Gods of Arena

"You see what happened out there?", Jae said, proudly, as they walked back to the hall.

"Yea, I did. I really pitied you", Jin replied and smiled at Kang. "Didn't we, Kang?"

Kang was too furious to speak. He thought Finn had won the game. He was finding it hard to process the unfortunate turnaround of events on the Arena.

“Doesn't look like you little sidekick can get over it", Jae said. "Sorry, boy. You might be next. I will be delighted to pull your head out".

They parted, as Kang and Jin walked into their room. Kang climbed on his bed and curled up. He folded his legs on the bed and hugged them. "When you're done with that sulking, tell me. We'll head to the gym for some workout", Jin said and laid back on his bed, staring at the ceilings. "You're not bothered at all? We are losing our friends"

"We don't have friends, Kang", Jin said and looked at him. "Both of us; we are not friends" "Then what are we?"

"We might help each other but.... If we both get on that Arena, only one of us will step out alive", Jin said. "There is no friend in this kind of place, where anyone can be an enemy and none of you can control who you go against or who goes against you"

"But we are still friends till that time comes, right"

"Yes.... Yea, maybe"

****

"Good morning", the guard greeted, walking past him.noveldrama

He looked into the mirror, parted his blond hair, adjusted his eyeglasses and put his hands in the pockets of his lab coat, as he walked through the narrow path. He opened a door and walked in. "Hey, good morning", the man greeted, as he walked in.

"Hey, Fred", another man replied, dressed in a lab coat. "What's up? You haven't been in here in a while"

"I just thought of having another character with my signature on him", Fred said and sat down. "I will make him powerful enough to take on multiple top-tiers at once."

"The first time I tried to do that was the last time I tried to do that", the man said. "He ended up too lean and he had no Shin Zhu. I had to give him to Carmichael to get him disposed"

"Well, this one has got to be different, Kwei", Fred replied. "What are you working on?"

"I saw one of the fighters on the arena, about a week ago. He looked just like the one I tried to dispose", Kwei said. "He was just as lean. I could almost bet he was the one I disposed but he won the fight" "The one you disposed has no Shin Zhu, right? You just said it"

"Yes but this guy didn't use a Shin Zhu throughout the fight", Kwei replied. "He just fought with the weapon he was given and he won❞

"The low-tier was probably weak and scared", Fred said. "But it's really hard to win any fight without the Shin Zhu. You really should give him some accolades"

"It wasn't even a low-tier fighter. He fought the Night Hound", Kwei said. "Some mid-tiers have a problem getting past the Night Hound but he did it without using his Shin Zhu. Now, they call him the Blank" "That's cool", Fred said and stood up. "I will like to create something breathtaking. Something that will blow the minds of the Gamblers"

"I bet it will end up like mine. I have been working on creating mid-tiers and top-tiers so they don't have to grow slowly"

"The growth is pretty fun, you know"

"Yes, but we keep creating low-tiers and they keep dying immediately they step on the arena. The Gamblers are totally sure of the winners of each fight so they all vote right and we make no money" The door opened and Ana stepped in. "Good morning, uncle"

"Hey, Ana. Come on. I'm working on something pretty big", Fred answered her

"What are you doing here? I thought you don't want to do the creation anymore"

"Yes. I just want one last fighter named by me", Fred smiled at her. "I couldn't help but watch the Blank over and over again"

She smiled back and nodded. "Ok. I should leave you to work. I bet he'll take down all of the top-tiers all by himself"

"That's the plan, Ana"

****

It was lunch time, already, and they were all seated by their tables. Romeo sat alone. He was yet to get a new roommate. Kang had his eyes on Jae, rather than the food before him. Jae glanced at him, sporadically, throwing annoying smiles at him. "Eat your food, Kang", Jin said. "You still can't take him down in a fight, can you?"

"I feel like shoving my spoon up his ass", Kang said.

"Yea but he's not going to wait for you to do that. Sorry"

"I just wish I would get the chance", Kang said. "I'll make sure the spoon is fat and long and I'll make it go deep"

Jin smiled. “Also, remember. He's just a pile of stones. His ass is stone too so he'll pull it out as easily as pulling a spoon out of a pile of rocks"

"Is it easy to pull a spoon out of a pile of rocks?"

"I don't know. You want to find out?"

"Yea", Kang said, quickly, and flung his fork at Jae.

Jae dodged, pushing it away. It landed on Dan's table. Dan lifted it, slowly, with two fingers, as if disgusted by the look of the fork. "Who is this MOTHERFUCKER!?", Dan asked, loudly, as he stood up. He definitely knew it came from Jae. He also knew who originally threw the fork but he loved the drama. "Who threw this filthy fork on my table?"

He glared at Kang, who stared fixedly at the food before him. He left his table and walked over. "You're done eating, uh? You want someone to pack up your plates?"

