They had the usual twenty minutes break before the start of the team match. Jack again lingered around the table to enjoy refreshments. He saw the orc team was never down here. They never came for the refreshments. Jack looked at them at the spectators’ seats. They didn’t look nervous, though. Jack guessed that they probably were not into this kind of relaxation. The whole members of that team looked very disciplined.
Jack felt a tab from behind. Grace was there with Paytowin.
“Next will be your final, are you feeling confident?” Grace asked.
“Naturally,” Jack replied.
“Have you worked things up with your team?” Paytowin asked.
“Um… I guess,” Jack answered.
“Well, in any way, good luck!” Grace raised her fist, joined by Paytowin.
The three fist-bumped.
“Have you talked to Myson about letting us enter the ancient battleground one last time after the tournament?” Jack asked.
“Actually, he said there will be a special event after the tournament,” Paytowin answered. “But he said we will be allowed to use it one more time before you leave.”
“That’s good,” Jack said and then asked, “What kind of special event was he talking about?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t elaborate,” Paytowin replied.
“Probably the prize-giving ceremony for the winners of this tournament,” Grace offered her opinion.
“I think so,” Paytowin agreed.
The three chatted some more. But before the break session ended, Jack found the time to go and talk to Anotherday about something.
Soon, everyone was back in the spectators’ seats while the members of the human team and the orc team gathered in the arena.
*
Team Section Final Match: Human Vs Orc
Human Team
Giant Steve, level 46 Sentinel
Storm Wind, level 43 Blade Dancer
Red Death, level 46 Assassin
Yellow Death, level 46 Gunner
Princess Purple, level 46 Priest
Vs
Orc Team
Violent Blizzard, level 46 Avenger
Four Winds, level 46 Berserker
Disco Rain, level 46 Assassin
Water Lily, level 46 Elementalist
Purple Mist, level 46 Priest
*
“This will be the final match of this outworlder tournament,” Pallas uttered. “The two of you stand at the pinnacle of the moment, but only one will remain. All the eyes of the world are with you. Find courage and fight honorably! Now, let the final match of the team tournament begins!”
Two portals appeared after the end of Pallas’ speech.
The two teams entered the portal and came out in desert terrain. While the two teams saw nothing but sand dunes around them, the spectators had a better view of the overview map.
The landscape was mostly desert with an oasis near the southern side and a rocky area near the northern corner. The spectators saw some swirls appear at some spots in the desert. The sand behaved like a whirlpool in the water. The spectators did not doubt that if any of the players were caught by these sand swirls, they would be sucked into the sand. Perhaps instant death?
<br/>These swirls seemed to appear randomly and lasted for a while before disappearing. The only places where these swirls never appeared were the oasis and the rocky areas. The spectators saw some kind of aura surrounding the oasis. Everyone believed there should be something special to the oasis due to that.
There were also some minor and localized sandstorms blowing around the desert.
*
After the human team appeared inside the arena dimension, Jack looked around and said, “desert setting. Good. It should be difficult to find a place to hide here. Additionally, it will be easier to track people. Our steps will easily leave footprints on the sand.”
“Not if you used to be a Rogue,” Red Death said.
“Oh? Why is that?” Jack asked.
It was Peniel who answered, “It’s another effect of Rogue’s level 20 skill, Light Foot. Aside from increasing movement speed, it also erases any trace that could be left behind by your footsteps.”
“I see… But that skill only lasted a short duration, right?” Jack said.
“It is still useful to throw pursuers off your scent,” Red Death said.
“So, what’s the plan, boss,” Giant Steve asked Red Death.
Red Death turned back upon the question. Everyone was looking at her, except for Yellow Death, he was looking away but he didn’t rush off like in previous matches.
Red Death gave the matter a thought. She just remembered that Jack had forced the leader position on her this morning.
“All right. First thing, Storm Wind, you rushed forward via the central path. Kill anyone you encounter,” Red Death commanded as she pushed Jack forward.
“Huh? What’s the difference from before?” Jack asked. He sensed something strange when Red Death touched her, but it was gone now.
“Just do what you are told! Didn’t you say you will listen to my order?” Red Death uttered. “Are you going back on your words?”
