The next day, students were given time to explore the city of Tokyo and it's culture. Everyone was excited to visit different places like heritage sites, malls, shrines, and many decided to laze around in the hotel, sleeping all day. Ron and Ela packed their bags to explore the coordinates given by Ren. "All set?" Ron asked. "Yes! Everything's packed up! Let's go find this weapon!" Ela exclaimed. Both of them made their way to the lobby where Sam was standing, with his bag. "Hey Ron! I also wanna tag along with you guys and help you find for the weapon! It's gonna be so fun!" Sam shouted excitedly. Ron was shocked. "Hey, your voice! Lower it, moron." Ron scolded him. "How do you even know about that?" Ela asked. "Oh shit, he's been following us from the start." Ron replied. "You knew about this?" Ela asked. "From the starting, I was able to sense a presence following us. I mistook it for Grid, but I was heavily wronged. It was this smartass." Ron explained. "Well, there you have it!" Sam replied with a big smile on his face. "Sorry to keep all of this from you Sam. I hope you aren't angry with me." Ron said. "Phft! Angry? I'm excited to help you bro! Helping my best friend uncover a mystery? Why the fuck would I be angry!? Let's do this!" Sam exclaimed. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you can't come with us Sam, and you'll be forgetting this conversation and everything you know about me. I don't want to drag you into this as well. I've already risked her life, don't wanna risk another." Ron said. "Ayo wait! Please dude, I'm your best friend! How would you even make me forget in the first place?" Sam asked. "He can alter with your memories." Ela replied. "Hey! Don't Ron. I'll be of good use! Trust me!" Sam begged. "I cannot risk your life, Sam! I'll have to take this step." Ron replied. "Come on Ron, he's your best friend. He deserves to know and be a part of it." Ela exclaimed. "You too? Argh, alright fine. Let's head to the station." Ron grunted as they left the hotel.
They got on a JR to Hokkaido. "So, the coordinates lead to an isolated street. This street isn't used by anyone and is famous for the mob activities that happens in there." Ron explained. "I see. What's the name of this street?" Sam asked. "Arena Street. That's an odd name." Ron replied.
Upon reaching Hokkaido station, they bought some sandwiches. "Okay, so the street isn't really far from here. We can take a cab." Ron suggested. "Works." Sam replied as Ela nodded.
"To Arena Street?" Ron asked the cab driver. "N-No, sorry. I can't go there. My fuel's low." The cab driver replied hesitantly, rushing off. "What's up with all of these excuses? We've asked around ten to fifteen cabs now, nobody's ready to take us there. Everyone's making excuses." Sam grunted. "It's a mobster street, what do you expect?" Ela replied. Suddenly, an old female cab driver appeared out of nowhere. "Hop in. Arena Street, was it?" She said. The aura felt peculiar at first, but after hesitantly entering the cab, everything felt normal. "So, why youngsters like you heading to a street like that?" The lady asked. "We lost something there, so just going to get it back." Ron replied. "The street, it got its name through the legendary arena, that's present there. For humans, the arena doesn't exist, but for those who have even a hint of magic and seek it, the arena stands tall. Different beings fight for prizes worth a lot of money and power in this arena. They put their life on-line for these prizes." The old lady explained. "I see." Ela replied. Ron felt something and kept on staring at the old lady. As soon they reached, out of nowhere, Ron asked, "When and how did you die, ma'am?" Silence engulfed the cab. The old lady giggled and said, "Took you long enough, Ronin. As for me, I died ten years ago by a mobster in this alleyway only. From that day, I work as a taxi driver for gifted people like you. Only those who seek this arena and are gifted can see me. Get that Katana back, the world needs you." Ela and Sam's jaw dropped while Ron smirked and thanked the lady for her service.
