Shambala Sect

Some events showcased people testing the coa.r.s.eness of their skin while some others promoted people to harden their tootsies by moving atop a mat embedded with small and spiky substances or to alleviate oneself in the art of contending and tangling with tumult.

All the minor events helped entries tackle the main test under a brilliant light, enticing them into trying them all out despite the exorbitant prices put by the event holders. Some of these events might be a bit painful to watch to those with faint hearts, but even those ones could find subtly-funny events thanks to entries frequently mis.h.i.tting each other in foolhardy ways.

The inflow of the ma.s.ses into the hall would always be more than the outflow for most hours of the day. Currently, it was a peak time, so all the roads leading to the hall bustled with men except for one undulating road—one which served as a way to reach the staircase that led people to the next upper deck.

A handful of entries who won in the previous rounds of the deck test could be seen strolling in the Winners Street where private booths were set up. These booths primarily sold clothes, pills, and certain creams with ten percent more discount than how they were sold elsewhere on the same deck.

One Winners Street existed on every deck, and only the winners of the deck test were warranted to step foot on it. On the whole, most of the losers envied the winners for not so omnifarious reasons, and because of that, most winners directly entered the Winners Street whereas a few would still choose to stay on the same deck.

Lirzod, Sariyu, and Burton stepped onward, leaving behind both Hundred and 777 who briefly glanced at each other before minding their own business. 777 stayed right where he was while Hundred went to the betting counter.

Hundred had only sixteen silver with him, so he used all of it. Even if he had more, he probably wouldn"t have placed all of it in the bet though he would have bet up to one gold, at best.

Watching Hundred at the betting counter, 777 gave out an abstruse smile. (Betting on whom, I wonder.)

Hundred came back and stood at a distance to 777 before exchanging short-lived smiles as if they were obligated.

"Never spend money on those who didn"t earn it," 777 said loud enough that his voice reached Hundred"s ears. "It was an easy but effective principle for anyone to follow, yet, I guess, some people never learn things."

"It"s good if one minded their business as well," Hundred snorted as they both were looking in different directions.

Hundred then focused on observing the game and the partic.i.p.ants. (Whew, I hope luck is on my side today.) With every pa.s.sing second, the rhythm of his heartbeat grew erratic. (I wish I had taken more money from the Positive Parker.) White rubbing fingers through his hair, he looked for a higher spot in the crowd who all positioned themselves on the stairs made out of sculpted stone. Hundreds of people sat there to watch the event from either side of the ice dumpster.

777 glanced back at Hundred in a brazen smile. (Not so sure about the win, are you? No use worrying about it now. Your money is as good as gone.)

Though Hundred could feel 777"s stare on his skin, he appeared like he wasn"t bothered.

At that moment, a blonde guy came to Hundred and asked, "Hey, sir, do you want to partic.i.p.ate in the Derxes Skin Contest? It"s right there," he pointed the direction with his thumb, "in the southern end of the hall."

"No thanks," Hundred lightly waved his hand, telling him to leave.

The blonde guy leaned forward before speaking in a genial accent, "You can give it a try in the least, sir. I can a.s.sure you that it will be fun."

Hundred glanced at him in a galled gaze. "How does my skin look like?"

"Pardon?"

"In your eyes, my skin getting cut is impossible," Hundred"s frigid voice startled the blonde guy. "Am I correct?"

"W-Who knows, sir?" the blonde guy"s unremitting tone sounded out after he recovered his composure in no time, "You might hit it big."

"Yeah, I will get cut big," Hundred snorted as he broke eye-contact. "That"s what will happen."

"You don"t know that until you try." The blonde guy slightly stretched the smile, his tonality as blandishing as ever as he spoke, "you might just wake up the sleeping spirit inside you."

Hundred stood from his seat and stared right into the man"s eyes, conveying much more than what he was about to speak. "I don"t know if the contest can do that or not, but if you don"t escort your a.s.s off here in the next five seconds, you will see the spirit right here and now."

The blonde guy"s shoulders jerked from startlement, "I-I think I just heard someone call my name." He hurriedly turned away and began to leave in quick strides.

Hundred plopped back in his seat.

"Know that you are missing something that can make you rich, sir," the blonde guy"s voice reached Hundred"s ears, irking him further, but didn"t even bother to cast another glance at him, for he knew that the blonde guy approached him after probably seeing him at the betting counter.

"Like how it never rains on this ship, it never ceases to amaze me how people always find a new way to steal others money. I don"t get why no matter the place I go, there are always more ways to lose than to earn money. If I"m not careful, I will lose everything I"ve stacked till now." Hundred couldn"t help but reinforce himself.

Unlike some people who used various contests to cheat the new entries on the deck and earn boatloads of money, Hundred just resorted to selling tickets for higher prices with no restraint which was wholly allowed. Most hollows did the same thing as Hundred did for earning some quick coins. Howbeit, because of the heavy compet.i.tion, such a profession never yielded consistent profits in the long run, and there was also the typical case of hollows grouping together to a.s.sert dominance on certain days. In worst cases, they even came after the loners and scared them into working for them.

