The Second Round: Leibraide. Busong Wins!

Sun Busong had lost interest in watching the rest of the auction. He had no money! This was the first time he had ever felt so broke.

"Looks like I'll have to make more gear from now on. I don't want to be poor in this world all over again. It'll be hard work, but at least I'll be making money for myself!"

Thinking of that put Sun Busong in a better mood.

Not having enough money to buy things was one problem; selling things was another.

After Sun Busong left, Finn and Heavy Fist didn't leave with him. Sun Busong still had items up for auction.

"Next up for auction is a potion. Its effect is similar to a Paladin's Invincible skill: it makes you more or less immune to physical attack damage for eight seconds!"

Rank paused, then continued. "I should tell everyone that there are only thirty-five of these limited Invincibility Potions. We'll split them into seven lots of five bottles each. The opening bid is ten thousand Gold Coins!"

After those sold, came the Swift Swim Potions Sun Busong had made. Once used, they increased swimming speed by 100% for twenty minutes.

Growth Potion: After use, your body grew larger and your Strength increased by 8 points. Lasted for two days. This was a Combat Potion.

Underwater Breathing Potion: After use, the drinker could breathe underwater for thirty minutes.

There was also a super potion used to scout unknown areas.

Dream Potion: After use, it granted you Dream Vision, allowing you to observe areas that were too dangerous to approach.

The Gold Coins earned from auctioning these potions managed to pull Sun Busong back from the brink of bankruptcy.

The auctioneer brought out Captain Ramsey's Special Brewed Beer. Once used, it made you slightly tipsy and increased your Fishing skill by 10 points for thirty minutes.

There was also Delicious Wind Serpent. After eating it, you turned into a pirate from the neutral faction. Sun Busong had already stockpiled two stacks, indulging in his peculiar hobby.

Mithril Spurs: Spurs attached to your boots increased your mount's Movement Speed by 4%. This effect only worked for wearers below level 61.

Thorium Shield Spike: A Thorium spike attached to your shield dealt 112 damage to an attacker each time you blocked an attack with it.

There was also a three-piece set he had made based on the wedding dresses brides wore on Earth: a red wedding dress, red shoes, and a red veil.

Last of all, there were ten red Magecloth Bags of Holding with fourteen slots!

Those ten bags alone had earned Sun Busong over forty million.

The next day, after Sun Busong woke up, Finn came over to report. "Master, over the past three days, we spent a total of 14.2 million Gold Coins on materials and Six Demon Bags! We earned over 59 million Gold Coins from selling the items you made. We now have 52,785,000 Gold Coins stored in the Goblin bank!"

As Sun Busong ate, he did the math. Each of the Purple Epic Grade pieces of gear he'd made had taken a great deal of time and effort, yet in the end, a single Epic weapon wasn't worth as much as a fourteen-slot Bag of Holding!

"From now on, unless I'm making gear for myself or the others, I'm not making a single piece. It's time-consuming, exhausting, and not worth the money! Wouldn't it be better to spend that time sewing a few more Bags of Holding?"

Once Heavy Fist and Jiaowa came over to join Sun Busong, the four of them headed for the arena.

Today was the day of the arena finals. The venue was already so packed you could get pregnant in three seconds, and now it was even more crowded. The people who'd attended the auction had come to watch, too.

Still, the arena organizers knew how to make money. They had built underground viewing rooms, each designed to be lavish and luxurious. Soft, perfectly springy three-meter-wide beds and sofas made from genuine Snowman hide let their high-paying guests do whatever they pleased.

They'd also hired beautiful women from every race, bringing them in from all over by airship. The underground viewing rooms could only be described as decadent and obscene.

Of course, none of that had anything to do with Sun Busong and the others. Sun Busong wasn't an adult yet!

"Busong, can I go to those places Finn took me yesterday again today? And those restaurants with the delicious dishes, and that tailor shop that only sells women's clothes—I want to look around them all today."

Jiaowa looked at Sun Busong with what seemed like caution and shyness.

But when none of them could see her, the corner of Jiaowa's mouth curled into a little smirk, and a glint of cunning flashed in her beautiful eyes.

"What's the big deal? Today's the big day when Heavy Fist and I take first and second place. Once we've collected our prize money, I'll take you to all those places. You can eat whatever you want, buy whatever you want, and do whatever you want. It's on me!"

