Chapter 25

  The Pit

  As it turns out, The Pit is where all of the scum and villainy of the city mingle. I see prominent members of the DiVoratore family present. Mother and Mithanial are both here, clearly representing the DiVoratore family, along with other members that all look familiar.

  Worse, they seem to be flaunting their Necromantic powers as quite a few bound spiritual assistants are around them. It is easy to tell which of the spirits are older or have been employed as personal assistants for longer as they are the ones who look around. They are the ones that seem inquisitive and to have personal thoughts, seeing them, my first impression is to imbue Mana into my hands and Soul Devour each of them. Then I realize exactly how stupid that would be, as it would all but identify myself as the elected healer for today.

  Granted my robes all but proclaimed me as being a member of the Bloom household, but there is a level of separation. I could theoretically just be a trial healer with ties to the family. Or I could be a branch family member wishing to gain attention of wealthy patrons. There are dozens of reasons why a healer would be here invoking the Bloom family crests.

  Also, as was noted earlier, the sponsors of these encounters would likely want the reputation of a Bloom family member on hand to give the appearance of safety. Allowing the contestants the ability to feel like they could go all out and not get truly injured. Of course, all that comfort was just a facade, as anyone could be under this hood, a fact that I was proving right now.

  Looking around, only the yellow lighting created by burnt out bulbs seemed to give the place a somewhat gritty feel. Basking everything in a somewhat yellowish hue. A hue that only seemed to linger on the crowd, while clear bulbs shown and directed their light to the stage, all but forcing the eye to focus on the main attractions and not on the fellow stand members. Members that all seemed to be cloaked in shadow.

  It was a simple but odd effect. No doubt some Skills were also in play, but if they were, they weren’t overtly obvious. That said, The Pit’s organizers and creators did a great job of having a large open seating plan allowing for thousands of spectators to watch a ring that was 24 feet by 24 feet square. There was also a thick padding below that opponents would land on when knocked down or out.

  I was not too familiar with fighting events from my past life, let alone being up this close to the action as I was right there just off stage watching, but it looked professional. That right mixture of grit versus glam that made it seem like a truly classy place just hidden away in the bowls of the city.

  Regardless of what exact vibe these people were striving for when they created this place, they nailed it. Not by my standards, as I am new to this. But rather they nailed it according to the fans that were in attendance.

  Stomp, clap, stomp, clap.

  The fans got into a rhythm early, their music a crescendo of anticipated violence. Just feeling their enthusiasm for violence, well it was intoxicating, I’m not going to lie. That many people surrounding us, all shouting and anticipating violence. While I was never able to appreciate it before, I could find this part at least somewhat enjoyable and for a moment I let myself get swayed by the crowd. Letting my apprehension for being here dissipate a bit, as I too found myself resonating with the rhythm.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen,” An announcer began speaking from the back. As he did a clear light shone on him in the back as he spoke from a booth clearly designed to hear only his voice and project it around the entire arena. I was busy trying to figure out just how the entire thing worked on this world’s odd sense of logic and transistors, when I was caught off guard.

  “Today, I am pleased to inform you that we have a medic in the house!”

  SWOOSH!

  With that, I instantly felt the burn and heat of not one, but three different sets of lights from different angles all turning and directing their intense beams on me. Each one creating a mini shadow that was nearly faded by at least one opposing light source. The implementation was simple, three lights from three different rafters all over the arena turned to focus on me. I was so caught up in the shading of the lights that I almost missed my cue to wave, which I did somewhat hesitantly.

  “WHOOOO!”

  At that one minor gesture, one where I was glad to have a partial mask covering my face, lest my face give away just how embarrassed I was at that very moment.

  “Yes, a Healer for House Bloom has come here today to get what you all no doubt want, a front row seat to the action! And do we have action tonight. With a Healer on hand, we have held nothing back for our lineup, and are even going to allow combatants to go multiple times to prove themselves.”

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  CHEEERS!

  Darkness.

  Well not true darkness, but that was all the time I was coated in three powerful beams of light directed at me. A good thing too, as I could already feel sweat building on my skin from that light burst of pressure. I blinked at that, my mind trying to understand why that was a big thing. Only to realize that if I healed everyone between matches then they could easily go multiple rounds and matches. In what I am assuming is a prize draw type setup.

  Trash.

  I cast Trash, one to clean up the sweat from my body and the inside of this mask and suit. Then I make sure to use a bit to clean up the ground around me. To no real surprise of mine, the floors were cleaned, but dirt was baked into the cement flooring of the arena. I don’t use much, just enough to end my pool on a slightly emptied tank.

  Whie I was focusing on cleaning up the area around me, the announcer continued, at this point his words are mostly drowned out by the overly energetic people around me. If I was higher, up I might be able to hear his words over the crowd. However, where I was standing now, there almost seemed to be a protective layer over us that drowned out the noise. For a moment I thought it might be a Skill, but I was sadly disappointed when I realized it was likely just an engineering masterpiece. One that allowed for most crowd noises to be drowned out when equal bursts of energy erupted from all around.

  Before I knew it, a pair of scantily clad ring girls came out and began waving to the crowd. One was a blond with green eyes, while the other had dark hair with blue eyes. Both were beautiful in their own rights and wearing matching uniforms that consisted of near sheer leggings, tight black leather bottoms that glistened and left little to the imagination. From there, strips of pristine white that also glistened and linked to a black leather strip that barely served as a bra and covering. While there were strips, they didn’t cover everything, leaving clear impressions of the stomachs, sides, and indentions on their backs that clearly displayed what could best be called dimples back there.

