Chapter 261: Stone Chapter 261: Stone Second Match: Lyra Noctis vs Aaron Stone The moment their names flashed across the massive screen, both combatants were teleported into the arena, light distorting briefly before stabilizing. At the same time, the betting pools opened with a sharp chime. Lyra Noctis odds: 1.45 Aaron Stone odds: 1.35 Maximum Bet: 200,000 AC Almost immediately, the pools began to rise at a rapid pace. Lyra Noctis: 0 → 10,670 → 111,567 → 999,657 Aaron Stone: 0 → 4,500 → 85,670 → 789,900 The difference between betting on a girl and a boy was painfully obvious. Even though Aaron had better odds of winning, his pool still lagged behind Lyra’s. "I trust in Miss Lyra! I am all in!" "Beautiful people win by default!" "I am ready to be your s*x slave!" The girls in the crowd were no less vocal. "Mister Aaron will surely win!" "Aahhhh! He is so handsome! Please take me as a concubine!" "I can swallow everything!" Unsurprisingly, people instinctively created distance between themselves and certain enthusiastic individuals in the crowd. The reason Aaron’s odds were higher than Lyra’s was simple—his beast specialized in area control. Against speedsters, even a slight alteration in terrain could prove disastrous. As for elemental advantages, previous matches had already shown Lyra’s beast to be an electric type, while Aaron’s was stone—a variant of Earth type. Neither had a clear advantage, meaning the match would be decided purely by the expertise of the individual. Inside the top 10 room, students ranked 1 to 6 were idly waiting for the match to begin except Leon, who was busy tapping away on his phone. The rest were focused on placing bets. Ronan went half in on Aaron and placed 1/4 on Lyra. In the rare chance that Lyra won, at least he would walk away with some extra gains. Uraan, however, was far more direct. He planned to put most of his funds on Aaron. Even during the previous match between Leo and Tavian, he had gone all in with 135,080 AC on Leo during the second phase, walking away with a total return of 351,208 AC. Betting Pool Lyra Noctis: 390,617,470 AC Aaron Stone: 190,789,608 AC As 4 minutes passed, the house initiated phase 2, once again adjusting the odds to lure more bets onto Aaron. Lyra Noctis: 1.45 → 1.40 Aaron Stone: 1.35 → 1.50 Maximum Bet by an individual increased to: 500,000 AC Uraan nodded to himself and placed 200,000 AC on Aaron during the second phase, deliberately keeping the rest aside in case things went south. Leo turned his head and noticed Leon still glued to his phone. Chat: Miho Miho: Is that right? Leon: Yes, go all 500,000 on Aaron. You should have more than a million right now. Even if you lose this, you can always make more later. Miho: Alright! I will do as you say! (✿◕‿◕✿) Leon raised a brow, momentarily distracted by the fact that Miho had somehow learned how to use emojis. "What are you doing?" Leo asked suddenly. Leon’s phone nearly slipped from his hand at Leo’s abrupt voice. He quickly turned off the screen. "Nothing, just messaging someone," Leon replied flatly. "Wasn’t that someone Miho?" Leo pressed with a smirk. "Why are you hiding like you committed some heinous crime?" Leon clenched his teeth. This bastard! "I said it was someone else, that means someone else," Leon said, feinging ignorance Leo’s lips curved into a sly grin. "Heh. Who are you trying to fool? Like you even have someone else’s contact in the academy besides us." Within the final minute, the betting pools underwent a drastic shift. Lyra Noctis: 390,617,470 AC → 414,560,678 AC Aaron Stone: 190,789,608 AC → 634,650,678 AC It seemed the simps had finally been outclassed by the real bettors. Soon after, both students appeared inside the ring. The moment they materialised, they summoned their beasts without hesitation. Stormripper Raptor (Pseudo 3-star) – Super Bloodline A towering 6-meter-tall beast stood upright on its hind legs, its smaller forelegs tipped with sharp, glinting claws. Metallic feathers coated its entire body, reflecting the arena lights like polished steel. Arcs of static electricity crackled and danced across its form, filling the air with a faint buzzing sound. It was the signature beast of the Noctis family, just as the host had mentioned. *pic* Aaron followed suit, summoning his own beast. Shardfall Warden (Pseudo 3-star) – Super Bloodline It wasn’t large. The beast stood only about 1 meter tall, its body composed of a crystalline rock core surrounded by slowly orbiting stone fragments. Vague hand-like structures formed from hardened mineral growths. There was no visible face; if not for the floating fragments, it might have been mistaken for a simple rock. But one side has a glowing core visible that was facing the raptor. *pic* Aaron, however, wasn’t done yet. Gravelflow Serpent (Peak 2-star) – Super Bloodline A 5 to 6-meter-long serpentine beast formed from flowing segments of rock emerged. Within those shifting stone layers, a visible orangish core pulsed and moved through its body. Two small, crystal-like eyes locked onto the raptor. At Aaron’s silent command, the serpent sank into the ground—not by burrowing, but as if the earth itself parted willingly to let it pass. *pic* The host reacted instantly. "Aaron has summoned his second beast!" he announced. "And while it may seem weaker, I don’t believe it’s meant for direct combat. That beast is here to assist!" Lyra narrowed her eyes, unsheathing her sword with a sharp metallic ring, her gaze never leaving Aaron. With that, the battle began. Crackle! Stormripper’s body surged forward in a blur of lightning as it charged toward the warden. But before it could even enter the warden’s 20-meter range, the ground ahead distorted violently—holes and jagged bumps forming instantly, disrupting its footing and slowing its momentum. In the next instant, the orbiting fragments around the warden accelerated, firing off like high-speed bullets toward the raptor. The raptor slammed its foot into the ground with a heavy thomp, forcefully changing direction. But the moment it did, the serpent emerged directly in its path. There was no loud noise—just a subtle shift, the ground reshaping itself to allow the serpent to rise. The raptor froze mid-step, startled. "Stormripper! Use [Force Field]!" Lyra commanded sharply. The area over the raptor’s chest glowed, and a translucent sphere instantly expanded outward. Pak! Pak! Pak! The rock fragments collided harmlessly against the sphere, shattering upon impact and scattering debris across the arena floor. --- A/N: The images are turning out to be way too shit with the quality scale down, join discord! Link in the synopsis.