23 Black Wolf Arena

As we arrived outside the arena we noticed the area was especially busy. Many people were coming from all over town and entering the arena. The energy in the air was palpable.

I stopped a nearby stranger and asked, "Excuse me, what has everyone so excited?"

I couldn't recall what would cause this. Then again, in the last life, I almost never came to the Arena.

"Don't you know?" He looked me over, "You must be new here. The Mercenary Captain Bo "Grizzly" Sauer is fighting today. His fights are the best, he crushes opponents with his massive clubs and immense strength."

Suddenly a plan formed in my mind. It's risky, but if I play my cards right this could move everything forward by months. I told Valerian where to go to watch the match and place bids since natives had a separate section from the humans in the arena. I despise the way they treat the natives here but, we simply don't have the power to affect change right now.

There were two entrances in the front of the Arena and one in the back. The one in the back was for the natives so Valerian began to make his way around the arena. Of the two at the front, one was for competitors and one was for human spectators. I ran up to the entrance for competitors and was about to enter when a gargantuan hand reached out and stopped me. A behemoth of a man came out from the corner beside the door.

"What are you doing puny boy? Children belong to other side," he pointed to the spectator door. The man was over two meters tall and was covered in fat, he had to weigh at least 200 kilograms.

"I'm here to compete," I said confidently.

"HAHAHA," the man bellowed, his laugh like thunderclaps.

"You are like toothpick, easily snapped in half," he made a snapping motion with his hands. "Regardless, I will compete," I moved forward to step past him.

He went to stop me by striking out with his palm. I whipped my arm towards his, hitting the base of his palm with mine. Shock filled his eyes as he stumbled backward.

"I said, I will compete."

The gargantuan of a man looked me over again and said, "Very well, but you think that's enough to be champion you are wrong. Record name on register then go indoors, there is practice area and weapons inside."

"Thank you."

After walking through the doors I could hear him mumble, "Little man will die"

I couldn't help but chuckle, I hope they underestimate me, that'll make it even easier for me to crush them. After passing through the doors, I could see a large open practice arena with racks of weapons lining the wall to my left.

There were about 15 people in the room. Seven were practicing their moves in the outer edges of the practice arena, and 6 were sparring with each other in the middle. These warriors were clearly amateurs. In the corner of the room was a middle-aged man sitting in the lotus position with a katana laid across his lap, he exuded a sharp aura, he was clearly dangerous. Standing in the opposite corner was an elderly man making movements with his arms. His arms moved in a mesmerizing pattern that reminded me of the ripples of a stone thrown into a pond. This man is also dangerous.

I went toward the weapon racks. All the weapons are simple, similar to those you could pick for your care package back on earth. I could pick the kodachi again, although, I had grown attached to daggers after using the Twisted Serpents. I picked up two daggers and focused my eyes on them.

Name: Basic Iron Daggers

STATS

Sharpness: 37

Hardness: 32

EFFECTS

(None)

These stats are worse than my Twisted Serpents, but if I used them it would draw too much of the wrong kind of attention. Their superior craftsmanship would almost certainly draw many unsavory gazes.Plus I already had an advantage with my inner armor. The armor was entirely hidden behind my clothes. The arena didn't want to provide armor for competitors since they are damaged too easily. So, you are allowed to bring your own armor into the arena.

I found a corner to practice in and began looking through the Quicksilver Blade Manual. I had a chance to study it a little more last night and had practiced a few poses to increase flexibility. These poses need to be performed daily since flexibility is crucial for many Quicksilver Blade techniques. I immediately got into one of the poses while waiting for my name to get called to the arena.

Many of the amateur fighters would look at me and sneer, "What is he the yoga king?" They would laugh at their own joke and then go back to training.

I remained calm, switching between a dozen different poses before I moved on to practicing the different techniques. The strange and weird angles and forms of attack I would take unsettled many of the amateurs causing them to avoid my side of the practice arena. After practicing the techniques for a while, I looked up and locked eyes with the elderly man who was practicing the arm movements before. It seems I have gained his acknowledgment. I looked over to the man sitting in the lotus position. He remained as stoic as before.

I was about to continue practicing the techniques when I heard the officiator say, "For our next fight we will have a never before seen contender face a long time favorite. Young Lion and Raven's Claw enter the arena!"

One of the competitors practicing by himself began to walk towards the corridor leading out to the arena. I also started moving towards the corridor.

As we entered, the man called Raven's Claw looked over at me and sneered, "Try not to die too fast kid."

"I'd be more concerned with keeping my head if I were you," I responded.

"Arrogant fool," he spouted as we went our separate way down side tunnels.

The tunnels lead to the east and west side of the arena. After a couple minutes of walking, I arrived at the entrance. The fighting arena was about 100 meters in diameter in the shape of the circle. It looked like the sand from Lake Lyenas was moved in to create the arena floor with four large pillars set in the middle about 5 meters apart forming four corners. It was very reminiscent of the coliseums from ancient Rome on Earth.

On the opposite side, I could see Raven's Claw stepping out into the arena. The crowd exploded into cheers, he waved his arms around causing the cheers to rise in volume.

After the noise died down I stepped out, the crowd clapped but it sounded more like a death toll than a cheer. Clearly, I was the underdog in this match. I couldn't help but chuckle.