( After the opening ceremony )
Leo met up with Ben after the opening ceremony in their predetermined spot as the two used the cover of the thick crowd to escape from the night guilds radar.
There were several individuals tracking Leo, however, with Ben's expert guidance the duo was still able to slip away much to the dismay of the night guild as they reached a safe spot where the two could gather their thoughts.
"Did you look at the Emperor, what a phony that guy is, career politician I'm telling you, not an ounce of physical presence-" Leo commented as he felt pissed off at how weak the Emperor was as an individual.
"The most dangerous kind of opponent….. for sure. Fighters have honor Leo, when you see a super successful weak guy, that's the individual you need to fear the most, because he's ruling over the strong without having power" Ben said, as he gave Leo a piece of genuine advice.
"But the other masters…. Oh my god, those people are the real deal-" Leo said, sounding like a fanboy, as Ben instantly frowned.
"Them? Nah, your master is better, I'd kick any of their butts in my prime" Ben said, sounding slightly jealous as Leo almost chuckled at his insecurity.
"Well of course, my master is the strongest, I'm just saying they were cool too" Leo said, toning his appreciation down as Ben nodded in agreement.
While Leo liked teasing the old man, he knew what topics to tease him at and what topics to avoid.
"Anyways, your opponent for the next round is a mage…." Ben commented as Leo found his ears perking up.
"Oh?" He said, sounding surprised, as Ben rubbed his nose in pride and continued.
"Your opponent is a mage from the royal mage academy, she's ranked fifth in the class, the last seed for her academy, however, she's frighteningly talented to make it here as a first year, as unlike knight academy, the course for mage academy students usually run for two years…." Ben said, as he gave Leo important insights into his opponent.
"The round of 256 this time around is going to be held in a special arena called 'Ice Field'.
The ground is going to be frozen solid and extremely slippery with the only way to win being to knock your opponent out of bounds" Ben said as he gave Leo hidden information that was not available to other contestants.
"How do you know all this master? Aren't details of the next round supposed to be a secret?" Leo asked, as Ben smiled and gave him a 'V' sign.
"You do your best to win, although I'm not from a big organization I'll do my best to support you.
Whether it's scouting your opponent, scouting round stipulations or coming up with strategies to win. I'll do it all!" Ben said proudly as Leo could not help but grin widely.
Ben was an extremely reliable master when it counted and it was moments like this where Leo truly appreciated Ben and all that he did for him.
'Yep, he's the father I never had. Definitely not that bearded geezer back home' Leo thought, as he gave Ben a spirited thumbs up.
*************
( Lysa's POV )
After noticing that 'TheBoss's' first opponent was none other than Lysa, Cervantez invited Lysa to have a chat with him before her match the next day.
"Facing him in the very first round? Well it's definitely not optimal but I'll do my best" Lysa said, as intimidation was written all over her face.
Currently there was not one sensible player in the world of Terra Nova who was not afraid of facing The Boss.
If anyone claimed that they had no fear of him, they were either lying or were a meathead with no sense of fear in general.
"Well, while I agree it's not optimal to face him this early, I don't think this next match will be within favorable conditions for him…." Cervantez said while rubbing his chin as he tried to remember how the round of 256 played out in his past life.
"What do you mean guildmaster?" Lysa asked curiously as Cervantez began explaining his plan to Lysa.
"The round of 256 is going to be held in an ice field and to win you need to knock your opponent out of bounds.
It's a terrain that will be advantageous to you as a mage who has learnt the levitation spell and unfavorable for him who has to run on the slippery field.
While victory can never be guaranteed when you are facing such an opponent, I do think you have a fair shot to pull it off if you know strong wind spells that can knock him off" Cervantez explained as Lysa's eyes widened with hope.
"Guildmaster, you already know about tomorrow's match conditions? Not even my academy knows this information yet" Lysa said in surprise as Cervantez threw her the 'V' sign.
"You do your best trying to win, I'll handle things like gathering information, as your guildmaster this is the least I can do-" Cervantez said as Lysa nodded her head feeling moved by how competent her leader was.
"Well if the fighting conditions are favorable to me, then I do have the confidence of taking him down-
I will strategize well for tomorrow's battle and will definitely not let you down" Lysa said as she resolved to not let Cervantez's inside information go to waste.
"Good, don't worry too much even if you can't win, just do your best. Regardless of the outcome of the battle, your place within the guild will remain unchanged" Cervantez said, as he acknowledged her resolve but also assured her that the results of the match would not alter her position within the guild and that it was okay even if she lost.
"Thank you so much guildmaster, your support means the world to me" Lysa said, as at this moment she felt truly blessed to join an organization like the DarkSky guild.
—------
/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone! ///