On the outside of the Arcsarah village, where it was as deserted as the rest of the whole desert, people gathered there.
"Hey, is it true that they will do it again this time around?" One man asked the one beside him from curiosity.
Noticing that he was talking to him, the man nodded in confirmation.
"Mhm, so I have heard. And if the rumors are true, then this will be the last time we see such an event, if not ever."
"Seriously? If that´s the case, wouldn´t the bets be at the highest?" The one who first talked to his neighbor said.
Nodding his head once again, the other man gazed in front of the gathered people.
"That´s right. If you want to get rich, today is the day."
Of course, those two guys were referring to none other than the biggest entertainment that was to be found in the Arcsarah village.
Live combat.
Since it was old news that a powerful party of mercenaries was recruiting members to join their cause in Arcsarah. The merchants were unwilling to waste such opportunities to make a profit.
One of the tests to join their group was though fighting others who had the same goal.
And with most people willing to join the party was respectively 3rd-tier combated, it was extremely exciting for the common men to see such people fight with each other.
Unlike the 1st and 2nd tier, the 3rd-tier was considered the strength of a monster. It was in the level where magic casters could destroy a whole house with a single spell and a swordmaster to cut through metal with ease.
It was natural for the weak to be drawn with such strength, making it for the merchants all the easier to set their scheme.
Which was none other than betting.
They managed to quickly put up a spot where people could observe the fight of such 3rd-tier combatants and let them bet on the winner.
A simple yet effective way to make a profit.
Though it was frustrating to give the winner of the bet some of their earned coins, they still made a profit by the sheer amount of others losing their money by betting on the wrong combated
And according to the rumors that surfaced in Arcsarah, the party of mercenaries will take their leave this week.
Meaning, that this event was the last of its kind.
In other words, the winner of today's bets will come out rich with how many people are here.
"So, which one will you be betting on?" The man asked his neighbor.
"I am going for that guy." He pointed at one who was waiting to the side.
The man in question was shirtless, allowing others to see his defining muscles. No weapon was to be seen on top of him except if one considered his fist that had bandages.
"He is quite the famous in the desert, he is being called the unseen fist. A martial artist who is of the 3rd-tier. He will be my golden goose for today." The man said with a smile on his face as if he could already see the gold coins in front of his eyes.
Shaking his head for the guys wasting his money, the other scanned all the combatants with not much interest.
Compared to the other man who was here to bet his money, he was only for the show here.
`Well, though they look strong, I doubt any one of them would beat the second test.´
While he was scanning the combatants, he caught a glimpse of someone coming through the distance which he didn´t recognize.
It was a cloaked figure riding on top of a huge beast that very well resembles an undead wolve.
His size was over 5 meters, which brought the attention of the others to its rider.
Though he didn't know why just starting at the rider of such a beast made him uncomfortable.
He didn't know why, but he felt that he was radiating an aura that was much different than the other people gathering here to fight.
It was a certain coldness that made the man look at the few coins in his hand.
"I will be betting my coins on this guy" the man answered the other guy.
Originally he didn't plan to do such a useless thing as to waste his coins on such a gambling show.
But since those coins were his leftover, he decided to follow his guts and bet on the new guy.
***
Currently in one of the big tents that have been built near the arena where the bets were.
A cloaked figure came out.
"Mhhm~, is it already time?" The cloaked figure said with a female voice, indicating that she was a woman.
Stretching her hands, revealing a brown skin color, she looked at the participants that came with a lazy expression which thanks to her hood was unseen by prying eyes.
"Hey, take it seriously. One of those guys could be another companion of ours.
Followed by another cloaked figure with a male voice, he called her from her behavior.
In response rolled her eyes at him.
"Yeah~yeah, I heard that joke already."
Turning her head towards the many people with weapons in their hands, she scoffed.
"After all, they don't see much different than the other failed bunch."
Hearing that, the cloaked man grimaced u set his hood.
Though he said that to her, he held the same opinion of her.
The ones that came to join their group didn't look much different than the ones that came before.
'Though another helping hand would have been useful, there is nothing to be done by it.'
Even though every single of them wanting to join their group could be considered the elite of an army.
Their group was searching for someone much greater to join their group.
"Sigh...even if you are right, it's still your turn to do it." The cloaked man said.
"Ugh~you don't have to tell me. I know already!"
Turning her back to him, she moved to the middle of the arena where everyone was able to see her.
Taking a big breath, her loud voice echoed through the surroundings.
"Everyone who came to join us, step forward!"
Sensing the oppressive aura and hearing her voice, those who held the strength of a 3rd-tier stepped forward.
"Our group only seems the strongest to join our ranks! Therefore we will begin with cutting the weed out of the real worth that will receive our test!"
"Separate yourself so that you can duel each other! The last remaining shall take the test! That's it!"
Hearing her words, everyone taking part in the test scanned their opponents to try to see who was the weakest of them all.
Seeing the war of glares between them, the cloaked woman sat cross-legged on top of a box.
"And I believe I don't have to mention it, but don't expect us to save you a lot! You can kill each other for all I care. And if you interfere with each other duels, then be prepared to fight me."
Most of the people hear grimaced by that as they were joining a fight in which they could potentially die.
Separating and building duos with each other, they soon all found a partner to duel.
Most people here didn't feel worried as they fought enough battles to grant them the title of veterans.
After all, someone who is of the 3rd-tier and focuses on their physical body and their weapon couldn't reach that level without much combat.
They immediately went serious and took their opponents seriously.
Only a few were full of confidence.
And among them, was a shirtless man who had a smug smile on his face.
"Heh, it seems that I got the new face to fight." The man with the title of unseen fist said as he cracked his knocks together.
His oppose t who was wearing a cloak stared silently in response.
"..."
"Not much of a talked I see?" As soon as he said that, his life was forced to travel through his legs.
Putting pressure on his legs, the ground cracked as he dashed forward with a grin on his face.
"Let me give you a hand then!"
The villagers who were watching the start of all fights started cheering at the moment they were waiting for.
Reaching the cloaked figure, he sends out a punch toward his jaw.
Without much of any movement though, the cloaked figure moved his head to the side and completely Dodge the punch by a hairs breath.
As the punch dragged the hood, the top part of his cloak got ripped off. Revealing the owner of dark armor.
Before he could understand that his enemy had dodged, he felt a massive force hitting his jaw, which made his vision shake.
'Huh? What happens.'
Having not understood that he was punched by the armored figure in his jaw, the other hand of the dark armored figure draw the long sword out of its sheath.
Once drawn at a speed of less than a second, he held the blade up high and set it down.
Cutting the shirtless guy in half from his left shoulder to his pelvis.
The duel didn't even take a total of 5 seconds.
While the others just engaged and we were fighting with their weapons on sequel grounds, the moment the ground was trained by the blood of someone and his body cut in such an anxious way.
It was as if someone pressed the pause button on every one.
Ignoring their glare, he swung his weird too soon most of the blood to the ground turned his head towards his nearest person without even hiding his killing intent.
Most were shocked that one actually died, as there was already an unwritten rule between them all not to kill each other.
But not only did the black-armored guy ignore that rule, but he also openly showed his hostility toward all the others.
It was as if he was saying "you all will be the next'
"Hoh?"
Of course, such action got the interest of 2 certain people.
