26 Moving forward

After returning to the practice area I once more collected my winnings from the attendant. This time I won 8 gold coins. While I was counting my winnings next to the attendant I felt a hand my shoulder.

"That was a good fight young man, I didn't think someone your age was capable of using psychological tactics in the middle of the fight."

I turned around, it was Old Man Shui that was talking to me. He must be referring to when I pretended to go all out with my attack during the fight causing him to drop his guard. Many people would realize the importance of mental warfare it just wasn't very common at the moment.

"What martial arts family did you come from," Old Man Shui asked.

"Oh... we had a few reclusive masters that instructed the children in my family."

Obviously, I couldn't tell him that all my skills and battle sense are because I reincarnated from 10 years in the future. Even if I had he probably would have thought I was crazy or lying to him.

"Oh! How uncommon, no wonder you have such skills and mindset," He looked at me with surprise.

"Thank you Old Man Shui, I must take care of a few things before my next fight so I must go."

"You may call me Shui, hopefully, we will meet again," He responded.

"Yes, hopefully, Shui."

We parted ways. I had a good impression of the old man. Even after suffering a defeat against someone young like me he did not show any signs of anger and handled it with grace. I somewhat admired him and hoped we could meet again.

I had a few things to take care of before my next fight. First I went to Valerian and confirmed he submitted the correct bet and got the money. Fortunately, there were no mishaps, even if he acts foolishly sometimes he can be relied upon. The odds were 3 to 1 so we made a decent profit of ten coins. I told him to hold off betting for the next two rounds because the odds would be low and we couldn't afford to draw attention to him by betting with a large amount. As a native, he would get too much attention for having that much money in a human settlement. Best case he gets mugged by petty thugs worst case he draws Alexander Morrow's attention.

I, on the other hand, wouldn't draw so much attention and the majority of the crowd could already recognize me which decreases the chances of my bets causing problems. There were also no rules banning contenders from betting on themselves.

I made my way around to the human section. I had to exit the native section and go around the arena since there was no passage connecting the two sections. After getting to the human section I entered the gambling house and got in line at one of the booths.

After reaching the attendant I said, "13 gold on Young Lion winning his next fight."

I bet with the money I had won from my fights.

"Thank you, sir, here is your gambling receipt."

The attendant had a cute smile and delicate features. No doubt this is why she was placed here. Nothing get's a man's blood boiling like a cute girl. This tactic was frequently used on Earth to drive up spending.

My odds for my next fight were 2 to 3, significantly lower than the other fights. After receiving my receipt I left the gambling house and went to the entrance of the arena. After waiting there for about half an hour a figure came up to me and handed me a document. This is what I had been waiting for and is essential for my plan to move forward.

"I got you what you want, now can I please have the antidote?"

I looked at Barry, he was trembling. His face had become white as a ghost and sweat was pouring down his face. No doubt he was suffering from imaginary symptoms his mind had conjured regarding the Death Hand Fruit. Feeling sorry for him I handed him a small leaf from my pocket.

"Grind this up and mix it with hot water then drink it all at once. This will temporarily keep your symptoms at bay. However, don't even think about betraying me the poison remains in your system. This is not a complete cure."

"Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate your kindness. Is there anything else you need from me?"

"As a matter of fact, there is something you can do for me. I want you to start evaluating the mercenary members. Since you are one of them it shouldn't be too hard. I need to know whether they can be bought, are frustrated with Morrow, or are loyal to him. I need to know which ones I can win over."

"Yes sir, no problem. I will get you a list as soon as I can."

After Barry walked away I looked down at the documents in my hand. With these I have nothing to worry about and my plan can proceed without fail. I just need to get to the final match.

I went back to the contenders section and readied myself for the next fight. It wasn't too long before my name and another contenders were called by the officiator. I was slightly hoping it would be the man with the Katana, but it was just one of the other contenders which are of no concern to me.

I went into the fighting arena and dispatched the man with ease, in less than 30 seconds. Honestly, the fight was barely worth mentioning. I did manage to gain 378 essence though.

I once again returned to the practice arena collecting 10 gold from the attendant. Then I went back to the gambling house and collected my winnings. After collecting the money I counted it. Between the gold, I won for fighting and gambling I had 29 gold and 50 silver. I then used that same amount and placed it on my next fight.

After getting the gambling receipt back from the attendant I checked the odds. The odds went back up to 2 to 1. It seems my next opponent must be the Katana man and he must have a good record in the arena. He will definitely be a tough opponent.