The memory of the mansion faded into a distant haze as Lux’s pulse spiked once more, this time not from nerves but from anticipation. The Labour Guild loomed ahead, a squat, unremarkable brick building, but to Lux, it was a palace. Within those plain walls, he’d find the keys to Silver City’s future.

  He didn’t wait for the others. The moment he crossed the threshold, Lux was swept up in a tide of voices and the clatter of shoes on tile. A man ahead of him stopped at a ticket machine. Lux blinked, then let out a soft laugh. A magical world, and they still made you take a number.

  He snagged his own slip and scanned the counters along the back wall. Everyone was staffed, glowing numbers flickering overhead. The wait wouldn’t be long.

  “Lose someone?” A voice teased at his shoulder. Constance had drifted up, warm smile in place. Lux’s eyes darted around, searching for the others.

  “They’re outside,” Constance supplied, reading his thoughts. “So, what are you here for?”

  While they waited, Lux explained.

  “A winery, hm…” Constance tapped her chin. “Want me to design it?”

  Lux’s heart did a strange little leap. “…Yes?” It came out as a question, not an answer.

  Constance laughed, eyes sparkling. “You’ve never worked with an architect before, have you? What did you think we did?”

  Lux flushed. “I know what an architect does! I just… momentarily forgot.” The truth was, he’d been so focused on getting a winery, he hadn’t thought about the fact an architect could design one for him.

  But picturing Constance designing it, instead of some bland, generic plan, made his pulse hammer. “It would be amazing if you did,” he blurted, excitement bubbling over.

  Her smile softened. “Then I won’t let you down.”

  Before he could say anything else, his number flashed on the screen. They approached the counter, where a cheerful attendant greeted them.

  Lux slid over Trella’s long list of materials for the main road and construction work. The woman scribbled on forms, calculated for a moment, then looked up brightly.

  “That will be one hundred and thirty-three thousand gold.”

  Lux inhaled so sharply he nearly choked. His hand trembled as he passed over the funds. Goodbye, savings. I hardly knew you.

  The stamp sealed the deal, and the attendant beamed as if she’d just robbed him at knifepoint. “Anything else today?”

  “Yes,” Lux managed, forcing his jaw unclenched. “Blueprints, please.”

  Excitement returned the instant she slid a sleek tablet across the desk. Lux’s eyes lit up like a child at a toy store.

  “Browse at your leisure,” the attendant said, gesturing to a row of chairs. A smile spread, he was hoping to get an idea of other buildings that Silver City would need in this sleek little tablet.

  But before Lux could snatch the device, Constance leaned in. “No need. I’ve got remote access. You can look through the catalogue anytime.”

  Lux stared. “Anytime?” His grin broke wide. “That’s… incredible.” He shoved the tablet back toward the clerk like it was yesterday’s trash.

  After collecting a stack of blank material forms, Lux bid the attendant goodbye and stepped outside.

  Novgar’s eyes glittered the moment he appeared. Lux groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He knew that look. “Fine. Let’s go to the arena.”

  “Novgar will bring glory to Lucky Charm!” a booming voice thundered.

  Magenta led the way back to the arena. As they approached, Lux noticed a new banner being unfurled from the rooftop. When the champion was revealed, a giant display of Novgar letting out a roar with muscles flexed fluttered against the building. “Holy crap, you’re a champion?”

  Novgar smirked in response. “Novgar is undefeated!” Lux couldn’t help but feel a wave of admiration for the big man. He’d already seen Novgar in action against monsters, which was impressive on its own. But looking at a banner hanging alongside the other champions, he began to understand why Trella was so nervous around him.

  A stream of people entering the main entrance of the arena caught his attention. Novgar wasn’t just brawling, he was participating in a major event. Novgar took the lead, directing the way toward a side entrance. He showed his ticket to security at the door.

