Everything in the virtual duel looked realistic, even the blood and gore injuries were visible, it was not done to show the graphic quality but so that when young children who want to became practitioner use it they get a hang of it, after all, it was evitable that they need to deal with these kinds of things in the future.
Layla grounded in pain, she wiped the blood from her lips and barely managed to stand up again.
Kale looked at her in surprise "You set the realism at max?"
Layla didn't answer his question but gave a hollow laugh "Hehe… You really didn't hesitate to hit me,"
"Do you expect me to?" Kale asked with a smirk, he didn't strike again.
"No, it's better this way," Layla said with a smile.
Kale shook his head, he understood her trick. He suddenly tilted his body to the right and reached out his left hand behind him, the Blood Hound who was using its ‹Soundless Step› skill to sneak attack was taken by surprise.
He grabbed the edge of its bone helmet and swung it clockwise while leaning his whole body back to balance the weight, after half swing, Kale threw it at the other incoming Blood Hound.
Blood Hounds are not magic beasts but spirit beasts, they could perform battle skills using Battle Qi, ‹Soundless Step› is a common battle skill among them that reduces the noise made by them while moving depending on their skill proficiency.
"Looks like a fight like this isn't fair after all, how about it, I won't use my hands this time?" Kale said with a smirk.
Layla's face was stiff, it was one thing that he looked happy today but why does he have to make others sad? His comment worked as fuel and her fighting intent surged "Bring It On!" She shouted.
"Haha... That's my girl," Kale said as he dashed at her.
Layla didn't mind his words, she didn't take them in the wrong way either. She would be a fool to take it that way after the punch from earlier.
She wasn't reserved anymore and used her trump card.
Layla extended out her hand and magic staff appeared in her hands, a magic circle shined before the staff.
'Unity Assault'
Suddenly, a similar magic circle appeared under the feet of each Blood Hound, Kale didn't interrupt her, rather than winning, he wanted to enjoy the moment.
The magic circle disappeared but there was no apparent change in their body and speed but when the fight started, Kale figured out the difference, the strength of every Blood Hound had increased by at least twice, moreover, their teamwork had improved significantly.
Kale didn't believe that Layla could buy such advanced spell, staff, and three hounds with the given points so there had to a fault, and indeed, he soon realized that the spell used earlier, had let the Blood Hounds combine a portion of their strength with each other but as a result the damage one receives would be amplified and divided equally among all of them.
Layla spent all her points in this spell alone and had no other means whatsoever, the spell she had learned in the Academy could only help her in taming, raising, and as auxiliary support like ‹Vision Share›. They were useless in a battle like this.
As a Beast Tamer, her strength would bound to rise once she clears the early foundation stages and manages to get her hands on strong beasts but with her current self, especially when Kale had the body of an adult, she wasn't his match.
The battle was a stalemate but only for few seconds, the second Kale used mana to cast his already learned spells, the battle took less than a minute to end.
After the battle ended, the arena disappeared and they woke up in the game pod.
When Kale opened his eyes, he saw Layla standing in front of him, she was looking at him with an annoyed expression.
Unlike her, he was quite happy, he swirled his left hand around her neck and lightly laughed "Are you angry,"
"Humph, I'm not," Layla snorted, she was surprised by his change in behaviour but it wasn't something she hated, on the contrary, she liked it, as he was really treating her like a buddy the same way she behaves.
She preferred… It would be more accurate to say she desired it, the way other in her peers treated her only made her bored and uncomfortable, Kale's straightforward way was much more better but he was always like a closed book she failed to open. Right now, she felt like she had at least opened its cover.
Kale was happy because his gains were not small, after the fight, he had realized what type of battle style would suit him when training to be a mage while also being a martial artist.
He confirmed that he was on the right track, there was no need to even consider tacking the reset potion now.
Rather than just standing at a place and casting spells, he liked to cast spells while also fighting in close and mid-range combat.
'Now that my decision is 100% confirmed, and I'm at Level 10, there is no need for me to stay in Imperial city anymore, after some preparations, I can finally leave this place,' Kale thought.
"Seems like you do have some skills," A familiar voice attracted the duo's attention.
The voice belonged to a girl, she was young but her temperament and body carried a hint of maturity, her long straightened black hairs were tied into a ponytail, her round bright red eyes, tiny nose, and red lips were like jewels on her little face, coupled with her candles like hands and slender legs, the girl looked like an adorable doll.
Kale turned and saw the girl, he recognized her in a single glance, she was Twinkle. She was walking towards him, he guessed that her battle ended faster and when she saw Layla fighting on the screen, she should have checked the real faces of both the players, leading to her finding him out.
The thing that slightly surprised Kale was that she recognized his identity, when they met for the first time, he was wearing a mask, but now he wasn't, the way she looked at him, he was sure she was talking to him.
"Oh, you are the child from back then," Kale said.
