Morning

  "Hoaaahm... Eh, your face looks awful," Mahendra was startled to see the monkey's face.

  "Yeah, I'm super sleepy. I didn't sleep all night. Turns out this book is actually pretty interesting," he said while returning the book Beginner's Magic Guide.

  "You read this? Do you even understand it? Even I struggle to get it," Mahendra doubted him.

  "Easy. Blazing Fire... Fireball." A magic circle appeared on his palm, followed by a ball of fire.

  Mahendra was both shocked and jealous of his ability.

  "Isn't it true that you can use magic too, like yesterday?"

  "That wasn't magic. It was the power of an artifact. This artifact allows its user to control an element, but only one at a time." The Seven-Faced Mandau was an S-tier (Special) artifact.

  The monkey went back to sleep. As Mahendra was about to head to the inn's lobby, a loud shout echoed.

  "WHERE IS THAT KID?!"

  It was the bandit gang from yesterday. They grabbed the innkeeper by his collar.

  "Oi, oi, you guys only dare to pick on an old man? What are you, little kids?" Mahendra mocked them in the bar.

  "BASTARD!!!" One of them dashed forward, aiming a punch at Mahendra.

  Thud!

  Someone blocked the punch and said, "Do you even realize where you are? This is my territory."

  The man looked familiar—his muscular body seemed recognizable.

  "Hey, kid, you've only been in town for a day, and you're already causing trouble?" The one who blocked the punch turned out to be the shopkeeper from yesterday.

  "Step aside, Aragna! He's the one who hurt my men yesterday!"

  Broin was the leader of the Fodog party.

  Aragna was the boss of the Arunika clan, one of the three major clans in the adventurer city.

  "Kid, do you have anything to say for yourself?" Aragna furrowed his brow.

  "They robbed the second princess of the Gram Duke family yesterday," Mahendra said, pointing at the four man behind Broin.

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  Aragna glanced at them.

  "You believe this outsider?" Broin's killing intent surged.

  "In that case, let's settle this the way we do here-the strong rule! A party battle will decide!!!"

  The bar instantly erupted with cheers.

  "AN EYE FOR AN EYE, A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH!!!"

  "Fine, this evening at the plaza. I swear I'll kill you," Broin spat before storming out of the bar.

  Instead of standing around in a daze, Mahendra felt a heavy hand slap his back.

  "Rather than spacing out, you'd better find a B-tier artifact to bet with," Aragna said.

  Mahendra's mind struggled to process what was happening.

  "Why do I need to buy an artifact?"

  "For the bet, obviously. Just buy one at my place."

  At Sumber Jaya shop.

  "Got anything magic-related? Might be useful for the monkey."

  "You're in luck. Here, the Mana Ring," Aragna handed him a silver ring with a blue mana crystal in the center.

  Mana crystals come from monster cores and are ranked by color-gray (weakest), blue, orange, red, and pitch black (strongest). They provide additional mana and faster mana regeneration.

  "This, plus an Intermediate Magic Book Part 1. How much?" Mahendra stared at Aragna.

  "Five gold. Swear, just five gold." Aragna struck a peace sign and winked.

  Mahendra gagged, as if he had just seen something utterly disgusting.

  Afternoon

  "Monkey, wake up! It's already noon. We have a match this evening," Mahendra shook him awake.

  "Huh? What? How?" The monkey was still half-asleep, trying to process Mahendra's words.

  "This Mana Ring and the intermediate magic book-both for you."

  "Huh?! Wait, how did a match happen while I was sleeping?"

  "Just hurry up and memorize those intermediate spells. Our opponents are a B-rank party from the Dhairya clan."

  Like it or not, the monkey had to join since he was part of Mahendra's party. Mahendra began explaining his strategy.

  "You think that will work?" the monkey asked while flipping through the magic book.

  "70% chance of success-if you can master intermediate magic fast enough."

  Evening

  The colosseum was packed with spectators.

  "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TODAY WE WITNESS A MATCH BETWEEN-THE SUPER ROOKIE WHO SINGLE-HANDEDLY DEFEATED A CORRUPTED BOAR-MAAAAAHENDRAAA!!!" the announcer's amplified voice boomed.

  "Wait, is he a tamer? I heard rumors he uses a sword and magic," an adventurer in the stands muttered.

  "Hey, look! Why are the Pillars here?"

  "THEIR OPPONENTS ARE JUST AS STRONG-A ROOKIE PARTY THAT ROSE TO B-RANK IN JUST A MONTH-F00000ODOOOOOOG!!!"

  The Fodog party emerged with a full five-man lineup: a tank, a swordsman, an archer, and two mages.

  "Puspita, why are you here? This is between Arunika and Dhairya," Aragna frowned.

  "True, but if you two fight, who's going to stop you?" Puspita's sharp gaze flickered between Aragna and Anala.

  "Besides, I also want to see the one who took down a Corrupted Boar alone," she said, staring at Mahendra.

  "Aragna, where did you find this guy?" Anala asked.

  "He hasn't joined any clan yet," Aragna replied.

  Both Puspita and Anala were visibly surprised.

  "I'll end this quickly," Broin growled. His killing intent was so strong it formed a skull-like aura.

  "You think you're someone special?" Mahendra grinned widely, locking eyes with Broin.

  "Bro..." The monkey's instincts tingled-Mahendra felt dangerous.

  To be continued...

  Fun Facts:

  1. Arunika (Sanskrit) means "red" and can also mean "sunrise," "beginning," or "awakening."

  2. Tushar (Sanskrit) means "cold" and can also mean "frozen" or "snow."

  3. Dhairya (Sanskrit) means "courage."