NOVPUBThe next day.
Monday in Pariel.
At night, gazing into the sky, the stars twinkle brilliantly.
"Autumn is fast approaching."
One of the great benefits of the open-air arena is the ability to look up at the starry sky at any time.
That being said, he didn’t have any particular thoughts about it.
It was already late August.
This slightly hot season was also coming to an end.
In Sector 6 of the North Shore of Pariel, the capital of Poseen Kingdom, the Sacred Silvervine Arena wasn’t too far from the bustling Section 4 of Pariel where Count Bathist’s mansion was located.
Today, after finishing his day’s work at Count Bathist’s mansion, Lanci was called upon by the count’s young mistress, Christina, to participate in a proxy competition at this arena.
With the start of a new week, the "any family member can make additional use of the butler for up to two hours per week" treaty refreshed, and Christina didn’t hesitate to make use of it.
In her view, if luck was on her side, maybe today she could pay off enough of the butler’s breach of contract penalty.
Unfortunately, reality was harsh.
Today they fought only one hired match and there were no more competitions after that.
It wasn’t that no one was willing to hire Rocky, but rather, no opponent was willing to come forward; Rocky easily won again today.
At least for this week, it seemed she had no chance to dismiss this butler and would have to let him work around the house for another week.
"No matter what, we’ve already saved over thirty thousand pounds; we’ll be able to cash in soon enough."
Christina waited by the railing of the Annex’s spectator stand, observing the expression of the brown-haired, green-eyed butler beside her.
Even now, she was vaguely worried that the butler was tricking her.
When the time came, and she offered fifty thousand pounds, he might not leave.
"Don’t worry, Miss, I always keep my word,"
Lanci sighed softly, the corners of his eyes showing a trace of a resigned smile as he said.
After the hired match was over, the two had been waiting inside the Sacred Silvervine Arena.
Christina hoped that someone like the hawk-nosed rich merchant from last time would commission them for a match.
She felt that if they left now, they might miss an opportunity.
Thus, all she could do now was lean on the railing in one of the Annex’s spectator stands, hands propped up, listlessly looking at the fading light.
The feature of the Sacred Silvervine Arena was its movable roof, which could open or close as needed, allowing a full panoramic view of the dazzling starry sky when the weather was fine, even if one tired of watching the matches.
The other competitors’ matches continued, and the layered spectator seats extended to the top of the arena, each level offering the best view. The cheers and shouts from just one Annex would occasionally merge into a deafening roar.
And so they waited for quite some time.
Besides a reporter who came over trying to find out about the villainous rich girl, then got professionally handled by Lanci, no employers came forward to discuss hiring with Christina.
"Miss Christina, it seems no one is going to compete with us now,"
Lanci said, standing to the left behind Christina.
"Sigh, finding opponents willing to challenge you is getting difficult."
Christina let go of the railing, finally shaking her head to face reality.
Firstly, in point matches, even if players were willing to fight, it was more about the challenge of competing with Rocky, and the betting odds were one-sided; there was no money to be made in betting anymore.
Secondly, for proxy matches, if someone sought out Rocky, the opponents would not be willing to compete.
By now, it was basically clear what level Rocky was on.
To choose a Sixth-order player to compete against him was just giving away money.
Actually, the reputation of Butler Rocky McCarthy from the Bathist family had been fermenting for the last couple of days, and genuine competition commissions were likely to be delivered to the Count’s mansion on a normal day.
If they could not be met at other times, it was even harder to come across a commission in an hour or two at the arena.
"Rocky, can you fight a Seventh-order?
Christina turned her head and asked the butler who had been waiting behind her for some time.
She had been curious about this question for a long time but had always been afraid to ask.
Probing a strong person’s power was like asking a woman’s age; it could be considered offensive.
"I can fight, but winning isn’t guaranteed,"
Lanci pondered briefly before replying.
The output in a state of possession was significantly reduced.
The main issue was the supply of mana; Tata was not built for strong attacks, and if the opponent wasn’t taken out in a minute or two, defeat was certain.
"What about if you encountered an Eighth-order enemy..." 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Christina’s heart raced, probing without much hope.
Since she had already brought it up, she bravely went all in with her query, not knowing if Butler Rocky would answer her.
"Run, turn around and run,"
Lanci laughed earnestly.
"Oh!"
Christina understood then.
Her family actually had a Seventh-order butler!
Seventh-order was not a matter of price; they were fundamentally unattainable.
It was known that all of Poseen Kingdom currently had only three Eighth-orders.
Apart from them, a Seventh-order was an invincible existence.
Normally, no powerhouse would enter combat mode in Pariel’s core urban area, since it would trigger the city’s defensive barrier’s full suppression, hence, the usefulness of force in such places would be greatly minimized.
However, Christina, who often followed the news, had a premonition that the South Continent was heading for a change.
Although in Floral City Pariel at the northern part of the kingdom there was nothing to feel alarmed about, the southern borders of Poseen were said to be in a panic, with numerous notices being issued continuously.
Embassies from various countries were also notifying their citizens to return home as soon as possible in the near future.
"Miss, did you take advantage of the school holiday to return from the Arolan Kingdom to the Poseen Kingdom partly because you simply wanted to be here, and partly because you had some concerns? I suggest that if you observe the situation turning sour, you could also apply for a year’s leave of absence and stay in Pariel."
