Chapter 514: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Rising Odds

The beautiful morning of the Central Continent rose over Britannia while snow continued to fall gently from the pale sky.

The flakes drifted between the tall buildings of the Royal Academy, settling on rooftops, windows, railings, and the stone paths that connected the different Academy districts. The cold air carried the faint sounds of students moving through the residential areas as they prepared themselves for another day of the Grand First-Year Combat Festival.

In the First-Year Academy District, East Wing, within the House-sectioned residential area...

Ezra stood inside his room, looking at himself through the window.

He adjusted his black gloves first, pulling the fabric firmly around his fingers before checking his reflection one more time.

Then he put on his black coat.

After that, he wrapped a white scarf around his neck and adjusted it until it sat comfortably.

And then, his Space Bag was placed over his shoulder.

With everything he needed ready, Ezra left his room.

He walked calmly down the hallway.

His footsteps made a soft sound against the polished floor as he passed several closed doors belonging to other students.

When he reached the door of Lucy’s room, however, Ezra’s pace slowed.

He glanced toward it.

His plain black eyes remained there for a few seconds as he sensed the gentle Cognis fluctuations coming from inside.

The fluctuation belonged to a Binder Alchemist.

She’s making good progress.

Ezra thought calmly to himself.

He could easily tell from just looking at the stability of the Cognis that Lucy was making steady progress.

There was no need to disturb her.

Ezra continued walking toward the exit of the residence.

He had already taken care of the entire house when he returned from the Arena yesterday. After that, he had spent time meditating on his own fight and reviewing the fights of the other First-years who were still competing in the Combat Festival.

He hadn’t simply gone to sleep after returning.

There were too many things to think about.

The different Alchemy Paths.

The fighting styles of his opponents.

The weapons they had revealed.

The weaknesses they had shown.

And, of course, the people who had already reached the Eighth Round.

Then, when he woke up very early that morning, Ezra followed his usual routine.

He cleaned up again.

He cooked his morning food.

After eating, he cleaned the kitchen.

Then he meditated.

Only after that did he freshen himself up and prepare to leave.

A Noble Steam Carriage that Ezra had ordered was waiting to take him straight to the First-Year Academy District Main Train Station.

From there, he would take the train toward the Main Administrative Center, allowing him to travel much faster than using the Steam Carriage for the entire journey.

By the time Ezra reached the train station, the place was already becoming busy.

Students from different Noble Houses and Non-Noble families moved through the station while talking about the previous day’s matches.

Some were discussing Lady Vera Ashenlocke and how frightened her first-year opponent should be.

Others were talking about Lady Diane Bergwyn, Lady Willow Derlis, Sir Ravenor Burnwick, Maxwell, Lady Selena Galehart, or the other students who had made it through the earlier rounds.

The Combat Festival had become the main topic of conversation across the Academy.

And even, across the whole Britannia.

Ezra stepped into the station.

At almost the same time, Cyrus Burnwick arrived.

The two Young Alchemists reached the station together.

Immediately, several pairs of eyes turned toward them.

Students who had been walking toward the train stopped for a moment.

Some whispered.

Others simply stared.

After all, both of them had reached the Eighth Round of the Grand First-Year Combat Festival.

They were no longer merely students known to be a mainline of the Duke House Burnwick, and the other known as a rising Young Craftsman both participating in the Academy Grand event.

They had become some of the First-years everyone wanted to watch.

"That’s Ezra Ashenlocke. It’s always a good day for me, seeing him every morning, that’s why I always take this train."

A Noble Lady from the First-year students spoke quietly while taking another excited glance at Ezra.

Ezra had already found a place to sit.

His eyes were closed, his arms were folded, and one leg was crossed over the other.

He looked as though the attention around him didn’t exist.

"He looks so cool."

Another female student sitting beside the Noble Lady replied with the same excitement in her voice.

"And he’s very cute."

Another girl joined the conversation, covering part of her mouth as she whispered.

Her eyes remained on Ezra.

Then her gaze shifted toward Cyrus.

"Sir Cyrus Burnwick is surprisingly cute."

"And cool too. For some people called an average joe of his House."

The whispers spread through the station.

It didn’t take long before several more students were quietly discussing the two Young Alchemists.

Not everyone, however, was impressed by Ezra’s appearance.

A group of boys standing several steps away had a different opinion.

"Ezra Ashenlocke still looks like a weakling. How was he seriously able to defeat Sir Desmond Derlis?"

A Non-Noble boy shook his head, still finding it difficult to believe that Ezra had defeated Desmond.

"If someone had told me Ezra Ashenlocke was stronger than Sir Desmond Derlis, I would have laughed hard."

Another Non-Noble boy from the group nodded.

"We all watched the fight, though, and that fight was so cool."

A Noble boy among them joined in.

He was still clearly impressed by what he had witnessed.

"Ezra Ashenlocke’s odds should have risen higher."

The fourth Non-Noble boy pulled out his Para 12 and turned the screen toward the other boys.

The six friends gathered closer.

The Para 12 displayed one of the betting and analysis programs that had been released early that morning, before the next Combat Festival round had started.

The boys immediately began looking through their betting slips.

"Yes! I knew I chose the right person."

The first Non-Noble boy who had spoken earlier tightened his fist and moved his arm slightly upward in celebration.

The other five boys stared at him with varying degrees of jealousy.

"I stuck with Ezra Ashenlocke from the beginning of the Combat Festival, and he has now reached the Eighth Round. I still have my bet ongoing for him to pass it to the Eighth Round."

The boy took out his Para 11 and opened his betting slip to check its current status.

The four other boys also pulled out their own phone devices.

