Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 881: An Important Number (Part 2)

From the words of observerʼs no. 2, five minutes passed, the betting began and all the nobles watched the rapidly changing numbers above their heads with bated breath.

At the same time, almost unnoticed came the notification to the NEPs and staff phones.

Silvana was no exception.

”Agh?” she pulled out her phone as she clicked the alert.

A table opened on the screen with every Phantom at the Twilight Palace who had one to four twilight coins, which was everyone.

The name and photo lines on the left were changing rapidly as the betting count went live.

The numbers were moving so fast that it was impossible to make out anything. As soon as Silvanaʼs eyes caught on something, the numbers would change again and get bigger.

The only thing Silvana could make out was how many digits the number had. Was it in the thousands? Tens of thousands? Or maybe there was a whole million bet on someone?

Well, Silvana soon realized that she had greatly underestimated the capabilities of the great families, especially the first four because they were the ones who were more interested in the final bet than anyone else.

It wasnʼt about status or even the fact that the Twilight Palace was on their territory. It was about what observer no. 2 had only partially mentioned, giving no more than a hint of the coming battle.

Adam looked up, his number growing larger and larger with no intention of stopping.

”Well, I wonʼt hide it, Iʼm curious how this is going to end. The last time I was bet on at the Moon Colosseum, it was quite a showdown.”

A golden glint reflected in Silvanaʼs eyes as she pointed upward.

”Hey, Adam, whatʼs that?”

A star appeared under Adamʼs never-stopping number - ʼ1ʼ.

Then, the ʼ1ʼ changed to ʼ2ʼ, then to ʼ3ʼ, and so on, but the progress was much slower than the bets.

Strangely enough, not all nobles had such stars. On the contrary, out of the dozens of young men that Adam saw in the distance, only one more had a number with a star above his head, and it stayed at ʼ1ʼ, with no intention of moving on.

Simultaneously, Adam and Silvana thought the same thing.

”Itʼs the observerʼs votes.” Silvana said confidently.

Adam nodded weakly, looking at the nobles, the numbers of some of them starting to slow down which couldnʼt be good news for their inflated egos.

”Yeah, it looks like it. By the way, did you manage to find my name on the chart?” he glanced at his phone.

Silvana awkwardly scratched her cheek as she looked away.

”Well... how should I put it... find your name? In this case, itʼs not hard at all.”

Once the first thirty seconds of the five minutes had passed, Adam never stopped coming out of the top of the rankings.

He was constantly in the top 5, but it was difficult to determine who had the two highest stakes because their positions were constantly changing.

But, something managed to catch Adamʼs eye.

The photo of a young man with hair as white as snow and crystal-clear eyes, stayed in first place much more often than the others.

”Reinz Alderran, thatʼs... heʼs the offspring of the first great family, right?”

”Ughum.” Silvana nodded in confirmation, ”Although the hierarchy among the Twelve Branches is a controversial topic, especially because of the Noukx Family, among the first four families, itʼs obvious. Whoever is higher is in charge at the first wing.”

”I see, it seems the great families and members of the government are quite confident in his position. It may be too early to tell, but Iʼm sure heʼll be at the top of the betting in five minutes.”

Ding!

With a light call, Reinzʼs bar flashed with golden light as if in some game, wanting to show that something important happened.

Just now, the amount bet on Reinz had exceeded 1 billion credits.

It seemed to be too much, but it was not the money of one person but of many and it was obvious that all the great families had fortunes in billions, not millions.

Strangely enough, despite her defeat in the top-10 was Giselle and not far from the top-40 was Heira who was still standing in front of Adam.

”What?! Only top-40? Why so low?!” Heira exclaimed, her voice full of indignation.

Then, her eyes narrowed, gazing intently at Adam.

”Wait... Where are you?”

The shock made her eyes go wide.

”This canʼt be happening? I knew you were stronger... but why is the difference between us so huge?!”

Adam didnʼt answer anything, he just continued to silently watch the chart as well as the observerʼs votes, some time ago they became ʼ7ʼ, and no longer this value changed as if all observers gave their opinion.

...

While the Phantoms at the Twilight Palace were waiting for the end of the bets, the influential people were preparing to make their bets, carefully choosing the right candidate.

Obviously, Erik Wurhen, a gambling enthusiast and currently the most powerful man in his family was also invited to the event. He didnʼt need to be present at the Twilight Palace, all he needed was a phone, punctuality, and most importantly - money.

Erik seated in his black jacket and red shirt saw his reflection in the crystal glass, the amber drink inside kept cold by a round ice cube.

The dim light reflected a rare glint across his slicked-back crimson hair, while his eyes, bloody rubies watched the changes in the chart with curiosity.

He began to look from the top-100 and up, those nobles who couldnʼt make it to that line in the first five minutes werenʼt worth his attention.

However, rather quickly, Erik reached the top-10, paused for seconds at Giselleʼs value, and looked a little higher.

His eyes sparkled as the corners of his lips turned upward in a sly smile.

”Oh, how interesting... Adam Vinter, it seems the nobles have faith in you, but not as much as they would like. Youʼre in third place, and it looks like you canʼt make it to second place. What a pity.”

Then, Erik picked up his glass, took a sip of the strong whiskey, and laughed briefly.

”Hahaha,” his voice carried a hint of darkness, ”Just kidding. Of course, youʼll end up in second place. How could I pass up an opportunity like this to make another fortune?”