Eren won two more fights after securing his win over Keith.
He decided to not participate in any more fights because he knew he was going to lose in his next fight. He had decided to quit gambling while he was ahead.
The name Viktor lingered in the audience's mind for a few minutes before it was overshadowed by the next contestants. However, he had done what he had come here to do.
Eren decided to head home and rest after completing the formalities and receiving the rewards. Since the Houses in the Oasis Corp had been involved on an unofficial level, the prize money he was supposed to receive had been doubled. He gladly accepted the reward.
Aside from the reward, Eren had wagered all his remaining Mana quartz. He had also borrowed some money from Ekay, who seemed busy with something else at the time.
Eren had earned about 600 Mana Quartz as pure profit in this session. He was very happy when he was about to leave the venue.
"You are Viktor, right?"
Eren was about to step outside when he heard a voice from behind him. He looked back to see the black-haired man staring at him.
This black-haired man was about as tall as Eren. he had typical black eyes. He had a light stubble on his face that made him look mature.
This man was wearing black leather armor over a white top. He had a strap that ran from his left shoulder to his right waistline, serving as the holster for three knives.
He had asked the question because Eren was not wearing the runic meal mask anymore. Eren pondered for a bit before answering.
"Yeah. Have we met?"
Eren greeted the man by nodding at him. The man smiled before responding.
"No. But I saw your fights and decided to approach you.
Name's Van Strabane. Can we talk in private?"
Eren raised his eyebrows before nodding affirmatively at Van. The announcer's speech came to his mind. Eren concluded that Van must be a representative of one of Oasis Corp's houses. He decided to talk to the man before deciding on anything.
Eren and Van soon found a quiet place outside the arena. It was an open, deserted place that had cactus plants growing.
The introduction of mana changed the ecosystem of Earth. Thus, these cactus plants evolved after becoming harnessers of mana. They had grown to exaggerated levels, making themselves much larger than average trees.
"We are here. And I'm listening. What can I help you with, Van?"
Eren asked Van casually as he glanced around. The latter was an Awakened ranker. He had just broken into the Awakened rank from the looks of it.
Van retrieved a pack of cigarettes from his storage. He took out smoke for himself that looked quite exquisite and different from the ones Eren used to see back in Latvia. He then offered one to Eren.
"What are these?"
Eren asked while picking the smoke from the pack. Van chuckled before responding.
"Sativa Sticks. They are made from ranked raw ingredients, packing quite a punch for rankers. They also have some beneficial effects on our mana circuits.
But we are not here to discuss these things, are we?
Eren, what do you know about House Roy?"
Eren tried to control his facial muscles. But they couldn't help showing utter shock when he heard the name of the House which had decided to approach him.
'Raquel Roy!'
Eren had gotten involved in a conspiracy surrounding Remington Roy's death out of the blue. His entire life had changed after the conspiracy ended up taking his life. It'd be difficult to say Eren knew about the House. But he couldn't forget its name no matter what.
Van thought that Eren was surprised by the fact that he was approached by one of the most prominent houses involved in Oasis Corp. He felt that his job had gotten a bit easier. Thus, he allowed Eren to process his thoughts.
"I have heard about it."
Eren controlled various thoughts swirling inside his mind and admitted knowing about the name. Van lit up his smoke by conjuring a bright yellow flame on his fingertips. He did the same for Eren before continuing.
"House Roy is currently looking for recruits. Rankers who can get the job done. Before I tell you more about anything, let me ask to confirm.
Are you interested in working under House Roy?"
Eren's leashed thoughts were agitated in their confinements when he heard Roy's question. He wasn't sure what to answer the guy with at first.
Eren wanted to get back at Raquel for using him and Tory in her conspiracy as her disposable pawns. But after being given a second chance at life, he had come to realize that his determination could only be labeled as wishful thinking at his current level.
Eren neither possessed the individual prowess nor the support of any big organization to take his revenge on Raquel. And it'll be a while before he can muster any of those for himself.
House Roy was bigger than many organizations like Stardust guilds put together. He only realized this after learning about rankers in his second life.
He had so many things to do at this point. Gain personal strength by advancing in his ranking journey. Find a way to make Tory come to life. Enter Gilaahan with the real body for more opportunities. He had too many things to do that took priority.
So he could only put his plans of revenge on the back burner. He didn't have any solid plans regarding House Roy at this point. But neither of his plans that he could come up with would involve joining House Roy as one of its subordinates.
So it was only natural that he became speechless when Van posed him the question. However, he came to a quick decision before responding with simple words.
"I'm looking forward to what you guys have in store for me."