When Kanta had described the location of the tournament as ‘underground ', Chun had thought she meant it was illegal. But apparently, it was literally underground. The entrance was between two abandoned buildings at the edge of the city. He went through what looked like a cellar, but quickly opened up into a sprawling array of underground tunnels that Chun thought should have been impossible to hide beneath a city. The area he had entered was the size of a city block and broken into several sections.
The largest one was in the center. It was the arena. The floor of it was indented around ten feet into the foundation of the ground. The ground was layered with a layer of sand that didn’t look like it had ever been cleaned. Several black stains from long-dried blood gave the floor a muddy, brutal look. At opposite sides of the walls of the arena were two hallways that led somewhere Chun couldn’t see. Likely a lounge for the participants.
A massive silver ball hung above it. Chun could feel some sort of enchantment flowing through the object from where he was standing. The silver ball radiated a soft glow that illuminated the otherwise dark underground. That wasn’t to say other light sources weren’t abundant, though. Several standing torches and lanterns hung from various structures within the cavern. Most were personal lounges for most of the underground’s occupants. Others seemed to be market stalls, though they didn’t seem to sell anything worth noting.
Chun had begun walking into the cavern, weaving his way through the crowds. Most were common folk who happened to be in the know about the tournament. Though he noticed quite a few martial artists among the crowd. He wasn’t skilled enough to discern their Martial Stage, but he could tell they were at least as strong as Heiyin. Then again, that wasn’t saying much.
“You wore that to the tournament?” A vaguely familiar voice rang out from the crowd as Chun began to wander.
He looked around for the source of the voice, struggling to put a proper face to the voice. However, as its source appeared from the crowd, Chun was mildly surprised.
Julian, Kanta’s assistant, appeared from the crowd. She was wearing a red and gold qipao dress with golden flowers blooming across it. Her hair was tied up in a braid, and she wore makeup that made her look similar to a native of the Eastern Ports. She looked more proper than the submissive woman at Kanta’s beck and call, but the martial artist didn’t imagine she was any different than the woman he’d seen at the pavilion.
“Hello, Julian,” Chun said with a bow. Then he registered what the woman had said. He looked down at his garb to find the only clothes he’d thought were appropriate. A basic pale grey set of baggy pants, with the ankles wrapped in cloth, as well as a short-sleeved brown tunic. Apart from this, in a few varying colors, his only real clothes were the apothecary robes he wore at work. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”
“They don’t look like something a martial artist would wear.” The woman said. “Luckily, Mistress Kanta had planned for this. She awaits us in one of the spectator rooms.” As the woman spoke, she turned and guided Chun through the crowd.
“Did Ms. Kanta tell you to wait for me?”
Julian nodded. “She had a feeling you would come… unprepared to the tournament. So she had prepared some basic equipment for you. You are the Rose Treasury Pavilion’s sponsor, after all.”
“A sponsor?” Chun asked.
“Each major merchant, criminal organization, or even minor clan injects sponsors into various martial arts tournaments as a show of power to others. Primarily, they make their top warriors or promising youths the sponsors. That is not to say everyone in this tournament will be a sponsor of some gang.” She explained.
“You seem more talkative than I expected when we first met,” Chun stated as he mulled over this new information. It was likely he would be facing other martial artists from other criminal gangs.
“We met in a rather unique circumstance. Mistress Kanta allows me to speak freely when she is not present. For being her pet, she gives me far more freedom than others.” Julian explained.
“How did that happen?”
“How did what happen?”
“How did you become Kanta’s pet?”
Julian suddenly stopped and looked at Chun with a confused look, as if the answer was obvious. “She offered, and I accepted. It also came with essentially being her secretary, which in turn came with income to use as I see fit.”
“How common is it for merchants and the like to have human pets?” Chun raised a brow as Julian continued walking.
“Do you mean human specifically? Or the enlightened species like Wild-Kin or Spirit-Kin?”
“All of them, I guess.”
“It’s common enough to not be surprising if a noble or gang leader would have one or two. I wouldn’t say a majority has them, but roughly forty percent, maybe forty-five. They are often either hired or indentured servants to pay off some sort of debt. Or as punishment for losing a battle between the pet and the owner. Though that one in particular is a bit rare.”
‘I don’t remember that being a modifier my past life chose. Though it may be a side effect of multiple modifications he made to Dai’Gyo’s societal structure’. Chun thought.
“Do you think Kanta would make me a pet?” He asked.
“Would you like to be?” Julian asked with genuine curiosity.
