First Dragon Hunter: My Black Sun Can Absorb Everything-Chapter 37: Energy Control and Dark Smoke

The more rounds that were completed, the more opportunities there were for both spectators and participants to earn money.

As in any other case, the most important thing was to win, preferably several times in a row, and not to give in to greed, which was quite difficult to do in gambling.

"Nice to meet you," the man said, extending his hand for a handshake. "My name is Ragon."

Garet nodded, and as soon as their hands touched, Ragon grinned, squeezing Garet’s hand as hard as he could.

The unpleasant pressure quickly turned into pain, but Garet was not going to give up, trying to overcome Ragon’s grip with his own.

Their veins bulged and their forearm muscles tensed, but Garet had no chance against such an experienced fighter as Ragon.

Gritting his teeth, Garet held on with all his might to keep from screaming in pain when...

"Alright!" Ragon exclaimed, releasing his grip. "Let’s place our bets. Let’s not waste any more time!"

Garet immediately grabbed his reddened hand, looking at Ragon from under his eyebrows.

It seemed that he should have given up the competition after that, but Garet did not lose hope of winning.

’It’s not about the strength of the grip, the main thing is to use the momentum at the right time, right? In any case, even if I lose a few dozen coins, it will be a useful experience.’

"Hahaha! I’ll bet 50 on Ragon!" The man exclaimed, handing the money to the girl with the chart.

"Only 50? That guy doesn’t stand a chance, just look at him! I’ll bet 80!"

"100!"

It was no surprise that most people bet on Ragon’s victory, but there were a few daredevils who decided to take a risk and trust the mysterious young man.

The girl raised an eyebrow as she looked at the chart. "1 to 20? Pffft, even if you’re so confident in victory, what’s the point of betting at such odds? You’ll win and get almost nothing."

"Ha!" The first man chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Better a small profit than nothing, right?"

"How foolish." A lean man in a long coat snorted. "Better to bet a small amount when there’s a chance to get 20x."

"Then do so, Mr. Smarty Pants."

Without further ado, a lean man bet 50 coins on Garet. It was a decent amount, especially for a commoner. If you didn’t waste money on food at the tavern like Garet did, you could live for several days on 50 coins without going hungry or cold.

Sure, someone could spend that amount on a single glass of wine, which was not uncommon on the upper floors, but not here.

Well, gambling could make even those who had almost nothing bet everything, or... give them a chance to win.

"Looks like someone believes in your victory."

Ragon grinned and threw a coin to the girl with a wave of his hand. Without even looking in his direction, she caught it.

"10 coins on Garet’s victory."

"Agh?" Garet was puzzled. "Aren’t you sure of your victory?"

"Hahaha, of course I am, and that’s exactly what will happen. Consider it my contribution to the development of youth."

The girl nodded deeply and made a final note in the chart.

"Alright, Ragon, enough teasing him. Elbows must rest on the iron plates, hands clasped together. Begin on my command."

Garet and Ragon nodded and did what she said. This time, Ragon didn’t try to squeeze Garet’s hand until it hurt, instead, he focused on winning in the first fraction of a second. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Silence hung in the usually noisy tavern when the girl raised her hand.

"Begin!"

BAM!

Ragon’s hand slammed Garet’s against the table, causing his knuckles to scrape against the rough metal.

"The winner is Ragon!" the girl exclaimed, her face serious.

The crowd immediately rushed towards her, wanting to get their small but still a win.

"What...?" Garet muttered in disbelief as his gaze dropped.

To his horror, he hadn’t even noticed anything. As soon as the girl gave the command to start, he was going to press down on Ragon’s hand, but by that moment, it was already over.

"Hey, you were trying to use Energy Control, right?"

"Energy Control?"

Ragon nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, I felt it. It was pretty late, but your grip got stronger, even though your muscles didn’t change. In fact, it’s impressive that energy moves faster than your body reacts. Hah, that means you have a shitload of energy."

Their conversation went unnoticed by the spectators who continued to place bets, as there were still two rounds to go, but the lean man listened attentively as he stood to the side.

"Anyway, out of my boundless kindness, I’ll give you some advice—watch your elbow." Ragon pointed to Garet’s arm. "It doesn’t matter how much pressure you can put on my grip if you lose in an instant."

"Khm."

The girl coughed.

"Are you ready? The bets are already placed."

Ragon looked around and shrugged, placing his elbow on the iron plate.

"As you say, cutie."

This time, Garet was more confident.

"Begin!"

Crack.

A creak ran across the table as, unlike in the first round, Garet and Ragon’s hands hung in one place, their elbows trembling slightly, but neither was in a hurry to give up.

"Hanging in there? Not bad, not bad at all."

Ragon smirked.

"But just because you were able to withstand my one attack doesn’t mean you have more strength!"

BAM!

Again, Garet’s hand slammed into the table, as a dull sound proclaimed his second defeat.

Laughter rang out among the crowd:

"Hahaha, this is the easiest money I’ve ever made!"

"It was obvious from the start! Ragon never loses!"

"No offense, young man, but Ragon just has more experience."

However, Garet didn’t hear any of this. He was completely focused on the previous rounds while energy like a tidal wave swept through his body again and again.

"How can I win? If I don’t strengthen my defense, he’s just faster. He’s stronger as well, I couldn’t move his hand even a bit. Then what should I do?"

Tap.

The girl touched his shoulder as their eyes met.

"Are you ready?"

While Garet was thinking, all the bets had already been placed.

"Yeah... I think so..."

"By the way, if it gives you motivation, this gentleman bet 200 coins on you." She pointed at the lean man.

Garet’s eyes widened in confusion.

"But why?"

However, the lean man did not answer. He just watched from the sidelines.

Thump!

Ragon’s stance was ready.

"Come on, stop looking around. It’s the last round!"

Garet nodded, and soon the girl waved her hand.

As before, Garet was able to maintain his defense, but when Ragon put more power into his attack, he tried to repeat his success from the second round.

"This is the end for you!"

However...

"Agh?" Ragon blinked in disbelief.

Garet’s hand hovered directly above the iron plate. A little more, and Ragon would have won, but Garet was holding on with his last ounce of strength, as could be seen from his trembling muscles.

’If I can use energy even for something as simple as this, then I have a lot of energy, so it would be logical to put it all into one strike, right?’

Electric discharges ran through Garet’s eyes as his Genesis Core trembled, emitting dark smoke, somewhat reminiscent of the color of the Evaluation Crystal during Garet’s last test.

At the same moment, all the accumulated energy, like an invisible force, caused Garet’s hand to move with a power unexpected even to him.

CRACK!

Splinters flew in all directions before Ragon’s shocked eyes, as a dent remained on the iron plate from his hand, nailed to the table by Garet’s.

The girl’s face paled, but she quickly pulled herself together.

"The winner of the last round is Garet!!!"