The atmosphere in the arena was tense with anticipation as Kain walked toward the stage. This was one of the most anticipated matches of the day.
On one side was Kain, who many in the audience still wanted to be knocked down a peg or two.
On the other side was Mira who was the only one outside of the top 5 who has managed to defeat soone who was part of the top 5 since they all entered the college. Would she be able to stage another upset again?
"Co one, co all! Place your bets on the match of the day—Kain vs. Mira!"
The voice rang out loud and clear, amplified by an obvious lack of sha. Kain froze mid-step, his expression shifting to one of incredulity as he turned toward the source of the commotion.
There they were—his so-called "friends"—operating a full-blown gambling ring in the spectator stands.
Elias, the most shaless of the lot, was at the center of the operation, his dramatic black coat flaring slightly in the breeze as he gestured with exaggerated enthusiasm to the gathering crowd.
"You don't want to miss this chance, folks!" Elias shouted, his expression the perfect mix of smug confidence and theatrical excitent. "The Oracle Elias, blessed with divine insight and unparalleled judgnt, guarantees Mira has the best shot! Trust , I've spoken directly with fate!"
"Fate?" Finn muttered under his breath to Addison, who was scribbling down bets with ticulous speed. "Pretty sure 'fate' is just Elias's gut feeling and whatever nonsense he can spin to sucker people in."
"And it's working," Addison replied, smirking as received another notification about soone transferring a sum of school credits that they chose to bet on Mira.
Kain's eye twitched as he watched the scene unfold. Not only were they encouraging bets against him, but Elias was also sohow managing to milk the crowd with his ridiculous antics.
"Don't believe ?" Elias continued, gesturing grandly. "See that big guy over there?" He pointed toward Bridge, who was sitting calmly and munching on a snack. "That's Kain's adoptive brother—our inside man. Do you really think I'd risk advising you all to bet on Mira if I wasn't confident based on the inside info he gave ? And risk tarnishing my good na?! This is the Oracle's blessing, people!"
'What good na?! And nobody calls you Oracle Elias except for yourself! Just because your gut warned you a few seconds before we were attacked by a green-grade spiritual creature during a mission last year, all of a sudden you think you have the power of prophecy?!'
Kain had to actively suppress the urge to facepalm.
"Five to one odds on Mira!" Addison called out. "Place your bets now, or regret it forever!"
Aiden, anwhile, was stationed nearby, loudly counting the incoming credits and hyping up the crowd with exaggerated gasps. "Oh no, look at these odds! A fivefold payout, people. You'll never see sothing like this again!"
Unable to contain his growing exasperation, Kain spun on his heel and marched toward the group. His aura practically radiated a sense of impending doom, though the group seed too caught up in their scam to notice.
As Kain approached, Elias finally noticed him and imdiately sauntered over, plastering on his most charming smile. Or at least he thought it was charming. In Kain's opinion, it was more akin to the sleazy smile of a shady businessman.
"Cough, cough," Elias began, feigning a sheepish tone. "Oh, uh, hey, Kain! Funny running into you here, buddy."
"Elias," Kain said flatly, crossing his arms.
"You're probably wondering what this is all about," Elias continued, his smile growing wider. "Don't worry! It's all part of a plan to… uh… boost your reputation!"
"My reputation?" Kain arched a brow. Continue reading at empire
"Of course!" Elias declared, puffing out his chest. "You see, if Mira is the crowd favorite and you still win, it'll only make your victory all the more impressive! And trust , Kain, I'd never bet against you. This is just good business strategy. Purely for show. You'll get a cut of the profits, obviously. The Oracle always rewards his chosen champion."
Kain's narrowed gaze lingered on Elias for a mont, the silence stretching just long enough to make Elias sweat.
Finally, Kain released a faint smirk. "Maybe I should intentionally lost to bankrupt you."
Elias's grin faltered. "W-Wait, what?"
Ignoring him, Kain turned back toward the stage. As he walked away, he could hear Elias whispering, "You think Kain would actually lose just to teach us a lesson?"
Addison snorted. "He might. I wouldn't put it past him."
Aiden, ever the optimist, chid in. "Nah, no way. He's too competitive for that. Right?"
'These brats are actually convincing people to bet against ! Where was the support for their good friend?!'
After getting along with Elias for so long, Kain was well acquainted with his true mischievous personality.
In contrast to his serious and almost depressing emo-esque appearance, Elias had a soul that was the combination of 5 parts jokester, 4 parts fraudster and 1 part perverted streaker with a penchant for nudity.
However, the fact that he'd roped the other 3 into his shenanigans was surprising.
Kain didn't glance back once at his friends who were looking to profit off of his next match. He couldn't continue to dwell on them lest he be tempted to throw the match to stick it to them out of spite.
Mira was already on the stage waiting for him, her small fra dwarfed by the grand scale of the arena, but her stance was steady and confident. The crowd buzzed with murmurs. Mira's impressive performance so far had won her newfound respect, and everyone was curious to see how she would fare against Kain.
Beside her stood 3 contracts. She had a fourth, but it was only orange-grade and had only appeared during the group stage matches of phase 1. In phase 2 of the re-ranking against the top 5 students it would only be useless cannon fodder.
Of the 3 small cats on the stage, the first was a sleek yellow-grade Shadowclaw Lynx, a dark-attribute spiritual creature with a silver sheen to its fur and glowing amber eyes that seed to pierce straight through the soul of every audience mber it made eye contact with.
The second was a green-grade Sunflare Bobcat, a fire-attribute feline with fur that shimred like embers. Its tail flicked back and forth, leaving faint trails of fire in its wake, while its claws glowed with a faint heat that suggested they could sear through any non-enchanted tal—although they may not be as effective against objects reinforced with spiritual power and sigils.
The third was a green-grade Psychat, a ntal-attribute spiritual creature not much bigger than a house cat. Its sharp, pointed ears constantly twitched as if it was picking up every word spoken by the audience, or possibly even those words they weren't saying out loud.
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