A Chance Encounter

(Azrael)

'What do I do now?' I thought to myself as I roamed through the busy streets of Leveni.

Abigor and Samira had basically taken all the important jobs, leaving me with nothing to do. Maybe I could do some shopping?

From what I'd noticed, this city seemed to be known for its popular trading system. I had yet to walk through a single street that did not have less than five stalls, displaying a variety of different goods.

"Oh wait" I realized suddenly ,"I don't have any money with me"

Should I just steal some? No no, that wouldn't work. Even if I did acquire the money, I still had no clue of the value of this world's currency.

Normally, I would just kill anything that would stand in my way but I was on a mission right now. And such actions would probably just alert the Dragon god of my presence.

'What a pain' I thought with a sigh.

I guess what I really needed right now was...

"A good pawn", I muttered out loud. I took a look around me. There wasn't really anyone that caught my attention.

"Excuse me, sir-?"

I turned my head to a young girl with brown hair and dressed in a flashy pink dress. She held a small jar in her hand with a purple colored liquid.

"Would you like to sample our new product?", asked the girl with a smile ,"It works wonders on the skin"

"No, thank you", I declined ,"However, by any chance do you happen to know of a quick way to make money within the city?"

"Hmm?", she said ,"Are you not from around here?"

"No, I am not", I answered ,"And I currently have no money at the moment. Any idea of how I could fix that?"

"Well...", said the girl, hesitantly ,"I do know of a quick way to make a lot of money. Even getting a few relics, but it is very risky. And dangerous!"

I smiled ,"Don't worry. Danger's my best friend. Tell me what you had in mind"

The girl still looked unsure but she just shrugged helplessly.

"Alright", she said ,"If you're that sure of yourself then follow me"

I followed her as she lead me back the way I'd come until we came to a large white building. In front of the building, a crowd of warriors were gathered around a long table where three people sat. I could hear some of the warriors negotiating with two of the people:

"Me! Please, give me a shot, sir!" said a beefy looking warrior with a mace on his back.

"No, put me in and I swear you won't regret it!" said another confident one with a large battle axe his hand.

"Quite the commotion around here", I pointed out.

"Well, of course", said the girl ,"This is the Arena after all"

"Arena?"

"Don't worry", she said ,"He'll explain everything"

The girl gestured to one of the three people sitting at the table. A young man with ginger colored hair and dressed in simple leather pants and a red t-shirt.

The boy had a bored expression on his face because he seemed to be the only one of the three who hadn't attracted any of the warriors' attention.

"Hey, Ginger!" said the girl cheerfully.

'His name's actually Ginger?' I thought to myself as I stifled a laugh.

Ginger spotted us and grinned ,"Hi, Cecilia! What brings you here?"

"Well", said Cecilia ,"I brought you some business"

"Hmm?" Ginger came over and looked at me ,"Oh, you mean him?"

"Nice to meet you, Ginger", I waved at him.

"Nice to meet you too, good sir", said Ginger cheerfully ,"So, do you know what you're about to get yourself into?"

"No, I don't", I answered.

"He's from out of town", Cecilia pointed out.

"Ooooh, that's why you willingly volunteered", said Ginger nervously ,"Well, the Arena is where warriors from all over the kingdom can gather and fight for riches, fame and relics"

"I see", I nodded ,"Go on"

Ginger turned around and pointed at the white building ,"The Arena is divided into different floors and each floor has a champion that controls that floor. You have to defeat at least ten competitors before earning the right to challenge a floor champion"

"Oooh, sounds interesting", I said with a smile ,"And what about the prizes?"

"Each competitor you beat earns you a 100 copper coins", Ginger explained ,"And beating a floor champion earns you 10 silver coins and an ordinary class relic"

[These four types of coins are the currency of the Mortal Realm:

1 Platinum coin-$10,000

1 Gold coin-$1,000

1 Silver coin-$100

1 Copper coin-$10]

"So I can get relics for beating the floor champions", I said thoughtfully.

"Yep", Ginger grinned ,"And the relics get better the more you progress"

[These are the classes in which relics are categorized:

Supreme class- extremely hard to find and nearly impossible to attain. Usually owned by gods and other deities.

Legendary class- hard to find but not impossible. Usually owned by powerful adventures and high class people.

Mythic class- difficult to attain but is common to find in mid-level dungeons. Usually owned by adventurers.

