Eli stood at the forefront of a massive building; its blue glass penetrated the ugly stature of the slums, and it truly looked like a gem in this forsaken land.
He took steps forward towards the gate.
"Oi, what's this filthy runt doing in a place like this" smirked one of the guards.
"We don't need more cannon fodder in this sacred Battle Emporium; now scram", shouted the other.
But Eli wouldn't budge. He took their insults to the face and carried on staggering forwards. One of the guards approached him with a distasteful look, putting his hand out to push Eli away, but Eli was able to quickly dodge. The guard was stunned; he turned around, infuriated from being humiliated.
"Where do you think you going"
"Stop," said the other guard standing in his initial position.
"Let him go through; he should get rejected there rather than hold grudges against us."
"Tch. Fine. But we did warn you, kid."
Eli only heard glimpses of what they had said, his head had been ringing non-stop from all the violent battering he had taken; right now, all that was carrying him forward was adrenaline and pure desire to grasp the lifeline in front of him.
Upon entering the battle emporium recruitment hall, he saw countless men, from old drunkards rummaging for a Skal to fill up their inventory, gamblers running away from debt much like him, and promising youths hoping to make a name for themselves.
"The line is damn long", Eli sighed.
The pain continued to wear out his body, but he finally managed to get to the reception desk.
"Yes, would you like to bet money on the upcoming challenge or provide supplies to our merchant group" exclaimed the receptionist with a fake fa?ade.
"no"
"Then how may I help you today?"
"I want to sign up for the Battle Emporium."
“…”
"Ha, listen, kid, if this is a joke, I'll have to ask security to kick you out."
Eli remained unchanging, his gaze fixated and serious.
"You can't be serious", she said.
"Listen, it's not fun and games; these are literal death matches with contracts that can make you sacrifice your body parts for rewards. This is no place for a kid who looks no older than seventeen; you've got your whole life in front of you."
Eli's expression doesn't change; he says calmly, "If I don't take this chance, then there will be no future for me."
The attendant looks drained of energy as if she had been talking to a solid wall; she lets out a deep sigh and proceeds to type on her machine.
"I won't stop you if you are already hellbent on dying."
"This is the contract"
"In the Battle Emporium, 'players' are put in a battle arena where they have to fight or complete challenges to win. They can select five abilities from their arsenal; these abilities are not restricted; they can be abilities gained from the system, acquired through hard work or stolen from other players. The last option can only be acquired if, at the start of the game, the player puts up their life as collateral; in case the player wins, all the opponent's five abilities are transferred over to the winner; however, if the player that put up his life as collateral loses, then his soul will be forfeited to the system and his body will be taken by the Battle Emporium management for 'research and experimentation'."
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"Please touch the screen to register your first five abilities that the system recognises."
Eli placed his hand on the holographic screen; for a split second, the screen wavered as if it had lost all electricity. However, it soon came back on."
"Hmmm, in all my years, I haven't seen that happen?" remarked the flabbergasted receptionist.
“let’s see… let’s see… ok. Your results are here. It says the system can only recognise two inherent abilities: fast reflexes in the D tier and survivability in the B tier. You need three more abilities to be registered as a Battle Emporium player."
Eli panicked; he had thought to himself the worst possible scenario: not being accepted as a player. Before despair could run wild.
"There is a way to get three more abilities. However, this method is very risky."
"What do I have to do?"
“Well… Ughhh fine… Before I say the method, I should explain the rankings:
At the top is the Legendary Dragon tier, where only one person had managed to reach.
Phoenix tier with 0.005% of players.
Griffin tier with 0.05%
Manticore tier at 0.25%
Minitour tier at 1%
Cerberus tier at 3%
Sphinx tier at 7%
Hippogriff tier at 20%
Basilisk tier at 30%
"That's not all; there's one more tier for players who don't have enough skills; it's called the Imp tier, with 38% of players currently active. You have to participate in this league, and when you acquire enough skills, you will be promoted to the Basilisk tier. With each tier, the rewards, money, skills and winnings get more and more grand"
"I'll ask one last time if you are sure you want to go ahead with this. You can easily lose your life?" the receptionist said with genuine worry.
