“You won’t profit if you don’t invest. It might cost you ten gold Fordes, but think about it: your opponent Lorist is but an Iron ranked swordsman with somewhat better swordsmanship. If you had won, not only would you get a hundred gold Fordes, you will also be employed by the academy as a gold-ranked sword instructor! A gold-ranked instructor’s salary is ten gold Fordes a month. You can easily buy a house in this city and settle down here with that kind of money.”

Charade talked like a patient salesman with the brawny man nodding to every one of the points Charade made.

“It’s such a shame…” said Charade with his expression turning glum as his tone changed. “You actually ruined such a good chance by not reading the notice carefully and committed such an act at our academy. Not only have you broken the rules of our academy, you have also greatly insulted the academy and caused deep mental anguish in our students! That’s why, you must be punished before you will be allowed to register for a duel.”

“Punishment? What kind of punishment?” asked the brawny man, scared.

“Oh, don’t worry. According to our academy’s rules, we will not cause you any physical harm. We only ask you to pay a small fine. This matter will be settled if you hand over five gold Fordes,” said Charade with a pleasant smile on his face.

“What! Five gold coins?” The brawny man could never imagine having to lose five gold coins just for drawing his blade. “I… I don’t have that kind of money…”

“That’s perfectly okay. You can borrow it from some friends. If you can’t do even that, the Enforcement Department can find you some work which will guarantee the repayment of your debt.” The fatty got a little impatient after hearing the man’s reply. He waved for the men in black to bring the transgressing men back to the Enforcement Department.

By the time this ended, only half the people who were at the plaza remained.

Lorist turned to look at Charade with a grim expression.

“Deathly Miser! What are you up to this time!?”

The fatty replied with a face full of smiles, “Haha, isn’t this brother Locke? It’s so nice to see you again! I’ve missed you so very much.”

“Cut the crap. What’s with that notice you guys put up?” Lorist said while glaring at Charade.

The fatty let out a long sigh and said, “Brother, weren’t you troubled by the constant challenges you received from people last year? Didn’t I come out with a solution to that problem that also profited us both by charging anyone who wanted a duel with you for five gold coins, from which I took two and the rest went to you? Us brothers earned quite a bit after 57 duels last year. However, that old bastard took note of our little business…”

Charade pointed at the sky, hinting at the pressure from his higher ups. “Just two days ago the old bastard came looking for me and told me that you still didn’t manage to break through during your excursion at the Relic Islands. The other academies mocked that of all the people in Dawn Academy, you, a Three Star Iron Swordsman, was appointed a dual gold ranked instructor. To teach those people a lesson, we decided to put up that notice, mainly to attract the Silver Swordsmen from other academies to challenge you and see for themselves your ability.”

“Is that all it is?” Lorist didn’t believe for one moment that that was all it is.

“Erm……” the fatty hesitated. “And, we also wanted to earn some money from this. The old bastard said that I didn’t think far enough and that I was satisfied with only just a little over a hundred gold coins. He thought that if we offered a tempting gold reward, it would attract even more people, even if we raised the dueling fee by two times. Of course, the old guy said that since you’re the one doing most of the work, you’ll still receive your cut of three gold coins per duel. The enforcement division’s share got cut to only one gold coin per duel for arranging the dueling location and maintaining security during the duel. The rest of the money will go to the academy.”

Lorist understood that the “old bastard” referred to by Charade was no other than Academy Head Levins. “The old guy isn’t afraid that I’ll lose a match?”

“Hehe,” laughed the fatty, “I myself trust you wholeheartedly. Even though I’m a Three Star Silver Swordsman, I know full well that I will not last more than twenty bouts should I battle with you. Based on your 57 wins last year, we at the Enforcement Division don’t doubt you one bit!”

“But I find it weird that the old bastard has so much faith in you that he set the reward prize so high. Oh, did you spar with Instructor Claude during your trip to the islands? I heard you took more than 200 moves from him without losing. Is that true?” said the fatty as he recalled the rumor.

Instructor Kellen Claude was a Three Star Gold Swordsman and was heralded by most as a person who would one day break into the Blademaster level. He was the chief swordsmanship instructor and was the only other person in the academy other than Lorist who had a gold swordsmanship instructor badge. He got it because of his skill while Lorist got his by winning 30 straight duels against opponents of a higher Battle Force rank than him. Additionally, Lorist would lose his appointment as a gold ranked swordsmanship instructor if he loses even one duel.

Instructor Claude already wanted to spar with Lorist ever since he heard of Lorist’s 57 wins. However, he was hesitant to do so as his Battle Force rank was far beyond that of Lorist. The expedition to the Relic Islands, however, presented itself to be an opportunity for him to spar with Lorist. The excuse was that Lorist’s aptitude had to be assessed to determine whether he was fit to attend the expedition.

Lorist endured more than 200 moves and finally lost due to the sheer difference in Battle Force power, which was already an amazing feat in itself.

“How did you know?” asked Lorist, as there were only three people present during that duel.

“The old bastard himself told me,” exposed Charade without blinking an eye. “He said that even though he wasn’t well versed in the matters of Battle Force or swordsmanship, Instructor Claude’s high evaluation on your abilities, which included your undefeatable status among Silver Swordsmen and your swordsmanship that far surpasses most Gold Swordsmen made the old bastard very confident in you, so much so that he’s willing to bet such a large amount of money on you. Ever since his duel with you, Instructor Claude has also entered seclusion training to attempt to break through to the Blademaster level.”

“Huh……” Lorist was speechless. Just like that, he was swept into this money-making scheme by the academy head right after returning, causing him to feel incredibly annoyed. “I’m going straight to meet that old bastard!”