-------------3rd person POV--------------

"James!! James!! James!! James!! James!!"
"Lily!! Lily!! Lily!! Lilly!! Lilly!!"
"Raaaaagggghhhhh!!!"

As can be heard in the huge arena, the audience are chanting for their chosen champion even before the start of the match.

The arena, that can seat 20,000 audience members, is filled to the brim with people. Even though it's filled to its maximum capacity, there are still people trying to squeeze inside through the hallway.

Now, even though all the seats have been filled, the aisles and the stairs have also been filled with people. However, unlike the faceless mob below in the economy seatings, the richer mobs are seated above them with a clear view of the stage along with magic engineered speakers to let them hear the fight better.

Unlike the loud and rowdy masses below, these first class seatings have a more subdued crowd. Typically for the rich, they still put forth their most formal conduct even though they are just as excited of the proceedings.

Finally, there are eight V.I.P. seatings reserved for those who splurged a lot of money or special guests of the arena. These seats are located at eight edges of the arena, only a couple of metres from the battle scene. These are the best seats in the arena where you can see the whole action, and to make sure that you can see from every angle, it has a camera from every side that you can control. There is also no need to keep up appearances, unlike the rich first class seats, since this is a private box with no one but you and your invited guest can use. You could also order food prepared by a high class chef. Finally, The room is wide, complete with a couple of comfortable sofas. The ultimate seating for the ridiculously rich and powerful.

Not all arenas in the 'life and death arena' are this big and well equipped, only the title matches’ arena are designed like this. Most of the medium to large sized arenas only have the normal and first class seatings with the most expensive seats being near the arena.

The most desirable thing about the V.I.P. boxes is the net covering it that prevents other patrons to see you, as long as you don't turn on the lights.

Inside one of those boxes are a class of blacksmiths along with their teacher getting rowdy as the master of ceremonies wrap up the last opening fights and proceed to introduce the big title match.

"This is a nice room. All right, listen up you rugrats! Before you go crazy, we need to start this by thanking Bell Bargain for inviting us to watch this title match and allowing us to enjoy this V.I.P. room. These things cost a fortune so show your gratitude and don't break anything."
"Thank you~~!!"xAll

After the teacher's opening remarks, the whole class followed with the thank you singing it like kindergartens.

"Also, I'm sure I told you this before we came here but don't buy anything from the concession stands or chefs. It is offered but those are needlessly expensive and not that filling."
"We know~~!!"xAll
"Alright, since this is a title match go ahead and enjoy it to the fullest. Don't mind me and act natural. Also, if someone needs to use the washrooms, do it now lest you interrupt others if you can't hold it in."
"Yeah~~~!!"xAll

As the teacher finished his little reminder, the room erupted with a great cheer as more than half of them left the room to 'lighten their load' before the start of the title match.

Seeing them being loud and rowdy, the teacher smiled and quietly slipped out the room.

Not noticing their teacher leaving, the happy bunch continued to party as the cleanup of the stage continued.

Right now, the nonagon shaped battle stage is being fixed after being used by the previous warm up match. In the meantime, the arena manager is stalling for time by hyping up the audience by giving a recap of the previous warm-up matches and giving a small commentary about the two title holder's history, as well as slipping in a couple of advertisements about their food and merchandises

"Hey, could--"

*Slap*

"Get your own drink! I already invited you to watch, I'm not providing the drinks too!"
"Of course I brought my own but I drank it all at the opening fights."
"That's not my problem!! I already reminded you before! I'm not sharing any, this is for me, victor and Brill! Brill aside, victor would finish our supplies if we are not careful! Do you think we have enough to spare for another group!?"

*Thud*

As the two dwarves were bickering about their drinks, the teacher came back holding two big barrels of beer. He put it down with a thud which grabbed the attention of everyone in the room.

"I thought that I needed to do something for all of you since I was with you from the start. It was annoying to think of a gift and I planned to treat you all to a meal when we return after the formal graduation ceremony but thanks to bell here, I decided to just treat you all to a drink. These are the first two, the delivery is outside, someone come help me bring it in before the title match starts."
"Whoa! Teacher actually splurged on our behalf!"