  It was all tacky, and worst of all, I found myself unable to look away from them.

  The blond was the first to notice my staring through my veil as she held up her match card while parading right in front of me. Then locking gazes with me, she gave me a blatant one-eyed wink, that was combined with an open mouth smile. As the Blond made her way around the ring, the dark-haired ring girl came next and at first seemed dismissive of me, before locking gazes with me and smiling flirtatiously with me.

  These ring girls were good, not going to lie, as even I was now interested and distracted by their antics. Though I assume they would be saddened to realize that I was a female under this hood and not a male. In a way, I couldn’t blame the girls as if I saw a magical doctor there, and I didn’t have the same or equivalent Skills, I too might find that person intriguing. That is why, despite it clearly not working out for us, I would not relish the attention. It did feel nice to be appreciated, even if they likely thought I was a longtime member of House Bloom and not a recent fostering child who happened to learn Healing related Skills easily.

  I also felt more comfortable knowing that Mr. Yi and Markan were by my side, making me feel safer than I likely had any right to feel in this area.

  “Are you ready!” The Announcer finally called out once the crowd was fully energized by the ring girls. Ring girls who true to form winked and smiled at other members of the crowd. Proving that their attention towards me had just been for show.

  “YEAH!” The crowd erupted.

  “I can’t hear you!” The Announcer continued.

  “YEEEAAHHHH!” The crowd screamed and stopped their feet in unison causing a mild tremor to rumble through the arena.

  “There we go, that should be enough to call in our first two competitors for today. Remember, each winner gets $500 for each victory. With tonight’s overall winner getting a thousand. With the participant who competed in the most matches getting a thousand, and the participant who won the most matches getting five thousand.”

  Jeezus, I hissed, suddenly remembering a swear word from my past life. Though in this case it seemed accurate, as it seemed like the announcer was all but encouraging the fighters to cripple themselves for money. Even being a punching bag could get you a thousand.

  “With that, let’s bring out our first challengers,” the Announcer began. With that the bright lights turned and first focused on the blond ring girl who was on the walking path nearest to me. “Weighing in at 82 and a half kilograms, the flower that Devours, Johny DiVoratore!”

  Silence.

  Hearing his name, I felt a moment of panic as I knew him. Worse, suddenly subtle details began to make sense. The fact that both my mother and Mithanial were here. Those two never go out, at least they normally wouldn’t, at least not together. Honestly, I still had no clue as to the true role that Mithanial played within the DiVoratore family. But both of them here today, should have been a clear indication that things were not quite what they seemed.

  As Johny made his way towards the stage, the sexy blond ring girl stayed just behind him. Her pace easily matching his and seeming to draw more attention to him. For a moment I wondered why this would be a thing, other than drawing attention to the glitz and glamor of this lifestyle.

  For his part Johny walked right past me without paying any interest at all, as his eyes were locked clearly on the ring. Which he began making his way up a set of metal stairs that had been placed there just for his entry.

  While, Johny might have avoided me, the cute blond ring girl didn’t, going past me and again giving me a thousand-watt smile and wink. She was cute, even going so far as to make a slight jump as she passed. The jump had to be intentional as it made parts of her bounce, even accentuating a white cotton ball that seemed to imitate a short tail on her back side. Whatever man fell for her would have it bad, as I could see her wrapping them around her little finger easily.

  I was so caught up by watching the blond ring girl’s antics that I missed when Johny’s opponent was called and again shadowed by the dark-haired ring girl. Which I assume is part of their charm or appeal, as they help distract the audience while everything is set up and positioned around them. They are clearly distracting for me, as the dark-haired ring girl walk-sprints around from her side of the arena once her combatant begins to enter the ring. This is the same type of walk-sprint that little kids do at the pool, when trying to get to an open water slide, or into a particular section of the pool faster.

  At which point both girls look like they want to argue with each other, then look to me, and at the two open chairs next to me. That’s when they both sit down.

  Chuckle.

  Seeing their antics Markan just laughs.

  I am about to break my cover and ask him “what,” but he quickly recovers and seeing my confusion he answers the unspoken question. Moving in close, he places a hand to the side of my hood and whispers, “one of those seats was meant for you.”

  While I don’t quite understand the humor of such a situation, I do see on the opposite side of the ring a singular chair. Realizing that they likely just wanted to sit next to their friend during the job, I just shrug and let them have my chair. I’m good, especially as a slight application of my own Rejuvenation Healing Skill is all I need to fix any pain or discomfort my feet might be feeling.

  Seeing my glance at the pair of trouble makers, they both wave excitedly at me. While the blond is the most energetic in this exchange, it is clear that the dark-haired ring girl is a bit shier than the blonde she too waves and smiles thankfully at me. With that, I’d feel like a jerk trying to break the two friends up. As such I just wave, letting them know I am okay with their stealing my seat, before getting ready for why I am actually here.

  “Fighters take your marks,” the Announcer’s voice cuts through the amplified arena. The two fighters get to the center, with Johny’s opponent holding out a fist to bump against. While Johny just casually slaps the hand away with an open palm strike.

  “WHOAA!” The crowd goes wild at the obviously disrespectful gesture. But before too much more can be said or done, the Announcer cuts through and releases the barely constrained violence.

  “And Begin!”

  Everyone please thank TreeKnight for their honest review. Providing us with this second early release chapter.

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