Chapter 346: Placing bets

"You can use your real weapons, no need to handicap yourself on my behalf. It would be too boring otherwise."

Once again, to Sir Michael's great frustration, before he could finish, the boy once again interjected. Even going as far as insinuating that he wouldn't be a challenge without his sword!

Whilst Sir Michael was trying to quell his rage and push the crazed anger back down for a bit longer, in the hall a commotion was rising. Aiden's words caused another wave of gasps and shock to ripple through the crowd.

"This stupid kid is offending my dearie!"

"Shut up you hag, Sir Michael is mine! He only looks at me, can't your frog eyes even see this simple fact?! But anyway, that brat is really an idiot! Sir Michael will beat him so fast, he wouldn't even realize it!"

"Bro, did you hear that?! That kid is something else!"

"He actually went as far as to insult Sir Michael, saying he would be too boring!"

"Oh my… Who is this cheeky brat?! Does he have a death wish?"

"Calm down guys! That just makes their duel all the more interesting! This way, Sir Michael will have the chance to 'accidentally' injure him and he will have nothing to say. He wished for his demise! Hahaha!" A big-bellied man called out, erupting into a boisterous guffaw. 

"Yeah! This brat has no idea what he had just brought upon himself!"

"Hey, anyone taking bets for this? I wanna place a hundred Guild Credits on Sir Michael defeating this worm in 2 strikes!"

"Me too! I place two hundred on Sir Michael defeating this brat in a single swing!"

The crowd began to stir even louder, even going as far as already placing bets against their fight. Whilst the ladies were burning with rage, the men were already investing their hard-earned guild credits. Even though there was not much risk, they still wanted to earn a bit more. 

Problem was, nobody was willing to place any money on the boy, making the betting process mostly pointless. At least until, someone from the counter suddenly exclaimed, raising his hand.

"I place twenty thousand credits on the boy!"

Surprising the crowd, and even his own group, Drake suddenly raised his hand in the air, turning towards the obese mace-wielding, loud-mouthed man from a moment ago. 

"You there!" Drake pointed at him. "Are you the one taking the bets?"

The big-bellied man looked at the silver-haired youth. As he scrutinized him closely, he frowned. He seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place it anywhere. Deciding that it didn't really matter and it was probably just the brat's friend, he walked closer stepping away from the crowd. 

He looked at Drake with a smug expression one more time, before speaking up.

"Yeah, I am. Are you willing to risk such a great sum on the fight? Are you certain you want to bet on the boy? You can't back out once you placed your bet…" He spoke, his words carrying the obvious underlying threat.

Still, to the man's great surprise, the silver-haired youth remained unphased, and whilst the red-haired chick behind him looked fiercely, she didn't speak either. 

Drake nodded at the man, before nodding. He offered his right hand so they could shake and confirm the pledge.

"Yes, I am sure. 20000 on Aiden. The 'boy' will defeat Sir Michael. I will not specify how many hits, as I don't want to ruin my friend's fun. Let's just say, that their battle will be a one-sided clear victory." He explained, confirming his bets with a mischievous smirk. 

The obese man was slightly taken back by his words for a moment. He turned to look at the boy one more time, in an attempt to find anything special about him. But no matter how he looked, he felt nothing coming from him. He didn't have the trademark aura of mana that would reveal his expertise in any magical art. His body looked weak compared to what a real man should look like. He was young, barely a youth, especially when compared to someone such as Sir Michael…

No matter how he looked, scanned, or wrecked his brain, this boy had absolutely no chance. 

In the end, he shook the silver-haired man's hand, a cruel smile stretched across his scruffy bearded face.

"Alright, it's a deal! What's your name boy? I'm Rick Thon, Rank 2. My friends and I will make sure that all the bets are accounted for, and at the end of the fight, we will make sure to pay everyone. You better not leave until you settled your debts!"

"Drake, simply Drake, my rank is not important," Drake responded, the smirk not leaving his face. However, before the man could pull his hands away, he was suddenly pulled closer. Drake leaned against his right ear, and only whispered his next words. "You also better not leave before we are done…"

The man raised his hand behind him, calming his lackeys who were already reaching for their weapons, in an attempt to rush to their boss' aide. Rick freed himself from Drake's grasp a moment later. He grabbed his aching wrist, donning a scowl as he looked at the surprisingly strong youth, before harrumphing and walking back into the crowd.

As the man left, Scarlet finally leaned closer and whispered into his brother's ears with a worried tone.

"Are you sure about this Drake? Will Aiden be alright? You might get into trouble because of this!"

"Don't worry about that sis!" Drake patted the top of his concerned sister's head smiling at her gently. "You have nothing to fear about. This was free money, you'll see it later!"

Whilst they were lost in their little world, Sir Michael managed to regain his composure, and swallowed his frustration. He smiled at his opponent, pointing towards the door at the far side. The same door he entered and battled for his rank up a while ago.

"As you wish, Aiden. I will use my blade, but I will make sure not to hurt you too badly. This way Miss Lily and everyone can be satisfied, right?" He asked looking over the group, resting his gaze at the blonde girl in the end.

"Yes, this is fine, Sir Michael." Lily giggled, winking at Aiden.

"I am fine with this as well." Aiden nodded, looking towards the distant door. "Shall we? I prefer not to waste too much time. We have more important matters to discuss than playing with you."

He calmly exclaimed, turning towards the door. Grabbing his sister's right hand, they began walking towards the door. 

Whilst the crowd was shocked yet again, and Sir Michael's anger was reaching levels that he couldn't contain anymore, he clenched his fists, and with his teeth gritted, he followed along with the rest of the group.

However, he stopped a couple of steps later. Swallowing his rage, he turned towards the hall and addressed the crowd with a smile stretching across his face, perfectly hiding his madness.

"My dear friends, do not worry! Everyone here is invited to witness our fight! As this is not a rank-up test, if you are interested, the attendants will guide you to the balcony, and you can take your spots. The fight will begin in ten minutes!"

Having said that he turned towards Mary, and waved the other guild employees to walk over. He instructed them to follow his orders and guide all that are interested in the balcony area. Once everything was set, he turned around and walked towards the arena room. A mad, cruel smile was stretching across his face as he was now alone. 

'I will show that brat… Although I can't kill or mutilate him as he is unfortunately related to Miss Lily… I need to be patient and just work on winning her heart for now. Once she is mine, I can just remove that brat and his annoying group at the same time!'

Thinking about the delightful vision of the future, he couldn't help but chuckle at his own brilliance.

'Hehe… After this, Miss Lily will surely realize my greatness! I will have to not show that I know how deeply in love she is with me, and continue courting her slowly.' 

"Ehehehe!"

Reaching for the door, a chuckle escaped his lips, he was already looking forward to the rest of his day. He was sure that today will be great! Today will be the day when Miss Lily will finally realize who she should get close to!

With thoughts like these, he grinned as he pushed down on the lever, and walked into the arena. His eyes instantly searched for the blonde-haired angel, only her beauty could give him the energy he needed.

Seeing how they were still grouped around that annoying boy, he had to take another exhale to calm down, and walk towards them.

Seeing how her beloved was hugging another man, a wastrel, a pathetic weakling on top of that, it just served as further fuel towards their upcoming clash!