Chapter Fifty-Three: The Demonic Arena

Chapter Fifty-Three: The Demonic Arena

Upon hearing this, Silos turned his head to the side, a subtle emotion flickering briefly in his deep violet eyes. "Then how do you plan to enter the Demon Palace openly and aboveboard?"

Shen Ce took in Silos’s enigmatic expression, thinking the other man considered him naïve. He shook his head and replied earnestly, "I don’t know yet. But just as the temples and palaces in the Domain of Light are always recruiting players for various posts, I imagine the demon lands are no exception. We can ask around and see."

Silos’s gaze swept over Shen Ce, and a faint, elusive smile touched his lips. "Your idea isn’t bad. Unfortunately, the Demon Palace has never employed players."

Shen Ce was stunned for a few seconds. He was about to ask how Silos knew this, but then, recalling Silos’s identity, he understood immediately. "I almost forgot about your connection with the official team of ‘Aether’s Dominion’."

After a moment’s thought, Shen Ce glanced at Silos and asked quietly, "In that case, do we still have any chance of making it into the Demon Palace?"

Silos smiled slightly, arching an eyebrow. "There’s always a way. There’s no need to rush. Since ‘Aether’s Dominion’ gave us this quest, there must be a solution."

Seeing that Silos had no concrete answer either, Shen Ce felt a pang of disappointment, but quickly regained his composure. "I heard before coming here that there’s a famous underground market in the Demon Race’s Eastern District. We could go there to gather information."

"You mean the black market?" Surprise flickered in Silos’s eyes; he hadn’t expected Shen Ce to know about the Eastern District’s trading grounds. "There’s plenty of information there, but do you know the requirements for entry…?"

Shen Ce was not at all surprised that Silos knew of the black market as well. He answered calmly, "Yes, I know. During the second round of the last Glory Battle, I overheard a few demon players mention it, so I looked up some information."

The underground market in the Demon Race’s Eastern District was a unique place, open to both NPCs and players. NPCs entered by virtue of their reputation and existing wealth, while players relied on their strength and fortunes. A player could either pay 3,000 gold coins to enter or win a top-three spot in the arena to earn entry.

The black market was a chaotic mix of all sorts. Merchants could ask sky-high prices, and as long as both sides agreed, any trade could take place. Curiously, although there seemed to be no official administrator, there was clearly a hidden power maintaining order, for any NPCs or players who caused trouble there would always end up getting put in their place soon enough.

Shen Ce chose to go to the black market mainly because of a renowned shaman named Isaac, who reminded him of the all-knowing informant he’d known in his last game. Isaac was a broker of intelligence, and Shen Ce guessed that finding him would reveal how to legitimately enter the Demon Palace.

Silos eyed Shen Ce, stretching lazily. "So you plan on using the Demon Arena to get into the black market?"

Shen Ce nodded, meeting Silos’s gaze with a slight smile. "I was fascinated by the demon race’s PK style during the last Glory Battle. This is a good chance to see it firsthand." He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Silos, will you go to the arena to PK as well?" As far as Shen Ce knew, Silos was so wealthy that the 3,000 gold entry fee was nothing to him.

Silos narrowed his eyes, his tone casual and his smile light. "We’ll see. But if you go to PK, I’ll be there to support you."

Shen Ce was momentarily dazed by the deep, nearly black violet of Silos’s eyes. It seemed that since Silos had become a demon, he’d grown even more inscrutable—his air of danger only intensifying. "That works for me," he replied.

The underground market in the Demon Race’s Eastern District was so famous that Shen Ce easily got directions from passersby. Together with Silos, he made his way to the market’s entrance.

The entrance was hidden beneath a decrepit bridge in a bustling part of the city. Though the surrounding streets teemed with people, the area near the bridge was surprisingly deserted; Shen Ce saw no one heading that way.

He exchanged a glance with Silos, and together they entered the bridge tunnel. As soon as they stepped inside, Shen Ce realized the place was far more than it appeared. From the outside, the bridge seemed dilapidated, but once inside, it was deep and long, its walls inlaid with luminous pearls worth a fortune. Most astonishing of all, though the area was unguarded, not a single greedy player had pried the pearls out.

