Chapter 92: Level Five

The entire arena suddenly fell silent, and the only sound that could be heard was the guy's cries of pain and suffering. This scene was very similar to the fight that had taken place at Practice Arena 22 earlier that day. Quite a few spectators who had witnessed that fight had also come to watch this new fighter from Kempen, who had finished his opponent with a single hit.

They had mainly come to witness how he would fare against a stronger opponent. At first, they thought Max's attack wasn't strong enough to threaten his opponent, much like how casually the guy from [Krant] had destroyed all of Max's attacks. However, that same casualness was the reason why Max's opponent lost. His first opponent had lost due to hastiness and arrogance, while this opponent had lost because he was too casual. It was unbelievable how Max's opponents had managed to lose in completely different ways, whether through carelessness or excessive caution.

The same thing happened again in the arena; the guy writhed on the ground in pain. The size of the attack was smaller than the one Max had used against his previous opponent, but it still seemed like too much for a human to handle. He might need to practice more and reduce the size of his attack, even against stronger opponents.

Similarly, the arena manager and the lackeys who had come with the guy rushed onto the stage to check on him and began healing. With his second victory, Max didn't linger on the stage. Instead, he left and walked towards his companions. Now, it was time to collect his betting winnings. Everyone around him stared at Max with bewildered expressions. They couldn't understand how the guy they had thought was a one-trick pony had somehow managed to win.

Amidst the crowd, only a few people who had bet on him were happy, while the others had lost their betting money since they had all bet on the guy who had just lost.

Meanwhile, Simon had a big smile on his face. His gamble of betting everything on Max had paid off. However, Richard, who had bet on Max's opponent, wore an expression of regret. Though he hadn't bet a huge amount, he could have earned heavily if he had bet on Max instead. That thought made him regret his decision even more than the loss of his money, as he had refused to believe that a kid from Kempen could defeat a fighter from Krant and a member of the [Wuest] Family.

Max walked towards the two and stood in front of them with a big smile on his face. He had promised them victory, and he had delivered. However, seeing that only one of them was happy while the other seemed disappointed, Max became confused.

"I hope you two won big from this battle?" Max said.

"Haha, of course. Just as we planned." Simon stood up and gave Max a hug. Max was slightly shocked by this behavior. Since they had only met today, this sudden display of closeness seemed weird.

"Now, let's go and claim our earnings," Simon said, bringing his friend out of his trance. "Richard."

"Uh, yeah, let's go." Richard came out of his thoughts and stood up. Following that, the trio walked away from the arena while the other spectators watched them.

After entering the Main Colosseum building, the trio navigated through multiple tunnel-like passages until they entered a large hall filled with numerous counters and an enormous number of people standing in line. This was Betting Hall 1, and there were two more similar halls. Though the tournament was famous for its big fights, rivalries, national pride, and individual achievements, it had become even more famous because of the gambling that attracted so many people.

People could easily place their money on a single fight and become wealthy within an hour, which made the fighting tournament even more popular. At the same time, they could lose their hard-earned money in a single fight if they miscalculated or if an unexpected turn of events occurred during the battle. Something similar had happened to Richard. He had been confident that Max's opponent would win and had bet on him, but Max had eventually pulled off the victory. Now, he had lost everything on that bet.

Though the hall was bustling with people, everything was neatly organized, and the colosseum staff constantly monitored the area for any issues or disturbances. The trio stood in line for a while until their turn finally came. Simon stood at the front and spoke to the staff member behind the counter. Max, who was standing behind Richard, craned his neck to observe the process of collecting the betting money.

Simon quickly reached into his sleeve, brought out a small, token-like sheet, and placed it on the counter. Without looking at the person in front of her, the staff member took the sheet, checked its details, and began flipping through the binding ledger. The process didn't take long; it took only a few seconds. The staff member quickly checked the details against the betting records, and only then did she raise her head to look at the person standing in front of the counter.

