[Chapter 37: Never-ending Drama]
Finally, after a whole night of activities, John hurried Allen to pay and get the Clearstone first. Until it was officially in his hands, John still felt a bit uneasy.
Later, once they smoothly obtained it, holding the slightly cool Clearstone in his hand, John's excitement was obvious.
If he hadn't gotten it this time, he wouldn't care what that old New Yorker across the room did. For the sake of getting the Clearstone, John wasn't above aggressive tactics -- even if it meant killing and robbing.
Once he became a high-level mage, he'd be able to craft genuine spatial gear. For now, he'd just refine the stone and make a necklace for himself. Wearing it would speed up his magical training.
With the Clearstone, John was confident that within two or three years, he could level up his mage rank again. Maybe by age 25, he could reach the advanced mage rank. The importance of this stone to him was clear.
Originally, he wasn't too hopeful about practicing magic on Earth. But now he thought, even though Earth wasn't ideal for magic cultivation, since he was the only one training here, all the planet's resources were up for grabs if he had the ability -- so maybe he could break through.
After all, a lot of things useless to others could be good for him, like this Clearstone. It seemed he'd have to explore the world more, searching for opportunities.
---
Since John and Allen had the auction item, they headed to the exit. Unexpectedly, before they reached it, they overheard a quarrel from afar. It sounded like Bob's voice.
John and Allen exchanged a glance and hurried toward the exit.
"You bastards, I won't let you off, just watch," a young voice shouted angrily as they approached the outer circle.
"Let you off?" Allen spoke.
With Allen's voice cutting through, the crowd automatically parted, allowing the two to walk into the circle.
"You're Allen, the Black Viper, right? You finally showed up. Come see what your two guys did to my bodyguards. You owe me an explanation."
Hearing this, John recognized the guy who had bid against him for the Clearstone at the auction and felt a surge of anger.
Although he'd spent $210,000 to win the stone -- a great deal -- seeing the scene made his blood boil.
Even though he was worth several million now, John actually had no real money. He could have gotten the stone for $100,000 originally. Spending an extra $100,000, even if someone else paid it, was still frustrating.
...
Just then, Adam and Bob also came over and finally explained what happened. It was all because of John.
Their past frustration from two boxing matches still lingered. Then at the auction, Allen's debate about Los Angeles versus New York swayed most of the crowd and forced the New Yorkers to back down, letting Allen win the stone.
These guys were impulsive and didn't understand the true value of the stone, but losing in an auction bruised their egos. They just happened to run into each other at the exit.
The young New Yorker mocked Allen, saying he blew $200,000 on a worthless rock and that the poor Mexican had no clue what he was doing.
What happened next was predictable. Adam, Bob, and their crew couldn't stand it and jumped in. With their current skills, a few against many was easily handled. The New Yorkers ended up on the losing side.
Luckily, this was the gambling king's turf, where no weapons were allowed -- otherwise, it would have turned ugly fast.
...
"That's enough, just go home. If your guys can't handle it, go train harder and come back," Allen said coolly after looking around and seeing his people hadn't lost.
"You..." The other side was left speechless and frustrated.
"You what? New Yorkers like you can't handle losing. If you can't take a hit, then just go back to New York. LA isn't your turf," Allen added.
The crowd around burst out laughing, mocking the New Yorkers until their faces reddened.
"Robert, stop embarrassing yourself. Allen, you got us this time -- we admit defeat. We've heard you guys are getting into legit business now. Hope we can 'cooperate' sometime," a middle-aged white man stepped forward and said.
"Allen, come on, let's go. We're blocking the exit and the gambling king's men are getting mad. There's nothing to talk about here."
Seeing them blocking the exit with endless arguing, John interrupted.
Maybe both sides realized this wasn't their home turf. The New Yorkers glanced at John and then led their group away. The crowd, seeing nothing more to watch, naturally dispersed.
The gambling king's men arrived but seeing everyone gone, they lost interest and left.
...
"Boy, looks like someone bought that stone for you. You know what it's for, right?"
Outside the underground area, Robert's eyes lit up when he saw the Clearstone in John's hand.
Looking at John, he wondered what the stone really did. Nobody would be dumb enough to spend hundreds of thousands on a useless rock.
John thought the guy wasn't a total fool, but was it smart to tell them? No way.
"Fuck, you are so annoying. We bought that to prop up the table, it's none of your business," Adam cut in.
"Boy, I'm asking you a question!"
"Adam, what would you do if a mad dog bit you on the street? Simple. First, you run. You wouldn't bite back if a dog bit you, right? Second, you kill the mad dog because it won't understand words. It's still a dog, after all."
John didn't even reply but made that point clear. Anyone would get his meaning.
The watching crowd, hearing his words, erupted in laughter. They sided with John -- after all, the New Yorkers had come here and caused trouble. And John's side was already ready to leave, but the New Yorkers refused to back down -- it was irritating.
Robert gave John a dark glare, then returned to his group.
He had hoped the kid would spill the stone's secret but was embarrassed by John's unpredictable comeback. Looked like he bit off more than he could chew.
After that, no more trouble happened and John got home safely that night.
As for what would come next, he'd deal with that later.
Before, John asked Allen if such a loose resolution was enough to settle underground disputes. Wasn't he worried they'd go back and attack each other?
Allen said if anyone did that, they'd become the enemy of all underground forces nationwide and be shunned. It was about honor and contracts, Allen said.
John was speechless. Didn't they know that in this world, all's fair in war?
It was like being a hypocrite, setting high morals but acting ruthlessly behind the scenes. John despised that.
He believed if one side wiped out the other, the rest of the underground world would just talk, never act.
Anyway, it wasn't his problem. He just wanted to live his own happy life, John thought.
*****
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