A Bet

During the course of Astur's and Kretea's previous argument over the cutest animal, word had quickly spread amongst the players that the two were going to spar. Of course, when the first batch of players arrived, the two had been engaging in a somewhat unimportant argument, much to the player's amusement. Their argument was actually recorded by one of the players and uploaded to the official forums.

What was supposed to be a quick spar has now turned into a somewhat large event with the commotion the players are making over it. With the noise their making, Astur had naturally noticed. Originally, Astur only wanted an excuse to move forward on her Race Advancement Quest, however, Astur sees an opportunity for profit as she sends out a Quest for all the players in the area.

The Quest Astur gives out this time is a special type of Quest called a Gambling Quest. As the name suggests, the Quest involves a wager, in this case, betting on the outcome of her spar with Kretea. Astur put three options to bet on, Kretea winning, a draw, and of course, herself winning. The minimum wager is 800 EXP, it's not very cheap at the player's current stage, but neither is it out of reach, although this is only applicable to players who've been around the Sea of Trees for a while. For the newer players to the area and those who aren't a part of Astur's faction, 800 EXP is not something they can afford to spare. The payout is 40% of their bet in addition to their original bet, As for the rest of the EXP from the two losing groups, Astur gets to pocket it all. But she doesn't want to make it too obvious that she's farming the players of their resources, so she makes it so they can only wager their EXP. If she tried to take their money too, she would actually have to physically receive their money. It wouldn't look good for the organiser to also be involved in the actual wager. Using a function of the system interface to hide her name as the Quest Giver, she can make it look like a Randomly Triggered Quest.

Some of the more well off players have placed their bets. Currently, most of them have wagered on Astur. However, a sizeable portion of players has placed their bets on Kretea, thinking that since she is supposed to be Astur's guard, she should be stronger than Astur. A majority of the players who can spend the EXP freely are waiting to see how others are reacting and the conditions of Astur and Kretea before placing their bets to maximise profits. As for the players with a bit less EXP laying around, they're more on the fence as to whether or not to participate.

Lighting up a cigarette, Astur smiles on the inside after seeing the Authority she unlocked. Conjuring a few illusions of some players and mixing them into the crowd, Astur begins to spread rumours.

"Hey, I heard a friend of mine say that Astur was feeling a bit under the weather today."

"Isn't it well known that Kretea is stronger than Astur? Why else would she be her bodyguard."

The rumour spreading illusions from Astur didn't last more than a minute, but they've taken root and spread amongst the players as someone even mentioned it on the forums. While it didn't sway the more cautious and savvy players, a large majority began placing bets on Kretea and even on a draw. Most of the players who have been around Astur since the beginning, like Blaze, still placed their bets on her, still remembering how she took control of the chaotic battlefield in the valley, but even with them, the amount of people betting on Astur is currently slightly ahead of the draw option. With Kretea being the winner having the most bets by a good margin.

As the final nail in the coffin, right before stepping onto the centre of the field, Astur says, "Don't worry, to keep it fair, I won't use any Divine Power against you." These words spur the last bets to be placed on Kretea before the betting period closes.

Kretea simply nods, knowing first hand how absurd Astur's Divine Abilities are.

Right before they begin, Astur makes sure to use her Scholar's Eye of Insight on Kretea. Compared to the walking tank that her father is, Kretea's HP is significantly lower, 12,675. Although she has several damage reducing abilities to make up for it, additionally, she is much quicker on her feet compared to both Asterion and Astur, her Agility Stat almost doubling theirs at 798. Damage wise, Kretea is still no slouch, have an even higher Strength Stat than Astur does her Mind Stat, 1475. If She was at the same level as Asterion, Astur is certain that Kretea would have the higher Strength Stat between the two.

Astur is confident she can win this, but she doesn't think it will be easy. Dismissing the System Interface, Astur and Kretea look each other in the eyes and nod as they stand at opposite ends of one of the training fields. Kretea draws out her large tower shield and undo's her ponytail, as Asterion, who has taken the role of referee, signals the start of their spar.