Chapter 37: 37
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
"No, I haven't been to the arena before. In fact, I was just about to go there now." Draylen said, wiping the crumbs away from his mouth.
"Good, I mean, allow me to invite you there in the name of house Bannard." The young man replied, reaching out a hand courteously.
They briefly shook hands.
Draylen, "This means I'll have a free tour guide."
Bannard Noble, "His hands are greasy."
The boy stood up and introduced himself.
"I am Draylen."
The Bannard noble was waiting for the boy to introduce his family name or titles or even achievements, yet Draylen just looked at him blankly.
"Oh right. I am Brogen Bannard, sole heir of the Bannard house."
Draylen scooped up his two puff ball shaped familiars before asking a question.
"You're a noble and have plans to eat at this bakery, why are you suddenly taking time out of your schedule to bring me to the arena?"
"Aha, well, we were actually planning to head there afterwards as well. They are hosting a special event which many people are going to participate in, even his majesty the emperor has reserved a room."
A waiter came over and handed the two nobles some pastries, placed neatly in a basket.
"I figured that we may as well head over in a group, especially since you don't seem familiar with the city." Brogen said with a grin.
Draylen looked at the noble with suspicion, before shrugging to himself.
'At least I still have a free tour guide.'
Soon, the small group of people had left the bakery and were walking whilst chatting occasionally. Draylen noticed that the two nobles were constantly looked at with admiring eyes and comparing himself to them, he looked somewhat like a peasant.
Feeling slightly inferior, especially since his new clothing now looked very worn and dirty, he pulled up his hood. He sighed in relief, now that his face was covered.
'It's never been like me to be so self-conscious.' He thought, brows furrowing slightly.
Looking over to the two nobles, Brogen and Helen, he realised that the clothing they wore really was luxurious. Whilst most of the other nobles that he had seen wore absurd clothing, the two walking beside him seemed to have some sort of fashion sense.
Brogen wore a dark blue suit, matching his clean and sharp features, whilst Helen had a long dress which looked as if it were made of pure ice. Matched with her light blue hair, the outfit looked truly good.
After a few minutes of navigating the plaza, they reached a a large colosseum esq building. It's walls were extremely tall, towering over the group of people like a giant would a dwarf. Looking around, Draylen noticed that were a few other groups of people who were waiting outside the arena and by the way they were dressed, they also seemed to be nobles.
His face turned black.
'Have I just been invited to the gathering place of nobles? I was supposed to avoid them at all costs!'
Silently lamenting his bad luck, Draylen walked curiously over to where his noble companions were standing. They seemed to be talking to someone who looked like some sort of attendant.
"The price here last week was only four gold per person, why has it suddenly quadrupled?" Brogen asked, trying not to raise his voice too much.
The attendant just shrugged passively.
"I don't make the rules and the price change because of the event taking place today. Raising the entrance fees means that only nobles or well off families are able to enter the arena and participate properly."
Listening closely, Draylen realised something.
'This means that participation requires a lot of money...'
He then looked at the pouch given to him by Argo. He then looked at Brogen.
"Excuse me, you say the price has increased. That would mean that each person will have to pay twenty gold coins to enter, correct?"
The attendant nodded quickly, silently praying and hoping that the young nobles wouldn't make any unnecessary trouble. Draylen reached into his pouch and pulled out sixty gold coins from Argo's pouch and placed them on the desk.
"Such a cheap price you are worrying about. Are you the noble, or am I?" He said with a somewhat mocking grin.
'That's what I was wondering!' Brogen yelled internally.
Helen was also looking at Draylen with curiosity. How could such a shabby looking child have so much money?
Similarly, the attendant was also staring wide eyed at the child before him. Draylen coughed, bringing the man back to his senses.
"Ah right. Please take these identity tokens."
Three bright yellow glowing badges were handed out.
"Make sure to wear these inside at all times, lest the guards mistake you as someone who hasn't paid." The attendant added.
Brogen nodded gratefully at Draylen and took Helen's hand. However, just as they were about to enter the arena, Draylen stopped them.
"Hmmnn... You said the emperor himself reserved a private room? I want one too."
His loud declaration garnered the disdainful looks of many nobles standing nearby, even a few rude remarks.
"A peasant boy's pride inflates that easily?"
"All he did was pay for the entrance fees, does he think he's rich?"
"Five hundred gold, I'm afraid it's better for you to-"
"Five hundred gold? That's nothing, here."
-Clang!
A pile of gold coins was tossed carelessly onto the desk, causing all of the hushed whispers to stop. Whilst Draylen had prepared himself for what would be a long and boring 'coin counting' like when he was at Roklan Carne's shop, the attendant here was a lot more efficient.
