‘This is crazy!’ Jason Clay thought as he looked at the Rebel Energy coach waiting for him in front of the airport.
“Ah! Jason! It’s a pleasure to meet you in person!” Jay said as he shook Jason’s hand. “You’re the last to arrive. Everyone’s waiting for you.”
The driver stored Jason’s bags in the luggage area as he boarded the coach to the sound of people chattering excitedly. All eyes turned on him as the people cheered. Jason held up his hand and laughed as he gave a slight wave to say hello.
Jason sat in one of the empty seats at the front as Jay boarded with the driver. He glanced around and nodded to Burri, Leggy, Un, and Desa.
“Ok, everyone! You can all get to know each other during the drive.” Jay announced as the driver started the engine. “In the meantime, those here at the front are Ragnarok’s officers. So I suggest you learn their faces.”
As Jay sat down, and the coach started the journey, Jason turned to talk to the others. “Let me guess, your Midas.” 𝒷𝒹ℴ𝓿𝓁.𝓬𝓸𝓂
The teenager that Jason spoke to nodded his head with a grin. He wore tight blue jeans and a white shirt. Jason guessed he was only around seventeen years old. From the way he acted in the game, Jason would never have guessed he was so young.
“My name is Robert Chang.” The teenager who played as Midas replied. “This is Cammie Lein, you know her as Winter.”
Jason smiled at the woman next to Midas. She looked to be in her early twenties with long brown hair and green eyes. Cammie was wearing a tight black t-shirt and a skirt over her tights. A grey zip-up hoodie hung loosely off her shoulders.
“And this is Kimberly Green, you know her as Beans.” Midas gestured to the girl sitting across from him.
“Hi. You can call me Kim.” Kimberly said as she gave a warm smile before hiding behind her book.
Jason chuckled as he studied her. Her red hair, blue eyes, and freckles stood out against her pale skin. Kim wore a baggy blue hoodie and grey cargo trousers.
The group settled in and talked about many things. However, Leggy did not take long to start fangirling over meeting Colt Anderson in real life. The group teased him as some of the normal members came forward to greet them.
“Well Freddy, I guess you just got a taste of what it’s like to be Colt.” Jason chuckled as he glanced at his friend who played as Leggy in the game.
The latter turned scarlet as he thought about it. It was just beginning to sink in that his own name would be known by now. Jason shook his head as he realised Freddy had spaced out. ‘It really is amazing. I never thought I’d ever play at this level.’ Jason sighed as he remembered the missed opportunities over the years. ‘Well, I’m here now. I had better make the most of it.’
The drive went on for another few hours before Jay suddenly stood up. He coughed as he picked up the microphone that was connected to the coach’s speakers.
“Ok, in just a moment you’ll catch a glimpse of your new home out of the windows on the left,” Jay said as he chuckled. “You should all expect a warm welcome!”
Jason frowned as the coach turned a corner, revealing a large park out of the right side windows. Gasps erupted inside the coach as a complex became visible down the road. It was as large as a five-storey building with huge panels of glass facing the road. A familiar emblem had been mounted above the doors where a crowd had gathered.
Jason shook his head as private security kept the crowd behind barriers. He could hear his teammates talking excitedly about the Ragnarok emblem as others gaped at the crowd cheering their names as the coach came to a halt. Camera flashes kept going off as Jay urged them not to speak with anyone and head directly inside.
As he set foot on the pavement, Jason smiled and waved as he headed for the front door amid the crowd pleading for autographs. Even journalists were not allowed to go beyond the barriers as the security team kept a close eye on the situation.
“Wait! Where’re the Anderson brothers?” Someone in the crowd yelled as they realised their absence.
Jay quickly urged the team on as he turned around to deal with the crowd’s questions. Jason’s eyes went wide as he opened the glass doors to see two receptionists sitting behind a gorgeous white desk. ‘Is this really happening?’
His reaction was understandable as the others reacted the same way. Jason slowly led the way to the desk where the receptionists smiled at him.
“Welcome home.” The woman said with a bright smile as she eyed the team. “Trisha here will show you to the dorms. Be sure to give her your names so she can show you to your assigned rooms.”
“Excuse me, but where’s Colt?” Jason asked as he glanced around in admiration.
“The Anderson brothers are currently in a training session. Would you like to speak to them?”
“Yeah, I think it would be best if all the officers speak to them after ditching our things in our rooms.”
