I smile at my fondest peak six stage memory as I watch this Shocktag game at Karvallus's arena. I quickly appraise that player six, an artificer with wind affinity to be the most skilled player in this group. As I watch each contestant handle the shockmelon, my experience with the game quickly tells me three of them are skill enough to survive to the mid game.

Looking at the other seven players, I quickly rank them by skill and technique. I quickly come to the conclusion that players two, five and ten have the weakest techniques. Then I called the hostess in and announce "two, five and ten" I pull out three mid tier eight swords and hand them over to her and continue with "I bid a weapon for each of these players to lose on the first three rounds, I would like tier nine resources as compensation as my winnings or items on this list." Then I pulled out a late tier eight sword and go with "I bid this late tier eight weapon for player six to be the final winner."

I watch the hostess stare hopelessly at the four living elemental weapons in her arms before announcing "ye..yes young master! Such a fine bids! Only a young master such as yourself could possible make such extravagant bids. Our humble arena is honored to provide you with worthy entertainment for you to even make a bid on, let alone four outstanding bids." Then she pulls out a jug of cultivation wine from her void ring and place it on the table next to me and supplies "please accept this small gift as thanks for your outstanding patronage" and cups her hands and gives a deep bow.

I laugh and nod a thanks and hand out "your welcome my dear" and silently add 'how much is your cut I wonder, ten percent?' Then I wave that thought away and unplug the jug and take a gulp of the rich wine made with Crystalfreeze Elderberries as a base and Ungthar Quenchpears to tone down the heavy taste of the elderberries. The rest is common spiritual fruits to give it more volumn. It isn't bad for a early stage seven cultivation wine that gives a boost in cultivation and body toughening. So I cap it and store it away since it's more suited for Mara to drink and I pull out one of my own that gives the same attributes but much stronger effects. I feel lingering stares but shrug it off since no one is staring right at me now.

I win all three bids since I appraised the others seven would survive unless they fumble in handling the shockmelon. I didn't bid for the mid rounds, because I didn't know the participants well enough to know if they have the balls to continue with the game. Sure enough two quit before the forth round started, with only five players the rules change to can't throw to adjacent players.

Since each new round starts where the player left off, the difficulty increase with each step as we close in on the center circle and the shockmelon is going berserk and it strives hard to finish it's protective charge. It's about to light up soon and audience stood pose to watch as the difficulty of the game is about to jump to the next level. I had predicted these two survivors of the first round go pale as they realize the chance to be turned ash is about to go up. Only those confident in their technique would continue to play.

I really look into these two kids and was startled by their potential, they already caught my eye earlier when I appraise them during the first game. These two slaves are beastfolk twin girls about dozen years old each armed with a mismatched pair of crudely curved long blades. They are a wreck, old scars cover their bodies, and in many places including their tails the fur has fallen out displaying the poorly healed battle wounds and whipping scars. Just looking at their hand stitched scars tells me they stitch their own wounds to stay alive.

The entire island hates the beastfolk, appearantly they did something so bad that the humans and seafolk hate them for the same reason and have allied together ever since. So of course they want to see any beastfolk die in the games, but it so happens that this pair of beast girls have some how survive seven fights. It is certainly way beyond their expectations, everyone now believes that their luck has run out is the common mentality of these islanders.

Betting goes wild as the choice goes to which of the beast girls die first. Tonight is their eighth game, so everyone is eager to see them finally die. I had this crazy feeling so I called the hostess back and add another handful of five mid tier eight weapons and provide "sorry to bother you again, might I add this bid on the beast girls to survive, thank you."

The hostess stutters out "rright away yyoung master!"

I'm grinning as I have a feeling they are going to survive somehow. So l'm looking forward at seeing what crazy skills that these twelve year twins had come up with to survive seven battles. I'm sitting in a vip booth which has been turned invisible so we have full view of everyone, fortuneately the privacy barrier included silence mode whenever I want to make a bid. This is really an old school but professional run establishment with roots from two eras ago. I had made sure to check the privacy barrier settings to see our entire head and part of our chest and shoulders have turned into a being of raging burning energy with synthizied voice of a lavaman.

They are all staring at me, because I just pulled out a second handful of mid tier eight weapons just to make another crazy unknown bid. The eyes of these expert bulge out because most them are probably still using early tier eight weapons. I was too busy testing the wine to notice the stares last time, but back tracing now they did the samething too I was too busy apprising the wine to care about that nonsense. But this time I have their full attention.

An older fellow voice with dark green slash in a tannish sect coat speaks up "grandmaster, you honor us with your presense. We all hope to hear of your esteem name!" cups his hands and bows to me.