Even though he was shocked, the attendant a still made sure to count as quickly and accurately as possible, scooping coins up ten at a time.
"R-right, thank you for your purchase." He stuttered, handing a new badge to Draylen.
It was bright red and had a number embedded within like an insect trapped in amber.
"Let's go." He said, oblivious to the astounded gazes.
Brogen nodded hurriedly, before both he and Helen followed after the young boy who had somehow taken the lead. Draylen followed the sign boards, eventually making his way to the VIP rooms. However, he had something weighing on his mind.
'How is Argo so rich? Judging from everyone's expressions, five hundred gold is a lot of money. Especially compared to the price of those pastries, did elder Appafin give this gold to Argo?'
The door of the room before him was very different to it's surroundings. The arena was made almost completely of stone, with a few decorations here and there. The door was made of wood and had a strange indent in the area where a lock should have been.
Draylen took off the red badge and slowly inserted it into the indent, causing the red crystal to shine.
-Cachak!
The door unlocked with a click and the group of people plus Draylen's familiars entered the room. They had previously been in the narrow stairways and the sudden change of scenery was very strange. Although they had been climbing up the stairs for a considerable amount of time, they only realised how high up they were after looking out of the windows.
There was a large table in the middle of the room which was made of a clear crystalline material, combined with the elegant chandeliers and paintings on the walls created an elegant image. There was even the hint of a sweet perfume, which could almost be tasted.
Draylen directly sat on one of the seats, sinking back relaxed, whilst Brogen and Helen did the same, albeit with more refined bearing. After witnessing Draylen's display of extreme financial power, the nobles felt as if all of their benefits were useless in front of the boy who hadn't even hit puberty yet.
Thus, the room became silent, if not for Draylen's occasional teasing of his familiars. Brogen noticed the uniqueness of the boy's familiars, but didn't dare to ask, in case his brain was fried out of amazement.
Suddenly, Draylen asked a question.
"What exactly is this arena and what is the special event that everyone has come to see?"
"Oh, I suppose i haven't told you yet. The arena is a place where many people gather to watch duels or other forms of entertainment, often funded by large noble houses. It's a way for different houses to earn more fame and popularity among the people, the greater the show, the greater the profits.
Now for the special event, whilst the arena usually only does duels, the event focuses more on teamwork. Different noble houses will submit a team of four people to fight in a tournament and the spectators can bet on who they think will win."
Draylen nodded with genuine interest.
'They made it a team battle to make predicting a winner more difficult, thus increasing the earnings of the arena and decreasing that of the spectators. The fact that the emperor himself has come means that people will try and bet large sums of gold to try and stand out.'
'Luckily, I have a sure fire method to bet on the right team.' He thought, grinning.
"There's one problem though, how do we make our bets from up here?" Draylen asked.
Brogen quickly pointed towards the wall by the side of the table, adjacent to the window. There was a hole which Draylen assumed was for inserting money, along with a few strange looking buttons. He realised that one could input the amount of money sent, along with which side to place the bet on.
"You really can use magic for anything, huh." He remarked.
Just as Brogen was about to reply, a loud announcement suddenly rang out.
"Welcome to the arena!"
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
"No, I haven't been to the arena before. In fact, I was just about to go there now." Draylen said, wiping the crumbs away from his mouth.
"Good, I mean, allow me to invite you there in the name of house Bannard." The young man replied, reaching out a hand courteously.
They briefly shook hands.
Draylen, "This means I'll have a free tour guide."
Bannard Noble, "His hands are greasy."
The boy stood up and introduced himself.
"I am Draylen."
The Bannard noble was waiting for the boy to introduce his family name or titles or even achievements, yet Draylen just looked at him blankly.
"Oh right. I am Brogen Bannard, sole heir of the Bannard house."
Draylen scooped up his two puff ball shaped familiars before asking a question.
"You're a noble and have plans to eat at this bakery, why are you suddenly taking time out of your schedule to bring me to the arena?"
"Aha, well, we were actually planning to head there afterwards as well. They are hosting a special event which many people are going to participate in, even his majesty the emperor has reserved a room."
A waiter came over and handed the two nobles some pastries, placed neatly in a basket.
"I figured that we may as well head over in a group, especially since you don't seem familiar with the city." Brogen said with a grin.
Draylen looked at the noble with suspicion, before shrugging to himself.
'At least I still have a free tour guide.'
Soon, the small group of people had left the bakery and were walking whilst chatting occasionally. Draylen noticed that the two nobles were constantly looked at with admiring eyes and comparing himself to them, he looked somewhat like a peasant.