Chun’s lower half wanted to answer yes. But his mind told him it wasn’t a great idea. While he enjoyed Kanta’s company and would work with her for mutual benefits. He didn’t want to literally be her lapdog. “Just curious.” He said.
The two ultimately entered one of the other sections of the cavern, where several rooms were sectioned off from each other. Each room was guarded by a pair of martial artists armed with various weapons. Each was dressed in different garb depending on their allegiance. Though Chun knew none of them but one.
Julian and Chun approached a pair of guards in red and gold guard uniforms of the Rose Treasury Pavilion. They didn’t speak but stepped aside to let the two through.
The martial artist’s senses were suddenly assaulted by the brightly lit and flower-scented room that lay beyond the door. The room wasn’t very big, only around 15 feet in all directions. A golden orb similar to the massive silver one above the arena lit the room in a soft golden glow. Several cushioned chairs and a table sat looking beyond a balcony that looked over the arena. Chun swore he hadn’t seen them from the ground floor. The table was littered with all manor of drinks and food. But the scent of perfume in the air overpowered any savory scent the food gave off.
In one of the chairs was Kanta in her red and gold kimono. It was drawn tightly around her waist but she still didn’t seem to bother putting on pants, letting the flowing ends of the robes hide her. Though Chun did see dark red underwear from between the kimono’s cloth.
“Good, you’ve arrived. And somewhat early too.” The woman rose from her chair as the two walked in and closed the door behind them. She held a half drunken wine glass in her hand and her body swayed as she walked forward and gave Julian a kiss on the neck.
In the same action, Julian’s deminer changed. Her posture dropped and her expression became less serious. She melted in her owner’s affection.
“Go sit down, Julian. Anywhere you like, I must speak with our sponsor.” Kanta ordered. Julian did as she was told, choosing the seat next to where Kanta had been.
The woman turned back to Chun, scanning him up and down. “It's a good thing I brought a uniform for you. You look like a peasant.”
The man didn’t have time to retort when the woman tapped a ring on her finger, and a red and gold gi appeared in her hand. “Put this on. If you’re going to sponsor us, you need to look the part.”
Chun grabbed the uniform and unfurled it in front of himself. It was a simple long-sleeved martial arts gi. It was primarily red with a golden satin trim. A large symbol of a golden rose was embroidered on the back. It also came complete with pants of similar color and wrist and ankle bindings. The pants even had golden vines traveling up them as if to reach the rose on his back. If nothing else, Chun had to admit, he liked how it looked. Though he was slightly disappointed that the attire seemed completely mundane despite its quality.
Chun did as he was told, going to the corner of the room to change. Though it wasn’t like that helped much, he still felt Julian and Kanta’s eyes on him like hungry lions. Luckily, they controlled themselves.
“So when does the tournament actually start?” Chun said as he sat down in the chair furthest to the left of the group, Kanta being in the middle.
“Slightly over an hour,” Kanta said as she handed Chun a piece of paper. “Look at this before it starts. Once it does, the only thing you will have to go off of is the fights.”
Chun looked at the paper to see a bracket laid out. There were eight participants in total, fewer than Chun had expected. Some of the participants were names, but others seemed to be the names of companies or gangs. One in particular read ‘Rose Treasury Pavilion’.
He was halfway down the bracket, going third out of the four first rounds. His opponent wasn't named, but it simply read ‘The Iron Spider Gang’.
“Whose the Iron Spider Gang?” Chun asked, seeing his opponent.
“One of the three gangs that run the Sapphire Port’s underground. Though they are arguably the weakest. Not to say they are weak, mind you.” Kanta assured. “The other two are present as well,” she gestured to two other slots on the bracket. “The Laughing Mask Gang, and the Black Tiger Gang.”
“Who's the strongest of the three?” Chun asked.
Kanta raised a brow but put a hand to her chin in thought. “It depends. In terms of their strongest warriors, the Laughing Mask Gang’s leader is considered one of the strongest martial artists within the vicinity of Sapphire lake. The Iron Spider Gang has the upper hand of the three in terms of their network of influence and information. And the Black Tiger Gang has the upper hand in overall resources. Theory has it that they are a branch of a greater gang across the Eastern Ports, but they are simply theories.”
“Was Heiyin a part of any of the three gangs?”
Kanta nodded. “The Iron Spider Gang. Though to my knowledge he was hardly anyone of note. He mostly acted as one of the many living coin pouches for the gang. Though now that he's dead,” the woman smirked to Chun. “Their income has been diminished. Now that I've answered one of your questions, might I ask you one? How strong do you think you are?”
