âWow, this room is huge!â Gary exclaimed as his eyes scanned the VIP booth they were now in.
The VIP booths were large viewing areas stationed about two-thirds of the way down the stands. They werenât directly on the floor level next to the AFC arena. Instead, it was a spacious glass booth that occupied a large section of the stands, made entirely of one-way viewing glass.
From inside, they could see out into the arena floor, but those in the stands had no idea who was inside the booth. If one were to look around the stadium, there were a total of twelve of these viewing booths, allowing the very important to watch the match in comfort.
The booths were special, equipped with their own bar filled with drinks and snacks, a lounging area with screens showing the televised version of the fight, and every luxury fitting of the name "VIP booth." Gary immediately gravitated toward the snack area, opening a cupboard and finding all sorts of treats. He quickly pulled out some beef jerky and started munching on it almost instantly.
âThank you again, Apollo, for letting us use this room with you. You really didnât have to,â Xin said, a little embarrassed by how relaxed Gary was, already making himself at home.
He couldnât help himselfâhe was a little hungry.
âNonsense, I see you as fellow classmates. We all entered the AFA around the same time, and since both of you are no longer in the AFA, itâs not a problem. Besides, Gary and I go quite a way back, both of us being part of the special lessons. I wanted to ask, did you ever take part in those lessons?â
Garyâs ears perked up when he heard this and looked over at Xin, who nodded as well. It wasnât that the special lessons themselves were bad, but more so the fact that they had all signed a contract. When entering the special lessons, they had agreed to help NIRV in certain instances when called upon. Gary had discussed this with Kai.
The best guess was that they would be called to be retrievers when the time came, but now that Gary was one of the Kings, they wondered if NIRV would ever pull that card. According to Kai, he felt like they might, just to test their power and see who was loyal to them or not.
From the sound of things, they already had Harvor and others in their back pocket, and if Gary didnât comply with the contract, they could send people like Xin and Apollo after him.
Thankfully, nothing had come of the situation yet.
âI see, I guess we really are allies more deeply rooted than we thought,â Apollo said as he grabbed a drink, twisted the cap off a bottle, and proceeded to sit down on the sofa.
He took a big swig and then placed the bottle on the table in front of him as he looked at the empty stands.
With them being VIP members, they were able to enter the stadium early. People were slowly filtering in and taking their time finding their seats. There were still a couple of hours before the event would even start, and that was just the start of the event, not the match between Jayden and Harvor.
âYou know, I wanted to watch this match closely because of that special event. Do you remember, Gary? The one we had with Jayden. Ever since then, Iâve been quite a fan of his. I wanted to catch up and test my skills against him again.â
âWith you, Iâm wondering, do you feel the same way? Or now that youâre a King, do you think your power surpasses his?â Apollo asked.
Gary had grabbed a bunch of snacks and drinks and placed them on the table before sitting down on the sofa, not too far and not too close to Apollo.
âHonestly, in terms of raw power, Iâm not sure. I might have the edge now. Iâve grown quite a lot, but in terms of fighting techniques, I think I would lose to Jayden 99 times out of 100.â
âLike you, I still remember that day he beat us pretty badly,â Gary casually replied.
It was something he had thought about a few times but never seriously, because Jayden wasnât his enemy, so he never planned to have a fight to the death with him or anything like that.
âWhich makes me want to ask you another question. Youâre a King now, so why were you sneaking in with the other people?â Apollo asked.
âIf you had called up and asked Harvor himself, Iâm sure he would have handed you a VIP booth. It would have protected you guys.â
Gary wasnât so sure about that. He was a new King, and calling up the other Kings like they were friends when they were really enemiesâwas that how others acted on the outside? He hadnât even spoken to any of the others: the Dark Guild, the Bree Family, Lupis, or Harvor. Besides, he was here just in case something went wrong.
âIâm new to this... and Iâm not cut out for it. Iâm just here as a fan and a supporter,â Gary answered.
âActually, I want to ask something as well,â Xin said. âNot that you arenât a big deal, Apollo, but how did you get a VIP booth like this?â
âI tried asking my old teachers and a few friends in the AFC, and they couldnât even get tickets.â
Now that Gary thought about it, it was strange. Even using AJ Entertainment, the most he could do was get tickets to the event, never mind a booth.
âOh, thatâs not too big of a mystery. Itâs because Iâm part of the One Gang,â Apollo answered.
Causing Gary to drop his packet of crisps onto the floor.