She started a conversation with Simon, which soon came to an end. Following that, she quickly wrote the details in the ledger, stamped the sheet with a seal, and placed an enormous bag on the counter, where it landed with a heavy thud. Max was slightly surprised by the size of Simon's earnings. The bag looked enormous, and he wondered how these betting odds worked.

Simon quickly took the bag, put it away in his Dimensional Storage, and exited the line. Next, Richard stood before the counter, brought out a token sheet, and placed it on the counter. Seeing this, Simon was shocked. Hadn't Richard said he had put all his money on Max's opponent? Yet now he was handing over a token sheet.

Simon silently waited as the same process was repeated, though this time, the staff member took less time before eventually handing over a small pouch. Its size was surprisingly small, which surprised both Simon and Max. The money bag Simon had earned was big, but Richard's was very small.

Simon cast a look at Richard as soon as he exited the line, realizing that Richard had indeed bet some money on Max. Based on the size of the pouch, the earnings could cover half of his losses. Noticing Simon's look, Richard stood there embarrassed.

Confused as to why Richard's earnings were so low, Max finally stepped in front of the counter. Simon quickly passed the token sheet to Max, who took it and examined it for a second before placing it on the counter. The female staff member, who was still busy with the ledger, extended her hand and picked up the token sheet. She went through the same process once more, and after checking the details, Max noticed a sudden pause in her movements.

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Max stared at the staff member as she looked back at him with a smile. However, he didn't return her smile and went back to waiting for her to complete the transaction. Max waited until she brought out a medium-sized bag of gold coins and placed it on the counter. This bag was smaller than Simon's but several times bigger than Richard's. Nevertheless, it was a huge earning for Max, considering the capital he had initially invested in the bet.

With this money, he could spend without worrying and buy whatever he needed. After completing the transaction, Max left the counter. He quickly put the money bag away in his iStorage before anyone could become envious of his earnings. Even so, the people nearby looked at the size of the bag with surprise.

"Let's go and celebrate this victory," Simon said with great joy.

The trio left the Betting Hall and walked out of the colosseum. Max didn't object to celebrating his victory and their big earnings, or at least Simon's big earnings.

The large market street was located along the same road as the colosseum. Since countless foreigners visited the place, the surrounding streets had become popular gathering spots for those celebrating their victories and winnings. Max didn't worry about whether any trouble might arise from going outside. With these two guys accompanying him, he could handle himself better.

Though the streets around the colosseum were famous and busy, the two walked away from the main street towards a quieter area. Max followed them, assuming they had their own regular spot. As he had expected, after walking for five minutes, they reached a shop that looked moderately fancy, neither particularly luxurious nor rundown.

"Whenever we visit Blaver, we come to this ale shop. It's one of our favorites. Though we usually choose this place instead of an expensive, fancy restaurant because we don't earn much, today we earned big. Still, I want to celebrate here," Simon said, explaining why he had chosen this shop. Meanwhile, Richard was in a very bad mood, and his mood turned sour every time they talked about their earnings.

The three entered the shop. Although it was only located a few streets away from the colosseum, it wasn't particularly fancy or crowded. Only a few people occupied the tables. Judging by their attire, they all looked poor and miserable. They seemed to have earned very little or nothing at all, and their different styles of clothing indicated that they came from different countries.

There were no servants to serve the customers, so the trio ordered some of the expensive drinks available at the shop along with a few snacks. After waiting for a while, their order was ready. They collected everything, sat down at an empty table, and ate and drank in silence for a while.

"So, you want to move to the upper Divisions?" Simon asked suddenly as he chugged an entire jug of beer.

"Oh, yes," Max replied as he chewed on some roasted meat.

“A guy from Kempen ranking in the upper Divisions! That would be news to me. At least, as far as I have run this betting business, that has never happened,” Simon muttered.

"Do you think it will be that hard to move to the upper Divisions?" Max could already guess how difficult it would be to move into other Divisions based on his first two opponents. However, he wanted to know whether he would face any political issues, as he found Simon's statement odd.