Rare class- mostly attainable in most cities with good blacksmiths. Owned by weak adventurers and a few warriors.

Ordinary class- commonly found nearly everywhere. Owned by warriors and even regular people.]

"This sounds like an amazing offer", I said ,"Where do I sign up?"

"Are you sure?" Ginger asked with concern ,"Even the bottom floor is tough if you're not strong enough. And the floors beyond that...you could even lose your life"

"I don't mind the danger", I shrugged.

"Oh", Ginger blinked in surprise ,"If you're so sure, I guess we can head inside then"

"Alright then", said Cecilia ,"I wish you both good luck in there. Bye!"

With that, she ran off back to her stall to continue selling her skin products. Ginger led me inside the building and through the busy hall ways where people were getting ready for their fights.

"By any chance, do you have a weapon with you", Ginger asked me.

"Umm...", I had a few weapons in my space storage ring but I guessed that they would be too powerful for humans ,"No, I don't"

"That's okay", said Ginger ,"I can buy you a starter weapon from the shop over here"

We came to a store that was filled with hundreds of unique armour and weapons. There were enough weapons in here to create a small army.

"Hey, Stan", Ginger walked over to the counter where a gruff looking bearded man stood ,"Just came by to pick up some stuff for my new fighter"

"Nice to see you finally got one", Stan laughed. Then he looked at me ,"Feel free and take your pick, lad"

"Alright", I browsed through the weapons stands.

I skipped the spears since I'd never been much of a spear guy. And with my strength, getting a weapon like a sword would just be bullying my opponents. But I couldn't just go empty handed either.

"Errr...", I picked up a regular looking dagger ,"How bout this?"

"That? That's just a regular steel dagger", said Stan ,"A 100 coppers for it. But are you sure, lad?"

"I know I said I'm paying but you don't have to be so modest about it", said Ginger nervously.

"Don't worry", I swung the dagger around a few times ,"I'm sure"

"Alright then", Ginger shrugged and took out the coins ,"Here's your cash, Stan"

"Much appreciated!", Stan called out as we left.

With that settled, Ginger and I walked over to a gate where a line of fighters stood, waiting to go through. Even from here, I could hear the loud cheer of hundreds of fans.

"Okay, a little pep talk before you go in", Ginger put his hand on my shoulder ,"Don't be too sad if you lose your first match. The important thing is to pick yourself back up and try again"

'Is this place really that bad?' I thought to myself.

"I'll be fine", I reassured him.

"Next!" a voice called from the gate. Ginger let go of me and watched as I walked through the gate.

•

(OVERVIEW)

"OOOH FOLKS, IT LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER NEW CHALLENGER HAS STEPPED UP TO FIGHT!"

A booming voice announced as Azrael walked through the gates of the massive Arena. Thousands of people were gathered around a large square ring, cheering loudly for the next fight to begin.

Azrael walked up to the ring and jumped onto the wide platform. A monitor above the ring projected his image to everyone in the Arena.

"IN ONE CORNER" said the announcer ,"THE NEWCOMER, ARMED WITH ONLY A DAGGER AND...NO ARMOR? THIS GUY MUST BE CONFIDENT IN HIS SKILLS!"

"What a joke!"

"Tell him to get out of here!"

"Does he know this place ain't for babies!"

A few people jeered at Azrael but he simply ignored them and faced the gate on the other side of the room.

A warrior walked through, dressed in shining steel armor and a sheathed sword at his side.

"AND IN THIS CORNER, ONE OF THE VETERANS OF FLOOR ONE, SIR BRYCE!" said the announcer once more ,"I HEAR HE'S ONLY ONE MATCH AWAY FROM EARNING A MATCH WITH THE FLOOR CHAMPION!"

The people voiced their admiration and the cheering got louder. Sir Bryce waved at them with a smile before he jumped onto the ring and faced Azrael.

"Young man", said Bryce as he eyed Azrael from head to toe ,"Are you sure you're in the right place with that attire?"

The crowd howled with laughter but Azrael ignored the taunt and brandished his dagger. Bryce readied himself as well and drew his sword.

"THE RULES OF THE MATCH", the announcer explained ,"YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO KILL YOUR OPPONENT AND THE MATCH IS DECIDED BY KO, SURRENDER OR KNOCKING YOUR OPPONENT OUTSIDE THE RING"

"Understood", said both Azrael and Bryce.

