Silence dominated the crowd, only the sound of Jeff groaning could be heard.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is rude to not applaud the victor of a bout."
After hearing to words of the announcer the crowd erupted into claps and cheers. Those who had lost their bets clapped slowly, while those who had won their bets clapped with more enthusiasm than anyone in the crowd.
Dante could be seen in the crowd. He was still sitting with his mouth wide open with shock, even when someone nudged him to stand, he remained seated.
Abby was in a similar situation to Dante. Abby, however, managed to regain her composure and started clapping vigorously. Both of the had the same thought running through their heads.
'Who the hell is this kid?'
As Mark was getting ready to walk away, the sounds of someone clawing at the ground could be heard. Turning around, he could see the form of Jeff crawling back towards the stage. His mouth was wide open, saliva dripping from the mouth as he stared at Mark.
"Someone, please restrain Jeff."
The announcer spoke and after 2 men from the stands jumped down and landed beside Jeff. These men, wearing suits of armor, pulled out a pair of cuffs each and attached them to Jeff's arms and legs. After restraining Jeff, the men went back to their positions in the stands and let the announcer continue.
"Now that the loser has been taken away, we can get down to rewarding the winner."
*SNAP*
With a snap of his fingers, the announcer had turned off all the lights in the arena. After a few seconds the lights in the arena had turned on and in front of Mark were three podiums with different items on them.
"Mr. Spain, you have a few minutes to make a choice of what reward you would like. Take your time choosing, however, you cannot ask what each item does."
Explaining what the rules of his selection were, the announcer allowed Mark to walk forward and inspect the items in front of him.
'Just from the looks of these items, I can't figure out what they would do. Maybe inspect can help me here.'
Turning toward the first podium, a ring was displayed on a small stand. There were no intricate markings or anything that stood out about the ring.
'It kind of looks like my ring of lesser strength.'
"Inspect."
[Ring of Lesser Strength]
[When equipped: +5 Strength]
[Active Skill: Strength Burst+]
[Strength Burst: Increases Strength by +12 for 1 minute. Cooldown: 8 hours.]
'Well that confirms it, it is a Ring of Lesser Strength but a bit better than the one I currently have.'
Moving toward the second podium, a cube like object was displayed. There was a small button on the top of the cube and a screen on one of the faces. Aside from those there were no identifying features.
"Inspect."
[Storage Cube]
[An item that allows the storage of any inorganic material.]
[The amount of items that can be stored must be able to fit within a 2m^3 room.]
[Any stored item can be called out by using the touch screen face.]
'A storage cube, that could be very handy. If the other item isn't helpful, I will probably go for this.'
Finally moving towards the final podium, another ring was displayed. There was a small red gem imbedded into this ring, so it couldn't have been a Ring of Lesser strength.
"Inspect."
[Ring of Minor Healing]
[When equipped: +5 recovery]
[Active skill: Recovering Glow]
[Recovering Glow: Heals all minor wounds, including bruises, scratches and shallow cuts. Cooldown: 24 hours]
'Interesting, with this I wouldn't have to rely on Painful Recovery as much, and it is easy to carry, unlike the storage cube.'
Mark walked back to stand in front of the podiums and started pondering his options. He immediately decided against getting the first ring, so that left him with only the storage cube or the healing ring.
After a few minutes of silence the announcer called to Mark and asked if he had decided which item he wanted.
"I've decided, I want the second item, I want the storage cube." Declaring the item he had selected as his reward, Mark walked forward and collected the device before turning and heading back to the opening he had come from.
Before he could reach the opening, the announcer spoke one last time.
"Marvelous choice, not many would be able to tell that this was a storage cube as they are quite rare." A smile appeared on his face as he spoke, but Mark couldn't see it as he was facing his back towards him.
Arriving back to his waiting room, Mark was surprised to see someone waiting for him.
"Hey kid, we need to, talk you and I."
"Dante, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Sitting down in a chair opposite Dante, Mark began wondering what could have caused Dante to suddenly visit him.
"First, I would like to apologize. I was the one who put Jeff into the ring. If it weren't for me you wouldn't have been put in that much danger." Dante paused after speaking and bowed his head. Seeing Dante perform this action caused Mark to grow uncomfortable.
"No need to worry Dante, you warned me about joining the fights and I still went through with it. If it's anyone's fault it would be mine." Quickly explaining himself, Mark did his best to get Dante to sit up straight.
Dante did indeed sit up straight after hearing Mark's response. "Secondly, I would also like to apologize again. If I had any idea you were this strong I would have never advised you not to approach the fights." Immediately after, Dante once again bowed his head.
"Can you please stop bowing your head? Someone like you doesn't need to bow your head to me." Once again uncomfortable by Dante's apology, Mark tried to sit him up once again.
Sitting up once again, Dante opened his mouth and voiced his final question for Mark.
"I heard a cracking sound during your duel, after which you gained your strength. It was more strength than the ring I gave you could muster, so there must have been something else to it. I would like for you to tell me what it was."