CHAPTER 55: THE ARENA

"Who wants to bet, come in here..."

"Right here, we are more trustworthy and always fair to our players."

Richard suddenly heard shouts from beautiful women standing in front of the luxurious buildings near the colosseum.

When he looked closer, they turned out to be gambling houses, but they only accepted payment in Nature Spirits.

Richard was a little interested, but remembering the number of Nature Spirits he had, he gave up on the idea. Only ten— even if he won, it would just become twenty, not worth the trouble of registering.

Sister Lisa kept walking forward.

Even now, the colosseum stands were already half full.

There was no entrance ticket and no special passage to get inside, one only needed to descend into the stands from above.

The soldiers were only there to keep order, not to check anyone entering.

There was only one area forbidden to the public, and right now its seats were only partly occupied. That was probably the area for nobles.

As they started descending the stands, Richard and Sister Lisa had to push through the crowd. Sister Lisa held Richard’s hand tightly, afraid he might get dragged away.

Several burly men didn’t hesitate to shove others aside just to move forward.

Even Richard and Sister Lisa were pushed around several times.

It was far more chaotic than entering a football stadium during a final match.

Sometimes, an elbow accidentally struck Richard in the face.

Sister Lisa was beginning to look annoyed, since as a woman, being touched several times "by accident" by men was making her uncomfortable. But she had to endure it, unable to simply use her armor.

If she got angry, the aura from her armor could send people around them flying.

Fortunately, once they got closer to the front, things became easier.

"Let’s sit here..." Sister Lisa quickly chose seats, still far from the battle area but clear enough to watch.

Richard didn’t care where they sat. He immediately took a seat beside Sister Lisa.

Moving forward was impossible anyway. Even the seats in their row filled up quickly, leaving only the back rows for latecomers.

No sooner had they sat down than Richard heard many discussions from the sides, front, and back.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Hard to say. Wren seems to have some strange and dangerous power, but I’ve seen Gray fight several times. He has extraordinary Light power. I heard his affinity with the Light Element has already reached 85%, plus he has various incredible Arcane Arts. Just because Wren has a Tier 3 Aether, their strength is actually still balanced."

"I think Wren is more likely to win."

"Why do you think so?"

"Having a Tier 3 Aether shows that Wren is more talented, and he must have more tricks."

"Hmph, that’s the foolish judgment of someone inexperienced in watching strong Magus battles."

"..."

Richard occasionally glanced left and right to see the people talking.

Some were just having light discussions, but others were outright arguing.

"Make way for participant Gray..." Suddenly Richard heard a loud shout from above, so loud it echoed across the colosseum.

When he looked back, the soldiers were pushing people aside and forcing them to open a path.

Richard then saw a white-haired youth appear, wearing his academy uniform.

He was, of course, the young man Richard had met last night.

Wren came with some of his academy friends, including Laura.

Since they weren’t the hosts, they didn’t look too excited, but in their group was one old man, hunched and walking with a cane.

An ordinary person might think he was just some frail old man, but as a Magus, Richard felt an overwhelming threat from him.

Richard doubted he was only at the Life Aether Realm—perhaps he was even above that realm.

Several captains of the guard, when the group passed them, gave short salutes to the old man, proving his strength.

They descended into the colosseum easily, since no one blocked their way, and there was indeed a special area at the edge of the battlefield for them to sit, similar to a bench for reserve players.

Since they came from the same direction as Richard, Wren should come from the opposite side. Richard was curious about this man, but there was still no sign of his arrival.

The number of spectators only grew, and soon the entire stands were full.

At the back, Richard saw many squeezed together, sitting shoulder to shoulder.

"Mm..."

On the path leading to the special area, Richard once again saw soldiers clearing the way.

That area was beginning to fill, but until now, no one had been escorted by soldiers.

Richard saw luxurious carriages arriving.

Honorable-looking people stepped down from them.

Two men stood out more than the rest: one was in his fifties, with a thin white beard, and the other looked in his forties with neatly kept blonde hair, giving off a friendly impression even while wearing a luxurious red robe.

"Richard, the blonde one is the governor, Wilder Hall. Next to him is Victor Moonshadow, elder brother of Lady Rebecca, the current leader of the Moonshadow Clan. Even though Lady Rebecca is the strongest in that clan, she doesn’t bother with managing it. Victor Moonshadow’s strength is equal to Wilder Hall’s, but just so you know, in the Moonshadow Clan, there are quite a few elders at their level..." Sister Lisa whispered to Richard as she explained.

Richard narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at them. Compared to the old man who accompanied Gray’s group, these two felt far less threatening.

The two walked side by side, chatting as if they were close friends.

Others could only follow behind them, including some young men who stood out.

They had arrived late but were given front-row seats.

"Where’s Wren, why hasn’t he come yet? Even his father arrived earlier," someone said.

"Hmph, he’s always late. Luckily his father is the governor. Otherwise, he would’ve already been disqualified," another person said.

"Yeah, I hope he runs into misfortune at least once."

Some people who disliked Wren began criticizing him for not showing up yet.

But not long after they spoke, soldiers were seen clearing a path on the opposite side of the arena.