Chapter 736: Return from the Dungeon Part IV
Chapter 736: Return from the Dungeon Part IV
The moment all six teams had exited the gateways, Headmaster Aldwyn moved toward the enchanted podium at the center of the Concourse.
His presence commanded immediate silence. The laughter died. The congratulations ceased. Every eye in the observation chamber shifted toward him.
His voice, when he spoke, carried the weight of absolute authority.
"The trials have concluded," he announced, his gaze deliberately sweeping across the assembled students and observation balconies simultaneously. "Your performance is being tallied by the basin’s runic systems. The final scoring will be displayed shortly."
He paused, allowing the weight of his words to settle.
"In the interim, I encourage all students to seek food, water, or healing from the academy’s medical staff. Some of you will require magical intervention. All others may return to your designated resting areas until the score tallies all six teams."
His eyes passed across Amber’s still-vomiting captain, across Alabaster’s broken and exhausted members, across Crimson’s collapsed leadership with Kallor permanently absent, across Violet’s still-arguing team, across Sapphire’s perfect composure, and finally across Emerald’s serene, unbothered formation.
"Be patient," Aldwyn continued, his voice dropping slightly but somehow becoming more impactful. "The scoring will be displayed when the calculations are complete."
Then he turned and walked away from the podium, leaving the observation chamber in a state of anticipation and confusion.
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In the observation balconies, the white-robed woman stood in absolute silence, her empty wine goblets arrayed in a precise line on the table before her.
Her companion was watching the same thing, understanding the same thing, recognizing what had become undeniably obvious the moment Emerald emerged completely unharmed.
Chiron Stormblood moved toward her with the casual grace of someone who had already calculated the implications of what was about to occur.
"That was quite the revelation," Chiron said quietly, his voice carrying the weight of someone acknowledging mutual understanding. "I suspect the odds on Emerald just became extremely favorable."
The woman turned to face him, her expression carrying the particular quality of someone who had already processed and accepted the outcome before anyone else in the chamber had even begun to comprehend it.
"Favorable doesn’t begin to describe it," she said, her voice carrying the measured tone of someone about to make a substantial wager. She retrieved a fresh goblet of wine and began flipping a single gold coin between her fingers.
A habit born from calculating odds and managing risk. "The nobles in this chamber are about to lose a significant amount of wealth."
Her companion, the other woman in white, stepped slightly closer.
"How much are you planning to wager?" Her sister inquired, her tone reflecting a blend of curiosity and amusement regarding the impending developments.
The woman continued flipping the coin, her eyes tracking the chamber as nobles began to gather in small clusters, their conversations growing more animated as they processed Emerald’s emergence and their absolute certainty that the young mage had wasted the entire trial.
"All of it," she said. She turned toward a nearby merchant lord whose expression said he was absolutely certain Emerald had wasted the entire trial. "You there. The one with the silk robes and the confident expression."
The merchant lord turned, his attention shifting from his conversation to this woman in white who had suddenly addressed him directly.
"I’m listening," he said, his tone suggesting he wasn’t accustomed to being approached by individuals he didn’t recognize.
"I’m wagering five hundred gold coins that the Emerald team will have the highest score," she stated flatly, flipping the coin once more before catching it with absolute precision. "What odds will you give me?"
The merchant lord laughed. It was a sharp, barking sound of genuine amusement.
"Five hundred gold coins on the Rank 3 team that sat around doing nothing?" he said, shaking his head as if he was dealing with someone experiencing a mental breakdown. "I’ll take that wager at three to one odds. You lose, you pay me fifteen hundred gold coins. You win, which you won’t, I pay you fifteen hundred gold coins."
"Done," the woman said without hesitation. She flipped the coin once more and caught it. "And I’m adding another two thousand gold coins to that wager with someone else in this chamber."
The merchant lord’s expression shifted. The casual amusement turned cautious.
"Two thousand more?" he repeated, his tone suggesting he was now processing that this woman might actually possess serious wealth. "You’re quite confident for someone whose team accomplished nothing during the trial."
"Confidence isn’t based on hope," the woman replied, still flipping the coin. "It’s based on information. And I have very good information."
She turned away from the merchant lord and gestured toward another noble.
This one was wealthier, more connected, and someone whose expression showed they were attempting to calculate what had just transpired.
"You," she called out. "The one with the emerald brooch. I’m wagering twenty-five hundred gold coins that Emerald will finish with a score higher than all other teams combined."
This noble laughed nervously.
"That’s insane," he said, but he was already stepping forward, already engaging, already being drawn into the wager by the sheer audacity of the claim. "I’ll take that at ten to one odds."
"Perfect," the woman said, catching the coin and sliding it into her pocket with the casual grace of someone who had done this thousands of times.
She moved through the observation chamber with purpose, placing additional wagers with nobles who were absolutely certain she was making catastrophic financial decisions.
Each time, her coin flipped between her fingers with hypnotic regularity. Each time, she collected odds with complete confidence in her assessment.
A third noble, someone with considerably less wealth than the first two, approached her with curiosity.
"What odds would you give me if I wagered against Emerald?" he asked, his tone suggesting he was testing the woman’s confidence rather than genuinely interested in a counter-wager.
The woman paused mid-coin flip and looked directly at the noble.
"I wouldn’t accept that wager," she said. "Not because I’m afraid of losing, but because it would be disrespectful to take coins from someone who doesn’t possess the information necessary to make an informed decision. You’re wagering based on what you observed. I’m wagering based on what I know. That’s an unfair contest."
The noble nodded slowly, understanding the weight of her assessment, and withdrew.
Another noble, one who had wagered extensively on Crimson’s performance, approached with desperation evident in his expression.
"What if I placed a counter-wager?" he asked. "A substantial one? Enough that even if you win, you’d think twice about accepting?"
The woman caught her coin and held it between her fingers.
"How substantial?" she asked, her tone carrying genuine curiosity.
"Five thousand gold coins," the noble replied. "At two to one odds. You win, I pay you ten thousand. I win, you pay me five thousand."
The woman considered this for a long moment, her expression unchanging.
"No," she said finally. "Your odds are unfair. If you believed Emerald would lose, you’d offer me ten to one odds, not two to one. The fact that you’re offering two-to-one suggests you know I’m correct, but you’re desperate. I don’t accept wagers based on desperation. It’s bad practice."
She resumed flipping her coin.