His name was called for the third time before he was close enough for the staff member to see him coming.
Lukas climbed the two steps onto the arena floor and walked forward, retrieving his slip from his spatial ring as he approached.
The staff member checked it, verified his identity, and directed him to his side of the partitioned space with a nod.
He took his position and waited.
His opponent arrived from the other side a minute later.
The moment he saw the man, Lukas blinked in surprise.
The man was armored completely with plate from the neck down.
He even had every joint covered up, and a helmet fitted with a horizontal slit that reduced his face to a pair of cautious eyes tracking Lukas from across the small arena.
The armor was well maintained, but it had a few scratches that showed it had received damage, which told Lukas something about the person wearing it.
His aura showed he was C-rank.
