[DAY 2]
It was finally the next day, and we were ready to start off from where we left off.
The camera panned over to the audience seating, where there were people sitting in various chairs, watching intently.
[Views: 5,200,333,200]
My eyes bulged at the increase in views.
Who?
"Hey, you've gone blank, Dare!" Ravus called out. "Did something happen?"
I shook my head.
"No, nothing. It's just... a great start..." I mumbled quietly, looking down at myself. "Almost as though..."
"We welcome His Imperial Highness, King Zephyr Shadowthorn, ruler of Althyra, to the show today!" I heard someone yell out.
A spotlight shone on the king, causing everyone else in the room to fade into darkness.
The King wore black robes, a white shirt underneath, and black gloves that covered his arms from the bottom up.
He stood tall and proud, holding his face high, giving the impression of being arrogant but also confident. His long black hair flowed behind him, while his blue eyes sparkled as if he were gazing upon some grand sight.
His expression was one of pure confidence; he was clearly the type to never lose his cool under pressure.
I glanced at the only person in the spotlight besides the King.
Kael, the king's advisor, stood beside his Majesty. He looked almost identical to the King, with long black hair flowing around his body, which he kept tied back neatly. He wore an expensive-looking suit that complimented the king's outfit perfectly, as well as a pair of glasses framing his face.
Kael was probably the closest thing the King had to a friend, since the two had known each other for so long. They seemed like close confidants, sharing the same air of superiority and arrogance.
If I had not come into contact with those bandits Kael had hired yesterday, I might have thought he was a harmless individual who had a proud air about him. Now that I knew better, though, I could see through his facade. He was the same as the King—arrogant and conceited, yet somehow able to hide it, and probably worse off than the King himself.
This is going to be fun!
[Views: 6,991,003,118]
Everything was starting to make a lot more sense as to why the views had doubled overnight.
At least now, I know what all these people are here to watch.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause when the king stepped onto the stage.
"Thank you very much!" The king waved enthusiastically towards the audience. "Please enjoy the show, and feel free to support our great entertainer today, Dream Master Dare."
The camera zoomed in on me as the king began walking towards his seat. Then the spotlight fell directly on me.
"Hello viewers," I said into the microphone, my voice echoing throughout the stadium. "We resume, but first we'll review each team leader's progress."
Everyone cheered again as the screen showed their respective ranks.
[Here are the ranks of the 23 team leaders]
[Emily Matherns—23 Druts]
[Sasha Kerensky—56 Druts]
[Cyrus Eris—2 Druts]
[Takashi Fumino—71 Druts]
[Gianna Shaver—0 Drut]
[Marianne Nava—3 Druts]
[Katsuhiro Watanabe—45 Druts]
[Shiro Yagiri—0 Drut]
[Alma Hesse—3 Druts]
[Kamal Khoury—54 Druts]
[Julie Llamas—38 Druts]
[Erika Yamamoto—67 Druts]
[Hideo Kuroda—1 Drut]
[Ryuichi Ichikawa—52 Druts]
[Tanya Sakaki—3 Druts]
[Alexandra Gaffney—39 Druts]
[Zachary Blackwood—0 Drut]
[Luciano De Luca—0 Drut]
[Vera Stolz—13 Druts]
[Kazuhiko Saito—7 Druts]
[Tomo Tsurugi—44 Druts]
[Diana Chang—58 Druts]
[Virgil Belmont!—89 Druts]
"Virgil Belmont! Virgil Belmont! Virgil Belmont!"
The audience chanted his name at the top of their lungs, and I couldn't even hear myself anymore.
I just stood there dumbfounded, waiting for the screaming to die down before continuing.
"Dear participants, you'll—"
I paused at the sight of a golden card materializing and hovering in front of me.
"Uhh, pardon me for a moment."
I looked over at Kael, who wiggled his brows at me from the front row.
A small smile crossed my face as I reached out and accepted it, muting my microphone.
"Well, hello there, Master Dare." My lips curled upward slightly as I read the title on the card.
"How about making this tournament a lot more interesting?" I read it in a whisper, barely audible above the cheers. "That way, everyone will get to see exactly how good of a show this first round can be. You wouldn't want to disappoint his Imperial Highness and your adoring fans."
As if on cue, the card exploded in my hand, sending bits of glitter flying everywhere.
I turned my attention toward Kael again, picking up a sly smirk as he looked back at me, then gestured to the screen with his index finger.
He mouthed, "It's already done," nodding to the screen once more.
