However, while Angel was willing to give up willingly, Dox was too financially embarrassed to make an exchange.
Dox hung his head in dejection. Indeed, Angel was different from Vay. It was almost impossible to take advantage of Angel.
As Dox wallowed in his misery, the voice of the Wise Sovereign resounded:
"The next duel is about to begin. Both participants, please enter the arena."
As soon as the words fell, the scene fell silent. Quite some time passed, yet no one stepped onto the platform.
Originally, it was supposed to be Vay’s turn from their side, but Vay was currently in a dazed state. The atmosphere around him was so low and depressive that anyone who got close would find their world turning black and white, just like Vay’s.
On the other side, things were different. Almost all of Gray Merchant’s apprentices had already lost, leaving Magic Elephant as their only choice. Yet, for some reason, Magic Elephant remained motionless, seeming to hesitate.
Gray Merchant, meanwhile, was whispering with the Wicked Woman at the side. Gray Merchant appeared somewhat excited, while the Wicked Woman had a cold expression. From their expressions, they seemed to be arguing. Their conversation took place within the Mind Ribbon, so others were unaware of the content of their dispute.
The arena was empty, on the verge of falling into awkward silence.
At that moment, the Wise Sovereign calmly stated, "If no one enters the arena within the next half a minute, it signifies forfeiture from both sides, and the apprentice duel will end here... with no winner."
The Wise Sovereign’s words amounted to issuing a final ultimatum.
Angel glanced at Vay, who still showed no response. He then glared at Dox and finally turned his gaze to Kaier.
If Vay couldn’t enter the arena, Kaier would have to go instead.
Without needing Angel’s reminder, Kaier was already aware of the situation. He began taking deep breaths before standing up, ready to step onto the arena.
On the opposite side, the quarrel between the Wicked Woman and Gray Merchant had finally ended, seemingly with Gray Merchant losing the argument. As their dispute concluded, Magic Elephant finally stepped onto the arena.
Just as Kaier was about to follow, a shadow suddenly sped past him, with lightning speed, landing in the center of the arena.
Yes, it was a fall.
It was indeed Vay who entered the arena, but his entrance was quite unique, having been smacked into the field by a giant stone entity resembling a mosquito swatter.
Due to this unconventional entry, Vay hadn’t yet collected his wits and was lying face down, with his head to the ground and buttocks in the air, on the arena.
When Vay regained his senses and opened his eyes, he saw the Magic Elephant, wearing a brown elephant mask, with an astonished expression visible even through the eyeholes.
One looked bewildered, the other astonished.
In the next two seconds, Vay began realizing what had happened, quickly standing up from his awkward position with a displeased face, while Magic Elephant remained astonished.
Recalling his prior landing pose, Vay felt his face flush hotly, as if something was leaving his body...
Turning around to see Magic Elephant’s astonished gaze, he found it glaringly offensive.
Without a doubt, it was his own master who kicked him. Vay wouldn’t dare complain about his own master, but Magic Elephant, this outsider, looking at him with such an expression—was this mockery?
The thought ignited a flame of resentment in Vay’s heart, and he stared fiercely at Magic Elephant.
However, Magic Elephant’s gaze turned from astonishment to confusion.
He didn’t understand why Vay suddenly harbored hatred toward him, and on such a significant scale.
If he knew Vay’s thoughts, he’d likely feel quite aggrieved.
The astonishment on Magic Elephant’s face wasn’t because of Vay’s posture. Unlike Dox, Magic Elephant never engaged in idle chatter. Not even the nosiest among them, Fembrose, would mock someone’s position for self-gratification. It’s not about morality—it simply doesn’t matter to them.
The only ones who care about your embarrassment are usually those who know you. After all, even if there’s teasing or mocking, one must at least be familiar with the person, right?
As for why Magic Elephant showed Astonishment, it was because he didn’t expect Vay to be the one stepping up.
He thought Kaier would be his opponent.
After the fight between Kaier and the Shepherd, the Shepherd did a review. After much discussion, they concluded that Kaier’s trump card against the Shepherd was the Alchemy Golem, confirmed by the Shepherd through Black Shepherd to have power nearly at the Official Wizard Level.
And the robe made from Simos’ skin that Kaier wore displayed defenses nearly at a dominating level. They speculated it was prepared explicitly to deal with Magic Elephant. However, Kaier probably didn’t expect the Shepherd to force this trump card out as well.
Thus, Magic Elephant was astonished when Vay, not Kaier, came onto the arena.
There was another thing that puzzled Magic Elephant—
Could it be that the opposing side’s strategy involving Kaier was discovered by the Wicked Woman?
Previously, the Shepherd advised Magic Elephant not to compete. If the opponent wore a robe made of Simos’ skin, his defeat was assured. Magic Elephant himself thought it was unnecessary to enter the fray and suffer.
The defensive power of Simos’ skin could withstand a strike from a True Knowledge Wizard, and Magic Elephant believed he couldn’t break through such formidable defense.
Yet, Magic Elephant did enter the arena.
This was because the Wicked Woman insisted on Magic Elephant competing, and he had no right to refuse.
Why was the Wicked Woman so adamant about Magic Elephant entering? The reason was simple; the Wicked Woman wanted Simos’ skin.
Compared to the Chupacabra material the Wicked Woman was searching for, Simos’ skin was of a higher rank and more effective. The Wicked Woman had never even considered the materials on Simos before; she would have been satisfied with just obtaining Chupacabra materials. But now that Simos’ skin was right in front of her, how could she not be tempted?
Forcibly taking it wasn’t an option; in her mind, there was only one way to acquire Simos’ skin: after Magic Elephant’s victory over Kaier, strip the robe made from Simos’ skin directly off him.
Previously, when Angel took victory spoils from Gray Merchant, the Wise Sovereign didn’t intervene, indicating such actions were permitted by the rules. Thus, the Wicked Woman believed they could similarly take the robe from Kaier as a spoils of victory.
How was Magic Elephant supposed to defeat Kaier? The Wicked Woman, having suggested this plan, was prepared to help Magic Elephant with all her might. She even handed one of her trump cards to Magic Elephant to ensure his victory.
However, Gray Merchant didn’t support the Wicked Woman’s idea.
Gray Merchant still needed the help of the Wizard, who called themselves "Earl Mi," on the opposing side to retrieve his memories from the mirror, and didn’t wish to complicate matters.
Yet, the Wicked Woman felt these were two separate issues. Gray Merchant would offer fair compensation for retrieving his memories, a fair trade.