Chương 599: 562. Preliminaries IV

Battle Order D20 + 1 = 19 (18) Health: 78 -> 48 Attack - Wraith D20 + 10 = 14 (4) Miss! Attack - Wraith D20 + 10 = 18 (8) Hit! 2D6 + 9 = 20 (5, 6) 20 damage! Tough Spirit: 1 -> 0 2D6 + 6 = 14 (3, 5) Health: 48 -> 62 After the pair prepared themselves, the guards shouted for the fight to begin once they had moved to the side. Adam could have taken the lead, but allowed his opponent the first step as he raised his shield. The Aldishman bolted forward with his greataxe in hand.

"With the might of my conviction!" the Aldishman chanted, before slamming it down against Adam's shield. Adam stumbled backwards from the might of the blow, the explosive magic running through his bones.

'Oh Baktu! So that's how that feels like.' Adam groaned under the weight of the blow, before the flash of divine magic ran through him.

'Damn that hurts!' As the Aldishman swung his axe for another blow, Adam threw a feint, before stepping around him to strike his axe against the Aldishman's side, striking him with Wraith, though choosing against expending any Mana or charges. He inhaled deeply, flexing his muscles, regaining back his strength.

'I have to be careful.' The crowd cheered as the pair clashed, while Adam's companions watched from the first floor above.

"He's holding back," Jaygak said.

"I didn't realise he could do that." Jurot nodded his head slowly. The pair had bet a pretty sum on the fight. Their eyes remained glued to the pair as they continued their fight. Attack - Wraith D20 + 10 = 13 (3) Miss! Attack - Wraith D20 + 10 = 25 (15) Hit! 2D6 + 9 = 15 (2, 4) 15 damage!

The pair continued to fight, with Adam meeting the hefty blows of the magical greataxe with his magical shield, deflecting them with some effort, before he swung his axe wildly, managing to land a blow against the Aldishman's armour.

'Careful,' Adam thought, narrowly dodging the young man's greataxe.

"He's pretty strong, but not as strong as Adam," Jaygak said, watching as Adam continued to hide behind his shield. Without its magic, he probably would have been hit a few times. The Guardian would have been difficult for Jaygak to face, and yet Adam was holding back in order to not beat him too quickly.

'…' Attack - Wraith D20 + 10 = 1 (1) Critical miss! Attack - Wraith D20 + 10 = 30 (20) Critical hit! 4D6 + 9 = 26 (3, 4, 4, 6) 26 damage! The crowd continued to cheer as Adam ducked under the greataxe, before springing upwards and slashing violently, only to find the Aldishman had long disappeared, and was aiming a heavy downward swing against him. Adam gripped Wraith tight in hand before swiping his axe against the Aldishman's helmet, slamming with such heft that Wraith dented it.

The Aldishman stumbled to the side, before dropping. Adam blinked, before raising his axe into the air, causing the crowd to cheer, shouting and yelping with such bloodthirst, Adam thought he was in the Iyr. Victory! Expert XP Gained: +400 XP: 9300 -> 9700'Did I win too easily?' Adam thought, waving his axe still.

'I should have pretended to struggle more.' From what Adam had gathered, the etiquette was to walk around the arena, waving to everyone, before returning back to his section. Once Adam returned, he found some of the other fighters nodding their heads.

"You're stronger than I imagined," Charles admitted, extending a hand to shake Adam's forearm. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"It's the magical axe and shield I have," Adam replied.

"The Enchanter made sure I had great gear before signing up."

"The Enchanter?"

"I work for a business. The Enchanter enchants magical weapons, which are currently being auctioned off in Red Oak. We're going to try and find people to sell magical weapons to."

"How grand." A guard approached them.

"I'll take you to where you need to rest." Adam relaxed in the small room he was taken to, hearing the tournament continue outside. A priest came up to him, checking on his health for a moment, before leaving him be.

'I wonder how much money I made from the bet.' Adam smiled as he was handed more than double his bet back from a guard, before he made his way up to the middle floor, where his companions were waiting, only to realise they weren't where he left them. After asking around, he found them in another section, one which had overlooked his fighting.

"Did you guys bet on me?" Adam asked.

