A Harmless Bet

"Since there's no benefit, why bother? A show of strength? What's that worth even?" Asher chuckled.

Koln's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. Although he wasn't so smart, he wasn't stupid either. Thanks to Asher's words, he now understood his thought process.

Asher was a lazy mage.

"Hmph. Maybe you're right, but how do I know you're not just making up an excuse to cover your lack of skill?" Koln asked

'Oh, so he's not entirely stupid.' Asher smiled.

"I'm not, and in fact, I'll prove it." Asher smiled mischievously.

"You'll prove it? How?" Koln stared down at him.

"A bet. I'm going to make it to the top 10 in the tournament. How's that sound? I think the top 10 should be enough to prove that I'm quite strong." Asher replied.

"True, but it's not enough to prove that you're worthy enough to stand above us all. There's obviously one way to prove it." Koln's eyes flashed with battle intent.

"I see." Asher smiled.

"Fine. Rather than making the top 10, I'll make the top 7." Asher declared proudly.

How shameless.

Koln and some of the other students paying attention to the duo couldn't help but think.

Koln had already stated the conditions for the bet and while he didn't mention them outrightly, anyone with half a brain could figure it out. Yet, Asher had ignored them and acted as if he didn't understand his words.

"Stop playing with me, white hair." Koln frowned.

"I meant the condition of the bet should be that you take first place or at least beat me. However, we can't be so sure that we would end up in the same bracket doing the tournament, it would have to be the former."

Listening to Koln's statement, Asher's eyes widened for a second but abruptly returned to normal almost immediately. However, Koln was a peak-rank second-stage Guardian mage; there was no way he would have failed to spot that small change.

'Heh.' Koln grinned.

"What? Scared? How can you then claim to keep true to the bet? You said you're better than us and I told you to prove it; beat us all and take first place. That way, I'll admit my defeat and you can enjoy your triumph." Koln taunted.

"Hmph. Who said I'm scared?! I'm just being considerate on your behalf as to whether you can complete your end of the deal." Asher retaliated.

"Haha. What are the stakes then?" Koln laughed, feeling as if he had just won already.

"...what do you want?" Asher carefully asked.

"I want a seat at the White Maple Chamber of Commerce. A blue seat." Koln said with crafty eyes.

'I give you an inch and you want to swallow a whole mountain?' Asher's lips twisted.

Koln noticed this and predicted it as Asher feeling his demand was too absurd, so he hurried to justify it.

"My father is a hunter so we can provide goods for you. We can also offer our trading channels too. That should cut it."

'As if!' Asher cursed when he heard Koln's reply.

A Blue tier membership in the White Maple Chamber of Commerce meant that the owner would receive a 12% discount on Arnhaunt products with a higher limit on the number of products than a basic tier membership. Also, they made 20% off of profit from potions made by the Arnhaunt family and sold through channels. These were very lucrative terms especially when one realizes how many businesses and potions the current Arnhaunt family had control over. Nonetheless, such benefits didn't come for free.

35% of the trade channels of the other party while offering a 10% discount as well as a monthly fee of at least 1000 gold coins. These were the requirements for one to apply for a Blue tier membership in the White Maple Chamber of Commerce, and this was on the condition that there was an available spot open. Yet, not only did Koln want this spot, but he also wanted it essentially for free.

The offers Koln made were not even worth 100 gold coins much less the required 1000 gold coins.

"Are you really going to run away just like that?" Koln said as soon as he noticed Asher turning around to walk away.

"Walk away? Not unless you can offer something to compare to the risk." Asher said.

"Well, you haven't called out your bid yet. I'll let you do the same. State your bid." Koln said.

Asher pondered for a bit before answering.

"How about you?"

"Huh?" Koln was confused.

"If I take the first position in the tournament or beat you, I want you to work under me." Asher said calmly.

At first, Koln wanted to back down as he felt that the stakes were getting dire.

His life was very bright and Koln was pursued by quite a lot of influential families who admired him for his talent. As such, there was no reason to use himself as collateral in the bet.

However, if Koln stepped back now, he would let Asher stand above him and lose all the momentum he had built up. This was the reason Koln was unwilling to accept the bet.

Nonetheless, Koln also thought that the reward he requested from Asher was too much, and in a sense, the stakes were fair now. Also, with a monster like Hanru participating in the tournament, it was impossible for Asher to take first place. Only the twin godsouls could compare to that monster, but Koln wasn't making the bet with them.

"Sure." Koln smiled, feeling as if he had duped Asher greatly.

The students who were paying attention to the conversation of the duo stared with eyes wide open as they couldn't believe what had just taken place. Asher had staked a Blue tier membership in the White Maple Chamber of Commerce for Koln's lifetime service on the condition that he took first place in the tournament. This was literally a free pie.

"Hey, Asher, can I join in on the bet too?" A voice abruptly spoke up from behind.