Of course, jobs didn't really denote strength, but even a commoner could see that the numbers on Lord Tibult's side were larger than my own. I had both women in the past, and they both had put up a fight that took an entire party to counter. Either one had the fierceness of five, and they were both on the other side! Yet, despite their levels and strength, they weren't even Lord Tibult's trump card.
"Only three?" I responded nervously.
"Three is all I need!" he sneered.
The crowds were quiet, and anyone who had been cheering me on before was starting to feel sorry for me. Things were looking more and more one-sided with each new introduction. As for Lord Tibult, his arrogant smile only grew as the last person walked onto the stage. Like the others, she wore a hood that hid her expression.
"Another girl?" I said in surprise.
"What of it?" Lord Tibult frowned.
"Ah… I just expected you have a lot of males."
"What are you implying!" His face furrowed angrily.
"Ah, nothing!"
"Hmph…" He crossed his arms. "Like I would ever risk a male slave on a bet. These women are disposable!"
There was some anger in the crowds, and I could only put on a wry smile. That was actually exactly what I would have expected from Lord Tibult. He bought three of the strongest slaves in the city to throw at me to win this bet of his. It didn't feel fair at all, and some people were saying I was trying to win with my money! The Princess, in particular, was shooting Lord Tibult a deathly stare, but he seemed to be good at ignoring it. After all, she didn't like the purchase of slaves and calling them disposable definitely would set her off.
With his hand on the girl's forehead, the Priest spoke loudly and clearly, "Shao, Slave, species unknown, job unknown, level ??!"
"??!" Someone let out a cry.
This one actually brought a great deal of shock to the crowd. Many more were pondering how a species less, jobless creature existed. Well, they weren't the only ones. She was level ??! Wait, a job and origin unknown? Isn't this the slave that Figuro was talking about? So, in the end, Lord Tibult was the noble who had purchased her? No wonder Figuro was acting so odd when he heard about the match!
Each subsequent level was harder to reach than the last, but they also gave greater boosts to the status. So, even if someone had level 50 in two jobs, it wasn't like that made them a level 100. Even I, who could equip the jobs and take advantage of three stat boosts at once couldn't cross a barrier that large. Every level you made in every job you had boosted your status slightly, but the status gain from a level 1 to a level 2, was negligible compared to a level 80 to a level 81. It was that kind of thing.
What she is, it will probably be a very high level. I would be surprised if she wasn't at least Lydia's equivalent. She was probably stronger, since I couldn't imagine a mysterious job being a 1st tier job. Even if it wasn't geared toward battle, it was still a terrifying thought. Simply put, not knowing what she could do was terrifying in its own right.
This girl didn't pull back her hood or reveal herself to the crowd. She only silently nodded and then returned back to her side and sat down. Three women, two of them confirmed third-tier level 70th and one mystery woman at level ??. My confidence that we would win this was shaken to its core.
"Now that everyone has been introduced, it's time for the first challenge!" The Prince declared excitedly.