Location: Myriad Realms, Lil. Red Storm, Seed World, Trophy Section, Duel Realm, Crafting Sector, Venue: Chaos Dwarven Forge.
As one of the prominent dark races in the dark realm, the Devil Merchant Code, and the myriad realms, known for their unparalleled skills and mastery in crafting, the Chaos Dwarfs faced numerous challenges from beings who believed they could craft better than the Chaos Dwarfs or make a name for themselves in the Devil Merchant Code by defeating a Chaos Dwarf in crafting.
As such, the Chaos Dwarfs, a semi-ruler class race, partnered with the Devil Merchant Code and opened their own colosseum, The Chaos Dwarven Forge, in the Duel Realm. Here, they would face challengers who wanted to prove themselves by defeating a Chaos Dwarf.
The partnership between the Chaos Dwarfs and the Devil Merchant Code was similar to one between streaming platforms and influencers back on Earth. The Devil Merchant Code provided the Chaos Dwarfs a platform, and the Chaos Dwarfs provided excellent content. They split the profits from all official betting, ticket sales to The Chaos Dwarven Forge duels, and fees for streaming the duels through demon/devil codices equally, with a 50:50 division.
This split was generous and available only to those who could meet the quotas of duels, popularity, and revenue set by the Devil Merchant Code. As such, the Chaos Dwarfs, who once became enraged at challengers daring to think their crafting skills were on better with theirs—let alone challenge them—were now full of smiles. They actively sought crafting duels, as these not only helped them gauge and improve their skills but also allowed them to make money and earn fame for their crafting skills at the same time.
As for what the Devil Merchant Code gained from this, if it wasn't obvious already, its initial goal was to promote the Duel Realm among demon and devil merchants. Now, with everyone having tasted the sweet nectar of fame and wealth gained by selling viewing rights to their duels in the Duel Realm, all participants wanted to duel exclusively there. Some even used the Duel realm as the reason to duel others.
With the growing popularity of the Duel Realm, the Devil Merchant Code shifted its focus from promoting it to extorting as many resources as possible through it. The burden of promotion had been transferred to demon and devil merchants, who now saw the Duel Realm as an easy way to earn lot of fame and money. The Devil Merchant Code could do this because it had no competition in the myriad realms. Even if one were to arise, the demon and devil merchants would eliminate it to protect their source of revenue.
The Devil Merchant Code transported Wyatt to the entrance of The Chaos Dwarven Forge. As he stepped in, he found an invisible barrier preventing him from going further. It wasn't just him—other challengers were also waiting at the entrance. Seeing the number of challengers, Wyatt could only shake his head in dismay. The fame of the Chaos Dwarfs in the crafting field was unparalleled.
Soon, he heard the barrier whispering to him in a female voice, "Your duel registration number, please."
Wyatt narrated his duel registration number to the barrier. Moments later, a female Chaos Dwarf dressed in a golden corset and skirt, appearing to be staff of The Chaos Dwarven Forge, approached him with an urgent look. She hurriedly said, "Contestant, please hurry! Your duel is set to start in a few minutes. If the judges arrive before you, they will not hesitate to declare you lost if you're even a second late to the venue."
Wyatt nodded and stood next to her. The female Chaos Dwarf then used her demon merchant codex to teleport them to his designated duel venue. Arriving at the venue with a minute to spare, the Dwarf sighed in relief, "We made it in time. Next time, please arrive half an hour before the duel."
Wyatt indifferently nodded, only to hear the Chaos Dwarf continue, "You're lucky the judges aren't here yet; otherwise, they would criticize you for being tardy."
Scanning the venue, Wyatt found that it resembled the Greek Colosseum back on Earth, with the only difference being that it was far grander and capable of holding a significantly larger audience. To his surprise, it was almost full house. He realized that he had underestimated the popularity of crafting duels among demon and devil merchants.
Wyatt was pleased to see such high attendance because contestants received five percent of the overall revenue from the viewing rights of the crafting duel that the elected Elder Chaos Dwarf body managing the Chaos Dwarven Forge make. This was also why the unnamed Chaos Dwarf did not resist too much when Wyatt insisted on it bearing all the costs of their competition. After all, as a Chaos Dwarf, it could use this venue free of charge.
Wyatt hurriedly mobilized his soul energy manipulation to obscure his face crafting a spiritual mask and used the myriad devil transformation to subtly morph the tiny details of his appearance—just enough to hide his identity from any potential spectators affiliated with the Seven Princes of Hell, but not enough to make it difficult for the Devil Merchant Code to confirm he was the original contestant of this duel.
Looking at the arena in the center of the colosseum, Wyatt noticed it had two open workshops for both contestants to use, allowing spectators a clear view of the crafting process. Wyatt nodded, thinking it wasn't much different from what he had read and seen in images on the inter-realm network. On the opposite side, Wyatt saw the unnamed Chaos Dwarf waiting for the judge just as he was. However, the Chaos Dwarf was surrounded by elder and young Chaos Dwarfs cheering him on, unlike Wyatt, who only had the female Chaos Dwarf staff member attending to him.
Just like the group of elected elder Chaos Dwarfs who managed the Chaos Dwarven District of Sector DS0909 in the inter-realm city, there was a group of elected elder Chaos Dwarfs who ran The Chaos Dwarven Forge. They were responsible for maintaining the Forge and ensuring it met the quotas set by the Devil Merchant Code. Unlike in the Chaos Dwarven District, where dwarfs looked down on marketing gimmicks, here the elder Chaos Dwarfs embraced a little of marketing to promote their various crafting competitions—and only for that purpose. Because what use was of winning a competition if one could not brag about it.
Besides, they didn't need to rely on other promotional events, as their reputation as crafting kings made their crafting competitions some of the most popular events in the entire Duel Realm. This was mainly because crafters from other races could compete and learn from the Chaos Dwarfs in these competitions. For many, just earning a rank in these competitions was considered an honor. Not to mention, the Chaos Dwarfs also rented their forges for other duels. As a result, business was flourishing for the Chaos Dwarfs in the Duel Realm.
"When are the judges going to arrive?" Wyatt asked the staff, perplexed by the delay. He'd heard of contestants being late, but never the judges.