Stargazers: World stage

Vahn left his room and stepped out of the building, his footsteps echoing as he moved quickly through the streets. Before he knew it, he had crossed to the next street, making a few turns along the way.

Soon, he arrived at a building labeled 'Gilded Fitness.'

The moment the door swung open, a bell chimed, alerting the bartender behind the counter.

"Ah, Vahn!" the man behind the counter greeted with a smile, waving him over. "Come on in."

"Marco..." Vahn smiled faintly and made his way to the counter.

Marco was a D-rank ability user, but due to the weakness of his powers, he abandoned them and opened a fitness center, and maybe because they were similar in a way, they became friends. 

"Hey, I thought you were preparing for the alliance," Marco remarked, recalling that Vahn was of the right age to join.

"Yeah," Vahn replied, "but I want to try again."

"Try again?" Marco raised an eyebrow. "You know you can't force it, right?"

"I know," Vahn shrugged, his resolve clear. "I just want to test myself."

Marco stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "Fine, just don't come crying to me if it doesn't work."

"When have I ever cried?" Vahn smirked.

"Don't make me remind you of your history," Marco shot back.

As they exchanged brief words between themselves, they had moved from the bar to another room.

Flick...

The light flicked on as Marco led Vahn down a set of underground stairs. Without hesitation, they reached a large metal door at the bottom. A small keypad glowed in the dim light, and Marco entered a code. The door made a loud sound as it groaned open, but the sound was drowned out by the noise coming from the other side.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

However, they didn't mind it. It was like they knew it was meant to happen.

"Let's go," Marco said, leading Vahn through a narrow corridor. As they walked, Marco greeted several people. It was bound to happen, after all, Marco was among the organizers of what was currently going on.

At the end of the corridor, Marco turned to Vahn and opened the door to the room. "Get ready here. I'll go pitch you in."

Vahn looked in the room, noting the opulence of the room.

It was Marco's, a space far more lavish than any apartment he had seen, though he hadn't seen many fancy apartments in the first place. After appreciating the room for a moment, Vahn prepared himself. He was already dressed in his tracksuit, and all that remained was his mask.

He pulled open a drawer and retrieved the mask, shaped like a dog. It was more than just a disguise; it was a necessity. His facial features were too unique, a result of his mysterious family lineage on him. Marco had fashioned the mask from a 20-mark beast's hide, allowing Vahn to maintain his anonymity. And it had earned him a nickname in this underground fighting ring.

As one would have guessed from the secrecy and the shouts when the large doors were opened, this was an underground fighting establishment, called Gilded Underground Fights.

The Gilded Underground Fights was a place where ability users and non-ability users alike fought for money and status. While the fights were brutal, they offered a chance for advancement or awakening, something especially appealing to lower-ranked fighters.

However, due to its nature, it was mostly attended by Non-ability, E, and D-rank ability users who either, wanted the chance to awaken, have been stuck in the same position for so long and wanted to advance, or wanted to make more money.

The world of ability was one where the same way one could awaken their ability anytime, was the same they could progress through the ranks. So, if one could awaken or progress through the ranks and still get money after that, there was only a win-win situation and no loss.

And with this establishment having had several records of fighters advancing through their ranks in the past, their reputation was at its peak. Vahn had long planned to join this underground world after his two years with the World Defense Alliance.

But first, he had to survive those two years,

Knock...knock.

A voice called from outside the door. "Underdog, you're up."

That was him.

'I hope it works today.' Vahn took a deep breath, left the room, and followed the staff member to the ring entrance. The roars of the crowd were already vibrating through the floor.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

-HELLO GILDEDS, ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT FIGHT.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

-I FEEL YOU TOO, GIVE IT UP FOR OUR RISING

'UNDERDOGGGGGG'

"UNDERDOG"

"WINNNN"

"I BET ON YOU TODAY, PLEASE WIN"

Vahn walked down a narrow walkway, the shouts and chants of the crowd ringing in his ears. As he neared the ring, he could see the stage ahead, with spectators lining both sides. He exhaled, focusing his thoughts, and stepped into the ring.

-NOW, FOR HIS OPPONENT, E-RANK MELEE COMBATANT, PUNCHERRRR.

The announcer boomed.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A middle-aged man, dressed like a mechanic with gauntlets on his hands, entered the arena to the cheers of the crowd.

The arena had the reputation of people increasing in ranks during fights and how that was done was, that they pitched someone from a lower rank who either wanted to awaken or increase their ranks against a higher rank person who just wanted quick money from the wins.

They found a way to please and satisfy both parties...

Soon, the two squared off, and the announcer shouted as he immediately left the ring, "READYYYY, GOOO!"

Puncher lunged forward, throwing a powerful punch at Vahn. With a thought, Vahn sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the blow however considering his name, the punch impacted the ground with a deafening BANG, sending a shockwave through the arena.

But Vahn didn't hesitate or try to touch his already bleeding ear. He jabbed Puncher in the ribs, but the blow barely fazed him. However, it was expected,

Without missing a beat, Vahn squatted and kicked Puncher in the back of the knees, and he grunted as he dropped to one knee.

Vahn quickly moved behind him, landing several rapid blows to his back, each TWACK echoing through the arena.

Finally, with one last strike, Puncher collapsed.

"WHAT A MATCH!" The announcer sounded flustered but quickly regained composure.

"AS EXPECTED FROM OUR UNDERDOG, BREAKING HIS RECORD FOR FASTEST FIGHT BY A NO-ABILITY USER!"

The crowd went wild, cheering even louder than before. However, beneath his mask, Vahn sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

'Haa…I guess it didn't happen again.'

...

In the section of the arena reserved for VIPs, a woman watched the fight unfold, her masked face betraying nothing of her thoughts.

'Impressive,' she mused, watching Vahn's victory. 'A non-ability defeating an E-rank so easily... This one's interesting.'

Then a voice interrupted her musings. "Hey, Underdog, is it?"

The masked woman's head snapped toward the speaker who had called the name of who she had set her eyes.

She was dressed in a striking red dress that matched her makeup, accentuating her beauty.

Sensing the look, the woman in red glanced at the masked woman and smiled,

"Looks like we have a competitor."