Liam and his friends continued to watch the tournant, mainly focusing on potential competitors. Soon, though, it was ti for Hotpot to make their first appearance.
The audience stands were filled with excited spectators. Liam's na had already begun to spread, and many people ca with the hope that he might show another exotic fighting style.
The friends stood on the arena floor, fanning their faces with their hands, enduring the heat as C chose hell as the location for their fight.
“Damn, why are we so unlucky?”
“It's really strange. We have Cyclone after all.”
“This has nothing to do with . Since even my luck is not enough, there is only one explanation. One of you must have angered C!”
“How could we anger C? We are just playing the ga...”
The friends talked among themselves when their opponents suddenly appeared. A group of young n and won looked around curiously.
Imdiately they were shocked as by the number of spectators. But suddenly a female rogue let out a high-pitched cry:
“Ahh! It's Hotpot?”
“What? Really?! Wow!”
“Damn, amazing! I never thought I would see them up close!”
“Mirage, I'm a big fan!”
“Watchful Eye, you're the coolest!”
“Balm, you're so pretty!”
Liam and his friends were startled, staring at their opponents, who suddenly surrounded them, chattering away.
The audience was amused by the scene. They laughed as the match turned into a et and greet. Many of the spectators even showed jealous expressions.
Cyclone was the first to stick out her chest proudly and engaged in a conversation, learning that their opponents were from a neighbouring planet of Falva Star. Similarly to Hotpot they were a group of friends which had only ford after the release of Fate of Crunaboul and had beco famous on their server.
After hearing about Hotpot's exploits the group took Liam and his friends as a goal to chase after, admiring them greatly.
Cyclone's eyes lit up. She and Balm enjoyed the feeling of becoming soone's else's idol the most, chatting happily. They felt one step closer to their dream of becoming famous guild leaders.
The audience did not know how to react. Luckily, the caster arrived soon, gave a short speech, and announced the start of the match.
There was not much tension in the fight. Liam naturally didn't want to humiliate the friendly opponents, fighting regularly with his two swords.
The opponents proved to be quite capable, or they wouldn't have made it into the first tier. But against Hotpot they ultimately stood no chance. After a controlled battle Hotpot erged victorious without losing a single mber.
Still, no one was disappointed. Hotpot's opponents were happy about facing their idols while the audience now had even higher expectations, calling Hotpot the tournant favourites.
Obviously, Liam and his friends were also happy with how the day went. They continued watching the tournant until the evening when the C all the players out of Crunaboul.
Back in rida's apartnt, Liam stretched his body when he noticed Serena was already holding a tablet in her hand scrolling up and down.
“Hey, we just left the ga. Can't you be without a screen for a second? Be careful not to get addicted.”
Serena rolled her eyes. She held the tablet into the air while saying:
“How can I miss these fun articles. Look, they are writing about you!”
“Writing about ?”
Liam raised his eyebrows as he stepped behind Serena and read the headlines.
“Bleary Mirage: Fishing for victory. The most shocking battle till this day. Eye-opening creativity. People are more surprised than I thought...”
While Liam didn't consider his battle anything amazing, many players seed to disagree. His match had beco the most discussed event of the day.
However, the reactions were not only positive. Many people thought that Liam unnecessarily humiliated the opponent only to gain fa for himself. Since the conversation between contestants wasn't heard by the audience and Liam didn’t bother giving interviews, he got a lot of negative press as well.
Right now, the discussion seed to be split fifty fifty. But a small spark might be enough to decide if Liam would turn into an idolized star or if he would carry a 'bad boy' image from now on.
Liam sighed and massaged his temples. He hated dealing with the dia. Once a public image was ford it was too difficult to get rid of it.
I think our guild needs soone to take care of our dia presence. I don't want to deal with this stuff. I should advice Cyclone tomorrow...
Suddenly Serena took the tablet back and let out a loud 'Hmpf'.
“These journalists are all idiots! My brother would never maliciously humiliate soone, right?”
