Pepper was nervously pacing around his golem bay. Andrea had taken off with Amprage to explore the area while he waited for Mr. Wood. Mala was setup and ready for the safety inspection and Pepper was doing everything he could to pass the time. He had already inspected all the tools available to him within his individual bay.

  The entire experience was impressive to say the least. The amount of resources freely available to each and every gladiator left him baffled. He couldn’t help but have multiple flashbacks to his time at KBVS and recall the multiple times gladiators shared tools and supplies just to help each other compete.

  He turned around and watched the commotion outside the bay. The area echoed with the multiple warning chimes and honking horns of the movers going back and forth. Yellow strobing warning lights flickered upon the walls as they slowly passed by. He now realized and appreciated how much the music option would be utilized within his bay. It was easy to be distracted by the activity going on outside the bay.

  Pepper walked out and leaned against the side wall of the bay. He glanced out over the various types of golems that were being shuttled back and forth. His eyes caught sight of a middle aged man walking down the massive corridor. He was wearing the same safety worker jumpsuit as Jules. A satchel draped and hanging off the side of his body with the same matching fabric pattern as the jumpsuits.

  The man continued to narrow in on his bay. He then lifted his hand and adjusted his glasses on his face and outstretched his hand. “Pepper?”

  He reached out and shook his hand. “Mr. Wood?”

  The man smiled and waved off the title. “Please, BJ is what my friends call me. You ready for your safety inspection?”

  Pepper smiled and shrugged. “Sure. Mala is all setup and ready to go.”

  BJ placed the satchel on the small work bench placed off to the side of the room. He opened the main flap and retrieved a large binder filled with laminated sheets. BJ turned around and adjusted his safety helmet on his head.

  Pepper chuckled. “I haven’t seen laminated sheets of that size in like… ever.”

  BJ turned back around and then shifted his gaze to Pepper. A slight smile on his face. “Oh yeah. Chapter 13, Paragraph 2, Sub-section 3. All safety inspectors will have SEC Safety Manual 91-101 out and readily available during all safety inspections. They shall refer to the safety manual during all inspections and follow all checklists when performing safety inspections. Any safety inspector found to not have their manual readily available or utilized during an inspection will immediately be removed from the area, their duties suspended and placed under administrative leaving pending the findings of the investigation.”

  By the time BJ finished reciting the passage from memory Pepper’s eyes were wide in surprise. “I would have never guessed you take your job seriously.”

  BJ smiled but it quickly was erased with an expression of pure professionalism. “You can never be too safe. Besides, I want every fan to enjoy every golem match they tune in to. I want a fair process where both gladiators give everything they have to put on a good show. But… you know where that all starts?”

  Pepper narrowed his gaze. “Safety?”

  BJ chuckled and snapped his fingers. “Spot on. Safety first, safety always.” BJ then turned his gaze back to Nightmare Mala. “Okay… let’s get started.”

  BJ meticulously went over every inch of Mala. Pepper felt it was nothing short of overkill and felt like his golem had been inspected three times over by the time BJ said he was done. BJ was finishing up with signing off on the paperwork required to be cleared to compete when he heard a familiar voice call out to him from the bay entrance.

  “Quack, quack Pepper-duck-man!”

  Pepper turned around to see Stephen Landry walking in. His arms were outstretched, and he wrapped Pepper in a giant bear hug. Pepper couldn’t help but chuckle as Stephen was still wearing his pitch black sunglasses. Stephen stepped back and tugged on his leather jacket, straightening it back out.

  “Hey man, it’s great to see you again. What are you doing here?”

  “Come on man, gotta help the sport out. Checkout who all the potential up and comers are. I did a quick scan over the registration list and saw your name. Got super stoked and wanted to make sure I checked in on you.”

  A large smile appeared on his face. “Thanks man. It’s great to see you here and I appreciate you swinging by.”

  “For sure, for sure my dude. Hey! Speaking of which, have you met Rob yet?”

  Stephen turned and pointed towards the middle aged man who had arrived with him. Pepper’s eyes immediately fixed on the man’s longer gray hair which ended around his strong jaw line. Rob shifted his weight and Pepper couldn’t help but see a large stalky frame underneath the navy blue blazer suit. With a crème colored t-shirt underneath with classy designer blue jeans and leather shoes; the man looked more like a technology businessman than the Golem League gladiator Pepper had known him as.

