Book 2.
Volume 3: Global Breakthrough
Chapter One: Warrior Arena
*****
There comes a time when people want to change something about themselves. This is something everyone usually encounters in their lifetime. Some dream of getting off the couch and doing useful things, some have enough dirty socks strewn around their room, but the most important thing now is for Miyazaki to overcome her fear of snakes and finally accept her spirit as her own. She learned how to put the fighting beast back into her body, and before going to sleep she promised herself never to summon a golden cobra again in her life, or she would crawl back and forth after it again, so she could give herself a heart attack. This would be the first time in history that the beast's own spirit has driven its owner to death, and Miyazaki doesn't want that, so she doesn't let the snake out of her mind. It's all right, but we'll have to let it out somewhere. In the meantime, it's a new day. The boys have gathered at the well, because Officer Toshio promised them something unusual to show them today, he said, like you students will like it. Now let's see what he wants to show them. It's ten o'clock in the morning, and everyone's here except for the officer himself. It turns out that this sleepyhead just got out of bed, you see, the sun's rays from the window prevented him from sleeping for another hour. While the students are standing there waiting for him, he's taking a nap. The legendary teacher. Hoshi looks at his wristwatch and is kind of shocked.
- It's breakfast time, I haven't eaten yet! - He's a real troublemaker, he hasn't eaten yet, because it's not good for an officer to be hungry. Now he'll be hungry and he can go to the guys. But he wouldn't be an officer if he behaved like this. Remembering his students, Hoshi quickly got dressed, pulled on his red coat, put on his officer's hat and left the house.
It must have been five minutes, but the man came running, though he was fifteen minutes late.
- Officer Toshio, you're late! - Yamada grudgingly complained. If Hoshi had been at the front, he would have been fired long ago.
- Sorry, I didn't get any sleep last night writing a letter to Tadamichi's teacher. He's in the capital now, and he's already read my letter and knows all about your skills. I think he was pleased. Especially you, Miyazaki. There are not many spirit warriors in the world, you are a special talent. - The officer praised the girl and smiled at her face.
- Ha!" And Kai takes it and shows his tongue to Hayashi. Like who's the tough guy now?
Hayashi smiled sweetly, though in his heart he felt a little jealous, how could it be, a golden cobra, one of the fastest beasts of all battle spirits, and it's such a shame that this spirit goes to some Miyazaki. Yamada, his childhood friend, on the contrary, is happy for his roommate and wishes her success. As cool as the Spirit Warrior is out there, if his beast dies, so does he. Miyazaki needs to be very careful, the golden cobra though fast, but it's only level 1, if a girl gets a level 2 or 3 opponent, God forbid even a level 20 one, you can immediately be remembered.
- Officer Toshio, you promised to show us something interesting today, didn't you? - Hayashi asked, he can talk too, he usually doesn't say anything and smiles at everyone.
- Yes, I did. Get in the carriage, I'll take you to the capital. - He didn't say anything, didn't explain anything, just sent them to the carriage and that's it. Maybe he's taking them to jail. Nonsense, of course, but the boys really got a little fussy.
But it was no big deal. They got to Phoenix, the capital of the Fire Nation, without incident, not counting the men who stood by the road and handed out newspapers. The officer was fed up with those newspaper men, blocking the road all day long with their silly advertisements. The guys arrived at some huge building. Seriously, this building is probably bigger than the tallest mountain, and it's 7,000 meters long. Miyazaki looks up at the very top and marvels at the sheer height of the building, which is way beyond the clouds. It's made of stone, but what kind of genius built it?
- What is it? - Kai is a little taken aback.
- I was expecting you to ask. - The officer grinned. - This is the Warriors Arena, this is where battles take place between the strongest. Now come on, let's go inside.
Once inside, it was even cooler. So much inside, even the most beautiful hotel in the Land of Fire can't compare to the design of this building! Walls of colored metal, poles all along the wide corridor, benches, ticket booths, workers in well-groomed black suits, and the main faces of all this wonder - the healthy and not so healthy fighters.
- How many people are here... - Miyazaki swallowed her saliva and became uncomfortable with the atmosphere on the first floor. She had never seen so many pumped-up men in her life, and there were even women here with guns in their hands. - Officer Toshio, what is this?