The day before, Sun Busong had told Finn to make sure Jiaowa had a good time and find out what she liked and what she was interested in, so he could spoil the little girl later.

"Thanks, Busong!"

Jiaowa beamed. She bounced around Sun Busong, now and then tugging at his sleeve, her eyes brimming with delight.

Sun Busong was a complete sucker for a pretty face. He had no idea what "A-cup" meant, but even if he did, it wouldn't change the fact that he liked Jiaowa.

He'd seen so many beautiful human women and women of other races, but Jiaowa was the only one he'd ever liked. That settled it: Sun Busong was a face guy, a legs guy, and a loli guy!

"Next up is the finals for the level 21–30 bracket. Let's welcome the twenty-two contestants!"

The arena's loudspeakers boomed across the venue, but the people who'd come to watch noticed something odd.

"Why are there only twenty-two contestants in this bracket?"

"Could some of yesterday's winners have been too badly injured and not fully healed in time to compete today?"

"Don't be stupid. The organizers brought in several level 60 Holy Priests to treat the injured. What kind of injury couldn't they heal?"

"Hey, you two. I heard something."

"What?"

"I heard there was a real monster in this bracket yesterday. No one knows his race, but he seemed to be a Warrior. He was carrying two one-handed axes. I don't know what set him off, but as soon as the match started, he went on a rampage and slaughtered nearly fifty contestants. He was unbelievably fast and vicious. Even though he'd killed people, the arena's monitors and staff couldn't find a reason to punish him—not even a warning was issued."

"Yeah, I heard that too. In the end, only one Tauren managed to survive. And can you guess why he survived?"

"Why?"

"Come on, spit it out. Don't keep us in suspense."

"Heh. Just as the guy was about to kill the Tauren, the loudspeakers went off in time. That's what saved the Tauren."

"That Tauren sure was lucky!"

"You can say that again!"

Heavy Fist was nearby, ears perked as he listened. Some of what those people said was true, and now he had a question on his mind.

Did the boss really spare me because the loudspeakers went off?

The twenty-two contestants drew lots in turn. Sun Busong drew number six, which meant his opponent was number twelve. Heavy Fist drew number twenty-two!

"Contestants, enter the arena! The first match begins!"

Before long, it was Sun Busong's turn. Before entering the arena, he ate a Delicious Wind Serpent. When he reached the entrance, he took off the hat that had covered his whole head.

A middle-aged pirate in pirate clothes, sporting a tiny mustache, appeared before the crowd.

Sun Busong's opponent was a Gnome Rogue. By the time the gnome entered the arena, he had already vanished into the shadows. But that was no problem for Sun Busong.

"Begin!"

The loudspeakers in the arena announced the start of the match.

Sun Busong stood still, holding both axes. He closed his eyes and focused on sensing his opponent's presence. He had an artifact, Humar, Grandmaster Level professions, and all sorts of abilities he'd gained by cheating—but when it came to fighting, he had to learn and train through his own effort.

These things weren't something he could cheat his way into. Uh, no, that wasn't right. Actually, there was still a tiny bit of cheating involved.

Sun Busong had realized that other people had to practice and fight, repeating an action thousands upon thousands of times after learning a skill before they could truly master it.

But he didn't need to.

He learned it, then mastered it; once mastered, he became an expert.

As far as he was concerned, these skills were already second nature. Every time he used one, it was at an expert level—good enough to teach to others straight out of a textbook.

But he couldn't develop his combat experience with the same kind of cheat-like growth. He had to learn to sense and judge things one step at a time.

They could still hear the audience shouting from inside the arena, but if Sun Busong focused on the sounds and presence around him, he could still detect where his opponent was.

A faint heartbeat at four o'clock! Eight meters away—the perfect position for a Rogue to land a sneak attack.

Sun Busong had found the Gnome Rogue's position, but he remained motionless. He wanted the other man to make the first move. He'd meet change with stillness, using his own body to learn the Rogue's attacks and patterns.

The other arenas were already in full swing. Some matches had even ended, but three minutes had passed and Sun Busong was still standing with his eyes closed, waiting for the Rogue to attack.

