Chương 1045: [989] - Y04.089 - Gambling

Mana: 25 -> 22 Spell: Sending"Hey dear, we're in East Port. No, North Amber. I hope you're all well. I love you. Send my love to our adorable children."

'I am glad you are well. All is well. Virot is growing well.' Adam could feel his wife's smirk even through the spell.

'She loves to smile.' He could even see it grow within his mind.

'Jirot is taking care of me. So is Konarot.'

'Konarot?' Adam thought.

'Is she saying that to make me feel better?' Adam thought to ask, but he didn't dare to find out the answer. He grabbed the pillow on the bed and held it within his arms, holding it gently, as though it were a child.

'I can't believe I'm missing my baby girl's first few weeks. I guess I should at least win if I'm going to be missing it!' Mana: 22 -> 19 Spell: Sending"I hope you are well. We will definitely win! Send all our love to our children, and to you of course, and to your daughter." Adam smirked, something which Sonarot could no doubt feel. It was a shy smirk, but a smirk regardless.

'We are well. Jarot cries much because he misses you. Kirot wipes his face well. We love you too. Good luck.' Adam frowned, sitting up on his bed.

"Jarot, my boy, how can you cry for your daddy? No, what am I saying, it's all your stupid daddy's fault." Adam's voice was barely a whisper.

"Don't worry, daddy's going to win, and even if daddy wins, I'll let you bully me as much as you want." Mana: 19 -> 16 Spell: Sending"Larot, are you well? Enjoy your time and grow well. I'll bring a nice weapon back for you. What would you like? An axe? Sword?" The spell faded before Adam could say much else. Adam heard it, like a hiss within his mind, for a moment jolting up off his bed, grabbing his axe. As the moments passed, his eyes darting around the room, he realised he didn't receive back any word.

'Oh. Ss? Ss for Sword?' It was the next day when Jaygak glared towards the half elf, raising his brow.

"Jaygak."

"Adam."

"For the first time, I heard Larot speak, and he requested from me, his father, a sword." Jaygak inhaled deeply, and glanced aside towards the amberite weaponry, each which required piles of gold. She picked up each, eyeing them up. The merchant watched the Iyrman, the middle aged woman not suspicious of the Iyrman, but more so she wished to see the sword play of the Iyr. Jaygak finished testing two of the blades, not even having swung them, when she reached for the third.

Her eyes noted the symbol engraved against the flat of the blade, just above the hilt, lingering for a moment.

"May I?" The merchant nodded, and the young woman picked up the blade. She closed her eyes, feeling the weight of the blade, the way it fought against her, the way it gave in to her. She raised the blade, and cut down in front of her with a single slash.

"How much is this blade?"

"One thousand and two hundred gold."

'Higher than expected, but within the range.'

"Okay." Adam stood there awkwardly. He had done his best not to spend too much, but now, Jaygak was asking him to spend this much.

'Am I meant to thank you? What am I saying, of course I should!'

"Thank you."

"May we place a deposit and pay for it after we win the tournament?" Jaygak asked.

"You'll need to pay at least a hundred."

"I will do it," Jaygak said, reaching into her cloak, tossing out a gem, an amber which had been cut particularly to denote a hundred gold.

"Alright," the merchant said, snatching the gem from the air.

"Hold on, shouldn't I pay for it."

"You will not allow me to help buy the first gift for my nephew?"

"Even if I can beat you with a blade, I can't beat your golden, no, your ruby tongue, Jaygak." Jaygak winked, before the pair made their way to the arena, where the sponsorship preliminaries were currently taking place. They watched those who had yet to be sponsored spar. Meanwhile, Adam thought about whether they should adventure, but he supposed, since they had two weeks, they may as well take the time off to prepare.

"A blade?" Jurot asked.

"He should use an axe."

"What can I do? My son asked for a sword."

"Okay," Jurot replied, allowing the matter to drop.

"When can we bet?"

"They will open the betting at the end of the month."

"The last day?"

"Yes."

"So we've got about a couple of weeks, a little under, to make some gold?" Adam fell into thought.

