Zeus looked at Karthikeya with equal seriousness.
"What is there to talk about?"
"Zeus, you interfered with this round way too much. Even that could be attributed to you being the obnoxious egotist that you are, but interfering my communication with my followers is crossing the line. Even if we are not in the competition, wars have started between gods just because of this.
You don't want to start a realm war with me do you?"
"War happens between equals Karthikeya. To start a realm war with me, you need to take the permission of your father and the other two great gods of your legion. What reason are you going to give to those three great ones?
That you are butthurt about not being able to talk to your human friend?"
"Huh? Is that it? That is all you can do? Hide behind the rank of yours? Why don't you draw your spear and see if I am your equal or not?"
Both of their auras raged. Zeus' aura is as usual full of his pride and tyranny, but Karthikeyas' is different. He is very much refined and reserved most of the time. But at that moment, he looked like he is craving blood like a hound.
He looked like he would devour Zeus any moment.
Even Zeus was surprised by the clash. Karthikeya appeared a lot more powerful than normal and this made him think twice.
"Come on. Draw that spear of yours. If I don't nail you with that very spear to the peak of Mount Olympus, I will change my name."
The room is heating up. They could break into fight at any given moment.
*CLAP*
At this moment, Gambler clapped once and looked at both of them with a smile.
"Come on gentlemen. Let's handle this civilly. It is not like you are going to get anything out of this fight. After all, the fight itself is not going to get bloody. How long has it been since a god really died in a battle?
I would rather watch those kids spar than you guys fighting."
Karthikeya and Zeus backed down a bit. Their auras were back in check. But they are still staring daggers at each other.
"Karthikeya, if you don't want to backdown how are you going to settle this?"
Indra asked trying to mediate the situation.
Karthikeya threw a glare at Indra and then he looked at Gambler and Zeus before saying.
"Let the kids settle this.
A fight between Kumar and Dayus. In the middle of the Academy Realm. With a realm's rights as a wager. I am not going to accept anything less than this and I am not open for any negotiations."
Gambler raised an eyebrow in amusement and turned to Zeus.
"That is a decently fair deal. In fact that is much more entertaining for me too. Do you want to go ahead with that?"
Zeus looked at both of them hatefully and nodded.
"I am game. But that is the end of this issue. None of the issues of this Natural Disaster round would be brought up anymore again."
"Deal."
"Deal."
Everyone agreed just like that.
While the gods are negotiating to keep their egos and pride in check, Sam appeared in the Academic realm.
He appeared randomly in the middle of a city square where people are bustling. It looked like the market of a very well developed trade city. He could see a bunch of large buildings in different directions far away from there and he understood what they are easily.
They are the academy buildings and one of them stood out to him more than the rest.
It is the Gambler's Academy. A very werid name for a place of study, but he could do little about it.
He looked around to get a feel of the situation. The city looked like any normal city. The only major difference is that there are a shit ton of people who wore different types of uniform and among them one uniform stood out to him more than the rest.
It is a purple uniform with the crest of lightning on the chest and the back.
It is Zeus' academy.
Olympus has a bunch of academies in the Divine Region and they all created a consortium of sorts. They all interact and have exchange activities together. Except for the primary curriculum which is different for all those academies, they are basically a single educational institution.
Among them Zeus' academy is closest to the Gamblers' academy.
From what Karthikeya told, this area was dominated by the Olympian gods, but Gambler who has a knack for some entertainment opened his academy right here just to piss them off.
Sam looked and asked around for a while to get an understanding of the surroundings. Of course, the best way is to hit all the restaurants and bars.
He just roamed, ate and drank for the whole day. No one bothered him and he didn't bother anyone. By night, he finally got an understanding on the dynamics around here. He had a very wide grin on his face.
That night it is going to be a very eventful night.
He ha to announce his arrival in a very grand way. So grand that Zeus far away in Olympus should hear about it and he has a plan for it.
It is very simple actually.
Sam walked to a shop at the end of the main street. It is relatively empty compared to the rest of the shops. This shop is called the exchange center. It is the best place for people who came to the Academic realm for the first time to get some money.
Sam walked to the counter and took out a formation blueprint.
"I would like to exchange the blueprint for some Academy Coins."
The attendant at the counter is stronger than Sam in terms of cultivation. He is wearing a black cloak and his face is covered in mask. If not for the obvious suppression that Sam is experiencing from the other party, he wouldn't have even known their cultivation.
The attendant silently took the blueprint and placed it inside a formation that was behind them. It is an appraisal formation. As soon as the blueprint was placed the formation whirred a bit and gave out a number.
Sam looked at the number and smiled.
The number is big and satisfying. He doesn't know if the shopkeeper is surprised, but if did then he is great at hiding it.
"3 Million Gold Academic Coins. What denomination do you want those in?"
The shop keeper asked in a calm voice.
"I am going to roam around the city for a while. I would be dining a lot and might buy some trinkets here and there. What do you suggest?"
"I recommend, you take Two and a half million coins in Platinum Coins. If you are making big purchases, they will be much more handy. One Platinum Coin Equals Hundred Gold Coins, so that would be Twenty-five thousand platinum coins.
For the remaining five hundred thousand, you can keep four hundred thousand in Gold Coins. They would be enough for you to experience any kind of luxury in the city. That would be way too much actually.
For the remaining one hundred thousand, you can take them as silver coins. One gold coin equals Ten Silver Coins.
There is no denomination lower than Silver Coins
Sam was amused by this currency. The Academic Coins are basically the operating currency throughout the academic realm. All academies and stores should accept them. They are invented solely because of how cheap a spirit stone is for the people at their level.
At Divine Plane cultivation a million spirit stones wouldn't last for a single breath of cultivation. It is just too feeble. Any transaction at their level starts at a dozen billion spirit stones and that would just be some having some meals.
Throughout the day, Sam had trouble because of that.
He knew about the currency exchange, but he just wanted to give an impression that he is completely new to this realm. That would solidify the impact of the plan he has been cooking in his mind.
As for the Academic Coins, anyone can exchange them with anything in the exchange center. As long as it can be appraised by the appraisal formation there, students, shopkeepers, citizens, anyone can just go there and exchange it for the coins.
Spirit stones are basically symbol of a newbie here.
Sam finished the exchange and went out to execute the plan.
He walked into a restaurant in the same street.
It is the most luxurious restaurant of the bunch. It occupied almost same area as four shops. He has been waiting for it open and it just happened.
Sam was the first customer to enter and many people followed him in soon after. He sat on the table leisurely. He looked at the waiter who came and asked.
"I heard that you have a famous soup and you only give out ten servings a day. Is that true?"
"Yes, Sir. It is the most expensive dish in the whole city. But it is also the best dish that you can eat in the entire city. Would you like to try? It costs ten thousand gold coins."
"Of course, I would like to try. But I want all ten of them."
"Okay, one soup coming rig…. WAIT. All ten?"
The waiter's voice quivered as he looked at Sam.
Sam smiled and took out the platinum coins. A bag full of platinum coins. He threw them at the waiter and said.
"All thirty of them. You can keep the change."
The waiter opened the bag and his eyes sparkled along with the coins.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel