( Luke's POV )
Just like Leo and Cervantez, Luke also won his match in the round of 16 and was escorted to the Royal Palace in a grand carriage.
Unlike Leo, Luke was not blown away by the grandeur of the carriage itself, but was more amused by the reactions of the commoners when his carriage passed by.
Somehow, children running beside his carriage trying to get a glimpse of who was sitting inside made Luke feel like he was a prince or someone equally important, as he felt warm on the inside when treated this way.
As he reached the palace, he found five other contestants already standing there, seemingly waiting for everyone to arrive as he seemed to be the sixth one to reach the party.
On the far left corner, with his arms crossed stood 'The Boss', looking as cold and unapproachable as ever.
As Luke glanced towards him, their eyes briefly met for a moment, as The Boss nodded towards him in acknowledgement before closing his eyes once more.
Luke chuckled when he saw this, however, he only shook his head and let it slide.
The next individual that he noticed was Cervantez, as his Guild Master was grinning ear to ear.
"I knew you would make it!" Cervantez said as the two shook hands like best buddies and began talking in a muted voice.
"That girl Lin Mu made it to the quarter-finals too?" Asked Luke in a hushed voice to Cervantez as the Guild Master nodded and covered his lips before giving his reply.
"I expected her to make it. I sent Tor to spy on her match and it seems like she fights in a very plain fashion but her speed and reflexes are top notch.
However, it's the others that I did not expect, especially that elf and that tiger- beastman" Cervantez said, as Luke's eyes shifted from Lin Mu towards the two non-human candidates to have qualified to the quarters.
The Elf was an open qualified candidate having top-notch archery skills that could put even the instructors of the Royal Ranger Academy to shame, however, in his past life despite her talents she had failed to make it to the quarters.
Taken out before the quarterfinals by unknown assailants, The Elf fighter named 'Tracy', failed to go past the round of 16, however, that future seemed to have changed this time around.
Although Cervantez did not know the reason behind the future changing, it still bothered him that things were developing in a way that he never expected.
In his past life, the Night Guild had taken out Tracy before the round of 16, however, with them having to focus on The Boss, Ben Faulkner and the DarkSky guild this time, the Night Guild failed to take out other threats such as Tracy, altering the future.
However, while Tracy was a candidate that Cervantez was remotely aware about, the tiger beastman Troy was a completely unknown variable for him.
At 7 feet 8 inches, he was a mountain of a man, much larger than any human around and had a regal fur coat covering his body.
A royalty of the beastman tribe and an excellent bare knuckle fighter, Troy was the opponent that Luke was scheduled to fight in the quarter-finals, however, Cervantez had no solid prior information about him.
In his past life, with The Boss not participating in the Grand Tournament and the talented magic swordsman Bonucci not succumbing under him early, the quarter-finalists looked much more different compared to now.
There was no The Boss, Tracy, Troy, Luke, Lin Mu or he himself in the quarter finals in his past life, as the only two quarter finalists that were common in both timelines were Adam the ranger from the Royal Ranger Academy and Randy the magic prodigy.
In his past life, Adam and Randy had an epic showdown in the finals where Adam barely came out on top, clinching the victory at the Grand Tournament.
However, this time, with Adam being matched against 'The Boss', Cervantez doubted if he could make it into the semi-finals, as in Cervantez's mind, the only fighter he had to look out for was the number one player, while he felt confident in defeating everyone else.
***********
"Welcome all quarter-finalists to the Royal Palace, I'm Butler Brook, and I'm in-charge of taking care of you all this evening" A man dressed impeccably in black formals and a white shirt said, as he gathered everyone's attention towards him with his weird yet smooth accent.
"The Gala Dinner is scheduled for tonight, sharp at 7 pm and is expected to go on for roughly four hours.
Since it's 1pm currently, that gives us exactly six hours to prepare custom outfit's for you esteemed ladies and gentlemen, so let's not waste a second more.
