​​The announcer calls for a 30-minute intermission as the next fighter gets ready in the ring.

In the meantime, I make my way toward the registration desk at the far side of the arena. There are two separate booths in the vicinity. One has [Bidders] in bold letters above it, and the other says [Fighters].

I walk up to the fighters' booth in full disguise to meet a blond man in a white suit smiling brightly as I approach.

"The name's Mr. Wright. How can I help you today? Would you be interested in joining the event tonight? We still have time slots open."

I nod slowly before replying.

"Nice to meet you. I'm new to town. Could you run me through the numbers? How does the event work in terms of fighters' pay?"

He glances at my golden wristband, then looks up to me to reply with a bright expression.

"Well, as I'm sure you've already guessed, the city takes a percent of all bids in the arena. This facility and the auction house in the platinum district are the two main income sources for the Valor City Government. It's what allows business in the city to run tax-free."

I raise an eyebrow at his remark but decide not to question it too much. As he said, I already did the math and know 10% of all bids don't get paid out to the bidders. So that money has to go somewhere.

"As I assume you watched at least some of the previous event, Stone Breaker walks away with a few gold coins every showing, I'm sure of it. Stages 1-3 are what we call the beginner stages. If you pass stage 1, the arena will pay you 1 silver coin. For passing stage 2, you'll receive 10 silver, and for stage 3, you're awarded 30."

I tighten my lips and give him a confused look, but he replies, catching onto my disappointment.

"I can see you're already a gold rank guest to Valor City, so these silver rewards may not be very enticing to you. Stage 4, the level 300 monster threshold is where things get interesting. If you win your fight in stages 4, 5, or 6, you earn 1% of all bids on the show. Just a single stage 4 victory on a busy night can set up hunters for life. What do you think?"

I smirk.

"What about the higher stages? How far up can it go?"

This seems like a good money opportunity, but also a controlled environment to farm levels and skills.

The man behind the counter lets out a laugh.

"Yeah right. If you make it past stage 7, 5% of the biddings go straight to your credit account, but no one other than one of our top fighters and members of the royal guard can beat monsters like that. Here, walk this way with me, let's do the registration test to see if you're even strong enough for the nighttime event."

He exits the booth and we walk around its right side.

Against a stone wall, there's a rubber-like padding that I can feel mana seeping out from. It's almost as dense as the shielding dome that covers the arena. At first, I thought it was just a protective measure for the people behind the booth, but now upon closer inspection, it seems to be some kind of testing device.

The man in the white suit points up at the digital screen above the large black square on the wall.

"I'll need proof of any elemental abilities you claim, then I need a punch or a kick on this device to break 300 points. The use of strength-boosting items or buffs is allowed, use everything you've got. That's the baseline for late-night hunters, we want to make sure everyone can at least make it to stage 4."

I step forward with a nod, putting a finger in the air and lighting it with a dark red flame before putting it out a moment later and squaring up against the testing device.

"I'll be using fire, and 300 points... what exactly does that mean? How strong is a single point?"

"Points are calibrated to the average strength per level gained. The baseline of a level 300 hunter's strength is what we're looking for."

I focus on the wall, and slow my breathing while trying to tone down my power to just over what a level 300 hunter might be. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how to hit this measurement exactly, but I don't want to use too much of my power and cause any problems right now.

So, I stand casually with both my feet in place and use a small fraction of my strength to release a punch while lining my fist with a small amount of mana not to unnecessarily injure my hand. I imagine the strength I would use to send a level 300 hunter flying back, but not kill them. This seems to be enough strength.

On impact, the entire black square ripples and flashes bright blue. I hear the stone wall behind it crack slightly, but luckily as I bring my fist back everything is still standing and still in place without a problem.

My gaze turns to the 3 black numbers on the digital screen above that continue to rise while calculating my power.

[479 Points]

I curse under my breath as the man that brought me out here lets out an excited sound from behind.

"Ha! Look at you. You must have some great gear on to push a number like that. Maybe you'll join the legacy fighters and make it past the 5th stage. It looks like Valor City is in for an interesting show!"

He laughs again, and it only makes me realize how out of touch with my strength I am. With all my gear on, even if I hardly try, my strength is near what a base-level elite association hunter would be.

Even so, it looks like this reading isn't going to be much of a problem. Whoever these so-called legacy fighters are, they seem to be on par or higher than the reading I just threw. This only makes me more excited. The fact that there really are monsters here available higher than my own level means I can't miss out on an event like this.

I join in with his laughter before replying.

"Sign me up for tonight's event. I'd like to give it a shot."

Money signs practically light up in the man's eyes as he walks back behind the counter. He picks up a silver tablet and begins tapping it a few times.

"Sure, let me scan your wristband ID and get you connected to the system with the number of points you just had recorded. With a reading like this, you're allowed to come by anytime you'd like to participate. The limit is one entry per day. It's fully confidential, so we don't need your actual status level or any specific gear stats, but we would like to know your main combat skill that you'll be using and a stage name to go with it. I've already recorded that you'll be using fire, but what would you like us to call you?"

Flashbacks of my time in the underground fight arena back in Vice City pop into my head and I smirk inwardly before replying.

"My stage name? Call me The Flame Emperor."

After a few more taps on the silver screen, and the smile across the man behind the counter's face growing wider and wider, he looks up to me.

"I like it. You're all set. The midday fights still have a few left to run through, then there will be an intermission before the main events tonight. So, feel free to enjoy the show or explore the city for a while longer. A reminder will be sent to your wristband an hour before the night events. During this intermission, you'll have to come back here to be granted access into the ring and given the proper gear to prevent real injury during the show."

"Sounds good. I'll see you very soon."

With that, I turn to walk out of the arena and back onto the streets. I'd like to keep up my appearances, so I weave in and out of item shops in the streets before I find what I'm looking for.

A glossy black mask with the appearance of obsidian stone, but the weightlessness of a feather. The young lady at the front of the store greets me with a smile as I bring her just the one item.

"Just the mask? Are you sure there aren't any non-ornamental magic items you're looking for today, Sir?"

I shake my head.

"No. Just this."

"Alright, That will be half a silver credit."

I put out my wrist and she scans it with a small silver device.

Before my eyes, the 5.0000 gold credits drop to 4.9950 credits. I place the mask into my coat pocket, but it really falls into my item storage as I walk out the door.

"Thank you very much, come again soon!"

Her voice trails off as I explore the city more. I keep an eye on the golden wall and think about entering the first layer of the inner city, but decide it'd be best to take things slow and finish up this event before I explore too far into this place.

I won't even be able to get much further than the gold walls without putting every gold coin I earned in Solara into this credit system. I don't quite trust a digital system like this to hold all my money, so I'm better off earning as much as I can from a special event tonight and see how far that takes me.

Before I know it, the sun starts to set slightly and the sky turns orange overhead. My breath in the cold air comes out as frozen mist and mana-powered streetlamps automatically turn on at every corner.

As this happens, I get a notification on my wristband telling me the intermission has finally begun and it's time for me to check in and verify myself before the main event.

I put on the glossy black mask and make my way back over and walk in as crowds of people walk out to nearby restaurants and shops in town to spend their time before tonight's show.

When I walk in, the place seems eerily empty, but I see the blond man in the white suit waiting nearby the registration booth. He stands with a silver tablet in hand and 7 other fighters talk amongst themselves in a semi-circle.

He recognizes me even with the mask and waves me down from a distance and speaks up as I join the crowd.

"Very good, everyone's made it here. The preparations can begin."