If we can agree on expected profits The man finished simply Claptrap smiled uncertainly but with a hint of hope Maybe this was exactly what he needed to turn his luck around
An hour later after the young man departed with some of his gold and a dozen steel bracers and chest plates Claptrap was more ghost than man Every time Claptrap thought they had agreed on a price that would be to his benefit the other man would ask some seemingly inane questions about the value of the armor or the leather or how much other things could be purchased with the value of such a piece of armor
The most chilling of those interactions was when the man looked coolly up from the initial meagre amount of cash that Claptrap had been willing to front him and had simply said I suppose with this I’ll be able to buy some blue energy crystals
Gritting his teeth Claptrap mumbled out that he must have miscounted and added 3 more silver coins to the pile This man’s intuition was absolutely uncanny How could he so accurately tell when Claptrap was trying to get the better of him
Finally that man left with a sigh as if the whole ordeal left him completely disappointed although they were able to come to an agreement in regards to price Seeing that disappointment there was a part of Claptrap that wanted to offer more but he managed to bind and gag that part of him
After all with the money that he had paid out to the man if he didn’t receive a decent return and rather quickly his business would soon be nearing the danger zone
Ah friend what do you call yourself When the many customers ask who the maker of those fine equipments is what should I tell them
The man shrugged his eyes flashing emerald as he turned away Just tell them it was The Ghosthound
Chapter 129
Randidly arrived back at Devvit’s boat now satisfied with the amount of potion materials that he had managed to obtain from the strange merchant
He honestly had no idea what the currency was worth and asked increasingly direct questions of the merchant called Claptrap but the merchant seemed too proud to answer but felt sorry for Randidly anyway and would offer him more as if as a substitute
Honestly it would have been more useful to just know how much they were worth but Randidly supposed he could be satisfied with just having more money
Shal was sitting on the boat waiting for him and as Randidly arrived his eyes slid open Ah good you have handled your affairs in case your idiocy kills you perhaps I was mistaken about your ability to think Are you prepared The melee begins shortly
Randidly hesitated He would have preferred an opportunity to brew some potions out of the ingredients he had but He supposed he already had enough for a single day Besides he hoped he wouldn’t be forced to go all out and could instead rely on his own passive regeneration skills which he suspected were rather rare This would put the skills under increased pressure and expedite growth
Based on Devvit’s explanation Randidly did have some confidence about being able to manage through this round so he simply nodded and followed Shal as they began the long winding walk back towards the strange colosseum area
If you survive Shal said striding forward ignoring the stares as he walked carrying Randidly’s tassle We shall have the opportunity to train again for a short time I must say your continued Vitality impresses me I had assumed you would have died without my guidance but fear not I shall rid you of all the bad habits you have developed No matter the cost
Then Shal laughed and Randidly had a sinking feeling in his stomach More than the melee he was about to be a part of
the prospect of the fanatical training of Shal was much more intimidating
All of the contestants and there were truly hundreds of them Randidly realized packed into the small area stood still eyes darting back and forth struggling to act casual as everyone came to terms with the fact that they would soon be competing against one another with their lives on the line
For his part Randidly was slightly bemused Being here in Qtal there was clearly a familiarity with death that wasn’t a part of his old world But it was also a world that had been part of the system for at least several generations As such monsters and dungeons had been pushed back far away from the places were civilization reigned supreme
Seeing the nervous glint in most of the eyes of those around him they had fought but they had never fought while stricken with the fear that they would die They had never lost all conscious thought other than the stubborn refusal to die
He had come a long way but Randidly still vividly remembered stumbling back into that safe room covered in acid knowing nothing but fear and the burning pain in his body It was still a chilling memory and a reminder of how unexpectedly your demise could arrive
As the time they waited continued to stretch onward Randidly considered whether to make a statement early But ultimately he didn’t want to deal with the hassle of the attention that would come with it Sure using Agony would probably debilitate most of the opponents around him but it would paint a large target on his back
Although Devvit seemed to think most of the opponents would only be so so that didn’t mean they all would be There was no need to seek those individuals out right now He would find them soon enough in the actual tournament where Randidly would have the benefit of at least another month of training with Shal
Shivering instinctively Randidly turned his focus elsewhere Just in time to see the large brass doors of their waiting room rumble slowly open Immediately everyone was on their feet spears drawn looking around warily
An attendant had explained the rules again earlier 10 Stages only 3 could pass per stage by standing on it at the end of 2 hours After 2 hours if there were more than 3 people on the stage there would be a 60 second overtime If there were not 3 people there at the end of 60 seconds all of those people would fail
And as soon as they passed through the door into the main arena area they would be considered participating and could be attacked at any point by their fellow spear users
Randidly was towards the middle of the group so he didn’t immediately move after the door opened But soon the people in front of him broke into a trot running out in the air and Randidly cautiously followed Very quickly he began to move running just a bit faster than those around him dodging and weaving and within a few seconds he had burst out through the door arriving at the huge arena
The ground was dirt and the walls rose around him covered in strange viewing cells But he kept his eyes on the ground He had no need to pay attention to the cells currently he simply needed to stay down here among the stages
Dozens of people were jogging around Randidly exchanging glances and it was actually one of the men near Randidly that made the first move stabbing towards Randidly’s back with his spear Almost as if this was a spark on oil several other small battles erupted around them as people attempted to sneak attack other competitors and were then sneak attacked themselves
Snorting Randidly drew his spear and knocked the initiator’s spear to the side and then delivered a roundhouse kick to the man’s chest It was easy to see from his movements that he wasn’t really that strong Randidly expected that most of the upper tiered Classers from Donnyton could have taken him in a battle
Using Empower Randidly added a burst of speed and got out of the group of infighting that had stalled out very near to the brass doors Most new entrants avoided the growing brawl but others charged proudly forward excited to test their mettle in battle It all seemed very strange to Randidly Defeating opponents at this time was almost pointless there were far too many people to make a dent in the number
So Randidly followed the growing streams of people that began running around the giant central building heading for other stages The stage immediately outside of the brass doors already had at least 10 people atop it and they were battling fiercely Randidly paused for a second examining them and turned away