How to Live as a Half-Dragon

071. arena

At Drake’s question, Xian widened his eyes.

No matter how I thought about it, it was too out of the blue.

“Money is… why?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, just give it up.”

Xian pulled out a money bag from his chest.

It was quite heavy because there was money from selling junk in Alteon in the past.

Drake snatched it up and turned it over in the palm of his hand.

“What are you carrying so much?”

“hmm… Because that’s the case… .”

Drake took all the gold coins he had left, put one back in his purse, and returned it.

“Bring this back 100 times.”

“100 times?!”

“Why can’t you?”

“Ouch… .”

Sian, who was moaning like a dog with an upset stomach, said.

No matter how much I thought about it, it was impossible to be called in 100 times.

“No, didn’t you come to train us instead?”

“That is training.”

“this… Training?”

When Xian asked that, Drake said.

“Semain’s arena, as the name suggests, does sparring, but you can bet money on victory or defeat. Let’s see… .”

Drake said after examining the ratio board at the reception desk in the distance.

“Because the largest dividend in today’s game is 5.8 times. If you pick and choose such a game, you can be called enough within the day. When it is called 100 times, then let’s proceed with the next training.”

That is, to gamble.

“Keep a good watch.”

“Please leave it to me.”

Stein, who caught Drake’s gaze, spoke confidently.

I wondered why he brought this guy, but he must have been a guard…

“under… .”

Drake, who brazenly robbed almost all of his assets, disappeared just like that.

It seemed so elusive that it was hard to get hold of.

“You want to gamble for real?”

* * *

Xian went inside the arena as Drake ordered.

Whether it is possible or impossible, I decided to move rather than just complaining about irrationality.

At the reception desk in the lobby, Cian, who had bet an appropriate amount based on his own reasons, went up to the audience through the stairs in the corner.

The game was in full swing on the large central stage overlooking from the spectators.

‘I bet on a guy named Vasto… .’

The reason Xian bet on Vasto was simple.

First of all, it was because he was big and his recent record was good.

‘I bet a silver coin!’

Anyway, even though I had gold coins in my hand, not even a single silver coin was a small amount.

Let Xian watch Dalian with high expectations for a while.

“Sian, I lost Basto.”

Cecily, who was watching together, opened her mouth.

It is very sad to see Vasto collapsed as if he was sleeping on a shrimp.

The taste is bitter.

“Yes… .”

Xian let out a sigh.

“Is it like this too?”

I lost a silver coin.

Now he had only 19 silver coins left.

To be called 100 times was an absurd request, even if you think about it again.

I still don’t understand that this is training.

“What are you thinking… .”

Xian, who was looking up at the sky through the open ceiling of the arena, glanced sideways.

I saw Stain sitting one seat away.

“Is that… .”

“What is it?”

“You know? Why is this training?”

First of all, it is Stain who is stronger than himself.

‘Actually, it can be considered a tie.’

Anyway, Stain immediately opened his mouth to Xian’s question.

“I have no obligation to tell you anything Drake-sama didn’t bother to tell you.”

“no… I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Since he usually likes to eat, I accidentally poked him, but he opened his mouth to see if he was right.

“Follow me.”

Stain said after leaving the arena and moving to a quiet place.

It was an empty lot with relatively few passers-by.

“Is there anything memorable while watching Dalian?”

“Anything memorable?”

As expected, if there was something memorable in the sparring a while ago, it would be the blow of the opponent who defeated Basto.

When I said that, Stein said.

“Would you like to use that skill against that rock?”

“hmm… .”

Xian drew the sword from his waist and headed for the rock in the corner, recalling his memory and swinging it.

Even though it was a simple, clunky motion, not only did the rock shatter, but the heavy explosion sounded deafening.

“uh… ?”

I did it myself, but I was a little bewildered when the power was stronger than I thought.

“I don’t know exactly what Mr. Drake thinks, but it’s probably because of his talent.”

The ability to imitate anything you see once.

Even though he hadn’t personally competed in sparring, if he was at this level, it’s understandable that he chose an arena as a training ground…

“Then what is gambling?”

I wondered why it was called 100 times.

Stain shook his head at Xian’s question.

“well. Doesn’t that mean watching as many matches as possible?”

“really… Is that it?”

It seems like a valid argument, but somehow I’m not sure.

Stain said after Sian thought about it for a moment.