Chun just tilted his head to the side.
“You've said yourself you're stronger then most at the first Martial Stage. So which Martial Stage do you think you are equivalent to?”
The martial artist thought for a moment. He didn't have much of a reference for how strong martial artists of the later Martial Stages were. He'd met very few martial artists and only ever fought one, Heiyin. He still vaguely remembered his master while he wandered the forests between the Great Lakes. He'd never fought the man nor seen his true power. But he didn't know how strong the elder was either.
“I lack a good answer,” Chun admitted. “My assumption is around the third or fourth Martial Stage, but that is just speculation. Heiyin was hardly a fight whatsoever for me. But I understand he was hardly average, even for one in the first Martial Stage.”
Kanta nodded in agreement. “I shall assume you are within the realm of the third Martial Stage. But there are two final topics I wish to touch on. The first is rather simple, a mere question. What weapon do you prefer? I have a plethora of basic weapons within my storage ring for you. They are all mundane and of basic quality, but you will need something if you are to fight other martial artists wielding weapons.”
Chun thought again. He had been trained in practically all weapons he could think of- or had it injected into his body depending on how you look at it- so skill wasn't a factor. It was truly a matter of preference. But he didn't know what weapon he wanted. After a few seconds, he thought of an interesting way to find his preference. “I will wield whatever weapon my enemy does. If they wield duel swords, I will mirror them. If they wield a large axe, I will do the same. And if they are unarmed, I shall be as well.”
The answer clearly confused Kanta for a moment, but then she smiled and leaned her head on her hand. “I have always heard of the peculiarities of martial artists, and it relieves me that you are no less mundane. Though I do hope I am not mistaking the peculiarity for idiocy.”
Chun chuckled at that. “I hope so as well. What weapon will I be using in the first round?”
“Technically the sponsors of the gangs and merchants are supposed to be anonymous,” Kanta said. “But power comes in many forms, and wealth is one of them. I bribed the runners of this show to give me the true fighters, at the very least their capabilities.” She explained as she tapped her storage ring. This time a much larger object appeared in her hand. It was so large in fact, that Julian was nearly struck in the face as it appeared.
It was a bostaff made of dark wood. In its center a white cloth was wrapped for better grip. At the ends were two iron caps that increased the weight on either side. Kanta offered the weapon to Chun.
He took the weapon and stood. He spun it around slowly, being careful to not strike the others in the room. He already held a familiarity with fighting with a staff due to his “Mundane Mastery” art his past life had chosen for him. He even decided to channel a portion of his internal energy into the staff to identify it.
Wooden Bostaff
A bostaff made from carved wood. Made by an average craftsman. Lacks special qualities and is of average quality.
“The sponsor of the Iron Spider Gang is one of their younger upstarts. He is within the second Martial Stage and is skilled with a staff. His name is Zu Diu. Though that does bring me to my final point.” The woman’s expression grew more serious as she looked into Chun’s eyes. “I did not bring you here solely to have you prove your worth. In fact, this is the first true favor I ask of you.” She pointed to the bracket. Specifically at a sponsor of what Chun assumed was one of the many businesses within the Sapphire Port: ‘The Pearl Wave Company’. “The Pearl Wave Company has recently broken from a deal we have had for many years to a… change of management.” She said after a brief pause. “And said management has no interest in continuing such a deal. As such, it has caused my company to lose valuable trade and profit. If you do manage to enter a fight with their sponsor, kill them.”
“That's allowed?” Chun raised a brow.
“Of course it's allowed. Frowned upon maybe, but certainly allowed.” She said, “Who's going to stop us, the port’s guard?” She chuckled. “The sponsor is a woman named Bai Jun. I know little of her other than that she is at the fourth Martial Stage. She wields throwing knives as her primary weapon, but that is all I know. If you don't have the adequate strength to kill her, then don't bother. But if the opportunity presents itself…” her voice trailed off, but she didn't need to finish the sentence for Chun to know what her next words were.
“I'm sure my strength will be enough to at least injure her.”
Kanta smirked. “Good.”
Suddenly, a gong echoed through the air. On the paper in Chun’s hand, the topmost bracket lit up.
“Ah, the tournament is starting already,” Kanta said. “I suggest you prepare yourself for your fight. This is not like fighting whatever poor excuse for a fighter Heiyin pretended to be. Today, you fight real martial artists.”