“Damn,” Vasera groaned, rubbing her forehead. “What kind of monsters came to join this tournament?”

Adam smiled innocently.

“Why did you have to come and bother me while the finals are ongoing anyway?”

“Is it that fun to watch them play at who takes first and second?” Adam asked. “Sir Roseia is going to take first, and Sir Kanna is going to take second.”

“So why did you leave the octagon to come and speak to me about?”

“I thought we might as well chat,” Adam said, pouring her some wine he had bought. The rest of his group was settled around them, in the corner of one of the first floor segments, to keep out of the way of those interested in the final fight between Sir Roseia and Sir Kanna.

Vasera pinched the cup with her thumb and index finger, making the okay sign as she slammed back the cup of wine. Adam wasn’t sure that was how to drink wine. “Rook told me about you. He said there was someone to be careful of, some crazy bastard called Adam. If he had told me you wore purple, I would have remembered.”

“I did say that,” Rook said.

“Gods damn it,” Vasera grumbled. “Was I drunk?”

“Yes.”

“How can you blame me for not remembering when I was drunk?”

“You swore on the symbol you would remember.”

“You know that doesn’t count.” Vasera shot back another cup of wine, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Did I make a bet with you too?” Her symbol flashed white for a moment. “Damn it. How much was it?”

“I said a thousand gold,” Adam said.

“A thousand gold?” She clicked her teeth. ‘Damn.’

“You said two thousand, and we agreed on that,” Adam added.

“Two thousand? Gods damn it!” Vasera grabbed the bottle of wine and began to guzzle it down, before she slammed the bottle of wine down. “What are our bets looking like?”

“You placed, so we have at least one thousand and five hundred,” Rook explained. “That’s about it.”

“Then there’s the money the little noble sir is going to pay us…” Vasera spoke as though she was suffering from a terrible poison. “Do you accept magical items?”

Adam blinked, looking towards Jurot for a moment. He hadn’t expected to be on the receiving end of such a statement. “Perhaps?”

“We’ve got a magical shield. It’s Basic, but it usually sells for about a thousand and five hundred. We’ll trade it at a price of a thousand gold. We’ve got a couple of Basic weapons too.”

‘A Basic shield? I did need one for Nobby.’ “I noticed you all use longswords and such, but no shields?”

“Shields?” Vasera flexed from under her armour, with such force the armour visibly shifted. “I am the shield!”

“Aren’t you the blade?”

“How can I be the blade when I couldn’t even hit you?” Vasera replied, glaring at the Half Elf. She still wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to bring her down with a single blow, but upon hearing he had basically done the same to the other two, she didn’t get too worked up by it. She eyed up Wraith.

“Yeah, but it’s a pretty cool blade.”

“It’s warm,” the Drakken replied, almost smirking. “Perhaps you’ll come across it another time?”

“There’s no use in beating you twice,” Adam replied.

Stolen story; please report.

“This bastard!” Vasera reached out and slapped Adam’s arm quite roughly. “Everyone’s a funny guy when their shield is an Iyrman.”

“I think you’ll find my shield is quite strong without my brother.”

“Your brother?”

Adam motioned his head to Jurot. “The Iyrman with skin of diamond.”

“Diamond skin? You’re praising him too much.”

“He wouldn’t have dropped from the blow that dropped you.”

“Kekekeke!” Vasera let slip a snicker, before leaning back against her chair. “What about your skin?”

“My skin is obviously puthral.”

“Ha!” Vasera’s eyes fell to the purple armour Adam was adorned in, before she glanced around towards the Iyrmen surrounding him. “How did you two become brothers?”

“We have the same sister.”

Vasera turned to face Jurot, wondering if he’d admit more. Upon seeing him nod, she glanced between the pair once more. “Is the sister an Iyrman?”

“Yes,” Jurot stated.

“Are you an Iyrman too?”

“No,” Adam replied.

“It’s not surprising, the Iyrmen have always been difficult to understand.” Vasera’s eyes fell across the entire group.

“Your sword is rather nice, Rook.” Adam motioned his head to the Basic Enhanced sword. “Where did you get it?”

“We acquired it at an auction,” Rook replied. “It cost quite a pretty penny.”

“How much?”

“More than we should have spent on the weapon,” Vasera admitted. “The first blade sold for fairly cheap, but the rest? They reached four and five thousand.”

