( The special event lobby, Leo's POV )
As Leo stood rooted to his spot admiring the diverse gear of the rankers present, his brother spotted him and walked up to him, as he slung his hand around Leo's shoulders.
"What are you doing?" Leo questioned, sounding confused as Luke began pulling on him, as he dragged him towards a circle of rankers that were standing and chatting amongst one another.
Amongst the circle of rankers present, there was but one man that Leo officially recognised, which was Cervantez, while everyone else seemed completely new to him.
"Hey guys, let me introduce to you all my brother, Leo Skyshard, the current number two on the rankings leaderboard–" Luke said, as he brought Leo to the circle of rankers present and introduced him without his permission.
"You mean number one right? I mean, we don't count 'TheBoss'.... That guys in a league of his own–" A handsome looking blonde guy wearing light armor said, as everyone cracked up at his joke.
"Hahaha–" Leo fake laughed, trying to blend in, as although he had no idea as to what was going on, he tried to be respectful and blend in, since Luke seemed to wish that he did.
"Leo, meet PurpleRock, SpicyRamen, Big Daddy and Sir Cole" Luke introduced, as although Leo did not know these guys personally, he knew their gaming ID's on the leaderboards.
"Hello–" Leo said, waving awkwardly as everyone seemed to judge his appearance, checking him out from head to toe, in what Leo found to be a disturbing exercise.
Unlike them, who were all in full gear, he was only wearing pants and a loose fitting t-shirt, with no armor or protection at all.
"I'm sorry…. Are you wearing any detection blocking items? Because I can't get a read on your status panel at all–" said PurpleRock, as the others immediately nodded at his words.
"Yeah, I can't either, which is odd because I don't see any items on your body" Big Daddy concurred, as Leo felt slightly pissed by their high-handed attitude now.
"No, my panel is just naturally protected, I used a special item to achieve this effect" Leo said, lying through his teeth, as everyone nodded, seeming impressed.
"You have to tell me more about this item…. I want it too" Spicy Ramen said, sounding excited, as Leo shrugged his shoulders and decided to deal with his query like a professional.
"Sure, give me let's say a measly sum of 1.1 million gold coins and I'll get the item for you–" Leo said, as everyone's jaws hung open when Leo casually stated the price of 1.1 million gold coins.
"I'm sorry, did you call the sum of 1.1 million gold coins 'measly'?" asked Purple Rock, who seemed the most shocked of the bunch.
"Yeah? You guys have a few millions to spare right? I mean you must…. You all are rankers… right?" Leo said, pretending to be confused, knowing full well that none of the rankers had anywhere near that sum of money.
"Hahaha, Leo, you need to understand that you're the only non-combat class player standing here.
The rest of us are fighters and we don't have the kind of liquidity as you do" Cervantez said, trying to pacify the situation, as he internally sighed at Leo's antics.
"You're a non-combatant?" PurpleRock asked, sounding shocked as Leo nodded his head and extended his hand once again.
"Hey, I'm Leo Skyshard, a merchant class player.
I earn a few million gold coins every month, so I just assumed that all of you other rankers must too…. No offense" Leo said, as Purple Rock shook his hand with his jaw wide open.
"Wow…. I never knew non-combat players could make it this high in the rankings and be so rich too.
Hahaha, if I find a sponsor like Mr. Skyshard then I can probably afford the most expensive gear in the game with ease" Spicy Ramen said, as after realizing just how formidable Leo was, their tone in judging and addressing Leo changed significantly.
"I only invest in things that give me a return on investment…. If Mr Spicy Ramen gives me a good reason to sponsor your gear purchase, I have no problems doing so" Leo said with an amiable smile on his face, as with this one small promise of endorsement, he won over the hearts of all the rankers present.
Once the rest of them realized that Leo wasn't a direct competitor but rather a wealthy patron who they could form a symbiotic relationship with, everyone warmed up to him big-time, making small-talk easy for Leo.
As he hung-around them, waiting for the official event to start, Leo heard many jealous tit-bits of conversations happening between the group, as although everyone seemed to be all smiles on the surface, the underlying tension was palpable.
"Does anyone see him here? Although there are a thousand people here and it's possible I'm missing him, I can't see that black robed masked bastard" Purple Rock said, as he looked around the lobby trying to spot 'TheBoss'.
"Both you and Cervantez had great fights against him in the Grand Tournament…. However, that beast was in a league of his own.
I hate him so much, but I also respect him equally as much" Spicy Ramen said, addressing Luke, as he tried to suggest that both Luke and Cervantez had great showings against 'TheBoss' in the grand tournament.
"Yeah, it's impossible to like that guy, I hate him too….
Just his name alone, 'TheBoss'. How fucking domineering.
And he has the skills to back it up too….
It's almost like, I have the confidence of beating everyone in this lobby in a fight, however, I don't think I can win against him" Big Daddy said, as the rest of the group rolled their eyes at his words.
"Come on, I'll take you down anyday…. There's no chance you beat me" Cervantez told Big Daddy, as the two began to bicker like old friends.
Apparently, Big Daddy was Cervantez's neighbor in Sector S, and the two shared meals together often.
For Leo however, this banter proved to be extremely interesting as this was the first time that he got to listen to people candidly talking about 'TheBoss' and what they really thought about him.
As he witnessed their obsession with 'TheBoss', which compelled them to keep talking about him although he wasn't present in the room, Leo felt extremely satisfied internally, as he knew that he had psychologically cemented his place as the number one player, even within the minds of the rankers.