Jet was led into Lord Cole's personal arena later that evening and introduced to the referee. Mr. Gale was his name. He was a dark-skinned man in his early forties. He was handsome and built like a gladiator. He seemed kind enough. Astrid said she liked him. Jet looked around the fancy gym, wondering what half of the weapons on the walls were used for. Astrid warned him to focus on disarming his opponents if he couldn't figure out the weapons.
Young men were led into the arena and simply told to fight with Jet. There were few rules. The person left standing at the end of the fight was declared the winner. Jet demolished twelve opponents within twenty minutes. Lord Cole was standing in a raised booth, watching the action with a pleased smile on his face.
At one point, a line of ten black armor-clad soldiers was led into the small arena. Jet narrowed his eyes at the men as they surrounded him. They had hidden weapons in their armor. He learned that the hard way when he was abducted from the Dead Lands. He didn't plan to let them catch him off guard again. Mr. Gale hurried into the raised booth with Lord Cole to get off the floor for that fight.
"My lord, I object to this. It's very bad sportsmanship," Gale said worriedly.
"It's fine, Gale. Watch and be amazed," Lord Cole said as he raised his hand and dropped it, starting the fight.
Jet sprinted out of the circle so fast the soldiers had little time to react. When they did manage to fire their stun guns, they hit a fellow soldier. Jet used that unfortunate soldier as a shield. Jet anchored his arm around his human shield's neck and used him as leverage to kick a fellow soldier in the head. The explosive kick launched that soldier into two more soldiers, sending all three of them toppling to the floor. Jet hurled himself and his leverage at the other men like a spinning top. Bodies collided and fell, and the men trying to scramble away were swiftly kicked in the head. Jet kept a watch on his back as he flattened the men. He sprang away from them when he heard the little pop of the charged wires being launched.
"By the gods," Gale said, shaking his head as he watched the impressive display.
"He's a prodigy of combat," Lord Cole said with a pleased smile.
"He's a bit old to be a prodigy. Astrid said he is at least twenty," Gale noted.
"Judging by his build, I would say that's true. Then I consider him a self-taught master. He sees all potential attacks before they happen. He can physically respond to a threat seconds before it appears. It's fucking magnificent," Lord Cole whispered.
Gale almost expected to see Cole drooling at that point.
"Shall I alert the high nobles of a rising contender?" Gale asked.
"No, thank you, Gale. I plan to initiate a domination tournament."
Gale looked at Lord Cole in disbelief. Cole was brashly staking his noble title on a Ruffian's ability to completely dominate an entire city of potential champions. An event like that was called once every hundred years.
"My lord, I strongly object. If this Ruffian fails or betrays you, your entire house will be cast to the outer circle. There is no coming back from that," Gale warned.
"I know what I'm doing, Gale. The boy can win, and I have leverage over him. I will crush his heart if he refuses to crush my enemies," he whispered as he watched Jet standing over the pile of soldiers he had beaten senseless. He had learned where to kick their helmets to cause enough injury to keep them down.
"How did you tame a Ruffian like him?" Gale asked in amazement.
"I told him I put a chip in Astrid's neck that will fry her brain if anything happens to me," he said with an evil grin.
"Did you actually do that?" Gale asked in disgust.
"That's for me to know," he said tritely.
The city was awakened early the next morning by blaring trumpet blasts from the arena. It was the official declaration chords of the domination tournament. Everyone knew the melody, but they never thought they would hear it in their lifetimes. Every high noble and par-noble family would have to report to the arena to be introduced to the contending champion.
Astrid was stunned when she heard the trumpets. She had no idea her father was crazy enough to call a domination tournament for Jet. She scrambled out of bed to dress so she could report to the arena with the rest of the noble daughters.
The open-air coliseum around the arena was the grandest structure in New Athens. It sat in the exact center of the city. Its style was reminiscent of the ancient Colosseum of Rome that was destroyed over two hundred years earlier. Jet was standing with Lord Cole on a raised platform in the middle of the arena to watch as the noble families gathered around them. A few hundred people were standing in the grass once the last of the par-nobles arrived.
Everyone gazed in wonder at the handsome young man standing beside Lord Cole. Astrid stood in the grass below the platform next to her cousin Vicky. Her heart beat faster as she admired Jet. His hair was neatly combed, and he was wearing a handsome sapphire blue suit. He looked more like a high noble than a majority of the people around them.
"Astrid, please join us," Lord Cole said formally as he waved her forward.
Jet held her in his gaze as she walked up on the platform to stand next to her father. Her beauty never ceased to arouse or amaze him. Her big green eyes, long dark hair, and sensual body were a source of inspiration for him. He would do anything to make her proud of him. She was adorned in a shimmering green and gold satin dress that morning. She gave him a formal nod before she raised her chin and stood proudly next to her father. Jet took a deep breath and did the same. Jet had finally seen all the noble daughters together, and he still believed Astrid to be the fairest. Lord Cole had given him specific instructions on how he expected him to act. If he dared to embarrass him, Astrid would pay the price for it.
