GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?



The first moment that the sage put his numerous plans into action was a long time before he met the serpentine world god for the first time. There was also a long period of planning before that time. During that time, the serpentine world god didn't even know that the sage existed. The sage on the other hand was silently observing and profiling him. So the sage has all the advantages in their interaction. The serpentine world god's caution right now when they are in the thick of things is just the futile grasping of a drowning man.

The little that the serpentine world god knows is from when they first met. At that time, the sage told him to be very careful of tricks. Now, that sounds like a lot of things to different people. To some, it sounds like the sage is bragging. Such a person will try to prove the sage wrong and show that there is nothing to fear about him. They will fall into the trap headlong. Then there are others that will take the warning to be true but they will start second-guessing themselves. 

Second-guessing doesn't mean you will make the right decision. In fact, you might fall into the trap you're trying to avoid in the fall place. Second-guessing yourself will reduce your confidence and make you overly cautious. It will take a longer way, but you will still fall into the trap too. That's why there's reverse psychology, reverse-reverse psychology, reverse-reverse-reverse psychology, and so on and so forth. As long as a sage is prepared, there's no way out of their trap. The little that the serpentine world God knows is just the tip of the iceberg.

The sage stopped thinking about his plans. He looked at the situation in Arena 28. He couldn't help but shake his head at the sight of Arena 28. Soverick and the dragon have caused a lot of destruction. The Sage decided to help the competitors in the arena.

He told the serpentine world god, "I think I should do something about the fire though. It will spoil the game for the others. I have a proposal concerning the last boss fight."

"What proposal do you have concerning the boss fight?"

"It is a nice opportunity to bet. The last boss is your great creation. We should bet to see if Soverick will best it or not. The opportunity to bet will be open till the beginning of the fight. How about it? Wanna bet?"

The world god grunted and remained silent. It is hubris that made him bet with the sage in the first place and it is bad luck that he encountered Soverick. He is not going to repeat his previous mistake of betting against Soverick as he bet against the sage. 

The two of them are more alike than most people know. Soverick and the sage are both talented people on the level of sages and they were both given the title of child of the plane. So he won't bet and he won't say anything because anything he says can and will be used against him by the sage. That is another lesson that he has learned.

But the sage had other ideas.

He asked, "Why won't you bet? You should have faith in what you did."

The serpentine world god didn't take the bait. He has already lost faith since the dragon died. That dragon was supposed to be impossible to kill and yet it was killed. Anything is possible with Soverick. The unthinkable becomes possible.

So there's no way he will risk increasing his bet right now. Any more and he might actually become poor. The resources they are betting on are not some mundane things even to world gods. They can literally kill each other for them and becoming poor as a world god means you're about to die. So no, he won't risk death for anything.

The sage quelled the fire in Arena 28 while he taunted the serpentine world into betting. The fire in the forest went out all of a sudden. The earth was restored and new trees were produced quickly. The only signs of the previous calamity are the craters and boulders scattered everywhere. 

The world spirit informed the competitors of Arena 28 of the boon they have received. It is a boon indeed considering the persistence of dragon fire. Dragon fire doesn't go out. It burns and burns some more as long as there's still something to burn. It didn't help that the fire is surrounded by a forest of trees. They would have burned to death had the flames been allowed to spread wantonly.

The arena became rekindled by a different type of flame after the dragon fire was put out. The flame of ambition and hope burned within them. They have been given a second chance and they intend to make full use of it. There's a profound feeling of relief when certain doom is averted. It brings a new appreciation for life.

They began competing and striving fiercely. Another calamity might come again and they might not be bailed out when it does so they better use this opportunity to make something of themselves before it is too late. They fought and competed with renewed vigor.

It helped that Soverick seemed to have disappeared. His absence and the absence of enemies on his level brought unprecedented peace to the arena. That peace allowed good old-fashioned and normal violence to grow properly among the other competitors. They finally got a chance to actually survive in this challenge.

The other arenas continued without interference. The sage looked through them one by one. His gaze did not stay for long on most of what he saw except for some exceptions. They are the special individuals that were designated as kings in their arenas right from the start.

These special battle sage monkeys were considered Soverick's equal in skill at the start of the competition. They are the talented battle sage monkeys capable of giving Soverick a run for his money. At least, that's what the sage thought at first.