About 20 minutes later, Kayden felt a hand on his shoulder. The boy was startled and stood up like a rocket. When he turned around, he came across a masked man. He wore a white mask with a smile that went from ear to ear. Matching his look, he wore a black suit.
"Hello? Can I help you?" Kayden began their interaction in a friendly manner. A genderless voice could be heard from the figure.
"Hi Kayden, I'm part of the club." The club was the name of the organization that sent the letter. Kayden remembered that perfectly. The boy asked his next question:
"What happens next?"
"I will take you to the meeting point, but you must sign another contract, this time promising to keep everything you see a secret." The man took out a parchment from his suit, which Kayden promptly signed. Since he was into it, he would go head first. The terms were simple, they just told Kayden to keep it a secret.
"Very well, come with me. When we get there, I'll show you around." The masked person started walking. It didn't take long for them to arrive at one of the best hotels in the city. Kayden wondered where there was room there for the club.
It was a huge building with at least a few dozen rooms. Its golden tone gave a feeling of high quality. The reception had some sofas and a counter with 5 attendants. The man walked towards one of the receptionists, not caring about the guests' strange looks at his mask.
Strangely, the employees seemed to be more alert once they noticed the guy. It seemed like it wasn't the first time they had seen him.
"Room 000." The masked man asked directly. He didn't appreciate being willing to waste so much time. As soon as the employee heard this, he brought out his best smile and took out a key from his pocket.
"Of course, sir, here is the key. Anything, we are available." The man even bowed. The masked man said nothing and pulled Kayden into the elevator. The man clicked the zero button and the emergency button at the same time.
In the meantime, Kayden remained silent. He knew he would only have his answers at the end. There was no point in trying to get something out of the man. He didn't like being very communicative. The elevator took a few minutes to reach the floor. It was, without a doubt, deep in the earth.
As soon as they left, they found themselves facing a door. The key was placed and turned in the lock, revealing a long tunnel lit by torches. The strange thing was that this tunnel had tracks in it. The man took an amulet out of his suit and Kayden could feel a good amount of mana being poured into the object.
The two waited patiently. A few minutes later, a small cart containing two seats can be seen. Its seat was red and its bodywork was light gray. What surprised Kayden was that no wheels or anything were connecting to the tracks. The vehicle was simply floating.
"How is this floating?" Kayden was so curious that he broke the silence that had lasted since they met. The man responded simply.
"Controlled mana repulsion, is done by a matrix. The cart carries a type of mana that is incompatible with the rail, causing it to float. The same man is on the walls, and the bodywork there are wind arrays to move."
The explanation made Kayden understand the theory. It was truly something magical. It was the first vehicle he saw using mana for its operation. Sitting in one of the seats, Kayden felt the cart start to accelerate insanely. His body did not feel the inertia. It seemed like the speed wasn't being increased, but it was obvious when he saw the lamps, or rather, tried to. The lamps were already a blur in his vision.
"How fast are we? I can't even feel like we're moving." Kayden expressed his doubts again.
"We are traveling at about 400 kilometers per hour and our destination is about 20 kilometers from where we picked up the cart." This was insane. Kayden couldn't even feel himself moving.
The trip would be quick if it weren't for the immense number of curves and stops that the cart made periodically.
About 15 minutes later, the cart stopped in front of a door identical to the hotel's. Again, the man in the suit took out the same amulet and injected mana. The door opened, revealing its interior.
There were at least a few hundred people gathered in different places. There were everything from chairs to sofas in the place. There appeared to be small groups gathered around tables, some were drinking and others were playing cards.
It appeared to be a large open living room, with drinks counters set up in some spots, with bartenders pouring glasses. Above, there were small stations similar to those on the ground. But what surprised Kayden was the amount of people.
Wasn't this supposed to be something secret? How were there so many people in this place? Kayden turned to ask the man and didn't see even a shadow of him. It seemed as if the masked man had evaporated.
Before he could start looking for someone to help him, he heard a voice behind him:
"Hello, Kayden, right?" Kayden turned around and was faced with a blond man dressed in a yellow bathrobe. The color of his hair and clothes caused an overdose of gold, it was eye-catching.
"Yes, and would you be?" Kayden tried to be as respectful as possible. This was not a place conducive to games, or so he thought.
"Lord is your father." The man had a small episode. "Do I look old to you? Look at that smooth, clean skin, see?" Kayden was silent. He didn't know how to react to the man's outburst.
"Well..." The man coughed. "Sorry about that. My name is Shang and I am your patron at the club. Come with me, I'll show you around." Kayden didn't quite understand the term patron.
The two walked between the different tables and groups in the place. There were all types of people, from adults to children, even though the latter were a minority. After walking for a while, they arrived at one of the beverage distribution points.
Shang sat at a table and pointed to another chair at Kayden. As soon as the two sat down, the man shouted to the bartender:
"Two glasses of whatever is strongest!" The man turned to Kayden. "I don't care that you're a child, you're going to go through my alcoholic baptism." The man gave a devilish smile.
"Can we get straight to the point, Shang? I'm really curious about everything here." Kayden tried to divert the topic from drinks. If the old man detected the slightest hint of alcohol in the boy, he would be crucified alive in front of the orphanage as an example for other people.
"Sure, but you're still going to drink." The man seemed to have a hallucinated look when he said this. "Well, you may have already noticed, but this is an underground fight club. The spectators are diverse people from society, from ordinary workers to big businessmen, the latter are the majority."
At this moment, the bartender arrived with two glasses containing a purple liquid, undoubtedly expressing a dubious appearance.
"Here are two guaranteed hangovers." The man joked. Shang took the two glasses and dismissed the man.
"Here, take it." Shang directly offered Kayden the drink.
"Sorry, Mr. Shang, but I can't drink. My father wouldn't want me to do that." Kayden was more afraid of Han than anything else.