The sound of shouts and metal clanging reverberated throughout the giant hall.
Amindst all this a young man lead by an old homeless man was being lead through the crowd soon arriving before a man clad in clothes of the highest quality.
"IS THAT OLD MAN BILL I SPY? Ha to think we'd meet again. Though if you are here to compete I'll have to reject you, old men like you can't compete."
"It's not me it's about this kid."
The man looked behind Bill where Ash stood, a bit overwhelmed by the vibe of the Arena.
The man took a look at Ash before speaking up again.
"He looks too young, can he even fight?"
"I can speak for myself."
"Oh then... can you fight?"
Ash clenched his fists before answering with confidence.
"Yes, I can."
...
(About half an hour ago)
The two were making their way through the streets of Primus, slowly getting closer to the Arena.
"Hey kid, I won't keep pushing you to give up, but can I ask just one question."
Ash was walking slightly behind the old man.
"Sure."
"Why are you even in Primus. Usually cases like yours get robbed during their transport or their group gets killed, but it seems you don't fall into either of those cases."
As he said this he looked at Ash's battered clothes.
Ash pondered for a moment before speaking up.
"I guess I'd fall into the lost my group group, though that description isn't exactly right either."
"Uhm... sounds complicated... still it would be good if you atleast had some plans when arriving at such a large city."
Ash paused for a moment before speaking up again.
"I do have something planned though."
After this he quickly looked through his pockets before taking something out.
"Icarus Academy ever heard of..."
He couldn't finish before the old man went to silence his mouth.
"ARE YOU INSANE?"
Ash was confused by the sudden action.
"I know you aren't used to the city, but still, are you insane?"
Finally letting go of his mouth Ash was able to speak up.
"What's the problem, old man?"
The man leaned in closer to where he could whisper.
"An Icarus Special Admission Ticket is basically a legend in these parts, wave it around like that and it's sure to get stolen."
"Is it really that special?"
Ash asked with a somewhat doubtfully.
"Of course it is, it's the best academy in all of Primus... no maybe in the whole world. People would sacrifice their entire fortune for a ticket like that."
Ash was now more tensed up upon hearing this.
"Did I fuck up?"
"No, I doubt anyone noticed, still I'd be more careful, as if even just one other person noticed it won't take long for you to become a target. Let's just hope that won't be the case."
Ash could feel himself calming down slightly still, still he had to ask the old man a question.
"Why didn't you try to steal it?"
The old man gave him a look before speaking up.
"If I was stronger I probably would have tried to, but you must be stronger than you look if you have that ticket, I dare not try it. Guess you'll do just fine in The Arena."
The old man showed a friendly smile at Ash upon finishing his sentence.
The two started walking again, before the old man started explaining some things.
"You'll be meeting with Caesar, he's the organizer and also an... "aquintance" from these streets."
Ash had no idea what the last part exactly meant, but continued listening nonetheless.
"After that you'll go to compete in the qualifiers, the whole thing is set up tournament style. You should aim for the top ten spot, before that the winnings are negligable."
The old man looked at Ash once more.
"If you get into the top ten the prize money should be enough to get you to where you want to go, it should also leave you with some extra after too."
"Is the academy really that far."
Ash was now careful not to clarify which academy he was talking about.
"Yeah that place is located in the centeral region, it is both far and also expensive to get to."
As their talk was coming to an end they arrived before a giant dome looking building.
...
(Back to the present)
Ash was looking at his sword while sitting on a bench in the preparation area.
The talk with Caesar went well and Ash was able to get a spot in the qualifiers of today.
He only had to wait for half an hour before he got called in.
"ASH, I'M LOOKING FOR AN ASH."
Ash stood up from the bench and started approaching the real Arena.
Following behind the man it didn't take long for him arrive at a door that led to a clearing.
Behind the door was only a sandy plain flat ground, clearly the grounds where his combat would take place.
Stepping onto the the arena grounds, Ash was showered by a series of shouts, and whistles.
He now stood in the middle of an arena where he would be spectated by a large group of onlookers... audiance members.
It didn't take long for the door on the other side to also open, with another person appearing from behind it.
The man that stepped out looked strong, but there was something that jumped out to Ash more.
'Just like I expected his limbs are made of iron."
Even while walking around the city yesterday and today, Ash noticed that many of the people had parts of their bodies replaced, when he asked old man Bill about it, his answer was the following.
"Non awakened or just people with weak awakened powers often choose to enchance their fighting capabilities through cybernatic enhancements, many of the people you'll encounter in The Arena will be like that too. Be aware of them, don't underestimate them."
Looking at the man before him Ash was able to tell that he had both his arms and legs replaced.
'This is a first, I don't know what to expect.'
As both contestants entered the arena and with it still only being the qualifiers the match was quickly started.
"START"
Ash was the first one to move confident in his cutting abilities.
But before he could properly close the distance the man distanced himself with small thrusters from his legs, once he was far enough away his hands opened up into a small cannon.
'Are you serious?'
Ash could see that the man was gonna shot at a moments notice.
Quickly reacting Ash jumped back, just slightly avoiding getting shot.
The ground before Ash exploded as the shot missed.
Ash quickly realised that this could be a problem.
"Sword are good for monsters, but in the arena it won't save you!"
The man shouted trying to taunt Ash.
'I'll have to find a way to close the distance'
This was when an idea came to Ash.
'Delusion.'
His second core ability Delusion seemed to be the perfect crutch for this situation... no any situation for that matter.
'He won't be able to hit me, so long as I believe that he won't be able to hit me.'
As a smirk appeared on Ash's face he quickly started charging straight at the man.
Seeing this the man started frantically shooting at Ash.
Ash seeing this didn't even bother with trying to dodge and just kept going straight at him.
"What is he doing?"
Some of the onlookers commented.
As Ash kept going oddly enough all the shots kept missing, this confused the shooter so much that he forgot to back away, and now Ash was standing right before him ready to slash him down.
"I SURRENDER!"
The man shouted just as Ash's sword was about to make contact with his throat.
'He was actually gonna kill me.'
The man thought with a terrified expression.
"THIS MATCH IS OVER ALL PARTICIPANTS LEAVE THE ARENA."
Hearing this Ash quickly withdrew and sheathed his sword.
Once both participants left the arena the audiance errupted into discussion.
"Beginners luck?"
One of the people asked.
"But he was way too confident."
Another replied.
Ash's seemingly reckless strategy garnered quite the attention among the onlookers.
...
The day continued in a similiar fashion, with all of Ash's matches being wrapped up unusually quickly.
The ones that were initially calling it beginners luck were now certain that there was more to this kid than it seemed.
With the day arriving at its conclusion Ash was able to leave the grounds of The Arena, where two people were waiting for him.
It was Caesar and Old Bill.
Caesar was the first to approach Ash and was quick to pat him on the shoulder.
"HAHAHA, you did exceptionally well young man, I didn't expect you to be such a beast when I first saw you. I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover."
Ash looked towards Old Bill, somewhat surprised that he was still present.
"Oh him, I couldn't just let him leave after he introduced me to such a fierce competitor, right?"
Ash was quick to open his mouth and speak to Old Bill.
"Is there any way I can repay you?"
Old Bill just shrugged his shoulders, dismissively.
"Not really, it's not like you have anything with you to give... other than... that. Still I obviously can't take that."
Caesar was quick to butt into the conversation.
"Yeah right, I heard you are dead broke Ashy Boy."
'Ashy Boy?'
"So in the end after watching your matches I've decided."
Caesar raised his hands pointing at Ash.
"You kid, should live with me."