After Zane's Arena fight, normally, one would wait for a while before registering for another battle, but Zane was different. After experiencing experience boosts, he started signing up for more Beasts Arena challenges.
At first, the Umbras had put a little restraint on Zane, but after easily winning a couple of matches, they just let him let loose.
Furthermore, all of the income coming from Zane's matches goes directly to Umbra residence, when they found out that Zane was earning tons of money for the sake of their House, they encourage him the more.
Very quickly, his fame started to rise throughout the City of Capricia, giving him another title, the Black Hair of Umbra.
The House of Umbra's fame also started to rise. They started receiving more privileges, better equipment, and materials. After a year, they have grown their power and influence. Zane has become one of the Elite of Elite of Umbra, even surpassing Gerax. Along his fame, his privileges have grown, giving him more freedom across the city, this was a result from becoming a loyal money making hound for the House of Umbra.
…
Inside a large Arena, Zane's name was being chanted loudly by thousands of watchers. Meanwhile, he ignored all of this and waited until he heard a notification.
'You killed the Five Eye Poison Scorpion'
'+1050 experience points'
'Ding! You have reached level 10!'
'Your body has evolved into Awakened form.'
'Mana Stats Acquisition available'
"FINALLY!!" A black-haired young man was standing on a large scorpion. The scorpion was called the Five Color Poison Scorpion.
It was an Awakened level 11 beast that shoots extremely toxic poison. A drop of poison can easily kill an average man.
Sadly for the beast, Zane has quite a lot of Anti-venom poison in his storage. Not only that, the Anti-Venom was a modified version where it gave him the poison immunity for a couple of minutes. In the end, it became a mismatch for Zane's long-range attacks and sword skills.
He killed it by using the Mana Consuming Silver Metal Needle he found in the Umbra's treasure room and soaked it with an intermediate poison. It died when the needles pierced through its head.
'Status'
Age: 14
Level: 10
Mantra: Zen's Slaughter Mantra
Strength: 36
Agility: 24
Perception: 25
Constitution: 32.3
Mana Capacity: 11
Gene Skill: Identify
Passive Skill: None
Talent: Poor
Life Span: 150
Elemental Affinity: Lightning (poor), Wind (poor), Fire (poor), Water...
Other Affinity: None
Experience: 10/16,560
Unallocated Stats Points: 15
Unallocated Skill Points: 4
...
A year had passed, and Zane's physique had undergone a transformation. His body had begun to develop more muscle, giving him a leaner and stronger appearance compared to his previously slender frame.
Surveying the battlefield, Zane's gaze fell upon a landscape strewn with the lifeless remains of various beasts. The arena's challenge had been an arduous one: 1000 beasts pitted against him. The odds were heavily stacked against him in the betting, with most predicting his death.
However, Zane managed to kill all of the beasts. When the upper Nobles saw that they would lose a lot of money, they released the Five Colored Poison Scorpion to save the betting results.
This even shocked the audience about the unfairness of the situation. But the Nobles did not care, most of the time it was done so purely for profit.
At first, Zane was a little concerned when they released the giant beast. After he saw its stats, his worries were gone. Instead, he got that another large experience waiting for him to be devoured.
He had been addicted to seeing his experience grow for the past year. So he had gotten accustomed to killing all kinds of beasts thrown at him. He understood clearly that the only way to level up fast was to kill more stronger beast. In short, he needs to kill Awakened Beats.
...
Back to the Hideout.
"Did you bet everything I told you?"
A beautiful voice responded, "Yes!" she smiled.
"Good! In two months, Gerax's plan will set off. We have to prepare ourselves as well."
"Yes, Perry also delivered the weapons you have requested."
"Good," a glint showed in Zane's eyes.
"He also gave me a message. The nobles are hot on his trail because of the potions. So we cannot meet him any longer."
Zane thought for a minute and said, "He just needs to lay low. Besides, it is just a matter of two months. We don't need any more money, we have enough."
"Two more months, and we are out of this shit hole. The flames of rebellion will soon start."
...
