Chapter 191: Decision
Then Charles spoke again. This time, it was his turn to introduce the person who had brought him here.
"Although there is much more to say about that boy’s talent, we still have a third person. It’s... Andrew," he said. He knew that name would be easily recognizable to his grandfather, as his grandfather was Andrew’s father’s best friend.
And as he suspected, the mere mention of the name upset him slightly. "Did something happen to him?" he asked.
"Yes, but it’s nothing bad... for now," he said. "The thing is, he’s become a Level 5 Blacksmith. According to the report, his talent for it is impressive. So..." He paused.
He knew his grandfather understood perfectly what he meant.
And his grandfather fell silent again.
A Level 5 Blacksmith at just 18 years old.
’Just as I expected from your son, old friend. But I should say that he’s even better than you were in your day,’ he thought.
He vividly remembered his best friend’s skills, as they had been together, fighting for life and against death, for many, many years. From the age of 14 until well into their 100s.
If it weren’t for his disappearance, he would still be trying to go on adventures with him. Unfortunately, time had taken a more drastic toll on him. While his friend still maintained a dignified, reserved, and powerful appearance, the last time he saw him, he was already in a complicated state at that time.
These runes, in part, exist for him. To help him stay alive. They had been brothers for a long time, so he was terribly glad that his son was so impressive.
But worry also struck him.
’Level 5... That’s complicated,’ he thought.
Like the Summoners, everyone hated the Blacksmiths for different reasons but slightly similar ones.
The Summoners are hated for their ability to change the course of a battle, simply because they can gain the upper hand at any moment.
Meanwhile, the Smiths are hated for their ability to create incredibly powerful weapons, and the Existential Treasures are a perfect example of this. These runes are the best example.
Despite being much smaller than all the surrounding kingdoms, no one dared to try to invade them because of the mere existence of this treasure.
Perhaps no one knew what it did, except for the guild leaders, but it was there. It was an Existential Treasure that caused fear. That alone was enough to make them back down, and unless they had no other choice, they would not attack.
And running out of options in a world where they are small is difficult. Unless...
If only we had three people as talented as those three young men.
With an 18-year-old Level 5 Blacksmith, a swordsman reaching Level 5 at 16, and a Summoner capable of growing ridiculously fast in just 5 months, there is no kingdom or guild nearby that would dare to invade them—anything to prevent the birth of a guild capable of dominating them in every way.
Of course, the first thing they would do would be to try to get one of those great geniuses for astronomical amounts of money, in some kind of fair exchange.
This possibility was the first thing that crossed his mind.
Sell them to a more powerful guild.
It was a common tactic among guilds. You will easily find exchanges of powerful characters between guilds a few months before the start of each competition season.
In fact, on the most powerful continents, there are people who left here after being bought by those great guilds, and some have had very good results.
So selling them to guilds outside the continent would be a good idea. For talents as great as those three, they could ask for a large sum of money to make them the richest guild in the region, or at least one of the richest.
However, that has several problems, the main one being that it must be discussed with the players in an agreement made by the system. If the player does not agree, no one can force them unless they are already outside the agreement given by the System, and that would be considered illegal in many cases, as it would be taken as a threat.
The other problem is finding a guild that wants to buy them. It’s not easy, because many are aware of the danger involved, and sometimes trying to do so can lead to death, especially if you contact a guild that is much more powerful than you.
But the biggest problem they both saw with this possibility was that... it would be a waste.
Those three immensely talented boys were now willing to play for them. To allow their guild to become great.
They have longed for this since their creation. For their story to be told on every continent and heard by every little child.
Having these impressive talents is the best chance they have of achieving it. Of course, it’s risky. No one can deny the risk involved in having such talented people in an environment that is not so favorable to them.
After all, even though they are saints, they can hardly do anything against a god.
But wasn’t it worth it?
Despite the obvious difficulty, both felt it was worth the risk. But... they couldn’t think selfishly either.
They were not alone. There were a huge number of people under them right now. The kingdom had more than 90 million inhabitants, many cities, and two important provinces. The guild itself had very powerful figures who depended on them.
Perhaps this decision could truly define the fate of the guild.
"Are they free right now, or are they participating in a tournament?" the old man asked suddenly.
"They’re in the Leveled Leagues right now."
"How long until it ends?"
"Hmm, less than a month. If there are no setbacks, it should end in about 15 days, possibly."
"I see. Then we’ll do this..." He approached Charles and gave him several instructions.
Some instructions sounded dangerous, although they made a lot of sense. They had to discuss them slowly for several hours until they both agreed.
Finally, Charles called Steward back and mentioned a few small things, giving him instructions on what to do. He was not told the plan.
-
It was already January 30.
Game day.
Angelic Wave vs. Elemental Academy.
It looked like an impressive game, so it attracted much attention. All the fans of both teams were gripped with fear. Somehow, even though Angelic Wave was undefeated and had beaten Elemental Academy twice, what they had seen in the round of 16 with Elemental Academy made them realize that it was dangerous.
They hadn’t shown their full power during the group stage, so everyone was waiting to see how they would perform now that they were in the most important knockout stage.
In addition, the hooded man had finally come out. Although he didn’t reveal his face, he stood among the five Academy participants in the arena.
A dangerous aura seemed to hover over the arena, while those on it tried to remain calm.
Finally, it was time for the battle to begin...
The Academy had a plan, so they tried to carry it out from the start. Meanwhile, Angelic Wave...
Well, they didn’t do much.
They just played as usual, and with the recent information that the Elemental Academy wasn’t actually that dangerous, they won overwhelmingly.
There was nothing else to see in that battle.
They went out with Chris and Rich, which, in the eyes of the audience, was an insult, but it worked out so well for them that it silenced all the naysayers.
They let the two who hadn’t appeared much shine, thus earning points to be better rewarded later, although Elliot was still the MVP, and no one could prevent it.
His importance in all the fights was too much, leaving everyone speechless. Obviously, he was a summoner. You couldn’t compete against that in terms of usefulness.
For them, winning this fight in that way was normal. The real fight would come in a week.
That same afternoon, Zargo Academy and The Cats decided the winner. They put on a good show, and the cats surprised everyone again, but it wasn’t enough. Maybe if they had had the twins, they could have done more, but they didn’t seem regretful or anything. On the contrary, they were very excited.
The members of that guild have a peculiar way of being. It’s not for nothing that not just anyone can join.
Now, honestly, that was the least of it, at least for Elliot.
The day wasn’t over for him just because of that. He had many more things to do.
And among so many things, it was time to raise his stats.
He hadn’t looked at them much lately, but gained several points. Fifteen in total, thanks to participating in all the battles.
Those fifteen are divided into eight in strength, four in resistance, one in agility, and two in sense.
He knew that right now, what he needed most was power. The strength of the Zargo Academy impressed him; he couldn’t face them weak.
That’s why he uploaded them all, leaving no one behind.
[Statistics]
| Strength: 73.
| Resistance: 71.
| Agility: 61.
| Sense: 56.
’Although I’m getting closer and closer to those mythical 100 points, it’s getting harder and harder to earn points. I’ll have to go hunting at some point in the future,’ he thought.
He would have a long week ahead of him.