Chapter 30 : Wanna make a little bet?

Watching Anemoa Dallant persistently asking about Iris, I started to suspect she was actually trying to use me as a bridge to get closer to her.

However, even after ten minutes of nonstop chatter, it became clear: she was just a chatterbox.

“If Iris Lunai had just given up her seeded spot, she could’ve easily won in the junior division.

Clearly, she’s built differently.

She must value the experience of fighting senior division students more than any championship prize.

But of all opponents, she got matched against Palace Star Neriel Windwalker in the prelims?

Poor thing.

Even Iris won’t be able to lay a hand on her before she’s defeated.”

“Is this Neriel-sunbae really that strong?”

“Oh yes. She’s a High Elf who was chosen by a constellation from birth.

While a few students enter Pantheon Academy having already formed contracts with constellations thanks to their family prestige, Neriel is the only one to have a ‘born-contracted’ constellation.

Honestly, the fact that she didn’t receive a seeded spot just because she ranked fourth… That’s what I call bad bureaucracy.

The poor ones are her opponents, really.”

Reacting like I was hearing all this for the first time—when I already knew it—wasn’t easy.

No, more than that—when is this Anemoa girl going to leave?

I needed to activate the constellation ritual and relay the info about Neriel to Iris, but she just kept jabbering on beside me, driving me crazy.

Just as I was anxiously chewing on my nails instead of popcorn, the match between Iris and Neriel finally began.

The senior martial tournament stage was massive—about the size of four junior arenas combined—and protective barriers had been erected for the spectators.

Everything about it was on another level.

But what really stood out was the sheer energy of the crowd.

“And now, the long-awaited big match!

You might wonder why a first-round match is being hyped like this, but it’s because one of the Four Stars of the senior division, Palace Star Neriel, is going up against Iris, the rising star of the junior division.

Honestly, this is the kind of matchup you’d expect in the main event, not the prelims!

What a twist of fate!!”

“Woooo!! Neriel, show those junior rookies how scary a real senior can be!!”

“Iris-nim, don’t be scared! Just do your best! Iris-nim, fighting!!”

“Those clueless junior students don’t even realize how brutal this matchup is, and they’re still cheering for Iris Lunai.”

“Well, you know… sometimes you just have to see how things play out to know who’s better.”

“Then, how about a little wager?

I bet 100 Dallant silver coins that Iris Lunai won’t last ten minutes against Neriel Windwalker.

And if Kim Sunghoon bets on her lasting ten minutes, I’d like you to agree to the sponsorship contract I proposed earlier.”

“That bet seems like a win for you whether you win or lose. That’s no fun. How about we bet on whether Iris-nim wins or loses instead?”

At my counter-proposal, Anemoa’s eyes widened like a startled deer, then she quickly cleared her throat and replied.

“I thought you were a gentleman, but you’re surprisingly mischievous.”

“This isn’t a joke. I’m serious.”

“Then let’s do it this way. I’ll bet 1,000 Dallant silver coins that Iris Lunai loses.

If you, Kim Sunghoon, bet on her winning, then you’ll owe me 1,000 Dallant silver coins.

Of course, when I say ‘owe,’ I don’t mean I’ll be like a loan shark charging interest or anything petty like that.

You can take a hundred years for all I care—just wear the Dallant Trading Company badge on your school uniform for advertisement, or work delivery jobs for us during breaks to pay it off.”

“Deal.”

“This is quite entertaining.

No wonder betting pools used to get massive whenever the martial tournament was held.

It makes watching the same match way more exciting.

Of course, once match-fixing was discovered, Headmaster Dragos banned it entirely.

But he wouldn’t say anything about a private bet between individuals.”

Just as Anemoa said, there was a time when official betting pools were legally operated during the martial tournaments, led by a few trading companies.

But when one company was caught colluding with a student to fix the outcome of a match, Headmaster Dragos personally expelled the student and dismantled the company himself.

If that betting system were still around, someone like me—who knew all the students’ skill levels—could’ve made a killing.

But I wasn’t disappointed.

That’s because a separate betting system existed, one even Headmaster Dragos couldn’t interfere with—a system solely for constellations.

It was called the Scales of the Golden Rule, run by a non-personified constellation.

