The expressions of everybody changed the moment they heard Simon’s words.
Protection Fee?
Protection from what?
Unsurprisingly, they all had the same thoughts of a particularly unfortunate church rat.
"Protection from what?"
For the first time since Merath, Jorra, and Sunless arrived, Jorra spoke.
Although his voice was calm, Simon knew that his words had provoked him.
None of his previous words had brought out a reaction from the Daemon, but these particular words did.
Simon’s lips curled into a smile behind his mask as he looked at Jorra.
"That’s for you guys to find out later. Don’t let me give you any spoilers."
Nearly everybody’s lips twitched because they believed that Simon was just saying bullshit.
Protection fee?
From what?
From who?
Although Simon was one of the strongest in their class and none had been able to defeat him, they did not believe that Simon could protect them from anything.
In fact, they could bet their entire lives and fortunes that Simon had no desire to protect them from anything.
They already had an idea of Simon’s personality.
He was cold, ruthless, heartless, and an arrogant demon.
Why would he ever want to protect them when many of them have tried to kill him and mock him.
Whispers and murmurs flew about as many called out on Simon’s bullshit amongst themselves.
Meanwhile, Jorra’s eyes were frigid cold as he stared at Simon.
"You believe that there’s something you can protect me from? You believe that a lesser hybrid like you can protect me from something?"
Jorra’s voice was like the bottom of the coldest depths of a frozen sea. It was softly spoken and not filled with rage, but Simon knew that this Jorra was very dangerous.
He was close to exploding and he knew why.
It was all a matter of pride.
Jorra had immense pride in himself, and he looked down on demons, especially Simon who was a hybrid.
For Simon to say that he extorted him because he wanted to "protect" him, was an attack on his pride.
And that was dangerous.
If Simon had not said anything and this was just a simple matter of extortion, he would have remained quiet and not said a single word since he was this close to killing Simon.
Simon should have felt threatened by Jorra’s coldness, but he was not.
Instead, he saw an opportunity.
His eyes flashed with a calculating glint.
"Want to bet that there’s something I can protect you from?"
Jorra was taken aback, not expecting Simon to suddenly say such words.
He frowned with a dark expression. "Bet? Bet on what?"
Simon rolled his eyes. "I already told you. We’re betting to see if there’s something I can protect you from."
This time around, Jorra was not the only person that was baffled, all the present First Years were baffled.
"You want us to bet on if there’s something you can protect me from?" Jorra asked, and Simon nodded.
"It’ll only last for three days. If in three days, you don’t need my protection, then you’ve won the bet."
"We’re betting a thousand merits."
Merath, Sunless, Jorra, and all the other Initiates widened their eyes in disbelief at Simon’s words.
A thousand merits?
A thousand merits?!
The number of merits the first placed Initiate in their class gets is ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MERITS!
A thousand merits was a lot of money for them and even for the Second Years, and Jorra’s expression became dark after realizing just how absurd the stakes was.
"After taking half of my stipend, you still want me to make a bet of a thousand merits? Who do you-"
Simon immediately cut him off.
"If you win the bet, I’ll give you a thousand merits, and we can also have a life and death battle."
Jorra immediately froze, and so did the murmurs and noise of his classmates.
A life and death battle was something many of them knew about, and it was nothing complex.
Once two individuals agree to a life and death battle, they would fight in the arena of the academy, and 99% of the time, only one individual usually comes out alive.
In a life and death battle, no guard, instructor, or official of the academy would interfere no matter what.
No matter how sickening or gruesome the battle was, none was allowed to interfere.
It was a battle with no rules.
For a life and death battle to occur, the two or more individuals must consent to it, send a notification to the academy through their Grave Marks that they wanted to participate in a life and death battle, then the individuals battle till death reaps at least a single soul.
Also, any deaths that occur in a life and death battle would result in no consequences or punishment for the murderer of the deceased.
Many of Simon’s classmates knew about the life and death battle, but they never thought of using it for two reasons.
The first reason is because Simon is a slave, and killing Simon out in the open would cause them little to no problems.
The punishment for killing a slave was very light.
The second reason is because for a life and death battle to occur, both parties need to agree.
If Simon refused to have a life and death battle, they could not force him and it would just be a waste of their time.
But now... Simon was willingly offering to have a life and death battle with Jorra if he won the bet?
How could Jorra miss such an opportunity?
He had been looking for a way to kill Simon without drawing the attention and investigation of the academy and clan.
And now, Simon was offering it to him on a golden platter.
Reject?
Absolutely not.
He accepted it immediately.
"I accept the bet. I’ll make sure you regret coming into this life." Jorra said coldly.
Simon’s lips curled into a smile behind his mask.
"I look forward to seeing how you plan on accomplishing that."