Clearing the table (1)

With slot cards, the three stepped into a noisy dark hall. They manoeuvred through the cheering crowd towards the front, where they could finally see those fighting.

Boom!

The platform below shook, drawing the eyes of the three to those fighting.

"An arena," Ku Jian said.

"This level of excitement can't be from the love of battle alone. There must be bets running," Nti Anem said.

"Where can I buy it? I bet on Brother Ed!" Ku Jian said and someone beside her scoffed.

"Newcomers, I see," the man said.

"What? My brother Ed can beat anyone," Ku Jian argued and the man laughed.

"Little girl, look up. Do you see that plate over there? That is the top ten rankings. To reach that state, you must be undefeated," he said. Ku Jian and the rest looked towards the bronze plate the man had mentioned and saw names.

"If they are all undefeated, how does it decide who is number one?" Nti Anem asked.

"The ranks don't mean what you think they do. No one actually wants to be number one. To leave this level, anyone at number one has to fight number two. If he is lucky and number two is in training and unavailable, he will have to fight three and four to leave. No three and four available, then he will have to fight five, six and seven," the man said.

"The numbers keep going up," Ku Jian said.

"The crown of number one is heavy. All titles here are. Being on top comes with the perks of better training rooms, but the tower is made to make things difficult for you. So people don't actually want titles. The higher you go, the more difficult it is to rise," he explained.

"As expected," Nti Anem nodded.

"How do the fights work?" Ed asked.

"You are buying a fight, but in fact, you are only buying a rank. Your rank is on your slot card. You can stay on this floor and use the resources as you like. But you must fight once a month. When ready you submit your slot card and take on a challenge, if someone has already challenged you or you challenge someone else. If not, the tower will choose for you. Win ten battles, and go to the next floor. But the ten battles are counted only when the tower decides the battle, so finding some small fry to fight will not help you get out faster" he explained.

"How do we submit?" Nti Anem asked.

"Go towards the Edge of the arena and go down, then hand it to the fight curator. He will be dressed like those curators selling fights outside. What? You wish to fight now?" the man raised a brow.

"Yes," Ed answered.

"I suggest you train for a while. These fights are no joke. What if someone asks you for a fight to the death?" the man said, but Ed and the rest had already walked past him.

They manoeuvred their way through the crowd till they found the short stairs down. They found themselves in a waiting hall of some sort as there were already fighters waiting their turn. In front of the hall sat a fight curator. He only glanced at those who came in and ignored them. The three walked towards him under the gaze of the waiting fighters who seemed to want to eat them raw.

"Ready to fight? Hand in your slots cards and pick a fighter from the chart," he said to Ed and the rest without looking up, pointing at the wall behind him.

The three of them stared at the tiny names on the wall all with a number attached to them, one would think is their rank. Ed did not believe that this was the name of all on this level.

"These names are available for fights right now," the curator said as though reading his mind.

Ed and the others handed in their slot cards and the curator nodded. When his eyes caught Ed's card, he paused.

"Rankless? It has been centuries since we had seen a rankless fighter," the curator said.