The dwarf, who was trying to mooch off the host, instantly became excited as he refilled his mug and drank again.

"I'm not splurging on anything, this is cheaper than paying for a restaurant bill. Now hurry up and help me bring the rest of the barrels in. Since larry is the one who took the first sip, you help me out. Come on, hurry."
"I, uh, I was, uhhhh."
"Stop complaining! If I miss the start of the title match, say goodbye to the free drinks. Come and help me too victor."
"Why me? I haven't even taken a drink yet."
"I initially wanted larry and bell since they were the one arguing when I came back but I feel bad for ordering our host after inviting us, so you get to pick up the slack. Besides, you are too excited that you might just jump in and challenge the rankers. I need you to burn up that energy somewhere, so I might as well put it to good use. Don't worry, I also brought two whole roasted shield bison as a snack. I got a bargain when I bought bulk and they were on sale because of tonight's title match."

And with heavy footsteps the two fresh graduates reluctantly followed their teacher outside the arena to retrieve the food and remaining drinks.

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

While inside the room, the remaining dwarfs started drinking the present left for them by their teacher as they start to show their support for their preferred champion. This is sometimes followed by arguments when supporters of two different sides meet, which is followed by debates on why their choice is superior and better than the other.

Outside the room, similar rowdy arguments can be seen all around but arguments are as far as it reaches. It might be due to the rule enforced on the island but the fact that most of the audience members holding tickets speaks volumes on the true cause.

As this is the only place in this island to legally gamble, most of their arguments stem from betting money for their favorite champion. The ticket is their only way to claim their prize if they win. If they do something reckless, it could result in the loss of their ticket as this has happened frequently.

Tension, excitement, greed, battlelust and drunkenness is high all around the arena. Also, if someone found their ticket by accident, it doesn't count as stealing since the betting tickets doesn't record the name of the better to minimize the process needed and keep the process relatively fast since there are a lot of arena's. It could be the newcomers, the rookies, the regulars or rankers like today, sometimes their fights happen simultaneously so they need to process the bets quickly or the best money maker of the arena would collapse because of complaints.

"To all our audience members, and staff that are here tonight. I would like to thank your patience as we clean up the stage but the wait is over. I would like to welcome you to the main event of the night!!"
"Woooooooo!!!"
"Yeeeeaaaahhhh!!!"

As the last of the staff exited the arena through the portcullis, just below the arena manager's private box, She broke the murmur of the arena to bring the focus and tension back on the battle stage. The crowd responds back in kind as they show off their energy by jumping and screaming back.

"Now, our first warrior! Ranking 5th in the arena! She uses her mighty spear and shield to charge through enemies and pierces their defence with every charge!! The leopard beastkin Lily 'Thunder Spike' Felicity!!!!!"
"Lily!!! Lily!!! Lily!!!"

At the introduction of the arena manager, a feline warrior around 160cm in height walks out of the portcullis. Equipped with a metal reinforced medium kite shield and a yellow spear as tall as her, she reached to the middle of the nonagon arena and raised her spear in response to those who were chanting her name.

She is wearing a leather armour with metal bracings in every limb except the left arm holding the shield.

"And the one who challenged her. He ranks 9th at the arena but hopes to win tonight and take over Thunder Spike's 5th rank. The Greatsword user slashes with great strength!! The human warrior James 'Cleaver' Cobbler!!!!!!"
"Cleaver!!! Cleaver!!! Cleaver!!!"

Introducing the challenger of today's title match, a middle-aged human walked out the portcullis holding a greatsword decorated in silver and gold. He is wearing a gambeson with leather pants decorated with gold and jack chains, which is also engraved with gold and silver. Also, he is wearing a golden mail coif and greaves.

His Greatsword is almost as tall as him and has a thickness similar to his arm. The ricasso is wrapped in the same leather material as the handle and the guard is bent like a bow with a relative 45 degree curve.

