As soon as Wardson entered the Magic Battle Arena, an employee immediately recognized him, hurried over, and greeted him respectfully before asking:
"Would you like to rest for a while first, or go take a look at the Magic Duel stage inside?"
"No rush." Wardson shook his head and looked around. He noticed that the left side was rather lively, and there was also a life-sized image of Elementia on the wall.
A row of counters was set up there, filled with various small goods.
For example, the limited-time "Elemental God Elementia" Opening Special Edition cards;
The commoner and noble versions of Element Cards;
Metal boxes designed for storing Element Cards.
Accessories like pendants representing the four elements;
And in addition, posters of Elementia in various sizes.
Wardson's eyes lit up. He turned to the employee beside him and asked, "Are all of those for sale?"
"Of course," the employee replied politely.
Taking quick strides, Wardson walked over to the counter, picked up a packaged "Elemental God Elementia" Opening Special Edition card and a large poster, and asked for the price.
After being told each item cost 1 gold coin—for a total of 2 gold coins—Wardson paid without hesitation.
Such prices were naturally unaffordable for commoners.
However, on a nearby counter, there was also a lottery box.
Every customer received a lottery number upon entering, and the Magic Battle Arena would draw winners periodically, giving away any item from the counter for free.
So lucky commoners could still walk away with something.
Wardson didn't care about that at all and didn't even take a number.
Meanwhile, beside him was someone else who also did not need a number.
Unlike Wardson, who wasn't interested in most of the items, Betty was carrying multiple bags filled to the brim—she had practically bought one of everything.
Her collector's instincts were blazing. Betty didn't even notice the people around her, happily hugging an Elementia card in her arms with complete satisfaction.
Sharp-eyed onlookers had already spotted Wardson, and whispers quickly spread through the crowd.
Ignoring them, Wardson followed the employee deeper into the Magic Battle Arena after purchasing what he needed.
The entire first floor was an open hall, making the space feel very expansive.
However, the layout had some distinctions.
Upon entering, the left side was a densely packed duel area.
Simple duel tables and chairs were arranged there, spaced only a few dozen centimeters apart, making it relatively crowded.
It resembled the early internet café-style gaming halls from Ron's original world, with a very basic layout.
Most commoners who entered gathered here.
They didn't own noble-version Element Cards, but after registering their personal information, they could borrow a set of old-version Element Cards from the arena.
So before long, the duel tables on the left side began to fill up one after another.
Dealers who had undergone special training over the past few days moved through the area, occasionally answering beginner-level questions from newcomers.
Wardson didn't find it particularly interesting and instead looked toward the right-side booth area.
This side was noticeably more spacious.
Each duel table was partially enclosed by semi-open carved screens, forming semi-private spaces.
There were also small side tables for drinks and desserts, fitting perfectly with the refined tastes of nobles.
The passageway between the two areas clearly separated them—anyone could tell at a glance that the left side was for commoners, while the right side was for nobles.
This layout was also designed to prevent conflicts between the two groups.
Once the second-floor renovation was complete, the booth area on the first floor would also be converted entirely into a standard duel area.
At that point, the first floor would become purely a commoner zone, while nobles would head straight to the second floor for Magic Duels.
In this otherworldly human empire, class divisions were deeply entrenched. Ron had no intention of forcing commoners and nobles to mix just to uphold some ideal of equality.
Setting aside whether nobles would accept it—
The commoners themselves would probably be the most opposed.
The world's productivity hadn't undergone any major transformation, and the upper class possessed supernatural abilities like magic and battle aura.
The class issues here were extremely complex, and Ron had no interest in investing great effort into any kind of ideological revolution.
Too much work for too little reward—and it would get in the way of enjoying life.
Wardson didn't know any of this. He simply thought the arrangement was quite good.
Unfortunately, his training schedule was usually packed, so he probably wouldn't have much time to come here.
Continuing deeper into the hall with the employee—
The central passageway wasn't very wide, allowing about four people to walk side by side.
After walking a dozen more steps, the space suddenly opened up.
Wardson entered a relatively spacious area.
This section had been left completely open, resembling a small plaza.
On the left, right, and directly ahead were raised platforms about half a meter high.
Each platform was roughly a dozen square meters in size, with a rectangular dual table in the center and a chair on each side.
Above the platforms, two whiteboards hung from the ceiling, displaying several oversized Element Cards as large as portraits.
Even from the edge of the plaza, the card details were clearly visible.
The employee guided Wardson onto one of the platforms and demonstrated how to use the dual table and chairs.
Wardson sat down in one of the chairs, observing the rectangular table in front of him.
On both sides facing the players, about a quarter of the way across the table, there were upright partitions.
After sitting down, the opponent across from him would only be able to see above his neck.
The section of the table in front of Wardson belonged to his private area, specifically for placing his hand.
At the bottom of the partition was a small opening through which cards could be pushed into the central public area of the table.
According to the rules, after both players played their cards, they would send them into this central area, where a dealer would determine the outcome.
In official matches, there would be a dealer on each side of the table to ensure fairness and prevent any bias or cheating.
While the dealers controlled the pace of the match, the whiteboards above the platforms would update in real time, displaying both players' hands and plays for everyone in the plaza to see.
This solved the limitation of only a dozen people being able to crowd around a single table.
"That's the general process. Do you have any questions?" the employee asked after finishing the explanation.
Wardson shook his head. "This duel platform is quite interesting. When does the match start? Has Rowell arrived yet?"
"Not yet," the employee replied. "You can head to the booth area for a while, or rest in the temporary lounge on the second floor."
"No need." Wardson straightened his back, sitting upright in the chair with his arms crossed, closing his eyes to rest. "I'll wait for him here."