Feeling slightly inferior, especially since his new clothing now looked very worn and dirty, he pulled up his hood. He sighed in relief, now that his face was covered.
'It's never been like me to be so self-conscious.' He thought, brows furrowing slightly.
Looking over to the two nobles, Brogen and Helen, he realised that the clothing they wore really was luxurious. Whilst most of the other nobles that he had seen wore absurd clothing, the two walking beside him seemed to have some sort of fashion sense.
Brogen wore a dark blue suit, matching his clean and sharp features, whilst Helen had a long dress which looked as if it were made of pure ice. Matched with her light blue hair, the outfit looked truly good.
After a few minutes of navigating the plaza, they reached a a large colosseum esq building. It's walls were extremely tall, towering over the group of people like a giant would a dwarf. Looking around, Draylen noticed that were a few other groups of people who were waiting outside the arena and by the way they were dressed, they also seemed to be nobles.
His face turned black.
'Have I just been invited to the gathering place of nobles? I was supposed to avoid them at all costs!'
Silently lamenting his bad luck, Draylen walked curiously over to where his noble companions were standing. They seemed to be talking to someone who looked like some sort of attendant.
"The price here last week was only four gold per person, why has it suddenly quadrupled?" Brogen asked, trying not to raise his voice too much.
The attendant just shrugged passively.
"I don't make the rules and the price change because of the event taking place today. Raising the entrance fees means that only nobles or well off families are able to enter the arena and participate properly."
Listening closely, Draylen realised something.
'This means that participation requires a lot of money...'
He then looked at the pouch given to him by Argo. He then looked at Brogen.
"Excuse me, you say the price has increased. That would mean that each person will have to pay twenty gold coins to enter, correct?"
The attendant nodded quickly, silently praying and hoping that the young nobles wouldn't make any unnecessary trouble. Draylen reached into his pouch and pulled out sixty gold coins from Argo's pouch and placed them on the desk.
"Such a cheap price you are worrying about. Are you the noble, or am I?" He said with a somewhat mocking grin.
'That's what I was wondering!' Brogen yelled internally.
Helen was also looking at Draylen with curiosity. How could such a shabby looking child have so much money?
Similarly, the attendant was also staring wide eyed at the child before him. Draylen coughed, bringing the man back to his senses.
"Ah right. Please take these identity tokens."
Three bright yellow glowing badges were handed out.
"Make sure to wear these inside at all times, lest the guards mistake you as someone who hasn't paid." The attendant added.
Brogen nodded gratefully at Draylen and took Helen's hand. However, just as they were about to enter the arena, Draylen stopped them.
"Hmmnn... You said the emperor himself reserved a private room? I want one too."
His loud declaration garnered the disdainful looks of many nobles standing nearby, even a few rude remarks.
"A peasant boy's pride inflates that easily?"
"All he did was pay for the entrance fees, does he think he's rich?"
"Five hundred gold, I'm afraid it's better for you to-"
"Five hundred gold? That's nothing, here."
-Clang!
A pile of gold coins was tossed carelessly onto the desk, causing all of the hushed whispers to stop. Whilst Draylen had prepared himself for what would be a long and boring 'coin counting' like when he was at Roklan Carne's shop, the attendant here was a lot more efficient.
Even though he was shocked, the attendant a still made sure to count as quickly and accurately as possible, scooping coins up ten at a time.
"R-right, thank you for your purchase." He stuttered, handing a new badge to Draylen.
It was bright red and had a number embedded within like an insect trapped in amber.
"Let's go." He said, oblivious to the astounded gazes.
Brogen nodded hurriedly, before both he and Helen followed after the young boy who had somehow taken the lead. Draylen followed the sign boards, eventually making his way to the VIP rooms. However, he had something weighing on his mind.
'How is Argo so rich? Judging from everyone's expressions, five hundred gold is a lot of money. Especially compared to the price of those pastries, did elder Appafin give this gold to Argo?'
The door of the room before him was very different to it's surroundings. The arena was made almost completely of stone, with a few decorations here and there. The door was made of wood and had a strange indent in the area where a lock should have been.
Draylen took off the red badge and slowly inserted it into the indent, causing the red crystal to shine.
-Cachak!
The door unlocked with a click and the group of people plus Draylen's familiars entered the room. They had previously been in the narrow stairways and the sudden change of scenery was very strange. Although they had been climbing up the stairs for a considerable amount of time, they only realised how high up they were after looking out of the windows.
There was a large table in the middle of the room which was made of a clear crystalline material, combined with the elegant chandeliers and paintings on the walls created an elegant image. There was even the hint of a sweet perfume, which could almost be tasted.