  Rob outstretched his hand and gave Pepper a firm handshake. “Hey, it’s great to meet you, Pepper. Say, we were about to go grab a coffee at the food court, would you like to join us?”

  He felt a spark of excitement and appreciation surge over him. “You’re inviting me to join you guys for coffee?”

  A light chuckle and big smile appeared on Rob’s face. “Well yeah man. All are welcome, but if Stephen says you’re cool, than you are clearly within the circle of trust.”

  Stephen leaned in, lowered his glasses and winked. “More like a part of the duck nest, ha! Am I right?”

  Pepper turned around to look at BJ. “Do you need me for anything else?”

  BJ appeared to be perfectly happy waiting for him to finish the conversation. But turned his holopad around once Pepper inquired. “Actually, I just need your signature here. Everything checks out and you are good to go as far as I am concerned.”

  Pepper heard Stephen mutter out. “Dope.”

  He signed the digital form and BJ walked off to head towards his next golem inspection. Pepper quickly messaged Andrea to give her the update. She passed on the invite though and said she had found a small shopping area nearby that she was going to explore with Amprage.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  The group was about to head out, but Stephen stopped Pepper and made him close up his golem bay and then showed him how to set a password so it remained secure. “Funny things can happen here in these bays. Everything seems good to go one minute, then the next minute you get out in the arena and some, circuitry issues pop up mid match.”

  The warning was one he didn’t take lightly, but it wasn’t significant enough to bring him any alarm. He thanked Stephen for the advice and he followed them as they led the way to the food court. Pepper couldn’t help but notice how Rob seemed to be drawing a crowd of people. Many coming up and trying to drag him away and congratulate him, yet the specific details weren’t said. It was as if each person had insider information and it left him curious.

  The food court had some options he had never heard of before. But he couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw a Rocket Burger sign and a Tony’s Total Chicken. I can’t escape it. He internally laughed at his thought.

  Rob turned and pointed towards him. “Pepper, what kind of coffee do you like? And… don’t worry, I’m buying.”

  “Does it really matter what kind of coffee it is, when it’s free?”

  Rob smiled and snapped his fingers. “Fair point.” He then turned to Stephen, “The usual?”

  “You got it big duck man.”

  Rob then turned and faced them both while slow walking backwards. “Alright. You guys go grab us some seats and I’ll be right over.”

  Before Pepper could say anything, else Stephen turned to him. “Follow me.”

  Stephen took off and headed towards a far corner of the room. The closer they got the more Pepper realized that there was a false wall. There was a more secluded and private seating area around the corner. The room was filled with large billowing lounge chairs and end tables scattered around.

  They had a seat and Rob joined them shortly carrying a cardboard carrier filled with the hot beverages. Rob handed out the drinks and then sat down. He took a sip and then exhaled. “Man that is one good mocha for sure.” He took a second sip and then lowered his cup and rested it on his leg. “Alright Pepper, I have an idea, let me run it by you and see what you think.”

  Pepper could feel his brow forrow and was slightly confused as to why Rob would be asking him a question. “Okay, what is it?”

  “Rob pointed his hand out towards him. “I want to completely change how the Golem League works. Top to bottom, a complete restructure and overhaul the entire system.” Pepper felt his eyes widen and saw a small grin form on Rob’s face as it was clear the gladiator was analyzing his body language. Rob then smiled and continued. “I don’t think a Golem Master should be a title for one person awarded at the end of the year. I think, there is a way for the league to be restructured so that hundreds of gladiators can obtain a status of Golem Master.”

  Pepper felt his mouth open in surprise. “But… How? I mean, in order for you to do that you would.”

  Rob pointed a finger towards him. “Yes, exactly. The entire tier system is completely eliminated. No more Pantheon, Immortal, Regionals. All of it gone. The only thing I think we should keep is clubs, because that allows gladiators to openly compete with one another and prepare themselves for the road ahead.”

  “Road?” Pepper dashed a glance over to Stephen who just sat quietly with a grin on his face. “What road exactly are you referring to?”

  “The road of Golem Master where one must battle each gym, so to speak. You see, I think that there should be gyms or maybe we call them dungeons, or towers. But, you have to go and compete at these gyms, once you win against that gym you’d earn their crest, or maybe even other winnings, loot, rewards, such as runes or power cores, etc. But, once you’ve traveled around and obtained all the crests required, you are then bestowed with the title of Golem Master.”