Back then, when the word 'child' came out of his mouth, Twinkle almost lost her temper and pounced at him, but unlike before, she managed to hold herself back "You are still talking like that? Sigh… You are still immature,"
"At least I'm not a child," Kale said in a bland tone.
Twinkle was silent, it looked like she was suppressing her urge to punch his face.
Layla grinned at Kale, she could tell he was fooling around with her.
"Let her be," Layla said to him, then she turned to Twinkle and smiled "I heard about you, you are that talented Mind Mage,"
Kale noticed a slight glint in her eyes and knew that the Little Girl was now under her radar.
Twinkle looked at Layla, her words slightly improved her mood "You are Layla, right? I also heard about your great beast taming and commanding skills,"
"That's Elder Sister Layla for you," Kale again butted in.
For some reason, he realized that teasing her was quite fun.
Twinkle's mood darkened.
Layla was barely holding back her laughter, she looked at Kale, her eyes told him to stay put for a while.
Kale saw Twinkle's heavy mood and decided to end it here for now.
"Don't mind his words, he was just joking," Layla said but it didn't seem to help much this time. She decided to change the topic "How about we go and meets other classmates, Twinkle where is your brother? Let's go meet him,"
This time, Twinkle slowly nodded while still staring at Kale.
"You two can go ahead and join the party, I will have a look around," Kale said, Layla understood his meaning and nodded in agreement.
Twinkle kept staring at his back until he walked into the lift and the door closed.
"He is a bastard," She said while clenching her fists.
Layla shrugged her shoulders.
***
The casino was on the deepest floor of the building, it was a place that could make one rich as well as poor in a single night.
Kale could also make money in the arcade but the efficiency would be lower and it would take more time, there were many young people in the arcade, they had short temper because of that they could hold deep grudges when losing which can lead to their act-without-thinking trait. Moreover, the limit to which they could bet wasn't high.
But the casino was different, many rich people just came here to spend their money even when they have the experience of setting a record of losing streaks.
The door of the lift opened and Kale walked in.
The view of the casino was way different than the arcade, gambling tables were arranged in rows, the dress codes of waiters here wad different, especially the waitresses, as they seem like they were cosplaying a rabbit rather than wearing a uniform.
A dress that looked more like a red swimming suit, with fishnet-like long socks and two fake bunny ears on top of their head coupled with their figure, the bunny girls were a feast for every men's eyes.
For a moment, even Kale stopped and eyed the one closest to him, he had seen too many beauties but cosplaying worked like a magnet.
One a carefully look around, he realized that the waiters here also had different hairstyles like idols, they seemed to be even having light makeups on their face. After discerning them for a while he found two words echoing in his head with a question mark behind them, boy toy?
He quickly shook his head and made his way forward while observing all the gambling games and people making bets.
'It's better to be careful and go for an easy target first,' Kale thought as his eyes darted from one face to another.
Finally, he stopped in front of a table with fewer spectators. A poker match was going on the table, there were three players, two of which were only slightly older boys and the last was a middle-aged man who had a grim expression on his face.
The reason why he chose this table was because, with one look, he could tell that all three of them were amateurs. He didn't have enough money or reputation to go and join the big game directly from the start so he was doing with the small one.
Kale gazed at the expressions of the three players and faintly smiled 'Gambling is not just about having the right cards, lucky moments, good hearing skills or calculative abilities, rather than developing all of these, there is a simple trick to winning the game, that is… Reading your opponent instead.
The better the player, the harder it would be to read them, but I wonder how many of them here are better than me when it comes to reading their opponents,'
In Kazeer, there weren't many forms of entertainment compared to a modern world, drinking and pleasure weren't feasible for all, that's why gambling was one of the addictions of many.
The form of gambling there was different, there were bamboo card games, stone cutting bets, and arena betting, but some process of completing the bets were still similar. Kale had lived a long life compared to people fooling around here, during intense battles, he had to try and read his opponents who were even older and more experienced than him so what do these people who hadn't even reached 80 years of age count?
He keenly observed their personalities and behaviour during the game, then joined the next one by placing a good bet.
***
A party was ongoing in the open hall at the terrace of the hotel, Layla walked through the entrance door with Twinkle by her side and joined the party.
The second they arrived at the place, Layla found Alice and Arlo waiting for her, Ron was also there but he was surrounded by some teenagers of his age, when he saw Twinkle coming out of the door, he too approached them like the other two.
"Isn't Kale with you?" Arlo asked in a doubtful tone. He didn't know that Layla was staying at his house but he did know that they were coming together because of staying in the same area.
Kale had already told her about not wanting to become the target of strange rumours, so Layla kept quiet about it.
"He went to check out the fun places in the hotel," She said, if it wasn't for meeting Twinkle and accompanying her roommate Alice for a while she too wouldn't have come here.
Unlike her, Kale didn't care much about his relationship with Arlo anymore, as his plans were already changed, he now knew that there wasn't a need to stay in Academy or dorms for long periods as long as he could complete the tests quickly.
Arlo nodded in slight disappointment.