For the winner, the spoils were great. I also bet a ton of money on my win. It was enough for me to buy 2 houses. One in Irab City and the other in Utinum. It was to have a legitimate presence. I did not want to be forced to go back to Ainon Province if I did not have to. Having property here in Irab Province meant that I only needed to go back there for the census. If Tertius Uulius Aper wanted me, I could make up an excuse as to why I could not go back. Houses needed to be maintained. Things broke all the time. It would also be a means of housing all my children and the children of my slaves. I had 3 properties now. The manor was more spacious and prestigious. The manor could be where I sent my actual children. I did not want to be stuck over there in a place where nothing important was going on, but it was a region where they could get some good experience in the arenas there. The 2 houses could be for the children of Cassius and Caelus. They would serve me and fight in the cities that they lived in. It sounded like a great plan. I would act it out with time. It had to wait for a bit.
In the Eastern Empire, there were 20 provinces. That meant the tournament in the capital would not have a full bracket. Those 12 slots were going to be filled up instead by the tournaments in their 12 cities and towns of the capital. They all fought in the Namor qualifiers. The top 12 would go through regardless. I was the sole champion of the Irab Province. Vel Leon was chosen to represent Ainon. I was give a special carriage ride to the capital. It was luxurious. My slaves could come with as they served me. I was taken to an auxillary wing of the palace that had been converted for the express purpose of holding warriors. I was closest to the power center of the empire than I have ever been. When everyone arrived, we were told what was at stake: A noble title and 2 comfort slaves on top of a generous purse. It was 25000 lin. If an NPC won this tournament, they would be set for life. For me, a Player, it would still go pretty far. I was going to make sure that I won it all. These fights would take place in the huge Imperial Arena. I was looking forward to it. Cassius, Caelus, Peigi and Artoria too.
Going through the first round was a snap. I was apart of the team that had most of the capital in it. For the first round, there would be 2 separate 16 man bouts. Each fight was split into 4 teams of 4. The teams were color based: white, black, red and lime green. The fight would go until there was only 1 team remaining. It was decided that I would be in the lime team. The final 2 teams would go to the next round. Having to use the arena's unblunted weapons made no sense to me at first. It was like they wanted people to actually die here. This was not supposed to be gladiator combat. I was given a sword and big shield. The other 2 members had quivers full of blunted arrows and a bow. Our fight was first. I did my best to charge at my opponents. I used the shield to block the arrows as I ran towards the archers of the red team. I would be better to get them out of the way. When the first person died, a cacophony of cheers rang out. It gave me pause. They really were a depraved, degenerate people. It would not be me who died here. I was going to cut my way through them all. I had to.
