The selection phase for the loser's bracket came to an end after a few hours. Lev had already left the rather awkward royal room after that small argument.

  He couldn't even blame Sherron for instigating that. Lev was expecting to not be taken seriously when he first replied to her question. Instead, Isabella had immediately risen to the challenge, and Lev wasn't one to back down.

  Safe to say, it was a good lesson going forward. He wasn't going to poke anyone without a damn good reason again.

  Should I do some background research about my opponents?

  The prospect sounded more boring than anything. Sure, finding out about any potential surprises would reduce the already low chances of losing even further, but it also sounded useless.

  If Lev couldn't deal with something despite his sizable range and Perception, knowing about it wouldn't have changed much.

  "There you are," Elias called out to him when Lev was leaving the arena. He and Viktor were waiting on the side.

  "Here I am, indeed. Nice showing," Lev said, shaking hands with both of them in greeting.

  Elias smirked a little. "Barely. If anything, all other rounds paled in comparison to the fire princess."

  Oh great. He's starstruck.

  "… Yeah," Lev smiled, just barely.

  "Do you know her?" Viktor questioned, observing his reaction.

  "No? How would I?"

  He shrugged. "I remember she took you to the side to talk."

  "Oh, right. Nah, that was something different and it has been dealt with."

  Elias and Viktor shared a glance, causing Lev to narrow his eyes. They didn't explain, and he didn't care enough to ask further.

  "So, what are you two doing here?"

  "Well," Elias scratched his head. "Lisa and Rena didn't participate and are probably having some quality girls' time. Thought we should do the same."

  "I'm down, as long as you two don't plan to chase skirts. Keep me away from that."

  Viktor chuckled, not confirming or denying anything. Elias looked deep in thought.

  "You're pretty rich, right?"

  Lev tilted his head a little. "Sure?"

  "Have you tried gambling?"

  Oh boy.

  ****

  "Why are we in the merchant district again?" Viktor questioned. The trio was currently walking a large road littered with stalls.

  "Shopping?" Lev answered, amused. "I also needed to sell my stuff. Here we are."

  Without stopping, Lev entered the largest Bronze Bids branch in the haven. It was similar in scale to the runespires branch, which meant it was utterly gigantic.

  "Welcome," a woman greeted them as they entered, swiftly taking in their appearance. "How can I help the star of the Monster Hunt?"

  Lev ignored her words and summoned his tier three card. The woman scrutinized it for a moment before nodding.

  "Tier three membership from runespires. What do you wish to sell?"

  "Cores," Lev replied, looking around. "There are quite a few. Where can I summon them?"

  "Please give me a moment."

  The woman summoned a table and set it in the middle of the large room. An enchanted piece of clothing appeared on it. Lev was waved to summon them after that.

  For ten minutes, he kept summoning different types of cores. The receptionist was surprised at first, but professionalism took over, and she deftly scanned and valued all cores. Both Elias and Viktor also watched on, silently impressed.

  "The total for this bunch comes out to seventy gold coins," she explained, thoughtful. "Many of these will fetch a better price if you sell to different buyers. Do you still want to sell them all here?"

  "That's fine," Lev waved her off. He couldn't have cared less about money. There were a few second-threshold cores still waiting in his ring. The ones he had just sold belonged to the monsters from the hunt and dungeons near windkeep.

  Much richer, they left the establishment to find somewhere to waste the money. It was bound to be a memorable experience.

  "Why gambling, anyway?"

  "Hmm?" Elias looked at Lev before realization dawned on him. "Oh, we're not going to a casino or anything like that. There is a system in place to bet on the tournament participants. We will simply risk most everything on your win."

  Is that even allowed? Doesn't make sense for it not to be, but still.

  "Will that not cause trouble?"

  "On what grounds?" Viktor grinned. "We are just going to bet on our friend."

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  Lev grinned back. If the system really allowed one to get rich like that, he had no qualms about making full use of it.

  "Where do we place our bets?"

  "Guess?"

  And so they reached the hunters guild after half an hour of leisurely walking. The scale of the great city became more and more apparent during that. Despite being straightforward, the distance still took a while to cover.

  Lev weaved between the crowds, slightly peeved at his little height. He was still growing, standing at nearly five and a half feet, but hitting the maximum would still take a few years. If anything, he was going to be fairly tall, above six feet.

  The receptionists naturally had huge lines in front of them. Lev was going to join one to wait but Elias tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, the radiant hunter didn't say anything and simply guided him to the second floor.

  Giving the guildmaster's room a wide berth, Lev followed quietly. Elias seemed to know what he was doing.

  The third room to the left in the large hallway had a room name plate stating 'Official Bets.'

  Elias entered as if he owned the place. Lev was a step behind, faltering when he registered the mountain of a man in the rather empty room. A large dark brown desk with four padded chairs for visitors adorned the betting office, rendering it strangely intimidating.

  The hunters all took their place, waiting for the official to finish reading whatever documents he was holding.

  [Warrior - ???]

  "What will it be?" a deep voice echoed in the room.

  Elias looked at Lev, urging him to take the lead. Understanding, Lev cleared his throat and straightened up.

  "I want to bet on myself that I'll win the duels."

  The Master simply nodded once. "How much?"

  Hmm, I don't think throwing everything at this is a good idea. Better keep some change.

  "One platinum."

  Lev was observed intently for a moment. Whatever the person behind the desk saw in him, it was enough to let him bet.

  One hundred gold coins appeared on the desk and were stored just as quickly.

  "Anything else?"

  "Can I bet on someone reaching the top five?"

