580. Final Phase VI

580. Final Phase VI

“Damn,” Vasera groaned, rubbing her forehead. “What kind of monsters came to join this tournament?”

Adam smiled innocently.

“Why did you have to come and bother me while the finals are ongoing anyway?”

“Is it that fun to watch them play at who takes first and second?” Adam asked. “Sir Roseia is going to take first, and Sir Kanna is going to take second.”

“So why did you leave the octagon to come and speak to me about?”

“I thought we might as well chat,” Adam said, pouring her some wine he had bought. The rest of his group was settled around them, in the corner of one of the first floor segments, to keep out of the way of those interested in the final fight between Sir Roseia and Sir Kanna.

Vasera pinched the cup with her thumb and index finger, making the okay sign as she slammed back the cup of wine. Adam wasn’t sure that was how to drink wine. “Rook told me about you. He said there was someone to be careful of, some crazy bastard called Adam. If he had told me you wore purple, I would have remembered.”

“I did say that,” Rook said.

“Gods damn it,” Vasera grumbled. “Was I drunk?”

“Yes.”

“How can you blame me for not remembering when I was drunk?”

“You swore on the symbol you would remember.”

“You know that doesn’t count.” Vasera shot back another cup of wine, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Did I make a bet with you too?” Her symbol flashed white for a moment. “Damn it. How much was it?”

“I said a thousand gold,” Adam said.

“A thousand gold?” She clicked her teeth. ‘Damn.’

“You said two thousand, and we agreed on that,” Adam added.

“Two thousand? Gods damn it!” Vasera grabbed the bottle of wine and began to guzzle it down, before she slammed the bottle of wine down. “What are our bets looking like?”

“You placed, so we have at least one thousand and five hundred,” Rook explained. “That’s about it.”

“Then there’s the money the little noble sir is going to pay us...” Vasera spoke as though she was suffering from a terrible poison. “Do you accept magical items?”

Adam blinked, looking towards Jurot for a moment. He hadn’t expected to be on the receiving end of such a statement. “Perhaps?”

“We’ve got a magical shield. It’s Basic, but it usually sells for about a thousand and five hundred. We’ll trade it at a price of a thousand gold. We’ve got a couple of Basic weapons too.”

‘A Basic shield? I did need one for Nobby.’ “I noticed you all use longswords and such, but no shields?”

“Shields?” Vasera flexed from under her armour, with such force the armour visibly shifted. “I am the shield!”

“Aren’t you the blade?”

“How can I be the blade when I couldn’t even hit you?” Vasera replied, glaring at the Half Elf. She still wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to bring her down with a single blow, but upon hearing he had basically done the same to the other two, she didn’t get too worked up by it. She eyed up Wraith.

“Yeah, but it’s a pretty cool blade.”

“It’s warm,” the Drakken replied, almost smirking. “Perhaps you’ll come across it another time?”

“There’s no use in beating you twice,” Adam replied.

“This bastard!” Vasera reached out and slapped Adam’s arm quite roughly. “Everyone’s a funny guy when their shield is an Iyrman.”

“I think you’ll find my shield is quite strong without my brother.”

‘Who the hell is she?’

“May I sit with you?” called a voice.

“How are you doing, Stone Sword?” Adam asked, motioning a hand to the older warriors, allowing him to sit with them.

“Well.”

“I heard you’re fighting in the finals tomorrow?”

“I am,” the older man admitted.

“I’m going to be betting quite a bit on you.”

“How much?”

“A few hundred gold, maybe a thousand gold?” Adam replied.

“Do you have so much coin to throw around?”

“The perks of winning almost every fight.” Adam couldn’t help the smirk which crept up on his face. He had watched many of the great warriors fight. There were quite a few which had caught his interest. Of course, almost all the older warriors who fought after the preliminaries were over were absolute monsters. There were quite a few Noskan warriors who had managed to place quite high. Even Raging Bull, who Stone Sword was facing against, was a Noskan.

“I wouldn’t bet on me,” Stone Sword admitted. “Raging Bull is another breed of warrior.”

“Is he?”

“Yes.” He looked to Jurot. “He’s like one of you.”

“A Rage Dancer?”

Stone Sword nodded. “Have you heard of Ajax the Mouse?”

“Yes,” the Iyrmen replied, simply.

“Whose Ajax the Mouse?” Adam asked, throwing an awkward glance towards the Iyrmen.

“He’s collected the Three Gems of the Jiad,” Stone Sword informed, his voice low. “He’s the only one whose been able to do so since they were split. Even when the Iyrmen tried, they collected one or two pieces, and were killed shortly after. He’s the only one whose managed to live long enough to claim all three, and after collecting all three...”

“Ajax the Immortal.”

Stone Sword bowed his head. “I’m not sure if he’s really immortal, but he’s close to it. The Strongest Paragon is another title for him. He’s so strong already, but I hear he’s aiming to find the fourth gem.”

“The fourth gem of the Three Gems of Jiad?” Adam asked.

“There are many gems, but the Three Gems of Jiad are the greatest three gems. There are more. Some say seven or eight, others say ten or eleven. Whatever the case, if he really does collect each of the gems, he’ll become unstoppable.”

“What does that have to do with the Noskan?”

“Ajax rarely ever talks, it’s why they call him the Mouse. That, and the bloody mouse he keeps on his shoulder. Of the last few things he’s been recorded to say, one of them was that he didn’t want to fight Fjord Vytdrak again.”

Adam threw a look to Jurot.

“Raging Bull’s name is Fjord Vytdrak.”

“Oh.” Adam slowly nodded his head. “Alright, I won’t bet on you then.”

Idk why I found the last line so funny but it still cracks me up.

Vasera is such a cool npc. I'm sure she'll have many more chapters to come...