"The winner of this match…. By incapacitation, the SUPLEX DEMON, SkyLion" The match announcer said as Luke raised one of his hands in the air victoriously.
Medics immediately rushed to help both Luke and Lin Mu, as while one set of medics tended to Lin Mu's wounds, the other set tended to Luke as they carefully pulled out the dagger stuck to his belly, removed his armor and began treating all his cuts and injuries.
Chanting healing spells and applying magical ointments, they instantly stopped the bleeding as they then covered Luke up in bandage wraps and asked him to come to the medical room with them.
Although they offered to carry him, Luke insisted on walking out on his own two feet as he slowly walked out of the grand arena amidst the heavy cheers of the crowd.
Him winning this fight had secured his spots in the 'Finals' of the grand tournament, which meant that he was now only a single step away from winning it all and going down as a legend.
"Hahaha, when I saw him performing those suplexes in class, I was quite terrified of them, however, as I see him performing those in the grand tournament, they feel oddly satisfying to watch…"
"SkyLion is worthy of being called the genius of our Royal Knight Academy, he has single handedly ensured that us Royal Academy students can keep our heads high in front of the commoners"
"SkyLion is truly worth idolizing. He's always humble, always working hard and is a pretty chill guy to hang out around. However, when it counts, he always delivers.
He is so reliable…."
The Royal Knight Academy students who were all the classmates of Luke commented from the upper stands as they felt the most overjoyed at his victory.
The other academy students and principals could only watch on in envy and congratulate Principal Wood as while all of their prodigies failed, the prodigy of the royal knight academy did not.
************
( Meanwhile on the Global Forums )
"Is it time for us to give some serious credit to the player 'SkyLion'. Never do we include him in the discussion of one of the best players in the game, however, he's a consistently solid performer.
His fighting technique is unique and solid. He is reliable…
Overall I think he's quite underrated and doesn't get his due, but he's undoubtedly a world class player"
"The SkyLion versus Lin Mu fight was extremely entertaining and the victory for SkyLion is much deserved.
I think because he makes all his fights look so easy, we don't give him the credit that he should get as making short work of a semi-finalist can definitely not be an easy task.
SkyLion is a beast"
"Is SkyLion officially now a top3 player behind TheBoss and DarkEmperor?"
"Do we label them as the big three? Is he worthy enough to be referred to in the same breath as DarkEmperor and TheBoss?"
"Man you gotta be kidding me…. Levels don't mean jackshit, what matters is skill! SkyLion is my goat from now on, and I don't care what any of you say….. his skill is the real deal"
The public sentiment on the global forums shifted considerably in the favor of Luke as he finally got some respect that he deserved.
Since he wasn't a top10 ranker in terms of levels, most discounted him as being a good player but not a 'Top' player and expected him to fall at some point.
There were some who even picked him out as the weakest fighter amongst all quarter-finalists, however, his consistent wins shut all the haters up.
Now, even if one did not like him, they couldn't deny the fact that he was one of the top players, as finally the name 'SkyLion' became a household brand after his entry into the grand tournament finals.
*********
( Hollard's POV )
Hollard was heartbroken after Lin Mu's defeat as for a while all he could do was to sit with his arms crossed in the stands as he stared at the limp body of Lin Mu at the center of the arena.
She was the only one who could have saved the Night Guild from its current predicament, however, her defeat in the semi-finals shut even that avenue for the guild.
'Stupid brat…. Her arrogance is going to be the demise of the guild…. She could have won this fight easily if only she listened to my advice and used the paralytic poison,' Hollard thought as he could feel his blood boiling at Lin Mu's stupidity.
'What report will I submit to the guildmaster now…. Just how will we manage to survive this predicament?' Hollard wondered, as he felt depression wash over him.
Lin Mu was literally the last candle of hope for the Night Guild's future and her defeat snuffed that light out as well.
'Well, she will have to answer for her own stupidity herself. Since she has lost, she won't be staying the night at the royal palace and will be thrown back to the streets soon enough…' Hollard thought, as he decided that the only logical course of action for him to take now was to capture Lin Mu and present her before the guildmaster instead of submitting a report.
*********
( Meanwhile Cervantez )
As Cervantez heard the announcer say that the winner of the match was SkyLion, he felt bubbles of joy pop in his stomach as he was absolutely elated at this outcome.
He had never expected Luke to make it to the finals, however, Luke performing beyond his expectations only made Cervantez even more fired up to win his own fight.
'The guildmaster taking on the vice guildmaster in the finals…. Now that's a power fight' Cervantez thought, as he psyched himself up and promised himself that no matter what, he was not going to lose his upcoming bout against The Boss and that he would go on to face Luke in the finals.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone! ///