Saga of Astral Mysteries (LOTMxASOIAF)

When he filled out the registration papers for being a gladiator in the Volantene Grand Arena and passed out the filled forms to the receptionist behind the counter, the descendant of the Rahtheos Family, Eleara Rahtheos.

"As you are aware, neither the Volantene Grand Arena nor the Rahtheos Family are responsible for any kind of injuries, be they ordinary or fatal. Neither the Volantene Grand Arena nor the Rhatheos Family is responsible for the death of the participants who participated in the Gladiator Matches of their own free will. Also, neither the Volantene Grand Arena nor the Rahtheos Family is responsible for anything destroyed during the Gladiator Match, be it your weapons, armor, equipment parts, support items, or anything that you bought with you to the match and was destroyed during the match. Please form a separate paper stating that you agree to these conditions and lift the Volantene Grand Arena and Rahtheos Family from any kind of responsibility that may or may not happen within the Gladiatorial Matches in the Volantene Grand Arena."

The receptionist woman stated with almost robotic precision, as she then proceeded to read the conditions and other things, that the Volantene Grand Arena or Rahtheos Family were not claiming any kind of responsibility.

He then signed the papers that were given to him by Eleara Rahtheos and then passed back the signed paper to her, which confirmed that the Volantene Grand Arena and Rahtheos Family were free of any responsibility.

That was the standard procedure for the people who wanted to fight within any of the Gladiatorial Arenas across the Valyrian Freehold.

"So, what is there next?"

Valkorion asked because this was all he knew about the Arena and Gladiatorial Matches; sure, he watched a few of them, or rather, he watched the Pit Fights because there were Fighting Pits within the Cartharys, as the city was too small and not that important to build there a proper arena.

"Now, you can go and register for the next season of fights. Coincidentally, for the 2nd Bracket, the fights would be starting in two hours. I will recommend going for the registration and wait until it starts."

As he heard the receptionist of the Rahtheos Family explain the situation and what he should do next, Valkorion decided to go to the registration office for the current fights that were located at the other end of the Grand Volantene Arena. 

"Thank you very much, Miss Rahtheos. Have a good day."

When everything was finished in this part of the Grand Volantene Arena, he went to the other end of the Grand Volantene Arena to register for the upcoming fights in the 2nd Bracket.

That one took only a short time because he was already given the Gladiatorial Card ID, which allowed him to participate in the Gladiatorial Matches across the Valyrian Freehold as he wished. 

After registering for the current match set, he was ordered to go into the waiting room and wait for his name to be called out, as the matches were chosen at a random rate. As he was a Sequence 7 Beyonder, which he submitted on the registration papers, he would be fighting maximally with the Beyonders of Sequence 6.

Even within the 2nd Bracket, where the Beyonders were fighting without their Beyonder Aibilities, they were further separated based on the Low-Seqeunces, Mid-Sequences and High-Sequences. 

That was to further differentiate between the Beyonders of the various sequences, as the passive abilities of the Mid-Sequence Beyonders were far higher than that of the Low-Sequence Beyonders, and the passive abilities of the High-Sequence Beyonders were tremendously far more powerful than those of the Mid-Sequence Beyonders.

Soon enough, a slave came to him to call him as it was his turn. His opponent was another Sequence 7 Beyonder of the unknown Pathway. One of the rules of the Gladiatorial Matches and the ones fighting in the 2nd Bracket and 3rd Bracket, only Sequence was required to be reported, not the concrete Pathway.

It's not like someone would be that stupid to report his true Pathway. That would be utter foolishness and also giving the enemy your own weaknesses and such.

Thus, only the number of the Sequence was reported and nothing else. 

"Please welcome our two contenders. Valkorion Nerona, Sequence 7 Beoynder, Occupation: Adventurer."

He was welcomed by a cheering crowd of people as he gripped the Excalibur in his right hand and looked at his opponent in this round. It was a tall black man, wearing only parts of the heavy armor, mainly chestplate, shoulderguards, armsguards, metal boots and legguards. 

He also wore a helmet that covered his entire face, so he couldn't really tell how old the man was, but he could tell that he was rather well-built.

"And to our second contender, from the Summer Isles, Tobharar Rhoma, Sequence 7 Beoynder, Occupation: Bodyguard." 

Valkorion observed his opponent with curiosity, because for the Summer Islanders to participate in the fight in the Fighting Pits and Gladiatorial Arenas was rather rare if they were not slaves. 

They had rather a peculiar culture in the world, as they were rather peaceful in nature. They never seemed to fight from their own initiative, and they mostly acted on the defense or when the fight was necessary.

"Both combatants get ready."

The Announcer shouted, to which Valkorion quickly skimmed through the arena with his eyes, seeing that few people were present. While the Grand Volantene Arena could house tens of thousands of people, there were only a few hundred people present and watching the matches.

It was thought respectable because this was a match between two Low-Sequence Beyonders; there wouldn't be too much interest in it. He could understand that, because neither he would be paying for the opportunity to watch two Low-Sequence Beyonders fighting.

For that, one just needed to go out during the night or to go some pub or tavern and wait there for a few hours, and voa la.

Fight between Low-Sequence Beyonders and for free.

"Fight."

The Summer Islander Tobharar Rhoma rushed toward Valkorion as fast as possible as he unsheathed his sword, but Valkorion was faster and immediately predicted the way he would be attacked.

Even though this Summer Islander Tobharar Rhoma was a Bodyguard, most probably for some merchant from the Summer Islands, it was clear that his combat experiences were lacking compared to the Valkorion, who was honing his abilities and skills in the Painted Mountains. 

As Valkorion dodged the sword slash, he delivered one swift kick to his stomach, sending the man crashing on the ground, as he unsheathed his sword and slashed down on the Summer Islander.

At the last moment, the black man raised his sword and blocked the strike from Valkorion, as the Valyrian hybrid grinned, seeing that his opponent wasn't entirely worthless. He could understand why someone like Tobharar Rhoma went to the Grand Volantene Arena to fight.

Most probably to gain some experience. 

Fighting experienced and skilled opponents was vastly different from fighting brigands, bandits, pirates, and other unsavory individuals without much experience, combat style, or training. 

Noticing that the bodyguard was outreaching his left hand to grab some dirt, Valkorion immediately jumped backwards, because he knew that the man wanted to throw some sand into his eyes.

Good trick.

Though...

Only for the amateurs.