While the rest were pointing their fingers at their names and cheering in delight, Felix was nodding his head in satisfaction after seeing Olivia's name at the top.
'Let's see if this is going to make any difference.' Felix thought while glancing at Olivia who was staring at her name toppling over the best elites in the entire world.
She was always worried about the extra flags causing problems for others but she didn't expect that they would push her to such a high rank on the list!
Whether she wanted to admit that she liked it or not, her body was showing the proper reaction of an inborn feeling which was foreign to her.
Pride!
The more she looked at it the more her body started to get heated, making her cheeks and ears reddened!
She placed her hand on her heart that was beating out of her chest and wondered to herself, 'Is this how it feels to topple over everyone else, to be the best in the world?'
"How does it feel little Oli?" Felix asked with a gentle smile after noticing her body's reaction.
"Good?" Olivia murmured in a daze while having a finger placed on her lips.
"Hehe, that's right. It feels good to excel above the rest." Felix chuckled, "That's why everyone strives to better themselves. If you want to be respected and looked highly upon instead of being seen as a flower to be protected, you better aim always for the top and only the top."
"When you reach that goal." Felix pointed his finger at the bloodliners, who were looking at Olivia in disdain and envy, "You wouldn't be receiving those looks, but those!" Felix said while pointing this time at the bloodliners, who were gazing at him respectfully and fearfully.
Olivia's heated body was cooled after seeing those nasty looks directed at her.
She might be naive but she wasn't stupid to not understand that no one was respecting her for being a 3rd ranker on the list.
Why would they? If it wasn't for the two extra flags, her points were barely enough to put her in the top 20.
She knew that as well. Thus, she couldn't enjoy that feeling of pride since she didn't really deserve the rank.
However, upon hearing Felix's words and feeling for the first time in her life prideful in something that she achieved, Olivia knew that it was time to make a drastic change.
Otherwise, she would always be a pure flower loved by all, but not respected as an individual like Sylvia or Felix.
Olivia didn't want her entire life to be seen like that!
She soon took a deep breath and sent a message to Felix with a determined expression, 'I don't know if I have it in me now to reach the top next to you, but I am willing to try my hardest into being the best healer in the earthling's team.'
Felix smiled widely after hearing so. He always wanted Olivia to try her best not just as a healer but as a bloodliner who was going to participate in deadly games.
Felix didn't mind babysitting Olivia in the national tournament and the World's competition since she didn't have many experiences in battles.
However, he had absolutely no plans on doing the same in the upcoming Planetary games!
He wouldn't mind helping her once in a while but he wasn't going to remain next to her in every game.
This meant Olivia needed to pull herself up and remove her constant fear from battles and seeing others getting hurt around her.
What's worse, If she kept with the same slow improvement, she wouldn't even be placed in the games as her position would be switched by another competent healer.
Thus, Olivia needed to change and it needed to be done fast since there were only five months before Earth would be required to participate in its first galactical game.
Since reprimanding her wasn't doing anything to change her bad habits and trashy combat skills, Felix was forced to improvise and push her into the spotlight just to have her get disdained by others!
He knew that if Olivia wasn't hurt by those looks, then she was a lost cause and he wouldn't bother himself with her anymore.
Thankfully, Olivia showed the right attitude by at least aiming for being the best healer on the team.
"You will have to try your best if you want to surpass her." Felix said while gesturing with his head at an eye-catching girl, who had a well-endowed body, long curly blonde hair, and plump glossy lips that could put Angela Jolie to shame.
This was Sophia Schmidt, the captain of the Germany team and nicknamed as the Protector of Germany.
Olivia knew her quite well since she watched a lot of her videos online. After all, she was considered the best healer in the world and she wanted to see the difference between them.
Alas, she found out that Sophia was a league apart from her. In everything that Olivia excels at, Sophia could do better, and in the areas that Olivia was lacking, Sophia had them all.
Thus, if she wanted to actually be the best healer in the team, she truly needed to work like never before.
"I need to first enter the 1st stage of replacement." Olivia said to Felix while her eyes were narrowed at Sophia who was getting congratulated by the bloodliners around her.
Although she appeared quite cute and funny when she narrowed her eyes at people dangerously, Felix didn't tease her for it but nodded his head in approval at her decision. 'Whenever you feel ready come get your tier 2 bloodline bottles.' He sent a message.
Just as Olivia wanted to respond, Mr. Rodrigas said loudly, "You had more than enough time to see your name's placement and double-check ten times already."
