Four hours after Zayn's second Colosseum Challenge, one could still see spectators inside the Colosseum.
In fact, many Gamblers had chosen to bet a few copper coins on the low chance that Zayn would win the challenge. They made two, or three bets to make sure that the bets with high multiplicators would give them some profits, or only little losses, even if the biggest portion of their bet would be spent on the Challenger's loss.
Because of that, the Colosseum's Gambling Ceasaria was still filled with spectators who wanted to encash their profits.
While the staff of the Colosseum's Gambling Ceasaria worked tirelessly for the past four hours, Manager Tilan was staring blankly at the wooden counter and the pouches of money that were handed out over and over again.
There was no sign of a smile on Manager Tilan's face. He couldn't care less about his cheerful image right now. Manager Tilan was clenching his fist, staring at the losses until his fingernails dug deep into the soft flesh of his palms. Blood trickled down to the ground but Manager Tilan noticed none of that.
It looked like his brain was short-circuiting and as if nothing would be able to get him back on the tracks.
Only when a young man, someone from the Colosseum's staff, approached him hesitantly, did he regain some of his composure?
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtManager Tilan stared at the young man, who immediately lowered his gaze and began looking at the ground the moment he noticed the ice-cold glare of his superior.
"I-I am sorry sir…b-but we need the key to the treasure vault…" The young staff stammered, hoping to not be subjected to Tilan's wrath.
"What?" Manager Tilan responded, almost shouting out loud, "what the hell do you need the key to the treasure vault for?!?"
The young man shuddered. His legs began to tremble and he felt the way he was slowly beginning to lose control of his body.
"We…made a few calculations…and figured that we don't have enough gold to pay the Challenger's reward and bet…he…won his bet, after all…"
The young man was stuttering, and he was shaking like a leaf in a typhoon, almost as if his life was on the line right now.
"We didn't make enough to pay him with today's earnings?!" Manager Tilan asked incredulously, his voice thundering through the entire room.
His response made heads turn and he didn't even realize that tens of pairs of eyes were staring at him. He couldn't care less who saw him right now.
"That…cannot be…" He mumbled while the young man gathered his remaining courage.
"We're lacking about three thousand gold coins to pay the challenger. Today's bets were a little bit different than usual. Far more people chose to bet in favor of the Challenger. Most of them seem to have heard of the Challenger's first battle, or they might have seen the first challenge of our newest Challenger… Almost nobody bet on the victory of the Heavy Armored Bull within the first ten seconds either…"
It took the young man a lot of effort and bravery to speak that much in front of Manager Tilan. Under normal circumstances, telling Manager Tilan their profits was a task everyone was willing to do because they would always make a lot of money. However, today's situation was the complete opposite to the usual.
"Almost nobody bet on the standard bet?" Manager Tilan asked, unable to understand what exactly made the most notorious and stupidest gamblers change their tactic all of a sudden. It was the norm to bet on the beast's victory within ten seconds. That was how many of them earned a small fortune every now and then.
Of course, the Colosseum had its way to trick these notorious gamblers into believing that they earned a fortune and that they would never make any losses with the standard bet. However, something seemed to have changed.
"We cannot continue like this…" Manager Tilan growled through his gritted teeth, "It's all this kid's fault!"
'I need to get back everything this kid earned…and I need to make up for the loss…otherwise, I'm doomed… No, the entire Colosseum will be doomed!' Manager Tilan thought, his brain smoking from the thoughts that flashed through his mind, tormenting him.
'He has to die…but how can I make use of that to earn back what we lost…'
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIt was matter-of-fact that Zayn should have never been allowed to make a bet in the Colosseum after his first victory. If he would win just one more bet with the fortune he was about to claim at the Colosseum's Gambling Ceasaria, the Colosseum would lose the profit they made from years of hard work and scheming.
A plan was slowly forming in the mind of the manager, whose eyes contracted when he saw an overly familiar and hateful person emerge from the staircase that led to the basement of the Colosseum.
It was Zayn, who had slept soundly after manifesting the Spirit of the Heavy Armored Bull and now was approaching to claim his reward.
He named the Heavy Armored Bull Spirit 'Tank' because that was basically what the Spirit was. Tank's semi-translucent color was a dark shade of green, indicating that he had an above-average talent.
It was a rich shade of dark green, hinting that Tank's talent was the highest among his Spirits. That was pretty satisfying and enough reason for Zayn to be happy.
However, there was more. Tank had a special ability, just like Saber, Glutton, and Agile possessed. The Bull Spirit could manifest an armor around its entire body, protecting it from most attacks. The Armor consumed some soul particles but the consumption was not as drastic as one would imagine.
Tank was the perfect name for his newest Spirit, but now it was time for Zayn to get hold of his well-deserved reward!
Clearing his throat after he reached the Colosseum's Gambling Ceasaria, he was immediately eyed by many. No outburst of anger or disgust came from the Blessed around him. They all just stared at him.
This was a pleasant change, though Zayn didn't care too much about the opinion other people had about him.
He ignored their stares and smiled at the staff of the Colosseum's Gambling Ceasaria, dropping the bomb by smacking the ticket of his bet on the wooden counter.
"I came to take my reward!"