Chapter_86 Mortal arena

In the ever crowded streets of Willow, three men could be seen walking casually down a less crowded path.

".....team. Zane is the enemy"

"Huh?" Zane looked around him but couldn't see who had said those words. He was sure it wasn't Kieth nor Ken. The voice was very faint but it sounded familiar.

"What is it?" Ken said as he noticed Zane's behavior. Zane shook his head and summed it to that he was just hearing things which didn't exist 

"Nothing, what time is it?" Zane asked because he couldn't feel the sun. It could be midnight for all he knew.

"It's sunset" Ken replied.

"How long is this 'fun' gonna last anyway?" Zane asked, he didn't want to sleep late as that might make him wake up late the next day for training. 

"It won't take more than three hours, so don't worry your wife won't get mad" Kieth mocked.

"Haha very funny brother in law" Zane replied.

"What was that?" Kieth put his hands behind his ears.

"Nothing, i just said I'm getting hungry" Zane shrugged.

"Yeah sure you did" Kieth said sarcastically.

'I really hope you're right about this guy sis, if he can help you I will forever be in his debt' he thought.

"Say Zane, how far away are you from becoming a mage?" Kieth suddenly asked, throwing Zane off guard with the randomness of his question.

"I'm two cores away, why do you ask?" Zane replied.

"No reason, I'm just curious. But where did you get the money for eight mana cores?" Keith asked.

"I work remember?" Zane smiled. Kieth nodded as he remembered that Zane had told him about his job.

"Where do you work?" Ken asked.

"I'm a healer for a hunter group" Zane replied.

"Ohhh" Ken nodded. It wasn't really that surprising given Zane's talents.

"He works for David" Kieth said.

"What!?, you work for David, and Clara?" Ken exclaimed in shock. 

"Ohh yeah i forgot they're famous. Yes I work for them, and Adam is also in the group you know" Zane didn't need to tell them about Candy since she was a new addition and John wasn't even part of their team.

"How is Clara?" Ken asked.

"She's fine" Zane shrugged, he didn't really know how to answer that.

"Of course she is" Ken mumbled. Zane couldn't help but concentrate on Ken's face and was half surprised to see the giant smile on his face as he stared at the sky.

"Crush?" Zane nudged Kieth.

"Major" Kieth replied with a laugh.

"Her new boyfriend is also fine too" Zane said.

"What!?" Ken screamed, attracting the attention of everyone in the street.

Zane and Kieth laughed at Ken's stress filled face as they walked to their destination.

For some reason, even though Zane liked David and the others, be felt that he connected more with Keith and Ken. Maybe it was because they all had something in common.

A few minutes later, the trio walked into a bar. As Zane looked around, he could tell that it was similar to the Dancing Rum. The only difference was that this one looked less sophisticated.

Zane also noticed that he couldn't see a single mage in the bar.

"Welcome to the Sleeping Rum Tavern" Ken said.

"Seriously?" Zane raised an eyebrow.

"It is owned by the same noble family as the Dancing Rum, this one is just for us lowly poor mortals" Kieth chuckled.

"Hey barman!" Kieth said as he passed past the bar. Zane was surprised as he thought they were here to drink, but Ken and Kieth seemed to be going elsewhere.

"Hey champ, going down?" The barman said.

"You know it!. Come on Zane" Keith called to Zane as they entered a door behind the counter. Zane followed and the trio descended a flight of stairs.

Back in the bar. 

"Hey was that Kieth and Ken just now?" a lady asked her friend.

"Yeah, I guess the others are gonna get a visit from the Champ today" the friend answered.

"Did you also see the new guy?, he's quite cute" the first girl said.

"Hey, you guys are still on dates with us you know?" A male voice said from the side, clearly annoyed that their dates were swooning over other guys in their presence.

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Zane and the duo quickly got to the end of the stairs and Keith opened another door. As soon as the door opened, Zane slightly flinched after his ears were assaulted by the cheering of fans.

He could immediately tell that what was happening here was similar to the arena, where two people fight on stage in front of a large audience. Zane couldn't see the size of this arena but he guessed around a hundred square meters.

Someone who was sited at the door quickly stood up after the door abruptly opened, the house was full for the day so he knew whoever was coming had quite the status to be allowed through the bar.

And as he had predicted, the person really was an important figure in their establishment.

"Kieth and Ken!?, i never expected you guys today" the man said.

"Yeah, we thought we would surprise you guys" Kieth smiled.

Zane had already determined that Kieth was quite famous in this place and he could already guess why that was so.

"Killer Princess isn't with you?" the man asked, looking behind Kieth.

"No my sister couldn't make it today" Kieth said. "I brought a newcomer today, this is Zane" he introduced Zane.

"Hello Zane" the man slightly bowed before turning to Kieth "Is he also an elite?" he asked.

"Yes, very much so" Kieth smiled.

"Nice to meet you master Zane, you guys can go to your thrones" he said as he opened the way for the trio.

"Three questions" Zane said as they walked towards the stage.

"Shoot" Ken said.

"Charlotte is the Killer Princess?"

"Correct"

"You three are the strongest people here?" 

"Correct"

"What are elites?"

"That's just the name they came up with for us, since we are way stronger than anyone else."

Zane nodded, everything he thought turned out to be correct. A few seconds later and the trio arrived near the stage before turning left towards the front row.

At the center of the row, Zane could see three giant chairs suspended ten meters in the air by earth collumns. Each chair had what looked like a ladder on one of the collumns. 

"Climb on the left one, it's Charlotte's seat" Kieth instructed as he climbed onto the center chair and Ken on the right one. Zane nodded as he followed suit.

Upon reaching the top he noticed that he couldn't hear the sounds of the fight anymore. That was because everyone had stopped fighting and was looking at the trio sitting majestically on the thrones.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Champ has graced us with his presence today!" A man quickly went to the stage and shouted. To which the crowd cheered.

"Welcome Champ, Welcome Crusher with a K and welcome New guy!" the man shouted. Kieth and Ken smiled and nodded as the screams grew louder, most of the screams were feminine though.

"New guy, since you arrived with our Champ i will assume you are elite and also a friend to our Champ, so i will ask you nicely" The man said before facing Zane fiercely.

"Get the fuck off that throne, you haven't earned it."