"Let’s go," he whispered gesturing to Zelpher.

They continued down the aisle. A narrow isle opened to his right, partially hidden between two worn stone structures.

He jumped over a puddle of water, his nose scrunching up at the horrid smell that hit him.

"Can you hear that?" He said his voice was barely a whisper.

"You made it hard not to listen," Atheline admitted, not denying it.

His steps gradually slowed down as they continued forward. A few steps from him, another isle to his left came into view, shrouded in darkness.

Voices came, as he got closer to it. They turned onto the left aisle. The stretch of darkness didn’t last long, they fell into a quieter but tense street.

They moved through the section of the lower ring. Past weapon racks, fake repair shops, and a butcher curving into something that didn’t look edible.

The street was so quiet and tense that he could hear his own footsteps.

Up close the hunters were different. Most of them were stronger than Atheline could have imagined this stretch of the street carried.

Their instincts were sharp and the slightest noise had everyone turning to look at you.

One of them glanced at him, then at Zelpher. His eyes brightened walking towards them.

"New in..."

"Back off," Zelpher shot him down before he could continue.

The man snorted and looked away. He lingered for a fraction and walked away as though he hadn’t been scared.

A small chuckle left Atheline. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"My Knight. "

Zelpher scowled. "Let us not talk about this your highness."

They stopped in front of what looked like a collapsed storage structure except it wasn’t abandoned. The familiar noise rang out from the storage.

Two men stood outside, both holding tightly to their weapons muscles bulging with every single movement. They really looked their part blocking the entrance.

Atheline didn’t hesitate and stepped forward stopping a few steps from them.

"I would appreciate it if you could move," he said politely," I wish to enter this establishment. "

One of them raised an eyebrow. "Entrance fee. You have..."

"How much?" Atheline cut him off.

Now he had gotten both of their attention.

"Ten gold."

"I don’t mind forcing my way in," Atheline said, his pressure increasing.

The guards slightly flinched recognition passing over their eyes.

"Tsk.. just this once one gold," they said begrudgingly.

Atheline smiled, casually tossing the coin to them. They stepped to the side, pushing the door curtains open for their entry.

They stepped inside.

What welcomed them was a descending spiral staircase. Zelpher stepped forward, descending first with Atheline following behind him.

The descent wasn’t long. The stairs opened into a wide circular corridor with a few people moving around, freely.

Dark elves in muted robes, their expressions composed while muttering amongst themselves. Another was sitting by the corner, clothes dishevelled head in his hand.

"That’s a gambler," Zelpher said noticing his gaze on the man," probably stupid enough to bet all his money on one fighter."

Atheline nodded. "He’ll probably be back to normal in a few hours."

Even with its sparse crowd, he could still feel the lingering gazes on him. People were clearly assessing them and probably counting how much they were worth.

"First time?"

The voice came from his left. A man stood behind a recessed counter carved directly into the mountain wall. Unlike the others, he didn’t bother to hide his curiosity.

His gaze flickered between them, clearly dismissing Zelpher and settling on him.

Zelpher didn’t stop walking but Atheline slowed considerably.

"If you want access, " the man continued, his tone easy, " you’ll need to place a mark."

"A mark?" He asked.

The man’s lips curved slightly, but he remained pleasant.

"Call it a wager, if that makes you more comfortable. "

Zelpher halted abruptly. Atheline almost ran into him.

"A warning would do."

Zelpher met his gaze, frowning.

"You don’t have to, you can just enter. "

He looked past the counter, towards the inner chamber.

"No ," Atheline said," I think I do."

What was the fun of coming to an arena if there is no betting even the smallest amount. He wasn’t stupid enough to get addicted, not like Lilith would ever tolerate that.

Most people who fall into this, lack self-discipline which he, had a lot of. He had been trained on that.

The man behind the counter straightened slightly, his smile widening.

"Good choice young master."

With a small motion, he turned the surface of the counter. It seemed it was a large image stone and an illusion stone.

Symbols surfaced. Names, numbers but the two weren’t literally.

The names had been conjured into marks while the numbers were the pairs.

Atheline studied them, intrigued.

’They really do know how to pull someone into gambling’

Beside him, Zelpher was clearly not happy.

"Two bouts, " the man said," choose one or both."

He stepped closer. The marks meant nothing at first glance but on closer observation, one would notice lit stars filled with aether on the surface.

They represented both wins and experience.

The first pair had more lit stars, five out of the eight in total were full.

The other, only had one barely flickering.

"This one is already decided, " the man on the counter said accordingly then added casually, " most have marked accordingly. "

He was basically telling Atheline that the winner had been decided.

He glanced at the second one, pitiful compared to the first one.

Atheline leaned slightly against the counter.

"What are the odds?" He asked.

The man was quiet for a moment.

"Two to five, my lord."

Atheline’s smile widened.

"Then I’ll take the second, the more money I get back the better."

The man’s eyes widened.

"That one won’t last long, " the man said, almost dismissively, " you can still place it..."

"I’ll still take that one."

The man still couldn’t believe it. His reason for picking it was absurd.

"The weaker one?" He asked again.

"Yes."

The man held his gaze for a moment, then a quiet small exhale left him.

"Your loss."

He placed his mark. The counter stone absorbed it, aether leaking slightly as his bet was registered.

Zelpher said nothing just letting his irritation leak.

"I thought it would be a boring night out, but this is better than I thought," Atheline said.