The next few days, Zane scoured the market once again. He bought what he needed to buy, all kinds of rations, herbs, and equipment.
In his storage mainly, he has about:
234 Intermediate Healing Potions
160 Regeneration potions
75 Intermediate Paralyzing potions
57 Intermediate Poison potions
33 Intermediate Confusing potions
22 Stamina Potions
6 Water breathing potions
7 Strength buffing potions
6 Agility buffing potions
112 Intermediate roll of weed
1432 Weapons including axes, swords, bows, etc.
He also has his main weapons, clothes, hoods, and rations in his inventory.
....
In one afternoon, Zane accidentally walked toward the edge of the city where the many entrances of the mines were located.
There he saw a barrel full of coal and iron ores being loaded into a large transportation beast that looked like a lizard.
Suddenly, something caught his eyes in the distance. With curiosity, he saw bunch of rocks lying around and some strange orange heaps of rocks on the side that was abandoned.
"Hey! What are you doing here? This is for mining only!" A large man with an iron pick stopped him.
Zane removed his hood and said, "Forgive me. I was very curious about the orange rock. But I will leave now."
Looking at Zane, he saw that he seemed familiar. Then he was shocked, "Black Hair Zane from Umbra!"
"Yes, I am Zane from the Umbras."
When he got his confirmation, he was very excited and suddenly shifted to a more respectful tone, "I apologize for being rude to you. Yes, this is only for mine personnel only."
"I understand. I will leave."
Suddenly, the man proudly said, "Wait! I am managing the mine, so don't worry about it. You can take a look if you want."
"Uh. Yeah. Thanks."
"Name is Gobu, by the way."
Gobu then started walking with Zane, "I was watching when you killed the Blood Jackal King. Also, when the Umbras killed the Blazing Tusk Mammoth. Also, I was there when you killed the 1000 beats and the large scorpion. Then..."
Soon he started passionately sharing how he was amazed at Zene's strength and how brave he was. Zane was surprised that he was recognized somehow. He never really cared for any of the cheering crowds.
When they arrived at the orange rocks, the guy was still talking, but Zane had already ignored him halfway.
'Identify'
'Unrefined Volatile Rock'
Introduction: A very volatile rock that can explode if mixed with catalytic oxidizer materials. Not suitable for forging. An absorbent material. Can be used for alchemy. When refined can be used as medication in small amounts.
'Boom' Zane's eyes widened. An explosion of ideas came to his head.
'Dynamite!'
'I have quite a lot of catalysts from the market! I can make dynamite out of this rock!'
When the Gobu saw Zane staring at the rock, he stopped his stories and said, "These rocks are bit rare but can be used for pottery. However, it requires a skilled worker to do so. Furthermore, this is also needed to be processed first. Nobody wants them yet. So we just leave them here."
Eagerly, Zane eyes screamed "I want to buy it"
Gobu was surprised. This was the first time he heard someone wanted to buy an unrefined rock.
"Unfortunately, by the rules, we do not sell it because of its rarity and these are property of the nobles."
"Oh really, that is very sad to hear." Zane was disappointed.
When Gobu saw Zane's expression, he hurriedly said, "BUT! If you buy it at a good price, Nobles would be willing to sell it for sure."
"Great!"
"How much do you want to buy?"
"ALL OF THEM!"
When Gobu heard it, it was his turn to look at Zane.
"I have a place where you can deliver them. Just give me a price."
"100,000 Credit Points. This is the lowest I can offer you." shaking his head.
"Deal!" Zane took ten black rectangular metals. If one converted, they are worth 10,000 points each. Only merchants and wealthy individuals typically buy them.
"I am really amazed at you. You are not only strong, but you are quite rich as well. I envy you. I will send these towns to your place as soon as possible."
Zane took out a sword from his back and handed it to Gobu, "Here is compensation for your trouble. I used this one to kill the scorpion."
The sword was a high-quality weapon. It has a high attack and high durability he found from the market.
When Gobu saw the glittering sword, he was very happy and excited. This was his first time receiving a very precious reward. He was almost into tears.
...