  Pepper leaned back in his seat and thought about the idea. “Well, would you have to beat every single gym? Because, that could easily be hundreds of gyms that would want to pop up. How would you determine that?”

  Rob continued to speak with his hands as the idea played out in front of them. “So, that is where a regional system would still be needed. Perhaps a country system even, depending on the geographical size of course. But, let’s just take Georgia for example.” Rob waved his hand towards the window across from them. “If you compete at the Atlanta gym and win, then there is no reason for you to fight at another gym down the road. You’ve already earned the crest for this region and you can focus on the next region.”

  “But, with multiple gyms inside a region. You make it easier for gladiators to travel to their closest gym.”

  “Exactly. Now, more than likely the pre-established guilds would be the natural foundations for us to build up from. They are then incentivized to become gyms because the golem league can supply the materials at the cheapest cost available and offset the operational costs for maintaining golems to be ready for competition.”

  Pepper couldn’t help but smile, at first. The idea left him feeling excited and eager to see this new concept come to fruition. But, it was also seeing the look in Rob’s eyes. He could see the sincerity within them. The fact that Rob and Stephen both appeared to be honestly seeking his thoughts, made him feel more welcome. An acceptance of arrival, but it was a level of which he did not feel deserving of just yet.

  In the short pause of conversation his mind then caused him to realize the factor that had not been mentioned yet. The expression he had been making was one that was clearly read by Rob and a curious look now formed on his face. “What is it Pepper?”

  “Okay…” He took a deep breath. “I love this idea and I can easily see it playing out. My concern though is logistics.” A grin came over Rob’s face but he waited to say anything else and let Pepper finish. “It cost me 300 FLEX to transport my golem down here. That is an insane price compared to back home. So, not only is there a fluctuating price point dependent on the location of these gyms. But how am I supposed to make my repairs on my golem, do all my training, while paying a huge price for transportation?”

  Pepper then shifted in his chair as he felt more comfortable with sharing his honest thoughts on the matter. “I moved down here with Mala, but then built my new golem here on the spot. Because I knew I would more than likely stay here and compete in the SEC. If I move up in the rankings, then the Golem League covers the travel expenses worldwide. This new model removes all of that, and places the burden of logistics on the gladiator.”

  Both Rob and Stephen nodded along as Pepper shared. Rob pointed his finger and Pepper in agreement. “Yup, you’re spot on and those were the same concerns we had. I am still trying to work it out where we have rotational movers that would run a circuit.”

  Rob took a sip of his coffee and then cleared his throat and continued. “The military working to rebuilt the nations infrastructure could allow us to essentially rent out the rail system and send golems back and forth cross country or un unison with the military’s mechs. So, that is something for us to handle more on the business end. But, there are some countries that don’t have that type of infrastructure and freedom of movement. So, we’d have to probably consolidate different gyms into a more centralized location with airports or other major transportation hubs.”

  “Wait… who’s we?” Pepper asked with curiosity. He immediately saw a grin appear on Stephen’s face and turned his attention to him. “What is it? What’s going on?”

  Stephen chuckled and nodded towards Rob. “You might as well tell him, big duck. It’s going to be public in less than an hour anyways.”

  Rob tilted his head back and forth with a quick chuckle. “I guess it can’t hurt.” He turned his attention from Stephen and looked at Pepper dead in the eyes. “You’re going to get a notification in…” Rob paused, looked down at his holodex to check the time and then turned his attention back. “37 minutes, that I will be the new Chief Operating Officer of the Immortals League.”

  Pepper thought his eyes were about to pop out of his head and he felt bashful for how open he had been with his thoughts. He swallowed and felt his cheeks start to flush slightly. But, thankfully Rob and Stephen both laughed and reassured him not to worry about anything. “I mean… you’re giving up being a gladiator?”

  Rob nodded, “Yeah…” He lifted his hand to reassure Pepper. “Don’t get me wrong Pepper. I love competing. The building, crafting, designing, fighting… all of it. I love, all of it. But, I also know where some of my strengths lay, and know I can help us make the Golem League even bigger and better than ever before. In this position, I will now be able to help influence us towards a brighter future.”