CHAPTER 55: THE ARENA

After noting every scrap of information in the tavern, Ace and his team left without trying the food. It was expensive, and no one was in the mood to eat anyway.

"One potion for three days’ worth of meals? I don’t like it," Alex said.

Ace didn’t answer.

People risked their lives for this food, so maybe one potion wasn’t as bad as it sounded.

He didn’t want to push his views again after dropping that news.

His friends already knew he wanted them to fight in the Heaven Village’s arena, and the mood wasn’t tense because of it. Everyone handled the stress in their own way.

Chaewon stayed quiet. Mercer, seemingly lost in thought, nearly tripped. Alex talked about everything that pissed him off.

Ace turned to Marko. "Look for an alchemist named Ryan. You know the cover-up story, yeah?"

Marko nodded.

"Yeah."

To become an alchemist, Marko needed a few passive and active skills.

He could get them on his own, but that would take experiments and a few specific items like a cauldron.

Ace wanted to help, but he didn’t know much about those items or what made one cauldron better than another. That was why he decided to send Marko to an alchemist he could vouch for.

Getting his attention might be hard, but Marko was part of Rank One’s team and had the best ingredients for health and mana potions. That was where the cover-up story mattered; he couldn’t reveal the Bank Grotto’s secrets.

"I’ll tell them we looted them from tier 2 Black Umi," Marko said.

Marko didn’t have those ingredients on hand, but his System had descriptions of them. Everyone on Ace’s team had seen those descriptions themselves.

Those descriptions could be shared with other rankers and were the best way to expose lies. If someone talked big but couldn’t prove it through the System, something shady was going on.

"Yep, have fun and take your time. We’ll meet at sunset at Tyler’s weapon store," Ace said, bidding farewell to Marko. The others did the same.

Now that there were four of them, the gang headed straight to the arena.

The Heaven Village was still short on facilities. Most gear here was secondhand from villages rankers had claimed, and anything usable could be rented by the day with potions.

The arena stayed crowded. Some came for company, some just to be around people, and some to watch duels.

It was also a good scouting spot, so rankers of various tiers gathered there. Ace spotted a few familiar faces, but he went straight to Edward Sawyer.

Seeing him approach with his crew, Edward grimaced as if he’d swallowed a bug. He tried to cover it, but others noticed and asked what was going on.

"You kay, Edward?"

"Yeah..." Edward looked away and shifted on the wooden bench, tense.

Ace stopped in front of him and looked down. "Edward Sawyer. Challenge my Queen, Bishop, and Rook. Good experience for everyone."

The others and Edward’s teammates looked at each other, then at him. If someone walked up to a Rank Six and spoke without nerves, he had to be high-ranking himself. Edward didn’t throw a tantrum or make faces either, which confirmed it for them.

"I know you have a good way with words, Ace Avalanche," Edward said, his expression sharp.

"Ace Avalanche?!" someone exclaimed.

More heads turned toward Ace, and people looked him over.

His vest, hoodie, and daggers were gone, so he wore spare clothes. His backpack didn’t look like it held anything valuable, so he looked like just a tourist.

Ace didn’t look strong.

Then people saw the scars on his hands, and goosebumps ran down their spines.

"What did he even fight?"

"Some lava monster?"

"His hands... are fucking scary."

Chaewon, Alex, and Mercer glared at anyone who crossed the line about Ace’s scars. Beautiful as she was, Chaewon’s sharp stare was as deadly as her sword. She shut up more than a few loudmouths.

Edward liked that stare.

Yeah... Ace Avalanche is damn right. Only a strong woman is worthy of my pursuit!

He looked back to Ace and sneered. "How much do you believe in your Sixteen? You dare to bet yourself and them on this duel? If I win, you four join my Sixteen and become my subordinates. If I lose, I’ll join you!"

"I don’t want you," Ace said.

Edward’s eye twitched, his lips quivering. "Huh? Why?"

"Bet your Rank Six’s Skill on this duel instead." Ace ignored the look and dropped another bomb, shocking everyone there, including Edward himself. "Do you dare to bet your unique gift?"

"Fuck off! Of course I’m not betting that!" Edward stood and swept his hand, glaring.

"If you won’t go that far, don’t start betting." Ace shook his head. "Anyway, you fighting or not? There are other people I could ask. They’ll brag they didn’t turn down a duel a Rank Six did."

"Bastard... I’m gonna fight them and show you just how weak they are because you babysit weak rankers!" Edward Sawyer left the stands.

He walked to the arena, a rectangular patch of dirt surrounded by stands, and called his tank and healer over. As they reached him, Edward extended a hand to the side and a spear appeared. Grip firm, he gave it a test swing, ready to fight.

His gift is an inventory. I’d love to have that.

How comfortable would it be not to carry a backpack loaded with equipment, consumables, weapons, and other gear? Ace could use that skill in many ways, too, since he fought with three different weapon types. It made sense that he wanted an inventory skill.

As he’d said before, Edward could bet this skill. It was a loophole that let rankers steal unique skills normally reserved for Ranking Rewards. No one had thought this far yet, though.

Ace wondered how far he could push his selfishness. He knew the loopholes and the methods for stealing those unique skills, but every advanced move like that could alter the future in dangerous ways that might come back to bite him later.

He didn’t realize the consequences of his actions were already around the corner, closing in.