Chapter 202: Ring Meeting

Looking around, Moon found himself walking down into the arena.

Tired, bruised, and spent... he didn’t bother going through the usual routine. His hair was loose, even though it had gotten long enough to be tied over the past two weeks. He also had his shirt on, as well as his shoes. His eyes were sleepy.

He yawned and made his way down to the ring. The quest timer was on; the usual four hours were ongoing, even though over an hour had passed while he was asleep or trying to come to terms with the reality that a full day had slipped away.

Moon walked slowly, frowning, not looking at anyone, even though the arena was crowded. Not as crowded as the day he fought Talia, but about as crowded as the day he went against the armored company of cheaters.

It seemed a lot of people were waiting for him, eager to see if there was still anyone crazy enough to fight him in the Southern Branch. That curiosity was enough to bring them here and have them wait for a few hours while holding drinks or snacks, or just running around in their regular clothes thinking they might miss something.

"The boss is finally here," someone said—someone who surprisingly wasn’t Basil.

"King Moon now, you punks!" Basil shouted in the direction the comment came from.

"Guys, is no one fighting?" someone else asked.

"Man, I came thinking a bunch of crazy guys would risk their lives and pick a new fight."

"I don’t think there’s anyone that crazy left here in this branch."

People started discussing among themselves; most of them were now considered to be under Moon’s command in the upcoming trial. It was one way they were socializing and getting to know one another, while Moon himself was having a headache thanks to their shouts.

Before Moon set foot in the ring, Basil ran at him. "BOSS, WAIT!" he called in a hurry.

Moon stopped and turned around. The frown and the swelling across his entire face spoke volumes, making the brutal condition Moon was in painfully clear to Basil.

Basil leaned closer to Moon. "Boss, tell me if you need something," he said softly. "Coffee, food, snacks, even a bed... just say it," Basil offered in his usual enthusiastic tone.

Moon blinked a couple of times, thinking, before he leaned closer to Basil and whispered something.

Basil nodded. "Right away!" And he started sprinting.

Moon stepped into the empty, sandy ring. He looked around at the audience before sitting down cross-legged on the sand.

There were around three hours to go before the last round ended. Moon tried to make himself comfortable.

Before long, Basil came running back. In his hands, he held a cup of coffee carefully.

He entered the ring—

"WOOOH!"

He earned exclamations from everyone watching, though he himself wasn’t concerned in the slightest.

He handed Moon the coffee before waving his hand, producing a table and two chairs. "I also brought these, Boss. You don’t have to worry about my inventory, though; everything is fine."

He fixed the table and chairs properly before he turned around, snatched the coffee back from Moon, and placed it neatly in front of one of the chairs. He turned back to Moon, extending a hand.

Moon tilted his head. "Are you sure you were just a thief?" he asked, his voice low, before taking Basil’s hand and pulling himself up.

Basil sat opposite Moon. "Boss, the third floor is just that crazy. I have to be nice to others if I want to live," Basil whispered, leaning closer across the table.

"I guess." Moon nodded in understanding. It was indeed one way to stay alive in places that ran on a dog-eat-dog basis.

"Tell me, Boss, how did you treat your previous boss?" Basil asked.

"I called him a bitch and almost killed him a few times," Moon said casually.

Basil blinked a few times. "That’s... what makes Boss the Boss, I guess." Apparently, he couldn’t find a better response and couldn’t help offering a couple of dry chuckles. It was something entirely unthinkable for him to hear.

Basil whispered again, "But, Boss... how did he live if you tried to kill him?" He asked a very different question than the one Moon was expecting.

Moon shook his head. "The bastard had too many people protecting him," Moon said, leaving out the part where he was usually suppressed by the seal before he could even touch him.

"What a bastard!" Basil slapped the table.

"Actually, we’ll be meeting him soon," Moon added.

"For real?"

Moon nodded, explaining that the man was now on the Assailant faction side.

Before long, Basil made his way out of the ring after telling Moon about the gambling ploy they pulled and the money they made in detail. He proudly explained the trick they had pulled on everyone.

Moon looked amazed at their tactics, but he wasn’t amazed by the money itself—yet he tried his best to act amazed. Having lived his entire life as a slave, the concept of money and wealth was still completely alien to him.

Soon after, Barrett made his way into the ring, bringing something else Moon had asked for: some cubes of cheese to snack on now that he had finished his morning coffee.

He sat opposite Moon and explained their current funds. Once again, Moon nodded and acted as if he understood everything, while remaining entirely unaware of the actual value of the money they held.

As Barrett prepared to leave, he asked, "Boss, do you need us to deliver anything else here?"

Moon asked for one more thing.

Barrett exited, and soon enough, Talia entered the ring before Barrett could return with Moon’s request.

"It’s getting harder and harder to arrange a meeting or hold a proper conversation with you," she said, taking a seat without waiting for an invitation.

"I’m trying my best to survive this. Sorry if I left everything to you after fighting so hard for the leadership," Moon said apologetically.

Talia shook her head. "It’s fine. There are just a few things that I need to update you on as we move forward." She proceeded to lay out the total faction count on their side, also mentioning Orin’s joining and his reasons for doing so.

In the middle of her breakdown, Kase, the hesitant, black-haired knight from Colten’s group, entered the ring holding a platter of food from the students’ eatery.

He approached them, causing Talia to go silent.

His small eyes moved between Talia and Moon. "I’m sorry to interrupt your talk; I was told to bring Boss Moon this," he said, setting the platter down before making his way out of the ring.

Every entry required a new individual, since the rules counted anyone stepping inside as a participant in the skirmish; once they left the ring, they were disqualified from entering again.

Talia resumed updating Moon with the important details and everything he needed to know about their progress. Moon was pleasantly surprised. He had avoided looking at the system grid so as not to feel burdened by the numbers, but she was making solid, positive progress.

Once she was finished, Talia leaned forward closer to Moon, who was steadily eating, and changed the topic.