February 18.
The floating ice on Lake Impash had completely melted, revealing gentle ripples across the water.
Various pleasure boats were launched one after another, becoming yet another venue for nobles to indulge in entertainment.
On Moonview Street, which surrounded Lake Impash—at the corner where it intersected with Aile Street—a six-story building was undergoing reconstruction.
In just a few days, the overall structure of this competition venue had already taken shape.
Passersby would occasionally stop to take a look. If they happened to recognize someone from the construction crew, they'd even step forward to chat.
And so, word spread that this establishment belonged to His Highness Ron, the Seventh Prince.
Rumors about the Seventh Prince had been circulating since his return to the Royal Capital.
The earlier negative impressions had long since been forgotten by the public.
Unless someone deliberately brought them up, few people even remembered them anymore.
Aside from the widely rumored "seven wives," there wasn't much left in people's memory.
And even then, if you asked someone to name those seven wives, most wouldn't be able to answer.
Yet discussions about the Seventh Prince had never stopped spreading among the commoners.
Only now, the focus had shifted.
Instead of old gossip, people were talking about the magic battle arena on Central Street of Peace Square.
Ron's flower shop was hidden deep within Queen's Street—unless someone had a specific need and went out of their way to find it, commoners wouldn't even know about it.
After all, even the cheapest Scalevine costs 5 gold coins per plant—far beyond what ordinary people could afford.
But the magic battle arena was different.
While the second-floor booth area was reserved for nobles, the first floor was a paradise for commoners.
Every day, one or two lucky individuals would walk away with dozens of copper coins, several silver coins, or even dozens of silver coins.
And it didn't cost a single coin to participate!
Many commoners flocked here, hoping to get a share of the profits.
As a result, discussions about the Seventh Prince only grew more intense.
If he wasn't trying to make money but instead throwing it away, what exactly was the purpose of this magic battle arena?
Was it really just charity—spending money to entertain the masses?
Speculation was speculation—but it didn't stop anyone from trying to earn money.
…
Nighttime, outside the magic battle arena.
Andy, dressed in worn-out clothes, stood at the entrance. He paused for a moment to admire the hostess at the door before stepping inside to the staff's welcoming greeting.
He walked in like a general entering his own camp.
"Hey! The magician Andy is here!"
"What are you challenging today?"
"There are new challenges on the board—going to try them?"
People inside immediately greeted him enthusiastically.
In just a few days, Andy had become something of a minor celebrity in the arena.
No one looked down on him for being a kid anymore.
Because those who had once underestimated him had already been humbled by his dueling skills.
This small boy possessed remarkable talent in magic duels.
"I'm telling you—even if Wardson or Rowell showed up, they might not beat Andy."
"Exactly. Rowell came once to the second floor—I heard those nobles bragging nonstop when they came down. Honestly, it just felt like self-entertainment."
"They hide upstairs all day and don't dare come down. Probably afraid of losing to commoners like us and embarrassing themselves."
Andy ignored the chatter and walked straight to the counter.
"Hello, I'm here to register."
The staff member, clearly familiar with him, checked his name on the list and retrieved a numbered iron box from a storage cabinet before handing it over.
The iron box was specially made by the arena to store Element Cards. It could be purchased for 1 silver coin.
But Andy had earned his through achievement challenges.
In fact, the noble-edition Element Cards inside were also his spoils.
However, he worried that carrying them around might get him robbed, so he asked the staff to store them here.
After all, he didn't need them outside the arena, and keeping them here was the safest option.
After hearing about this, Nora arranged a row of storage cabinets at the counter, offering free storage service for customers.
It had been widely praised.
Andy took the iron box and gently traced the engraved pattern of his name on it. His previously restless heart instantly calmed.
At that moment, he seemed like a completely different person.
The iron box in his hands no longer felt like an object—it felt like an entire world.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that in just over ten days, the magic battle arena and magic dueling had completely changed his life.
In that short time, just by spending his evenings here, he had earned the equivalent of several months—or even nearly a year—of his family's income.
He had once believed his future was tied to his family's small shop.
That his life would amount to nothing more.
But now, it seemed a glimmer of hope had appeared.
After a brief moment of reflection, Andy lowered his head, checked the newly updated announcement board, and confirmed tonight's objectives.
Then he turned and walked toward the dueling area.
Calmly, he took a seat at the very center of the arena, placed the iron box to his right, looked around, and politely asked:
"Would anyone like to duel me?"
The moment he spoke, the entire arena fell silent—then several confident challengers stepped forward.
A crowd quickly gathered.
