SUPREME ARCH-MAGUS

Inside the Golden Rat Gambling House, the smell of incense mixed with the clinking of mana stones was almost intoxicating.

Fatty Lambu sat among piles of mana crystals, his fingers drumming on a jade abacus as he stared at the Aurora Glass replaying the results of the third round.

Kent King’s name still shone at the very top.

Fatty’s lips curled into a grin so wide it nearly split his round face. “Heh… my master’s victory in the third round may have blinded the crowd, but the fourth? This is where the heavens will even the score.”

“Master Ben, I think, from now onwards, no one would dare to bet against Kent King. You better change to a new name.” the servant lady said while holding a wine glass for Ben.

He slapped his palm onto the counter and bellowed for all to hear:

“From this moment—Golden Rat raises the odds on Kent King for the fourth round to one to fifty! Yes! Do it now!”

The announcement cracked through the hall like a thunderclap. Heads turned, eyes widened. In a gambling world where even 1:5 odds stirred excitement, this was like throwing meat into a den of starving wolves.

The decorations changed and the odds were made public. Another uproar filled and attention was gathered.

Yet… a strange hesitance lingered. Murmurs filled the air.

“Fifty to one… it’s tempting.”

“But didn’t you see? That fox-faced brat barely fought anyone last round.”

“Exactly, he always pulls some tricks and wins the round. I am not ready to lose more.”

“Exactly! He only got first place because of that freakish one-eyed beast of his sniffing out treasures.”

Unlike previous rounds, not many came forward to bid against Kent King.

Fatty Ben frustrated, made a new announcement.

“I’ll even sweeten the pot—if you bet more than ten thousand mana crystals, the odds rise to one to sixty. Golden Opportunity to take back your lost money.”

A ripple of greed sparked in the crowd. But still, the fear of being on the wrong side of fate made them hold their tongues.

Then—

A gong rang from the central plaza, loud enough to make the gambling tables shake. All eyes turned toward the projection that flickered into the air: MATCHING ANNOUNCED FOR FOURTH ROUND – COMBAT DUELS.

Names began to pair off in glowing script. Everyone came out to see who they were going to fight tomorrow.

1st Rank: Kent King vs. 500th Rank: Ling Long – Long Family

2nd rank against 499th rank… like that matching appeared for 250 fights!

The crowd erupted.

“Ling Long?! The Long family’s earth fortress!”

“Isn’t she the one who broke ten jade spears with her bare fists?”

“She’s a nightmare for speed fighters. Kent’s finished.”

The dam of hesitation broke. People swarmed the betting counters like floodwaters smashing through a village gate. Jade slips flashed, storage rings clicked open, and mana stones poured onto the tables with the force of an avalanche.

Fatty Lambu nearly purred with satisfaction as he and his clerks scrambled to keep up.

“One hundred thousand against Kent!”

“Make it two hundred!”

“Hah! Here’s 300 thousand mana stones—mark my words, the Long family will crush him!”

Hour by hour, the mountain of wealth inside Golden Rat swelled. Fatty’s plump cheeks glistened with sweat—not from fear, but from the sheer pleasure of counting more money than he’d ever seen in one night. His clerks were panting, their hands trembling from constantly weighing, counting, and recording stakes.

By the time the second incense stick burned out, the wagers against Kent had already crossed hundreds of thousands of mana stones every single hour. And still they came.

Some gamblers arrived panting from the Phoenix Range itself, clutching their last reserves. “Put it all against Kent!” they barked. Others came in groups, pooling their stones to place massive joint bets.

The air grew thick with the scent of greed. The sound of laughter and boasts rattled the beams of the gambling hall.

“Tomorrow, Golden Rat will feast.”

“That masked fox will finally pay for cheating fate.”

“Ling Long will bury him under a mountain of stone!”

In the far corner, a group of men whispered over steaming tea, their eyes dark with calculation. These were the same ones who had tried—and failed—to get rid of Kent in the treasure land. Their leader, a man in crimson robes with a golden snake emblem, smirked coldly.

“We failed in the third round because he ran like a coward. This time, there’s no running. The duel stage will be his grave.”

Their words sank into the gambling den like poison seeping into wine. Confidence against Kent turned into a roaring tide.

Yet somewhere beyond the noise, sitting on a balcony across the street, Kent King himself watched the Golden Rat Gambling House with quiet eyes. Beneath his beast mask, the corners of his mouth tilted in the faintest shadow of amusement.

Sparky the dragon stared at him with smile, but Kent’s gaze was far away, toward the looming arena in the Phoenix Range where Ling Long’s name blazed next to his.

“Earth fortress, hmm…” he murmured under his breath, eyes narrowing slightly. “Let’s see if you can withstand the storm.”

The crowd downstairs laughed, cheered, and emptied their fortunes into Fatty’s coffers—unaware that the very man they were betting against had just turned their greed into his next weapon.

—-

The Gambling House Syndicate…

In a private room on the top floor, ten men sat around a jade table, each wearing the insignia of different gambling houses across Phoenix Range.

Red Face, the true backbones of gambling house syndicate finally came out of the shadows and presided at the head, his smile replaced by something colder, sharper.

In front of him lay a map of the duel arena, with Kent King’s name marked in crimson and Ling Long’s name in gold.

Hope came back to gamblers as the Red Face directly involved. They decided to take a final risk to bring down Fatty Ben and Golden Rat Gambling House’s monopoly!

–

Happy birthday to me guys!