Stell stared blankly at the referee. 'I have to fight Felix?'
Noticing Stell's blank stare, the referee laughed. "Now, let's proceed with the second fight!"
With a wave of his hands, the referee teleported Stell and Felix to their waiting room. Evidently, the referee wasn't inclined to wait for Stell to gather his thoughts and return on his own.
"Hahaha! We're finally going to fight each other!" Felix laughed, which prompted a grumble from Stell. "Do we have to?"
Giving Stell an odd look, Felix asked. "You don't want to fight me?"
"You are strong." Stell shook his head, prompting a question from Felix. "So you only fight weak people?"
Stell's expression twisted before sighing. "I did fight Water, didn't I?"
"You did." Felix nodded, not wanting to continue with the topic.
After that, silence filled the room.
Stell's thoughts turned chaotic. 'Dammit! What should I do now?' He didn't want to fight Felix. However, his pride refused to accept that he could only fight weaker opponents!
As he thought about his dilemma, the next fight commenced.
It was a three vs two.
The three people tried breaking the solid teamwork and defense of the two players, but it was almost impossible. After a bitter fight, the team of two became one.
Then, after another round of advertising, the referee summoned a random member of the audience again. "What do you think? Who will win?"
The person summoned was a dwarf. "It's gon' be G, I tell ya." The dwarf waved his hands as he answered the question.
The referee nodded, finally voicing his own thoughts on the matter as well. "It's probably going to be G. However, who do you think in G will win?"
It was a question that left many people stumped. Although Earth and Wind had defeated Water, it had to be said that they hadn't actually shown many abilities.
Earth showed an exceptional thinking ability and a rough control of his element, while Wind could fly, and he dealt the last two blows.
It was actually a hard decision to make.
"Wind, probably." The dwarf shortened his sentence as much as he could, laughing.
The referee looked at the dwarf curiously before asking the question most of the spectators wanted to know. "Why do you think that Wind will triumph?"
"Most of ya would think that it's 'cuz of his element, but no!" Dwarf paused slightly before seriously speaking. "I am a blacksmith and I can feel a person's talent. His soul for the battle! And Earth got none! It's as if he didn't believe that he could even stand properly! I tell ya, it's something even I haven't encountered in a young fella like him!"
Stell's expression twisted as he listened to the dwarf. He knew that the dwarf was right, and the dwarf's words cut deep into him.
'Not believing in myself. Not having any fighting spirit... Useless...' Stell bitterly chuckled inside himself as he believed every word that the dwarf said.
No, it's not just believed. Stell was sure that the dwarf was completely right.
'And how am I going to fight tomorrow when I can't even look them in the eyes.' Stell wanted to slap himself so much.
With a sigh, he dismissed the depressing thoughts again. Whatever was happening, worrying and beating himself over it didn't help.
"I see. Quite a comprehensive opinion." The referee nodded as if he agreed with the dwarf.
After another short advertisement, he announced. "Let the final participants enter."
Stell walked out of the gate, wondering how many advertisements there were and why did the referee spam them so much. Shaking his head, he decided to think of a battle plan.
A plan to defeat Felix, the protagonist who wielded the power of luck.
As each player entered the stage, the referee raised his hands, resuming his enthusiastic shouts. "WELL, WELL! WE HAVE THE FINALE HERE!"
Amid the cheers, he carried on. "It's a battle royale among three participants: Wind, Earth, and Metal! Who will emerge victorious? WHO WILL BE THE CHAMPION OF THIS WEEK'S SURPRISE GAME?! LET'S FIND OUT!"
With a slash of his hand, he announced the commencement of the battle.
As Stell and Felix looked at each other, they teamed up against Metal. Unsurprisingly, Metal couldn't deal with Felix's aggressive attacks and Stell's annoying Earth pillars, quickly succumbing to the duo.
Then, the only participants left were Stell and Felix.
"You know, I always wanted to fight you. Not many people feel as fun as you do." Felix grinned as he looked Stell in the eyes.
Stell, meanwhile, tried avoiding Felix's gaze at all. Yes, Felix was his friend, arguably best friend, but Felix was also a protagonist while he was just an extra. An extra...
Gritting his teeth, Stell commented. "I always wanted to fight you as well."
Felix noticed the anomaly in Stell. After a slight sigh, he laughed. "Well, it's too bad that it won't be today. I feel like it won't be fun. And since it's not fun, I might as well give up."
With a raise of his hand, the referee's eyes widened. Unable to believe Felix, he couldn't help but ask. "Are you really going to give up just like that?"
"What's the point when it's boring. I'll do it when he is ready. Then, I am sure that I will have the most fun ever." Felix grinned as he vanished from the place he was in with a white light.
He hadn't only given up on the fight, but he also gave up on the whole game, causing him to be ejected and return to White Room.
Stell watched blankly at the scene as he felt like crying. 'Again, I got a win I didn't deserve. Again, Felix bested me. Even if I fought him, I am sure that I would lose. Dammit!'
Punching the floor, he vanished from the spot as well, just before the referee approached him, trying to get a final speech from the winner.
Bitterly chuckling, the referee continued with the show. "Now, let us get a word from our sponsor..."
Meanwhile, Stell appeared in the White Room next to Felix. He didn't even give him a glance as he asked his System for the rewards.
It was a Mid-Tier Epic Rank achievement. 'I didn't expect to get a whole rank higher. Surprise games are broken.' Stell almost felt happy about his earnings, but he couldn't muster a smile no matter how much he tried.
Felix's actions just left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Turning towards Felix, he seriously said. "I am going to train outside alone for tomorrow's fight." After a slight pause, he added. "At least, try to better control my element."
Felix laughed at Stell's lack of confidence. "Sure, I'll train as well then."
Upon leaving the White Room, they went their separate ways. Stell visited the achievements exchange while Felix headed to a 'secret spot' to train.
Stell could have wagered his entire fortune at that moment that Felix was heading back to their flat, likely aiming to sleep and laze around.
After exchanging his Mid-Tier achievement for two Low-Tier ones, Stell grumbled about how unfair the exchange was. A Mid-Tier achievement could be exchanged for two Low-Tier ones, while he would need to give ten Low-Tier ones for a Mid-Tier one.
Sighing at the obvious steal, Stell left the city. His goal was to be relatively close to the city gate since he didn't wish to fight any dangerous Beasts.
After finding a perfect spot, Stell noticed many subjugation squads forming. In fact, he even saw one with a sword covered in a rose crest.
Noticing the familiar crest, Stell tried recalling where had he seen it. Then, he remembered. It was on one of the people in the tavern!
Keeping one eye on the squad, Stell trained his abilities until the night fell.
He felt proud of his improvement in the few hours that he had trained. Every time his energy was depleted, Stell would physically train his body until his energy reserve filled again. Then, he would train his control again.
As he admired the stars in the sky, Stell sighed. Tomorrow was a big day. It was the day when he would fight against two protagonists.