Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss-Chapter 79: Your Money For My Life

The streets of Steadfast were alive with celebration, the festival in full swing.

Colorful banners stretched across the roads, laughter and music mingling in the air as performers entertained crowds of onlookers. Market stalls were overflowing with goods, and merchant voices filled the air as they proclaime what made their wares better than everyone’s.

It didn’t matter if one was a noble or a commoner. Everyone gathered in excitement as drums and music filled the air.

But while the city reveled, Ren had other priorities.

He made his way toward the palace, Thorn riding beside him. Unlike the others who embraced the festivities, they were among the few who had better places to be, and ignored the distractions around them.

"Are you sure you don’t want to enjoy the festival first?" Thorn asked, eyeing a vendor selling roasted meat skewers. "You don’t have to register for the tournament right now."

"I’ll enjoy the festival later." Ren replied. "Let me register now and get it off my mind. At least, it’s better than rushing to the palace on the last day with the other slackers."

"I feel so attacked right now." Thorn grinned. "What do you think the prize would be this year?"

"Last year’s prize was fifty thousand gold coins. This means someone won the Ross family treasury last year." Ren answered. "It should be around the same this year too."

They continued their discussion until they got to the outer palace, left their horses at the stable, and made their way to the tournament’s registration hall.

When they got there, the hall was crowded with both Knights, and nobles, all eager to test their mettle.

The room was large, with scribes at several tables, taking names and confirming details. They both began their walk to one of the shorter lines when they heard it.

"Did you hear? They’ve changed the prize for the tournament this year."

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Ren frowned. What are they talking about?

"Yeah. I asked the scribe." Someone else said. "This year, the winner is getting a hundred thousand gold coins and a Rank 5 artifact!"

Ren almost stumbled, his eyes wide. A Rank 5 artifact?!

This was big news!

Artifacts were rare, but Rank 5 artifacts? Those were stuff that he’d only heard about in stories.

There were only two types of blood bound objects other people could use freely. The first was a blood locked object. Objects locked to a single bloodline.

The second was artifacts. The bindings of a Knight dies with him but rarely, very rarely, an object retains its powers. Those objects are called artifacts and could be used by anyone.

While Rank 5 artifacts were powerful on their own, the fact that it was Rank 5 made it even more special.

This is because of the Rank 5 special ability. Every binding belonging to a Rank 5 Knight gains the ability to heal their wielder with blood, making them significantly harder to kill.

To put up that kind of artifact as a prize means the tournament would soon become a battlefield. Even those who would previously be sitting out the tournament would be participating.

No Rank 3 in their right mind would abandon a chance at getting something that powerful.

Thorn whistled under his breath. "Well, that’s something. Now I see why the line is so long."

Just like he’d said, it seemed like the news had spread quickly. More and more people were joining the lines to register.

Ren took his place in line, watching as knights from all over Albion stepped forward, eager to claim the prize.

When it was finally his turn, a scribe looked up from his parchment. "Name?"

"Terence Ross."

The scribe scribbled it down. "Age? Rank?"

"Fifteen. Rank 3 Knight."

The scribe nodded, confirming the details before handing Ren a stamped parchment. "You’re registered. The first rounds will be announced in two days. Be ready."

Ren accepted the parchment, stepping away from the table.

That was when the doors to the hall swung open, and Vesper Rosefield walked in. Enjoy more content from novelbuddy

He entered like he owned the place, flanked by a group of his followers, each one dressed in finely tailored noble attire. His presence alone was enough to draw attention, whispers rippling through the crowd.

It was a common fact that most rich nobles don’t even participate in the tournaments but it seems like the prospect of a Rank 5 artifact was enough to get them off their asses.

Vesper scanned the room until his eyes landed on Ren. A slow smirk stretched across his face as he strode forward.

"Ross." He drawled. "What are you doing here? I didn’t think beggars could afford the entrance fee."

Ren smiled. "Just registering for the tournament. Why? Are you worried?"

Vesper scoffed. "Worried? Hardly. I simply hate seeing trash pollute the competition. Why don’t you do us all a favor and cancel your registration? Save yourself the humiliation."

Thorn chuckled beside Ren. "That sounded a lot like fear."

Vesper’s expression darkened. "Watch your tongue, dog."

Ren tilted his head. "Why don’t you say it plainly, Vesper? Are you scared I’ll win?"

Vesper barked a laugh. "Win? You? Against me? You think getting in a cheap shot once makes you stronger? Don’t make me laugh. I just don’t want to see someone of your standing embarrassing themselves before the entire kingdom."

He gestured to one of his followers, a large, broad-shouldered man with a sharp grin. "Tell you what. If you’re so eager to compete, let’s make it interesting. Defeat Roger here, and I’ll let you stay in the tournament."

There was no denying that the man Vesper pointed to was clearly a seasoned fighter. He didn’t look more than eighteen, so that meant he had to be a Rank 3 Knight, just like Ren, even if he was built like a war machine.

Ren laughed. "Let me stay? You think you let me do anything? Why don’t we make it worthwhile? Let’s add some stakes to it."

Vesper sneered. "Fine. Make it worthwhile. And if you lose, you also lose your life. How about that?"

Murmurs rippled through the room as the gathered warriors shared their opinion of the offer among themselves.

Ren stepped forward with a smirk. "Agreed."

Vesper blinked like he hadn’t expected Ren to take him up on his offer.

And that’s why you’ve already lost, Vesper. Challenging me with a crowd of onlookers? That’s your mistake.

"But if, by some miracle, I win, what do you givee me?" Ren didn’t allow Vesper to speak, continuing without pausing. "Let’s see…"

He stepped forward with a grin, baring his teeth. "How about a million gold coins?"