"Twelve minutes. You spend 12 minutes inside. You will pay with your teeth!" The huge man said as he brought a tooth plier.
"I will win 10 matches. Is that enough?" Noah said with confidence.
"No. It isn't."
"Okay, after 10 fights, I will not come here. Is that enough!"
The man thought for a moment and then nodded. "But if you fail I will still get my teeth!"
"Fair enough!" Noah nodded as he observed the man well. He is a Rank 7 Master.
All the kids were then guided toward the arena and some were even praying that they get matched up with him.
"I'm sorry, I try to pull you off but you are heavy and asleep!" Elya said.
Noah looked at him and nodded but he was preoccupied with what he was feeling in his body. He felt fresh and his muscles well rested. His skin was pale and some of his veins can be seen due to being in the stomach of the Sucker Worm but he doesn't feel any pain again.
His muscles were brimming with power. Noah can already feel that he was close to breaking through to Rank 9 Master. That was if he trained.
More than that, after flexing the muscles that ache during their fall and bringing about him to achieve buoyancy, Noah was able to perceive a difference in his walking. More importantly, he felt less heavy by 3 to 5 grams.
"Hmm!" The Knight guiding them noticed Noah's change in behaviour.
They reached a counter where they were written numbers. On Noah's back, it is written G 1 as his name and then 0 as the number of his win. The same for Elya. They were then asked to wait in a cell with other fighters.
"Hey, newbies. From where?" Both Noah and Elya turned and they met with an old man in rags with a bottle of wine in his hand.
"Floating Feather!" Elya said.
"Where?" He asked as if confused.
"We are from Floating Feather Knighthood!" Elya increased his voice! Noah loose interest and looked around.
"I didn't know it. A tip, if you can't win, quit. And work and be obedient, I believe you will get your freedom if they realised you aren't willing to fight!" He then slumped back and began snoring.
"G 1 Twin 1"
"You are twin 1, I'm twin 2!" Elya quickly said as he pushed Noah forward. Noah glared at him but stepped forward and went out of the cell.
He came and stop at the centre of the arena. Other fights were going on and the audience was doing what they knew best, betting.
Then a lanky boy presented himself as his opponent. The boy was badly beaten with a swollen face and mouth. His eyes were red as if he finished crying but there was hope and determination in him.
'The rule is the same.' Noah commented in his mind. The kids' arena was different from the men's arena. The kids one start easy, that was to say, Noah will fight 3 losers at the bottom before he was paired against a winner.
That was to compel the kids to have confidence and show their ability to dominate.
The guy that guided them was the referee and he shouted. "Fight!" There was no asking whether they are ready.
The loser dashed forward and punched forward. Bang, Noah's chin was hit and he staggered back. Before he does a thing more punches rain on his face, stomach and chest.
Noah was pushed to the ground and then pummeled by a fist. The boy screamed in anger and let out all the bad emotions he had.
Slap.
The lanky boy swayed to the left.
Slap
The kid then went out cold.
With some difficulty, Noah stood as he pushed the boy away from his body.
"Winner. G 1, Twin 1."
Noah sighed as he went back into the cell. His face was swollen and one of his eyes was red.
"Why didn't you fight back!" Elya asked.
"G 1 Twin 2!" He was called. Elya went out and he met his loser. It wasn't a surprise that Elya won with great ease and he even went on and fought two more kids with great wins.
Noah smiled as he commended Elya's skill even though the kids were weak. Elya came back with a big smile as he gloated at the other kids in the cell.
"Noah, you really shouldn't have let that fighter beat you up badly!" Elya said but Noah ignored him as he watched other fighters.
After an hour, Elya was called again to fight, he did great and won three more fights. He came back tired but he was happy with a slightly swollen face.
Subsequently, Noah just sat there observing the situation until Elya had another fight. He barely managed to fight two more times and that concluded his fight for the day.
That was when the huge knight glared at Noah, he was holding a tooth plier as he asked, "Can you fight?"
Noah sighed, he didn't want to kill anyone here, so he nodded and walked forward. The man will take his tooth if he doesn't show he has some talent.
He walked out and stood in the middle of the arena. A loser came forth. He was one of those that was defeated by Elya. The boy seemed giddy and attack with more power
Seth dodged and slapped him and then the battle ended after monotonous slapping movements.
Slap
Slap
Slap
He dodged and slapped the loser and the outcome wasn't shocking. Well, it was shocking because the boy ran away screaming he forfeit the match. That was a second win.
Noah didn't do it for once but the whole fight, his attacking pattern was slapping. Not only on the face but all over the body. And not one of the kids landed a punch on his pale body.
"Why are you fighting like that? Fight me like a man!" His last opponent shouted.