Chapter 29 : Work Hard and Make Money, Girl

“Sonia, wake up.”

“No, Mr. Yide, I’m so sleepy.”

“Are you really sleepy? I’d be embarrassed to expose you.”

“Grumble, Mr. Yide, leave me alone, I… I’ve been swallowed by the blanket monster…”

Yide sighed, looking at the girl completely shrink into the blanket.

I guess I’ll have to use my ultimate move.

The next moment, Sonia, huddled in her blanket, heard Yide’s voice in her mind.

“It seems you really don’t want to participate in the World Tree quota selection.”

“Fine, you’re the host, I’m just a spirit, so of course, I have to listen to you.”

Hearing Yide’s seemingly defeated words, Sonia showed a triumphant smile.

But the next moment, she heard—

“But, is this really okay?”

Yide’s voice echoed faintly in her mind: “Don’t you want to explore the World Tree with Tivia?”

“Do you want to disappoint Tivia’s expectations?”

“Is your bond with Tivia only this much?”

“Ugh…”

The blanket monster finally sat up from the bed, revealing Sonia’s bitter face and drooping cowlick.

“Mr. Yide, saying such things is too cunning…”

This time it was Yide’s turn to show a triumphant smile: “As long as it works.”

Sure enough, to deal with teenage girls like this, you have to shout some slogans about friendship and bonds.

“What’s more, I’m not forcing you to do something meaningless.”

Yide shook his head: “If I’m not mistaken, Sonia, you’re currently without an income, right?”

“Ugh… Mr. Yide is right.”

Sonia drooped her face.

Indeed, the girl who had been running around with Yide for so many days actually had no income.

Yide had already anticipated this situation.

How could a lonely child who used to go to school have a proper source of income?

When she stayed in the upper district, she might have been able to rely on inherited funds and selling some things to make a living, but after moving to the lower district, that source of income probably dried up.

Yide became serious: “So, you should also consider the issue of income.”

“Generally, larger-scale dueling arenas will pay appearance fees to registered duelists.”

“Even if not all duelists receive it, the most famous duelists in those arenas definitely receive enough prize money to live comfortably.”

This is somewhat similar to the major card game tournaments in Yide’s previous life.

To cultivate full-time players, many official card game organizations would set the prize money for competitive events at a level sufficient to sustain a player’s full-time life.

And in this world, there are only more people who live by dueling, so there’s no problem of being a great player but not having enough to eat.

“So, Sonia, work hard and duel to earn money.”

“But we’re not in a hurry to compete for next year’s spot, are we, Mr. Yide…”

Sonia hugged her small head, looking pitiful: “If we start working hard now, we might have to duel six or seven times a day for the first few days.”

“I’m already clumsy enough, Mr. Yide, can you bear to watch me overthink every day and become even clumsier?”

“She can easily say she’s clumsy just to find an excuse…”

Yide grumbled but finally sighed: “Don’t worry, I’ll take turns with you.”

“When you’re tired from dueling, I can take over, so you won’t have to worry about overthinking all at once, right?”

“Really?”

Sonia’s eyes lit up, and then her consciousness went into the mental space, tugging at Yide’s arm.

“Then I have one small request, Mr. Yide.”

“What?”

“Can you go first in the initial few duels?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

Yide nodded hesitantly: “But why did you specifically make this request?”

“No reason, it’s a deal!”

Sonia smiled and exited the mental space, leaving Yide looking suspicious.

This girl seems to be up to something again…

“Heheheh~”

Yide had no idea of her suspicions.

After exiting the mental space, Sonia began to wash up.

After washing up, she immediately started eating breakfast, moving at a brisk pace, completely unlike her sluggish self from moments before.

Perhaps because she was happy, the girl even hummed a tune at this moment.

Actually, Yide’s thoughts were spot on.

Her sudden change had a reason.

“Hehe, if Mr. Yide goes first, he’ll probably get tired after three or four consecutive duels, right?”

“Dueling should only be done occasionally. If you duel continuously, your enthusiasm will quickly wane.”

“The academy teachers all taught this; that’s why practical tests are only scheduled once a week. I can’t believe Mr. Yide doesn’t even know this.”

“But by then, Mr. Yide will understand my painstaking efforts.”

“Sigh, I’m really worrying myself sick over Mr. Yide.”

The thought of her concern for Yide even moved Sonia herself.

Moved to the point where she couldn’t keep the corners of her mouth from turning up.

Of course, Sonia couldn’t completely rely on Yide getting tired.

She also considered that Mr. Yide might genuinely be one in ten thousand, a dueling fanatic who wouldn’t tire even after four or five consecutive duels.

In that case, she would have to implement her second plan.

“When it’s time, I’ll just let Mr. Yide go all out from the start.”

“Once Mr. Yide wins four or five consecutive matches, everyone will see his strength.”

This way, even if Yide doesn’t get tired, by the time it’s her turn, probably no one will dare to challenge her.

Of course, she wasn’t planning on completely shirking her responsibilities.

Since Mr. Yide was willing to take turns, then two matches a day would be fine—one for her and one for Mr. Yide.

This way, even if they miss next year’s exploration, they’ll make it for the year after.

Tivia also needs to be a second-year to participate in the explorer selection, so they can get selected together.

Sonia, plan complete!

“Off to duel!”

After finishing breakfast, Sonia put on her short cape, opened the door, and rushed out.

“Oh, little Sonia, you’re up so early today.”

“Morning, Uncle Jack.”

“Sonia, we haven’t thanked you for the Mad Heart Group incident a few days ago. Take this card.”

“Oh, Uncle Kroll, this isn’t a tradable card.”

Sonia navigated the neighborhood, greeting her neighbors as she headed toward her destination.

But she didn’t notice.

As soon as she left, a pair of eyes watched her from the shadows.

Duels for the World Tree quota selection need to take place at a designated location in District 7 of the Lower City. Sonia’s home is in District 9.

Although the two districts sound far apart, the girl’s home was actually right on the border of District 7.

So, after spending over half an hour traveling, the girl in the short cape arrived in front of a huge circular building.

“So many people…”

Looking at the seven large characters on the sign, “Throne of Heaven Dueling Arena,” and then at the bustling crowds entering and exiting the building below, the girl’s eyes sparkled.

Yide watched a large group of people pay money and then enter another passage, feeling a bit confused.

“What are those people doing?”

Sonia saw where Yide’s soul was pointing: “Ah, those are spectators, Mr. Yide.”

Yide was startled: “There are spectators for duels here?”

“Yes, there are.”

Sonia patiently explained to Yide: “The ranking selection in the Lower City is based on a point system, and the points reset every year, so those who want to participate in the World Tree exploration have to come here to duel every year.”

“Over time, the people of Ring City all knew about it. You can see duels here every day, and even nobles from the Upper City sometimes come to watch.”

“Could this place also be jointly built by the great nobles of the Upper City?”

Yide instinctively blurted out a cynical remark.

But his remark was met with a response.

“Huh, Mr. Yide, how did you know?”

Sonia was even more curious: “The Throne of Heaven Dueling Arena was indeed built by the Arcadia family and several other families from the Upper City. All the technology used came from the Upper City.”

“Should I say, as expected…?”

Yide shook his head.

No wonder they were willing to consistently give ten spots to the Lower City every year.

He had even, for a moment, suspected the World Tree might be an Upper City conspiracy.

It turned out they were just earning it back through ticket sales.

The methods of making money are indeed similar across all worlds.

Without lingering at the entrance, Sonia quickly found the registration area and ran inside.

However, the person following Sonia was stunned when they saw the girl rush in.

“Why would Sonia’s destination be here?”