Sophia just nodded mutely as both of the girls let themselves be dragged along. Zeke made a big show out of counting his winnings. The money was paid out in smaller bags containing a hundred gold coins each. He put ten of those back into the same pouch Sophia had handed to him only about an hour earlier.
Zeke passed the bag to her with a thankful expression on his face. She had only ended up lending him the money for a short time. This did not detract from the trust the girl had shown him, however. Sophia looked from the pouch to Zeke's joyful expression. She couldn't help herself and chuckle at the absurd situation.
Viola was also snapped out of her funk by Sophia's laughter and started to tease Zeke. "You have to invite us two out for a night of drinking at the end-of-the-year festival. I am sure you can afford it now!"
Zeke waved her off magnanimously, as if it was a small matter for him. But the greedy glint in his eyes betrayed his excitement upon earning such a huge amount of money. He still had over 1500 gold after paying Sophia back, and he couldn't wait to add to the amount with his next bet.
But when Zeke heard the odds for the next fight, he was immediately disappointed. He was not surprised by these results, however. The next fight was between Leo and Benjamin Wellenreiter.
Zeke spell told him that Leo's chances of victory were a staggering 98%. This was clearly reflected in the betting pool. Leo's odds were only 1.05. This meant that even if Zeke bet his entire 1500 gold, he would only gain 75 gold upon Leo's victory.
Still, 75 gold was more than Zeke's entire net worth had been this morning. He didn't look down on the amount. He bet his entire fortune on Leo, and the fight ended expectantly in a one-sided beat down. Zeke, now worth 1575 gold, was considering the odds for the next fight.
Lena Wellenrufer would fight against Felix Feuerkranz. The odds were in Lena's favor. Zeke really wanted to bet on his former teammate, but his spell told him that Felix had a 72% chance of victory in their fight. With the odds of 2.1 for Felix and 1.73 for Lena, Zeke could not afford to let sentimentality cloud his judgment. Neither could he risk all his capital on this uncertain gamble.
Still, it was a good chance for him to increase his wealth. After a moment of calculations, he decided to put 1000 gold on Felix Feuerkranz. The crowd was already numb to Zeke's reckless betting behavior. But instead of the scorn he received during the first round, some people seemed to be deep in thought upon seeing his bet. Though, few actually trusted his intuition enough to risk their money on it.
The fight was, as Zeke had expected, a close call. Lena used her fog to control the battlefield, robbing her opponent of his sight. The tactic didn't work out as well as it might have against any other opponent, though. Felix used his [Flare] spell to counter the effects of the mist. [Flare] was a spell that was used in nightly battles to brighten the environment. Zeke had known that the spell could also be used to show the silhouette of an opponent in the midst of the thick fog.
The fight only went downhill from there for Lena. Her strategy of concealing herself in the mist was a pivotal point of her arsenal. At this point, she had already committed a significant amount of her mana to this course.
She managed to hold her own for another 15 minutes before her core finally ran dry. She had to concede the match to avoid causing permanent harm. Lena was crying as she left the field.
Zeke felt conflicted. He liked Lena and had wanted her to advance. On the other hand, he had just turned his 1000 gold into 2100, and it was hard to feel sad after such a windfall.
Zeke collected his winnings and marveled at his grand total of 2675 gold. This amount of money would have been enough to buy the entire village Zeke had grown up in. Even after that purchase, he would still have plenty of money left over. He was struck by how outlandish this way of earning money was. His parents would never earn this kind of money. Not even after working themselves to the bone day after day for their entire life.
Zeke had earned such wealth by placing a few bets and slurping a couple of fruity drinks. He was relaxing on a luxurious balcony while watching other people fight. He wasn't quite sure how he should feel about this. He had, after all, also risked an equal amount of money with each of his bets. It couldn't be said that he did not deserve his winnings, but somehow the entire concept still felt off to Zeke.
With a sigh, he just attributed this new way of looking at the world as something every Mage would have to go through, sooner or later. He was reminded of another iconic line from his favorite book.
"The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, as the balance of wealth continues to tip in favor of those who already have more than they need," he whispered.