There were many instances when Hundred lost his hard-earned money, especially in recent times. And his experience brought him into the batch of hollows who believed that the best way to avoid unnecessary troubles with others like him was to climb the decks with an entry.

Choosing the right entry was crucial to any hollow as it had the potential to change their lives in either good or bad ways. Higher decks meant higher stakes and better chances for forming grand connections with h.e.l.lacious ones, but it also contained the risk of meeting egregious ones. Still and all, most hollows supposed that the payoff was almost always worth it. Hundred, however, held mixed feelings regarding that prospect.

"You"ve done a good thing, mister," the person, seated next to Hundred, said in a friendly manner.

Hundred looked to his left and got dazed by a familiar haircut. It was without a doubt a wonder as to how the twenty-inch long sunny hair managed to stand straight as though unaffected by the air currents nearby. Even such a haircut paled when compared to the man who owned it.

"I"m Tarkan Solorzano, also known as the Inch Man," Unfitting his small figure, his voice was surprisingly soft yet oozed confidence.

Hundred got pleasantly confounded, "I-I… Of course, I know you who are. Mr. Tarkan." Their hands met and shook, "I mean, Inch Man. Every hollow knows who you are." He, for sure, didn"t expect to meet the honored Inch Man in such a fashion.

"Kah-ha, you can call me either way," Tarkan chortled. "It seems like you are in the process of choosing a Nipper."

"Yes," Hundred pointed his finger towards Lirzod, his eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with clear ado. "That one."

"Oh … That boy," Tarkan perused Lirzod for a few seconds. "He"s giving off fresh vibes. He"s probably the type who brings new things to the table, though I could be wholly wrong, kah-haha," he turned towards Hundred, "can I ask what your first impression on him was?"

Hundred wasn"t expecting such a question, so he pondered for a moment. He wasn"t the same as Tarkan who could sort of guess one"s character from their face and capabilities from their actions. Hence, Hundred blurted out what"s on top of his mind. "I would say "recklessness.""

"Kah-ha, you see it in most people on this ship," Tarkan got a good amount of thrill off his response. "I"m not sure if it"s a good thing or not though." He observed Lirzod. "He progressed past the Dog Run, so he"s not a complete newbie. Who knows? You might win more than just the bet, kah-haha."

Hundred rubbed the back of his neck in embarra.s.sment. (He saw me place a bet huh.)

"But…" Tarkan put up an unsmiling face, "Dog Run is one thing, but Circus of Wolves is an entirely different thing be it in difficulty or scariness. Every year, only a handful of entries succeed this test in their first attempt itself."

Hundred"s heartbeat raised steadily.

Hollows gave an unofficial name to every deck test. The test on the tenth deck was known as Dog Run where the entries were expected to run like dogs to finish the hundred meter mark in the required time. Likewise, the test on the eleventh deck came to be known as Circus of Wolves.

Hundred hesitated a little to ask but was unable to hold back the thoughts, and he ended up asking, "W-What do you think are his chances?"

At that time, Tarkan was staring at Lirzod who finished removing the footwear and was looking for a place to stand among the boorish and boisterous contestants. Most men were six feet or taller and compared to their st.u.r.dy bodies, Lirzod, Sariyu, and even Burton looked like children.

Tarkan"s eyes turned sharp as they hovered over the contestants, "He isn"t throwing himself into just any wolves; these are the tenebrous wolves—ones that would betray members of their pack without a shred of scruple. The chance of anyone expertly leading them is zero."

Hundred"s eyes turned vacant, and he felt like his head was spinning. He clutched the sides of his head and inwardly frowned. (Why? Why did I place a bet knowing that winning in the first attempt is but a dream? I"m a fool! I shouldn"t have listened to his deal.)

"Kah-ha," Tarkan continued, "I said, leading is not possible, but I never said anything about winning."

Hundred"s eyes enlarged out of expectation. "You mean…"

"Surely, winning is possible," Tarkan"s firm voice hoisted Hundred"s hopes into the heavens. "By and large, the winner would not be the one that came out after conquering the packs, but the one who skedaddled his way through the variant wolves and reached the finish line first before succ.u.mbing to opponents" strength."

"I know right!" Hundred"s pulse fastened. "If everything goes well, his two supporters will help him win."

"Two supporters..." Tarkan"s eyes only now observed both Burton and Sariyu, and it brought a smile on his face. (The three of them look like sheep compared to the rest, but we are not on hunting grounds, so things should get interesting, and even a sheep might make it out of the dumpster before the wolves do. Whether they win or not, will depend on how hungry and smart the wolves are huh.)

"I hope they will win," Hundred murmured to himself and appeared to be praying to his favorite deity.

Seeing him, Tarkan slightly smiled and said, "This deck turns dogs into wolves. If your boy has what it takes to be a wolf, he will come out of it victorious."