Pepper finally got up and made breakfast for them. Andrea helped him clean up and the two then got ready for the day. The ride over to the arena was more congested than he had anticipated, but they still arrived with enough time to read through the briefing on his holodex. It was all regarding the scoring criteria for the matches.
There were ten different categories each gladiator was evaluated in.
- Victory
- Creativity in combat
- Fighting style
- Energy - in reference to how they were able to entertain the crowd
- Direct Hits
- Blocked Hits
- Debilitating or Critical Hits
- Golem Knock Down
- Gladiator Grit Score
- Judge Optional Point Score
If a gladiator got the overall victory, they automatically received ten points. Additionally, if they achieved a critical hit which immediately disabled a golem, they would automatically receive ten points. The same was applied for a gladiator knocking down their opponent’s golem. Therefore, a victory with a critical and knock down within the same match would immediately give a gladiator 30 points overall applied to their score.
All the other categories were a variable of up to ten points. It was clear that many of the categories were open to interpretation and thus left there to be a high degree of variation amongst the judges. One could easily say one gladiator was far more creative in their combat or rune build as compared to another, and so forth. Additionally, how one judge analyzed ones grit could be far different from their counterpart.
The one area Pepper did not care about was the energy category. How a gladiator used their golem or their charisma to cater towards the energy of the crowd, was not high on his priority list. To him, the decision should easily come down to simply victory or defeat. But, Marcus had reminded him just how much the league was a business, and there wasn’t a business unless the fans were fed what they desired, energy and entertainment.
Pepper then received the notification that his first match was going to be against Carlie. He went into Golem Chat to see what he could about her and only discovered that she was from Maine. Her previous golems consisted of inspiration from the sea and Pepper assumed that she must have lived near the coastline. Regardless, he knew better than to make any plans until after the first round of matches.
Though it wasn’t out of the possibility that a gladiator may switch up their rune builds in-between matches, the likelihood was low. Though the regionals were still the next level up from the club scene, and the competition became far more competitive, the financial backings were still severely capped coming in. The cost to compete at the invitational was high enough as it is, and many were just happy to make it to that point.
The control panel on the side of his bay came to life and chimed when the notification arrived. A small message informed him to follow the pathway to the staging area and await for his match. He turned to Andrea and they kissed. She wished him good luck and then headed with Amprage to the stands where they could watch.
Pepper then grabbed his control module, powered up Mala and activated the follow command. To his surprise, when he turned around to head out he discovered a bright green pathway being projected onto the ground from above. It started at the entrance of his golem bay and led out into the main corridor and down to the staging area.
Pepper walked out and Mala followed in tow, but what he did realize was that the green illuminated pathway also served as a priority lane. All the other workers and gladiators passing by, moved out of his way to allow him to continue to the staging area without delay. Many of those who passed by him wished him luck and he smiled back with a nod and thanked them.
He had wanted to try and spend time narrowing in on who all was in his cohort. But with 144 gladiators there competing and all the supporting cast of people working behind the scenes, he didn’t even attempt to try and guess at who may or may not. At least not yet. He mentally told himself he would devote time to that later tonight or once Andrea had gone home.
The one thing that he did like about the invitational was the schedule. Unlike the club scene with a bracket that had to be completed in one go. The invitational with the addition of the cohorts, allowed there to be longer gaps of time in-between matches. Pepper couldn’t help but appreciate the added time, as it allowed one to really repair any damage done, make changes to tactics and even analyze your opponent.
To a certain degree, if one had enough funding and resources, they could keep rebuilding their golem every time or even bring multiple golems to compete with. The invite to compete at regionals was to the gladiator, not the golem. Also, there was nothing in the rules stating that a gladiator could only compete with one golem. The majority though, were simply limited with funding.
Pepper eventually arrived at the staging area and saw that he was technically the second match in the cue waiting to compete. He then saw BJ approach him and the two shook hands. BJ did a hasty check of his golem and then wished him luck before heading off. But it was the person after BJ that caught him by surprise.
He turned and noticed a large African American man walking towards him, wearing a pair of medical scrubs and carrying a large red medical evaluation bag. The man placed his bag on the ground and then gave him an analytical gaze. It took them both a few seconds, but then at the same time they both made the connection.
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“Oh snap! You the kid from the park.” Efrem said.
Pepper pointed back at him. “The nurse feeding the crazy people at the park.”
To his surprise, Efrem spread out his arms and with a giant smile on his face he pulled him into a giant bear hug. “Bro bro!” Efrem exclaimed. The man’s higher pitched and energetic voice surprised him at first. But it then tapered off and returned back into his normal lower resonance. “I was wondering if I was going to run in to you here. You all ready for this match?”
Pepper then pulled back and shrugged. “As ready as I will ever be, I suppose.”
“Nice!” Efrem emphasized while his giant smile still beamed. “Okay, well let’s get all your readings out of the way then.”
“My readings?”
“Yea, we got to make sure your healthy enough to compete. Last thing we want is people fainting all over the place. Don’t want know overly excited people having melt downs or anything. It’s a big deal for some.”
“I guess I had never even thought about that.”
