The result of the battle was not what they expected. While the bystanders were still registering what they saw, a cheering voice was heard amongst the crowd.
"Yes!!!" Lena was screaming in the midst of the silence. "Three thousand Shelis!"
Shelis was the currency used in the tribe. At first glance, it looked like scraps of stones, but it was harder than metal and had moderate flame resistance. That was why it was favored among the tribe and even traders across the region.
Lena carried bags filled with Shelis from the betting stalls to Brand. She was now counting the Shelis 1 by 1!
This girl was insanely dedicated when it came to money. Her personality instantly shifted from a prideful warrior to a greedy merchant.
Lena was one of the few who bet Brand would win against the three young warriors. She bet heavily, almost all her money was placed, because she had no doubt that Brand would win.
Brand felt touched that she trusted him so much, and couldn't help but imagine how Lena would react if he lost in the match.
"Share me 20% of it?" Brand teased jokingly. He deserved that much, right? She earned so much because of him after all.
"Screw off!" Lena shouted. The girl stabbed her spear over the ground, as if declaring her intention to fight anyone who dared to approach her.
The people of the crowd ended up trying to avoid direct eye contact with her.
"She was overreacting," Seraphine muttered, which he agreed with as well. But let's not provoke her any more than this. Brand was tired after the fight earlier.
"Sera… No exp, no karma points, no achievement?" Brand waited for notifications or voice, but there were none.
"Please, you call this an achievement?" Seraphine asked Brand with a sarcastic tone. "They were higher level than you, but their growth potential was only up to wolves."
"Besides, you seemed to not even break a sweat."
Brand wanted to retort that it takes focus to counter the young warriors' skills, but he gave up in the end. If the World did not register this as an achievement, he would just work harder.
He did learn something in the fight, though. The young warriors could coat their aura onto their bodies, as well as onto their weapons. If they could do it, so can he, right?
He would ask Lena about it later. Lena displayed a more intimidating aura at the end of their duel. He remembered her spear aura, which glowed a bright orange light.
The crowd slowly started to react. The ones without betting were just expressing their awe. While those who bet begun to curse the trio for displaying such a bad performance.
"Was Essen always this strong?" The crowd began discussing among themselves.
"There was a two-year gap; maybe he reached a certain enlightenment during that time?"
Brand listened to their discussion and had a picture of how Essen was within the village.
From what he had heard, Essen was a weak nobody who had gone missing for two years among young warriors during an expedition.
"You had to count your Shelis here?" Brand asked. The ones that lost in the bet were eyeing Lena, who was blatantly counting the Shelis in the middle of the street.
"Well, it's not like this was illegal, and they won't be so stupid to rob her out in the daylight," Lena whispered to him. Although she did become cautious, she started to wrap things up.
Right then, an elderly woman approached her. Greeted her with a warm smile and exchanged greetings.
"How'd you been, Farah?" the elderly woman greeted.
In the onlooker's eyes, she was Farah, the traveling merchant. Although Brand knew that her real name was otherwise. Even now, it still showed 'Lena Caprah'.
Was she taking up a disguise like he did? Or was this another persona she used in this village?
Brand would try to uncover later, but he would play along for now. He was also disguised as Brand Essen.
"Interesting situation, wasn't it?" Seraphine giggled.
Brand ignored her and focused on Lena and the elderly woman's greeting.
"Elder Camila?" Lena paused for a moment when the elderly woman approached. She extended her hands to hers and held them.
"I'm doing fine. How long has it been since we last met?" Lena smiled at her. Her expression showed that she was reminiscing about the past.
"It had been a year since we last met." Elder Camila replied with enthusiasm. "We're doing fine too, with the trade agreement we forged together during our last meeting."
"It had been great to make trade with the Emas Tribe," Lena replied.
Brand couldn't believe she was disguised as Farah. Because if she really did, she was doing it fantastically. Their conversations were so smooth, even though Lena paused in some weird moment.
"She might have been thoroughly prepared?" Seraphine was thinking as well. She seemed to enjoy playing detective. "She even learnt various tribe's combat arts."
Brand nodded and continued to observe.
"How do you know Brand Essen?" Elder Camila asked with caution and held his hand in hers. Brand was surprised at the sudden greeting.
When he looked closer, the elder's eyes were teary. She must have known the real Brand Essen, who went missing.
Lena watched Brand closely, and seeing that he was still quiet, she decided to reply.
"I met him during my travel here, and I let him tag along," Lena replied.
"You look well, Brand." Elder Camila patted him on the shoulder. "It must have been hard for you… To survive alone and return to the village."
"We thought you were dead. We couldn't find you even after searching for weeks." She continued.
"We recovered your friend's bodies and gave them a proper burial." She seemed to be reassuring Brand and asking him to be easy on himself.
Brand was quiet for the whole time, throughout the sudden emotional confession of the elder. In the end, he answered after reminiscing for a while.
"I had amnesia after the event, Elder Camila," Brand replied. "When I woke up, I was lying inside a cave."
"I was traveling for a short while before meeting Farah in the oasis." He continued. "Only after reaching the village did I realise it had been two years."
"But every now and then, I could still hear their voices… My companions' voice…"
Elder Camila continued to pat him and gave him her consolation. Then she noticed. His hand.
"Your finger…"
"No, this was cut during a duel," Brand replied.
Lena coughed and glanced at Brand, seeming to ask him to not reveal that it was cut during their fight.
Right then, the trio woke up. Eddy recovered the quickest among the trio. When he recovered, he slapped the other two to wake up.
When they all woke up, they stomped towards Brand all of a sudden.
Brand quickly put up a guard, in case they were aiming to land dirty hits on him. But to his surprise, they stopped in front of him and bowed.
"We acknowledged our loss!" They shouted in unison.
"This was the custom of the Emas Tribe," Seraphine explained. "When a fight emerged within the tribe members, they would settle it themselves, and the loser would declare their loss aloud."
"They would accept loss with dignity. Reminding themselves that wins and losses were a norm in a battle." She continued. "This was their warrior pact."
"It's your turn, Brand, clasp your palms together and shout, 'I have gained'." Seraphine guided him. "This meant the fight would be part of their growth."