Dante’s Immortality – Chapter 97

Of Eric’s three friends, the talkative one from earlier was the only person who was rash enough to do anything, the other two looked reluctant to involve themselves in such an embarrassing scene.

Eric was on the floor, trying to regain his composure as he looked at the audience in horror. Other than those glaring hatefully at him, several others were discussing the match that had just transpired. Questions arose on whether or not Eric was really as powerful as they thought, or if the other combatants really did let him win because of his father. His reputation had taken quite a blow.

Dante also noticed that more than one glare was aimed at him as well, but those stares weren’t anywhere near as angry or numerous. Those pale faced gamblers were just looking for someone to place the blame on.

Everything seemed to have gone rather well, hopefully it would continue that way.

Eric’s talkative friend stepped forward, his hand was on the hilt the sword by his side. “You’re going to regret what you’ve done.”

Dante maintained his smile. This person was hardly a threat if he acted alone. The other two might be a problem though. The one to his left in particular looked like he was dangerous. He was older than the rest as well, in his mid-twenties from the looks of it. And since he was almost definitely specialized, he was likely much older. Of the three, he was also the calmest by far.

Beside him, Eric struggled to sit up. But halfway through he moaned and his face paled as he slumped back on the floor. Definitely a broken rib or two.

That calm man addressed the person who stepped toward him. “Eli, grab Eric and get out of here.”

The person who threatened him, Eli, reluctantly paused mid-step, then nodded in acquiescence as he quickly moved to Eric’s side. Eli ignored Eric’s groans of pain as he lifted him and began to carry him toward the arena’s exit.

Dante watched the two leave, not taking any action to stop them. He had already accomplished everything he wanted to. And after waking Eric up, Eric was able to fully experience the mocking and hate-filled gazes of the audience. With the importance he placed on the opinions of others, he would probably prefer to be dead.

The calm man’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Dante. “Who are you?”

Despite the plain words, the implications behind them were clear. The man in front of him wanted to know why he had acted against Eric, and what power gave him the confidence to do so.

Dante waved a hand dismissively. “No one of consequence.”

That man continued to stare at him, his gaze was penetrating. “That may be, but your actions are of great consequence.” He gestured to the other person from Eric’s group and the two of them began to move toward the exit. “This isn’t over.” He spoke loudly so that the audience could hear, obviously trying to save what was left of their reputation by making a public threat.

Dante rolled his eyes at their overly dramatic exit as he too walked toward the staircase. He had considered telling them that he was a part of the assassins’ guild, which would be an excellent deterrent, but didn’t want to rely on the guild if it wasn’t necessary. The guild wouldn’t be something he could rely on forever.

Still, it would be best to act prudently for the time being.

Thankfully, he hadn’t wasted much time at the Combatant’s Hall. It was still before noon. So after collecting all of his hard-earned money, he could get an early start on all the shopping he had intended to put off for the following day.

Dante stepped into the main room where he had registered earlier. Despite the underground room’s massive size, it was packed with people. Everyone was huddled around the desk where the bets were paid out, and almost all of them were demanding a refund for his fight.

Several of them stared coldly at him, but the treatment he received was relatively decent in comparison to what Eric got. He knew because he could see Eli trying to push his way through the crowd with Eric in his arms at the far end of the room. No one forcefully blocked him, as Eric’s backing was too powerful, but more than one person stepped forward to momentarily obstruct the two as they muttered curses under their breath.

“Dante!”

Hearing Leah’s familiar voice, a smile spread across his face. Dante turned to see Leah, Candice, and Arron stepping into the room. He practically ran up to them. Well, to Leah. He noticed the serious expression on her face and assumed the worst. “What happened? Don’t tell me… you lost it?”

For a brief moment, Leah didn’t seem to comprehend what he was saying. “What? No. Aren’t you worried?”

Dante let out a breath of relief, she didn’t lose it. “Why would I be worried?”

Candice looked at him in disbelief. “There is no way they are just going to let you go.”

Dante waved it off. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

Both Candice and Leah gave him a disapproving look. They didn’t seem to be reassured.

He looked at Arron. “They won’t just kill me, right?”

Arron shook his head, he was standing to the side with his arms crossed over his chest. “Since you embarrassed Eric publicly, and fairly, everything they do will be above board.”

‘Above board’ was still quite dangerous, but shouldn’t be a massive problem.

Leah looked at him with concern. “Did you get hurt earlier?”

That was actually a good question. Dante inspected himself. A few burns and a lot of bruises. Nothing major though. “I’ll be fine.”

Candice rolled her eyes. “How did you even do it?”

Candice’s question made Arron far more attentive, and Leah nodded seriously. “You were amazing.”

Dante shrugged the question off as he looked at Leah. “I think he just underestimated me. Can I see it?”

“Oh!” Leah’s hand brushed against the bodice of her dress and a slip of paper appeared in it. “Here it is.”

