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For this kind of bet for the first time, it's best to be conservative and only use one-third of your capital.

"Broken Arrow": "The captain is so confident, he didn't even check the odds before betting 20 silver coins."

"Can I still see the odds? Where can I find them?"

"Broken Arrow" pointed to the wall behind the tavern bar, where Lindsay noticed a small wooden sign with a string of numbers written on it, though it was hard to make out.

"Brinan, you have good eyesight; you can even read such small print clearly."

"I'm an archer, and I can't continue being an adventurer without good eyesight."

"Broken Arrow" paused for a moment, then continued to add.

"It's all recorded on that sign. Tomorrow's third match will be a total of sixteen rounds, which means a duel between thirty-two adventurers. Captain, your current odds are 8, which is pretty good."

"What about the others?"

"Most adventurers have scores of 4 or 6, with two having scores as high as 16. I'm not quite sure how these scores are determined; perhaps the guild sets them based on the participants' performance on the field."

"Don't worry too much. We'll know who our opponents are after the draw tomorrow. Just get some rest today."

……

On the third day of the competition, Lindsay arrived at the training camp a little earlier than the draw time, as usual, in the early morning.

He noticed that the camp was different this day; there were more people waiting than in the previous two days, and almost all the other participants around him were Silver-level adventurers.

I was in the audience during yesterday's match and only watched it briefly; I didn't pay much attention to the other participants.

However, he saw someone he recognized: Ink, the dwarf from the Iron Fang, one of the contestants waiting in line.

The dwarf was not seen in the first two matches, so how did he parachute into the contestants' teams?

Linsel also met "Round Face" Tovan, who apparently also advanced yesterday. As for the others, they were all unfamiliar adventurers.

When the time for the draw arrived, the adventurers drew their lots in the same order as the previous two days, and Lindsay drew the number twelve this time.

This is considered a slightly earlier order, but he would prefer to finish as soon as possible to save a lot of time.

But at that moment, Lindsay felt a movement behind him, as if someone was calling him.

The other person spoke in a very soft voice: "Adventurer, I am number seventeen. Could we switch orders?"

Linsel turned around and saw a shorter male adventurer behind him, who was about the same age as him and was a bronze-level adventurer.

"Can this be exchanged? Can you tell me why?"

The short adventurer moved even closer, almost to Lindsay's ear.

"Please, trade with me! I'll give you 50 silver coins as payment. I really don't want to fight number 18 anymore!"

Linssey looked around. The staff member in charge of supervising was chatting with a female audience member next to him. If he was quick enough, he could indeed secretly change the order.

But why did contestant number seventeen switch places with me? Could it be that contestant number eighteen has some secret?

Needless to say, changing the order is very risky. Not only is the situation unclear, but if the guild conducts a surprise inspection later, it will definitely be discovered.

"I can't change it, the staff are keeping a close eye on us." After thinking for a moment, Linsel still refused.

The short adventurer's tone was urgent and humble: "I can scrape together 84 silver for you, that's all my savings, plus my entire set of equipment—a fine leather armor and a superior longsword, 'Wolf Slayer.' Can you take my place and fight that guy?"

"So you knew about my adventurer title, huh? Why didn't you say so sooner? But you should at least tell me what kind of contestant the other person is..."

"Hey, you two, what are you whispering about?! Keep quiet!"

The guild members' loud shouts interrupted Linssey's words, and he quickly turned his head away.

It seems that Number Seventeen's request has fallen through.

After this little incident, the order was finally registered and confirmed, and Lindsay returned to the long wooden bench under the stage to wait for his turn.

Unlike the previous two competitions, this third competition was much more confidential. All participants were instructed after registration not to reveal their order of appearance and not to contact any unauthorized persons.

All the contestants were assigned to separate seats around the stage, some distance from the audience, and Lindsay was naturally not yet sure who his eleventh opponent was.

Another difference is that, after the order was decided, Lindsay saw the bald guild master and three other people walk onto the competition stage.

He recognized two of the three: one was the female knight Karina, and the other was the dwarf Ink.

There was another one he didn't recognize, but who seemed familiar. He could tell from her physical features that she was a female elf: her tall, thin body and long, pointed ears.

"Today, the third match is about to begin!" The bald president roared, silencing all the spectators in the audience.

"The three representatives beside me are Karina Mitchell, Vice Commander of the Knights of Wind and City; Ink, the dwarf adventurer representative 'Tower Shield'; and Milos, the half-elf adventurer representative 'Wind Spirit'. Today, they will serve as special guests to ensure fairness for the participants!"

After the guild leader gave a brief introduction of the three, Lin Sai suddenly realized the identity of this "Wind Spirit".

So she's the half-elf archer from the [Zinc Steel] squad who participated in the mission to exterminate the cultists! But she's a half-elf, not an elf, so it seems I'm not quite sure of the difference.

The dwarf "Ink" is also a referee, which explains why he was alone at the training camp today.

After the three greeted everyone in the audience, they stepped down from the stage and sat in the prepared referee's seat, and then the match officially began.

Adventurers number one and two enter the fray. Both are Silver-ranked, and their chosen weapons are a sword and shield, and a spear…

Lindsay sat on the long wooden bench, somewhat bored, watching the match that had just begun.

For some reason, I felt a bit of pressure a couple of days ago, but today I'm surprisingly relaxed and in a great mood. Could it be that yesterday's victory made me a little complacent?

Of course, I didn't find these adventurers' duels very interesting. They would just use one or two ordinary combat techniques and then decide the winner, which was a bit boring.

Linsel unknowingly dozed off. About an hour later, a guild staff member came up to him and reminded him to get ready to go on stage.

Linsel then stretched his curled-up body, got up, and walked towards the temporary changing room under the guidance of the staff.

But when Lindsay changed into his competition outfit and went offstage to prepare for his turn, he saw contestant number eleven and realized that this opponent was someone he knew.