"DREAM MASTER DARE, WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Shiro yelled.
"Can you all hear this?!!" Hideo called out at the top of his lungs while staring at the screen.
"There's some strange fog closing in!!" Kamal said, pointing at the entrance to one of the pipelines.
Whoosh!
"What was that?!"
The panicked voices of several participants, backing away from the mysterious fog that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the sewers, drew everyone's attention.
"Oh shit," Cyrus said, his hand going to his sword. "Something's attacking! Is this some sort of special quest?"
The audience's collective gasp filled the room, followed by a few cheers when they saw clans of Fenrirs appear around the group.
Did they actually think this was a surprise stunt I had pulled at the last minute?
Just like I thought...
I could feel Kael's burning gaze staring in my direction, and I returned it, raising an eyebrow.
He simply shrugged and pointed at another card that had materialized in front of me.
°I wanted to spice things up. It seemed like a perfect opportunity. No one would want a bloody show, would they?°
Ravus placed his palm on my shoulder, looking over and reading the card.
"When did you—"
"Shh!" Ravus hushed me, focusing more on reading the card's message.
He muttered under his breath, "It's that asshole who hired those idiots to kidnap Wyn, isn't it?"
I could only nod in agreement.
His eyes glowed for a second before returning to normal.
"Damn," he said, shaking his head. "They can barely see shit with all that fog; let's go save them."
"No!" Wyn cut him off. "Remember, we can't assist in our tournament matches! Besides, you mentioned that they were warriors, right? They treated us like trash when we first arrived, but I'm sure they can manage their miserable human lives."
Wyn's harboring of grudges was second to none.
Ravus raised his eyebrows, giving her a questioning look.
Wyn glared at him, but she didn't have anything else to say.
"Goddamn it, we were in disguise when that happened! If we don't take action now, they might end up dead on live TV streaming in all states! In all states, I say!" Ravus argued. "Also, isn't saving people part of our job?"
No, it's definitely not part of my job. I was no hero, just a host who knew his limits in situations like these.
I had wanted to voice that, but I bit down on my tongue instead.
In my opinion, I would rather watch how they would fare against what they were up against than help them, aside from providing the fail-safe approach of quitting to be fair. But then again, I wasn't the one being forced into a fight where the odds were stacked against me.
Wyn gave Ravus a confused stare before turning towards me.
"What do you think? Should we help and get cancelled, or stay here and watch them suffer what they deserve for being weak to my deranged distant clans?"
She asked me.
I looked back at Kael, who simply stared back at me with a smirk.
"You really want to help them?" She asked again. "Remember, they are warriors in their own right, beloved! They should be used to sneak attacks from magical beasts."
"Shh! Let me think for a moment."
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
The first thought that came to mind was that there were two possible outcomes:
(I) Either we intervene in an attempt to rescue these fools, causing a significant amount of panic among the audience, which would undoubtedly aid Kael's plan and his indirect retaliation on us for thwarting his attempt to kidnap Wyn.
(II) or we leave the participants on their own and see if they survive the challenge.
The rules strictly forbade me from interfering in a game as a host or with my crew. Doing so would result in disqualification from our spot in the entertainment field, which meant that I'd lose my title and, most importantly, my precious money and adoring fans.
I had built all I had from scratch, climbed the ranks, and faced several obstacles to my show in the past; this was merely one of those I felt I could solve with a levelheaded approach.
On the other hand, the contestants themselves had signed up for the event, knowing full well that this could happen. The only reason they were still fighting was because they were desperate to win the prize money.
If I were them, I wouldn't bother risking my life in such dangerous situations.
[Views: 8,521,443,023]
And yet...
Getting the audience excited about the show made them want to root for their favorite contestant even more.
All I needed was to ensure that Kael couldn't use it to his advantage.
"Participants, you have two options: hold off on the attacks by whatever means necessary, or signify you would be forfeiting your match due to injury." I announced loudly. "The choice is yours; however, should you choose to fight, your rank on your current Druts discovery will be doubled. Do you accept?"
I could hear the crowd erupting into cheers once again.
This time, the sound was much more excited and upbeat than before.
As long as no one died, everyone would keep cheering regardless.
But I knew better than to believe that everything was going according to plan.
Kael might find a way to manipulate the situation regardless.
My gut told me that something was wrong, and I wasn't about to ignore it.
"Ravus, it's time for plan B." I whispered to him. "No one messes with our show and gets away with it. We'll take care of this the old-fashioned way."