The team match of the Worlshop Battle was about to start. Excitement was in the air and the wind bubbled with the cheers of the onlookers.
"Sorry to keep everyone waiting!" Io announced as he floated in the air.
"We will finally begin the team tournament to decide the winner of the workshop battle! Let me briefly explain the rules of the tournament to you!"
As he spoke, a holographic screen appeared behind him. The screen held the image of an island from above, at the center of which was a large volcano. The entire island was coloured in two. One being blue and the other being orange.
"Team Mad Dog and Team FUG's game will be in the North while the other teams will be playing in the South! Once a winner has been decided from either side, the two teams will participate in a final match to determine the winner!"
The screen zoomed towards the southern end of the island which was coloured in blue. The entire area was then divided into two by the virtue of a river that run through the entire part, cutting it horizontally.
"All the participants will be dropped off at the southern most end of the map! That area is a no battle zone and gives the teams necessary time to prepare! Following the developments of the game, the spearheader of each team with move towards the north! And when they cross the river using the bridge, they will be permitted to fight!"
Io exclaimed dramatically.
"If you eliminate the spearheader in your opposing team, you will be granted extra points! And such points will be used to gather teammates and useful items! You can choose to not fight the spearheader of the opposing team, but to get to the next round, it is compulsory to do so!" He said.
"Further information has been given to the respective team leader through the lighthouses provided! Any team that fails to make it to the battle zone in the first 30 minutes is eliminated!
"At the same time, in the northern region, the semi final round between team mad dog and team FUG will take place!"
Then, he spread out his arms and exclaimed as if proclaiming a holy decree.
"Let the battle of growth... begin!"
~~~
"Okay..." Wangnan muttered to himself as he moved through the jungle like terrain with caution.
No enemies until now... he looked ahead of him, where light pierced through the trees and where a large bridge to pass a ravine was erected.
The Bridge!
It had not been long since the battle started. Only 4 minutes. He had wasted no time and had directly used Diffusion Boundary to dash through the area. As such, he was naturally the first regular to have made it to the bridges.
"Get to the calling center quickly." Khun's voide echoed through the observer.
"Got it!" Wangnan exclaimed and ran ahead, leaving a faint blue trail in his wake.
~~~
~~~
Endorsi sat in the waiting hall of their team, clicking her tongue in annoyance.
Jue Viole Grace had been Bam all along. FUG had tricked them all.
This can't get any worse. Shr thought to herself and angrily changed the TV channel.
She sighed. She was the only one sitting here in the waiting hall.
Everyone was outside in the viewing gallery, watching the workshop battle and how their team was progressing.
"What a load of shit..."
"What is?" Just then, a familiar voice sounded in her ears. Her eyes widened a bit as the door to the hall opened up.
And in came a regular. He had dirty brown hair and carried a red spear over his shoulder.
Zarhan Zulasekail.
"The tournament." Endorsi said simply. Zarhan was one of the teammates she actually held some respect for. Solely because he was a very 'straight to the points guy. He was just a chill dude.
That, and his strength. In their team, he ranked just below herself and Anaak. If the conditions were right, he might even win from them.
"What's wrong with it?" He asked while coming over and taking a seat beside her, eagerly watching a divine sea fish documentary.
"...I don't know." Endorsi huffed, not willing to tell him.
"Okay." He said simply.
They sat in silence which was only interrupted by the occasional shouts of excitement from the outside or from the TV itself.
"Are you not gonna pry?"
"No."
"Why?"
"If you don't want to say, why should I waste my breath?"
Tch! Endorsi clicked her tongue again. It was at times like these that she felt he was a bit too chill.
"Speaking of, didn't you say you had a strange feeling earlier today?" She asked suddenly, throwing him a glance at the corner of her eye.
Zarhan turned to meet her gaze and nodded.
"That's right."
"What's that about?"
"Just... The instincts of a hunter." He continued. "Something is going to happen here. That's why I didn't participate in the final round, even though Khun wanted me to be the Spearhead." He said.
..
"Also this." Suddenly, he raised his hand and gathered a baang over it.
Shaaa!
Endorsi watched in slight curiosity, but then, her interest was piqued.
"What is this?" She asked.
"I don't know. It seems to be a shinsu quality." Zarhan said simply.
In his hand rested a red spear made entirely out of shinsu. Droplets of red water gathered around it and slowly spread outwards, as if colour had been thrown into a pond. The spear slowly gathered the surrounding shinsu towards it and turned it red.
"Shinsu quality? That seems good?" She raised an eyebrow.
"It should." Zarhan smiled. "This is something only the most talented of the Zulasekail family can awaken! It's the quality of the red spear!" He exclaimed.
But then, the smile on his face faltered.
"Even so, it is one of the reasons for my worry."
Endorsi looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"Why?"
"I don't know." He said.
Endorsi clenched her fist in slight annoyance. Zarhan had gotten one of Winston's traits. It was to piss off the Jahad Princesses without trying too hard.
Endorsi sighed.
"Sigh! Well, you watch your sea fish documentary. I'll be outside." She shook her head and left him alone.
Zarhan remained seated on the sofa, his eyes riveted to the miniature red spear in his hand.