  Once inside, Novgar paused. “Novgar has to go to the champion waiting area.” He handed a set of tickets to Lux, who looked down at the waxy paper and noticed they had seat numbers assigned. “If Lucky Charm heads down that corridor, he will find an attendant to lead him to his seat.”

  Lux wished Novgar luck, then went in the direction Novgar pointed. He found an attendant and soon they were led along a corridor packed with people. They emerged through a gap and a sea of seating surrounded a large sand floor.

  Their seats were ground floor, front row, you couldn’t get a better view. Lux sat down and watched as the seats steadily filled all over the arena. Three floors would soon be packed with people waiting for the fighting to start.

  Lux got bored after a while and turned to Constance next to him. “Can I look at the blueprints while we wait?”

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  Constance pulled a tablet from a pouch and, after tapping the screen a couple of times, placed it in his hands. “The blueprints are in alphabetical order. Everything in the Labour Guild’s selection is a generic design. If you find something you want built, I can make a tailored blueprint for your city.”

  Lux went straight to the S section to look up a sewage plant. He’d have to invest in one of these soon, so he wanted an idea of how much they would cost. Constance looked over his shoulder as a few photos of completed buildings filled the screen. They ranged from small to large. He clicked on one for a better look.

  The picture filled up one side of the screen, and on the other was information about the plant. At the very bottom, under the picture, was something that made Lux raise his brows. Seven low-quality monster cores were needed to run the plant and would need replacing once a month.

  Lux tapped on the information and turned to Constance. “What does this mean?”

  “Monster cores are Mystic Beau’s source of energy. They can be used like your earth’s electricity,” explained Constance. Lux knew that monster cores were an energy source in Mystic Beau, but he hadn’t thought about it in depth. Now he understood the importance of the orbs.

  Everything in Mystic Beau that required energy would need a monster core. He suddenly thought about the magic logging machine. Did that need monster cores as well?

  He quickly flipped to the magic logging machine designs. Under the picture of the exact one he had bought, it stated that six low-quality monster cores were needed to run the machine, and would need replacing once a month. “Constance, when I purchase a blueprint from the Labour Guild, do they give you the first supply of monster cores with your purchase?”

  When Constance started to nod, Lux let out a groan. Now he not only needed to worry about making money, he also had to worry about having a supply of monster cores. Lux rubbed his brow in frustration and lost his enthusiasm for looking through the tablet.

  He handed the tablet back to Constance and sat there sulking. He was starting to understand that Silver had valid reasons for not wanting to be involved in creating a city. As he wallowed in his misery, he noticed a change in the vibe of the arena.

  The noise around him was like a vibrating mass, and vacant seats could no longer be spotted. An air of excitement rippled through the crowd. Lux felt himself sit up straighter. A loud cheer erupted as a woman in an elegant dress stepped onto the sand floor. Large transparent screens rose above the crowd, showing the woman walking. “Welcome to today’s event!” The crowd went wild, Lux felt a ringing in his ears.

  “The event today will be a battle royal!” Thunder erupted as the crowd started stamping their feet. Lux suddenly panicked that the top floors would collapse. He looked up to the eaves and released a breath when they remained stable. “Get ready to place your bets!”

  A screen suddenly popped up in front of Lux, filled with faces. “Oh, where is Novgar? I want to place a bet on him.” Magenta was scrolling the screen in a hurry. “Ah, shit, where is he! I will run out of time!”

  Lux looked back to his own screen to see numbers counting down. He started to chuckle when he looked at the clock, thirty-eight seconds were left. “Pfft, they’re using the limited time to create urgency for impulsive buys.” This was a common sales tactic on earth, so Lux paid it no mind. Besides, he didn’t have any personal funds even if he wanted to participate.

  When the timer hit zero, more screams of frustration resounded through the arena. It didn’t last long, as a loud rumbling drew everyone’s attention to doors opening at either end of the sand floor. “Welcome the participants for today’s battle royal!”