'I mean, we do have a lot of money, so, I can bet a lot, right?'

"How much do you wish to bet?"

"As much as I can. I know you and I are both going to win."

"There is always a possibility we may not, so you should bet moderately," Jurot said, reaching out to place a hand on his brother's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. Adam smiled.

"Yeah, I'll do just that. Plus, they're Northerners, but they're still Aldish, ain't that right, Jaygak?" Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! Jaygak's lips formed the widest grin, the woman glancing aside to Kitool, who remained focused on the sparring in front of them.

"Should we milk the nobles?" Adam asked.

"Let's try and earn some more money to bet?"

"Jaygak?" Jurot asked.

"Okay." Adam glanced aside to Kitool, who usually went to make the deals, but he didn't mention anything. Instead, he waited for the pair to work their magic, and magic they worked.

"You really do have the gift of the gab," Adam said, raising his brows at how much they had managed to earn.

"Thank you," Jaygak replied, assuming it meant that she was good with her tongue.

'So three Greater Enhanced weapons, all with the same specifications, five charges of some fire damage?' Adam thought about how amazing these weapons should be, considering they had each paid five thousand upfront.

'Well, that means we have, what, over forty thousand? Forty five, plus my own few thousands, plus the couple of thousand from the businessfolk? I also have the money from Dunes and the others too.' Adam let out a long sigh, taking out his book, writing down the numbers, and how much he was willing to drop, and how much he would be willing to drop if he ended up losing half, and how much if he were to lose it all.

'Forty thousand should be… no, no, I should keep a few months in reserve, just in case. Hold on, I could dip into the children's-,' Jaygak jolted up beside the half elf, who had slammed his book shut, while freezing in place.

"Adam?"

"Jaygak…"

"Okay?"

"I'm a fool of a father, so I can't do anything like that."

"What?"

"If nothing else, Jaygak, I'm a fool of a father. I can be a coward, I can be a cheat, but I can't forget, I'm a fool of a father. I can't do anything that would jeopardise my children, or their future." Jaygak furrowed her brows, wondering what Adam had thought for him to react this way.

"Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay." The days continued to pass by, with Adam having no idea the mess he caused back in the business.

"We cannot accept," Stephen said, sitting before the dark skinned Aswadian.

"This was not what was promised."

"The Enchanter, upon hearing of your goals, and your assistance across the land, decided to increase the terms for you, in order for you to complete your task more thoroughly," Dunes replied, flashing a pearly white smile.

"We only brought five hundred gold."

"Consider it an additional donation for your work, and in exchange, just take into consideration the favour we request of you, which is to speak of our business highly during your adventures. If you can, please, now and again, speak politely of our business which has allowed you to procure its fine magical weaponry."

"That's all?" Stephen replied, still uncertain, for something received for free was more costly than those which were bought and paid for.

"It is more than enough," Dunes said.

"We have also donated in a similar manner to the Order of the Wings, who gladly received such favour."

'The Order of the Wings?' Stephen thought, his mind suddenly racing.

'What play is the business making? If they're involving the Order of the Wings…' Stephen's thoughts fell away.

'The Order of the Wings is neutral, though?' Adam's antics, as per usual, were confusing everyone, even those who had no idea that they were his antics. As the sponsorship preliminaries continued, rumours and whispers abound, while Adam made his way towards the estate, followed by Jaygak, who had been requested for by the Grand Duchess.

'Small,' Jaygak thought upon seeing the building, but she understood the Grand Duchess owned the entire section she could see, crossing even mountains. The giant mountain of steel glared suspiciously at the pair, before he stepped aside, allowing the pair within the small estate, which was still larger than many commonfolk homes. As the woman poured them tea, Adam glanced around towards the sword once more, which was certainly that person's sword.

'What did he say? It was-,'"Are you going to wait until the tea is cold?" the Grand Duchess asked.

"Ah, no," Adam replied, reaching out for the tea, blowing against it before sipping.

"I have invited you to tell you the Nightval Blade will be participating within the tournament," the Grand Duchess said. Adam glanced to Jaygak, who raised her brows, as though questioning the Grand Duchess.

