The next day, Luci woke up.
After washing up, he headed to the dining hall on this floor for breakfast.
Luci was currently on the 100th floor of Sky Arena, but he wasn't staying in a fighter's room.
Instead, he lived in a room designated for Sky Arena staff.
Luci was, in a sense, an "official" employee of Sky Arena.
His adoptive father, Barn Frank, was a well-known referee at Sky Arena. Twelve years ago, he had noticed something unusual about Luci and brought him to Sky Arena to raise him.
In the anime, Sky Arena was introduced, but not in great detail.
It was only after arriving in this world and experiencing it firsthand that Luci truly understood how Sky Arena worked.
First, Sky Arena was built with funding from various martial arts schools worldwide, not owned by a single individual.
The Shingen-ryu school held the largest share.
This also explained why, in the anime, Wing could easily obtain fight recordings from Sky Arena.
Most well-known martial arts schools sent their disciples to Sky Arena as a training ground.
Among the floor masters above the 200th floor, most were disciples of these martial arts schools.
Of course, the current Sky Arena wasn't yet the one depicted in the anime. Many aspects still needed refinement.
Without advanced technology, it couldn't offer the large viewing arenas seen in the anime.
After all, without big screens, spectators too far away couldn't clearly see the matches.
Luci's adoptive father, Barn Frank, was one of the current head referees at Sky Arena.
This was something Luci only learned after arriving in this world.
Being a referee at Sky Arena was a dangerous job that required keen judgment.
The danger came from the risk of being caught in the crossfire of fighters' attacks, like in the anime's Greed Island arc.
As for judgment, referees in the first 200 floors had to assess whether certain fighters could skip directly to higher floors without climbing 10 floors at a time.
In the anime, Gon and Killua were allowed to start at the 50th floor.
Judgment also involved analyzing the fight to determine scores.
Sky Arena matches were decided by a point-based system.
If a referee couldn't follow the fight, they couldn't accurately assign points.
Sky Arena was called the holy land of martial artists, but it had another nickname: the public "underground arena."
To participate, fighters had to sign a contract, essentially a life-or-death waiver.
While Sky Arena matches were decided by points, nothing prevented fighters from using lethal methods to determine the winner.
Many matches were quite brutal, catering to some people's "dark" tastes.
Now that Luci had the Sharingan, his goal wasn't to climb the floors and fight.
Instead, he wanted to become a referee.
Sky Arena's floor-climbing matches had a daily limit, and if a fighter was injured and applied in advance, they wouldn't be forced to compete immediately.
However, there was a time limit: one week. If a fighter didn't compete within a week, they would be penalized by dropping floors.
Why did Luci choose to become a referee? Because it allowed him to observe more martial artists and their fighting techniques.
After breakfast, Luci went straight to the 220th floor, where his adoptive father, Barn Frank, worked.
As a head referee, Barn was considered a high-ranking official at Sky Arena.
There were 20 head referees like him at Sky Arena.
Their main duties were recruiting referees and overseeing matches above the 200th floor.
This also meant they were all Nen users.
Even though this wasn't the era depicted in the anime, many of Sky Arena's systems were already well-established, and fights above the 200th floor were exclusively for Nen users.
As a referee, not knowing Nen would make it dangerous to be in close proximity to the fights.
Barn Frank, 52 years old, had black hair and looked like a robust middle-aged man.
Unlike many other referees at Sky Arena, he gave off the vibe of a fighter rather than a referee.
And that was indeed the case.
Perhaps when Barn first became a referee, he didn't have this physique, but over time, as he officiated more matches, he had transformed into his current form.
The danger of being a referee at Sky Arena meant few could guarantee their safety.
Most referees saved up enough money and then transitioned to administrative roles, not staying in the referee position for long.
Barn Frank, however, was currently the oldest and strongest referee at Sky Arena.
Ordinary matches rarely required his involvement anymore.
He now mainly oversaw the martial arts tournament.
The martial arts tournament was a relatively new project at Sky Arena.
Barn Frank's office was unlike typical offices. Rather than an office, it resembled a martial arts training ground.
Entering this training ground, Luci found Barn practicing his punches.
It was somewhat similar to Netero, or rather, it mimicked President Netero's training style.
Of course, Barn wasn't a disciple of the Shingen-ryu school.
Luci entered the training ground and stood to the side, waiting for Barn to finish his practice.
The punching routine lasted half an hour.
"Something up?" Barn Frank stopped, taking deep breaths to recover.
Training like Netero's wasn't something an ordinary person could easily replicate.
He then turned his attention to Luci, suddenly spinning and leaping toward him, throwing a punch.
Luci was prepared and quickly stepped back, dodging the punch—but only the first one.
What followed was a relentless barrage of attacks.
Luci did his best to dodge, blocking with his arms when he couldn't.
The sparring ended when Luci was knocked back by a punch.
"While training your Nen, don't neglect your other skills," Barn said.
Luci bowed. "Yes, sir!"
"Speak. What's the matter?" Barn knew his adopted son well—Luci wouldn't come to him unless he had something important to say.
"I want to become a referee at Sky Arena," Luci stated his goal directly.
A surprised expression crossed Barn's face.
Initially, Barn thought Luci was planning to start his "trial."
When he adopted Luci, it was because he saw his potential. Over the years, he had trained him strictly, grooming him to become a martial artist.
He had even made a deal with Luci: if Luci could reach the 200th floor, he would be free to do whatever he wanted, considered "grown" in Barn's eyes.