While the fifth boy tapped his Para 12 several times before opening his own betting slip.

"I seriously thought Sir Desmond would make it into the Eighth Round. I was so close."

The third boy, who was a Noble, looked genuinely miserable.

His eyes were already watery from the frustration of his loss.

"I should have withdrawn my sixty-two gold coins."

He held his Para 13 tightly, staring at the screen as though doing so might somehow change the result.

The others looked at him.

One of them gave a quiet laugh.

"Hehe..."

The second Non-Noble boy smiled smugly as he opened his own betting slip.

"I have Lady Vera Ashenlocke and Lady Diane Bergwyn both to reach the Tenth Round."

He turned the screen toward his friends.

The others immediately leaned closer.

He had spent 15,000 Silver coins on Vera and Diane, whose odds had started at 1.50 odds each.

***

As the rounds increased, their odds had continued to rise.

First Round: 1.50 | 1.50

Second Round: 1.65 | 1.65

Third Round: 1.80 | 1.80

Fourth Round: 2.00 | 2.00

Fifth Round: 2.20 | 2.20

Sixth Round: 2.40 | 2.40

Seventh Round: 2.60 | 2.60

Eighth Round: 2.80 | 2.80

When it was all added together...

7.84 odds.

15,000 Silver coins × 7.84 odds = 117,600 Silver coins.

***

"Wow, you really spent a lot of Silver coins on those two."

The sixth boy in the friend group stared at the screen with an amazed expression.

"Hmph..."

The fifth boy folded his arms, not impressed by the amount of money the second boy in the friend group showed them on his Para 13.

"I also earned well."

He showed his friends how much he was going to earn from his own betting slip.

The others leaned toward the screen.

Their eyes widened.

"You monster..."

The second boy rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

"You had this set of people amongst your bet list? Are you crazy!"

"This is actually an insane level of risk, you took."

The first boy said in disbelief and amazement mixed together

The fifth boy smiled.

He had chosen three of the most underrated Young Alchemists that were now still in the Combat Festival.

Ezra Ashenlocke, who had started with 3.98 odds.

Cyrus Burnwick, who had started with 3.48 odds.

And Maxwell, who had started with 5.50 odds.

He had staked 30,000 Silver coins.

The boys continued looking through the betting information.

***

For Ezra Ashenlocke, the odds had risen from 3.98 in the First Round to 5.70 in the Eighth Round.

Ezra Ashenlocke:

First Round: 3.98 odds

Second Round: 4.20 odds

Third Round: 4.45 odds

Fourth Round: 4.70 odds

Fifth Round: 4.95 odds

Sixth Round: 5.20 odds

Seventh Round: 5.45 odds

Eighth Round: 5.70 odds

Cyrus Burnwick had also continued rising.

Cyrus Burnwick:

First Round: 3.48 odds

Second Round: 3.70 odds

Third Round: 3.95 odds

Fourth Round: 4.20 odds

Fifth Round: 4.45 odds

Sixth Round: 4.70 odds

Seventh Round: 4.95 odds

Eighth Round: 5.20 odds

Maxwell’s odds had climbed even higher.

Maxwell:

First Round: 5.50 odds

Second Round: 5.85 odds

Third Round: 6.20 odds

Fourth Round: 6.60 odds

Fifth Round: 7.05 odds

Sixth Round: 7.50 odds

Seventh Round: 7.50 odds

Eighth Round: 8.50 odds

***

The fifth boy tapped the screen.

"The total odds..."

He looked at the calculation again.

5.70 × 5.20 × 8.50 = 171.591168 odds

Then he showed them the final amount.

30,000 Silver coins × 171.591168 = 5,147,735.04 Silver coins.

The five boys froze for a brief second, before they began talking again.

"That’s so much money."

The first boy stared at the amount still in complete amazement.

His mouth remained slightly open.

He had only placed a small part of his savings on Ezra reaching the Ninth Round.

Only 5,000 Silver coins.

And now he has gained 26,900 Silver coins.

Small tears gathered in his eyes.

He stared at the amount for several seconds before slowly looking toward Ezra.

Why didn’t I spend more? You idiot!

Why was I so cautious?

"Damn it."

He shook his head, then he glanced at Ezra again.

Ezra was still sitting in exactly the same posture.

His eyes remained closed.

His arms were folded, and his leg was crossed.

It was as if he had no idea that people were discussing him only a short distance away.

"Ahh..."

The boy sighed deeply.

The third boy also shook his head.

"I went for all the Flowers in my second bet slip to reach the Seventh round and sadly lost because of Lady Sasha Burnwick."

"You should have gone for the Sixth Round."

The second boy pointed at him with a smirk.

The Noble boy frowned.

There wasn’t much he could say to that.

"Lady Willow Derlis’ odds have now risen properly to 2.50 odds."

The fourth boy spoke with a pleased smile.

He had placed Lady Vera Ashenlocke, Lady Diane Bergwyn, Lady Willow Derlis, and Sir Ravenor Burnwick in his betting slip, all with the goal of reaching the Ninth Round.

So far, his bet was progressing smoothly.

Then he looked toward the fifth boy.

"I will advise you to withdraw your money now."

The fifth boy raised an eyebrow.

The fourth boy’s smile widened.

"You know who Ezra Ashenlocke is facing in this round."

The fifth boy’s expression changed slightly.

The others also looked toward him.

The train continued moving at a fast comfortable speed while the students onboard continued talking about the Combat Festival.

But for the six friends, the conversation had shifted.

They were no longer simply talking about rising odds.

They were thinking about the opponent waiting for Ezra in the Eighth Round, as well as the other Matchups in this upcoming round of the Combat festival.