Endless World: The Rise of Leonard Lawson

Underground Slum, Arena Sector

Upon arriving at the Arena Sector, Mirelle and Claudia headed toward table 3 for the gambling bet.

”Evening, ladies, which bet are you trying to place?” A skinny man dressed in some decent clothes asked.

”We have different payout ratios alongside the type of defeat and victory available.”

He then gestured for them to look at the possible list.

There was also an important notice that each round lasted 3 minutes, with a maximum of 3 rounds being played.

Standard Win: Simple one. Pick who survives, the fighter or the monster.

Brutal Execution: Payout triples if the loser dies in a single, clean strike.

Reversal Kill: Odds jump fivefold if the fighter turns the tables at death’s door.

Predator’s Feast: Double payout if the monster devours the fighter before the timer hits zero.

Endurance Trial: If either side lasts the full 3 rounds without dying, payout doubles.

Mutual Destruction: Tenfold payout if both die in the same round.

As Mirelle and Claudia scrutinized the betting option, the skinny man gave some advice.

”If you wish to make it big and exciting, the reversal kill and mutual destruction options are the most enticing ones.”

”Our Lady wishes to bet 3 gold coins on Reversal Kill.” Claudia retrieved 3 gold coins and handed them over to the skinny man.

When the skinny man saw the sparkly gold coins, his eyes lit up. He rubbed his hands and became quite humble.

”Thank you for your betting, ladies.”

Shortly after receiving the money, the skinny man scribbled some words on a special piece of paper.

”This is your paper bet. Do not lose it at all costs. We’re not responsible for the loss of your paper bet in any way.” He warned sternly.

Theft and killing for winning paper bets weren’t uncommon in the underground slum.

As long as the deed was done cleanly without disturbing the underground order, nobody would question anything.

Claudia received the paper bet and nodded. She didn’t bother to thank the skinny man for the warning.

Being overly polite in the underground slum was a major flaw. It would rouse suspicion and make others question where they hail from.

Sometime later, the duo went to the Arena and found a few empty seats to sit on.

”What now?” Mirelle asked in a low tone. They weren’t here to become spectators but to capture Redflow.

Yet their actions so far seemed to deviate from that objective.

”Do you think this is a place you can just run amok?” Claudia rolled her eyes.

”The place has undergone some changes, as you can see. Any suspicious movement and we’ll alert them.” She continued, warning Mirelle to stop wandering her eyes around like some country bumpkin.

If anyone was more impatient, it would be her.

Her fate was directly tied to whether she could capture Redflow or not.

Therefore, she couldn’t afford even a tiny mishap, unlike Mirelle.

All Mirelle wanted was to capture Redflow for some redemption from Leonard. So even if she were to fail, nothing major would happen to her life.

Shortly after being reprimanded, Mirelle no longer wandered her eyes around and focused on the arena stage.

Initially, the audience space was quite vacant. But less than a minute left before the actual fight began, the seats had been filled to the brim.

”What betting did you choose this time, Osbert?”

”This new fighter has been doing great as of late. So I naturally bet on the Endurance Trial.” Osbert, dressed in luxury fabric clothes, smiled amusingly.

”Hoh, endurance trial? Does Osbert have some insider news?”

”That’s a given.” Osbert’s eyes narrowed slightly. ”Seems like you bet on a standard win, Ted. I’m afraid you might lose big this time.”

”Eh, it’s whatever. Being suppressed and on lockdown for so long, on the surface, I just came here to have some fun.” Ted yawned and stretched his body around.

Right at that moment when he twisted his body around, Ted spotted Mirelle and Claudia.

”Oho, when did the underground slum have another beauty?” He rubbed his chin and mused, his eyes leering at Mirelle from top to bottom.

”Stop your leering gaze,” Osbert warned softly.

”Don’t you know those who can come here aren’t someone simple?”

”That’s true, but there are also sometimes people who came here as fakes who wanted to climb up the ladder.” Ted chuckled heartily.

”And you should know my sixth sense is rarely wrong. I can tell this noble-like woman isn’t into this type of setting. She had a natural air of arrogance and disdain for this place.”

Upon saying so, Osbert’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

He crossed his legs and inquired, ”Are you saying it’s another one of the rats?”

The rats referred to the Crown Prince’s Crimson Guards, who had previously infiltrated the underground slum.

Each one of them was effectively found and eliminated.

Ted nodded his head. He retrieved a cigar and began smoking. ”Prior to the Crown Prince’s arrival, these rats have been rather active to give the three factions a major warning. But we also gave them a warning in return. As long as the Crown Prince doesn’t mess with us, we also wouldn’t mess with him.”

”Keep an eye on these two,” Osbert spoke softly. ”I’ll be informing Lady Cassandra of this discovery.”

”Lady Cassandra... shouldn’t I be the one doing so?” Ted licked his tongue and commented.

”Did you forget how you nearly got beaten into a cripple in the Snake Faction?”

”Tsk, who can blame me for admiring a mature beauty like her?”

”Alright, that’s enough. Keep me updated on their whereabouts from the magic token.”

”Got it.”

Sometime later, Osbert exited the Arena Sector, leaving Ted alone in the audience seat.

’What a nice haul. Two beauty rats delivering themselves to my doorsteps.’ Ted smiled inwardly. He didn’t sense anything amiss with them, but his sixth sense definitely told him they weren’t some grand noble or untouchable folks.

Since that was the case, he might as well frame them and enjoy their lovely bodies for countless nights.