Chapter 426 - Return of the black liquid

Once Ray had entered the reception area, he was charted off to the side by one of the arena staff to a separate section. There were a few guards placed around him and they took him to the corner of the room where he could sit down while they were to get him the crystal they had promised. 

While waiting, there were many who were leaving the arena that had spotted Ray in the corner. Now it made sense why they had implemented the guards there in the first place. 

"Hey that's him right, that new guy." One of the crowd members said. 

"Good job today, I hope we can see you fighting again."

"Yeah, maybe you can take on the emperor tier beast sometime. No one has been able to beat it yet. I think Roki was the closest."

As the crowd left the arena, nearly all of them had nothing but words of praise for Ray, and eventually the place was silent. That's when he finally saw an older looking man enter the reception area and head off to the registration area. 

With his good hearing, Ray was able to hear everything that was being said. Now the room was far quieter than before. 

"I would like to register again for tomorrow as usual, please." The older gentleman said. 

"Of course." The man replied, as he was put into the event that would go on tomorrow. Before leaving, the man decided to walk over to Ray and looked over at him. 

"I hope I can see you fight again tomorrow." The man said. "Let's see who can beast the emperor tier beast first." 

As the old man walked away, Ray noticed the armour he was wearing, it was the same armour as the contestant who had entered before him.

'Roki was his name, if I'm not mistaken.' Ray thought. 'He was quite skilful with the sword. At least more skilful than me, but I don't believe he will be ready for the emperor tier just yet.'

Thinking back to what just happened, it looked as if the event for fighting beasts was on every day, until the all kingdom tournament. Maybe a bit of competition was what he needed, and it would be good to put himself up for registration again. After all, the main reason he had done this was so he could evolve using the king tier crystals. 

What better way to hunt for king tier beasts than this. They were practically being given to him. 

After a while, the man had returned with a crystal in hand. It was clear in colour showing the quality of the crystal itself. 

"Thank you." Ray said as he grabbed the crystal and continued to hold it in his hand. Usually he would have put it in his system storage, but the person in front was looking at him, so he couldn't do it now, so it just felt a little awkward as the man was waiting for him to do something with the crystal.

Ignoring the man's strange looks, with the crystal still in his hand, Ray walked over confidently to the registration area he had gone through this morning. It was the same person who was there as before. 

"Oh, you!" The man said excitedly. "Are you here to register for tomorrow as well?" The tone of the man this time was complexity different to before. 

"Yes." 

From now on, Ray would be able to use his event to not only get king tier beast crystals but also to improve his swordsmanship skills in time for the event. However, he would have to be careful from now on. If he was to kill a beast, he would need to make it apparent that he had obtained the crystal inside before the organisers. 

They were friendly enough this time to give him a king tier crystal, but if it happened more, then once they would know something was up.

After registering for the event tomorrow, Ray had left the arena to go look for the Inn that Slyvia had asked him to go to, but back at the arena, news of the new contestant registering again was spread. 

The organiser slash owner of the arena had been informed and a large smirk appeared on his face. "Who would have thought something so interesting would occur before the event. Make sure tomorrow that both Roki and this new character face the same beasts. Try to convince him to carry on registering day after day, and we will continue to build up this fierce competition between the two." 

"Also, were you able to record everything in today's fight?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, then broadcast both his and Roki match with the king tier beast today side by side. Show the highlights of the event. I want this arena filled tomorrow."

While walking outside and trying to locate the Inn. Ray noticed some strange reactions from the people outside that he wasn't getting before. There were quite a few that would point at him, then whisper to each other. 

From time to time, some would praise him on his good job with slaying the beast. Ray assumed that those people that did had watched the fight in the arena.

Still, he realised that he was getting far more attention than when he had red hair. Finally he had found the inn and entered, and when he did, the reaction from inside was no different from outside. As people including the workers, quickly whispered while looking at him from the corner of their eyes. 

"Just what is going on?" Ray thought. 

"Over here." A familiar voice shouted, and that's when Ray spotted Kyle, who looked to be sitting opposite a girl. It was only him though, and there was no sign of the others. 

"Come on, take a seat." Kyle said, as he passed Ray one of his drinks on the table. The girl who was sitting opposite Kyle, too couldn't stop looking at Ray and her face started to get a little red. Sure Ray was handsome, but that wasn't the main reason, she felt like she was sat opposite a superstar. 

"Psh, why the hell did I invite you over?" Kyle said. "You're the worst wingman ever, you would just steal all the girls away from me."

"Sir, are you the man from the Picture Show, I saw your fight, and it was very impressive." She said. 

Not knowing what was going on, Ray had a confused look on his face and it was Kyle's job to fill him in on the details. 

After explaining that Ray's match was broadcasted to the whole empire, he now understood why so many people were looking at him. 

"So where are the others?" Ray asked. 

"Most of them have gone to sleep, as for Slyvia." Kyle said as he took a big sip from his beer. "I would stay clear from her for a while. She stormed off, after watching your fight for the third time in a fit of rage." 

Kyle took another big sip from his beer, while looking out from the corner of his eye and placed it down. "Also, I don't know if you noticed, but you're being followed." 

Although Kyle and the others thought Slyvia had stormed off in a fit of rage that was only partially true. The real reason she had left was because she was to meet up with someone. She stood waiting behind the tavern down a dark alleyway. She herself was wearing a hood that hid her face. 

Finally, from the shadows another person appeared. "It's been a long time sister."

"It sure has Mathew." Mathew was the Slyvia's eldest brother and was a general in the Allure kingdom army. He had been asked by the queen to escort their contender, and that was the reason for him being in the empire. 

However, both he and his sister would frequently contact each other, updating them on what was happening, and eventually that led to the meeting here and now. "I would love to catch up and ask how you are doing, but just seeing you are here well and healthy and as beautiful as ever, I can tell you are doing good little sister.

"Perhaps I was wrong about Ray, and he certainly would make a good husband for you in the future…Who would have thought that our little sister could possibly become a queen." 

Hearing all these remarks was causing Slyvia's cheeks to flush with embarrassment. Her brothers had always been teasers, but not Mathew. He was quite serious when speaking to her, so it seemed to have a worse effect by the fact that he was the one that was joking about.

"That's enough of that now." Said Mathew. "You are a clever girl, so I'm sure you have already noticed that this city is unlike others. I am not only here as an escort but also under a strict investigation and I'm here to talk about this."

In his hand, Mathew had a small little test tube of black liquid that looked to be moving about alive. Slyvia had seen this liquid once before, and it was last used at the tournament at Avrion.

"This liquid is being traded here in the empire." 

*****

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