A Harmless Bet 2

"Hey, Asher, can I join in on the bet too?" One student suddenly spoke up.

Asher glanced at the direction of the speaker and realized that it was Ethan Croft, the son of Marquis Croft.

Asher looked unwilling to enter a bet with him, but spoke up a second later, seemingly been won over by greed.

"What are you staking?"

"Haha. Same stakes as with Koln." Ethan chuckled.

"No." Asher shook his head.

"Scared? Or do you feel that your Blue tier membership is worth more than myself?" Ethan frowned although this was a strategic play of his to pressure Asher.

"Not that. I'm just not interested in having you under me." Asher shook his head.

Koln was one thing as he had no affiliations with the top powers, but Ethan was the direct son of Marquis Croft. It was a popular fact that all marquises of the kingdom were essentially extended arms of the royal family. Since that was the case, Asher wanted less to do with them.

"Then what do you want?" Ethan asked while smoking inwardly as if he had just won a lottery.

Ethan felt that the odds of Asher making first place in the tournament were far too low. This was even despite having seen Asher face off Aurora in the practical test at the Manchurian forest.

The reason for this was because during that short spar, Aurora had only used her Lightning element which she was less proficient in. This couldn't be helped as the Castellan family lacked training manuals and spell books on the Lightning element, which was a very element. So, in order to improve on her usage, Aurora had been instructed by her teacher to use only the Lightning element for the practical test. This was information Ethan eventually found out through Lyn after the entire ordeal.

If Aurora has utilized her Gold element in coordination with the Lightning element, Asher would have found it difficult to trade blows with her and would have lost, at least in Ethan's opinion. And in this tournament, Ethan was sure that Aurora would be going all out. There was also Lyn, Emma, and from the information he got from his colleagues, the Second Dawn Academy's Hanru, all opponents well ahead of Asher in terms of raw power and skill.

"What do I want?" Asher's brows furrowed in thought, but in reality, he already had something in mind even before Ethan had asked.

"The Croft family's store on Old Emerald Street." Asher said with a cunning flash in his eyes.

Ethan froze before shaking his head right away.

"That's off bounds. Pick something else."

"Haha. Just say you're scared of losing instead." Asher taunted.

"I'm offering a Blue tier membership in my family's chamber of commerce for free, with monthly membership fees exempt. I'm pretty sure you know the value of it. And yet, you deny me a measly store." Asher sneered.

"Measly store?!" Ethan looked at him in bewilderment, but calmed down as he understood Asher's intentions.

Old Emerald Street was a popular commerce zone in the capital, and was more like a small town than a street. With absurd land prices that were amongst the costliest in the entire kingdom, it was a popular trading zone frequented by merchants from across and beyond the kingdom, including from sacred lands. As such, property in Old Emerald Street was a huge pie that every merchant or businessman wanted to get their hands on, as most of the customers there were bigwigs. Despite the high demand, it was quite difficult to get your hands on a piece of land there even if you had the funds for it.

The Croft family had only managed to get a land in Old Emerald Street after making an important contribution to the royal family, but even then, they had to pay an exorbitant amount of money for it.

"A Blue tier membership alone is too small." Ethan shook his head.

"How about the Purple tier membership?" Asher smiled.

Upon hearing the word 'Purple', Ethan's ears perked up and his eyes were in shock. His breathing became ragged as he couldn't believe that Asher was offering such a card.

The difference between the Purple tier and Blue tier was wide like a chasm. Whereas Blue tier members made 20% off the profits on products traded by the Arnhaunts and other members through the chamber of commerce using their channels, Purple tier members made 40% from the profits. They also received 15% discount on products and channels belonging to the Arnhaunt family with no limits, unlike the Blue tier members who got only 12% on limited goods. Finally, Purple tier members got the recipe for the True Calming potion for free. All these benefits made them far more profitable than Blue tier members, and Asher was now staking the membership here.

"... I still can't make the rules regarding the store." Ethan said after a bit of hesitation.

"Then why open your mouth and claim you want to participate?" Asher ridiculed.

Ethan's pride was pierced by Asher's words which was obvious based on his facial expression. He believed that Asher had asked him to stake his family's property at the Old Emerald Street because Asher knew that he couldn't do so. This would then give Asher an opportunity to taunt him and affect his psyche for the tournament, but Ethan had no intention of giving Asher the chance to do so.

"Tch. I may not be able to give you the store at Old Emerald Street, but I can stake the store on West Greenwood street. I also won't ask for the Purple tier membership, just the blue. How about that?" Ethan retorted.

Asher froze after Ethan's comeback and hesitated before frowning.

"What's the matter, scared?" Ethan smirked.

"Hmph. Deal." Asher replied a second later as if he couldn't stand the 'insult'.

"Better stick to your promise." Ethan said.

"Don't worry about that. Now all parties sign here."

Like a magician performing a trick, Asher made two pieces of paper appear and handed one to Koln and the other to Ethan.

The duo were surprised that Asher had a contract ready and began feeling as if they had fallen into a trap. However, no matter how they pondered on the matter, there was no way that Asher could take first place in the tournament. Recalling the various participants involved, they found their confidence and signed on the papers.

"Anyone else interested? Make a bet now before it's too late." Asher announced.

Asher already bagged two big deals and he didn't mind going for more. The odds seemed against him but only Asher knew that it was against them.

Asher's confidence was one thing, but facts were another, and the facts showed that he wouldn't be able to win this bet. This was how the students gathered saw the situation. Hence, some other students, particularly those who their families had a low membership in the White Maple chamber of commerce or didn't even have a seat, offered stakes and joined in the bet.

'Hehe. No matter the world or age, gambling is an easy way to make money. Of course, it's easier if you're the one running the show.' Asher grinned.

His act of hesitation to pull in Koln, his taunts to target Ethan's pride and even his facial expression like his 'false display of confidence' and his 'rapid expression of fear' were all to pull the in.