With the grand tournament concluding, there was a grand mess left behind by Leo as he became the talk of the town not only for his performance as a fighter, but also for his association to Ben Faulkner.
Finally reuniting with Ben after the tournament concluded, Leo couldn't contain his happiness when the old man hugged him tight and lifted him off his feet in a rare display of physical affection.
Leo could see it on his face as to just how much being a free man meant to him, however, no words were exchanged between the two.
Ben just smiled and nodded at Leo who did the same back to Ben as the master disciple duo decided to celebrate Leo's win by eating delicious dishes in one of StrongHaven's finest restaurants.
For Leo, it was the perfect day as not only did he win the Grand Tournament and complete the long time pending system quest. But also because winning the grand tournament marked the start of the next phase of his life, a phase where he was going to be more focused on being a Lord and a Trader rather than a fighter.
******
( Inside a posh restaurant, Leo and Ben )
"So you're going to become a Baron under the East Duke….." Ben said, stuffing a mouthful of sizzling meat in his mouth as he asked Leo about his future plans.
"Yeah, he had me sign the papers almost as soon as the match was over. I'm officially a noble now!" Leo said excitedly as he seemed to be proud of the fact that he was officially a noble now.
"Did you get the noble identity token? It's apparently very useful to build contacts and get into restricted places where commoners can't enter…" Ben said, as he asked Leo whether or not he received the noble identity token, which was important to enter some special auction houses and government buildings restricted to commoners.
"Oh that?.... No, I haven't got it yet, but the assistant of the East Duke who made me sign the papers said that my Identity token and a welcome kit will be prepared for me when I reach my territory.
They want me to pack-up from StrongHaven within this week and report to my territory by the end of next week.
They have even prepared a transport carriage for me. So everything seems good" Leo said, as Ben scratched his head listening to Leo's words.
Ben had never thought about living his life in some remote territory as a noble. However, he did not have the heart to leave Leo alone and continue living his life smoking hallucinogens alone anymore either.
"Well, I think it will be fun, old man, we'll live in a large mansion, have our own servants, a large training hall… a few small villages under our control where people will respect us as their lord.
It's the dream life for free men" Leo said, pausing when he spoke the words 'Free Men' as he smirked towards Ben as he said those words.
Although Ben tried to suppress a smile, he couldn't help but grin every time Leo uttered the words "Free Men."
Having been a fugitive for so long, Ben had forgotten what it meant to be truly free, and the joy of this newfound freedom was impossible for him to contain.
"Well alright, I'll stick around I guess, I was thinking about getting a vacation anyways and haven't been to the Eastern province in a while" Ben said, as he agreed to stick around with Leo for the time being.
Leo beamed in joy when he heard that Ben was going to stick around as he stuffed a mouthful of food and raised his glass in a celebratory 'Cheers' towards Ben, who clashed his own drink against Leo's with joy.
While everything else could change, the bond between Leo and Ben was permanent now as Leo could not imagine playing the game without having the old man around.
"Also master, we need to craft some of our best poisons and smoke bombs tomorrow.
I have a meeting with the merchant Shane Emerald coming up in a couple of days and I'm thinking of launching a product chain in his White Tiger merchant group if he accepts…" Leo said, as Ben stroked his chin at the idea.
"So we're going to become lords and merchants?" Ben asked as Leo shrugged his shoulders in response.
After thinking for a while Ben shrugged his shoulders too thinking 'Why not?' as he agreed to the idea of crafting a batch of their best and most unique products for a presentation with Shane.
********
( Meanwhile Luke )
Luke received a hero's welcome back at the DarkSky guild headquarters when he finally regained consciousness and returned, as all the guild members including Cervantez welcomed him back with a thundering applause.
"You're our hero, SkyLion" Toni said.
"You fought well, that bastard TheBoss was lucky" said Tor as they tried to cheer up his mood.
Smiling Luke hugged every single one of his guild members until he came across Cervantez, when he paused and apologized.
"Forgive me guildmaster, I couldn't bring the win home–" Luke said, apologizing to Cervantez as Cervantez hugged him tight and did not pay attention to his apology.
"You made us proud. Our strategy nearly worked too…. It's just that TheBoss is too freakish. I don't think anyone else can counter your German Suplex apart from him.
I don't think I can do that either" Cervantez said, as he asked Luke to keep his chin up and that he was already proud of him and his efforts.
"Guys, while we did not win the Grand Tournament, we have achieved our objective of solidifying our image amongst the masses as one of the best and strongest guilds around, so when we open our doors for recruitment, I'm sure we will be flooded with applicants.
The end of the Grand Tournament marks the start of the next phase of our guilds efforts, where we recruit new members and slowly settle into our new role as territory administrators within the Western Duchy.
The time for preparation and marketing is now over.
The real fun starts now!" Cervantez said, as he hyped the guild members up for their future.