'She's hard to read,' the Grand Duchess thought, sipping her tea.

"She fought elsewhere, but she will return soon, and will likely take first place in the tournament."

"She's that strong?"

"She is the greatest genius the North has ever created," the woman said.

"She is twenty five, and almost, how the Guild would say, Silver Rank."

'Level 11, then?'

"Oh? That is pretty quick."

"She wields great magical items, from her armour, to her weapons."

"That sounds so scary," Adam replied, smiling slightly.

"However, when it comes to magical items, I'm pretty confident."

"Do you still intend to take first?"

"I suppose I'll need to try a little harder, but…" Adam smiled wider, before wincing, feeling Jaygak jab him in the side.

"I'm certain it will be quite difficult, but I intend to do my best, Grand Duchess."

"My granddaughter will still wish to take the top four, along with Sir Roseia," the woman sipped her tea.

"You will need to work hard, Jaygak."

"I will do what I can to not disappoint the Iyr, or my siblings."

"Your niece, either," Adam added.

"I can't disappoint her, since I'm not you."

"It hurts because it's true," Adam replied, jabbing her back gently.

"I will pray you do not face her immediately," the Grand Duchess said.

"Me neither," Adam said, understanding that, since she had spoken the words, he was probably going to face her first.

'The Nightval Blade?' Jaygak thought as the pair made their way out, having spent an hour speaking with the Grand Duchess, who had wished to listen to her family's tales.

'I didn't expect her to join.' The young Iyrman sighed, understanding how difficult it would for her to place in the top five. She was even more annoyed when more warriors of various Orders and nobility arrived, each of which swelled the tournament's numbers, and many of whom were quite talented.

'Is the world against me?' Jaygak thought, reaching up to her forehead, rubbing it gently.

'Raygak. Kavgak. Maygak.' The young woman frowned, before stepping out to train, feeling the crisp air against her skin. Adam waited until the bets were finally open, taking the rest of the Iyrmen with him. The bookkeepers each stared at the half elf, who placed down gem after gem, and chests of coin in front of them, with very specific bets.

He noted the estimated odds of return for each of them to win, and noticed he was at roughly ten to one, just like Jurot, whereas Kitool, who had joined the upper range bracket, was somewhere closer to forty to one. However, Adam placed down so much coin, he shifted the odds for a great many of the bets.

'Who in the Divine is this guy?'

"No, what am I doing," Adam said, shaking his head, before writing down more complete bets.

"Change it to five thousand each, and then I'll bet some match to match too."

'Five thousand each?' The bookkeeper checked the bets, noting that this group bet almost as hard as some of the nobles.

'What a ridiculous tournament!'

"What?" Jaygak asked.

"You bet on me to place in the top four?"

"Yeah," Adam said.

"Are you crazy?"

"Why am I crazy?"

"Top four, Adam? Don't you understand who is joining our segment?"

"Well, there's me, you, and a couple more strong people, then a bunch of people we can beat up."

"Adam!"

"If it's so difficult, just use my shield, and I'll just keep using my magics for my armour."

"Adam!"

"Plus, it's only five thousand gold, why are you complaining?"

"Adam!" Jaygak reached out and grabbed his collar.

"That coin, it's for the business, not for us to play around with!"

"Jaygak," Adam said, reaching up to hold the back of one of her hands.

"You need to come top four."

"How can I do that? Adam, do you understand? I won't be fighting with magic. Compared to everyone else, I don't have much in that regards. Great Moon is powerful, but I can't, I can't keep up with some of the best."

"Then, use Strong Shield, and let me borrow your shield."

"My shield?"

"Since you're going to place in the top four for your siblings, shouldn't I also do something for my adorable cousins?"

"Aren't you listening?"

"Jaygak," Adam said, reaching up to grab her shoulder, squeezing it.

"The Jaygak that you know, and the…" Adam realised his point made no sense, so he waited.

"Show it to me. Show the Jaygak that little Kavgak sees. Show the Jaygak Raygak sees. In this tournament, show it to everyone, the grandniece of the Flame Brand. Show everyone what it means to be a Gak."