- Let me tell you in order. - The officer began. - This whole building is called the Warriors Arena, and fighters from all over the world come here to test their strength against their peers. Of course there is no level 1 fighting against the 30th, to be fair each floor has its own arena for fights, the higher the floor, the stronger the fighters are there. Now we are on the first floor, here fight Warriors from level 1 to 10, on the second floor from 11 to 20, the third from 21 to 30 and so on. There are eight floors in total, starting from level 80 the strength of the Warrior does not matter.
- So on the eighth floor they can fight even level 90s and 100s? - Kai asked. He's still in shock. Normally the police would throw you in jail for fighting in a pub, but here you can punch each other without fear of the law. That's cool!
- Yeah. I'm a level 40 attack warrior, so I fight on the fourth floor. Pretty soon I'll move up to level five, hopefully.
- Is there some sort of win/loss statistic? - Hayashi asked. Yeah, he just got here and already wants a stats of 100 wins and 0 losses.
- Sure he does. First, let's go to the registration desk, you have to get special badges of fighters. The badges will already show your win and loss score, as well as your first and last name.
The officer led the guys to the counter and they checked in. Before that, each of them was asked what they wanted to call themselves. Like, there's a guy with a microphone in his hands, right? He voices the names of the fighters, there's a wrecking bear and stuff like that. Miyazaki and the others chose their real names, but Kai's a little bit in the wrong direction...
- What do you want to be called...? - the girl who hands out coupons to the fighters asked again.
- Titan Tamer 999. - Kai proudly answered. Not an ounce of doubt in this kid.
- Maybe we can offer something else... - She tried her best to talk the boy out of it.
- No, I'm the tamer of Titan 999! - He stood his ground.
Yamada and Hayashi stood there on the sidelines and laughed. Miyazaki shook her head and blushed in embarrassment. Well Officer Toshio was amazed at Kai and his genius. Once again the guy proves his superior intelligence. Well the girl was left with nothing. Kai got his metal ticket and read his name on it. Titan Tamer 999...
- Okay, now let's go to the arena... - coughing into his fist, the officer and the boys walked down the hallway and up to the arena.
- What a huge... - Miyazaki couldn't find the right words.
- Yes, it's even bigger than the Fire Nation Warriors Academy. - Yamada feels the spirit of competition for the first time in her life. It stands at the very top of the arena, the kind of place especially for fighters, sitting quietly, watching the fight, and between you and the arena is solid glass.
Miyazaki was looking down at the very bottom, there are two jocks fighting now, and the spectators from the stands are demanding blood, and they're cruel, they should all be sent to the trenches for this, nothing to sit and chill out here. But the atmosphere itself is amazing.
- Officer Toshio, are there any rules here? - Hayashi longs for the officer to answer no, he doesn't like rules and operates on one simple principle: fight to the end.
- Yes, there are a couple of rules. First, if your opponent shows he's giving up, you don't have to attack him. Second, if the battle ends in a draw, namely two fighters can't continue fighting, then both are considered losers. And thirdly, there are fights to the death, this is the first arena, so there are not so bloody fights, but from level 31 to 40 deaths occur in almost every fight.
- It turns out that the battles to the death are also available here... - Kai swallowed his saliva heavily. With his grass you can only tickle to death, that's what he thinks. The boy watches two jocks fight, one with a mace in his hand and the other fighting with his bare fists. I don't think Kai's going to be able to get them to do that with flowers.
- Yeah, I also want to say about the prize, because everyone fights for a reason. Every year they raffle off over a million gold coins, that's a fortune. And that money only goes to the high level guys, the real fighters. That's why the Warriors Arena is no place for the weak, no one will pity you.
The officer sensed fear in Kai and put his palm on his shoulder.
- Kai, don't worry. You won't be fighting against a level 2 or higher anyway. The Warriors Arena is great because it has a level system. 1st vs. 1st, 2nd vs. 2nd, and so on. You won't be fighting against the 10th right away, so relax.
The man's words reassured Kai, but he still didn't like it here. Some fight to the death and have to beat his enemies, it's not his business. But, as they say, if you want to get stronger, you have to sacrifice. That's how the first fight ended. A man breaks his opponent's arm with a mace, and that's it, a fight is called. They carried him away on a stretcher, and the man with the mace catches the applause from the stands. People clap their hands and whistle. An announcer with a microphone in his hand calls out the name of the winner. And now the next fights await us.
- So, next fight of the evening, I present to you the newcomer of this tournament! Hayashi Atsuto, Level 10 Attack Warrior, 0 wins, 0 losses!
