"I am really really sorry Luvi. But you know how important this tournament is for me."
Andy was not the only star child anymore. Many have started the practice and entered white star rank through it, making him not much unique when compared to others in his class.
The only reason he was special is because of him being the first to enter the white star rank through the exercises. But when other students caught up to him, the attention given to him decreased as well.
To most of the world, when everyone is special, no one remains special.
So, to maintain his rise to stardom and make a name for himself, he needs to show the world that he was not a one hit wonder. That his talent is not limited to just being the first to take advantage of the exercise.
He wants the world to know that his claws are more lethal than any special power the students were born with.
So he had long put his card in the 1v1 tournament where the attention would be on him and there would be many managers looking forward to promising students.
Making Luvi a bit late.
But, Luvi can't be blamed for this. If one is talking about being busy, Luvi had been more busy than anyone else in the whole academy.
He not only needed to maintain his practice, but he was also dealing with the aftermath of the auction and how to manage all that money.
Then there was the case on how to utilize his minions properly and also teaching them on how to conduct themselves. Which made him seem like a babysitter at some points.
Causing the time for Luvi to sleep decrease and to earn even a little bit more time, he ignored most of the side activities, which included his anime and games.
It's been a busy month for him as well.
None of it can be explained to Andy, Luvi can only feel sorry for himself and move away from him. While feeling that the distance between the two friends might be increasing.
"Hmm."
Though, this didn't mean that Luvi would abandon joining the tournament.
He wanted the dungeon access, he needed it more than anyone else in this whole damned academy.
So, when the recess began, Luvi took out a board and scribbled some words on it and then stood close to the campus entrance while holding the board.
"200$ for anyone who will become my partner in tag team hunting. I promise to win."
"Who in the flying fuck would join that fat fuck."
"Isn't that the guy who is like a stain on our academy? Who would want to partner up with him?"
"Eww, it's that guy who shit his pan…"
Whoever saw the sign only had mockery written on their face.
Luvi might be known for many things, but being a good combatant was not one of those things.
Not to mention, he was one of the infamous students that barely anyone would like to relate to and was hated by many.
Meaning, those students that partner up with him might face a similar treatment.
Because if you train with poop, you get stained.
It was why none of the students here wanted to be close to Luvi. While Luvi started to wonder if he would be forced to join the 1v1 tournament like Andy.
But considering the monsters that would be taking part in it, even though Luvi was confident in his strength, he understood that there was no chance for him to win in those battles.
While it was also harder for him to take part in a gauntlet run, which required a team of five.
Usually, these students have been practicing together for a long time and their synergy and actions are at the highest level. So they rarely would choose to replace someone else. Not to mention, take the baggage and danger by letting Luvi enter their team.
"Hmm… Seems like I gotta show these bastards, how deep my pockets are." And Luvi was not ignorant about any of this. It was why he planned to employ a partner, instead of just leaving it all to luck.
But it would seem his plan won't stick due to his past actions. So he chose to increase the salary to his future partner by another 200 dollars. While shouting, "Last chance, last chance… easy way to earn money."
And this time, he actually attracted a few students.
A whopping 400 dollars was not a simple amount for students. And yes, it was true that Luvi can put out a lot more. But his identity as a student still forced him to hide his real capital. The most he could put was only five hundred dollars. Getting over 500 dollars would make him seem too suspicious.
"I just want to be your partner in the tournament.. That's it, right?"
"Well, you have to also hunt the monster with me. I am not going to show my face there. I wholly intend to reach the top three at least."
The moment Luvi said those words, the student started to laugh and then left. Looking at Luvi as he was someone truly crazy.
But the truth was, Luvi didn't intend to let a student on such a low level join, to begin with. He truly intended to enter top three and hunting a monster alone might be possible, but not when the time was of the essence.
The faster he hunts, the more points he will get, increasing his chances of winning.
So, even though he gave out so much money. He won't partner up with just anybody due to his desperation.
Though as time went by some other students were denied after Luvi's claims of wanting someone capable. The rumors spread through the academy.
Even reaching the ears of the vice principal, she just smirked and didn't say much to the student who told her the rumor.
All she did was walk closer to the entrance, to see the desperate guy standing alone after every class was over.
And on the second day of him doing this, with his reward pool increased to a whopping 500$, the whole school became aware of the crazy guy that would be standing on the entrance of each recess without shame.
No, it's better to say, he was filled with arrogance and confidence to actually get into the top three.
One should not forget, this is an intercity competition with two major academies taking part in it. But this didn't mean that only two academies took part in it.
Youngsters from all kinds of backgrounds would come to join the competition to make a name for themselves. Which got even worse when one considers that the rate of white star hunters this year was way higher than before due to the training methods that were released in the world.
So for Luvi to claim that he will enter top two, most can only say. Fat chance.
And this was not because Luvi was a fat individual to begin with. Making him the joke of the school once again.
But none of it mattered to Luvi. His mind was set on his goal, he knew what he had to do and he will achieve it no matter what.
So he waited for a gullible idiot that doesn't care about the school to fall for his money.
And finally, the time came when someone unexpected approached him.
*****
It felt bad.
After being nagged by DreamMachine due to her inability to produce any sound results, Miriam found that it actually hurt.
She can feel that she has disappointed DreamMachine. And why would she not be?
Miriam, aka, Seeker or TruthSeeker was one of the most active members in the group, which made her stand out.
Which in turn played against her when the truth came out that her group was nothing more than a self help group built with zero goal in mind.
But, after some one-on-one counseling with DreamMachine. Miriam understood that she had to do something.
"She wants me to become the face of the group… then I would need good helpers."
Luvi wants her to become the face of the group, the one who would act as emissary as well as the one handling deals.
In a way, she would establish relations in the light while also helping the group to wash their money.
There would be too many responsibilities if she was to follow up on DreamMachine's plan for her.
So she understood that there was a need to expand her group and find talented individuals that might help her in the future.
But sadly, few individuals ever entered her eyes. There was Ram, Rose and some others from advanced class.
There was even Andy who is showing immense promise after his rise to the rank of White star hunter.
Though if truth be told. There was only one individual that had made her completely dumbfounded due to his weird way of handling things.
Things that might appear disgusting, shameless or even outright evil on the surface. But at the end of the day, they produced results.
And as fate has it, she had been able to learn various secrets of this enigmatic student due to pure coincidence.
It was as if fate was telling her that the man in front of her would be useful.
Which got truer for her when she met Luvi again in the park, no, it would be more like she was watching him from the side and Luvi had been able to sense her gaze as well as spell in an instant, making her learn that the fat student is not as simple as he seems on the surface.
Which was why after DreamMachine's counseling, she made up her mind of letting Luvi join her circle.