While the competitors were getting to know each other, the moderator was having fun riling up the spectators.
When she or he was done, they turned their attention to the competitors.
They said, "Today is a glorious day. Today, a couple of children become adults. Today is a good day for a rite of passage."
"Welcome, challengers and spectators. I am Theseus from Earth-2. I am here today to be the moderator for this game. I hope we will have a lot of fun today."
"Now that my part of the introductions is done. It is time for the proper introductions of the boys and girls who will fight today. Listen and listen well, my people. Shout out when I introduce someone you love."
The crowd was already cheering.
"I have here with me a certain Dustin Donuts. He is a fine young man who likes running circles around his opponents. Please give a shout out to Dustin Donuts."
A screen had appeared above the man named Dustin Donuts. It was a large screen, so it displayed his figure well enough for everyone in the stadium to see. Everyone could see that he was picking his nose with his fingers.
Theseus commented on this, "Wow, look at him, go. He looks like he is digging for gold."
Many people laughed and some booed, but Dustin didn't stop picking his nose. When he was done, he cleaned his finger against his trousers.
This caused a log of spectors to boo him or exclaim in disgust. But it also caused his fans to cheer louder. They knew his antics, so this was normal to them.
The moderator continued to speak about Dustin. They didn't dwell on the treasure he unearthed from his nose. Most of what they said were his achievements.
As they spoke, the big screen at the center of the stadium and the little ones in front of each spectator displayed what the moderator was talking about.
Everyone got to see his highlights and funny awkward moments, like the time someone set his pants on fire and had him running around butt naked. This caused the spectators to laugh.
It went without a doubt that the other competitors didn't like Dustin. He was turning out to be a crowd favorite and gaining more fans right in front of them. He was going to be a strong force to contend with.
Dustin was already off to a good start while they hadn't even gotten introduced yet. His class clown act was just funny and endearing to watch.
Kelvin snorted in disdain. He didn't think people like Dustin were great. Dustin was a speedster and also someone who took the destiny games as games. He didn't take them seriously. He had fun with them.
What Kelvin hated more was that Dustin could afford to be likadisical about it because he was fast. He could avoid danger as a speedster. Dustin wasn't as bad as a certain speedster that he hated, but the hatred was close.
The moderator went on to introduce the other participants. They spent a few seconds on them before moving on. But certain people took more than a few seconds for introductions. One of them was Augustus Many Faces.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have here a rising star. This is his first attempt at advancing to the next league, so this is his first advancement game. He has never lost a game. Isn't that impressive?"
"He is on a winning streak right now. Will that help him advance to the professional league and take them by storm? We will see. In the meantime, give it up for Augustus Many Faces."
The screens showed his face. What was shown made the moderator laugh. They said, "As usual, he is wearing the face of someone else. Whose face is he wearing now, I wonder?"
The answer became clear without much searching. There was another competitor who looked exactly like Kelvin. This competitor was not happy about the coincidence. He was frowning while the spectators laughed.
The man he had stolen his identity from was not the only one frowning at him. Most of the competitors were frowning too. It was clear that about 70% of them didn't like him. 50% of them even looked ready to kill him at the earliest opportunity.
Meanwhile, the spectators were having a good time. Most of them—probably 99% of them—don't know him. They have never heard of him. So his antics are new to most of them.
90% of the spectators didn't come because of any competitor, so he is not alone in this. They came to watch a match and have a good time. They might become fans at the end of the match, but that is still up to chance.
Right now, his chances are looking good. Even the moderator was finding it difficult to keep afloat with how much laughter they were struggling with.
"Do you see that? He is so funny. He does things like this. I thought he would look like a celebrity this time around, but this is also good too."
Then the moderator went on to mention his achievements and show the highlights of his previous games.
What appeared on the screen was gore and more gore. There was no downtime for the gore. He was always killing someone or trying to kill someone. People were always running away from him or running back to fight him only to have their guts eviscerated.
His fans loved it and cheered. But most of the spectators hated it. Many of them were shocked to the bones with what they were seeing. It was then that they realized that he was not a joker like Dustin. He was a true predator.
Like the sheep that they were, they didn't like him. Very few appreciated what he did. Most of them hated it and began booing him. The stadium was soon full of the sound of disproval.
He shrugged mentally and thought to himself, "I guess there goes my chances of getting new fans by the buttload."