The first match's "Terror Badger" was a honey badger covered entirely in black scales.
Its opponent, the "Quad-Claw Crab," as the name suggests, was a crab with four massive pincers.
Just like a normal honey badger, the Terror Badger fought recklessly.
Even when its body was viciously clamped by the crab's pincers, it still bit down on the crab's limbs.
Possibly due to the hardness of its scales, the seemingly intimidating pincers had little actual effect on it.
As expected, the Terror Badger emerged victorious.
Akimi and his group's chips rose from 3,000 to 7,260.
The second match featured the Riveted Stag Beetle, whose shell was covered in protrusions resembling rivets, against the Squid Vine, a plant with tentacles like a squid's.
The beetle kept biting at the vine with its ant-like mandibles, but the vine proved unexpectedly resilient.
In the end, it coiled tightly around the beetle and squeezed until the beetle passed out.
Their chips increased again.
The third match was a showdown between two rodent-type monsters.
The Lightning Squirrel had gray-blue fur and a pair of shockingly large blue incisors.
The Rocket Mole, on the other hand, had plain gray fur and looked just like an ordinary mole.
At the start of the battle, the Lightning Squirrel's overwhelming speed gave it the upper hand, forcing the Rocket Mole to stay in a defensive crouch.
But when the Rocket Mole's HP dropped to about 10%, its beady eyes suddenly turned blood-red, and fire shot from its rear.
It launched like an actual rocket, crashing straight into the Lightning Squirrel and knocking it out cold.
Unquestionably, the Rocket Mole claimed victory, and Akimi's group's chips increased further.
In the fourth match, the Hand of Cruelty and Hand of Savagery were the same species of monster, though the Hand of Cruelty was a mutated variant.
Both looked like human palms with a beetle-like shell, and their shell could actually clench like a real hand—with terrifying grip strength.
The Hand of Cruelty, as a mutation, had a chance to stun enemies while grabbing them.
However, the Hand of Savagery seemed immune to its stun effect.
In the end, the stronger grip of the Hand of Savagery secured its victory.
Akimi's group's chips climbed even higher.
"Tch. Now I kind of understand how the Kibaou and Lind felt yesterday—just following the cheat sheet can earn you this much. It's only natural to keep believing in it for the final match," Akimi said softly, lightly tossing a VC-denominated chip in his hand.
"Gamblers probably all think that way..." Kirito shrugged.
Then he snatched the chip from Akimi's hand with an annoyed look.
"Don't toss it around! What if you lose it?"
At that moment, the host's voice rang out once more:
"Ladies alemen——! Now it's time for tonight's final showdown! Five minutes until betting closes—don't miss your chance!"
Akimi mentally estimated the total wagered chips: their own 86,000, over 60,000 from both the Kibaou and Lind, plus the other spectators' bets—altogether surpassing 250,000 chips. That was equivalent to 25 million Col.
That was likely more than he could ever obtain before leaving this death game.
Even with hidden quests, he had only managed 200,000 Col during his time on Floor 7.
"Argo just sent a message," Kirito said slowly as he closed the message interface.
"Mm, looks like Bardun couldn't hold back after all... If something were to go wrong with a gambling pot this huge, it would definitely make his heart ache."
According to their prior plan, Argo was stationed in the VIP hall to keep watch—if Bardun made any moves, she'd report back immediately.
Now that she had sent word, it meant Bardun had already left his room.
Sure enough, right after the host announced, "Alright, only one minute until the betting closes!", two black-clad guards escorted a tall, thin old man in a wine-red suit into the bustling monster arena—that man was none other than the head of the Korloy family, Bardun.
He coldly surveyed the rowdy gamblers crowding the arena's edge, his expression carrying a hint of subtle disdain.
Then he followed his guards up to the highest VIP box on the observation platform.
Soon after Bardun entered the box, the arena NPC in charge rang the brass gong beside the host's podium.
At the same time, the lights around the arena dimmed, leaving only four spotlights—powered by unknown means—shining down on the stage.
The black iron cage surrounding the arena gleamed with a harsh, cold light, making the atmosphere instantly more tense.
Then the host's excited voice rang out:
"Now, it's time for tonight's final showdown! First up—"
As he spoke, he pointed toward the right side of the arena.
The ceiling spotlight followed his hand, turning to illuminate the Korloy family's monster gate.
"From the Velutia Plains east of Volupta, the beast that chases travelers and smashes carriages with its twin horns—the Velutia Great-Horned Ram——!"
As the floor gate slowly opened, a massive beast stepped out—estimated to be over two meters long, with sleek dark-brown fur and a pair of spiraling horns.
It looked like a cross between a bull and a ram, and you could faintly see sharp teeth in its mouth.
Its limbs were muscular and radiated sheer power.
Its black hooves clacked crisply on the stone floor with a "clack-tap" sound.
The Great-Horned Ram gave a slow shake of its head, then snorted out a blast of black mist from its nostrils.
The spotlight then left the right side and shifted toward the left—the Nactoy family's gate.
"Next up, hailing from the bone-white plains dominating the western side of Volupta, a fearsome beast clad in nearly indestructible scales—the Mini Glyptodon——!"
Accompanied by the grating sound of something hard scraping against the ground, a quadrupedal creature about 1.5 meters long slowly crawled out from the passage.
Its entire body was covered in thick, heavy armor and it resembled a giant armadillo.
Its head was covered in an even thicker keratin layer than its body armor, making its head look disproportionately large.
"So—will the beast of the grasslands prove superior, or will the terror from the plains show its strength? Let's find out—right now!!!"
As the host's voice echoed across the arena, the dividing barrier between the two monsters slowly opened, letting them see each other for the first time.
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