Huh, I thought a bit and provide "everywhere I go people call me young master." Playing with Mara taught me well, poker face and distract. None of them has earn my respect, except the beast girls.

Everyone cup their hands and as one greet me as "young master!"

I return with "please, let us continue to watch the games. I am here for the grand auction in two months, so plenty of time to get to know some of you." Then I turn my attention the combatants in the arena and I feel all the eyes on me vanish. But if feel the excitement generated around me that I am here for two months, and I'm sure that all want me to make them an artifact.

The beast girls work well as a team and begin to take out their would be killers one by one. The crowd isn't too happy seeing the twins manage to kill half the opposing young warriors. More so when they realize that neither of them has taken a wound tonight murmered through the crowd in disgust. Appearently the arena impose some restrictions to give them a fair fight. None of the young warriors possess cultivation higher than the twins.

They are just outnumbered, and as I suspected the young warriors are unable to work well as a team and get in each other way giving the twins opportunies to wittle down the numbers. With my divine sense, the only strongest warriors are left, allowing the newbies a chance for some fame but fail utterly to take down the beast girls.

Remaining warriors finally go into action and work the twins hard to stay alive, until they were forced into a corner and open up with first twin skill. Both split into multiple copies and leave a flurry of cuts among the closest warriors forcing them back. Two warriors go down with their throats cut open, and another goes down hamstrung. He crawls away swing his sword wildly to keep the twins at bay. The remaining two warrior try to reach the fallen warrior, but the twin won't let them and engage them with quick slashing attacks.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I can tell the two warrior lost hope in winning, and are doing their best to trick one of the girls into a trap, but the twins keep their distance after making an attack. The beast girls are exhausted, but keep their focus on the two unharmed warriors. The hamstrung warrior has drag himself near the edge of the arena to used the wall to stand up.

The girls feint a rush at the two warriors before spinning around and rush to finish off the hamstrung warrior. Both warriors jump back to avoid the twins feint, but found themselves sudden alone seeing the backside of the twins running toward the wounded warrior. By the time the two land on their feet and rush to aid the wounded warrior, the twins have already close the distance by half.

The wounded warrior launched a battle skill in hopes of driving the twins away, but the beast girls use a technique to spacial jump forward and thus bypassing the battle skill. The wounded warrior didn't stand a chance, still recovering from unleashing his most powerful attack, and the sudden appearance of the twins right in front of him spelled his doom. The twins didn't hesitate and slash apart the wounded warrior in blink of time before spinning around to face the last two charging murderers.

Both warriors having powered up a battle skill and cut loose seeing the twin turn around to face them. The beast girls interlace their left arms at the elbows and with their right knives give each other a shallow slash on each other expose left side. I watch their qi merge with twin spray of blood and form a blood barrier around them. The two battles skills then arrive to obscure the blood barrier and we all wait for the qi fallout to disappear to see if the twins had survive or not.

When the girls finally appear, they are covered in slashes but they charge the spent two warriors before they can recover. The warriors quickly back peddle, but one wasn't fast enough, and got caught by both twin who maniacally slash the warrior to death. Then the twins charge the last survivior, the exhausted man didn't stand a chance, he's just too slow and unable to keep up with the tag teaming demonbeast girls.

As the last man goes down, the audience begin booing the dead prisoners and gladiators that have been selected to kill the twins tonight. I smile because the odds are quite good, so I made a serious fortune.

I enter the auction house clan lord's private quarters and was greeted by an elderly man who is an early stage eight cultivator who chooses to say "you have talented eyes young master, I am awed by such all seeing performance!" and cup his hands and bows to me then presents a ring to me "your winning young master! Ninth tier resources and items from your list as requested. Your foresight is truely amazing young master, to providing us a list before hand so we can cover our debt properly. I know a few old bones who how could learn from you young master, and certainly would make my life a better one if they did. I hope you don't mind this old man for placing a small gift of gratitude in the ring."

I nod and reply "your most kind senior, if it's possible, could you clear the north workshop for me? I don't like waiting."

I see his eyes bulged out and sputters out "aat once yyoung master, I'll see to it personally, give me one hour and you can move in!" He bows and spin around and rushes away.

I go back to the manor house to pick up the anchor token that Mara return token would open a portal too. I spent the hour going through the spiritual gardens of the auction house until I see the senior coming. He gives me a big smile and supplies "young master, the north workshop is now yours!" and hand me the workshop key token. I slide it under my wristband making it snug against my skin as he escorts me to the workshop.

Once inside I dished out "senior, I would like the secretly buy the two beast girls slaves I saw tonight." I pull out five more mid tier eight weapons and add in "this is overkill, but I want to make sure their owner can't say no to my offer."