Zeke was about to descend even deeper down the rabbit hole of his own thoughts, but he was forced to cast all his musings aside. There was an irritating ache in his ribs. The sensation seemed to only get stronger the longer he ignored it. Annoyed, he looked up.
Viola was prodding him with her elbow. He looked past her, confused, only to be met with the impatient eyes of the bookkeeper. It was time to place the bet for the next fight.
The next fight was between Mila Bodenwirker and Katja Brennbar. Zeke had learned that the Brennbar family was one of the most prominent households among Fire Mages. They were second only to the Feuerkranz family.
He had heard that the Brennbar family used a special way to produce flames. Apparently, they were able to produce fire so hot that the rumors claimed their flames were able to melt anything. Zeke had initially been excited to learn how the technique worked from Katja. However, things didn't go as planned. He soon noticed that she either hadn't learned or wasn't able to display the spell.
After some thought, Zeke didn't find it that strange. If the Brennbar family truly had such a secret, it would only be taught to the most promising members. It was also possible that the spell required a higher level. Zeke found it highly unlikely that this was something a True Mage was capable of.
Her opponent, Mila Bodenwirker, was from a small family. The entire family relied on only one prominent member, from what Zeke had learned. Mila's great-grandfather had reached the Arch Mage level decades ago. The old man was now single-handedly supporting this noble household.
Still, an Arch Mage was nothing to scoff at. Even in the entire empire, there were not many of them. Zeke took a look at the odds for the fight and was not surprised at what he found. The odds were almost even, only slightly favoring Katja. The Fire Mage probably had the advantage in the eyes of the crowd because of her more powerful family background.
Unfortunately, Zeke's spell agreed with this assessment. His analyzed spell predicted a 64% chance for Katja to win the fight. Zeke wasn't very keen on betting a huge amount of money on a fight that could go either way. Especially not if the odds were favoring his pick.
He just placed 500 gold on Katja to keep his word. He had proclaimed that he would bet on every fight in the tournament, and he was going to stick to that promise.
The fight was not as exciting as Zeke had hoped. The fire mage dominated the entire exchange with ease. Zeke was reminded that the data he had for each of the contestants was a month old. It became immediately apparent that Katja had not wasted her month of preparation. The girl had improved across the board, with a new spell, and better physical stats. What stood out most, however, was her vastly improved combat experience. She came out ahead in every exchange.
Her initially small lead quickly added up to a monumental advantage. And after a final barrage of flames, Mila's defenses crumbled, and she had to concede the fight. Katja had worked up a light sweat, but wasn't any worse for where otherwise.
Zeke was startled by the loud cheering he could hear from right beside him. Annoyed, he looked over, only to remember that he was in a private booth with only his two friends. He could see Viola and Sophia doing a victory celebration.
Viola was hopping around in the air, circling Sophia. The blonde Mind Mage opted for a more reserved fist pump. Still, he had never seen the girls so excited before.
"What's gotten the both of you in such a good mood?" he asked.
Viola and Sophia shared a knowing smirk before the Wind Mage explained from her perch in midair.
"I and Soph have both wagered a significant sum of money on Katja. We made out like bandits," she exclaimed in a jubilant tone.
This revelation came as a surprise to Zeke. How could the two have been so certain of Katja's victory when even he had not known for sure? Did they have a similar method to his own?
"How come you two were so certain that Katja would win?" he asked, full of curiosity to find out about their method.
Viola smirked and leaned back in her imaginary chair. She was looking down at the foolish mortal who dared question her wisdom. Sophia rolled her eyes at Viola's behavior and explained to Zeke.
"You clearly have some method to determine who is going to win, Zeke," she said. "But that doesn't mean that you should look down on the rest of us."
Zeke grimaced at her remark. He really had not thought about getting any input from the two girls at his side. He had been thinking of his own method as superior, and had not even considered that they might have some valuable input. Chastised, he bowed his head slightly to show that he accepted her criticism.
"How could you guys tell with such certainty that Katia was going to win?" he asked with shining eyes
Viola dashed down from her perch and landed on his other side. The girl laid her head down on his lap. As usual, Viola didn't care about personal boundaries at all.
