One week later.
Unable to control the smile on his face, Norcet was in the process of teleporting to the stadium where the historic Olympics would be held.
"How much more time?"
As his son asked this question beside him voicing the query in his own mind, he looked at the mage who seemed tired due to the many teleportations so far.
They had spent the past few weeks touring the continent and spreading the word about the Olympics as much as possible. In that process, his son had been exposed to many new cultures and sights, opening his mind and making him more interested in getting into the same trade as his father. Norcet had been very happy with this, and he rejoiced even now that he had made the correct decision to bring his son along on the journey.
The news that all five kingdoms would be participating had been so shocking that he hadn't been able to speak for a few minutes after he had heard it. Having a full idea of just how much complex enmity there was between the Kingdoms of Angaria, Norcet wondered just what kind of strings the King of Lanthanor had pulled to make them all agree to participate.
He was also someone learned in history, so he knew that the word 'historic' wouldn't just be an empty addition to this event anymore. In all known history, there was no instance where such an event had happened.
The ticket sales had gone live a few days ago, and it had been a pleasant surprise to everyone to see that the number of seats had increased from the previously announced 250,000 to an amazing 800,000. Many couldn't even get their head around this number, and the anticipation increased to see the stadium which would seat so many.
As expected, the tickets had gotten sold out in merely a few minutes.
Even the way in which the tickets had been distributed was quite unique. Stores had been set up in each and every Kingdom which was attending, and those who were interested in buying the tickets had to line up one by one. Anyone who tried to create trouble would lose the chance of buying a ticket.
This threat had made most behave, and those who still tried to throw around their weight were dealt with quickly.
This was because each and every Kingdom's government was coordinating with that of Lanthanor to ensure that everything went smoothly. It seemed that some kind of deal had been made between them all to make this happen.
The tickets were in the form of rectangular trinkets which were bound by blood, and all those buying had been warned that the person whom the ticket was bound to had to be present if they wished to redeem their seats in the stadium. Many people had indeed sent their butlers or servants to get the tickets, but although they felt annoyed at this condition, they agreed because of the explanation that came next.
Apparently, this was some kind of unique system where there would be no chance whatsoever that tickets could be looted. Each trinket was unique in some way, so if anyone tried to replicate a ticket or steal one, they would be caught easily.
This was indeed a big problem, so everyone was glad to see that precautions had been taken to prevent it from happening.
Of course, ticket transfer was still allowed, but it required the person who was bound to the trinket to be present along with the person whom it had to be transferred to at the stadium where the transfer would happen under the eyes of officials.
This last provision had been added because it was quite obvious that as the time for the event approached, auctions might be held where tickets would be sold for much higher prices than they had been bought for.
Such was the case with every popular event, and there was no intention to stop it from happening as this would only increase the hype in the people.
The price of the tickets had been quite high, but no one had complained.
There were four types of tickets: normal, VIP, VVIP, and VVVIP.
In the currency of Lanthanor, they were priced at 10 Gold Lans, 50 Gold Lans, 100 Gold Lans, and a whopping 500 Gold Lans.
Of the 800,000 capacity of the stadium, 400,000 were normal which were situated from the edge of the stadium to its halfway point.
VIP seats were those from the halfway point to those just a few rows behind the ground. There were 300,000 of these seats.
The VVIP seats came next, and they were the last few rows. 98,000 of these seats were present, and they were sought after by all the richest people in Angaria.
Finally, the VVVIP seats were actually those that would float in the air.
These definitely had the best view, as the people would be able to look down from above and observe everything clearly with no hindrance whatsoever. Because of the limited airspace, there were only 2000 of these seats, and these were apparently the ones which would be auctioned the most.
After all, 500 Gold Lans equaled to around $ 50,000 in Earth currency, which was just a huge number to even think of. Only those at the highest echelons of each Kingdom would be able to afford them, and it would also be a status symbol to separate themselves from those in the lower rungs of the society.
"Only two more teleportations."
After they heard this answer from the mage, both son and father smiled at each other before closing their eyes and bracing themselves for the feeling of passing through a cold shower which accompanied each teleportation.
Just as the mage had said, after a few seconds, they opened their eyes, but they felt their jaws drop.
"Are you sure this the right location?"
Hearing the question, the mage who was also looking at the sight in front of them with an incredulous look on his face nodded.
"We are."
Their shock was due to the fact that in front of them was an actual bustling city with numerous buildings that seemed to be newly constructed.
They had expected to see an enormous stadium, but instead, they were greeted by this image.
Near them, people were constantly stepping out of space and similarly pausing due to the shock they felt.
After snapping out of it, Norcet realised that there was actually a large banner which had the words 'Olympia' written on it.
Just below that banner, there was another one which read 'Welcome to the Olympics' that made him believe that they had indeed arrived.
"Welcome! This is Olympia, the city which now holds the record of being built in the shortest amount of time. Please show your ticket, and you will be authenticated and assigned to a room. Of course, the room will be charged extra, so it is optional and you can choose to decline. There are many benefits with choosing to take up the assigned room, such as complimentary updates to the events happening in the Olympics and a lucky draw where the winners can choose to meet whichever participant they want. The full list is in this document. We hope you enjoy your stay here!"
These words were said by a man wearing black clothes who had a polite expression on his face. Handing out a piece of parchment, he waited for those who teleported over to comprehend what he had said.
"Tickets please.", he said again, making everyone reach into their pockets to take out the trinkets that they had been given.
Norcet did the same, and as he handed over his ticket, the man took out a strange wand-like trinket that he used to scan it.
In a second, his eyebrows raised and he said, "Oh, a VVVIP! Please follow me."
As the others nearby looked at them with envy, Norcet and the two others followed the man and were led to a luxurious building that had the words "VVVIP Quarters" written on it.
Impressed by the amazing opulence, Norcet chose to stay and was soon led to a room where a display trinket was on one wall.
This once again shocked him, as display trinkets were rare and were seldom used in this fashion. Yet, what caused his blood to boil was the image on the display trinket, which showed an area of a large ground.
It was the stage where the most anticipated event in Angaria was going to take place, and he was going to have the best view!
With a broad smile on his face, he sat down, glad that he had taken the offer to spread the news about the event which had allowed him to make a reservation for the VVVIP ticket in the first place.
It truly was the best decision he had taken yet in both his career and his life.