"I shall ask my daughter to represent your offer young master!" and gives me a shocked expression before he leaves, with a thought I open and then close the door for him.

Within an hour the twins is brought to my workshop in a globe of darkness. When they emerge I see they have been cleaned up and what fur they have is still damp from an obvious much needed bath. They glare at me in obvious hate. I step aside and the girls skitter into the workshop to find a place far from me as possible. The young lady then presents four of my weapons back to me saying "he accepted my first bid of one sword young master."

I nod in understanding and hand out "give me your honest opinion, which of these four swords look the best? I'm curious what a young lady's opinion would be about these four weapons I crafted" and waved mine hand over the four weapons in her hands.

She immediately picked the livingwater elemental weapon. It certainly has a more delicate feel to it's appearance, unlike the raging appearance of fire, lightning and wind affinities or the solid feel of the earth and metal affinities. It calmly ungulates and shift ever so slowly into new razor sharp forms. So I reach out and pick the three other weapons and stuff them back into storage.

She blinks at me and tries to hand the water sword back to me so I go with "keep Tidebreaker, I like an honest girl. Consider it your tip for working on my behalf to acquire these girls. I trust no one knows of this?"

She nods and replies "everything has been kept a secret young master, I even change your weapon with one we had in storage. There are also nine dark clouds running around the workshop floors and randomly stopping to hand out small gifts to our best customers."

Then I continue with "see, you earn your tip, so take it young miss." Then I thought since I'm here for a few months I and add "perhaps you would be so kind to offer me your name young miss?"

She smiles beautifully and breaths out "Kylie, young master."

I finalize with "it's been a long day miss Kylie, you should go and rest." She bows and steps out of the workshop and I send a mental command to the key jade to close the door. I look through my stock of fully cook meat on a spit storage crystals that just finished roasting over a campfire before being store in temportal shift crystal. I cut the temporal shift restraints and watch the roast materialize in the middle of the workshop.

The smell of finely roasted meat quickly fill the enclosed space. I cut the two hind legs off and put them on a plates and with my divine sense send them over to the girls along with a pair of water skins. They chow down and guzzle like there's no tomarrow. I can see the bones under the skin between the patches of left over surviving fur, their last owner offer no medical and fed them only scraps. The girls eyes never leave me as they eat.

I cut a side of rack off and retreat to the far side of the workshop in case they want more. I dine on the ribs of a stage five Metalhide Murcat, I feel my stamina and toughness make a tiny movement. But the starved girls soon perked up and soon pounced the remaining roast on the spit.

Now they sit just out of reach with their hairless tails waving slowly behind them. They have a wary look about them, but none of that hate they had earlier. They watch me intently and wonder what I am going to do next. After finishing the roast, the twins had filled out almost completely, most of their bones are now hidden by their revitalized flesh.

I open up my inner world and tell them "go in, you two will be safe in there until I can leave the island. When I return to the mainland, I'll let you out in a beastfolk town I am friendly with." The view they get from the portal is a grand forest filled with animals so they didn't hesitate and jumped right in. I closed the portal and picked a random bottle from the ten in senior's gift and read 'Summer Memories" crafted by Weeping Willow. It's a taste of citrus over a cool burning kick, it's quite refined and comparable to master's recipes. It's made from Diskallion Citrus Barreltree and Icecapian Thermalcherries.

Barreltrees are a natural treasures who inner cavity is fill with sap that can be easily refined into culivation wine recipe to increase it's volumn while providing a base flavor to work with. Tribes and villages are often founded near a barreltree as it is a sign of luck, as the ground around the tree must be rich in nutrients and spiritual qi to support such a lifeform. Not to mention that sap is alcholic and used for every tribal event.

From my winnings, I almost have enough resources to craft a set of tier eight protective gear. So I need funds to trade for the better materials being auctioned off for the next two months. With my winning, I stock up on basic tier seven and eight crafting materials and as much of the rarer materials that's available. Including my own stash, I see I can forge about thirty living element weapons. But running low on fire and wind demonbeast cores, but I just got stock up with ten water cores. Looks like I'm going to be crafting a lot of water base gears here so I do a quick check on available water techniques and see some interesting uses.

I work every day but attend the end of the week auction to check out and possible bid on any rare materials. It doesn't take long to forge twenty weapons, I keep the rest of the materials for custom jobs. Then I got to work on pills and crafted a mix of tier seven and eight pills. The spectral phenomenon cause by the appearance of newly awakened tier eight weapon spirits or the amazingly colored pill lightning striking the north workshop several times a day brought awe to the city for the past two weeks.