Bam!
Upon noticing that the chatter didn't quieten down but actually got noisier, Mr. Rodrigas pounded the podium with the side of his fist and shouted strictly, "Silence! We don't have all day long!"
Immediately after, the instructors did their jobs by taking control of the juniors. Bit by bit, the chaotic field was getting pacified.
Seeing that everyone's attention was on him again, Mr. Rodrigas fixed his tie and said while pointing at the list, "As you probably have guessed, the top hundred in the list would be chosen to represent the planet in the upcoming games, which would start 5 months from now."
Mr. Rodrigas waved his hand and everyone's name below 100 was removed. He looked at those juniors with crestfallen expressions and said, "You don't have to feel saddened by the disqualification as Each year there will be international tournaments like those to replace the bloodliners in the team, who weren't performing as expected of them or if by chance some bloodliners died in the games."
Some juniors felt comforted by his words while the majority weren't really affected. They knew that the 1st world competition was the biggest and also where they had the best chance at securing a spot in the team.
Since they still needed 100 members all at once.
However, in the next tournaments, there would be utmost 20 to 30 vacant spots that could be fought for. This meant the difficulty was going to increase substantially.
Mr. Rodrigas didn't give a shit if they felt better or not as he carried on by addressing the chosen hundred this time, "Can you please step forward and split from the pack."
"Let's go." Felix said while bringing his entire team forward. Even Lexie was walking behind them with a shy smile affixed on her face.
That's right, the entire American team had made it into the top hundred!
Well, it was to be expected when they secured a flag for each one of them getting 100 points as a base.
Adding to all the victories in the battles they fought with Felix helping out or without, they were obviously going to possess quite a lot of points compared to the rest.
With that being said, some of them had made it to the top 20, like Adam, Noah, Johnson, and Olivia, while the rest were hovering between the top 70 and top 80.
Only Kenny was ranked at 22, missing three or four points into making it to the top 20.
Regardless, Everyone on the team was smiling and feeling lucky just to secure a spot. The envious looks most juniors were showering them were enough of proof.
Soon, a hundred bloodliner was standing in front of the stage in groups.
The biggest groups were of course Felix's team, Slyvia's team, and lastly Zhang Wei's team.
The rest were either standing as threes or twos. There were even solo bloodliners, appearing quite isolated from the rest.
The mismatched national outfits they were wearing weren't really helping that much to let them feel connected to each other.
Upon seeing so, Mr. Rodrigas didn't order for them to line up or group up properly, he just gestured with his head at staff member on the stage.
The moment he received the signal, the staff member spoke on his radio. "Bring them out."
Just like it was already prepared beforehand, hundred staff members walked inside the field in a straight line of twos. All of them were carrying silver cases with both hands.
The camera zoomed on the cases and the viewers noticed that each case had a number on it and a letter right next to it, appearing as such ]RT-74[, ]MT-17[.
"Are those the rewards for the chosen hundred?" The American Broadcaster wondered in confusion.
After the staff members reached the stage, they stood next to it instead of climbing.
Mr.Rodrigas nodded his head and said to Felix and the rest, "If you heard your name, please climb the stage."
Mr. Rodrigas began calling the names from the bottom of the list to the top. After he called ten juniors, he gestured with his hand at the staff members.
Knowing what to do, ten staff members climbed the stage with those ten juniors who were standing in a horizontal lineup.
The staff members went and stood next to a junior like they already knew their target beforehand. Then, they brought the silver suitcase forward and gave a slight node to the juniors.
The juniors took the silver suitcase politely from their hands and started studying it with an intrigued expression.
The suitcase was cold, smooth, and as hard as metal. Yet, the juniors could feel that it didn't even weigh half a kilogram!
They didn't know if it was made out of metal or some other unfamiliar material but the design of the silver suitcase was definitely advanced.
Some of them wanted to open their case but they didn't find a key, screen, or lock. It was sealed without any way to open it.
Seeing that they were having trouble opening them up, Mr. Rodrigas told them to voice their request to the Queen. "Every suitcase had its rightful owner and the Queen will only open it for him."
"Is the reward that good?" The broadcaster wondered in anticipation. His feelings were shared by viewers all over the world.
Meanwhile, the juniors on the stage were even more eager, as the moment Mr. Rodrigas finished his clarification, they voiced their request in their minds.
Cluck Cluck!...
One suitcase after the other opened slightly from all three sides. Then, the juniors carried on from there and opened them fully!