After several minutes of walking, the tunnel grew brighter. Ahead, some seven or eight meters away, was a corner, and before it stood two women in fitted deep red leather dresses—both strikingly attractive and sharp-looking. At first glance, Shen Ce saw no weapons on them, as if neither possessed any fighting power.

He knew better than to judge by appearances. As he and Silos approached, the two attendants bowed politely. "Greetings, sirs. Please present your market entry badges."

Taking the opportunity, Shen Ce cast a basic appraisal spell on one of the attendants. To his surprise, she was only level 20 and truly had no combat ability. Inwardly surprised, he betrayed nothing, instead glancing at Silos and saying, "This is our first time here; we don’t have market badges."

The attendant on his left curved her lips into a smile. "That’s easily remedied. For 6,000 gold coins, you may each purchase a market badge. If you’d rather not pay…"

The other, equally beautiful, sized up Shen Ce’s attire and smiled knowingly, gesturing with a slender finger toward a passage on the right. "The arena is open until eight o’clock tonight. If you win a top-three spot, you’ll receive a badge."

At that moment, Silos took out a slip of paper and handed it to the attendant who had just spoken. Her eyes widened slightly; then she covered her mouth and laughed, her expression full of charm. "Oh my, I thought you two were headed for the arena. Now I see you were just teasing us."

As she spoke, she produced two jet-black badges to hand over. Realizing what was happening, Shen Ce stepped forward, his tone cold and resolute. "Give him the badge if you wish, but I’ll earn mine in the arena." He’d already benefited much from Silos and didn’t wish to rely on him for everything. Even if Silos didn’t mind, Shen Ce couldn’t accept it in good faith.

The attendant paused in surprise, looking to Silos for guidance. He gave her a sidelong glance, signaling that the badge for Shen Ce was unnecessary.

Shen Ce nodded silently to Silos, then headed alone down the right passage. "Go ahead to the black market. I’ll be there soon."

To Shen Ce’s surprise, Silos hurried after him. Seeing Shen Ce’s confusion, Silos explained calmly, "Last time during the Glory Battle, I promised to watch you compete, but didn’t get the chance. I hope you won’t disappoint me this time."

Shen Ce nodded with pleasure. He already acknowledged that Silos’s combat prowess was higher than his own. Though they hadn’t sparred, having Silos watch might help him improve. "Alright."

In the time it took for these few words, a pair of grand, gilded doors appeared before them. Even before Shen Ce and Silos got close, the doors swung open with a creak. A deafening cheer greeted them as they entered, revealing a sea of people packed inside. At the very center stood a tall arena, where two players were locked in a fierce duel.

As Shen Ce and Silos stepped through the doors, he felt the gaze of several onlookers sweep over them, but it soon moved on. None of the stares seemed hostile, and with the crowd so thick, Shen Ce focused on staying close to Silos so they wouldn’t be separated.

On the stage stood a man and a woman. The woman was tall and lean, with a proud bearing and wielding a gleaming silver scythe—an unusual weapon. Her opponent was a mage, taller still, but clearly losing ground.

The woman was a clear close-combatant, and mages always feared getting caught up close. After several exchanges, the mage was forced into melee and ended up battered and bruised, slinking off the stage to the crowd’s jeers.

"Yunpoyue—six consecutive wins! Who will take the stage next?" The judge, standing in a cordoned-off area to the west, looked around and called out.

Shen Ce knew the rules here. Once on stage, you had to keep accepting challenges until no one else came forward. He stepped out from the crowd and called loudly, "I will!"

Author’s Note: Forever Angel tossed a landmine at 04:13:07 on August 29, 2014. [Thank you Forever Angel for the landmine, o(*￣▽￣*)ブ, hugs and kisses!] Failed my driving test, sigh. It seems nerves are the worst enemy. To all the girls learning to drive, I hope you don’t follow in my footsteps. Sorry for the recent breaks in updates—life’s been busy. I’ll reply to comments soon. Daily updates resume today, and I’ll try for extra chapters as well. With the holidays almost over, if I do three thousand words a day, I should finish this novel before school starts (*/w＼*).