"We did." Jaygak replied, smirking.

"I made bank," Adam whispered, smirking wide in return. The others weren't sure what to say. They continued to watch the fights. That day was for the magical fights. It started with the youngest group, which usually started a while after dawn. The segment for Adam's age range was typically dealt with a few hours before noon, and finished a little after noon.

There was a great showing from many Priests, Guardians, and even a Wizard, who had cast Fireball, then Shield to deal with the blows, followed by another Fireball which narrowly missed them.

"Nice," Adam whispered, nodding his head slowly. During an intermission, the group ordered food, using the newly gained funds from the party fund.

"So, who should we be looking out for?" Adam asked.

"There are many," Jurot said, beginning to list off at least fifty different names, some which he had mentioned before to Adam, like Stone Sword.

"How about in your segment?"

"Kitool, Jaygak, Timojin, and Amokan," Jurot replied, almost bluntly.

"Well, yeah…" Adam waited, but considering Jurot said no more, Adam decided against asking for more.

"What about my segment?"

"Sir Roseia, Sir Karra, and a few mercenaries."

"So the King's Swords' daughter and her cousin? I wonder if we'll get to fight one another."

"It will be a good fight," Jurot said, nodding his head. Adam slowly nodded his head.

"I'll have to be more careful, then." Adam began to whisper.

"Going to bet my way into oblivion." The group continued to watch the fights. The fights between those of the older segments were far greater than the fights of their own segments. It was obvious, of course, since they were Masters and Grandmasters. The Iyrmen were more familiar with such sights, and though they were familiar with them, they still appreciated the fights deeply, even if many of the fights were greatly mismatched.

Stone Sword fought that evening, though had come across someone that was a member of a minor noble's guard. Stone Sword and the guard clashed several times, the pair almost dancing together as they went through the motions, but eventually Stone Sword ended the fight, allowing it to appear closer than it truly was.

'I should be careful in not offending nobles while not losing,' Adam thought. Unfortunately, Adam was the only one to think that way. The next morning, the youth were going to fight. Luckily, none were facing against one another, which allowed Adam to bet on them all. They would be allowed to bet by handing over paper and the coin as a group. Typically, the group would have their bets ready, and once they saw the opponent, they would go through with the bet or to retract it.

'Holy,' Adam thought, watching at the teens fought. They all fought with such fervour, even the typically quiet Bavin and Nobby. The youth crushed through their opponents with ease.

'Nice.' A short while later, Adam's companions went to fight in the arena. Adam bet a hundred gold one each Iyrman, and they completely demolished their opponents. Kitool and Jaygak had gone against members of an order who seemed promising, whereas Jurot made short work of the mercenary he faced.

"You guys are winning too easily," Adam grumbled.

"You shouldn't win so easily so we can keep betting on you." The winnings he made on the teens and the Iyrmen were far less than one to one. He bet five hundred gold on the Iyrmen, and won back an additional four hundred and some change.

"I will show my opponents the same respect they show me," Jurot said.

"Respect doesn't feed my kids," Adam grumbled again, though he smirked, his eyes shining with pride.

"Timojin and Amokan did pretty well too. Did Amokan really have to fight like that?"

"It is how he fights," Jurot said. Amokan was the kind to swing wildly within a fight, even more wildly than a typical Iyrman. Yet, any time he hit, it was near deadly. Even his opponent, a mercenary, had chosen to surrender after the first blow, her armour dented to such an extreme degree that she required medical assistance.

"Iyrmen are so scary," Adam whispered. The farmers and porters were inclined to agree, though they enjoyed how much coin the Iyrmen had made for the group.

"It's so awkward moving between the places to watch the fights," Adam said, wondering if there was a way for him to watch all the fights at once.

"You can buy a place at the bottom of the central octagon," Jurot said.

"It is one hundred gold for each segment per day." Adam shook his head.

"Excuse me? One hundred gold?" Adam's jaw almost dropped.

"So that's, what, four, five hundred gold each day if I want to watch every fight? Let me guess, most of the noble don't have to pay, or they have discount prices?"

"They donate much less," Jurot confirmed.

"Donate?" Adam scoffed, crossing his arms.

'What a bunch of pricks!'