Draylen directly sat on one of the seats, sinking back relaxed, whilst Brogen and Helen did the same, albeit with more refined bearing. After witnessing Draylen's display of extreme financial power, the nobles felt as if all of their benefits were useless in front of the boy who hadn't even hit puberty yet.
Thus, the room became silent, if not for Draylen's occasional teasing of his familiars. Brogen noticed the uniqueness of the boy's familiars, but didn't dare to ask, in case his brain was fried out of amazement.
Suddenly, Draylen asked a question.
"What exactly is this arena and what is the special event that everyone has come to see?"
"Oh, I suppose i haven't told you yet. The arena is a place where many people gather to watch duels or other forms of entertainment, often funded by large noble houses. It's a way for different houses to earn more fame and popularity among the people, the greater the show, the greater the profits.
Now for the special event, whilst the arena usually only does duels, the event focuses more on teamwork. Different noble houses will submit a team of four people to fight in a tournament and the spectators can bet on who they think will win."
Draylen nodded with genuine interest.
'They made it a team battle to make predicting a winner more difficult, thus increasing the earnings of the arena and decreasing that of the spectators. The fact that the emperor himself has come means that people will try and bet large sums of gold to try and stand out.'
'Luckily, I have a sure fire method to bet on the right team.' He thought, grinning.
"There's one problem though, how do we make our bets from up here?" Draylen asked.
Brogen quickly pointed towards the wall by the side of the table, adjacent to the window. There was a hole which Draylen assumed was for inserting money, along with a few strange looking buttons. He realised that one could input the amount of money sent, along with which side to place the bet on.
"You really can use magic for anything, huh." He remarked.
Just as Brogen was about to reply, a loud announcement suddenly rang out.
"Welcome to the arena!"
"No, I haven't been to the arena before. In fact, I was just about to go there now." Draylen said, wiping the crumbs away from his mouth."Good, I mean, allow me to invite you there in the name of house Bannard." The young man replied, reaching out a hand courteously.They briefly shook hands.Draylen, "This means I'll have a free tour guide."Bannard Noble, "His hands are greasy."The boy stood up and introduced himself."I am Draylen."The Bannard noble was waiting for the boy to introduce his family name or titles or even achievements, yet Draylen just looked at him blankly."Oh right. I am Brogen Bannard, sole heir of the Bannard house."Draylen scooped up his two puff ball shaped familiars before asking a question."You're a noble and have plans to eat at this bakery, why are you suddenly taking time out of your schedule to bring me to the arena?""Aha, well, we were actually planning to head there afterwards as well. They are hosting a special event which many people are going to participate in, even his majesty the emperor has reserved a room."A waiter came over and handed the two nobles some pastries, placed neatly in a basket."I figured that we may as well head over in a group, especially since you don't seem familiar with the city." Brogen said with a grin.Draylen looked at the noble with suspicion, before shrugging to himself.'At least I still have a free tour guide.'Soon, the small group of people had left the bakery and were walking whilst chatting occasionally. Draylen noticed that the two nobles were constantly looked at with admiring eyes and comparing himself to them, he looked somewhat like a peasant.Feeling slightly inferior, especially since his new clothing now looked very worn and dirty, he pulled up his hood. He sighed in relief, now that his face was covered.'It's never been like me to be so self-conscious.' He thought, brows furrowing slightly.Looking over to the two nobles, Brogen and Helen, he realised that the clothing they wore really was luxurious. Whilst most of the other nobles that he had seen wore absurd clothing, the two walking beside him seemed to have some sort of fashion sense.Brogen wore a dark blue suit, matching his clean and sharp features, whilst Helen had a long dress which looked as if it were made of pure ice. Matched with her light blue hair, the outfit looked truly good.After a few minutes of navigating the plaza, they reached a a large colosseum esq building. It's walls were extremely tall, towering over the group of people like a giant would a dwarf. Looking around, Draylen noticed that were a few other groups of people who were waiting outside the arena and by the way they were dressed, they also seemed to be nobles.His face turned black.'Have I just been invited to the gathering place of nobles? I was supposed to avoid them at all costs!'Silently lamenting his bad luck, Draylen walked curiously over to where his noble companions were standing. They seemed to be talking to someone who looked like some sort of attendant."The price here last week was only four gold per person, why has it suddenly quadrupled?" Brogen asked, trying not to raise his voice too much.The attendant just shrugged passively."I don't make the rules and the price change because of the event taking place today. Raising the entrance fees means that only nobles or well off families are able to enter the arena and participate properly."Listening closely, Draylen realised something.'This means that participation requires a lot of money...'He then looked at the pouch given to him by Argo. He then