The Immortal Player

At this moment, everyone was astonished by the turn of events. Most of the people in that area, especially Duke Albert, knew the lore of the sword. And they knew that upon successful removal of the sword from the stone, a contract would be established with the sword—similar to other Legendary Sword known to exist in the past. Where giving the weapon's 'spirit' a name was a way of forming a contract.

Other than that, Everyone, including Clara, knew that only the person who drew the sword successfully was the only one worthy of the sword. That is why all of them were surprised when Pedro even 'redirected' the ownership of the sword to her. The only remaining possible reason for that to happen is that Clara was also worthy of the sword herself.

That said before they could utter another word, or before Clara could even reject the ownership of the sword, Pedro threw the sword towards Clara—which she had no choice but to catch in response. Then, she glanced to Pedro and asked, "Why are you giving the Legendary Sword to someone like me?"

Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "So that you could protect me and your new family!"

Clara stared at Pedro in response. Then, after a few seconds, she sighed and smiled before saying, "You really are great with persuasion, Captain Aron! Then, I would like to gladly accept <Estan> to protect everyone in my new family! This I swear by the blood of the Great Swordsman, Aleria!"

At this moment, Clara's eyes shined bright while a blinding light rotated around the Legendary Sword in her hands. On the other hand, the Mysterious Knight responded whilst remaining on his knees, saying, "It is my honor to serve my lady, Clara! To your family, shall I protect!"

Afterward, the Mysterious Knight's figure turned into bright blue light as it flows back into the tip of the sword—consequently making the bright light revolving around its bluish gem-looking blade slowly fade and disappear. Everyone could only glance at Clara and the Legendary Sword, Estan, that was on her hands.

Pedro simply smirked as he glanced towards Duke Albert and asked, "How much do I need to pay for that sword, Duke Albert? Please don't rip my wallet off, okay?"

Duke Albert could only stare at him in response. And only after almost a minute was Duke Albert able to get back to himself and said, "N-No need! I-I… I just have a request!"

"A request?" Pedro asked. "Then, what would it be? As long as it's reasonable and is within our capability then we'll do our best to fulfill it."

"I-It's not that much… J-Just return the sword here, I-If you no longer have use for it… It is a treasure that is once used by our ancestors and we'd always gladly return the prosperity that it brought to our family by taking care of it." Duke Albert explained.

"Of course… We'll do as you wish!" Pedro said in response.

It took them several more minutes before everyone else got back to themselves. That said, Pedro, Clara, and Sabrina did not wait for them to respond. They headed towards the Minor Auction Area in the Auction Mansion to check other swords and, at the same time, find a decent scabbard for <Estan>.

With the assistance of Duke Albert—who rushed to follow them, they were able to find a golden scabbard that fits decently for <Estan>. With the matching golden handle of <Estan>, it was as if the scabbard was specifically made for it.

Other than that, Pedro was able to snatch some B-rank, or also known as Epic rank, daggers and one-handed swords. And while the matters concerning his purchase were being processed, Pedro took the chance to talk with Duke Albert about the Adventurer's Guild and the Tarala Kingdom.

"How's the plan going, Duke Albert?" Pedro asked.

"Everything is done. Ersi is now going after Kireon and the blood sucking bastards!" Duke Albert said in response. "And it was already decided between me and Ersi that I would succeed to the throne—to be transferred next month after the chase down operation."

Pedro nodded in response and said, "That's good to hear, Duke Albert! But remember… A stable boat does not mean that it is an unsinkable boat!"

"What do you mean by that, Captain Aron?" Duke Albert asked with a frown on his face.

Pedro stole a glanced towards Duke Albert before shifting his attention back to the weapons in display and said, "Adventurers are quite troublesome to handle. They are all increasing their strength at an exponential rate… And sooner or later, Factions amongst them would arise. Something that can cause the smallest hole on a stable boat!"

"But there's the Adventurer's Guild to control and manage them, right?" Duke Albert asked in response.

