A Dragon’s Curiosity

 

 

Shortly after, one party crushed the resistance of the other and entered the final stages of the competition, yet sadly right before the showdown could take place, the more cunning partner of the duo stabbed the partner who just helped him take down the enemies and won.

Despite the jeers and curses from the audience, the final winner still beamed and raised his hands in celebration, not only did he win the fight, he had also bet a number of points on his own win, combined with the earnings for the fight, he could soon buy a potion that was very helpful in refining his strength and might be the key to breaking through to the late third aura stage.

The losers had no right to speak about fairness or complain since the competition specified drawing blood as the loss condition, those with serious injuries hurried to look for healers and priests employed by the Arena for treatment, while those with scratches shook their heads and headed back to the registration area.

As long as they had time to recover, it was not impossible to participate in another event and earn some more money and points.

While the process sounded fast, the entire affair still took some time and this was only the tail end of the fight.

Nisha had watched with rapt attention and noticed several areas that were new to her, such as the complicated layout in the later stages where several parties had to guard against each other and simultaneously band together with an enemy to forge a temporary alliance.

In the Wilderness, it was rare for a fight not to end with a lethality once a predator had set his eyes on suitable prey, only fights for territory against equally matched opponents or similar benefits had a small chance for the defeated party to leave with their lives.

Life and death was decided in a split second, it was rare for strategic arrangements to be necessary, even the fights for the resources or areas of other monsters and beasts was rather simple in execution, a straightforward clash to decide the victor.

Naturally, there were also aspects where the elf felt that she could do better than the fighters in the pit.

In her eyes, these warriors lacked decisiveness; several times, the event would have ended sooner if one of the stronger contestants could risk their own safety and directly establish dominance to take the others down in one fell swoop.

Nisha put herself in their positions sometimes as a spectator and thought of ways to overcome the enemy with a similar cultivation and lamented every opening that went unused.

 

Overall, the first fight already managed to stoke a fire in the heart of the dragon and she became firm in her decision to enjoy a good fight later on.

No matter how well educated or polite a dragon seemed on a surface, it was in their nature to enjoy combat and prove themselves as the strongest beast out there.

Sometimes, this urge resulted in wide scale tragedies as whole regions were drowned under the floods of a water dragon or the natural disasters of a copper dragon in a rage, whereas the more positive outcome was a mutual learning with other amazing individuals that were outstanding in their respective fields.

Many strong spells and skills did not have the word [Dragon] in their name by accident, they were either derived from the innate abilities displayed by various branches of the dragon bloodline or were developed in combat against them.

Towards this theft, the dragon clan reacted rather blandly, as they knew that imitations would always pale in comparison with the original and were not too bothered about others using their name and abilities.

The sole exception was the Dragon Slayer lineage, which relied on plundering the remains of deceased dragons to forge powerful physiques and resistances as well as equipment to hunt down more dragons.

Whenever a trace of this inheritance resurfaced, the eternal war between hunter and prey would erupt and refuse to cease until one side was annihilated.

Fortunately, the current scene was more inclined to stoke the combativeness and competitiveness of the elf in a positive way.

Nisha could barely wait to sign up and fight in the arena pit herself.

Since the previous brawl had ended, several of the workers employed by the Arena entered the sand pit and removed the debris of broken weapons and armors from the ground, while others raked the spots where the most intense confrontation had blasted holes and raised up small mounds to restore a semblance of balance between them.

It was inevitable that the environment would take damage once a big fight took place, and this was just a small tussle between middle and late second aura stage warriors.

Back when the dragon was still guarding the [Dragon‘s Den] with her three siblings in the Wilderness, a large commotion had drawn them over to watch, and they learned what a real big fight was at that time.

The cause was unknown, but two beasts above the seventh stage got into a disagreement and fought to settle their differences.

Just from hosting that confrontation, a large swathe of the Wilderness was razed to the ground and countless monsters living there perished before they even had an idea what misfortune struck them.

Even with the strong vitality of the forest and mountains, it took close to a moon before the area had shown signs of recovery.

 

Shaking her head to get the images of the past out of her mind, Nisha patiently waited for the workers to finish clearing the pit, while the announcer used the array engraved on his desk to amplify his voice and hype up the crowd.

Praising the previous batch of warriors, he highlighted their achievements and mentioned several names that the elf had never heard before.

Fortunately, the employees were fairly experienced and managed to restore the ground in a short period of time, allowing the next brawl to take place.

“… don‘t leave the seats yet, the next event is about to take place.

Just now we had a veritable spectacle with valiant heroes fighting each other and backstabbing without the slightest clue, until the final victor prevailed.

In the end, the final honor went to Edward, one of our veteran fighters here at the Arena!

