[97] Do You Think I'm Giving You Face?

Creak!

Another door opening sound echoed, and at the same time, a tall shadow enveloped the preparation room.

Following the sound, a tall and burly man with bear ears on his head strode into the preparation room.

The beastman, a bear-like figure with a square face, bulging muscles, and a thick coat of black fur, looked like a wall of muscle, exuding a strong visual pressure.

The bear-man's sinister triangular eyes swept around the room before focusing on Eiji.

He walked over silently and sat down beside him without a word.

With a "thud," the simple wooden chair creaked and groaned under his weight, almost shattering from the force of his sitting.

"Did you place a bet?"

The bear-man lowered his head, glancing at Eiji from the corner of his eye, and asked with a menacing grin, his voice deep and gruff.

"A bet? Can you place bets here?"

Eiji seemed oblivious to the threatening look in the bear-man's eyes, his attention completely captured by the mention of gambling.

So, this arena allows betting?

Eiji was heartbroken.

If only he had known earlier, he would have bet on himself to win. Many transmigrators before him had made a fortune in arenas like this!

This arena is so sneaky, secretly skimming millions off him. How despicable!

"No bet? Good."

The bear-man showed a satisfied smile, then reached out his arm.

He seemed to want to put his arm around Eiji's shoulders, but Eiji frowned and bent down to avoid it.

Seeing his arm miss its target, the bear-man's face darkened, and his massive body exuded an overwhelming pressure.

"...Let's make a deal."

But he didn't explode immediately. Instead, he retracted his arm and rested it on his knee, masking his embarrassment.

"I see you enjoy the arena. How about this? I'll help you knock that dwarf off the stage, then intentionally lose to you so you can enjoy the feeling of being the champion. I'll only take a tiny bit of your reward. After all, with your frail body, you definitely can't beat that dwarf. I have a few brothers outside who can help. You should consider it."

His gaze shifted past Eiji, landing on the backpack beside him.

At the guild, he had seen with his own eyes that the backpack was filled with gold, silver, and treasures. Just a portion of it had been exchanged for over two million valis, and the total value was at least two or three times that.

He was worried that a greenhorn like Eiji, who spent money recklessly, might give all of it to the arena. So, he pretended to be a contestant and sneaked in, with several brothers waiting outside as backup.

Five million valis was a huge sum, even in Orario. For an upper-tier adventurer like him, it would take about half a year to earn that much, and that was only if nothing went wrong during dungeon explorations.

However, since the arena was under the watch of the Ganesha Familia, he couldn't act openly, which was why he had sneaked in to threaten Eiji.

If only this kid hadn't stuck to the main roads and avoided the less-travelled paths, they would have already taken action long before reaching the arena.

Once they got their hands on all the money, they could kidnap this kid and sell him off in secret. There would be plenty of wealthy merchants willing to pay a high price for a high-quality "rabbit" like him.

"How strong are your brothers?"

Eiji rubbed his chin, pondering the question.

"We're all top-tier among Lv.1 adventurers, and I'm Lv.2... How about it? Satisfied?"

The bear-man smirked, looking quite pleased with himself.

"You're Lv.2?"

"That's right!"

Eiji's gaze sharpened.

Then he also grinned.

"Do you think I'm giving you face? Daring to demand rewards from me and threaten me? Either obediently be my stepping stone or get the hell out of my sight! And by the way, you reek of animal stench. Go home and take a few more baths!"

The bear-man's smile instantly froze, and his expression visibly darkened.

He clenched his fists, his eyes radiating murderous intent born from anger.

But before he could make a move, Eiji stood up.

On the arena stage.

"The next match is here! This time, the challenger on this stage is still a human, reportedly an outsider who came to Orario with dreams. Surprisingly, this challenger is an ordinary person without any blessings!"

The host held a megaphone-like device and couldn't help but look surprised as he read the registration form.

What is an ordinary person doing on a stage meant for adventurers?

And according to the number plates, there should be at least three challengers ahead. Where did they all go?

He muttered to himself but still did his best to hype up the atmosphere. After all, who the contestants were had nothing to do with him. He had seen plenty of people get injured or even die on the stage.

The host stepped off the stage and saw Eiji walking toward it.

"Hold this for me."

He tossed his backpack to the host, who looked at him with a mix of exasperation and disbelief and then walked onto the stage.

"Hey, hey, is this for real? An outsider, and an ordinary person at that? Trying to fight a dwarf adventurer on stage?"

"No way he can win. Dwarves are the strongest warriors."

"This race generally has immense strength, giving them a huge advantage at the beginner stage, let alone against someone without any blessings."

The audience buzzed with chatter.

Regardless of race, whether they were civilians or adventurers, everyone wore expressions of pity. They all believed the dwarf adventurer would win, and no one held any hope for Eiji.

Eiji picked a katana from the weapon rack below the stage and stepped onto the platform.

During the match, to prevent unfair advantages due to weapon disparities, both contestants could only use weapons provided by the arena. If the weapons broke, they wouldn't have to pay for them. This was clearly stated in the contract.

"What a shabby stage."

Eiji glanced around the stage and curled his lip.

The stage itself was quite spacious, a square about a hundred meters on each side. However, the surface was entirely made of stone, and a few broken bricks hadn't been repaired. It was far inferior to the arena at Hagun Academy.

The moment he stepped onto the stage, whispers broke out among the audience.

"Did the host say he's human? Did I hear that right?"

"And an outsider at that. With a face like that, he'll probably become famous in Orario in no time. The goddesses are going to go crazy again."

"The male gods will too, like Apollo..."

On the stage.

The dwarf standing about ten meters away from Eiji tapped the axe in his hand.

"Haha! Quite a handsome lad! But your body is too slender. You need to focus on physical training!"

The dwarf, who looked somewhat elderly, let out a hearty laugh.

He was only about chest height compared to Eiji, with a face covered in greyish-brown stubble that nearly hid half of it. When he spoke, his lips were barely visible, and his forehead was marked with several deep wrinkles.

Most striking were his bulging arm muscles. Despite holding a shield in one hand and an axe in the other, he showed no sign of strain, exuding an intimidating presence.

"In the eyes of dwarves, all other races are too slender."

"That's true."

"Hey, the Amazons are going crazy...!"

The audience grew increasingly restless, the noise growing louder, and someone let out a horrified scream.

***

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