Chapter 596: VIP
Everyone had their jaws on the ground as they saw Michael enter one of the VIP rooms.
"What?!"
"But...but...how does he get a VIP room among the Major Factions?!"
"So that’s where he’s been the entire time!"
Beau and the rest of the Rising Six had been wondering why they couldn’t contact Michael among the private suites in the auction rooms. They were looking everywhere, but failed to find the Reborn company’s room.
But as it turned out, they were looking in the wrong direction. Michael was in the VIP section of the venue.
As for how he got that privilege, no one knew but Barnaby.
"He has a VIP room... he got the black medallion... What more is this kid hiding?!"
...
...
...
Michael entered the room, with the Dragonborns looking at him with excitement.
"Bro Mike! Will I get to punch Maugnetics?!"
He shook his head. "Unfortunately, only I can come in the game. Having people who aren’t Maugnetics can be really dangerous."
If he tried to force it and say that the Dragonborns were included in his usage of the black medallion, then it probably would have worked. But he knew that they weren’t prepared for it at all.
So this time, he’d be acting alone.
"Alright, Lord Micheal. We shall await for your glorious return," Sheina said, bowing towards him.
Meanwhile, Barnaby finally shook himself up and forced himself to be professional. He quickly recast his voice amplification spell to get everyone’s attention back onto the auction.
"I apologize for the slight delay, but as you all have witnessed, Michael has now become eligible to join the bidding because of the Black Medallion! The game shall commence!" he announced.
The crowd cheered mildly, as they were still unable to process the fact that Michael, the boy who had just stepped foot into the realm of the Rising Six, was now fighting against the Major Factions—all by himself.
Unlike his competition, he had no help. While they had five Maugnetics per company, each with a strength of 7th to 9th stage Body Formation cultivation, Michael was alone with his 4th stage power.
Although he had shown himself to be capable of defeating those who were in the 6th stage, given his win over Beau, people were still skeptical if he could stand a chance against experienced and skilled Maugnetics from the Major Factions.
"Please get your players ready!" Barnaby commanded, and soon, people began walking down the backstage stairs and showing themselves to the crowd.
As expected, each of the Major Factions were using their best fighters for the game.
"Who do you think would win? I think Alaric will eke out a victory in both games."
"He’s good, but Potbol is just on a completely different level physically. He’s the best fighter here, no doubt. He’s trained by a Heavenly Knight after all."
"And did you hear? Someone said that the Magic Tower had someone who came from their organization Guild of Arcana! They said that they’re using a pupil who is learning to become a Mystic Master! I think his name is Braxton."
Strangely though, this Braxton fellow was noticeably absent from the Magic Tower’s line-up. There’s only four of them currently on their side.
Michael floated down and took his spot on the stage, gathering everyone’s attention.
He was the odd man out. His feats during this auction had truly surprised them, but they would have never expected that he’d be able to stand on the same stage as them in the end.
Barnaby approached him and gave him a suggestion.
"Hey, why don’t you sit the first game out? We both know you don’t need to win the automobile."
This was a very useful proposal as it could help him conserve energy for when he truly needed it. The only thing that mattered were the 15 drops of Soo that he could potentially obtain.
However, there was a part of him that disagreed. Literally.
[Don’t waste this chance. Spending as much time immersed in an environment of people stronger than you will lead to much greater and faster results. This is the only chance you’ll have of facing off against the best of the best]
As expected of Harbinger, the only thing on its mind was improvement at the fastest and highest level. It didn’t care if it was hard or impossible.
But to be honest, he didn’t dislike this way of thinking.
"It’s okay. I don’t want any special treatments," he replied to Barnaby.
Hearing this, the other players couldn’t help but look at him with a new sense of respect. It would have been easy to just accept Barnaby’s proposal and make it easier on himself. But he didn’t. He wanted to be fair.
"Alright. I trust you know what you’re doing," Barnaby said, patting Michael on the shoulder for good luck.
Just then, Michael was approached by Dicky, who was in Bobby’s team.
"Hey, Michael!"
"Sup!"
The two were friendly. Michael was still very grateful to them for teaching him how to coat his Drone with Soo.
"I just gotta say. I’m still incredibly shocked to see you here. I think everyone’s talking about you right now."
He smiled. "I didn’t think I’d be here too."
"If we don’t have to fight each other, I think it’s a good idea for you to side with our team. We’ll be more than happy to welcome you in."
Dicky pointed to Bobby and the other three players from the Quench company, who greeted Michael with the same smile as Dicky.
"Maybe I would take you up on your offer."
If having teammates were possible, then that would be his best chance of surviving for as long as possible. Of course, this was only possible if the game they played permitted cooperation.
"Ahem, Tower Master? It looks like you have one less member on your team."
The tinted glass on the Magic Tower’s VIP suite parted ways to show the presence of the Tower Master.
Michael looked up at him and saw a middle-aged man, in his late forties, with short pepper hair and a rectangular mustache.
He’s the Tower Master?
He wasn’t exactly the image he had in mind when thinking of a sage that spent years locked up in a tower studying magic.
"Forgive me, Barnaby. Our last member is running a bit late. He’s just about to arrive," the Tower Master said apologetically.
And just then, the door to his VIP suite burst wide open as a young teenage man came strutting in with a carefree smile on his face.
"Sorry, uncle Lucius. I slept in hehe!"
This was Braxton, the supposed genius from the Guild of Arcana, training to be the next Mystic Master. He was quite chubby, with white wavy hair on top of his head.
The Tower Master glared at him sternly. "You’re not taking this seriously, are you?"
Braxton shrugged. "Sorry uncle, but matters of the physical world simply don’t interest me. I would rather stay in my room, eat some snacks, and bury my head in books and scrolls."
Lucius scoffed. "Be honest. You think this is beneath you, right?"
The young teenager couldn’t only nod his head. He was going to be a Mystic Master in the future, after all.
"Haha...we’ll see if you can keep that attitude," Lucius said, smiling as he looked down at Michael.