Arwan mumbled to himself in anger and annoyance, while also distracting himself from the people who stared at his weak looking self.
He glanced at his wrist band, navigating the streets of Sin City as he moved. He kept murmuring through his mask attracting stares to himself and giving an unapproachable aura that sent the business advertisers and the usual roadside seducers - prostitutes - away from him.
Arwan ranted, "Damn him. Oh reaction, damn that asshole. Spent hours telling you not to do something stupid and the first thing you decide to do was worse than stupid. Oh you're lucky you're strong, I would have pounded on you the moment I see you. No, I promise I'll pound you. Tsk tsk."
For a second, Arwan grabbed the air in frustration, using every fiber of his being to stop himself from not pulling out of his hair. After he 'released' his grip, he stopped to breathe in and out.
Throughout his childhood, Arwan got annoyed at a lot of things. With his years of experience, he had learnt to control his outburst in his own way.
Still, he hadn't seen anyone as inconsiderate as Femi.
"Even that damned old man isn't as thoughtless as him. Femi, fucking survive the streets so you can feel my wrath," Arwan randomly yelled when he was in a considerable empty street.
While Arwan threw his tantrum, Femi moved by the whispers of his hunch.
*****
The receptionist of Amma's Casino was speechless at Femi's bluntness.
"What'd you say... sir?" He asked, feeling tense.
Femi tilted his head, wondering whether the mask blocked his audibility. He repeated louder, "I want to have fun."
After confirming his words, the receptionist assumed the person in his presence had enough strength to back up his tone. The receptionist chose his words carefully, "There are new game rounds that'll be starting here soon. The girls for the day shift will also be arriving soon, you can book them in advance for an additional cost if you'd like..."
"None of these interests me," Femi claimed. "Anything else?"
The receptionist had guessed his interest with what the masked figure said, the way he said it and the way he was dressed. He switched to a lower tone and asked, "Alright sir. Are you watching or are you interested in participating?"
Femi's hunch led him to something that'd interest him. When he initially entered and looked around, he asked himself what exactly in this building could be fun to him. But he didn't doubt his hunch and proceeded to see how things would go.
With the question the receptionist asked him, he immediately knew his answer. "I'll be participating." Femi replied.
The receptionist was glad Femi and himself were on the same page. "So you are informed," He said with a satisfied smile. "That's good. If you're participating, here's the contract. We go traditional for things like this."
He slid a sheet of paper across the counter, closer to Femi.
Femi tilted again, as he began reading.
Feeling tense as silence brewed between them, the receptionist coughed, smiled crookedly.
The receptionist then explained, "It's a consent contract. It basically means that if you are killed or if you kill someone during a match, no one including our company, yourself and your opponent are responsible, additionally whatever happens to you in the fight is your sole responsibility. It also has a section for how payment goes.
"If you win, the money earned from the bets are split between you and us, 70:30, this covers payment for our services too. But if you lose, you will have to provide money for participation and the other services from your own money, if you fail to do so or your assets don't reach the sufficient amount, the company is allowed rights to your life."
Femi listened, assimilating what he heard. He didn't believe he'd lose or whatever so he signed the contract, and submitted his biometrics via the one registered with his wanderer registration without hesitation.
The receptionist confirmed, then gestured to one of the waitresses that was attending to people to come over. Ending the conversation with Femi, he said, "Alright. She'll be guiding you. I wish you good luck in fights to come."
"Thanks!" Femi replied. He turned to the waitress that bowed to him and followed her.
She led Femi around the first floor, towards an elevator.
Femi quietly followed her. His hunch had brought Femi a feeling of anticipation and happiness had stemmed from that anticipation. Even if he did think about it, he wasn't a tad bit scared at the chance that death was possible here.
They entered the elevator and the waitress closed the door. She moved her head closer to the button panels, inputting some passcodes and going through scans to access the panels' second layer.
The elevator shook and began descending, leading them beneath ground level.
As soon as they opened the door, cheers and screams could be heard. Leaving the elevator an underground Arena came to play.
The Arena was a circular area of ground that had rows of seats that were arranged on a steep slope.