~~~
Red Priest sat atop the roof of the Archimedes and looked towards a fleeting point in the distance. It was a strange point in space. One that contained a malevolent green shinsu, taking the form of a flame.
"The Jahad Simp is here." He muttered, not to himself but as if to alert someone not even present.
Superior senses was a large part of the Red Priest. Even more so than the Error pathway.
He watched in silence. His inner thoughts were drowned by the voices of the masses under his feet that still danced around the Archimedes by watching the battle.
The rustling of air in his ears, the slightest shift of the clouds in the sky, the smells of a million different people and of the metal and the blood; it was all so vivid in his senses.
..
But then, everything stilled.
Everything simply... stopped. The noise stilled and the scent ceased to exist. The rustling of the wind he felt on himself disappeared and was replaced by a transcendent emptiness, as if the shinsu had been forced to a static.
The world did not know how to react. A momentary stop in reality occurred as something so powerful and so ancient traversed the space and tore through it as if it were made out of paper.
A bright light flashed.
Wal-Mart door ability... Of course, as someone from the Red Priest pathway, he would never lose the chance to say something, even if it were only in mind.
From the bright light came out a large blue frog. The frog had six limbs, four of which he held in the air and made gestures with using his digits. And around his neck was a necklace that extended into the air, one that was constructed out of snakes bitting at each other's tails.
Red Priest knew what this was. A Divine Sea Fish of the Head of the Lo Po Bia family.
He waited for some more time.
Luckily, he did not have to for long. Just 10 seconds after, another light flashed.
His eyes widened with disbelief as the shinsu itself seemed to grow thicker and harder to breathe.
Power. Unadulterated Power was appearing.
He broke out with a nasty grin. His canines were visible for the world to see as his lava coloured eyes shimmered with intent and excitement.
Shaaaaaaaaaaaa!
From the bright light, came out an acolyte of destruction and of power.
This creature that was all too removed from the concepts of mortals from the other tower inhabitants stepped onto the air as the door, the rip in space, closed behind him.
The man had bright green hair and had a mask on his face that covered his mouth and nose. He wore a large coat on his torso that was all too big for his frame and hung needlessly down from his legs. On his legs, he wore a baggy robe.
Lo Po Bia Traumerei!
Head of the Lo Po Bia family and one of the Original Irregulars to have climbed the Tower!
His visage was relaxed and uninterested.
His green eyes that seemed to be slit at the pupils gazed down at the Archimedes as if he were looking at ants.
Suddenly, his eyes travelled up towards the Red Priest.
"Hmm?" The shinsu rippled, as if beckoned by his voice.
"Who are you?" He asked.
Red Priest froze, for but a moment.
Then, he broke out with a small chuckle and a grin.
"Who else? Your father."
~~~
Winston walked through the middle areas of the 30th floor with a small smile on his face. Suddenly, he felt a shiver travel up his spine.
His eyes widened and his hair stood on edge.
He looked above him towards the sky and waited as a large fissure tore up in the firmament and a metallic behemoth came flying through.
It was a ship travelling through a warp drive. Somehow, the shop had gleamed the exact coordinates of him. Well, at least his avatar.
He narrowed his eyes and instantly, the marionette was switched with the main body.
Slowly but surely, the metallic airship travelled through the fissure in the world and showed him it's entire structure in all its glory.
It looked to be a star wars battlecraft, white in colour with blue colouration in various places.
"That's interesting." Winstin said as he observed the peculiar symbol below the ship. It was a symbol of various wings.
Wolhaiksong.
He thought and grinned.
Just then, the door to the ship opened up and a man stepped out.
The man wore nothing on his torsi and had a cap on his forehead. His white hair and red eyes were some features that instantly struck a chord in Winston's mind about the man's identity. That is, if he had not already figured it out by his mere presence alone.
The man walked into the air and floated beside the ship. Yet, small as he was, he seemed to be infinitely larger than anything an airship could ever hope to match.
He, with his imposing figure and ripped muscles, extended his hands outwards as if to embrace the world.
And then, he spoke in a cheerful voice.
"Hello there. Baby~"
~~~
A/N: Here ya go. I was able to write a bonus chapter.
May I ask for some power stones?
Also, I've been thinking about the love interest.
Just a warning, I've never written any romance, like ever.
Yuri fans out there, I apologize. I can't see Winston getting along with her. I can see how it can work, but the starting point of it is just so steep that I can't see any believable way to do it.
The same is true for almost every other TOG waifu except for the ones he's already met, like Endorsi and Hwaryun. Endorsi, he just doesn't see her that way. And seeing her wondrous feats of intelligence in the 3rd season, I'd say it's better for Bam to deal with her.
As for Hwaryun, he doesn't trust her. Nor is she, in any way, suitable to be with him. As a guide, she's especially susceptible to visions of Fate. And Winston's mythical creature form is no joke.
I was thinking of going the route of Garam Jahad by making an AU where Urek doesn't have a crush on her. Or even Po Bidau Tiara.
I have no other reason to include Tiara except that I like spectacled girls.
Anyways, if something is confirmed, go expect some romance. It would be the first time writing romance for me so I don't know how it would turn out. Not very well, I assume but we'll have to see.
Cheers~~