The Gnome Rogue was incredibly patient, too. Even Sun Busong's breathing was starting to grow unsteady as he waited. He decided to make the first move—but not by actually attacking. He would give his opponent an opening and a chance to strike.

Sun Busong twisted his hips and turned sideways, exposing his entire back to his opponent. Then he used a skill.

Roar of Courage

8-yard radius

Instant cast; 5-minute cooldown

The Warrior let out a roar, causing enemies within an 8-yard radius to cower in fear. Up to five enemies would flee in terror, while their fear rooted them in place for 8 seconds.

The skill went off, but there was no enemy in front of him, so it had to have been wasted. Just as everyone thought that, the Gnome Rogue made his move!

He held a dagger in each hand, their blades gleaming blue. They were coated in poison. Rogues usually coated their daggers with poison—there were many kinds, some that paralyzed their victims, some that crippled and slowed them, and others that caused wounds to bleed continuously.

But these daggers were so small! If they were in the hands of Heavy Fist the Tauren, he probably couldn't even pick them up with his two hooves.

Back to the point.

The Rogue had kept eight yards between himself and Sun Busong. He knew the range of a Warrior's skills; ten yards was usually the limit, since many Warrior skills reached that far.

He was only eight yards from Sun Busong because he had absolute confidence in his own abilities. As soon as he sensed his opponent was about to use a skill, he'd retreat to eleven yards before it went off. There was no way he'd get hit.

The moment Sun Busong turned around, he hesitated. The two of them were eight meters apart. If Sun Busong used a ten-yard-range skill then, he might get hit and be forced out of stealth.

Fortunately, Sun Busong had used a skill with a range of only eight yards.

"Heh. Idiot, you finally couldn't help taking a shot in the dark, huh? This is exactly what I've been waiting for!"

One second after Sun Busong used his skill, the Gnome Rogue sprang into action. His Movement Speed was reduced by 50% while stealthed, but an eight-meter distance took him only two seconds to cover.

The poison on his daggers was meant to paralyze. Combined with the Rogue's Subtlety talents, it could stun even a fairly skilled Warrior so many times that he'd be helpless as he was beaten to death.

Sun Busong had sensed his opponent behind him, but he didn't move. He had plenty of ways to kill an enemy; what he needed was to train his senses, judgment, and ability to anticipate. This was a perfect opportunity.

The Rogue stabbed him hard in the small of the back three times. He must have used some kind of speed-boosting skill; in any case, Sun Busong had taken three hits in less than two seconds, losing less than four hundred health.

Then a stun effect appeared above his head. He must have been stunned by his opponent.

Just then, Sun Busong's eyes suddenly caught sight of his opponent. After stunning him, the Gnome Rogue had run around to stand in front of him, waiting.

He was waiting for his energy to recover and his skill cooldowns to end. Four seconds later, they did—and he could start tormenting his opponent again.

Another flurry of attacks followed. Sun Busong could have fought back this time, but he still didn't move. If he brought an axe down, the Rogue would surrender right away, and that wasn't what Sun Busong wanted.

In the space of a minute, the Gnome Rogue had stabbed Sun Busong at least fifteen times. The more he stabbed, the more astonished he became. He wondered how much health his opponent had. Fifteen full stabs! Even if his Attack Damage was low and his Blue Fine Grade daggers were lousy, his opponent hadn't lost even one percent of his health!

Did all my attacks hit thin air? The Gnome Rogue was starting to question his grasp on reality.

Sun Busong had taken more than a dozen stabs in that minute, too, and it hurt. He had plenty of health and thick defenses, but getting poked still hurt—especially with two daggers!

Having figured out his opponent's attack patterns, Sun Busong decided it was time to counterattack!

But just as he recovered from another stun, the Gnome Rogue chose to surrender.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

He immediately used his escape skill, Sprint!

Sun Busong was still stunned when the arena loudspeakers made the announcement.

"Winner of the sixth arena: Leibraide Busong!"

"The winner should leave the arena and rest, then prepare to draw lots for the second round."

Sun Busong stared into the distance. The Gnome Rogue was looking at him as though he were a monster. He gasped for breath, sweat streaming down his nose and forehead, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

Good grief! This guy has to be the same lunatic who slaughtered over fifty people yesterday! Thank goodness I did well today and kept him stunned. Otherwise, he'd have chopped me into eight pieces!