Klaus walked back to the waiting arena as the next two fighters were called outward with their identification bands glowing bright blue on their wrists, signaling their turn to fight.
The waiting room and the spectator stands were completely different areas.
The waiting room was a large enclosed space beneath the main stadium with stone benches lining the walls and a massive magical screen mounted on one end that showed the ongoing matches in real-time.
Magical torches lined the walls, casting flickering shadows across the assembled fighters.
As Klaus walked to his designated chair in the wide room and sat down, there were mutters from the other contestants around him… whispered speculation about how he looked beneath that cat mask and what the hell kind of name was "Heavenly Commoner" anyway which he usually got back in Artemis Online chat before he became famous.
