A slight edge?

Yuan Shikai said, "Why are the odds so low? Shouldn't a newcomer like me start at five-to-one or ten-to-one?"

Calamity Jane said, "In this corner of the universe, you rarely see odds higher than two-to-one. For five-to-one or ten-to-one, you'd have to go to the central regions."

"After all, people here bet for fun, not to get rich overnight like compulsive gamblers. If someone offered odds like that, the bookie would have been driven out ages ago."

As a veteran bounty hunter who had roamed this part of the universe for years, Calamity Jane knew better than anyone.

Yuan Shikai said, "So a little gambling is fun, but too much is bad for you."

He had hoped to make another tidy sum, but now he gave up on the idea.

The Adventurer's Guild's arena resembled an ancient dueling ground. Its internal defenses could supposedly withstand any damage below 10,000.

At least in this remote region, no one had ever broken through its defenses.

Yuan Shikai and Barucado stood facing each other in the center of the arena.

On one side stood Barucado, over three meters tall, with a weapon in each of his twelve hands. His vicious face made it obvious he was no pushover.

On the other stood the unarmed Yuan Shikai, less than two meters tall, looking utterly harmless.

Their size and intimidation factor clearly weren't in the same league, so eighty percent of the spectators bet on Barucado to win.

The Chaldea Mercenary Corps had accumulated some Cosmic Coins from their previous missions, but there wasn't much left after necessary expenses.

Money-obsessed Rin Tohsaka had volunteered to handle the finances on the side. The other women didn't mind, so she had been holding on to the money all along.

Rin Tohsaka quietly slipped away from the group.