Chapter 302

After collecting themselves, ensuring they hadn’t left anything behind, and making sure they were clean and presentable, they exited the Arena. The gate in the back led them onto the city streets, and they needed to walk around the building and re-enter the Arena from the front.

Before throwing themselves into the fray a second time, Natalie approached a blonde girl sitting on a bench at the side of the reception area. She was leaning back and observing the other citygoers, perhaps waiting for someone. Their eyes met as Natalie finished crossing the room.

She made quick introductions, then got to the point. “Just had a quick question, if you don’t mind. We’re new here. Trying to get a feel for how things work.”

“Sure?” The blonde girl—Annabelle—said, straightening up.

“How many tokens is it normal to have enchanted, after an Arena run? The receptionist,” she gestured at the automaton, “was vague.”

“Depends on how far you get, and the stake.”

“I know that. I meant—can I ask you how many tokens you got, your last run?”

The blonde girl tilted her head. “Six. Then two. Then one. You get less with each series. Diminishing returns.”

Natalie blinked. Six enchanted tokens for her first run? She and Vanetta had gotten nineteen. Had they done that much better? She didn’t recognize this woman from Tenet, so she might be an independent delver or someone from a less-known academy. So it wasn’t implausible she was—well, not as competent. Still, only one-third?

“Did you, ah, fulfill a stake? No need for the details, I’m not trying to be nosy. Like I said, just trying to get a feel for the system.”

Annabelle’s lips twitched. “Yeah, you two are definitely new. There’s no need to tiptoe around it. But yes. I paid out a three-hearts stake.”

Same as them. “What round did you get to?”

“Sixteenth.”

“Sixteenth? Oh. Wow.”

“The rounds aren’t consistent in strength,” Annabelle said, accurately guessing why she’d been surprised. “Some series get stronger faster. Some drag out. It’s not that easy to benchmark the Token system. People have tried, but everything varies too much.”

“Ah.” That was useful information to have, if disappointing. It would make estimating how much time and effort would be needed when it came to purchasing something expensive. “I see. That’s all we needed. Thanks for the help.”

“No problem.”

She and Vanetta stepped aside.

“Good to know, I guess. Wonder if that means the next series will be harder? So we could get even more enchantments? Though there’ll be that fifty-percent debuff.” And the third series, if they chose to pursue it, would be a seventy-five percent debuff. And so on.

“We can hope. You ready?”

Natalie nodded.

They headed in for their second Arena series. The sounds coming from the reception area faded as they entered the personalized pocket world. The arena hadn’t changed from ten minutes ago: simple construction and plain dirt. Walking further in, the gates closed behind them and three short pillars holding stone tablets appeared.

The stakes.

Natalie admitted she was interested. What would it be this time?