The Crystals

"Have you heard about the martial arts tournament that will be held at Yellow City this year?" Lazuli asked while taking a sip from the teacup. They are sitting in a living room among many in Lazuli's luxurious palace. Zohaifa and Marium are sitting together on a sofa just beside them. Both of them were talking to each other about where will Zohaifa go now. Zohaifa doesn't want to stay anymore after the humiliation, but he also wants to prove himself.

"No," answered Lapis but with a bit of curiosity

"Winning it will be of huge profit. I didn't know there was someone so rich and martial arts-loving in Yellow City that he would arrange a tournament with such a prize," continued Lazuli.

"And how much might it be?"

"The prize money is close to 15% of my total money. The news likely hasn't spread out of Yellow City. Thus we have a marvellous opportunity to win this."

"Won't it be harder for you to win if I take part there?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't bother me if you win the prize. We are members of the same family after all."

"You already know me very well and can bet your life on the fact that I will easily give the money to you if you want it."

Lazuli only smiled, implying that that's exactly what she will do.

"Sorry but I am not into martial arts anymore. Try me again if there is a fitness contest. I will happily join then."

"But…."

"No buts. My word is final."

"I will join," said Zohaifa breaking the shell of silence he was in ever since the humiliation. "I will give you all the money if I win. This will be how I repay you."

Lazuli mockingly grinned at him and replied, "You think you can win! I only asked Lapis because his strength is similar to mine."

"Actually, my strength surpasses yours. Only our martial arts are similar. Though you have more fight IQ," interfered Lapis but did not get attention from anyone. So Zohaifa continued,

"I can understand that. He has trained me, after all. But won't our chance of victory rise by at least 1% if I compete? Luck is also a matter, right?"

Lazuli remained silent for a second and thought about it.

"Your point is logical. But I will need to test your skills to see if your chance of winning is 0.05% or 0.0001%. At the end of the day, there is still the small money we have to spend on behalf of you for the ticket."

"Not that again. You are heavily underestimating me. Is the enemy that strong?"

"No. In fact, the problem is that there might be none in the tournament who can compete with me. So, the insignificant amount of increase in luck might not be worth the money from the ticket. Now, are you ready to take the test?"

"The hell I am!" exclaimed Zohaifa. He then thought to himself, "I will prove to her that she is underestimating me."