Here you go. Just as soon as Hayashi got his ticket, he went straight into battle. Don't they have enough fighters over there that they're letting newcomers in so quickly? Well, there's nothing to do. Yamada wished his friend good luck, and the officer warned the guy to fight at full strength, or he'd lose. Hayashi walks down to the arena and just smiles as if 20,000 people in the stands aren't looking at him. Speaking of which. The audience in general is laughing at the guy, calling him a kid and a youngster. Usually real men fight in the arena, but here's a 15 year old kid...
- Kid, why don't you go home before your mama calls you! - said one of the fat spectators. Hayashi smiled and didn't notice the criticism, doing the right thing.
- And his rival, the invincible, the elusive, the menace of the first floor, a true demon in the flesh, welcome our assassin, Thunderbolt Arakawa! Level 10 attack warrior, 28 victories, 0 defeats. - The announcer almost lost his mind while announcing the name of Hayashi's opponent.
And then a steel cage opens in front of the guy. The audience waits. The ground beneath their feet begins to shake, footsteps louder and louder, until the true embodiment of evil enters the arena. The six-foot-tall Thunderbolt Arakawa. A big pumped up man with no weapons of any kind, wearing his usual torn shirt and brown pants, and if he weren't a man, he'd have been called a giant a long time ago.
- Who's the little fella? - Gromila asked. Well judging by his height he's right. Arakawa is laughing with the audience, Hayashi is glaring at him and smiling, like he's going to finish quickly and go back to the guys.
The gong goes off. Arakawa the Stormtrooper is an attacker, so he's going to attack, but how? Whether a close combat or a long-range one. Hayashi knew right away it was close range. The Thunderbolt speeds up and runs at him. The kid jumps very high and goes behind the big guy. Then he takes and stabs Gromila with his needles. The needles stick in, but he doesn't care. Arakawa turns and hits the ground. Hayashi almost falls down, lucky to be on his feet. Yeah, you can't beat an opponent like that with needles alone. The guy steps back and releases magic from his body.
- Reinforcing the body! - Hayashi strengthens his body with magic. - Increased speed! - And improved his speed as well.
What's he doing? Arakawa runs at him, but the guy doesn't seem to be about to back down. Hayashi pushes off the ground and hits the big guy with a high kick. The big guy falls to the ground, making the arena shake, but the kid wins by stealth. Yes, Gromila is bigger, but he's slow, and Hayashi's punch came out much stronger only because of his speed. Arakawa can't even open his eyes after such a punch, there are birds flying above his head. The audience froze, every single one of them.
- We have a winner! Hayashi Atsuto, 1 win, 0 losses!
The announcer must be out of his mind. He's running around his office from where he's commentating and can't believe his eyes. Some rookie inflicted the first defeat on Gromila Arakawa. Tough. The audience is chanting Hayashi's name and seeing him as the new fight star. The guy himself came to the guys and they almost hug him, except for Kai, for him such fights are like going to the store to get milk.
- Hayashi, you're good! The bully Arakawa is famous for his toughness, but you won at the expense of speed, so keep it up! - praised the apprentice officer.
- Ha!" this time Hayashi showed his tongue to Kai. Revenge, so to speak.
- Our next fight! A representative of an ancient clan of animal hunters, the very real fighter that won't go out of his way. He's not going to give up, and his words "I'll be the strongest warrior in the world" have already won the hearts of viewers. Meet Kajiwara Kazutoshi! A level 1 attack warrior, 6 wins, 1 loss.
Some pumped up man enters the arena with a sword in his hand. Wearing a lion's skin, such armor, and a bear's head on his head instead of a helmet. That's how animal hunters are supposed to dress in the arena.
- And his opponent, also a newcomer to the tournament from the depths of the Land of Flowers, Miyazaki Asaka, a Level 1 Spirit Warrior, 0 wins, 0 losses.
- What?! - That's interesting. The girl slams her eyes and looks around. Fuck it fighting against a crazy hunter, better to go back to the academy and stand at the well for two hours than to go down to the arena.
- Miyazaki, don't worry, your golden cobra should win, just take it easy. - Holy shit, Kai calmed her friend right down, just being calm when a crazy hunter can kill you, well thanks Kai.
Miyazaki will have to fight, she has no other choice.
---------------------
Author: Youn Ji-min
Cycle: Madness
Like it, rate five stars and leave some comments!
I'll post two chapters in one day and then do the same every other day. Occasionally there may be pauses to rest and build up new ideas.
Have a good time everyone, whatever it is, morning, afternoon, evening or night! 😁
Next Chapter => The hunt is on