[@Blah, "respectable" is > or = your average master/black belt level since I assumed that's what Blane would see as such, but still not quite on par with him.]
You descend to a large underground coliseum like arena, much grander than the others peppered around the facility. Finding yourself in the stands, an artificial miniature sun is visible illuminating the grand cavern.
Several other presences can be sensed appearing in the area, some more easily detectable than others.
Only one can be spotted visually within the farther side of the stands.
Upon a podium built into the North wall, a camera crew can be seen setting up a broadcast. The video feed is playing on an enormous screen on the wall above the podium. Before long you can sense David's familiar energy signature coming from that direction.
[@Hl3]
As you transfer from device to device, you see all manner of things in people's rooms, many of which you'd rather not have seen. You eventually make your way deep underground to the scene of a camera crew setting up a broadcast. Blane can be seen far off in the stands. You seem to be in some grand underground arena. Soon, the man who you, and evidently Blane as well, can easily identify as the current
Champio appears. [@Blah this is the source of the magical energy you were sensing.]
[@Everybody]
The time for the Champ's statement has come. Be you viewing it through a TV screen, in person, or not at all,
this ma presents himself with a confident, yet rather nonchalant air. It's clear that he doesn't care much for the ceremonial formalities of the event.
After the brief few minutes of what he himself described as "boring jargon", a smile finally appears on his face. He tosses his script papers away, letting them flutter onto the floor behind him.
"Well anyway, with that noise outta the way, let's get to the fun part. You see, every year this tournament gets run, fighters from all over the galaxy come to get a piece of the action. Whether it's for the prize, their own pride, or simply the thrill of the fight, there's usually like a thousand potential contenders seeking to join the fray."
His smile beams as he enthusiastically points a thumb inwards.
"You see, one of my powers as reigning champ is to decide how to whittle you lot into more reasonable numbers! In other words, I get to decide tomorrow's elimination round. You better listen up, cause the rules are as follows."
He stands straight with crossed arms, closing his eyes.
"You should probably remember that you all received numbered pins when you signed up for this competition. Well, all you have to do to stay in it... is to show up at the central arena tomorrow with
at least 10 of them!"
He displays a cruel smile upon his face.
"That's right, the elimination round has already started! Swipe those tags from your fellow contestants and cut down those numbers real good for us, yeah?"
He walks out of frame with a satisfied look on his face.
A nervous member of the filming crew fills in from where the man left, trying to salvage what's left of the program. He simply reiterates what the champ said.
Show up to the Central Arena with at least 10 tags. The program ends with the staff thanking everyone who decided to join.
[I'll be making the next thread soon.]