“Anyway, you must keep your promise.”

Well, to be honest, it wasn’t that Stain’s words weren’t helpful, so Xian nodded.

“what… okay.”

* * *

After moving to the restaurant with the party and having a meal, Xian returned to the arena.

This time, I bet the money as I entered.

“I lost again… .”

It was safe to say that Vasto’s game earlier had almost half the odds, so it was safe to say that it was half-shot, but it wasn’t this game.

The odds were also lower this way, so it could be said that there are many people besides Xian who predicted victory.

But even so, Xian lost money again.

It was because Xian was the one who bet the money on the non-stage.

“I’m really out of luck… .”

Even so, it could be said that the price of one silver coin was enough.

While watching Dalian, I got some of the opponent’s skills.

Apart from the gains and losses of money, there was something else gained, so it can be said that it was worth it.

‘Still, I’m not sure why… .’

If that’s the reason, it’s probably because Drake’s request is to be multiplied 100 times.

“I lost it after all… .”

At the end of the day, when Xian settled the remaining money in his pocket, it was about two silver coins empty.

I bet more money on 3 matchups, and I won 2 out of 3 matches and recovered some of them, but in the end I lost and finished.

‘At this rate, I’d lose everything in ten days… ?’

Expenditures from spending money on lunch, dinner, and lodging also played a part, but that was the case anyway, considering the trend.

If you keep going like this, it will only be a matter of time before you end up losing money instead of earning money…

I was sitting in my dorm, lost in my thoughts, but Drake came looking for me, wondering how I knew I was here.

“Follow me.”

“ruler… Wait.”

Drake quickly followed Drake’s actions as he tried to leave the hook dormitory after saying his own words.

It quickly became dark outside as Cyan followed Drake out with Stein Cecily.

Sian asked sneakily as he walked along with Drake.

“But.”

“What.”

“You dared to choose the arena as your training ground. Is it because of my eyes?”

Drake smiled at Xian’s question.

“right. Well, if the person in question doesn’t notice that, they’ll have to pluck out their eyes.”

I shouldn’t say that I noticed this only when Stein told me about it.

“But why the hell is money called? Isn’t it simply to watch the game as much as possible?”

As Xian said that, he glanced at Stain who was following him when he heard Drake’s voice.

“Of course.”

As expected, according to Xian’s intuition, there must have been something more.

“Can you tell me?”

“Okay, let me know.”

“to? Are you telling me?”

I thought he would say something like that, but it was unexpected, saying that there is meaning only when one realizes it by oneself because he quickly went away without even having time to ask during the day.

Drake said again as if Xian’s reaction was strange.

“Why is the person who asked me to tell me what the reaction is?”

“I know you don’t have the heart to tell me that easily… Even during the day, I thought you had no intention of answering… .”

Drake seemed to be reminiscing about the day’s events before opening his mouth.

“It’s just because there’s someone I really need to meet.”

If it was like that, would you tell me the situation…

I thought that I was struggling with my head because I was thinking about it alone.

“So what is the reason?”

“Previously.”

Drake stopped and asked Xian.

“What do you think is the reason I chose this three-man arena as a training ground?”

“well?”

I just think there must be a reason.

However, I had never thought deeply about that part.

Of course, thinking about it right now, nothing came to mind.

When I first arrived in Semaine, nothing came to mind except that, as Drake had said, he came here because of the arena, and as he had just answered, it had to do with his talent for easily copying his skills.

‘But if it’s like that, there’s no reason you have to be Semain, as I said during the day.’

If it was an arena, even excluding Semain, it would not be small.

I still couldn’t even guess why it had to be Semine.

“I don’t know.”

“First, Semain’s arena boasts the largest scale on the continent. Since more than a dozen games are played in a single day, it will be twice or even three times that of other places.”

He wondered if the reason he still had to gamble had anything to do with the arena in Semaine, but he didn’t ask because he thought he could figure out Drake’s intentions once he heard it.

I was just asking why.

“Another reason?”

“Second, it’s not just the size that is the best. Those who compete are also of a high standard.”

Certainly, the strong people around were all stronger than Xi’an at a glance.

This is true even though Xian is a target for comparison with Slayers and Dragonians, and belongs to a fairly strong axis.

“third.”

Drake pointed to Xian’s chest and said.

“What do you think you need most right now?”