The moment the announcer confirmed the results, entire tribunes erupted in a loud cheer. No matter where I looked, everyone was standing, shouting, whistling and overall doing their very best to make as much noise as they could. While the fight was definitely shorter than most of the ones that took place here before since it was devoid of most of the tactical nonsense, it was way more intense than probably everything that happened or would happen here during this tournament!

Looking down on the stage, I saw that both Eve and Neterian stepped away from each other and after taking few slow breaths to calm themselves down, they actually smiled to each other, before the man kneeled and presented my sword on his extended arms. 

While I was unable to discern the words that they exchanged, it was plainly obvious that there was no enmity towards them despite the inconclusive end of their fight. For our side, we managed to present the might of my sword, get Jelier off our back while establis.h.i.+ng Eve as a major power in her cla.s.s, while Neterian not only was able to test his skills against another genius but also earned quite a lot from this exchange.

It"s true that I did not consider five hundred or even an entire thousand of arena coins as a big sum, but that didn"t mean that others would take this amount lightly. Looking at how many diffrent resources one could buy with it, I could say almost for sure that this money would go into some elders hand instead enriching the cultivator himself. After all, taxes exist in every world!

Knowing that this was the moment that I should appear on the stage once more to confirm the winning os the bet, I ran out of the lodge and jogged down the stairs. This time, Jelier was already prepared for my appearance, showing up right beside me the moment my shoes touched the ground of the arena.

"This was definitely a good fight!"

Feeling the familiar sensation of the voice amplification being applied to me, I plastered a wide smile on my face and turned to the crowd. Seeing that the cheers finally started to weaken as if tamed by my voice, I waited for them to calm down even more before picking up my lines.

"While it"s a pity that this Sir"s sword got destroyed during the fight, thanks to me and my fiance foresight, we managed to secure two swords of comparable quality for this duel beforehand! If not for it, You guys would blame for rigging the fight and making the quality of the weapon a factor more important than one skill and ability!"

Adding a bit of humblebragging shouldn"t hurt either me or the city Mayor, so I decided to push my luck a bit. Considering what I was going to do and say next, I had to make the most of the publicity that I gained for this moment!

"While I said that, the truth is, the outside world is not as forgiving as the fights on the arena. Sir, we agreed to five hundred arena coins for partic.i.p.ation, and you were unable to claim the additional prize for winning. But the fact is, you didn"t lose either, prompting me to offer you additional fice hundreds, lifting the burden of running around the shops to get my change back. I hope Sir will be able to purchase a proper weapon, even if only secondary, that will be a worthy replacement of your previous weapon. As for purchasing…"

Just before I was going to start my advertis.e.m.e.nt, I took a quick peek at the Jelier, trying to probe whether he either paid enough attention and had something against me promoting the second auction house. While every major party from the city was invited to the auction and would be free to join hands in securing the future of my investment that I described back at the construction site, I had to make sure that except for the Katenaris and Dracons, every other major sect would be present when my insane equipment would be auctioned off! Only by doing so I can force them to remain on my side later on, instead of brewing unrest between factions caused by unjust treatment when it comes to dealing with such great a.s.sets.

"... If sir have some time, I would like to invite both You and everyone else interested in the auction that will take three days from today in the merchant sector of the city. Like I said before, the outside world is unforgiving, making a spare weapon, potions or medicinal pills a valuable commodity for everyone daring to adventure outside. Even if those weapons that were used in the duel won"t appear on the auction, I can a.s.sure everyone that other wares won"t be far off in terms of quality!"

This sentence was something I thought long and hard about even before the berserk incident. I knew that I would look for any opportunity to promote this new investment, but I had to consider the fact that the more I would like to put it in a positive light, the greater the risk that enemy factions would send their representatives as well. Even if they previously scorned the idea and decided to ignore it, I doubted they would uphold the honour of their words if they understood how important this auction would turn out to be.

That"s why I decided to go with phrases that I knew very well from millions of short ads that I watched back on earth. The part about the outside world being dangerous was even engraved to my soul for eternity when it scared me out of my wits by suddenly appearing in the middle of eight-hour calming track that I used to sleep soundly!

Dumb people would get hooked by it, normal people would get interested and smart people would see through the real meaning of those words in an instant. Only by doing it like that I could have the best chances of pus.h.i.+ng Katenari"s interest away from me, while potentially gathering everyone else! But I guess with all the other commotions and troubles that I caused, they would still send someone to watch my steps despite ignoring the auction…

I guess that settles it. We will just have to enforce the rule of paying right away, and sell every valuable item of mine as soon as possible, to prevent them from bringing their money to get their hands of the better bits of my wares!

While I thought about all of that, I realised that the pause in my speech was quite long already, so I shook my head to clear my thoughts, but my fake smile on my face again and turned back to the crowd.

"With that said, I only want to accent the fact that this auction won"t have anything to do with Bakari auction house, so you can expect low prices, but our wares won"t be on the same level as in this respectable establishment as well. To not take even more of your time, I wish the next fights will be as enjoyable as this one, and I hope all the challengers will be blessed by great luck!"

Feeling the annoyed Jelier"s gaze on my back, I had to conclude my speech posthaste, While he knew that I knew that he was unable to cut my words short to not raise an unrest in the audience, it didn"t mean that he was content that I used his great investment as a platform to raise the popularity of my own business! 

Just as I was about to get back to the tribunes in my usual way, I felt someone grabbing my shoulder. Turning around, I saw even more annoyed, Jeliers face and his ice-cold eyes starting right in my pupils.

"Use the contender"s entrance… I don"t want to see you breaking through our arena barrier like it"s nothing again!"

Upsie! I didn"t even realise it! While there was some strange, thin veil of energy creating an inner dome that separated the fighting grounds from the tribunes, since it was too weak, I simply tore it apart before forcing it back to its usual state with just a small thread of my mana. This action was soo easy for someone on my level that I didn"t even need to do it consciously, allowing my natural instincts to do the work for me!

"I"m very sorry about it. I didn"t do it intentionally."

Clasping my hands to the Jelier, I pa.s.sed by him and approached my beloved fiancee. As soon as I reached her side though, she actually turned around and went inside the entrance that appeared in the ground! Without any other choice, I swiftly followed her. With my head filled with the thoughts about the various aspects of the auctions that I would have to take care off as well as finis.h.i.+ng a new set of weapons for both me and Eve, I seemed to miss something important!

"Great job out there, dear. While I didn"t expect him to be so strong, you did great by holding him off!"

Shooting blindly, it seemed that I managed to score a hit when the small girl turned around with a slight smile on her face. As she moved one and then the second step towards me, our bodies became so close that I could clearly feel her sweet smell! 

"Don"t you think that I deserve some reward as well?"

With her arms appearing on my shoulders and her hands instantly locking behind my neck, she hung herself on me while leaning with her upper body to the point where her b.r.e.a.s.t smashed against my torso as she looked up with a mischevious smile on her lips.

"Of course you do! Just tell me what you want!"

Intoxicated by the look in her eyes, I could only react in this way. d.a.m.n it! Since when she learned how to act in such a bewitching way! I will have to find some ability in the Bonger"s shop to increase my resistance against her natural charm!

"If you say so…"

As she licked her lips, she suddenly placed her hands on my upper body and pushed me away with a single stroke. With her expression turning back to normal, I could even discern a hint of anger in her eyes!

"Then I want you to never s.n.a.t.c.h Pengu away from me again!"