Chapter 214 - No Way Out

DANG! DANG! DANG!

The gong sounded loudly indicating that the match was completed. However, no one else could believe that they were actually hearing this.

There was pin-drop silence in the huge stadium except for the loud ringing of these gongs.

"The match is over. The winner of this match is contestant Derek." The referee also stood up and announced amidst this deafening silence.

The crowd which had just seconds ago been chanting Victor's name and the stormtroopers guild name at the top of their lungs suddenly forgot to even breathe and gasped in shock.

The ringing gongs and the referee's voice snapped them back to reality. This no-name person who did not belong to any guild had actually done it!

He had won against someone who had the better equipment by a huge margin. 

And he did not just win, he destroyed the opponent with overwhelming power and might.

That was the shortest fight they had witnessed on this floor. 

Since this was the 90th floor, the fights here typically lasted for at least a few seconds, both sides exchanging some moves, showing off their battle prowess.

But this time it was simply a one-sided massacre. There was no chance to block. There was no chance to counter. This was simply no longer being skilled and not skilled.

It was like a pro-boxer fighting against a couch potato. A complete and utter smackdown.

And everyone who had bet against this impossible scenario had lost their money!

"Fuck. I bet 5 silver coins man. What a waste!"

"How the hell did this sure-shot win go to shit?"

"Useless stormtroopers guild full of trash players. Even with legendary equipment, these losers will probably lose."

"Heh. Serves them right. At least all we lost was a few silvers. That guild… must have lost millions of dollars right?"

"Ba ha ha ha! They deserve it!"

"I heard they even kicked this guy out of their guild so this is technically a fight between ex-guildmates. This alone should tell you what that trash guild limit is!"

"Fuck, why did I even bet on these idiots!"

"Ha aha ha! Because you are also idiots. I just got 20 silver coins and all I bet was a single coin. Easy money. Easy money!"

"Damn it. I really hope they play more games. This time I won't let the opportunity go and bet a huge amount."

Everyone became busy and started gathering more funds. 

Both who won their wager and lost their wager looked equally ecstatic as if they had found a loophole in the game.

Now that they had personally witnessed the fighting capability of this person, they wanted to tap this easy gold mine.

However… how could things be so simple?

After the fight, Derek casually stepped out of the ring. 

He didn't register his name with the referee again as Liam had already sent him a message to duck out for the time being.

So he started walking away from the fighting ring and out of the arena to meet with him.

However, after seeing this, the other person in the fight ring instantly paled. His brain that was frozen solid now began to melt and reality slowly dawned on him.

"Wa… Wait. You can't leave." Victor screamed like a teenage girl running behind the guy. 

He still did not pay any attention to him, so Victor had no other choice but to run for his life and catch up to him. He directly stood in front of Derek, blocking his path.

"Derek! Why are you being so difficult? Did you not hear me calling your name?"

"Hmmm?" Derek looked genuinely confused. "Why did you call me?"

Seeing his calm and nonchalant expression, Victor wanted to grab him and bang his big empty head on the wall nearby.

However, he did not have the ability to do so. So he could only swallow his anger and continue. He really was very desperate.

This was his last chance. If this conversation did not go well, then his life was effectively over.

"Ha Ha Ha. Do I need a reason to call you? Aren't we old friends?" Victor awkwardly spoke.

Derek knitted his brows together and quickly shot him down. "I am a bit busy right now." 

He side-stepped around him and tried to leave, but Victor quickly once again blocked his path.

"No worries. No worries. I just need some small information from you. You see, I am very curious about the chest guard you have on right now."

Victor extended his hand to touch the dark violet metal, making Derek frown deeper. 

"Aha ha ha. Sorry I couldn't help but touch it. This is also a unique-grade chest guard, am I right?"

Derek stood silently not answering any of his questions.

"Perhaps even higher than unique-grade?" Victor did not give up and tried to probe him, trying to gather some intel from the small expressions on his face.

"Can you maybe share the stats with me? I am very curious. I mean we just had an awesome fight. So I want to see why exactly I lost. That's all."

"Come on. As a winner, you won't be stingy, right? I am not asking you for your skill list or anything, just the stats on the equipment. It's not a big deal right?"

Derek, however, did not show any reaction at all. From the beginning till the end, he only had a look of indifference. "You are blocking my way and I said that I was busy."

"Heh? I see? So you are a big shot now huh? Ha Ha." Victor tried his best to sound as calm and casual as he possibly could.

"You don't even have time to talk to an old friend. It's alright. Do you want to meet sometime later when you are free?"

"Oh, we are planning to raid the clock tower dungeon. It has good loot for plate classes. Why don't you join us?" 

"You are already familiar with our party's strength so it should be an easy run. We can also pay you for the run. Don't worry."

