[104] A Flood of Invitations

After waking up, Goddess Demeter told him the location of her familia, expressing that she was always welcome to come and enjoy, and then reluctantly left.

Eiji put on his cloak, left the inn, and bought a few fried potato balls on the roadside for breakfast, barely filling his stomach.

This was near the main street of South Avenue.

South Avenue was a famous bustling street in Orario, with buildings like casinos, theatres, and taverns lined up one after another along the road, visible every few steps.

Early in the morning, the human waitstaff at the taverns had already started cleaning, while the early-rising beastmen hurriedly made their way to the dungeon. Elven bards were playing string instruments, emitting crisp melodies, and occasionally bowing gracefully to appreciative onlookers.

"Hey, have you heard about what happened at the coliseum yesterday..."

"Oh, yeah, I heard."

Walking along the roadside, Eiji could occasionally hear conversations starting with such phrases.

Overnight, news of the coliseum had spread like wildfire throughout Orario.

Eiji had become a celebrity in Orario in just one night, and his fame was at its peak. This level of attention wasn't likely to die down anytime soon.

The big news had already been made. Now, it was just a matter of seeing which powerful familias would come forward to extend their invitations.

If the intelligence work of those familias was competent enough, there should be results by today.

After all, Orario wasn't exactly small, but it wasn't too big either. It was a semi-closed city, and with adventurers constantly moving around, information spread quite rapidly.

Coliseum.

Eiji paid the entrance fee at the gate and walked inside.

The place was visibly more crowded than yesterday, with not only the number of civilians increasing but also the number of adventurers doubling. At a glance, he could even see over a dozen gods.

Among them, Eiji spotted a blue ribbon.

That blue ribbon was holding up a pair of impressive "fate," resting on a goddess who was only about 140 cm tall, creating quite a visual impact.

The petite goddess was gathered with a few divine friends, engaged in a loud, uninhibited argument.

From their conversation, it seemed they were also here to watch the spectacle. They had even started a bet among themselves about which main god Eiji would end up with. The blue ribbon was quite indignant that her odds of winning were zero.

After all, everyone knew that the human's goal yesterday was to join a powerful familia. He had said so himself in front of a large crowd. A god like the blue ribbon, who didn't have a single familiar member, had no competitive edge.

If she could sacrifice her dignity, she might have had a chance, but as a virgin goddess, the other gods felt she had no opportunity.

Eiji glanced in the direction of the gathered gods, hesitated for a moment, and finally sighed, trudging reluctantly toward the registration desk.

Some eyes turned toward him, mostly guessing what level of adventurer he was.

They weren't surprised to see Eiji wearing a cloak. In Orario, there were plenty of people who only showed themselves in cloaks. Some were involved in intelligence work, some were stalking others with ill intentions, and some simply didn't want others to see their bodies.

"Are you personally overseeing things again today?"

Eiji arrived at the registration desk and saw Shakti standing nearby.

"It's you."

Shakti glanced at him, only then realizing who he was, and complained, "It's all your fault. If it weren't for the mess you caused yesterday, I'd be levelling up in the dungeon today."

As the captain of the Ganesha Familia, she was usually very busy and rarely personally oversaw the coliseum.

But she had anticipated that today would draw a large crowd. The number of spectators and the likelihood of incidents were bound to be several times higher than usual, so she had come in person. Not only that, but she had also brought several skilled members of her familia to help.

"Our Ganesha Familia has 11 Lv.5 members. We have plenty of manpower."

Miss Shakti seemed to casually boast, trying to attract Eiji.

Then, she seemed to realize she had been too deliberate, sounding like a naive teenage girl and coughed awkwardly before changing the subject.

"Are you here to fight in the arena again today?"

"Yes."

"I won't stop you, but remember, if you encounter an opponent you can't beat, make sure to surrender in time."

Shakti gave him a warning before having the guild staff hand him a registration form and a contract.

Generally, even on days when only upper-level adventurers could challenge the arena, only Lv.2 adventurers showed up. It was rare to see higher-level adventurers.

This was because higher-level adventurers knew that coming to the coliseum was, at best, just bullying weaker opponents. Holding the arena for an entire day wouldn't earn them as much as a single day in the dungeon. Moreover, if they stayed in the arena for too long, the strong members of the Ganesha Familia would step in, clearly not allowing high-level adventurers to dominate the arena.

So, rather than fighting in the arena, it was better to go into the dungeon, where they could earn money and level up at the same time. That was the true path.

However, today might be different.

Shakti looked at the packed audience seats and chuckled with a hint of schadenfreude.

To be honest, she had no idea how many second-tier adventurers had snuck into the coliseum today. In fact, it wasn't impossible that some first-tier adventurers had also slipped in.

Upper-level adventurers were also divided into tiers.

Lv.2 was only considered a third-tier adventurer. Reaching Lv.3 and Lv.4 qualified one as a second-tier adventurer, while first-tier adventurers were all Lv.5 and above.

Today's coliseum was bound to be incredibly lively.

"Hold onto this for me."

Eiji took off his cloak and backpack, placing them next to Shakti, leaving her speechless.

Wow, you haven't even joined my familia yet, and you're already ordering me, the captain, around?

"If you don't join my familia, I won't let you off the hook."

Shakti muttered under her breath, stowing Eiji's belongings inside the registration desk counter.

However, Eiji had already entered the preparation room and couldn't hear her words.

"Hey, was that guy just now...?"

"No mistake, that's the guy who was ridiculously handsome even from the back. I've only seen one like that yesterday!"

"Is he planning to fight in today's arena?"

Word spread quickly, and soon the spectators in the audience seats were buzzing with excitement.

While the legends were shocking, there was no doubt that seeing it with their own eyes would be even more thrilling.

Half an hour later.

"Thank you for waiting, everyone! I know what you're all here to see, and honestly, so am I! That's right, the next match features the hottest topic in Orario right now—Eiji, the man who, as an ordinary human without a blessing, defeated an Lv.2 upper-level adventurer! His opponent today is still a Lv.2 adventurer. Can he recreate the myth from yesterday? Let's wait and see. Please welcome him to the stage!"

"Woooh!"

"Go for it! I bet everything on you!"

"Sisters, we can't go home empty-handed today!"

"Woooh!"

Amid the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd, Eiji stepped onto the arena with calm composure.

***

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