Chapter 25: Preparation for League
Liam could only scratch his head awkwardly. The heat of the fight really got on him too much that he forgot even the common things he have to.
Liam sighed at his air headedness. The fact that Rain smiled at him suggested that he was making fun of him, yet he didn't message Rain for him to comeback.
He was also a man. He could do it even if it took a lot of time. He could also scout the forest. Unfortunately, he didn't know how strong the monsters and beasts inside the forest.
Liam studied the tree at the middle of the clearing surrounded by fireflies. Fortunately, the boss didn't have any magic or else they might destroy even the land.
"Anyway, I have to go back."
Liam concluded his first wild boss. He might have gone training with Hanz but wild bosses were harder to find and they didn't stay where they respawn.
Liam gave one final look at the tree and left. After Liam went to the same direction Rain left, the fireflies surrounding the trees converge in one point and formed a silhouette.
The silhouette looked at Liam receding back from the mist until 'it' couldn't see him anymore. The silhouette shook its head. "He wasn't the one." Then it disappeared, replaced by the fireflies once more. The phenomenon looked magical.
The clearing was once quiet and soothing. The clearing served as the heart of the forest where a dryad was. It served as the guardian of the forest and mediator of those who lived inside the forest.
While the news about the Order faction was disseminating, there was another piece of news that garnered a lot of attention at the Chaos faction.
Unlike Liam's group, they cleared the Tower of Demise with a sweeping time with no casualties. Perhaps the whole group were acquainted with each other or lucky but there was nothing that could be say about them.
Liam lost his way under the mist. He never met anyone or anything but trees and bushes. Liam didn't pay any attention when they went inside. He could only sigh with his pettiness. He regretted not messaging Rain.
"Lost?"
"Who's there?!"
A laugh emerged from Liam's back and he turned. He was shocked when he saw who spoke. "So it's you." Liam lamented but happy inside. He could only hide his happiness inside him and gave a smile.
Rain looked at Liam's creased brows like he was stressed finding his way. Rain didn't actually went back to town. He was only kidding but didn't heard Liam calling him back nor messaging him after awhile.
He hid near the clearing where he exited and waited for Liam. He felt that Liam may not know his way back to town. And he didn't disappoint Rain, he was truly and utterly lost inside the forest.
Rain was laughing inside with Liam's predicament yet unyielding attitude. He could only show himself because time was an issue for him and Liam.
He knew that they both needed to do some quests especially Liam. He also needed to talk to the director about something he deemed important.
"Let's go, mister." Rain laugh out loud after confirming that Liam wasn't annoyed with his sudden appearance.
Of course, Liam was pissed but in a minimal level. In short, he was pissed with his attitude yet happy with Rain's return.
"Thank you, Rain." Liam heartfelt words made Rain awkward. He could only stop his jokes and led Liam out of the forest.
At the company, a meeting was currently on going with the approaching event. Yes, the league's near. They were currently discussing which player they should invite for the 2nd type of tournament.
Two types of tournament would be introduced for the first league. Like an Olympic League, there were 7 representative for each country which would contests with different games with their own mechanics.
The 2nd type of tournament would be an All-Star player which would be voted through their website. There were currently 32 spots for the very first tournament which would be divided into 6 rounds.
The prize for All-Star would also help the player evolve inside the game. Before they announced the good news they wanted to finalize this concept. The concept itself was good but they might be an arising problems if they failed to persuade those they deemed the best of their peers.
Especially with the sudden clearing of 2 low level dungeons. They could only lament with their short sightedness with the equipment. They should have included equipment limit so lower levels would have an equal chance inside the tournament.
"Then, we could give low level players an equipment based on their demand."
"No! What about those high level but with no luck in their items?! We should give them equal rights."
"Another issue was skills. If they were high level then they could have maxed their skills."
"This league was really stressful. Why did we propose this?" all of the members were all department heads and their vice-heads.
They were all exceptional with their fields but they all have a regretful and tired expression.
"Whatever! We still have a week and 2 days before the announcement! We could do this everyone!"
"Yes!"
The fire burning in their eyes were the proof that they all wanted to make this event successful even if they have to sacrifice their time sleeping.
The development of the meeting was also known by the director through the hidden camera. Well, even if there was no camera, he knew what they were talking about but he wanted to see their expressions.
A man was also with the director. He was blowing his tea cup and put it down. "The time might be shorten. The synchronization was going faster than we expected. We need to find him now."
If Liam was there he would be surprised that the man with the director was familiar yet not. The man was Hanz Krow. He wasn't only an NPC inside the game but also a breathing one outside the game. The only difference was the aura surrounding him.
"Hmm, what did Frizzia said?"
"She said that after the League, 'he' would show up."
"I see."
The two stopped talking with each other and indulged themselves with the peace and serenity inside the office.
After Liam and Rain exited the forest they parted ways. Liam went back to the town to find clues about Hanz. After a while he decided to went inside the inn to rest and log out.
Liam emerged from the capsule. He didn't know where to start so he wanted to rest his mind. After 4 months and a half playing Advent of Heroes he learned a lot of things. Not only about games but also good and evil inside the game.
The distinction about good and evil have a thin line separating them. Liam had his fair share of both but he still sometimes question himself which side he was when he was still uninjured. Was he on the evil side or good?
Liam had this ability since birth to forget the memories he wanted to. Idanza family only thought that it was because of the severe pain that Liam's memory wasn't good since then or he wanted to forget it.
But, he chose to forget it. Like a selective memory, he only wanted to remember what he wanted. Liam sighed and prepared his food. With the technology advancing, life on Earth became easier but, not all things were good. The food for example became less and less appetizing since the global warming.
The climate changed rapidly since then. Like in Philippines where Liam was, the distinction between two seasons were broken. The dry and wet seasons should have been easy to forecast with the advancement of technology but no, it actually made the people question them.
Philippines might have been one of those countries with good harvest in the past but now, they learned how to adapt with the changing season.
After Liam cooked his unappetizing food, he turned on the television and went to his favorite channel. Since he was doing sports, Liam preferred to watch news programs. The news were all about the current preparation for the next summer Olympic games.
Well, Liam was one of those people that hoped to be one of the representative but alas, his dreams were crushed. Nonetheless, he found another dream on a different level at the same time. Now, e-sports have a large group of fans since the last century.
Liam was immersed with it. Even if there was a lot of changes since the last century, sports still have a space in people's hearts.
Well, entertainment industry now evolved with their CGI. It now felt life like and the virtual viewing was also created.
Liam turned off the television and turned on his laptop. He browsed the news about the game. He saw a certain topic that piqued his interest.
"Advent of Heroes League, huh. Interesting."
Liam frequently checked the official website and forums about the game so he wouldn't be ignorant about the game. Well, he only read those he deemed necessary and interesting. He didn't care about topics like bosses and such. Nor concerned about the players, items, skills and classes.
He wanted to experience and learn it live when he was facing his enemy. Especially with the hidden function of Heroic mode. He learned a new skill called Sword Intent, like on those Chinese movies. It was basically an attack booster which could also be used as range attack.
Liam felt his mind was well rested. "Time to grind and level up." Liam stretched his whole body and laid down, closed his eyes, and let the capsule do its job.