With zero risk of fraud and the use of Karma Coins as wagers, it had gained popularity among many constellations.

Of course, some constellations looked down on such wagers as vulgar human amusements and refused to even go near it.

With that, I bowed my head and clasped my hands together as if in prayer—and activated the constellation ritual.

Then, I could observe a massive scale hovering above the arena—something invisible to ordinary humans.

‘While I was chatting with Anemoa, looks like a lot of bets were already placed.’

As expected, even most of the constellations were betting on Neriel’s victory, causing the scale to lean heavily to one side.

That didn’t mean there were no bets on Iris at all—but those were mostly from the so-called “reverse-bettors.”

They were the types who didn’t care about a student’s actual skills and simply threw their Karma Coins on the side with the higher payout odds.

I, too, joined that group of reverse-bettors and casually tossed a single Karma Coin onto the side of the scale betting on Iris’s victory.

Then I immediately returned to Iris’s side, and she welcomed me warmly.

‘You’re here, Nameless King! I was so nervous thinking you weren’t coming.

Ah, it’s not that I plan to rely on your power to fight—I just really wanted to show you the results of all my training.

Even though my opponent is the famous Palace Star Neriel from the senior division, I’ll do my best and fight honorably to the very end!’

‘Doing your best isn’t enough. Iris, you must win no matter what.’

‘Huh?’

‘There’s no time to explain in detail.

Start observing the arena immediately.

Think of the entire stage as a chessboard and memorize the coordinates of each tile.

The bottom-left tile is (0, 0), and the top-right tile is (100, 100).’

Surprised by my sudden instructions, Iris still did her best to memorize the coordinates.

She wasn’t an ordinary student, and with her Keen Mind skill, this task shouldn’t be too difficult for her.

Fortunately, Iris was able to memorize all the coordinates before the match began, and her opponent, Neriel, didn’t attack right away when the match started.

Instead, she initiated a conversation, giving Iris some extra time to solidify the coordinates in her memory.

“So you’re Iris Lunai.

I’ve heard the rumors.

I always thought I’d like to face you one day, but I didn’t expect that day to be today.

Anyway, I’m not really a fan of dragging things out with slow-paced probing.

So how about summoning your Divine Armament right away?”

“Huh? D-Divine Armament?”

“Yes. Surely you came without a sword because you planned to fight using your Divine Armament, right?”

“Ah, actually… I switched my track from swordsmanship to footwork techniques. And… I don’t have a Divine Armament.”

“You don’t have a Divine Armament?

A Divine Armament is the ultimate symbol of a Constellation’s favor and a badge of pride.

Even if you’re from the junior division, it’s hard to believe someone of your level doesn’t have one.

Still, don’t expect me to go easy on you.

Let this be a lesson on how reckless it is to challenge someone with a Divine Armament without having one yourself.

Answer my call—Eokeira!”

When Palace Star Neriel reached out and shouted, a green aura whirled around her, encircling her body.

Moments later, she reappeared—not in a school uniform, but clad in radiant golden bikini armor, holding a massive longbow seemingly crafted from polished stag antlers.

That was her Divine Armament, Eokeira, a weapon said to be made from the very antlers of her Constellation, the White Stag of Life, bestowed directly upon her.

Apparently, she had no intention of going easy.

She aimed Eokeira at the sky and immediately cast Arrow Rain.

Though there were no physical arrows or bowstrings, countless magical arrows formed from condensed mana began to rain down in the hundreds, maybe thousands.

For Iris, it must have felt like facing not a single opponent, but an entire unit of archers.

I gently spoke to the overwhelmed Iris:

‘The magical arrows from Arrow Rain are something your aura can withstand, so don’t panic.

But because of the sheer volume of projectiles, eventually your aura will get chipped away, like getting soaked in a drizzle.

That’s why you need to move to the (0, 0) coordinate.

It may look like Arrow Rain is covering the entire arena, but it actually has a circular radius of 50—there are blind spots.

Of course, Neriel won’t just let you get there.

The moment you reach the edge of the arena, she’ll likely snipe you with Spiral Arrow.

That’s a technique you can’t block with aura, so whatever you do, don’t try to counter it.

The moment you reach (0, 0), dash straight toward (0, 100).

Think of it as a flow.’