Immediately after seeing what was inside, the first reaction they showed was utter bewilderment.
Since they were blocking the shot, the viewers didn't manage to see the inside.
The weird reaction from the juniors just made them more desperate to know what was in the silver suitcase!
"What's in the box!" The American Broadcaster said it in such a strange manner, those familiar with the movie 'Seven' knew that he was trying to impersonate Brad Pitt's scene. Alas, he failed terribly.
This brought a few chuckles from the viewers, but their curiosity was still eating them up. Thankfully, Mr. Rodrigas requested the juniors to turn in the suitcases and show everyone the content.
Still Confused, the juniors did as they were told.
"The hell? Is it just me or the case is empty?"
"Is this a prank or what? There isn't even a small chip inside."
Clean confusion was written on everyone's faces as they looked at the empty suitcases!
Just to make sure, the camera zoomed in up close until the inside of the suitcase was in their faces.
Yet, still nothing!
Before the chatter could get any more noiser, Mr. Rodrigas grinned faintly and informed the juniors, "Place your hand inside and request for activation."
Baffled, the juniors on stage glanced at each other for a second or two. Soon, one of them shrugged his shoulders and placed his hand inside the suitcase.
Upon seeing that he volunteered, the rest of the juniors decided to watch him first.
Unbothered by the attention he was receiving, the junior smirked cooly and said, "Activate!"
Whoaaah!!!
The moment he said it, everyone exclaimed in disbelief and shock as the suitcase had turned liquid-like and encased both of his hands!
Then it started spreading rapidly into his entire arms, appearing like he was getting eaten by a silver slime!!
"What the hell is this! Get it off me!! Get it off!!"
Scared out of his wits, the junior recoiled his head back while shaking both of his arms, trying his best to get rid of the liquid.
Alas, not a single drop detached itself from his body!
In less than two seconds, the entire suitcase was no more as it was wholly encasing the body of the junior from top to bottom!
Only his terrified face was left in the open.
Yet, the process wasn't over yet as the liquid-like silver started to harden in a complex and detailed design, giving off the vibes of a human wearing skintight metallic armor!!
By the time the process finished, the junior's heart almost leaped out of his throat.
The entire experience was fresh and terrifying as it truly made him feel like he was being eaten alive.
However, after seeing the end result, he was blown away just like the rest who had a better view of the process.
Yet, none of them spoke or commented as they just watched the junior touching the silver armor in awe and fascination.
Not in their wildest dreams would have they considered a suitcase to f*cking morph into a body armor!
However, not all of them reacted this way as some of them were more knowledgeable than the rest.
Felix, who already remembered this segment, merely scratched his chin in interest as he kept inspecting the armored junior. 'I wonder which planet was generous enough to sell them those outdated Nanotech suitcases.'
Immediately after Felix thought so, Mr. Rodrigas smiled with a proud expression while extending his hand at the suitcases, "I present to you, Nanotech Suitcase G-3!"
The moment he said so, noisy chatter broke in the field as the juniors kept exclaiming and voicing their shock.
Every one of them had heard once or twice in their lives the term Nanotechnology getting thrown on the internet or saw its effect in movies like Iron Man suit.
However, Nanotechnology was really still a concept that was invested heavily by some countries to make it a reality.
It wasn't that easy with earthling's current technological advancement to build materials and devices on the scale of atoms!
Yet Earthlings still strived to achieve this technology due to the many benefits it could provide.
Such as having the potential to increase the efficiency of energy consumption, help clean the environment, and solve major health problems!
For such a revolutionary technology, earthling's truly done their best to make a breakthrough.
Alas, while they were still in the infancy stage, the Metal race had already mastered the technology and were doing wonders with it.
After the planet had joined the Alliance, every country had cut the funds for any technological advancement project and focused fully on the technologies that were already available in the UVR.
Nanotechnology was just one of them.
With that being said, Felix knew that the Council had lucked out on a planet, who was willing to sell them those suitcases due to some unforeseeable reasons.
Simply because the Nanotech was regulated strictly by the Metal Race and upper echelon of the SGA.
It was almost impossible for individuals to get some nanobots even if they had the money for them.
If it wasn't for so, Felix would have spent whatever it took to buy at least a Nanosuit no matter which generation it was from.
He knew that they were worth it.
"We spent a fortune to obtain those suitcases for each member in the earthling's team. Since we know that they are our future." Mr. Rodrigas went to the armored junior and patted his shoulder, "For our future, they needed to be protected at all cost from any real-life threats. It is going to be already stressful for them to participate in the games and compete for our sake."