Dante accepted the slip as he pondered over where it had come from. There wasn’t a single pocket on Leah’s dress. “Where did you… Never mind. I’m going to go cash this in.” He could hardly contain his excitement, the hidden compartments in Leah’s dress could wait until later.

He carefully held the slip in both hands as he walked toward the receptionists that handled the betting. Unfortunately, they were overly crowded from all of those complaining. Fortunately, as soon as he made it clear that he was cashing in a bet, the workers saw to him first.

Dante handed the slip to the receptionist and greedily rubbed his hands together, anticipating the vast sum of money that had been reaped from all of these pale-faced gamblers he easily fooled.

“Let’s see. 22 gold coins bet on match number 374 of the day, between fighters 497 and 7332. Your bet earned 12.3% of the total pot, which comes out to 432 gold, 63 silver, and 12 copper.”

Dante’s eyes widened. “What?”

The receptionist looked back down at his paper. “You bet 22 gold-”

Dante cut him off. “Not that. You said I only earned 12.3% of the pot. That’s not possible.”

The receptionist looked back down at his paper, this time carefully scanning through it. “Sir, I can assure you that this is correct.”

Dante rubbed his temples, not understanding how this was possible. This was a complete and utter tragedy. He should have earned thousands of gold coins. Someone must have seen through his act…

He was almost as angry as the people who lost all of their money.

After giving himself a few seconds to regain his composure, Dante let out a sigh and looked back up at the receptionist. “Alright, where can I pick my money up?”

The receptionist wrote something on the slip, handed it back to him, then gestured to a doorway next to his desk. “All earnings that surpass one hundred gold coins must be collected privately. Just give one of the attendants your slip and they will help you.”

Dante could only nod his head. For some reason, he felt like he came out of this entire situation with a loss… despite making 400 gold.

His eyes lit up as he suddenly had a thought. “Can I also pick up my earnings from the fights I took part in?”

The receptionist nodded. “Of course, just give your registration badge to the attendant with your slip.”

Mood now marginally better, Dante walked through the doorway. Even if the percent was far smaller, his earnings for winning the fight should still come out to a few dozen gold coins.

After showing his slip to the security that was stationed in the hallway, Dante stepped into a room that was both smaller and more vacant than the one he was in previously. It was also more lavish, and there was even furniture for sitting. Other than the Combatant Hall’s workers, the only others in the room looked like they were excessively wealthy. Which made sense given the rooms purpose.

Shortly after entering the room, an extraordinarily beautiful woman walked up to him. He tried not to let her looks distract him, but it was challenging when she was barely decent. Not only were here legs left bare due to her short skirt, but the top she wore left more to be seen than unseen. “Welcome sir, my name is Clara.” She smiled lasciviously. “Is there something I can help you with?”

If he hadn’t spent so much time with Melisandre and Olivia, keeping his composure would have been far more difficult. “Yes, actually.” He held out both his slip and the registration badge. “I’ve come to collect my earnings.”

“Of course, please follow me.” Clara began to walk in front of him, her hips swaying in a way that couldn’t be natural.

She led him to a small room and held the door open for him. “Please have a seat.” Dante walked into the room. Other than a long bench, it was completely bare. “Give me one moment. I’ll have your earnings calculated and brought to you.”

Clara stepped out of the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts. And all of those thoughts were focused on the person who took his hard-earned money. That was definitely a grudge he would hold onto.

Only a few minutes passed when a knock came from the door. “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal a surprisingly old man, and a surprisingly lacking amount of gold. And despite being elderly, the white-haired old man was alert. His eyes were completely focused, as though nothing would escape his attention.

Dante’s eyes narrowed as he prepared to defend. There was a possibility that this old man was someone on Eric’s side. “You don’t look like you’re carrying 400 gold coins.”

The old man gave him an amused smile that reminded him of Victoria’s. “That’s because I’m not. I have been sent at the behest of the first lady. She has requested your presence, and I am to escort you to her.”

Dante’s eyes widened in fake surprise, then he smiled merrily. “The first lady wants to meet me? That’s great! I’ve heard much about her and have been eager to meet her for myself.” His expression faltered, as though he suddenly realized something. “Only… I’ve already made important plans that cannot be rescheduled. I’m afraid that it would be impossible for me to meet her today. Would it be possible for me to see her tomorrow night, or maybe the day after if it’s convenient?”

The amused smile was wiped off the old man’s face. “No.”

Dante shook his head sadly. “Then I’m afraid we are at an impasse. What is to be done about this?” He had no intention of meeting this first lady. There was no way she just wanted to have a chat with him. He had enough troubles of his own, there was no need to involve himself with someone who was in the midst of a power struggle with a million combatant strong army stationed outside of her city.

The old man didn’t relent. “You will follow me, and together we will go see her. Any other matters are of secondary importance and can wait until later.”

Dante paused, as if thinking it over. “You are quite right. How could anything compare to the importance of meeting the first lady?” This situation was completely unfair. Nothing he did should have attracted the attention of such a high-level figure. Unless it was the act of embarrassing Eric itself that led to this.