looked at Brogen."Excuse me, you say the price has increased. That would mean that each person will have to pay twenty gold coins to enter, correct?"The attendant nodded quickly, silently praying and hoping that the young nobles wouldn't make any unnecessary trouble. Draylen reached into his pouch and pulled out sixty gold coins from Argo's pouch and placed them on the desk."Such a cheap price you are worrying about. Are you the noble, or am I?" He said with a somewhat mocking grin.'That's what I was wondering!' Brogen yelled internally.Helen was also looking at Draylen with curiosity. How could such a shabby looking child have so much money?Similarly, the attendant was also staring wide eyed at the child before him. Draylen coughed, bringing the man back to his senses."Ah right. Please take these identity tokens."Three bright yellow glowing badges were handed out."Make sure to wear these inside at all times, lest the guards mistake you as someone who hasn't paid." The attendant added.Brogen nodded gratefully at Draylen and took Helen's hand. However, just as they were about to enter the arena, Draylen stopped them."Hmmnn... You said the emperor himself reserved a private room? I want one too."His loud declaration garnered the disdainful looks of many nobles standing nearby, even a few rude remarks."A peasant boy's pride inflates that easily?""All he did was pay for the entrance fees, does he think he's rich?""Five hundred gold, I'm afraid it's better for you to-""Five hundred gold? That's nothing, here."-Clang!A pile of gold coins was tossed carelessly onto the desk, causing all of the hushed whispers to stop. Whilst Draylen had prepared himself for what would be a long and boring 'coin counting' like when he was at Roklan Carne's shop, the attendant here was a lot more efficient.Even though he was shocked, the attendant a still made sure to count as quickly and accurately as possible, scooping coins up ten at a time."R-right, thank you for your purchase." He stuttered, handing a new badge to Draylen.It was bright red and had a number embedded within like an insect trapped in amber."Let's go." He said, oblivious to the astounded gazes.Brogen nodded hurriedly, before both he and Helen followed after the young boy who had somehow taken the lead. Draylen followed the sign boards, eventually making his way to the VIP rooms. However, he had something weighing on his mind.'How is Argo so rich? Judging from everyone's expressions, five hundred gold is a lot of money. Especially compared to the price of those pastries, did elder Appafin give this gold to Argo?'The door of the room before him was very different to it's surroundings. The arena was made almost completely of stone, with a few decorations here and there. The door was made of wood and had a strange indent in the area where a lock should have been.Draylen took off the red badge and slowly inserted it into the indent, causing the red crystal to shine.-Cachak!The door unlocked with a click and the group of people plus Draylen's familiars entered the room. They had previously been in the narrow stairways and the sudden change of scenery was very strange. Although they had been climbing up the stairs for a considerable amount of time, they only realised how high up they were after looking out of the windows.There was a large table in the middle of the room which was made of a clear crystalline material, combined with the elegant chandeliers and paintings on the walls created an elegant image. There was even the hint of a sweet perfume, which could almost be tasted.Draylen directly sat on one of the seats, sinking back relaxed, whilst Brogen and Helen did the same, albeit with more refined bearing. After witnessing Draylen's display of extreme financial power, the nobles felt as if all of their benefits were useless in front of the boy who hadn't even hit puberty yet.Thus, the room became silent, if not for Draylen's occasional teasing of his familiars. Brogen noticed the uniqueness of the boy's familiars, but didn't dare to ask, in case his brain was fried out of amazement.Suddenly, Draylen asked a question."What exactly is this arena and what is the special event that everyone has come to see?""Oh, I suppose i haven't told you yet. The arena is a place where many people gather to watch duels or other forms of entertainment, often funded by large noble houses. It's a way for different houses to earn more fame and popularity among the people, the greater the show, the greater the profits.Now for the special event, whilst the arena usually only does duels, the event focuses more on teamwork. Different noble houses will submit a team of four people to fight in a tournament and the spectators can bet on who they think will win."Draylen nodded with genuine interest.'They made it a team battle to make predicting a winner more difficult, thus increasing the earnings of the arena and decreasing that of the spectators. The fact that the emperor himself has come means that people will try and bet large sums of gold to try and stand out.''Luckily, I have a sure fire method to bet on the right team.' He thought, grinning."There's one problem though, how do we make our bets from up here?" Draylen asked.Brogen quickly pointed towards the wall by the side of the table, adjacent to the window. There was a hole which Draylen assumed was for inserting money, along with a few strange looking buttons. He realised that one could input the amount of money sent, along with which side to place the bet on."You really can use magic for anything, huh." He remarked.Just as Brogen was about to reply, a loud announcement suddenly rang out."Welcome to the arena!"