We have recruited the best tailors within the royal capital to prepare your robes for the evening, so please follow your guides and give your body dimensions to the tailors to work on first" The butler said, as Leo immediately frowned listening to his words.
He wasn't interested in dressing up for anyone and liked his clothes just fine.
Unfortunately however, the decision of not wanting new clothes did not seem to be up for debate as a few excited royal maids pulled Leo by his arm and rushed him to get his dimensions recorded.
As Leo looked around, he saw that everyone was being dragged away in a different direction, while two royal guards seemed to be escorting each contestant even when they were within the safety of the palace grounds.
"After giving your dimensions, you will be fed in your private rooms while the hair stylists style your hair…. Please keep that in mind!
I shall also be visiting you all soon" the Butler shouted, hoping that everyone heard his voice, however, while The Elf woman seemed to be excited by this turn of events, everyone else, especially the men, all had a deep frown over their faces.
**************
In the measurement room, the royal tailor, a woman of middling years with spectacles perched precariously on her nose, unfurled her measuring tape with a practiced flourish.
Leo stood rigid, his expression unreadable behind his mask, as she began to take his dimensions
"What color would you prefer for your evening attire, sir, may I suggest maroon to go over your beautiful skin?" the tailor asked, her voice a gentle murmur against the quiet backdrop.
Leo's response was cold and clipped, breaking his usual silence only out of necessity. "Make all my clothes pitch black, I absolutely don't want anything remotely of color in my attire" he commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument.
The tailor nodded, making a note on her pad, and swiftly continued her work, her hands deft in their task.
Leo's thoughts wandered, though his body remained a statue with only his eyes flickering slightly under his mask, he wondered as to what the old woman was doing, especially when she was taking dimensions of his inner thighs and rubbing her hands against the wrong organ.
Thankfully, she did not seem to be doing it on purpose but only on a professional capacity to get the right dimensions as her expression remained unchanged even when her hand touched Leo's privates.
Once the measurements were taken, Leo was escorted out of the room by a young palace servant whose jumpy and haphazard steps made his own cadence imbalanced.
They passed through opulently decorated hallways, Leo's focus was drawn by the lavish adornments of the palace casting golden and shadowed patterns on the floor.
However, unlike the bright palace around him, Leo with his pitch black presence seemed to swallow the light, his figure standing out too much in the well lit halls of the palace which were purposefully designed in a way that made it impossible for assassin's to hide within.
As they arrived at a modestly furnished guest room, where Leo was to prepare for the evening, the servant girls left Leo to rest, however, before he could even sit on the soft bed, a hair stylist entered his room, with a kit of combs and scissors clinking softly by his side.
The stylist, a chatty young man with an easy smile, seemed undeterred by Leo's imposing demeanor as he guided Leo to the make-up chair infront of a giant mirror.
"Good afternoon, sir. May I?" he gestured towards Leo's mask with a motion to remove it.
"The mask stays," Leo replied sharply, his tone ice cold as the stylist's hands paused, and he nodded.
Although his eyes shined with a touch of curiosity, he respected the boundary set by his client and did not attempt to forcefully remove the mask.
"Of course, sir," he said, adjusting his approach.
The stylist worked around the mask, skillfully managing Leo's hair, trimming and styling it with an expertise that bespoke his years of training.
Throughout this, Leo sat perfectly still with the only sounds in the room being the snipping of scissors and the occasional soft directive from the stylist for Leo to adjust his neck posture.
The air was thick with unspoken questions, the stylist's glance often caught by the unyielding mask, but no further attempts were made to breach the topic.
As the stylist worked, Leo's thoughts remained guarded as he focus inward, preparing himself for the battles to come—not just in the arena, but also within the intricacies of this high-stakes social gathering tonight.
When the stylist finally packed away his tools, Leo's appearance was immaculate, though his mask remained a stark barrier to any attempt at personal connection.