"yes"
Eli then signed the document and was told to put his hand inside a machine, which applied a digital tattoo to his wrist.
"That's it; you are now officially a player in the Imp league! Good luck and may the Battle Emporium shine light upon you!"
Though he had been put into the lowest league, it wasn't a bad thing. Eli was more than determined to win against the odds; his journey had just begun. He turned over his body, still holding his broken rib, staggering towards the exit. When a larger, bulkier man grazed against his shoulder.
"Tch. What bad luck! Hey you twerp!"
Eli, too tired from the previous beating, was not able to hear properly and continued to walk on.
"I said wait, you twerp."
The man reached for Eli, pushing him to the ground. Eli fell to the floor like a broken tree. He gathered his strength and looked back at what had just pushed him.
"Haaaa. What the hell is this? Are they hiring just anybody nowadays? Is this the so-called respected Battle Emporium?" the bulky man chuckled and grinned.
There was a crowd forming around the assailant, and they looked at the knocked over Eli. They murmured, "Is there a fight?" "No, look, that kid got thrown on the floor".
Eli struggled; his hand barely able to support his body as he pushed against the floor to get back up. He turned to face the man who had pushed him, staring right at his face.
"Oh, I see. So, you can glare, you vagrant. What? Are you gonna call your mommy to come and fight me? Oh wait, you probably don't have one," the bulky man smirked.
"you're right, I don't have a mother. Your mother is probably about to pass away because you have been eating all her food. Haven't you? Piggy," retorted Eli.
The crowd laughed out loud. Some shouted, "The kids got spunk, I'll give him that", and "Haha. You show him, motherless kid".
The large, bulky man was humiliated; his face turned red in anger. Unable to withstand the embarrassment, he charged at Eli with his fist.
Eli was able to gauge the situation as this would be a regular occurrence; he had experience verbally fighting worthless crooks and would often get charged at by bulky drinkers and gamblers, looking to take their anger out on him. Unlike before, when he was healthy enough to evade them, the situation was different; Eli was not as agile as his body was bruised and damaged, so he had to think of a way to escape and prove this situation to his advantage.
Besides him was a bucket of mop water, which had been used by the cleaners to wipe the floor. He knew just what to do and took this situation in his favour.
Eli grabbed the metal bucket as the man charged, releasing the soapy water onto the floor in the bully's path. Unable to slow down, the bulky man eventually slipped, falling head back onto the floor.
Eli quickly took this opportunity and got right in front of the fallen man; he then, with the metal bucket, smashed it into the man's face.
"AHHHH, YOU TWERP"
He lifted the bucket and again smashed it into the man's face.
"AGH"
Again.
"Wait"
Again.
“…”
The man had passed out. The cheerful crowd had become silent; they had just witnessed something horrific. What started as a comedic joke had sent shivers down their spine; Eli's ruthlessness was beyond expected.
Eli had emerged victorious. However, his win was short-lived. All the adrenaline had run out, and his head became blank before he collapsed onto the floor next to his unconscious victim.
The guards "What happened here! Arrest them both. Fighting in the recruitment hall is forbidden."
A distinguished elderly man, who wore a lavish blue suit and a top hat, approached the crowd with his golden cane.
"Wait. Leave the kid."
"But sir. He has violated the code of conduct?"
"Must I repeat myself?"
"No, sir Gremory. Oi, leave the kid and arrest the larger one."
The gentleman looked over at Eli, touching his own chin, deep in thought. The corners of his face pointed up in a smile, as if he had found what he was looking for.
"Thomas"
"Yes, Sir Gremory"
"Take him to my house and call for my family doctor."
"As you command, my liege"