Most of those who sat were wearing various masks with high-class clothing, and exuded a vibe of superiority and nobility. Amongst these people, there were some that had a staff of bodyguards surrounding them.
The lights didn't reach the seats, as it was concentrated on the center stage where two people were engaging in a brawl between each other.
The little light that landed on the spectators were from the screens that displayed the fight from a closer angle.
The waitress led Femi to the rows of seats closest to the center stage, that was where the people lining up, waiting for their turn to fight were seated.
Two men were fighting, both wearing a bodysuit. One was obviously stronger than the other, the superior one even had a big body compared to his opponent.
But probably to entertain the spectators, he dragged the battle longer.
The big guy was obviously professional in fighting against opponents wearing bodysuits. He wore brass knuckles and dealt punches that when the bodysuit absorbed the damages, the unabsorbed damage was still effective but not effective enough to knock his opponent out immediately. Simply, he expertly dealt calculated punches.
Femi sat, watching the fight with indifference, but to those who saw him, they assumed he was creating tactics to go against the ones who fought.
Femi was tapped gently on the shoulders by the waitress that brought him to the arena.
She extended her hand to Femi, revealing a tether battery.
Femi collected the battery and tilted his head in confusion.
The waitress moved closer to him so she could be audible in the presence of the loud cheers.
She said, "The winner is mainly determined when a tether battery runs out and to deplete a battery, you deal enough damage to your opponent's bodysuit. I've seen your suit, and the pattern and wiring tells me it has a 70% absorption. Since it's the wanderers that come here the most, they also use suits of the same quality which is why it's usually this type of suit we usually use here."
Seeing Femi nod his head, signifying he understood, the waitress continued, "Your battery's quality is high though, so you'll have to use this, a battery with lower energy. We still want a level of fairness here. Ah, although it's hard for most, if you can deal one attack that'll have remnant damage to knock your opponent out, that works too. Obviously, you aren't allowed to go beyond normal fighting methods, if you don't get what I mean, then please forget it."
"Alright, I got it." Femi said, feeling null at her words.
"We'll call you up when it's your turn. We'll be needing your codename for that." She explained, but was startled as Femi suddenly sprung up.
"They are done with their match. I'm going now," Femi said, setting his sword in a proper position.
The fight was done. As expected the big guy one, and everyone cheered harder as he transitioned from one victory pose to another.
"Sir, wait, it's not your turn!" The waitress yelled.
Femi didn't pay attention to her or the other challenger's mumbles and jumped down to the center stage.
The waitress immediately reported what happened to the organizers of the Arena. They instructed her to let what was about to happen unfold. Sudden drama was needed at times.
Femi walked closer to the middle, leaving his slight footprints on the sandy ground of the stage.
Initially, he couldn't be seen because of the lack of light, but as he slowly approached the main range of the light, the crowd began noticing him.
The winner of the previous fight also noticed Femi.
That was when the screen displayed visuals of a red-eyed masked man armed with a black sword walking with an aura exuding courage and absolute strength.
As the cheers died down to watch the scene with utmost attention, the Arena's announcer spoke, his voice echoing throughout the Arena.
"One of our participants with the most victories, The Brass, just added a new win to his victory list!"
"And what's this? We have a new willing challenger aching to face The Brass approaching the stage when it's not supposed to be his turn yet!."
"I'm getting information that he has said he's ready to make one of our strongest participants name the first to be added on his victory list."
"He has declared that this fight is nothing but measly for fun!"
"With eyes that show his untamed blood lust and a mask that befits a thrill seeking abomination."
"He is here! The man named Scarlet is here!"
"Who do you think is winning this? The Bodied Brass or The Thrill Seeker, Scarlet?!"
"Place your bets now!"
The crowd felt the hype and instantly turned the silence into a torment of cheers.
The winner, The Brass, who had been staring down at Femi, or in this case Scarlet, sneered with superiority.
Femi entered the range of the illumination, and scanned his opponent.
As the crowd kept yelling for The Brace to destroy Scarlet, the announcer's voice echoed again.
"The fighters have made contact."
"The Brass has claimed he doesn't need a break and can go another round!"
"Both participants are ready!"
"Ready... Fight!"