Pedro simply scoffed in response and said, "Yes, you are right! But don't forget the fact that Adventurers have what we call freedom. And they might use this as an excuse to create their own independent factions later on… It's not like all of them are hostile against the Kingdom, but…"

"It's not like they are completely allied with us!" Duke Albert interjected that made Pedro nod in response.

"Anyway… It would take years before that happens. What is important is that you create the right countermeasures ahead of time. And by that time, the Kingdom would be ready even if there would be a war." Pedro said with an evil smirk.

Duke Albert simply nodded in response and said, "Thanks for the warning, Captain Aron! I'll make sure to keep your words in mind."

Pedro simply nodded in response. Their discussion came to an end as Pedro's purchases were successfully processed.

Pedro, Clara, and Sabrina paid Aldo and Loren a visit before Teleporting to several more Kingdoms—purchasing 'rare' and 'high value' weapons and items that he could remember from his past life. Since they were able to move at a hastened pace, they were able to return to the secret training area before lunch.

They brought everyone a lot of food to eat. However, Pedro looked pale on the other hand. Thus, Faunia could not help but frown and ask, "What's the problem human? Are you sick or what?"

Pedro simply shook his head and said, "My pocket was sucked empty! Huhuhu…"

"Well…" Faunia's eyes landed to the sword that was on Clara's waist and chuckled, saying, "Everything has a price! It's just a matter of choice—on which is more important."

"I know… Huhuhu…" Pedro said in a depressed manner.

"Since you understand… Stop sulking and eat! Don't think that you can skip training, greedy human!" Faunia scolded as she crossed her arms in response. Pedro was hopeless and could only do as Faunia said in response. His fear that Faunia would take over their training was greater than his sadness caused by losing all his gold coins in just a matter of hours.

Two days passed in the game and thanks to everyone's continuous effort in training, their strength had greatly increased. Aldo's mastery in forging weapons had greatly increased, allowing him to purchase rare metal ores for him to craft as weapons for everyone in the ARES Guild. This way, there would be uniformity with their weapons and they would not need to use any of the weapons that Pedro bought—which would definitely attract a lot of attention in the exhibition games.

On the other hand, Loren was holed up in studying herb combinations and such—like a Medical Student, and was trying to master the basic concoction of potions, antidotes, and such related stuff in preparation for the tournament.

Of course, Pedro was capable of purchasing such items necessary for the even—like what Weyron did for his guild. That said, Pedro decided to leave such matters to Loren and even let her craft the concoction by herself to reduce the cost of manufacture, increase the supply, while increasing Loren's Mastery in Alchemy.

On another note, Lony's <Wolf Transformation Skill> had mutated into a <Mountain Werewolf Transformation Skill> after using ten of the <Wolf Transformation Skill Page> that Pedro provided. In fact, it was second mutation that happened, following <Alpha Wolf Transformation Skill> that occurred after Lony used five copies of the <Wolf Transformation Skill>.

Compared to the ordinary wolf transformation and the Alpha wolf transformation, the Mountain Werewolf transformation has thicker muscles in the arms and way sharper claws in its hands that Lony can use to tear or smash its enemies easily.

Add up with its sharp fangs, sensitive smell, and faster movement speed that it got from the wolf lineage, Lony could even single handedly face a hundred village soldiers at once. In fact, he can even match Arvedar, Mathew, Talia, and Roval combined in a spar using only swordsmanship or hand to hand combat.

However, he was still far away from the strength of Werewolf Tam—who's a pure blooded and a matured werewolf. Werewolf Tam has a way more terrifying aura as his fangs, his limbs, his claws, and even his fur were sharper and sturdier than Lony's.

If Werewolf Tam is like a veteran soldier who has faced a lot of near death experiences in life, then it can be said that Lony is like a teen ager who is innocent and has just graduated from high school. That is why, although Lony can single handedly fight back against the four players, he won't be able to land a single strike to either Sabrina or Pedro if they opted to do so, without even using their Pen-knives nor their Demonic Eyes.