“Uh, no… Then what will the four of you be doing?” Jack asked.
“That’s none of your business. You just do your part!”
“The heck! I should know the plan so I can react in accordance with the rest of you, shouldn’t I?”
“Your role in this plan is to search out the enemies and kill every last one of them. What else do you want to know?”
‘F*ck! Is she serious? Is she fooling me for a grudge or something?’ Jack thought.
“Are you going or not? Or are you not serious about calling me the leader?” Red Death uttered when Jack was not moving.
‘Screw this!’ Jack thought. He said, “Fine! Fine! I will go and kill every last one of them. Your four don’t get killed when I am away! It will be a chore if I have to hunt them down later like the last match.”
Jack then dashed away. Giant Steve scratched his head. He was now alone amongst the people who used to be his enemies, technically still his enemies outside of this match.
“So, are we just waiting here for the victory announcement?” Princess Purple asked. She had been looking around searching for a suitable place to sit, but there was only sand.
“No, we follow him,” Red Death replied.
“Follow him? He is almost out of sight already,” Princess Purple said. “Not to mention his speed is ridiculously faster than us. We won’t be able to catch him.”
“I know his position at all times, just follow me,” Red Death said. She then started advancing. Not too fast so that Princess Purple and Giant Steve who were the slowest in the group can still keep up.
*
Outside, Paytowin was sitting next to Domon since Jack was not there. Grace was sitting on his other side. The other elven men that kept on tailing her wanted to join but Grace had forcefully chased them away. Paytowin was relieved, it would be awkward to talk about Jack if those men were crowding around Grace.
“It seemed that he has still not settled the problem in his team,” Paytowin commented after seeing the projection. Jack was currently rushing ahead by himself.
“Not really,” Grace said. “See the other four. They are traveling together, not separated like before. I think Jack heading off is part of their plan.” Paytowin had informed Grace of Jack’s real name.
“By sending their strongest member away? Why do they want to do that?” Paytowin asked.
“Not sure. That team is rather unusual to start with, who knows what they are truly planning?” Grace replied.
“But those four seemed to be able to keep following Jack. They shouldn’t have the ability for long-range communication or use the map tool to track friendlies. Jack had been quite a distance away. The guy also didn’t keep a straight path.”
Jack had originally planned to just go straight, but there had been several occasions where the sand whirlpool appeared on his path, so he had to change direction. There was also the sandstorm where Jack lost direction when it hit. He just continued forward randomly during the sandstorm, but not at full speed. It would be a problem if he fell into one of the sand whirlpools because he couldn’t see it inside the sandstorm.
“One of the four had probably used Track Person skill on Jack,” Jeanny said. She was sitting in front of Paytowin and Grace. She answered after hearing the two’s conversations.
“Track Person? I have that skill as well,” David, who was sitting beside Jeanny, said.
“What’s a Track Person skill?” Grace asked.
“It’s a non-standard elite skill for archer and rogue’s branches. The skill can be used to mark a target and the user will know the position of this target for the next twenty-four hours,” Jeanny answered. After Peniel informed her about this skill during the guardian-hunting mission. She had instructed guild’s related members to get this skill as well as the Track Monster skill.
“I see. No wonder they could keep on following Jack. Hm… But the way they are going seemed like they won’t meet anytime soon,” Grace said as she observed the overall map projection.
Jack’s direction had gone off course due to his many random changes in directions. The orc team, on the other hand, kept going on the central path and stayed together, just as how they did in their past matches. If they met one of these sandstorms or sand whirlpools, they stopped their advance.
*
“It seemed that the incentives that you offered are not enough,” Abdu Raretooth who was sitting amongst the orc audiences said.
Abasi lowered his head. “I have offered them the extra rewards, but they didn’t express their agreement nor refusal. They acted as if they didn’t care.”
“Hmph! These outworlders truly show us no respect. Perhaps we have given them too much leniency,” Abdu said in disapproval.
“We still need them in case the war with Themisphere proceeds,” Abasi mentioned. “Themisphere will surely utilize their outworlders as well. Their numbers are alarming. And currently, their average levels had started to catch up with our common soldiers. Their force will be a decisive factor in a conflict.”
Abdu grunted without replying.