Don‘t miss out on the next round of betting, the stakes will only get higher from now on.

Some of our guests might have guessed it already, the next fight is a free for all for those above the third aura rank!“

As a professional announcer, not only was his voice loud thanks to the piece of magic equipment, he also managed to capture the attention of the audience very well.

Most of the people present belonged to the category of ordinary citizens.

They neither had high cultivations or lofty ideals, coming to the Arena was for their amusement and recreation.

Part of the parcel for such outings was betting, generally the bets were low and affordable and could add a little bit of spice to their lives.

Very few visitors were addicted to the point where they lost their entire life savings, the venue made a profit on the large number of transactions and adjusting the odds based on the appraisal of the fighters beforehand.

Even if the occasional upset happened and the underdog won, with a large number of fights going the way that the organisers expected based on the information beforehand, it was nearly impossible for the Arena to lose money.

Since the venue did not need to cheat them out of their hard earned coins, part of the crowd managed to win after every fight, giving them a rush of excitement on top when the fighter they cheered for prevailed over their foes.

A lost bet would not ruin their finances either, so most local commoners were willing to come again and place small amounts of money.

Quite a few of the spectators got up and went inside the building to see the odds offered at the betting stands and consider placing a wager on the next fight.

 

Nisha was almost tempted to follow them and win some shinies, yet she did not see the participants for the next round, so it was hard for her to estimate who would win.

In the end, it was too uncertain for the dragon and she did not want to risk losing her treasure, hence she limited herself to watching only this time.

And in truth, many cultivators were in a similar position, once they inspected the fighters and gauged their strength, many warriors and magicians possessed a sharp instinct that could help them tell the weak and strong individuals apart.

Nevertheless, the Arena was not worried that these people would take away their profits, once cultivators advanced to a higher level, gold and silver became less useful to them and they were more interested in resources that could help them increase their rank.

Even if they had a higher probability to win their bets, most of the stronger cultivators would prefer to use points and redeem them for treasures displayed by the Arena.

Because of the difference in purchase price and the selling price in points, the families in charge of the Arena only wished that they sold more resources.

Restocking the materials taken away still meant a profit in the margin range, leaving no weakness left uncovered.

That was also one of the reasons why the competition for the rights to manage the Arena was so fierce, just a small part of the pie was enough to sustain a noble family to a very high level.

Naturally the gamblers also knew that the organisers did not lose out, but they did not mind at all.

A lucky bet could get a good amount of resources below cost price, while a mix of wins and losses still meant that the items they desired were slightly cheaper compared to other places.

Only if they paid fully in gold to gather the necessary points would the losses outweigh the gains.

Sometimes it was a matter of availability too, other places might not have the resources of the element they needed for their cultivation, so warriors and magicians turned to the Arena instead.

Overall, even the stronger magicians and warriors were willing to come to the stands above the sand pit and place some bets, making the business of the Arena all inclusive.

 

“Not only will we see dazzling skills soon, there are also several returning fighters that prevailed in their fights recently.

‘Fierce‘ Olaf, ‘Sharp Blade‘ Jason, Ralf the Butcher and Leonard Highpass are all renowned talents, don‘t miss out on this chance and pick your champion!

The bets are still open until the start of the fight, you will regret it if you are too slow!“

As a master in his trade, the announcer repeatedly praised the participants that were about to enter the pit and appealed to the crowd.

If they placed a bet and lost it was still fine, yet if they favoured someone who will eventually win and did not put any money on them, it felt like they missed out.

With a combination of encouragement and subtle hints, more than two thirds of the audience shuffled in and out of the stands, either placing a small amount for fun or seriously placing a big bet in the hopes of hitting a jackpot if their choice won the brawl.

Nisha repeatedly fought against the temptation and it was a feat of willpower to not give in under the lure of shiny treasures, hence she was quite shocked as soon as she found out that it was the evil man with the amplification treasure that lured her in a dark direction, wanting to plunder her shinies.

Glaring at the man like he was a bitter foe, the elf directly blocked out his voice, afraid that even her willpower would crumble in the face of temptation if the fight did not start soon.

If looks could kill, the little girl alone would have stabbed the announcer to death many times over for coveting her shinies, not to mention the resentment that came from those who bet and lost.

Unfortunately, the man in question was still alive and well, it was just part of the business.

The management also had measures in place to protect their employees, it had been a long time since the last person dared to make trouble at the Arena.

For a business as big as theirs, the system had long since matured and covered all the minor gaps and unexpected situations that can occur, all for the sake of profit.

Thankfully, Nisha did not have to endure the torture of temptation for too long - seeing that the betting amount had more or less reached the expected amount, the announcer switched from promoting the fight and attraction betters to introducing the details of the event itself and the rules.