Chapter 332: The Mammon's Den
Underneath the dark sky lit by the lights of the bright skyscrapers above sat a rather large, repulsive-looking building. The windows were closed shut by slabs of wood and the few metallic parts of the mostly brick building were beginning to rust. Drops of water fell from the edges of the roof forming puddles underneath on the trash-filled, infested gravel, the liquid so thick that it almost failed to reflect the light coming from above.
From the outside, it looked like nothing more than an abandoned building situated in the most obscure, run-down area in the whole city. However… Things were not always as simple as they appeared, especially from all of the masked and hooded figures discreetly headed towards it.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"What's the password?" A deep, masculine voice appeared from the other side of a thick, metallic wall, a door the had a sliding slit at eye level that opened soon after, revealing a pair of dark, serious eyes that sat firmly under thick, furrowed eyebrows.
"Momonga," A long, blue-haired man in a white demon masquerade mask confidently answered, his voice somehow even deeper than the man behind the door, which caught him slightly off guard.
"I have a few questions for all three of you before you enter…" He panned a look at the entire group that oddly felt different from everyone else he saw. Other than the person with the demon mask, there was a lean man with a fox mask, his blonde hair clearly shown around his head, and a female of smaller stature wearing a panda mask, her hair completely gray like why sky on a foggy day.
"Are you with the military or some sort of authority or organization against us?"
"No," They all answered at once, and the man behind the door took a small peak down at his hands before continuing.
"Did you bring any tool with you that would allow you to cheat?"
"No," They answered once again with confidence.
"Okay, last question… Do you have 25 points each for the entry fee?"
"Of course," The blue-haired man nodded on behalf of everyone else, to him, from the looks of it, he seemed like the leader.
"Hmmm… Okay, that all checks out! Welcome to the Mammon's Den! We hope you enjoy your stay!" He opened the door to let them in.
"Thank you," The blue-haired man lowered his head respectfully and elegantly strode into the building, the other two following close behind him.
As he entered, he took a small glance towards the man who let him in. He was a towering tanned hunk of muscle, his eyes barely visible through his very own mask. But, what was most glaring was his lack of a watch.
'Is this place not ran by a student? Or, is it ran by students who hired people from the city as staff?' The blue-haired man pondered to himself before he was snapped out of his thinking by a small whisper from below him.
"Big brother… Is this really the place?'
"Shhhh!" He slightly panicked, scanning the area with his energy sense only to notice no one there, which was a massive relief. "Don't call me that! I'm Joker, remember? Don't forget that Noir!"
"Oh-oh! Will do Joker!" She tensed up and felt slightly embarrassed by her sudden hiccup that could have ended much worse.
"Oh, brother…" Regrit inwardly sighed as he put his hands on his head.
Moby took a deep breath and calmed his nerves once more before looking up and taking his first good look at the area he was in.
It was completely different from what was displayed from the outside, which he should have expected but what he saw was still very impressive.
The room, if it could even be called as such was rather massive, spanning for the size of a soccer field. The roof was twice as tall as a standard one and bore an intrinsic design that revolved around what seemed to be a demon of greed. Purple lights and gems adorned the ceiling and shined a dazzling light on the soft carpet and reflective ground below. The walls were filled with lavish paintings and decorations from all around the world, some encased in glass vases like statues and even ornamental weapons.
The area itself was rather densely crowded, everyone wearing masquerade or full masks to hide their features. It was far more than Moby expected. And, around those people were tables and couches that had cards, dices, drinks, all sorts of activities for a gambler to indulge in. Yet, that was not where his eyes lied for long…
It was mostly on the dome of blue energy in the center of the room that surrounded a hole like a barrier and a stage at the back where all of the participants seemed to be funnelled.
"Hello there, may I please direct your attention to the front stage? The boss is patiently waiting for you there," a soft gentlemanly voice spoke from his right which distracted him from inspecting the rest of the area, and, he was a person that also wore no watch, which added to Moby's suspicion.
"Oh, thank you very much, we will be there right away," Moby smiled and nodded before doing as he said.
There was a very distinct and laid out path he followed and he took his time as the other two followed his lead.
As he slowly inspected the room, he was able to pick up on the presence of mana, more specifically, mana crystals embedded all around. He was not sure what they were for, but, it still made him keep his guard up and to expect the unexpected.
As he neared the hole in the center of the room, he noticed it to be a sizable arena. From the looks of it, betting matches were going to take place in such an area. But, that was the part Moby was not very interested in.
It was not too long until they finally made it to the other side, surrounded by a crowd of abnormally silent students. Most came there all alone or in a small group and had no interest in making anything but money when they came in.
As Moby looked around the crowd, noticing a large amount of staff staring daggers at them. And, in the midst of all of that, he tried to spot any familiar faces from his fellow students. That was when he thought it to be the perfect time to test out something he had planned for. He directed his gaze on a single man, tall with brown hair and rather handsome features from what he could make out of his face.
'Inspect!'
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Name: Raul Ravenwood
Race: ?????
Ability: ????? ?????
Power Level: ?????
Hp: ???/???
Mana: ???/???
Strength: ???
Agility: 1291
Endurance: ???
Intelligence: 1001
Mind: ?
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He could not help but smile seeing what he saw. He might not have been able to inspect all of their stats, but his upgraded inspect skill was able to reveal some information, including their real name. As such, he was now able to blackmail these people to his heart's desire. He never felt more satisfied with himself for spending all of those points into mind.
As the crowd thickened, Moby felt a small tug on his waist. And, when he looked down, he noticed it to be Hikari being pushed around by the new arrivals due to her short stature. Moby did not want to cause a problem and bring attention to himself this early on so he simply put her in between him and Regrit where she would be safer.
When he looked back up to the stage, all of the lights in the room turned off and a new light was flashed on centre stage.
And, from the darkness emerged a figure, stepping into the bright white light with a massive grin on his face that oddly bore no mask, revealing his likeness to the crowd.
"Greetings my dear students! And, welcome… To my den…"
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