"Without further ado, let's get this battle started. I would have to remind all of our honoured patrons here that the betting house for our title match is now closed. I repeat, it is now closed. All sales are final!! And with that, Let the battle for rankings!!!!!!!!! Begin!!!!!!"

*Rumble* *Rumble*

The arena rumbled with the roar and stomping of the audience members. The battle arena quivers from their excitement as the two rankers stare at each other watching out for who makes the first move.

"Your appetite is too big. To think you would challenge me after beating the ninth ranker."
"Hmmph! If there wasn't a rule that I can only challenge the top 5 when I reach the top 10, I would have taken the championship when I first registered, and if there isn't another stupid rule that I can only challenge the top 5 in order, you won't be facing me today. Curse your luck for being at the bottom of the barrel. I will defeat you here and proceed to the top!"
"If you were sensible, you would have climbed up slowly. The power balance of the top ten isn't as simple as you thought. I know a bit about you. You tried to amplify your glory by taking the top 10 in succession but rank 10 John 'The Guardian' always blocked your path."
"That thing has no connection to me. That blockhead only won because our fighting styles aren't compatible. Wasting time on a fool who devoted himself to defence is simply stupid. I can't believe a stone for brains like him reached the 10th rank. It just goes to show how flimsy this arena ranking is. Once I become champion, I will make it so that useless fools like that can't hold rank higher than the 10th."
"You didn't even consider looking up information about your enemies? I do admit you are strong, being able to reach the top 10 in a couple of years isn't easy but you are severely underestimating us. John is an odd one among the top 10, he likes to stay at the 10th rank. If he goes down the rank, he will climb back, if he rose from the ranks, he would challenge those below him and lose. That behaviour along with his defence specialty changed his nickname from Golem to the guardian. If he wants to, he can reach the 6th rank easily. Regulars aside, even some of the newcomer patrons know this, and you thought you could defeat me easily?"
"Rrrrrghhh!! Enough, This chatter means nothing. Prepare to face my might!"

*Shrug*

After the back and forth, which ended with the angry outburst of the challenger, Rank 5 lily shrugged her shoulders as she took her stance. Lowering her stance to prepare for a charge as she hides her body and her spear behind the shield. Seeing this, the challenger readies his greatsword above his shoulder as he braced himself.

Seeing the challenger not making a move, Lily guessed that she must have readied himself to counter her charge. However, she is used to others countering her style.

*Stamp* *Charge*

She charges forth with her shield at the front. The challenger sees the shield rapidly getting closer, remembering that his opponent was holding the spear on her right hand, he dodge to his opponent's left where she is holding the shield.

As soon as the shield is near enough, he readies himself to time his swing when the shield passes to reveal an opening.

*Slash* *Slip*

However, as he swung his sword the shield suddenly turned and angled to parry his swing to slide it to the side. At this moment, a spear suddenly pokes out at the side of the shield heading towards his head. His sword and body is still trying to recover from his previous attack, so without any choice, he followed the force of his body from the swing and charged to the right.

It turned out that as lily was charging, she didn't intend to actually hit him but planned to stop just in front of him. Since her specialty moves are her charges, most of them dodged to her shield side to avoid the spear, so she measures her charge to stop just in front of them to see how they would react. If they attack then she has enough time to brace and parry from the front, if they doge to the left then she would attack with her spear, and if they dodge to her left then she would parry and counter-attack.

*Whoosh*

He barely managed to avoid the spear. He tried to back step to create a distance from lily but with every direction he is evading, the shield is close by charging straight at him and preventing him from regaining his posture.

*Jump*

At this point his anger took over and he jumped straight up but the spear appeared again heading straight to his chest.

He used his greatsword to swat it to the side. The spear was momentarily parried but since it is lighter than the greatsword, lily recovered first and she attacked again before james could regain himself.

The spear, once again, attacked him, seeking to pierce the center of his chest.

Panic on his face, he gave up trying to raise his greatsword. Having to swat to the left, he released his right hand's grip from the sword and used it to grab at the spear.

Lily noticed this so she pulled back the spear so james's hand would clutch at the blade rather than the shaft.

*Slice*

"Agghhhh!!"

*Lands*

James landed but his hand was already wounded from lily's spear. However, he ignores the pain and immediately holds his greatsword and reforms his stance.

As james is trying to regain his breath, lily also distanced herself and observed him.

"I will make you pay for wounding me!!"

James furiously shouted out but lily's expression didn't change and she didn't respond. She took a deep breath and assumed the same stance with the shield in front again.

*Breathe*

Seeing this, james became infuriated and raised the sword above his head preparing for a big blow.

*Charge*

Lily charges in again with shield in front but james didn't evade this time. Instead, he leaned back and delivered a kick at the center of the shield.

*Kick* *Clang* *clang*

He initially thought that this would push back lily to make her tumble, leaving her open to his big attack. Instead, he didn't feel any weight behind the shield.

James was hoping to stop the charge but instead, his foot collided with a shield with no one behind it. Before he noticed, lily was still charging under the kicked away shield rushing in towards him.

His reflexes kicked in and he brought down the sword but his weird posture with one leg still lowering from his earlier kick didn't help him.

Lily's spear was already thrusted in his inner circle, between his two arms holding the greatsword. The spear was heading towards his face, so he closed his eyes but instead felt himself being disarmed.

*Smack* *Clang*

Lily, stopped before she stabbed his head and instead swung her spear towards his hands to disarm him. Using the momentum of her swing to disarm james, lily swung the butt end of the spear towards james's cheek

James noticed the lack of impact from the shield deploying to prevent his death by the arena's magic, so he opened his eyes. However, before he could figure out what was happening, his vision blurred as the world around him sped by.

*Wham* *Slam*

Lily ran towards the fallen james and started swinging her spear, with the butt end at the front. Like a farmer cultivating the field, she tirelessly, consecutively and repeatedly swings her spear to hit him.

*Slam* *Slam* *Slam* *Slam* *Slam* *Slam* *Slam*

After a good few minutes, a shield appeared above james's body which blocked all the attacks. At this point, lily stopped swinging her spear and proceeded to catch her breath.

"Haah,....Haaah,..... Come back when you are stronger, or lose the attitude because every time you try to challenge the top 5! I will punish you like this for all the people here to see."
"Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhh!!!!!"
"Nooooooooo!!!!"

The audience exploded with mixed cheers as the winner was decided. Some are leaping for joy while kissing their ticket, some are hugging each other in excitement, while some are disappointed that they lost money.

"You made me lose money!!!"
"Idiot!!!"
"Just you wait, James!! I will fight you when I get the chance and vent on this lost!!"

Soon the disappointment became anger, directed to the cause of their loss. The fact that they participated in a gamble and no one forced them to do it didn't come into mind. They only need an outlet for their failed attempt for quick cash, so none of the logic mattered.

"Ladies and gentlemen!! I would like to announce!! The clear winner for this match!!! She successfully defended her title for 5th of the arena ranker!!! Lily 'Thunder spike' Felicity!!!!!"
"Lily!!! Lily!!! Lily!!!"

The arena cheers at her win as she slowly walks around the arena waving in kind, while collecting her shield.

As she completed a lap around the nonagon stage, she went towards the portcullis. When she reached just in front of it, she turned around and bowed for one last time and raised her spear, in which the crowd roared with excitement.

"Wrrrraaaaaaahhhhh!!!"

Smiling at the sight, lily turned around and finally excited the arena.

The medical team then came out to retrieve james, followed by the maintenance team to fix and clean the arena of any wreckage or debris.

"Thank you very much for being with us to witness this title match. For those who won, please slowly line up in front of the claim counter. Don't worry, everyone will be able to claim their prize. I would also remind you that we also have other matches that are still ongoing at different arenas. For everyone else! Thank you and have a good night!"

The manager finished his ending messages as a soft up-tempo song played in the background. The audience members are slowly exciting the arena as they chatter about the match they just witnessed.

It was still late at night as the audience members exited the life and death arena, which then flooded the streets.

The bars, restaurants and places to eat are now the one that will be packed with people as they discuss the fight that happened. Whether they won or not, food and drinks are the best companion for both occasions.