Serena turned her head, looking at Liam with eyes full of trust. He couldn't help but smile and nod.
“Of course not. That person deserved it.”
“What did he do?”
Liam hesitated for a mont before answering:
“He... insulted Cynthia. But don't tell her. Cynthia's situation in complicated enough. No need to pay attention to so random idiot.”
Suddenly Serena opened her eyes wide, baring her teeth:
“What?! How could that guy...
Hmpf! You did good in teaching him a lesson. He deserves it!”
“Haha, then we are of the sa opinion.”
anwhile in Cynthia's new apartnt. Six young won were sitting around in their pyjamas, gossiping about the tournant.
Cynthia and l were naturally among them as well as so of their 'gaming-friends'.
“Did you really talk to Pri? I'm so jealous!”, sighed a young woman as she stared at Cynthia and Balm.
“Of course! She was amazing! So cool!”, exclaid Cynthia with a dreamy expression.
“Yes, she even recognized us!”, agreed l.
“Hah, we should have been faster back then when you asked us to raid the dungeon.”
“Yes, l was the only one who reacted and now look how far they have co.”
“I'm so jealous. Also happy for you. But also jealous!”
The girls laughed loudly. Cynthia smiled. She was glad that her friends hadn't changed after missing the opportunity of joining Hotpot right when it ford.
“We are soon recruiting new mbers for Dream Avenue. This ti, you must join!”, said l.
“Definitely!”
“You won't be getting rid of us!”
“In the next tournant we will reach the top together!”
The girls continued chatting for a long ti. Cynthia had invited everyone for a sleepover. Obviously, she still wasn't quite accustod to the idea of living alone in the big building.
The young won chatted and laughed more than they slept. The next day they entered the ga together. When Cyclone and Balm t with their friends, they were still sleepy.
Silver Blade looked at her friends with obvious concern:
“Cyclone, Balm, are you feeling unwell?”
“Oh no... we are alright.”
Cyclone waved her hands, feeling sowhat guilty but jus then a long yawn escaped her lips.
Silver Blade raised her brows:
“Did go out last night?”
“No!”
“Yes!”
Cyclone looked at Balm, annoyed that her fellow conspirator would give in so easily. But from Balm's perspective she naturally went out, so she simply answered truthfully.
Silver Blade was caught between laughing and crying. She simply advised her friends:
“Just don't overdo it, girls. We still have a tournant to win.”
“You're right...”
“Ok...”
The two young won hung their heads low, feeling guilty towards their guild. As leaders it wasn't a good look to be tired every day.
Cyclone swore to do better but thinking about the large, empty, gaming house she still felt queasy.
Fortunately for the, two the tournant soon continued, grabbing everyone's attention. Hotpot continued watching. With the start of the fifth day there were almost no lower tiers left. Finally, it was ti for the crè de la crè to face off.
One hour after the tournant's started, Hotpot switched to an arena floating above a human kingdom.
“Ah, finally normal temperatures.”
“So comfortable.”
The friends talked leisurely as the caster made his announcents.
Only Silent Acacia didn't join them. He sat among the group, but no sound reached his ears. His fists were clenched and his muscles quivered nervously.
Suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder. Silent Acacia jumped in shock, causing Quickstep to let out a sigh:
“Babe, no need to stress yourself out. You got this!”
The rest of the friends also noticed the hunter's detrintal state of mind. They quickly tried to bolster his courage:
“Acacia, show them what you're made of!”
“There is no way you will lose!”
“You have the best equipnt and a tier 2 character, you got this!”
Silent Acacia felt a warmth rising in his chest. He glanced at everyone, feeling thankful. This was exactly the kind of support he never got in his old team.
He shook his body, attempting to loosen up. A smile ford on his lips.
“Thanks, guys. You are right. I got this!”
Silent Acacia nodded, his eyes growing determined. He communicated with C and quickly appeared on the arena floor.
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