“Many people don’t. All you young bucks running around here thinking you all good to go. Then one day-” Efrem clapped his hands together loudly. “You pancake your ass on a gladiator platform and are mocked by the whole internet.” Efrem then moaned and shook his head. “Nope, not on my watch.”
Pepper laughed and the two continued to joke as Efrem performed his medical evaluation. By the end, everything checked out as normal and Efrem gave him a clean bill of health for competing. There was another worker standing by off to the side that received Efrem’s signature for signing him off. He then gave Pepper a fist bump and told him he’d be cheering him on.
By the time Efrem had left the area the SEC match coordinator motioned for Pepper. He stepped closer and they called over to him. “About two minutes and then you’re up.” The worker turned and pointed down and to the left. The pathway leading into a tunnel and Pepper could see colored lights on the other side of the pass through. “You’re going to walk out there and follow the green pathway to your platform area. Your golem will remain at the green line and then enters the arena. Any questions?”
Everything the worker had told him faded into a blur and muffled sound. Pepper mearly turned and nodded and gave a thumbs up of understanding. The coordinator didn’t seem convinced and their eye brow arched as he felt completely judged in that moment.
His attention, however, was quickly turned to the tunnel when he heard the voice of the announcer. “Alright everyone. We’re gonna get the bull dozers and sweepers in here now to clear the arena. Our next matchup will be up in less than a minute.”
The coordinator patted him on the back. “Okay, go ahead and start heading down. Good luck!”
Pepper took a deep breath as he felt his heart start to pound in his chest. He twisted his neck and felt it pop, while simultaneously bringing his hands together and cracking his knuckles. Let’s do this… He took his first step down and felt the slow angle of the pathway as it descended down into the darkened tunnel area.
Smoke began to billow out of small vents at the bottom of the tunnel. Orange and yellow lasers shot out from above. They landed on the ground in front of him and began to make interweaving patterns which danced back and forth. The tunnel then illuminated with a deep honey amber color and he quickly looked back and saw how amazing Mala’s purple coloration enhanced the entire look.
He didn’t have more than a second to enjoy the view as he heard the announcers voice call out. “Alright everyone, it’s time for our next match up. In the north corner, we have Pepper Walker with Nightmare Mala!”
Pepper had not even seen the first level of the crowd seated in attendance. The noise of their cheer roared with life, however, and he swore he could feel their concussive excitement wash over his skin. He took another two steps and then his eyes saw the arena.
Though he had gone through a similar experience at the military appreciation event at GolemCon. This was still a completely different sensation to behold. Spotlights flowed over the crowd while he took notice to what appeared like thousands of attendees.
His eyes then lifted and saw digital display boards that were larger than houses. A live shot of him was displayed on the screen and he instinctually waved towards the crowd. The act gave a small wave of life to those in attendance and their cheers grew louder. A small reminder popped into his head, Energy of the crowd. He then lifted his hands and encouraged people to ramp up the volume. Just as he had hoped, the crowd immediately responded with a roar and chants of Mala, Mala, Mala, rang out.
Pepper finally smiled and waved one final time before he made his way over to his platform. He then switched his command module over to manual mode and commanded Mala to arrive at its predesignated position. He then gazed over to the other side of the arena and watched as the opposite tunnel illuminated.
The same smoke effect billowed out and pure white flashes started to appear with a pulsating effect. Deep blue colored lasers shot out as they had for him a moment before. The entire effect almost had an appearance of a thunder and lighting storm.
“Now out of the south corner, we have Carlie Morgan and her Teutonic Knight!” The crowd roared and Pepper watched as she waved to the crowd and made her way towards her platform.
Pepper gazed up at the digital screens as they showcased her golem with a close up view. There was a slight grayish hue to the coloration of the carved female facial features. Alright, so we’re clay vs. clay and the lighter coloration would mean she’s using Caltex Combative Clay.
If his guess was correct, it meant that his opponents material density and resistance was practically identical to he had used back home with the KBVS club. With her materials being similar to Beast Works Clay Systems… that means Mala has a slight advantage. He thought while gazing over the rest of his opponents golem.
The knight was sculpted to give the appearance that it was wearing a large suit of medieval armor. The golem’s face was clearly feminine in nature and had long flowing hair that was then painted a platinum blonde color. The armor was painted with a base of white but had black accents and lining.
A large crest shield was carried in the golem’s left hand. On the front, it sported a customized symbol. Pepper couldn’t help feeling that the appearance of it was one of a futuristic high fantasy adaptation to the traditional Teutonic Knight’s cross. His best guess was that Carlie had chosen that to represent her brand as a gladiator.
On the opposite side of the shield the golem had a sword clutched in its hand. The blade glistened in the arena’s lights. Pepper was able to see the blades sported an etched inlay of a designed pattern which ran down the length of the blade. That is a lot of metal to be sporting at an invitational… I wonder if she saved any money for what’s underneath the fashioned armor?
He didn’t have long to wait to find out. There suspended above them was a bright red holographic timer which began to tick down. Thirty seconds… 29… 28… 27… 26… Pepper then turned his attention to his opponent. His control interface illuminated in the slight violet coloration he had chosen for his background. His rune options switched to their red shading and awaited the power core to fully surge with life. He bit down on the inside of his cheek and his ears heard the horn declare the start of the match.