Chapter 209 - Up The Ante!

"Hey, don't you know what's happening right now? Why are you still standing here?"

"I am on my way. I am on my way."

Currently, in Yleka city, a huge commotion was spreading on all corners. 

The crowd that was usually hovering around the auction house seemed to be now concentrated in the PVP tower.

Even everyone who earlier dreaded the horrendous grind of the PVP tower was suddenly energized to try and climb the tower as best as they could.

However, this was mostly related to individual players and some lower level members of the various guilds.

The higher-ups and the actual powerhouses still went about their own business. This was, of course, with the exception of a single guild, Stormtroopers.

Unexpectedly, many members of that guild were littered all over the PVP tower of Gresh Kingdom.

When the other guilds didn't seem to care too much about this 1000 gold coins betting fever, this guild alone paid extra attention to the whole affair.

They quickly rose in ranking by taking advantage of the fact that one was able to register in huge groups and climbed the tower more quickly.

Some of their guild members were also already on higher levels. 

So while the others were still arriving, these people gathered on the 90th floor to actually check if the rumors that were spreading were true or false.

And on this same floor, sitting quietly in a corner of the arena was the perpetrator of this entire chaos.

"Oh! Finally, the bait has arrived!" Liam grinned, sitting back and relaxing. After forging for several hours continuously, he was very tired.

So all of this ruckus gave him a lot of entertainment. Though it was not the same as sleeping and taking a good night's rest, it came pretty close to it.

"Heh… time to up the ante."

A couple of seconds later, it was Derek's turn to once again fight and this time, he placed a bet of 5000 gold coins instead of 1000 gold coins, instantly causing a wave of gasps and shrieks in the arena.

The Stormtroopers guild members as well started discussing amongst themselves in hushed voices but they did not make any move yet. It was almost as if they were waiting for someone.

And soon this someone or rather a full team arrived. 

This team instantly caught the attention of everyone present on the 90th floor as they clearly stood up among the sea of average players.

They were decked from top to bottom in dazzling gear, some of them even having gemstones studded on them and their guild emblem shone brightly and proudly at front and center.

Derek, who was beginning his fight on the ring, did not pay attention to any of this. He was in his own world only focussing on the fight in front of him.

Liam, on the other hand, observed everything and his grin widened. "Now everyone is here. Time to start the party." He pulled his cloak further down as he saw several familiar faces. 

Liam knew them because he had slaughtered a lot of them, not personally rather indirectly using the golems.

This guild was none other than Derek's ex-guild and these players were none other than his teammates.

These were also the people Liam was patiently waiting for. And now that they were here, it was time for a good show.

On the other end of the arena…

The entire section sparkled as the elite team of a guild was very eye-catching. All the Stormtroopers guild members were sitting together.

"Ke Ke Ke. So this bitch actually ran over here." Victor, the main tank of the Stormtroopers guild spat on the ground.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. I thought that the idiot was a dumb doormat but he seems to have a bit of brain." 

"Creating all of this commotion just by himself and managing to come this far is really not bad."

Hearing Victor's words that sounded like praise but was not really, another member of the guild pointed out something important.

"Victor, how do you think he got that much money? Wasn't that idiot begging us for money for his mother or sister or someone?"

"Ya, 1000 gold coins is a lot. I mean we can gather that much money in the snap of a finger, but where did that idiot get that much?"

"Maybe he found a rich backer?"

"Haaa… That might really be true. He is actually not that bad a player. Maybe he joined some other big guild and got a bonus or something?"

Hearing this, Victor who was silent all this time, immediately snorted in contempt. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"That guy only knows how to screw up! How could he compare to the elite teams of big guilds? Why would they recruit a nobody like him? Did you leave your brain before signing in?"

"Ah. Sorry. Sorry." 

The person immediately shut his mouth and looked down, though he seemed to be rolling his eyes. He wanted to say something but he decided that it was best to keep his mouth shut.

Victor removed his angry gaze from the so-called 'idiot' and paid his attention to the fight in the arena. Everyone standing around was cheering and shouting at the top of their lungs.

1000 gold coins in itself was a huge amount and now that the prize pool became 5000 gold coins, everyone acted as if they had dunked in barrels of Redbull.

And the person who was the center of all of this fame and fervor was none other than DEREK!

Victor clenched his fist as he looked at the towering figure of the person whom he loathed and hated deeply.

He was a professionally trained fighter until his knees gave out. So when this game appeared out of nowhere, he thought that his chance to shine brightly had finally arrived.

This was his comeback and the opportunity that he had been waiting so long for. His stupid knees would no longer be able to hold him back.

However, smashing all of these expectations he had, right from the day this person had signed in, he had casually beaten him at everything.

Heck! He even had a mana affinity that Victor was not lucky enough to have.

But unfortunately, he had joined the game too late, and that too when Victor had already made a name for himself.

Grabbing hold of this single advantage, Victor had managed to keep the guy under his foot all these days and now, he had slipped away!

Even though he had personally made the effort to bad mouth the guy to all the major guilds, he still somehow managed to get somebody's backing and come this far.

Just this thought made Victor feel angry.

"I should have never let him go!" He ground his teeth silently. 

All of this spotlight and this fame should have belonged to him and not to this spineless idiot who was only fit to be his punching bag!

"Ok. We have let this go on for too long. It's time to take action! Go submit my name for the next round. I will teach this bitch a good lesson."

One of the lower-rung guild members quickly hurried to submit his name. Not long after, Victor's number was promptly called.

Victor sneered, his lips twisting in contempt. "Don't forget to place the bet. Match that rich retard's 5k with another 5k from our guild. I will explain it later to the guild leader."

The healer who was the next in command, slightly hesitated but he didn't have the authority to question Victor's actions so he quickly obliged.

With both sides adding 5k each, the prize pool instantly shot up again, now totaling a whopping 10000 gold coins. 

The crowd instantly became even crazier! 

This was no longer just 1000 gold coins! These were 10000 gold coins! This was an amount that even the big guilds would stop and take a look at!

This immediately made everyone fervently bet.

Also, this time many of the long-time gamblers who had been witnessing Derek's abilities for a while now, started betting on him rather than the opposition.

But Stormtroopers was a decently famous guild with a considerable amount of achievements so half of the crowd still bet on the person participating from the guild.

And of course, there was also a portion of the crowd who announced loudly that they were supporting Stormtroopers but they secretly were betting on Derek.

In this way, the entire arena was almost split half-half and everyone chewed on their nails, eagerly waiting for the upcoming fight.

In this festive atmosphere, one that could rival a coked-up rock concert crowd, Victor smiled, calmly and casually walking over to the fighting ring at the center.

He had the air of the expert who was seemingly untouched by all these endless praises and cheers showering down on him.

On the other end, Derek as usual walked over with a blank and indifferent face. He obviously noticed Victor and yet there was no expression on his face.

But suddenly this indifferent facade of his cracked. Derek halted his footsteps and looked at his system interface in confusion.

Of course, everyone else as well noticed this small change on his face and they held their heart in their hands wondering just what the hell was this fighting machine thinking.

He was obviously looking at some message or notification and it was driving everyone crazy to not be able to know just what he was looking at.

Perhaps he was throwing this game? Some backroom deal to intentionally lose?

Or was he going to use some secret move or technique specifically prepared for this fight?

Did he get some new gear?

In general, these things were nothing earth-shattering but something like this could make or break this fight, so the crowd was on the edge of their seats.

They badly wanted to know this top-secret information.

As opposed to their nervous plight, not knowing what was going to happen, Derek had only looked confused for a second. 

His expression then turned to his normal calm and composed look as he continued walking to ring.