Sophia seemed content to let Viola explain the next part, so Zeke let the girl do as she pleased. After she had nestled into a comfortable position, she looked up at him with a mischievous grin.
"Do you really want to know?" she asked with a fake innocent voice.
Zeke was having none of her teasing. He completely ignored the girl in his lap and turned to Sophia.
"Are you going to tell me?" he asked.
Sophia looked at her friend with an incredulous expression. She had given her friend the chance to show off her knowledge. Viola had used the chance to tease Zeke instead.
The girl sighed and was about to explain when Viola cut into the conversation in a rush. She cleared her throat theatrically and started to explain.
"Fine, fine. Since you are already begging, I will explain," the girl hurriedly said.
Zeke rolled his eyes. Wasn't she the one begging for the chance to explain? Why try to put on a show of reluctance if she wanted to be the one to tell him? But he was too curious to point out any of that.
He returned his gaze back to the silver-haired girl in his lap and listened to her explanation.
"From what I can tell, you have some weird technique that lets you figure out how strong a fighter is. Am I right?" she asked.
Zeke was shocked by her accurate deduction. He thought about how much he was going to tell her, but she wasn't giving him any time to respond at all.
"Your method really is impressive. That much, I can admit. But the truth is that people have been making money by betting for millennia. None of them used such a fancy-schmancy trick. Do you know what professional gamblers rely on?" she asked, clearly relishing the role of a wise teacher.
Zeke was on the edge of his seat. He genuinely wanted to know how a professional would determine the winner of a fight. Maybe this would be another way to improve his spell. He looked at Viola with expectant eyes, and the girl grinned back at him. This time, however, she didn't try to tease him again and explained right away.
"What gamblers rely on are... Rumors," Viola shouted the last word triumphantly as if she had exposed a great secret.
Contrary to Viola's exuberant expression, Zeke was rather disappointed by this revelation. What good would rumors do to predict the outcome of a fight? This seemed more like the method of a charlatan instead of a professional.
The disappointment must have shown on his face as Viola quickly continued. "Don't make that face, Zeke! Have you never heard the old imperial saying: 'Know thyself, Know thy foe, fear not a hundred battles woe'?"
Zeke rolled his eyes at her antics. It was not the value of information in general he questioned. Instead, he had doubts about how reliable the gossip of nobles was. He could hardly believe that the two girls had bet what they themselves had called an exorbitant amount of gold on such a flimsy method.
Viola waggled her finger in front of his face and tsked mockingly. She was enjoying the position of lecturer that she could only seldom adopt with Zeke. After getting his attention again, she finally explained a little more seriously.
"The specific rumor that I heard was about how the Brennbar family had purchased a rare type of fruit for an exorbitant price. It was a kind of berry that can only be found in the far west of the continent. Rumors claim that if a fire mage consumes the berry, his fire core will be stimulated. The abnormal degree of mana flowing through the core will then lead to rapid advances. I also happened to overhear that the Brennbar family was obsessed with getting somebody into the final of this year's tournament.
"They must have somehow gotten wind of the special prizes that would be offered this year. This is an incredible feat if you consider that not even my Windtänzer family knew of this change. Otherwise, we would have also strengthened our presence among the first-year students. There is no Windtänzer in the final, while all the other great families have at least one representative with a medal."
The usually so carefree Viola seemed to actually be upset about this fact. It seemed that the failure of their information-gathering division had really cost them this time.
Zeke also began to comprehend that when Viola spoke of rumors, she was not talking about mere gossip. Apparently, what Viola considered rumors was something else. It was more like educated guesses based on actual information from their spy networks.
Zeke finally understood how the girls could be so confident in Katja's victory. If the two girls had been about equal a month ago, then there was no way Katia would lose today. Not after her family had put all their resources behind preparing her for the finals.
Zeke realized that he might have underestimated how strong his competitors would be in the final. With the secret of the tournament leaked, the Great families must have imparted a couple of trump cards to their descendants. Zeke looked at Viola with a new appreciation in his eyes and asked with a humble tone in his voice.
"What else might you have heard, beautiful Lady Viola?"