Everyone was curious to see whether the "magician" would finally be defeated tonight.
In a corner on the first floor, Ron and Nora sat quietly observing.
"The Andy you mentioned—is that him?" Ron asked with interest, watching the lively scene.
"Yes." Nora nodded softly. "Aside from today's newly added challenges, he's already cleared all previous ones at least twice."
"He's earned several gold coins just from rewards."
"Among players with over 1,000 matches, he has the highest win rate—consistently above 80%."
"And most of his losses were from when he first started. In the past few days, he's only lost a handful of matches."
Ron was surprised.
The arena hadn't even been open for half a month, yet such a standout player had already emerged.
"Do we know what he does normally? Is he still studying?"
"I heard his family runs a small shop. He helps out during the day," Nora replied. "Apparently, he dropped out last year—only attended school for a year."
Ron tapped the table lightly, resting his chin on his other hand as he watched Andy's worn clothing.
"You said he's earned several gold coins already?"
"Yes. The records show 3 gold coins, 27 silver coins, and 50 copper coins."
"That's impressive…"
Ron said meaningfully.
Not just his dueling skills—Andy clearly had discipline in other areas too.
For a commoner, earning 3 gold coins in just over ten days was a huge sum.
And yet, the boy hadn't even bought new clothes.
"I heard he wants to go back to school," Nora added. "Some staff members are close to him—he said he's saving up for tuition."
"The Dole Primary Academy near his home charges 5 gold coins per term."
"He's probably trying to save enough for this year."
"I see…" Ron stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Congratulations to Mr. Andy for completing the seventh challenge! Since this is his third completion, the reward has been converted to 5 silver coins!
The staff's announcement drew everyone's attention.
"Again? It's always Andy!"
"He's too strong—no one can beat him."
"He just crushed several people completely."
"The seventh challenge is defeating 10 players within an hour without losing, right?"
"Terrifying…"
Ron watched quietly as an idea began to take shape.
He turned to Nora.
"Find a chance to talk to Andy. Tell him the arena wants to collaborate with him—invite him to host a ring match in the main hall."
"A ring match?" Nora was puzzled.
"Sign a contract with him. A base salary of 1 gold coin per week. He only needs to spend one hour each evening acting as the defending champion on the professional stage."
"Customers get one chance per day to challenge him. Players with higher win rates get priority."
"For each successful defense, he accumulates 1 silver coin. If someone defeats him, they take all the accumulated silver."
"At the end of the hour, whatever remains goes to him as a bonus on top of his weekly salary."
"Outside of that hour, he can still complete achievement challenges as usual."
Nora blinked in surprise.
The Boss had come up with yet another way to "throw money around."
"Boss… since opening, the arena has already lost over a hundred gold coins…"
"Don't worry about that," Ron waved it off. "Magic dueling is still expanding its audience. This kind of investment is necessary."
Besides, compared to the private experimental zone, this loss was negligible.
As long as the audience continued to grow and engagement increased—allowing future tournaments to meet system requirements—then it was all worth it.
"But there's one issue," Nora added. "The empire requires anyone under 16 to have parental consent to sign contracts."
"So we'd need his parents' approval."
"That's a minor issue," Ron said. "Talk to Andy first. If he agrees, then approach his parents."
"He only needs to work evenings—it won't affect his studies. And he can even earn his tuition here."
"There's no reason for them to refuse."
Nora nodded thoughtfully. "Understood."
Stretching lazily, Ron took Nora's hand and headed upstairs to check the second-floor booths.
The idea of a ring match had crossed his mind before, but it hadn't been fully formed.
Now, with a dominant player like Andy emerging, the concept finally had a solid core.
One hour per day. Each win adds 1 silver coin to the prize pool.
Anyone who defeats the champion takes it all.
Compared to achievement challenges—which were time-consuming and demanding—the ring match was more enticing.
After all, even Andy lost occasionally.
And since the cards would be shuffled by the arena's dealer, luck still played a role.
If Andy got a bad hand early while the challenger drew powerful cards—
That would be an easy win.
Free money—why not try?
For Ron, it also solved another issue.
The three professional stages in the back of the arena had been unused since the match between Wardson and Rowell.
Leaving them idle was a waste.
A ring match would not only utilize those stages but also cultivate an audience for large-scale matches.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a win.
Spending a few gold coins per week in exchange for greater popularity was exactly what Ron needed.
After mentally reviewing the plan and confirming there were no major issues, Ron and Nora arrived on the second floor—
Just in time to see Betty and Mia engaged in a magic duel.
Like everyone else nearby, they stepped forward to watch.