‘Nice.’

“If the shield isn’t enough, we’ll trade a Basic blade too. They typically go for a thousand, but the war has increased their price a little. We’ll add in another two hundred gold with the shield and sword.”

“I’ll take the shield, though I would have wished for your blade. Metaphorically, I mean. No, that’s not the right word. Business wise, I mean? I’m quite partial to Drakken.”

“Unfortunately for you, I prefer the scent of women,” Vasera growled back at him with a wild smirk on her face.

“Ah? What a shame?” Adam replied, chuckling lightly. ‘Is that a thing allowed in this land? This place seems pretty conservative.’

“You’ll take the shield and what else? If we have to, we’ll hand over the thousand gold as promised.”

“Hmm…” Adam thought about what else he should take from her. He really didn’t need a Basic sword, though it would have been a nice addition. “I’ll take the shield, and if I ever have need of your service, I hope you’ll give me a discount. I’ll take this as the fortune of meeting a decent fellow.” Adam held out his hand.

Vasera clasped his forearm. “You’re too kind, mister Adam.”

“I get that a lot.”

“Will you shut up?” a tipsy adventurer turned to face them, her brow twitching. She wore breastplate and a purple scarf around her neck. At her side was a blade. She saw those that made up the group. Multiple people who placed in the top ten of their segments, as well as some who even placed in the top four, with even two pairs of those that settled in the top two.

Fate’s Golden and the Golden Savages, a group filled with people considered as strong as Masters.

‘Why does her face annoy me so much?’ Adam thought, narrowing his eyes at her.

Jurot glared at her, causing her to tense up, her eyes falling across both Adam and the Iyrman, before she turned, trying to pretend as though she hadn’t just berated them.

‘Who the hell is she?’

“May I sit with you?” called a voice.

“How are you doing, Stone Sword?” Adam asked, motioning a hand to the older warriors, allowing him to sit with them.

“Well.”

“I heard you’re fighting in the finals tomorrow?”

“I am,” the older man admitted.

“I’m going to be betting quite a bit on you.”

“How much?”

“A few hundred gold, maybe a thousand gold?” Adam replied.

“Do you have so much coin to throw around?”

“The perks of winning almost every fight.” Adam couldn’t help the smirk which crept up on his face. He had watched many of the great warriors fight. There were quite a few which had caught his interest. Of course, almost all the older warriors who fought after the preliminaries were over were absolute monsters. There were quite a few Noskan warriors who had managed to place quite high. Even Raging Bull, who Stone Sword was facing against, was a Noskan.

“I wouldn’t bet on me,” Stone Sword admitted. “Raging Bull is another breed of warrior.”

“Is he?”

“Yes.” He looked to Jurot. “He’s like one of you.”

“A Rage Dancer?”

Stone Sword nodded. “Have you heard of Ajax the Mouse?”

“Yes,” the Iyrmen replied, simply.

“Whose Ajax the Mouse?” Adam asked, throwing an awkward glance towards the Iyrmen.

“He’s collected the Three Gems of the Jiad,” Stone Sword informed, his voice low. “He’s the only one whose been able to do so since they were split. Even when the Iyrmen tried, they collected one or two pieces, and were killed shortly after. He’s the only one whose managed to live long enough to claim all three, and after collecting all three…”

“Ajax the Immortal.”

Stone Sword bowed his head. “I’m not sure if he’s really immortal, but he’s close to it. The Strongest Paragon is another title for him. He’s so strong already, but I hear he’s aiming to find the fourth gem.”

“The fourth gem of the Three Gems of Jiad?” Adam asked.

“There are many gems, but the Three Gems of Jiad are the greatest three gems. There are more. Some say seven or eight, others say ten or eleven. Whatever the case, if he really does collect each of the gems, he’ll become unstoppable.”

“What does that have to do with the Noskan?”

“Ajax rarely ever talks, it’s why they call him the Mouse. That, and the bloody mouse he keeps on his shoulder. Of the last few things he’s been recorded to say, one of them was that he didn’t want to fight Fjord Vytdrak again.”

Adam threw a look to Jurot.

“Raging Bull’s name is Fjord Vytdrak.”

“Oh.” Adam slowly nodded his head. “Alright, I won’t bet on you then.”