By this time, a small group gathered around the two, many people wanting to talk to Derek in order to recruit him.

When they saw the guy acting so shamelessly, completely different from how he had been before the bouts, they silently sneered with disdain.

How could they all not know what he was doing?

Half of the crowd might be full of noobs who did not have a clear understanding, but the other half were experienced players.

And every single one of them was already aware of what was happening in front of them.

Someone had purposely tricked and baited the stormtroopers guild into shelling out millions and millions of dollars.

And now this guy who had been dumb enough to take the bait was doing some last-ditch effort to at least get something in return.

Calling him alone to run a dungeon with their group? That was like a hooligan calling a girl alone to get raped willingly!

Everyone could see that the deceptively simple chest guard on Derek's body was not as simple as it looked. It was definitely unique-grade equipment or higher.

Otherwise, just the skill difference alone could never explain the outcome of that third fight! 

With three unique-grade items equipped, it was impossible for a player to lose that badly, in a completely one-sided fashion.

So almost everyone including Victor had their eyes glued onto the new chestguard that Derek had switched out for the third battle.

Some wanted to know where he got it, some wanted to know if he would sell it to them and some wanted to recruit him.

However, the shameless guy in front of them was right now trying to bait the poor guy into losing this high-grade item.

If he by chance accepts the offer, it was extremely obvious that their guild members would gang up on him and try to rob him blind.

Even a small child could see through this plot, but the idiot was still trying. 

Did he not know that a person, who had orchestrated the whole thing and swindled millions of dollars from their guild, would have the brains to see through his actions?

How pathetic! Some people in the back even loudly started cursing the stormtroopers guild. They still did not dare to do so openly but they vented their anger by shouting from the back.

However, unbeknownst to these things, Derek's only thought was something else. Liam had called him, so he wanted to rush back.

Clearly, talking to this person was useless. So he simply started shoving people to his left and right and moving forward. 

With his strength, it only took a second to get out of the crowd, and Victor was unceremoniously tossed aside like trash.

But he still did not give up. He opened his chat and started furiously typing. 

He knew what Derek's bottom line was so he gave up everything else and hit the nail right on the head. 

"I will pay for everything. I will personally pay for all the medical expenses of your family. I know you have a rich backer and because of him you managed to get some high-tier gear."

"But do you know that person earned millions just now by betting on you? He used you! And do you still think he would need you after this?"

"He is probably already long gone. You won't get a single cent." 

"Come with me right now and I will get all the money you need from our guild bank and you can immediately take care of your mother and sister."

Victor was barely even paying attention to what he was typing. Derek had already walked away from him so this was all that he could do. 

So he typed everything that came to his mind without holding back. "This should get your attention, right?" He wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked up to see the reaction.

And bingo!

Just like he had expected, it looked like his words had indeed caught the attention of the person. Derek's figure paused momentarily.

"I knew it. I knew it. This bitch is desperate for money. I can still make this right. He will do anything for money."

"Come on. Come on. Reply. Reply." Victor could barely hold his breath. His face which had darkened like a black pit was also showing signs of joy.

Yes, he had lost a lot of money. Yes, he had failed miserably. But all was not lost yet.

He was very sure that Derek had an epic ranked item on his body. If he could somehow get that item for their guild, then all of his mistakes would be forgiven immediately!

Even this loss wouldn't be that big of a deal if their guild could get that item!

Everything would be back to the way it was… 

"Come on. Come on. Come on." 

Victor waited and waited and the next second the message that he was eagerly awaiting flashed on his system interface. However, it was not what he expected.

[Ding. You have been removed from the friend list. You can no longer send messages to this person.]

Victor's heart sank. He could feel his future slipping away. His last chance to redeem everything was now gone…

And before he could digest this terrible reality, another message also popped up. It was from their guild leader, a very short and simple message.

"Trade the three unique-grade items back."

There were no harsh words. There were no unkind comments. It was only a straightforward command. However, this made Victor all the more nervous.

He felt like this was the calm before the storm. He gulped and quickly sent the three items to another member of the guild.

And as soon as he did…

[Ding. You have been removed from the Guild Stormtroopers]

[Ding. Your reputation with the guild is now zero]

"Wait. No. No. Wait." He once again began to furiously type in the chat, explaining everything to the guild leader. 

"That guy Derek has an Epic ranked item. I am sure of it. That's why I lost. That's why everything I did ended up backfiring." 

"You have to trust me. He has that item. If we plan well, we can take that item from him. We can also rob all the gold back from him."

"Please. Just please give me this one more chance."

However… He only received another familiar message…

[Ding. You have been removed from the friend list. You can no longer send messages to this person.]

Victor suddenly felt all the strength in his body drain and he collapsed on the arena floor, staring blankly in front of him.