Obviously, while wearing a mask. Everyone who had been here before gasped in surprise, and murmurs filled the arena before being replaced by cheers and excitement.
"I'll applaud you for not running away." The drunkard said.
'God, he's definitely new here.'
"Who let this third rate villain in?" I mocked him with a grin which was covered by my mask.
"Hahaha, we'll see who's the third rate villain." He said with a smirk.
'I mean, I'm literally the VILLAIN, so you're DEFINITELY the third rate villain.' I thought inwardly.
"You!" I exclaimed, coldly.
"..... Didn't have any come back, did you?" I mocked him, arena was filled with giggles and snickers.
"...." he turned red from anger or embarrassment, maybe both.
'He is definitely new to this.'
"Kid, surrender, I'll let you live even if it's a death match, but...."
He wore a mask over his eyes, but when he smiled, he didn't have any wrinkles. He was about 5'5, with black hair and black eyes, which I'm not sure if they're accurate because artifacts can change them.
"But?" he asked.
"But..... Only after taking off your mask." I grinned while releasing bit of 'mana pressure.'