The person with Aoi was a man, tall, handsome, and probably in his middle ages. He had on a suit coat that reached down to his ankles and a black turtleneck underneath it.

"Hello, my name is Roger," he spoke calmly.

Everyone in the group looked at him, waiting for whatever it was that he wanted to say.

"I'm sure you are all pressed to find the reason why you have been brought here today, especially you, Aren," he said, looking Aren right in the eye.

"Well, that's because you, Aren, have been selected as one of the main participants in the War God Tournament. Before I go on and explain how that came to me, I'd like to tell you what exactly the War God had to offer and why it happens.

Every time before the third trial, we are given a certain amount of time. It has been a constant every trial age, and that time ranges from two months to three, and so in that time we have the tournament that was created by one of the strongest awakened humanity ever had, the War God.

The War God had what was known as the strongest martial arts known to all humanity, known as the Sundering Heaven Art.

That was his special martial art, rankless and powerful beyond measure. He decided that rather than keep that to himself, he would have a certain few gain insight extracted from his art, allowing them to grow stronger, to reach his heights and forge their own paths.

That's the reward for winning the tournament. To many, this is a dream, something that they can only wish to have. Touching that martial art alone and gathering some insights has been seen to completely change the direction of many awakened, creating real monsters."

He paused after that, scanning their faces for a moment. "Though everything I have told you is only the tip of the iceberg of what is to come when the real tournament comes," he explained.

"Uhm, question, why did you have to kidnap Aren?" Aiden asked, the very question on everyone's mind.

"I was getting to that. Like I said, he is one of the compulsory participants, and I'm sure you believe that means those that showed the best skill. If that was the case, how did we see Aren? He wasn't even close to the city.

I'm sure those are the questions running through your minds. Well, the answer to that is pretty simple. We have someone with the ability to see. Her set of skills allows her to observe the trials.

Details about her can't be revealed, but her eyes basically pick up awakened of interest. She can't exactly see what you are doing, but she can see your energy at every given moment, and it seems Aren is one of the few that caught her eye.

She hasn't been wrong all the decades she has done it for, so we are certain she isn't wrong now, and from what Captain Aoi told me about you, Aren, it definitely isn't wrong."

"You kidnapped him because someone saw his energy?" Kira asked.

"Exactly," Roger replied.

"So what if I don't want to participate in this tournament?" Aren asked.

"Oh, you have to, because you have what's known as a slot. A slot is a legal tender in the tournament, giving you privileges that no other normal candidate has, but that also makes you a prime target, as the person that kills you takes your slot.

Now, if you choose to participate, the slot remains with you, which means someone is going to try to take it from you, and they might have powerful backing as well," he explained with a calm face.

'He is basically telling me that it's do or die. If I don't join, I'll probably end up dead, killed by someone that wants my slot,' Aren thought.

"I'm sure Aoi has warned you about leaving the Silver Section. Well, there is a reason for that. Before the tournament even starts, you have already gotten your slot, and so have the other few.

If you take down someone with a slot, their slot adds to yours and boosts the privileges that you have. So there will be those that will already be coming for you even when the tournament hasn't started, staying in the silver section is much safer as there are stricter rules.

To prove yourself as being worthy of being one of the few selected, then you have to survive until the time for the tournament comes, which will be in a month's time," Roger finished explaining.

Everyone paused for a long while, then finally Aren spoke. "So you are telling me I was dragged here against my will to be put inside a death game that I didn't want?" he asked, his tone slightly pissed.

"Even the trials had the courtesy of telling us we were about to enter it before we even did. This is downright a crime," he said in anger.

"And that's why we took you. She told us you were rebellious, a free spirit that hated to be coerced. We had to ensure you didn't run halfway. You'll have to forgive me for that," Roger explained. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a ring.

"Inside here is an enormous amount of money for you to spend how you want. Also, during your stay here, you can only leave the domain twice and must report back in forty-eight hours, or we'll have people come bring you.

We understand that this is very restrictive, especially for someone like you that values freedom, but for the time being, you'll have to bear with it. After all, you are one of the highlights of the tournament," Roger said and then gave a slight bow.

"With that, I must be on my way. Enjoy your stay here at the beautiful and grand War God City. I'm sure we'll be seeing you very often," he said, and then placed the ring on the table before walking out of the room, leaving only Aoi there.

"Everything has been cleared. You are free to leave now," she stated immediately and left as well.

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