Chương 88: Heavens Arena

"Ding-dong. Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Thank you for flying with Kata Airlines on Flight G1356."

"We will soon land at Heavens Arena Airport. Ground temperature at Heavens Arena Airport is twenty-five degrees Celsius, with relative humidity at forty-eight percent. Please fasten your seat belts, and we wish you a pleasant trip."

"All right, Neon. Come sit down. We're almost there." Aren called helplessly to Neon, who was pressed against the airship window. Although this was no longer her first time on an airship, Neon still loved looking at the scenery outside.

"Okay. Neon knows." At Aren's call, she hurried over on her short legs and sat beside him. Once Neon settled down, Aren leaned slightly forward and fastened her seat belt.

"Master, are we about to see Sister Machi?" It had been a long time since Neon last saw Machi, but she had never forgotten the "shy sister" Aren had mentioned. At the mention of Machi, a smile touched Aren's lips.

"That's right. Neon still remembers Machi?" Neon immediately lifted her little head, asking for praise.

"Of course. Neon has to take care of shy Sister Machi." Aren rubbed her head.

"Good girl." He could have used Flying Thunder God Technique to reach Machi and the others directly. But Aren wanted to give them a surprise. So he had not told Machi he was coming, and he had not teleported over. He wanted to see what kind of reaction they would have if he suddenly appeared in the arena. Ideally, he would meet Uvogin directly on a two-hundredth-floor stage. Uvogin had recently complained that he could not find opponents and that no one on the two-hundredth floor dared fight him.

He even wanted to challenge a Floor Master as soon as possible. Since he disliked those weaklings so much, Aren would become his opponent. Uvogin should be very happy. After leaving the airport, Aren took Neon into an airport taxi and headed straight for Heavens Arena. Before they got out, the driver kindly reminded him, "Young man, the spectator entrance isn't on this side. This is where fighters sign up." Aren smiled, took out a banknote, and handed it over.

"I'm here to compete. Keep the change." The driver glanced at the long line of muscular men outside Heavens Arena. Then he looked at Aren, whose handsome face and slim build made him seem more like a tourist. Surprise appeared on his face. Only surprise. Every year, countless people of all kinds came to Heavens Arena to compete. Young men like Aren were rare, but not unheard of. The driver had only warned him because Aren's temperament looked less like a fighter's and more like someone on vacation.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Watching Aren walk toward the line after getting out, the driver silently wished him luck for the tip. After they got out, Neon stared at the long line winding around Heavens Arena.

"Master, there are so many people here." Then she tilted her head.

"But... they don't look very strong." Before arriving, Neon had heard the airship broadcast introduce Heavens Arena again and again. It called the place a paradise for fighters and the pinnacle of martial arts. After hearing it praised so much, Neon had assumed the contestants would all be as strong as her master. But one glance told her they were not impressive. After following Aren and Biscuit for so long, even if Neon could not explain the details, she could roughly feel that these people were ordinary.

"Nothing strange about that," Aren said dismissively.

"This place has always been more performance than real combat." From what he remembered, even the future Floor Masters had not all been impressive. Aren found a man near the front of the line and patted his shoulder. Then he took out several banknotes.

"Can I buy your spot?" The man, already irritated from waiting, felt someone touch his shoulder and shook it impatiently.

"What?" When he turned and saw the banknotes in Aren's hand, all impatience vanished. His eyes lit up, and he immediately reached out. Aren lifted his hand slightly and smiled.

"Deal?"

"Deal, deal. Please, go ahead." The man gave up his place at once. Winning a match on the first floor only paid a little over one hundred Jenny. Even winning at the fiftieth floor only paid fifty thousand. Aren was holding at least thirty or forty thousand. Getting paid that much for a spot in line was better than exhausting himself and taking punches. Other people in the line looked at him with envy. But they still considered themselves fighters.

They were jealous, but not shameless enough to sell their spots openly. Neon looked at the man accepting Aren's Jenny with confusion. Those were just little paper slips Master had made. There was no reason for him to look that happy. The Jenny in Aren's hand had been created through object creation. Aside from repeated serial numbers, it was indistinguishable from real Jenny. Even top-grade counterfeit detectors could not find a problem. Normal people might use a simple detector at most.

No one would check serial numbers one by one. It was not that Aren had no money. His money was in accounts and cards. Carrying large amounts of cash was troublesome. And this world had no mobile payment services. So whenever he needed cash, Aren usually used the "fake money" he created. Speaking of which, creating a mobile payment system in the Hunter world might have potential. Mobile phones were already widespread here. But such a system would probably need the V5 to take the lead.

After obtaining the spot, it was soon Aren's turn. Following the signs, he walked to Window Six.

"Welcome to Heavens Arena. Please fill out your information here." The attendant pointed to the form on the table with a mechanical sweet smile. After seeing Aren's face clearly, that mechanical smile became much more sincere. Aren picked up the form and glanced over it. Name. Identification number. School or style. Years of combat experience. At the bottom was a standard liability clause. In short, once contestants stepped onto the ring, life, death, injury, and disability had nothing to do with Heavens Arena.

Aren picked up the pen and filled in his information. He paused at the style field, then wrote Shingen-ryu. Since he had called Biscuit Teacher once, he could count as half a Shingen-ryu student. For combat experience, Aren thought for a moment and wrote fifteen years. In the future, when Gon and Killua filled out their forms, Killua would tell Gon to write ten years of combat experience so they could reach higher floors sooner.

That meant Heavens Arena judged contestants through a combination of written information and performance in the ring, and it did not carefully verify truthfulness. That made sense. Contestants came from all over the world. No one had time to investigate each one. Their performance in the ring would roughly reveal whether the claim was believable. Aren handed the completed form to the attendant. This time, her smile became lively and sweet.

"Mr. Aren Voss, this is for you. Please proceed inside." She handed him a number plate marked 2042. Out of politeness, Aren returned a smile.

"Thank you." Neon did not seem pleased. She tugged Aren's pant leg, urging him to leave. Seeing her jealousy, Aren found it funny.

'This little girl is already this possessive?' When he pushed open the door indicated by the attendant, a wave of sound rushed toward them. Behind the door was a massive venue. Around the outside were spectator stands where groups of people gathered. In the center were sixteen rings arranged four by four. Every ring had a fight underway. Some fighters were exchanging blows. Some had already been knocked down while the referee counted. Others were being carried away by staff.

Every collision of flesh and every splash of blood in the air drew cheers from the spectators. The lively atmosphere could get anyone's blood pumping. Neon's eyes shone.

"Wow! Master, it's so lively here. Are you going up there to fight too?"

"That's right. Neon, wait here for Master." Aren picked her up and placed her in an empty seat in the stands. Neon's physical ability was already much better than before. Even if she could not beat an adult, running away would not be a problem. Besides, Aren had already left a Flying Thunder God mark on her clothes. If anything happened, he could teleport to her immediately.

"Contestants 1986 and 2042, please proceed to Ring E." Just after Aren set Neon down, an announcement sounded through the venue. Aren looked at the number plate in his hand and patted Neon's head.

"Looks like it's Master's turn. Sit tight and don't run around."