novelraw Chapter 138: We are Not the Same
Chapter 138: We are Not the Same
Turned out, there was no lack of wealthy players in the sanctuary. The fees of 100 silver might be life changing for some, but for the truly wealthy players, it was nothing much. What they valued even more than the thrill of the arena was the chance to gather information.
Zyrus looked at the filled-up seats and wasn’t the least bit surprised. Apart from the elder souls and the merchants, the vast majority of them were either the king's subordinates or other non-combat classes. The players who came solely to observe and learn from the arena battles amounted to less then 10%. This much was easy to guess by their clothes and equipment.
And at the moment, Zyrus looked no different from those non-combat, wealthy players.
[Once again, welcome dear guests! I hope you enjoy the following battles to your hearts content]
*Clap*
Without waiting for Anansi to utter more formal crap, Aurora clapped her tiny hands and once again teleported the flag bearers to the middle. What would come next was obvious since there was a gigantic roulette wheel in the middle of the group.
It was time to draw the lots for the first battles.
[Select a number and mentally type it on the screen]
A rainbow-colored disc appeared before the players just as Aurora’s words ended. Zyrus didn’t think much and randomly selected the number 73. The others did more or less the same, so the results were settled in no time.
[I will now spin the roulette, and unlike the ones you may or may not have seen, this one’s a bit special]
*WHirrrr*
Aurora flapped her wings and the wheel started spinning. So did the numbers inside it. The blue and red fireflies that had landed on the flag bearers also flew away at the moment and joined the whirlwind of light.
[Each time the wheel stops, there will be four numbers which would be below the pins. They will form a group. And if you’re worried about mixing up blue and red groups, don’t worry. That won’t happen]
A projection of the wheel appeared in the sky as well, allowing the spectators to join in the excitement. Teams were chosen one after another, and soon enough, it was Zyrus’s turn.
73,4,28,31
Zyrus looked at the other three who were placed in the same round. There was an orc faction, a spirit faction, and finally, someone he was acquainted with.
“Kekeke…yer majesty seems to have grown richer,” A snickering kobold waved over to Zyrus. He was one of the few kings who had ascended from the first ring.
Zyrus knew that the latter was flattering him while holding a knife at his back, but he didn’t care. He engaged in small chatter before their match began. The other two kings were indifferent to everyone else and sat down on the spot, regulating their mana for the upcoming battle.
[Now then, all of the subgroups have been chosen. The matches will start in increasing order of the sum of the team’s numbers. Before that, the flag bearers must select the participating players]
Another screen appeared before Zyrus. He didn’t even take a single glance and selected Kyle, Lauren, Shi kun, Druv, and Strongfist. Five out of the eight boxes became greyed out, leaving the image of Franken, Pouka and himself.
“Ooh! Didn’t expect you won’t be fighting as well. From what I recall you were pretty strong back then.” The kobold king spoke in a deliberately exaggerated manner, catching the attention of the nearby kings who were unfamiliar with Zyrus.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Well, for a different reason compared to you. It’ll be too boring if I took part myself. None of the trash here are worth it.”
Zyrus’s reply came in an even more arrogant tone. More than half of the participants were already looking over there.
Zyrus met everyone gazes head on without the slightest bit of reaction. He activated [Fear] and soon enough, the eyes looking at him reduced by more than a third.
He never planned to hide his strength. It was a fact that none of the kings were his match in a 1v5, much less 5v5. The administrators knew that. The elder souls and merchants could sense it. Most importantly, the old bastards in the third ring should’ve guessed it as well.
Rather than hiding his powers, he wanted to show them that he was more interested in filling his pockets compared to needless valor. Which was indeed the truth at the moment.
[Now then, the remaining players can watch from the special seating provided to them]
[Without further ado, let the Champions of Munera Begin!]
*Crackle*
Accompanied by the crowd’s cheers and colorful fireworks, the first teams to battle took their positions in the arena.
***
While most of the players were busy watching the first match, Zyrus rushed to the spectator stands and looked for a crowded corner. His target was none other than Anansi.
Sure enough, it didn’t take him long before he found a rowdy section. Numerous players wearing similar clothes like him were laughing and showing off their wealth. In the middle of them all was none other than the administrator wearing a black tuxedo. Although, that was the case in the eyes of Zyrus. The rest with lower willpower might be seeing something entirely else.
Some of the players gave Zyrus a curious glance before looking back at the arena. The one who kept staring at him was of course Anansi.
“Why are you here?”
“What do you think?”
“You’re not allowed to bet.”
“Is that a rule?”
“This is a private affair. What I say are the rules.”
“An administrator having a ‘private affair’ is against the sanctuary’s rules, no?”
“…”
“…”
Both of them stared at one another for a good minute. Finally, it was Anansi who spoke with slumped shoulders.
“Fine, you can bet. We’ll split your earnings 60-40.”
“40 is too much. You take 20.”
“70-30. That’s final; or I’ll just close the betting.”
“Deal,” Zyrus smiled and shook his hands with Anansi. It was a win-win situation for both of them. Only now did Zyrus take a look at the arena. Unfortunately, both of the teams were unknown to him. He could use his experience and bet on them, but he decided otherwise. He couldn’t afford to lose his single gold coin just like that.
‘There are a lot of places that’ll require me to use money, starting with the Enlightenment pagoda.’
Why take the risk when there was an easy way to earn some gold? Zyrus took out a coin and gave it to Anansi.
“I’ll be betting on my team’s victory.”
“Noted.” Anansi shrugged and accepted the bet. He didn’t bother speaking about their opponents being the spirits who were known to be the strongest.
Zyrus didn’t linger around and looked at the surrounding spots. His first goal at the moment was to earn money, and with that settled, he proceeded to the next one: Finding Elder souls and Merchants who would be willing to come to Pisces archipelago.
Normally the rate at which they appeared on a map was determined by the mana density and more importantly the tier of the flag. Zyrus hadn’t seen any despite his flag being the highest tier, and the sole reason for that was him being on the ocean.
Those living on the Kyros had long since considered this stretch of ocean a forbidden zone due to Nuckelavee. The players knew that the ocean routes were open due to the world announcement, but it was a different case for the others. Zyrus assumed that only the administrators could make the elder souls or merchants move.
‘Since they’re not doing so, I might as well do it myself. It wouldn’t hurt to try asking them.’
Thus, Zyrus moved around and talked with the elder souls and merchants who looked interesting. There was no fixed order as he went up to them, talked about the interesting parts of Pisces archipelago, and invited them to a visit. He also promised to treat them better if they ever decided to settle down.
The chance of them coming through were minuscule, but there was a whole colosseum to go through. He didn’t mind putting in bit of a work if it meant that his faction could progress even faster. Not to mention it wasn’t a total waste of time since he was curious on learning more about the Elder souls as well. Before regression he had treated them as mere NPCs, but now, he looked forward to figuring out their true identity.
Time passed by just like that, and after three hours past midnight, the team led by Kyle made its entrance on the arena.
Zyrus had also found a seat near Anansi to watch the match. Looking at the odds of betting, he couldn’t help but curve his lips.
Those from the spirit race had achieved overwhelming victory against their opponents thus far. As a result, the odds were 12:2 for this match. Those betting on the spirits victory would get the double whereas those betting on Kyle’s victory would get a whooping twelvefold return.
‘It’ll be a tough fight, but I believe in them.’
Zyrus leaned back comfortably while Pouka and Franken took their seats besides him. On the arena, both sides had also made their first move.