As they walked down the street, they saw multiple mobsters with knives and guns. "There it is the arena." Ron exclaimed when he saw a huge building in the distance. "Why are these people not attacking us?" Ela asked. "They're afraid of Ron. We're heading in a direction that only leads to the arena. No one is stupid enough to enter this street without a reason now. I guess, they know about the arena and would not wanna mess with someone who's gonna win." Sam explained. They walked for two hundred meters when they reached the gate of the arena. "Entrance." Written on a board next to a huge gate. "Monsters and demons sound good in tales but in reality? No so good." Sam grunted. "Ron? You, okay?" Ela asked when she saw Ron a bit worried. "Yeah, it's nothing. I just don't know if I can protect the two of you if someone stronger than me appears. And fending for yourselves isn't an easy talk when we're talking about demons and monsters here." Ron explained. "Don't worry about us, Ron. Focus on getting the weapon. We'll be fine don't worry." Ela reassured him while Sam agreed. "Alright then, let's go." Ron replied. "The question is, how will we get in?" Sam asked. "Maybe you could just blast the gate off or something?" Ela asked. "I'll give it a try." Ron replied. He raised his hand to check the gate to check for some hidden lock before blasting it off and to his surprise, some mechanical magic activated turning the door into dust. "Did you do that?" Sam asked. "No, some magic activated, maybe it sensed magic within my body." Ron replied. Suddenly, some invisible force pushed the three of them inside. "What?" Ron grunted when he saw a wall behind them. "The gate vanished and now there's a wall in its place? I don't know if I can ever get over this." Sam exclaimed. Suddenly, two big giants ambushed them from behind. They jumped high in the air and came down, targeting Ela and Sam, When Ron grabbed the two in time and saved them. "Not humans. Got it." Ron gasped. They spit some kind of liquid from their mouth which Ron dodged, saving the two again. The liquid melted the ground, unveiling a deep river of blood. The acid continued to melt the ground. "They're targeting the two of you!" Ron grunted. The giants were slow due to their size. Taking advantage of that, Ron, with Ela and Sam, rushed behind a huge wall to take cover. The giants though, shattered in just one blow. Having nowhere to run, Ron decided to fight them. "I'll have to defend Ela, Sam and myself at the same time, attacking these two." Ron grunted. "Wind magic, tornado!" Ron chanted as a tornado appeared on his left palm. He threw it towards the giant. The giant negated the attack with a single blow, causing minimal damage to its body, pushing him a bit far. "Their skin, it's harder than titanium." Sam grunted. Piercing them was not possible. Ron continuously dodged them giants, just pushing them away. Due to fatigue building up by using so much magic, and running around, Ron fell. One of the giants punched him, pushing him away. He fell, coughing blood all over. "RON!" Ela shouted. "Use your visual prowess!" Grid whispered. Ron opened his eyes and stood up. Using his powers, he was able to get an X-ray of the giants. Their body was way too strong to be destroyed, but their weakness was their thighs, that held their heart. They covered it with multiple layers of skin, to protect themselves. One of the giants was going to punch Ela and Sam, when Ron everything became slow. "Fire magic, heatballs!" Ron chanted. Out of thin air, fire balls appeared on this palm when he threw towards the giant that punched him. It hit the thigh area directly, destroying the armored skin layers exposing the heart. Ron then used fire magic on a knife he found next to him, and threw it directly at the heart, burning it. The giant screamed and blasted. The other giant nearly hit Ela and Sam when it stopped and blasted as well. "Interconnection." Ela explained as she wiped off the mud from her jeans. "He possessed no heart. The other giant, I killed it. When I threw the knife towards it, I noticed another heart, hidden behind the main heart. I then threw a fire covered stone right behind the knife, which pierced the first heart, making way for the stone to hi the second." Ron explained. "We nearly died, damn." Ela grunted.
As they walked around the arena, they finally found an entrance. A human-like figure stood at the gate as a guard. "Stop right here. Do you have your IDs with you?" He asked. "Ah yes, we do." Sam replied, taking about his passport. "I'm not talking about your government IDs, dumbass. Your IDs for the arena, do you have them?" He asked again. "We don't have any IDs. This is our first time here. I'm here to take part in the championship." Ron stated. The guard laughed and said, "You're just a kid! Forget about the championship." He taunted. "Actually, Ren-sama sent us here." Ela said. The guard's smile instantly faded away as he turned pale. "So-so, you're the guy he sent. Sorry, my bad. You may proceed. You'll get your IDs as soon as you enter. Don't die in there." The guard gasped. "Even other beings fear him, huh." Ron exclaimed.
They passed through a dark hall, hearing cheering noises from inside. They reached the end of the hallway, with a door in front of them. Ron opened the gate, which led to an entirely different world. A huge arena where monsters were fighting for their lives. They were in the lobby. "Woah! Now this seems like an arena!" Sam exclaimed. "Come here." The receptionist said. She was a dragon-human hybrid. Can I see your IDs?" She asked. "We don't have them. The guard said that we'll get them from inside." Ela replied. "Oh, you must be Ron, Ela and Sam. Here's your ID. Your room no. is 148." The receptionist replied, giving them their IDs. "We even have our own room. So exciting!" Sam exclaimed. "Let's go!" Ela exclaimed.