"So, it is only natural that we give them the highest possible protection in real life and make them feel safe."
While the hundred chosen juniors were nodding their heads in appreciation, the disqualified juniors were about to die from envy and jealousy.
They ought to feel that way as Mr. Rodrigas soon informed them that the Nanosuits were mildly resistant to heat, cold, corrosion, and most importantly were able to tank a physical attack from peak 1st stage bloodliners!
Having such a defense only meant that suit was bulletproof as well!
All of this was added to the fact those suits were adjustable to the thoughts of the wearer!
Instead of telling them, Mr. Rodrigas requested the junior to show a demonstration by asking the Queen to apply ]set 1[.
Immediately after the junior voiced his request, the hard silver armor turned liquid-like again and reshaped itself as a white outfit that was stripped at the side of the shoulders with blue lines.
There was a jacket, pants and even sports shoes! They appeared 100% the same as normal clothes!
Before the viewers could feel awed by the process, their eyes were attracted to a blue flag that had multiple white rings attached to each other in a circular shape.
The moment the citizens around the world saw it, they felt their blood boil akin to a furnace.
No matter their nationality, racial skin, or their social status, everyone felt the same pride at the sight of their planet flag in the chest of that junior.
That was their planet flag! That was their homeland flag! That was the flag, which would be used to represent them in the Supremacy Games!
They didn't know if the team would shame them in the upcoming games or make them proud.
But they knew that as long as that flag was in their chest, they would always be cheering and rooting for them!
Clap Clap!...
Abrupt applause engulfed the field as the instructors and the juniors couldn't help but want to vent their emotions after seeing the junior standing upright, wearing the earthling's first-ever uniform.
The junior turned around in approval, letting them see the back as well.
They noticed that the junior's name was written in the upper half of his back as such ]RT-Paul[. Underneath it, the number 94 was written boldly.
Mr. Rodrigas waited until the applause quietened down before explaining the letters and the numbers, "The RT means Reserve Team. Meanwhile, the number is corespondent to the rank of the bloodliner in the list."
Seeing that everyone understood what he meant, Mr. Rodrigas clapped his hands and informed the juniors on stage, "The details about the Nanosuit could be obtained from the Queen." He then excused them, "Now, will you please step offstage so the rest could get theirs."
The juniors didn't dilly dally as they bowed respectfully to Mr. Rodrigas before jumping off stage while wearing the earthling outfits.
Although it felt pretty uncomfortable to wear one outfit above the other, they didn't care as they were too excited and eager to explore the Nanosuit.
After seeing that the stage was empty again, Mr. Rodrigas carried on with the name-calling ten by ten.
Before long, Lexie, Lena, Walton, and Kenny, took their own suits and wore the earthling's outfit as well. All of them had RT written on their back.
After Kenny went down, only twenty suitcases were left for the main team.
Soon, Noah, Adam, and eight more bloodliners stepped onto the stage after getting called. After receiving their own suitcases, they straightaway wore the earthling's outfit, which had the opposite color scheme than the reserve team.
It was all blue and had white lines stripped on the jacket's shoulders and the pants' sides. Meanwhile, in the back, they had MT plus their names next to it and their number was underneath.
Everything appeared clean and neat.
After a quick display, they went down and Mr. Rodrigas called this time for only eight juniors, leaving Sylvia and Felix last.
Johnson and Olivia went up, wore their own suits, and returned with delighted smiles affixed on their faces.
"At last, will the vice-captain and the captain of the team please step on the stage!" Mr. Rodrigas asked while clapping slowly, making the rest follow his lead.
Both Felix and Sylvia emerged from two corners of the pack and walked towards the stage's stairs.
Felix had the same natural faint smile while Sylvia appeared as indifferent as ever.
However, from time to time she glimpses at Felix's face with a hint of desire before forcing down her retarded obsession with his perfect skin.
Unbeknownst to the danger he was in, Felix just went upstage first and shook hands politely with Mr. Rodrigas.
Sylvia did the same then both of them stood next to each other while observing the thousands of eyes peering into them with different kinds of emotions.
Cool-headed, Felix lifted his head and focused on the VIP lounges. Immediately, he spotted the US president with his enhanced eyesight.
He was clapping his hands with some government delegates who arrived with him. However, Felix ignored him and kept looking at the VIP lounges, wanting to find someone.
