Chapter 48: The Fight

Stroph quickly made his way to the gates of "Granite City", and immediately approached the guards.

"I would like to enter the city, I have no money, but I think I am strong enough." Stroph was very calm.

Hearing his words the guards weren`t surprised at all, and half a minute later a tall man with a long glaive in his hand, appeared before Stroph.

"Attack, if you withstand against me for a minute, you can go in." The guard's name was Zayn, and he had already prepared to attack Stroph, but Stroph decided to keep bidding.

"If I overpower you, then let these two inside as well." Saying this, Stroph was pointing at John and Karen, who were standing behind him.

Zayn said nothing and only nodded, then grabbed his weapon tighter and stood in a stance.

Stroph wanted to fight the guardian without using Negative Energy, but when he saw Zayn's characterization, he changed his mind.

<Wow, fifth rank fighter, it looks like it's not going to be easy> Stroph didn't know the best way to attack, so he decided to mislead his opponent.

Stroph pulled out the "Last Light", and immediately fired several shots, aiming at all parts of Zayn's body.

Zayn did not dodge, he was able to repel every round with his glaive, he did not take a single step.

"Not bad marksmanship, but it's not enough." After these words, a bright, blue glow appeared on his glaive, showing that he was a fighter of the fifth rank. He promptly made a sharp dash and was right in front of Stroph.

But, the next thing he saw shocked him. Zayn expected Stroph to run away, but instead, he got under the blade himself!

Crackle.

In no time, a black haze appeared around Stroph's arm, and the amber blade of Zayn's glaive was shattered into many pieces.

Immediately afterward, Zayn felt someone grab his head so tightly that he couldn't move it.

"That's not bad speed, but it's not enough." After these words, Zayn's face was in the ground, and Stroph just walked on quietly.

He didn't know if John and Karen had told him the truth about "Anarchy", so Stroph stayed alert and was ready to defend himself, but except the surprised looks, he saw nothing else.

"Hey, why are you standing like a stuffed dummy? Who's going to buy me dinner?"

John and Karen came at once to their senses and ran after him.

…

"Bitch!" As soon as Stroph left, Zayn came round and screamed in a rage.

"Zayn, you've been duped like a baby, it's all your own fault, but that guy is really something, we'll have to report about him to the head." The speaker was another guard, Zayn's superior, Joel.

"I didn't even understand what happened, and how he broke my weapon? He can't be a tenth rank fighter, can he?" Zayn could fight very well, but in that fight he didn't understand anything.

"I don't know what it was either, well I guess it's none of our business, we all joined "Anarchy" because we want to get stronger, and fighting strong opponents is what we need, consider your broken weapons as payment for such invaluable experience."

Zayn and Joel said nothing more. One returned to his post, and the other headed to the forge for a new weapon.

…

Ten minutes later, after passing through the gate, Stroph along with John and Karen were in some diner.

Stroph was very hungry, so he quickly ordered two steaks and a bottle of wine.

John and Karen were more modest and got a bowl of hot soup.

"Mr. Stroph, what are you going to do next?" John was amazed at Stroph's strength, and he was also grateful to him for taking them to the city.

Stroph washed down a piece of steak with the wine, then replied, "Nothing special, I`m going to eat, sleep and go hunting. I came here to fight and get stronger." Stroph couldn't say that his goal was to get Spirit, so he decided to say that everything was for the strength.

"All right, thank you, I'm off, good luck." Stroph didn't want to mess around with them for long, so he just thanked them for the treat and quickly left the diner.

By that time the crystal had been almost completely out, but "Granite City" was still lively and bright, thanks to the large number of lanterns.

A few minutes later Stroph reached an inn called the "Sleepy Cloud".

"Hmm, great name to get a good night's sleep." Stroph came inside, paid for one night and went to bed. As the name implied, the pillows were incredibly soft and cuddly like clouds, so as soon as he lay down on the bed, he immediately fell asleep.

…

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"What the... Who needs me in this rotten place?" Stroph was awakened by a loud knock on his door. He was very sleepy, but nonetheless he went over and opened the door.

Behind the door he saw a pretty girl holding some kind of envelope.

Stroph wanted to ask, what the hell, he was woken up for so early, but the girl was quicker: "Sorry to bother you, but I was ordered to deliver this to you. I was told it was urgent." Then the girl handed him the envelope and left calmly.

Stroph didn't think long and decided to open the envelope and see what was so urgent.

"You are invited to a tournament in the underground coliseum, the beginning is tonight. The grand prize is a spatial ring."

The content of the letter was quiet simple, but no less interesting. Stroph didn't know what kind of ring it was, so he used his bracelet to search for the information about it.

He did not have to look long, and along with the information about the ring, Stroph also found the information about the upcoming tournament.

After reading the descriptions of the ring, he immediately decided that he didn't just have to take part, but to win, no matter what it would take.

After all, in the spatial ring he could store the items up to ten cubic meters in volume. It meant that he wouldn`t have to lug things everywhere with him, and the carcasses of the killed monsters would be sent into the ring, then they could be sold in the city.

No need for any backpacks, bags, or sacks.

Stroph also learned that this ring could be bought, and every rich man and every man strong enough had it, but the price was simply unaffordable.

"Fifty billion for a ring, that's fucked up, my hometown is worth ten times less." Stroph couldn't afford that kind of spending, so the only option left was to win the tournament and take the ring for himself.

The terms of the tournament were also quite entertaining. Only "Anarchy" members could participate, as well as those who entered the city by defeating a guard. Remarkably, those who had paid admission were not invited to the tournament. The tournament was organized by one of the "Anarchy" officers.

"Huh, they really do value strength above all else, well, I guess that's good news for me." After these words, Stroph turned off the bracelet, and headed for the exit of the inn.

"Hmm, I wonder how strong my opponents will be." Stroph wanted the spatial ring a lot, but he knew that the desire alone wasn't enough, you also need strength, especially in a place where "Anarchy" controlled everything.

Stroph decided he would think about it while having breakfast, so a few minutes later, he was already eating pancakes with jam in a small, cozy café.

But, unfortunately, he couldn`t enjoy it peacefully, because, for some reasons a fight broke out at a nearby table, which made half of the cafe looked as if a hurricane had just passed through it.