  A stream of participants flooded the spacious floor, most of them Large Worlders with barely any clothes on. The participants that didn’t have green skin were fully clothed and stood out like sore thumbs. Lux searched the contestants for Novgar’s familiar face.

  As his eyes wandered over the people, the woman hosting the event spoke again. “Let the battle royal commence!” Her figure disappeared off the transparent screen, replaced with an overview of the grounds.

  The floor in front of him turned to chaos in seconds. Fists flew, and blood spurted. He was so close to the action that a drop of blood landed on his cheek. Lux had a sudden fear that someone would be thrown in his direction.

  He leaned back and moved his upper body behind Magenta, who had leaned forward to eagerly watch the fight. Feeling safer, Lux returned his gaze to the floor. Bodies were already out cold in the short time he had taken his eyes off the fight.

  He winced as one of the poor, unconscious Large Worlders got stepped on. The fight was brutal. The herd was soon thinned out, and it was clear that there were three people on the grounds with superior fighting ability. His head swivelled between them as he watched them lay people out like it was nothing.

  The closer it got to only three remaining on the sandy ground, the more Lux felt his nerves tense. Novgar was one of the three contestants left standing. When the inevitable happened, a hush came over the crowd. Lux felt palpable tension rise in the arena.

  Novgar was the smallest of the three left, the other two were a head taller. “Oh, this is exciting! Three undefeated champions! They have never competed with each other before!” Magenta was clapping her hands in delight.

  Lux felt his heart rate pick up, and he couldn’t stop his body from leaning forward. His eyes felt glued to the three green figures eyeing each other. The tension suddenly broke when Novgar smirked and made a waving motion for both participants to come at him at once.

  The whole arena seemed to hold its breath as the two figures took up the challenge. Pounding feet sprinted towards the lonely figure. As the three collided, fists thumped against skin and the sickening sound of a bone breaking could be heard.

  A loud roar was suddenly silenced by an uppercut to the jaw. When one of the men fell to the ground, it seemed like time slowed, then a sudden eruption of cheers pierced Lux’s ears. The two figures left split apart, then started circling each other.

  The crowd quieted down, a slow tension building once again. When it reached its peak, Novgar dashed towards his opponent on bare feet. With a huge leap, he sprung into the air and smashed a fist towards his opponent. The figure on the ground reached out to grab the descending fist.

  At the last moment, Novgar switched hands. A loud smack resounded, and the figure stumbled backwards. Novgar didn’t give his opponent time to recover. A flurry of hits and kicks descended on his opponent.

  The action suddenly stopped, and a single figure swayed. The man Novgar had been fighting fell to the ground. A second later, the seated viewers shot to their feet and a thunderous noise exploded. Lux covered his ears, but it didn’t help drown out the noise.

  “We have a winner!” The commentating woman returned.

  Lux didn’t pay attention to the rest of her words, he was too busy trying to regain his hearing. The buzzing in his ears didn’t stop. When he finally felt like he was back to normal, he realised that the seats had almost cleared.

  “Let’s go, Novgar should have finished collecting his prize by now.” Magenta rose from her seat and headed up the stairs. The corridor outside was basically cleared and they found Novgar waiting at the place they had parted, surrounded by a few Large Worlders.

  As they approached, Novgar separated from the group. “Novgar made Lucky Charm proud!” Dark discolouration was on Novgar’s left cheek and he had a split above his eye. It looked like he hadn’t gotten out of the fight unscathed.

  For some reason Lux thought he would. He laughed at his own stupid expectation. The man had been in an arena with over a hundred other fighters. Lux gave Novgar what he was after. “Yes, Novgar truly outdid my expectations! You were amazing!”

  Lux continued to lay the compliments on thick as they headed out the door. It wasn’t until they reached Silver City that Lux remembered Novgar said he would bring back workers. He turned to the green man, who was still waiting for more praise. “Novgar, when are the workers coming?”