Soon, he smiled warmly after his eyes spotted his grandfather clapping vigorously while standing next to the glass. Behind his grandfather, he noticed a couple of strangers instead of the Maxwell elders.
He wasn't surprised as he knew that his grandfather merely got a free pass to watch the gathering live due to Felix's team's status.
Although it wasn't official yet, pretty much everyone with a brain knew that he would be the captain.
Only now will it be official as Mr. Rodrigas stopped clapping and leaned closer to the mic, "Throughout the past three days, we had been streaming highlights from the competitions in the ESG Tv Channel and online. Two teams dominated the majority of those highlights. The American Team and The Russian team."
He extended his hand at Sylvia and then at Felix. " So, I assume that most of you had seen their battles and leadership in those highlights, which helped their team secure double the flag numbers than the rest."
Most bloodliners nodded their heads in agreement. Whether they liked it or not, Felix and Sylvia showed a better performance than all of them.
It was only natural that they would be getting the most points and be considered the captain and vice-captain.
After all, if it wasn't them, then who?
'Good, no one is rising unnecessary ruckus.' Mr. Rodrigas relaxed his tensed eyebrows and carried on, "Through everything they had done in the competition, the ESG Organization in accordance to the World Council, had come into unanimous verdict to elect Sylvia Ivanov as the Vice-Captain of the Earthling's team and Felix Maxwell as the Captain!"
Clap! Clap!...
Under the heartful applause, Mr. Rodrigas retreated a step back and gestured for the two remaining staff members to give Felix and Sylvia their Nanosuits.
'Impressive.' Feeling the weightlessness of the suit in his hand, Felix nodded faintly in admiration. He then swiftly requested, 'Queen, please unlock the case and activate set 1.'
Cluck!
The moment the case was opened, Felix placed his hand inside and watched himself getting encased in liquid-like silver goo.
He got to admit that the feeling was quite uncomfortable than what he had tried in his previous life.
Naturally, this wasn't Felix's first time wearing one as he had bought a suit from a Gold Prize Pool with 3500 GP.
The generation wasn't as shitty as this one where the comfort of morphing wasn't considered.
'Should probably buy a better version when I can afford to spar some game points.' Felix pondered to himself while inspecting his new uniform.
The colors of their outfits were the same as the Main Team. However, the back was completely different as one had VC-Sylvia and number 2 underneath, While the other had C-Felix and number 1 beneath it.
Not bad." Satisfied, Felix smiled faintly while putting his hands in his jacket's pockets.
When Mr. Rodrigas saw that both of them were dressed, he stood in the middle of them and gestured for the camera to take a couple of pictures.
Click Click!..
He didn't have to ask the reporters as they were already taking them nonstop.
During the process, Felix's eyebrows arched in annoyance after seeing staff members bringing long wooden chairs without back support. Some were higher than the rest.
After seeing them, Felix remembered that the team was supposed to take the first historical picture before the end of the gathering.
Everyone guessed as much after seeing those chairs.
...
A couple of minutes later...
Every member of the earthling's team was either standing on the ground or those chairs. No one was having his face blocked from the frame as the short ones like Olivia were placed in the front while the tall ones were at the back.
Felix was standing on the ground right behind Olivia while having Sylvia to his right and Noah to his left.
This created a weird scene in the middle of the frame as Felix was kneading Olivia's cute face under her constant threats. At the same time, those two beside him kept staring expressionlessly in front of them like they were taking a funeral picture.
Click Click...
Unbothered by whatever those juniors were doing, the cameramen spammed the capture button nonstop, taking pictures from every angle. Even the drones were doing their part.
No one felt like it was too much as this was the first-ever team for planet Earth. They knew that many other teams would come down the line and look at this historical moment in admiration and fascination.
Click!
The last picture was taken with Felix chuckling while pulling Olivia's cheeks further apart making her smile forcefully with a hopeless expression.
The rest were either smiling widely, lowering their heads in a shy manner, caught blinking at the worst time possible, or posing like a model.
Everyone was captured in a unique way besides Noah and Slyvia, who didn't even blink once. Yet, this picture showed the juniors' liveness and the bright attitude they had towards their future.
In Felix's previous life, pictures of the earthling's team weren't treated favorably by the masses. Not a lot of people hanged them in their houses and took pride in their team.
That's because of the tragic results in the games, one after the other.
But now, with Felix in the team, no one would dare to disrespect this team's picture as he would be leading the team....No! He would be leading the entire planet into a bright future in the Supremacy Games Alliance!
This time it's going to be different!