They took the lift to the first floor and reached their room. It had a huge window, which provided them a view, covering the entire arena. They entered the put their bags on the floor, rushing to the window. They could see monsters fighting inside the arena. Even the audience consisted of monsters, hybrids and even humans. Suddenly, three creatures entered their room as well. A tiger-human hybrid, a human with dragon scales, and a lion headed, dragon winged human. "Ayo! Normal humans!" The tiger-human hybrid exclaimed, pointing towards the three. "This is a championship. How come kids have entered?" The lion headed asked. "We lost something here. Just gonna get it and leave. What's with the championship anyway?" Ela asked. "You don't even know about it and here you are? I like your confidence and charisma. Name's Liz." The lion headed exclaimed. "I'm Ela. This is Sam, and this is Ron." Ela said. "Can you see that guy?" Liz pointed towards a man in the arena with an armor. "Yes, what about him?" Ron asked. "His name is Dik. He is the organizer of these championships and the current owner of this arena. Last year, he found a Katana. He states that the katana belonged to The Silent Assassin. Even during the practice sessions, we felt an enormous amount of aura from that weapon, which made our hearts fill with fire to get it. Even if it doesn't belong to Ronin anymore as he died, the Katana still holds a huge amount of power. Finally, today is the day the championship starts for that katana." Liz explained. "Did you hear that? We've found it! My Katana's here!" Ron exclaimed. "Woah, he might like your confidence, I hate it to guts! That weapon is mine!" The dragon-scaled human grunted. "You both wait here; I'll just go and grab it." Ron said, ignoring what was just said to him. He ran outside and rushed towards the hall's end. He reached the entrance of the main arena which was sealed using some magic. He used his powers to break through, but it didn't budge. Suddenly, two huge guards appeared from behind, picked him up and threw him on the other side. "What'cha doin' punk!? Tryna break in or something? You can't get in there before the ceremony!" The guard grunted. Ron sensed their aura, which was quite high. "They're strong. Picking up a fight would just be irrational." He thought. "Say something or imma kill you right here!" The guard said. "Sorry, I didn't know. I just got excited. I'll leave." Ron replied as he ran back to his room. He sat on the sofa, trying to make a plan when Liz said, "I don't know who you are, kid. You're desire to get that katana exceed ours. It seems like you're searching for a missing piece. Unfortunately, without fighting, you won't be able to even touch it. You must win, and earn it, Ron. Let me explain how this works. Firstly, the ceremony is held. Then all the competitors will be called in for a speech by Dik. Then, the fighting order will be assigned, which will state the timing of the matches and the lineup. You'll be matched with another warrior, and if you win or kill them, you can move on to the next round. Yes, killing is allowed here. When you win, you'll be matched for the next round. Finally, the final stage winner will get the reward. This competition is held every month with different prizes. I've won these competitions sixteen times. Warriors here, they're strong. That's how things work here. The guards are stronger than most of the warriors. Anything suspicious, and they can kill you on the spot." Liz explained. After an hour, everyone was called in for the ceremony and speech. "Alright, its time. You both should go to the audience. You'll be safer there." Ron said. "Stay safe Ron. We've come this far. We'll get your Katana back. You can win." Ela said. She hugged with tightly. "Alright brother, you can do this." Sam exclaimed as he hugged him.
All the warriors entered the arena and lined up for the ceremony. Hybrids, monsters, demons, and every kind of creature there is, was present. Everyone's aura was high, making them extraordinarily strong. Only a handful of humans were there. They even had well-built bodies, armors and weapons. Dik appeared on the stage. "Welcome my fellow warriors! This auspicious championship is finally here. Today, we complete a hundred years of championships! Cheers to everyone who stood in this arena and fought. On this special occasion, a special prize for the winner is must. The Silent Assassin's Katana, yes! It's his old Katana. We found it last year in the Alps. This time, we have more warriors joining us for the fights. I cannot wait to see the majestic battles! Also, some of the guards were able to feel an enormous aura within the arena. Coincidently, the aura seemed to clash with that of The Katana. Maybe he's here, between us, to get his weapon back? Let the battle begin! Dik exclaimed. Everyone in the audience cheered while the warriors murmured within themselves when they heard about Ronin's presence. Suddenly, on the big screen, the list appeared. "The first battle, Ron (human) VS Zenrick (Dragon-human hybrid)." It was announced.