"READY?-"

Everyone in the room sat forward in anticipation.

"SET-?"

"I'll be sure to make this quick", said Bryce with a smug expression.

"FIGHT!"

"Take this!" Bryce yelled as he raised his sword ,"Sword-"

Before he could finish, Azrael disappeared right in front of his eyes. The crowd also fell silent, completely stunned.

"What?!" said an equally stunned Bryce ,"Where did he-?"

"Too slow-" said a voice behind him as Azrael struck him in the back of the neck with the hilt of his dagger.

Bryce's sword slipped out of his hand and he fell to the ground, instantly knocked out.

Everyone was silent, still shocked from the unexpected results. Azrael cleared his throat loudly.

"ERR...OH YEAH" the announcer stammered ,"WE HAVE A WINNER!"

With that, the crowd roared in approval. Azrael simply smiled and put his dagger away.

"MAY WE KNOW THE NAME OF THIS NEWCOMER?"

"My name is Azrael", said Azrael as he walked out of the ring, back to where Ginger was waiting.

•

(Azrael)

"What the heck was that?!" Ginger yelled excitedly ,"No wonder you didn't want any gear!"

"Yeah", I answered.

'That was no fun at all' I thought with a sigh.

That human was so slow, I could've beaten him with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back!

Was this how it was going to be like from now on?

"Here, catch!" Ginger tossed me a small brown pouch ,"Your 100 coppers"

"Hmm", I thought for a moment before tossing it back ,"Keep it. That's for the dagger you bought me"

"Oh! Thanks" said Ginger with a smile ,"But, don't you need the cash?"

"Of course I do", I said, heading back to the gate ,"That's why we're going to keep going until we reach the floor champion today"

"T-today?!" Ginger exclaimed ,"You can't be serious!"

"Just watch me"

Surely enough, we kept going for the rest of the day, with me winning each and every match.

Match two-

"AZRAEL WINS AGAIN!"

Match three-

"AZRAEL WINS AGAIN!"

Match four, five, six, all the way up to nine was just-

"AZRAEL HAS WON ONCE AGAIN AND HAS EARNED HIS RIGHT TO CHALLENGE THE FLOOR CHAMPION!"

The crowd was now going crazy, some even making bets between matches. I could hear what some of them were muttering about as I went back to the waiting room:

"I never thought such a person could exist"

"To be able to fight all these powerful warriors the whole day without much rest and still win!"

"Is he even human?"

Seems like some people were starting to catch on. Well, although it wasn't much, I'd gotten enough money to last me till I had to meet up with Abigor and Samira.

'I think I'll just leave after I fight this champion' I thought to myself.

"You really weren't kidding", said Ginger as he tossed me another sac of cash ,"I've already gotten my share. Now you just have to beat the floor champion"

"Yeah", I said as I took a seat on one of the benches ,"Hopefully, he's more powerful than the weaklings I've fought so far"

"Oh, trust me, she is", he said.

I frowned at him ,"She?"

"Oh yeah, I've never actually seen her in action", Ginger continued ,"But I've heard she's so powerful that she's able to take down dragons!"

"Really?" I asked.

Finally some hope of a worthy opponent! As if on queue, it was time for the last match and I stood up.

"Be careful!" Ginger called behind me.

"ALLLRIGHT EVERYONE!" said the announcer ,"IT'S TIME FOR THE MATCH YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!"

The crowd showed their enthusiasm and roared with excitement.

"IN THE FIRST CORNER IS EVERYONE'S FAVORITE NEWBIE AND RISING STAR, AZRAEL!"

I walked onto the ring gave a small wave to the crowd before turning to the opponent gate.

"IN THE OTHER CORNER", the announcer continued ,"ANOTHER YOUNG FAVORITE WHO'S MADE A FEARSOME NAME FOR HERSELF THROUGHOUT THE KINGDOM FOR SLAYING DRAGONS -!"

The door opened and a girl walked forward. She wore full golden armor, her long locks of blond hair flowing like waves of golden water behind her.

I stared in shock as she entered the ring and faced me with a glowing rapier at her side.

I should have guessed from the name dragon slayer but I hadn't expected to meet her this soon. I smiled to myself and unsheathed my dagger.

"-THE DRAGON SLAYER, LILY!"