Jin stood up. "It's alright. It wasn't intentional. You can go back to your seat"

'Fighting outside the arena will no longer be tolerated', a voice made the announcement and they walked away from each other. 'Every fighter found in the act will be punished. Keep in mind that your moves are being watched and every unwarranted violent act against one another will be severely punished........

"You see that guy over there? He's just like you", Jin said, pointing at Jae. "He almost got his ass handed to him by a low-tier fighter. The only reason he is back here is Finn let him leave. Well, if you get on the ring with this one, he can be just as badass and- trust me- he won't miss any of his chances"

Dan chuckled and glanced at the speakers on the ceiling. "I hope to meet either of you in that hell", he said, boldly. "Then we can have this lecture over again"

He walked back to his seat and they sat down. "Stop glaring", Jin said.

Kang took one last glance at Jae, who was still smiling.

****

Jin pressed the button and his face appeared on three sides of the screen. The same applied to everyone in the hall. There were three sections in the hall now; one at the top, one at the left side, and one at the right. It was probably going to be a one-time thing or that was the new way they wanted to do it. The beeping light went around the faces and, at the top of the screen, the beep dropped on Jin's face. On the right side of the screen, the beep dropped on the face of a mid-tier named Dennis. He hadn't gotten in a fight, in a very long time, so Jin could not even remember him or his abilities.... But Jin knew he was still a mid-tier and he would only be a bonus kill if three people had to fight in the ring. The beep on the left side of the screen lasted a lot longer. It went around the faces and dropped on the face of another top-tier named Jordy. Jordy was one of the oldest fighters in the hall. He hadn't been picked for fights, in a long time either. Jordy was one of the strongest fighters, starting as a low-tier and upgrading to a mid-tier in the shortest time. He never lost a fight on the arena or in the hall. On his first days, he had to share a room with a bully. He was pretty weak so he'd just keep to himself and avoid fights. He avoided many fights, especially the ones he thought he would lose.... But he stopped avoiding fights, eventually. Whoever dared to come his way, he was always ready to go toe-to-toe with anyone. His Shin Zhu was the same as Jae's but he had more training so he was pretty stronger, though they were both top-tiers. Jordy was once picked to be titled the god-tier, after the gamblers considered him invincible and wanted him to fight multiple top-tiers at once. He refused the title and King didn't force it on him either. Jordy and Jae had the same abilities but they weren't very alike. Jordy hated bullies while Jae was a bully so they had a lot of fights in the past... Jordy never lost a fight. He always had Jae's back on the ground whenever they had to clench their fists and throw blows.

*"Who scribbled that bullshit on my door?", Jordy stormed out of his room, asking loudly.

"Just leave it alone. It doesn't affect anyone. Does it?", Jin said, as he stepped out of the gym.

Jae walked out of his room, boldly. "Well, it affects me since it affects my boy", Jordy replied Jin, glaring at Jae. He knew it was Jae who did it. He just needed everyone to know why he was going to beat Jae up. "Who scribbled shit on my door, Jae?"

"How about you ask your boy in your room, mate? No one likes a noise maker", Jae replied, casually.

"Why did you do that? What do you have with the boy?"

"Stay out of this, Jordy. I don't respect ages. If you come in my way, I will spank your ass and hang you upside on the fans. You can get out of my way now"

"Will you like to come again? I don't think I heard you correctly"

"Stay back, Jordy. We are the same but I won't hesitate to burst you in pieces if you come my-"

Jordy threw a punch at his face, immediately, shutting him up. Jin smiled widely and walked into his room.

Jae clenched his fists and threw a punch with his stony arm at Jordy. Jordy caught and held his arm. Jae threw the second arm and Jordy caught it again. He tightened his grip on Jae's hand till it exploded into tiny stones. "Never come at my boy ever again", Jordy said, gritting his teeth. "Or else, I'll end you"

He pushed Jae to the ground and walked back to his room. It took Jae a few days to recover from his exploded wrist and hands.*

Jin took a short glance at Jordy and their eyes met. Jordy smiled back at him. He had remained in his room, all by himself, for a pretty long time, and his roommate barely said anything to him. He was almost sure he wouldn't be picked for any fights so he had almost nothing to worry about. They stayed there, waiting for the instructions. The mid-tier Dennis seemed nervous, avoiding the faces of both of them.

'Good day, fighters', a voice made the announcement. 'There are three lists on the screens and some may be asking if it's going to be that way now. No.... The Gamblers have requested that we pit Jin against two fighters in the Arena and have him titled god-tier. The other two fighters will team up and fight against Jin in the ring. Good luck to you, as you prepare for the fight'

Jordy walked up to Jin and they shook hands. "It's been a while, old friend", Jordy greeted.

"You have chosen to keep to yourself, all this while", Jin said. "Your fault"

"It's not my fault that we shouldn't make friends in here", Jordy replied. "Things keep getting bloody. They've been bloody and they are about to get bloody"

"I know that, Jordy. It's nice to have this conversation again"

"Same here.... We are friends, though", Jordy said. "Whatever happens out there, we made our marks here"