While Ren was having his dilemma, Leonel felt uncomfortable.
“Why is everyone looking at us?” he asked.
“It’s because we’re the only guild that has six members,” answered Roxy. “And they felt threatened.”
“Six?” Leonel counted the heads in their group and was shocked to find that their Thief was still alive. “Oh, you’re still alive. That’s good.”
Their Thief could only silently cry inside. His presence was so minuscule that even his teammates didn’t notice him.
“So you even know, Isolde Gambino?” Sumeri asked Ren at the side.
“It’s only right in our line of work,” Ren only said.
“Yeah. But knowing Silvia, Ragnar, and even Isolde? You really know your stuff, huh.”
Ren inwardly smiled. “It’s called building connections. They’re important clients in the future.”
Sumeri chuckled. “Isolde is a charming woman, ey?”
Ren didn’t disagree. “She’s also pretty cool.”
Sumeri didn’t know why but she felt something akin to a tinge stabbing her. Ren seemed strict and overbearing, and anything that came out of his mouth was nothing but shrewdness. He was a capable guy, and she could see that a lot would look up to him and yearn for his approval . . . but who knew that he would have a soft spot at Isolde Gambino?
Sumeri laughed at herself for thinking that a teenage girl out beat her and that Ren even acknowledged her. It wasn’t even a competition, to begin with. Ren was simply a guy he met a few days ago. An employer who would give her ten bucks after this was all over.
“But are you okay, though?” Ren asked back when Silvia was silent. “Scar and Silvia will be our enemies.”
Sumeri flinched at Ren’s voice, and her smile dropped, before she took a deep breath. “Silvia and I are okay with that. Our friendship is not that surface level to actually break with something like this. As for Scar . . .” Sumeri was a little hesitant, but her voice hardened when she spoke, “I’m only disappointed that Invayne wasn’t here.”
“Do you think that you can handle your emotions when we face Black Lion . . . your ex?”
Sumeri scoffed. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure that he’s going down even if it kills me.”
“Good. Then I have something for you,” said Ren with a concerning smile on his face.
The crowd continued its cheers while the MC Rabbit introduced each guild.
The rules were simple. Each group would face each other in a bracket match until one guild won the championship title. And like the first rule, everyone can use their items. No, revive upon death, no fights outside of the stadium, and no form of communication outside the arena while the battle raged on.
“Looks like we’ll be facing Ravaging Bull.” Roxy pointed to a group of downcast Monk and Brutes. They only had three players left in the group, and when they caught their glares, they retrieved their gazes.
“We don’t have to worry about them. Let’s concentrate on getting to the top ten first. The battle will happen simultaneously, and it would only take hours before we fight for that title,” said Ren.
Leonel scratched his head. “How are we going to battle at the same time with only one arena–”
He hadn’t finished his sentence when the earth shook, and the enormous stadium split into fifty parts. Each Arena had a number flashing over it. It also had wide gaps from the next, but the space it encompassed was enough for twenty persons to fit with adequate room to maneuver.
Leonel was stunned. “Oh . . . so that’s how.”
“Players! To your designated Arena, if you please!” The Rabbit bent forward, hat extending, ushering every guild to climb the stadium.
“We’re at number seventeen.” Roxy led the way towards the Arena and hopped onto the platform.
Looking over the widescreen on the horizon, it displayed each Arena clearly, and all the players’ faces were zoomed in at the current moment.
Roxy, Leonel, and Nikolai’s stomachs tumbled inside out.
“N-now, I’m nervous.”
“Can we have like . . . some privacy?”
“Don’t worry. If you’re nervous, then everyone is too. No one is looking at us. A small guild like ours, is like a pebble on the road against these big guilds,” said Ren, trying to console his teammates, but the coldness in his voice only made them turn frigid.
“I don’t know which is worse. Having to fight while everyone gang up on you, or fight on the Arena where the world is watching.” Leonel lamented.
Though, like what Ren said, not many eyes were on them, and most were on the guilds they were betting on winning. Either the top guilds like Black Lion, Golden Phoenix, and White Unicorns, among others. The only attention they got was temporary as the guild with the most members.
However, most associated their victory over the others at the lack of a real competitor in their server. If any of the top twenty guilds were on their server, then they wouldn’t be here amongst the hundred — an unknown guild with unknown members. Most of the audience and even the top guilds thought the same thing.
On top of the Arena were three enemies awaiting. Ren didn’t bother to ask their Thief to steal their enemy’s items since they didn’t have one left. Their HP and MP bar were also near half, so Roxy and the others could definitely take care of it.
“What’s the plan?” Sumeri asked while the countdown before the fight blinked over the Arena, flashing on their eyes.
“The usual. Leonel, Roxy, and Nikolai will keep them away while the rest of you will finish them off.”
Sumeri flicked her staff and pointed the end of it at her enemies. “Copy that.”
The two Monks and the Brute could do nothing but smile wryly. They could only hope that Roaring Tigers and Fighting Lambs were weak. Though they doubt it in the back of their mind. Ren and the others had full HP and MP.
The fight was over before it even started.
DdiiinNngG!
The first sound of the bell signaled the start of the battle, and the audiences’ excitement choked the air.
The two Monks used their skills to channel spiritual energy into their weapons. They didn’t have any MP left to cast any real skills, and the only thing they could do now was fortify their weapons.
On the other hand, the Brute lacked the MP to cast any skill also. So his only choice was to use his ATP to his advantage. Thinking that Nikolai was the easiest target amongst Leonel and Roxy, who was guarding the front, he went for the kid.
“I got this,” Nikolai said as he took a step back as the Brute lunged in his direction, and with a quick snap of his knuckled, he delivered a well-placed thrust, and the force of it reverberated through his body.
The Brute took a step back, stunned, before he gave Nikolai a quick glare. His HP decreased even more. He was furious that a kid bested him, and he ferociously swung his axe. The force of his blow whistled through the air, but before it could connect to Nikolai’s throat, a hissing fire burned him from where he stood, depleting his HP to zero.
Nikolai looked over at his back and found his sister beaming at him. “Thanks, sis.”
At the same time, Leonel and Roxy were busy fending off the two Monks while their Thief slowly but surely stabbed them from behind multiple times, landing critical hits and chipping their HP every few seconds.
While everyone was busy fighting, Ren just stood on the side like a spectator. Leonel and the others didn’t mind it, though, since Ren told them a while ago that he was going to be the secret weapon. And they should fight as long as they could without his help. Even better if they reach the top twenty without Ren doing anything so the other guilds wouldn’t know his capabilities.
They knew that Ren’s kills and explosive ATP were their trump card, and they would use it in the top twenty fights to gain the upper hand.