'A guy from Kempen ranking in the upper Divisions' seemed like a curse had placed upon the people of Kempen, especially considering that a century had passed since it last happened. Max felt there were definitely some political factors involved. Otherwise, someone would have managed to achieve it within a hundred years.

"Yes, it would be pretty hard. The higher your rank climbs in the Solo Division Zero-Leveled, the stronger the opponents you face. So, you'll encounter tons of strong fighters in the coming days. And once you enter the top 100, things will become even more difficult," Simon explained.

"Top 100? What would my rank be right now?" Max was dumbfounded by this revelation.

"Your rank would be somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000. You still have a long way to go before reaching the top 100," Simon said.

"2,000!" Max stopped chewing his food after hearing his current rank.

"Yes, and that's because you've won your first two fights. Otherwise, your rank would be somewhere in the 3,000s. But don't worry. With each victory, your rank will move up by 100 or even 200 places. However, the closer you get to the top 100, the slower your rank will rise. So, if you win your next five fights, you'll have a chance to enter the top 1,000," Simon explained, detailing the scale of the tournament and the number of people who had come to participate.

Max silently ate his food. His first two opponents had been extremely strong, and he had somehow managed to secure victories against them. However, the more his name spread, the more opponents would study his techniques and prepare proper countermeasures. For example, if his second opponent had decided to fight normally instead of being overly cautious, he would have already won the fight. Unexpectedly, his opponent's decision had created an opportunity for Max to defeat him, but Max knew he couldn't expect such luck in every fight.

If he wanted to survive the battles, he needed to improve his Inborn Skills. At his current Level 5, the skill had very little chance of making an impact; he needed to increase its strength. To do that, he needed to level up, and to level up, he needed to enter a Dungeon. That was what he would do.

"I want to level up. Do you guys know of any Dungeons nearby where I can quickly gain levels before my next fight?" Max asked.

"What level are you currently?" Simon asked.

"I am currently Level 5!" Max revealed. As soon as he said this, a wave of shock appeared on the two men's faces.

"You are only Level 5?" Richard asked.

"Yes," Max replied.

"On what basis are you participating in the tournament?" Simon asked, unable to believe that Max was only Level 5.

"I wanted to participate in the tournament. Do the rules state that only higher-level people can participate?" Max didn't know what to say, so he simply responded with that question.

"No, level isn't an issue. That's the reason the Solo Zero-Leveled Division was created. Still, Level 5 is too low, and it's a miracle that you won your first two fights," Simon said.

"So, yeah, that's why I want to level up quickly if I want to win my next fights. Do you know of any Dungeons nearby that are within Level 20?" Max asked.

Simon and Richard thought for a while as they looked at each other. They couldn't believe that Max, who was merely Level 5, defeated stronger opponents. Now they even wondered whether he was truly from Kempen, having assumed he was from Kempen because of how low his [Inner Energy] was. At first, they thought Max would be at least Level 15 to 20 based on his age as well as his Inner Energy level of person from Kempen.

Now that they knew he was only Level 5 and that his Inner Energy matched his level like that of an average person from other countries, they wondered what his Inner Energy level would be if he levelled up, whether it would increase based on the normal standard or the Kempen standard, where his Inner Energy would remain lower than his actual level.

This raised another question: did the people of Kempen possess Inner Energy levels that matched their actual levels? The answer was no; they had always inherited this curse of low Inner Energy by birth. Even if they levelled up to 100, their Inner Energy would be lower than that of an equally levelled person from another country. That was the main reason they were discriminated, with people from other countries treating them as inferiors.

"Yeah, we know a local guy who could arrange a Dungeon for us as long as we pay him good price," Simon said.

"Unless my earnings are enough, let's go pay him a visit. Otherwise, you'll have to lend me some money, and I'll repay you with interest," Max said.

"Don't worry, you have more than enough money to raid multiple Dungeons," Simon confirmed.

Max nodded. He would quickly level up to Level 10. That way, he would have a better chance of winning his next fight. Otherwise, he would struggle in his upcoming battles.