On the arena, as John's angry and provocative voice echoed, all eyes turned to him in shock. From the power John had demonstrated, it was clear he was formidable.
Even Marry, who had the combined training of the Azure Kingdom's royal family and Luna Academy, had suffered a crushing defeat.
However, Owen was regarded by most mages as the true top genius.
Although his current tier was relatively low, the potential he showed in battles made him seem unfathomable.
Despite John's impressive combat strength, many instinctively felt Owen had a better chance of winning.
The prodigies from various kingdoms, especially Davis, Monroe, and Carlos, watched with keen interest.
Their primary reason for coming was to learn more about Owen.
Now, with John stepping forward to challenge Owen, they were eager to see Owen's abilities and strategies tested.
The Council of Elders and Luna Academy members also turned their attention to Owen.
Unlike the others, they hoped Owen would accept John's challenge.
They had some confidence in Owen's combat skills.
If he defeated John, it would not only restore the Azure Kingdom's honor but might also offer a way out of Marry's predicament.
Neither the Council of Elders nor Luna Academy could accept Marry becoming John's maid; it would be a severe blow to their dignity.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, John, seeing Owen's silence, coldly pressed him further: "What, are you afraid to accept my duel?"
"Marry, you are my maid now! I order you to immediately leave Owen. He is your enemy now!"
As John grew increasingly aggressive, Ymir, residing in his necklace, frowned and communicated telepathically to him:
"John, Owen's strength is not simple, and you two might not even be enemies."
Ever since she saw the ring Owen wore, Ymir had a complete change of heart about him, though she hadn't shared this with John.
Now, with John provoking Owen, seemingly intent on a life-or-death struggle, she felt very conflicted.
After all, whoever possessed the ring was her protector.
"Ymir, you know how important [Orders] are. Only by obtaining them can I reach the pinnacle faster and better. Besides, Owen has both the Thunder and Fire [Orders]!"
"I am destined to defeat someone like him. Didn't you say that I am the chosen one?" John replied to Ymir's message with serious determination. In his mind, the [Orders], the Godslayer Staff, and even the glory Owen possessed rightfully belonged to him!
Seeing John's resolute attitude, Ymir felt even more anxious but couldn't mention the contract ring. She could only try to persuade him again:
"This matter can't be rushed; it needs to be approached gradually. I have already taught you our family's secret techniques, which are no weaker than [Orders]. You mustn't act against Owen now..."
John's expression grew serious, not understanding why Ymir, who had always supported and looked out for him, was now obstructing him regarding Owen.
Could it be that Ymir valued Owen's talent?
Thinking this, a ruthless glint flashed in John's eyes. The more this was the case, the less he could let Owen remain.
"Marry, why are you still not coming over? Are you planning to renege on our three-year wager in front of all the mages on the continent?" John continued, intending to use Marry as leverage to force Owen to comply.
Hearing John's urging voice, a look of struggle crossed Marry's beautiful face. She longed to remain in Owen's embrace forever.
But the widely known wager left her confused and conflicted.
But thinking of the kingdom's unwavering promise and the reputation of Luna Academy, which could not be tarnished because of her, she could only bite her lip, reluctantly looking at Owen as she prepared to walk towards John.
Seeing this, Owen sighed softly. He originally didn't want to accept this duel; it was a turbulent time, and keeping a low profile was best.
However, at that moment, a system prompt suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Defeat John and receive 10,000 fate points. Kill John and receive 12,000 fate points.
Seeing this, Owen blinked and carefully examined the fate point rewards.
After confirming he hadn't misread, his heartbeat quickened!
Previously, completing tasks or triggering key plot points only yielded a few hundred, at most a few thousand, fate points.
But now, it offered ten thousand!
This was ten to a hundred times more than before!
No wonder John was the protagonist in the original anime; the fate points rewarded were immense!
With such a large number of fate points, he could finally browse the Fate Store with some capital instead of just window shopping.
"I choose..."
Owen initially intended to choose the second task, to kill John, since it offered two thousand
more fate points.
However, upon reconsidering, defeating John once would grant so many fate points.
If John remained alive, he would be like a walking fate point ATM.
Knowing all of John's opportunities, it would be easy to outmaneuver him!
Keeping him alive would be more beneficial.
Thus, Owen decisively chose task one: to defeat John.
After quickly making up his mind, Owen reached out and grabbed Marry, who was walking
towards the arena.
Marry was stunned as she saw Owen leap onto the arena.
Seeing Owen finally step onto the platform, those who had been criticizing him for being cold-hearted and ignoring Marry immediately stopped their verbal attacks.
The Council of Elders and members of Luna Academy, who had been in despair, now felt a glimmer of hope.
If Owen didn't accept the challenge, there was nothing they could do since, strictly speaking, this matter wasn't directly related to him.
"Owen is truly a blessing for our Azure Kingdom, a pillar of the nation, a true statesman!" Even some of the stubborn elders had a greatly improved opinion of Owen. Previously, Owen had helped the Azure Kingdom by eliminating Alfonso, and now he was helping to save face. Only a loyal servant of the empire would do such things!
Madelyn couldn't help but twitch her mouth at the praise from the elders, royal family members, and Luna Academy.
The Kingdom Vault incident was also Owen's doing; if they knew this, she wondered what
their expressions would be.
However, with Owen gaining more recognition now, even if his actions were exposed later, he might have a chance to redeem himself by his merits.
As the crowd buzzed again, Owen, standing on the arena, directly addressed John.
"You want to challenge me, that's fine. But we need to set a wager between us as well!"
"If I win, you give me the Thunder and Order of Fire. If you win, your wager with Marry is
nullified!"
With these words, the crowd erupted in excitement once more!
[Order]!
Owen actually put two incredibly precious [Orders] up as a wager!
Hearing this, many mages couldn't help but show expressions of greed.
[Orders] were legendary treasures, and obtaining just one was already a stroke of immense
luck, promising a limitless future.
Two [Orders]-that was something they couldn't even dream of!
And now, Owen was using them as a bet!
Marry, knowing the importance of [Orders], turned even paler and more weak-looking.
"Owen, change the wager. Two [Orders] is too much!" She had absolute confidence in Owen,
but John's strength was formidable. If Owen slipped up, the price would be too high!
"Heh, I accept this wager!" John quickly nodded in agreement.
Although he sensed Owen's confidence, feeling like he was sure to win, the opportunity to get
two [Orders] was too great to pass up.
Missing this chance might mean waiting a long time for another.
John's prompt agreement was exactly what Owen had anticipated.
The allure of [Orders] was immense, and for John, it was an irresistible temptation.