“Very well,” The woman nodded to Trisha before turning back to Jason. “Trisha will take you to the training hall after your rooms.”
“Thanks,” Jason said as Trisha stepped out from behind the desk.
“Follow me please,” Trisha said with a bright smile as the guys on the team stared at her with blank expressions.
Luckily, she did not seem offended as she gracefully turned toward the stairs leading up to the next floor. It took some time to get everyone settled into their rooms before Jason and the others returned to Trisha in the hallway.
“The rooms are amazing!” Cammie said as they followed Trisha through the building. “I wonder what else is in here.”
“Probably everything a pro team needs,” Freddy said while pretending none of this was getting him excited.
“You’re just trying to stay calm before meeting Colt.” Robert chuckled as he saw through him.
It took the group five minutes to reach the training hall from the dorms. As Trisha stopped in front of the doors she turned the group.
“Be careful not to distract them when you go in. You might have to wait for their sparring session to end. And please, don’t hesitate to call down to reception if you need anything.”
Jason blushed as Trisha winked at him before walking off, leaving the group alone. ‘God, I wonder if I should ask her out?’ Jason thought right before he felt his face turning red and the hearing the sound of giggling.
“Don’t worry man. She’s definitely into you.” Freddy said as he patted Jason’s shoulder.
The girls sighed and shook their heads as they glared at the men who felt embarrassed by their gazes.
“Why does every guy think a girl must be into them just because they’re being nice?” Cammie said as she strode forward and opened the doors.
Kim was quick to follow her while the guys shrugged with confused expressions before following them. However, when they entered the hall, an insane scene was playing out that left them speechless!
Jason urged everyone to move along the wall to get a better look before staring intently at the battle taking place. Colt swung a sword that cut a golden arrow in two as Mike parried Paul’s slash. The latter quickly pivoted on his back foot, causing Mike to lose his balance. However, Paul’s second sword was met by Colt’s as he defended his brother from their instructor’s attack!
A lightning bolt leapt from Colt’s skin at the same time as he cast a separate one with his free hand! Jason and the others gasped as Paul twisted his body and cut both bolts into two halves with a single slash!
‘What the hell is this?’ Jason wondered as he watched the spectacle. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it!’ He could not help but gulp as he watched the battle, all the while wondering if this was what he could expect to face in the future. Part of him wondered if he would be able to keep up with a battle on that level.
Colt grunted as Paul launched two more arrows with a grin on his face. One from each sword flew away from him to circle around behind Mike and Colt.
“I’ve got this!” Mike said grimly as Colt nodded.
Paul’s expression turned dark as Mike traced a large arc with his wooden staff that knocked both arrows away from them, while Colt fired four simultaneous lightning bolts. However, all four shot directly into the air above the mats before freezing in mid-air!
“Well done!” Paul shouted as he readied his wooden swords. “But can you score a hit with them?”
“What’s going on?” Cammie asked as she looked at Jason. She understood that the sparring session was mimicking things from Pantheon Online. However, what they were all witnessing made no sense to them.
“I have no clue.” Jason sighed as Paul dashed toward Colt!
They could all see that Colt appeared unable to move as an intense expression of concentration appeared on his face. Two of the lightning bolts shot down to intercept Paul before he could reach Colt, while the other two moved to strike him from his blind spots.
Paul chuckled as he dodged the bolts in front of him before turning and striking the remaining bolts with a single sword each. However, as he completed his technique, he found Mike swinging his staff at his face!
Paul ducked under it before slashing Mike’s ribs and leaping forward in a powerful lunge, landing the tip of his blade on Colt’s abdomen!
Two loud beeps sounded in the hall as Mike collapsed to the ground heaving for breath while Colt shook his head in frustration.
“Don’t worry, both of you are improving.” Paul chuckled as he patted Colt’s shoulder.
“We can go again.” Colt wheezed as he started to analyse their last fight in his mind.
“Maybe you can, but you shouldn’t.” Paul sighed as he helped Mike to his feet.
“Why not?” Both brothers replied as both of their faces revealed their determination.
“Because your team has arrived.” Paul chuckled as he pointed to the group by the wall.
‘Damn! He was able to notice them despite our fight!’ Colt cursed in his mind when he realised they were still a long way away from actually posing a threat to Paul.
“Hey, guys!” Colt shouted before coughing violently. “Glad to finally have you here!”