  "Depends on the competitor you're betting on," the man curtly replied.

  Lev motioned to his sides. "These two."

  "Names?"

  Elias spoke up. "Elias and Viktor. Members of a radiant team."

  More documents were summoned and scanned. The Master stayed quiet for a few minutes, shuffling through different stacks of pages before addressing them.

  "There are no opposing bets."

  Viktor snorted, getting a look from the Master. That set him straight faster than being held at gunpoint.

  Lev resisted the urge to laugh and continued. "What are the most popular bets right now?"

  "Isabella's victory and Aryan placing second."

  Was my showing in the hunt not enough?

  "I see," Lev replied and turned to the other two. "Did you guys want to bet something?"

  Elias nodded. "Waiting for you to be done."

  "Last questions, then," Lev addressed the Master. "How long will the bets for solo combat remain open for? Are the bets for team combat open?"

  "Solo bets will remain open for one more day. Team bets will be available after the solo combat is done."

  Lev thanked the man and went quiet, letting Elias and Viktor place their bets.

  "I will bet twenty gold on Lev scoring first place," Elias voiced, summoning the gold coins. Viktor followed suit after a moment.

  "I'll also bet another twenty gold on the shadow rogue not placing in the top two," Elias continued, unsurprisingly for Lev. If he had to guess who would win between Elias and Aryan, Lev would also bet on the former.

  Viktor didn't have any such bets to make. His class was focused on a mix of offense and defense. It disadvantaged him against competitors like Isabella who had a specialized class.

  "Out of curiosity, what would the payout be if I win?" Lev asked.

  "Twelve times the placed bet as it stands."

  … I can see why people lose their lives to gambling.

  Thanking the rather scary Master, they quickly exited the room and walked downstairs.

  "Now what?" Lev questioned once they were outside the guild.

  "What do you mean now what? You didn't put everything on the bets, right?"

  Lev shook his head. He still had more than a platinum in gold in his storage ring. Most of the money came from selling mistcrawler cores back in windkeep.

  Elias grinned. "The day is still young. Come on."

  ****

  Haven, as it turned out, had a massive amusement park. Called Joyland, Lev, Elias, and Viktor were waiting in its long lines amongst a bunch of other people. Most of them were entering with children, but there were more than a few attractions for adults present inside.

  Lev's attention was occupied by one such ride. On the opposite end of the park, a towering sky wheel was currently spinning relatively slowly, still fast enough to produce a few howls and screams.

  How did I even miss this thing before? It should be visible from anywhere in the city.

  Somehow, he had missed it anyway. Shaking off his wonder, Lev looked at the attendant at the park's gate.

  "Two silvers for entry," the bored girl remarked. Her eyes lit up when they found Lev. Elias paid the silvers without batting an eye, and they were let inside without being bothered further. Lev was prepared to deal with the girl's enthusiasm but it seemed she was fine with just recognizing him.

  Inside, the trio just stopped a bit further away from the gate and took it all in. The park was imacculately decorated, looking pristine and orderly. Rides were all present at the other end, whereas the rest was for idling and wandering. There was even a large pond to the left for boating. Restaurent and similar services were situated on the right.

  "Skywheel?" Lev asked.

  "Skywheel," Elias confirmed.

  Two minutes later, they were holding tickets for a single car for the next cycle.

  "How much did the tickets cost?" Lev questioned once Viktor returned with them. He and Elias were waiting at a distance for the ride to stop.

  "Fifty bronze per."

  "… Isn't that pretty cheap?"

  Viktor shrugged. "For us, yes."

  I suppose that answers enough.

  There was always a lot of money to be had in monster hunting. Lev and the present company were exceptions among exceptions, however. He was likely going to be the strongest Adept to ever exist, whereas the other two belonged to one of the best gold teams. Money was probably never going to be an issue for them.

  Less than five minutes later, Lev was handing his ticket to another attendant before boarding the cabin in front of them. It was spacious, designed to fit six people comfortably. Lev sat on one side, and the other two took their seats opposing him.

  "Fancy," Lev remarked, liking the off-white interior and padding on the seats.

  "It is one the largest attractions of the park. Has to be at least this good."

  Lev nodded and looked out. The wheel had yet to start spinning properly. Occasionally, they were pushed higher to allow other cars to reach the ground for people to board them.

  The entirety of the park and much of the haven were already visible. People scurried about their days like ants beyond the park, looking like ants after a certain distance, even to his much-improved eyesight.

  Even further, the walls stood tall like stone titans, protecting more than a million without faltering even once.

  A silent sigh escaped Lev. His brain, being the dumb thought-producing organ it was, couldn't help but think about what could bring those walls down. Even worse, his mind kept going to when his presence would attract one such monster. There were more than a few that had been historically defeated. It wouldn't be something new.

  "What ails you, my stupidly strong friend?" Viktor commented, making Lev smile.

  "The future, I guess? Just letting my mind wander."

  He tsked. "You can do that any other day. It's not like the world is gonna end tomorrow. Why bother making the present harder for yourself?"

  Lev took a deep breath. He doesn't know. It's fine, the world will not end because of a jinx. Surely.

  "You're not wrong," Lev mused. "I'll just stop thinking then."

  The skywheel started spinning in earnest after that. It accelerated gradually, eventually reaching a point where Lev could hear the passage of air.

  Even if the speed was nothing comparable to his flight, any disappointment he may have felt vanished when the wheel reached its peak. Their cabin was just below the walls in height, letting Lev see the bustling haven in its glorious entirety.

  For once, he completely shut down all lines of thoughts in his head and enjoyed the view.