Chapter 125: A Mysterious Meeting


    "It''s not advised to do that," she honestly said, "but considering our unique conditions, we have no other choice but to train before it. After all, I believe our first game will be a deserved defeat."


    "De can''t we hope for better?"


    "How? C''mon your team isn''t even ustomed to ying a full game yet," she rolled up her eyes helplessly from his greed.


    "But losing a game won''t disqualify us, right?"


    "No, losing over fifty percent will instantly disqualify you," she said before adding, "that means you can only lose two games out of four but this would put you in a dilemma."


    He nced in question and she only sighed. "I forgot you don''t know everything yet each win gives you three points, a draw one point, and losing deducts one point from you."


    "We lose points when we lose?" he was speechless when he heard that.


    "Sure, do you think losing has no punishment at all?" she rolled her eyes again, "you can''t expect us to watch you lose and only let you go without losing points from your score."


    Jim realized the reason behind her weird rule inside her ss about deducting points from anyone answering wrongly. "So losing two will take points from us, and in case of winning the next matches we will end up with four points not six, right?"


    "Indeed," she nodded before ncing over her friend while showing the four girls some sort of a dance. "To qualify you need to have six points or more. Having from four to six will put you under the hold rule."


    "Hold?"


    "Some teams might not show up, orck the ability to win over the first half of the league so they would be expelled," she exined, "then those expelled will be reced by fresh teams from the hold list."


    "This" Jim suddenly felt how hard it was to get the ace league, "we need to win the next three matches to secure our spot."


    "Dreaming is always sweet," she couldn''t help but chuckle, "the games are held on a daily basis for the next four days. Do you think your team can be in perfect form before the second match?"


    Her question left him silent. He knew she was speaking the logic, but it wasn''t bad to have some dreams as well.


    "I hope we face weak teams then," he couldn''t help but pray.


    "This is a loser mindset," she shook her head while lecturing him, "you need to aim to be the best team out there, not hoping just to y against weak folks. If you are lucky once, you can''t be lucky thrice."


    "Thanks for the teaching," he honestly said, "but to do so we''ll need to train like hell from now on."


    "You can escape sses three times in a row," she nced at him but he shook his head. "I might escape tomorrow, but that would be the only day I would miss."


    "Liking the sses this much?" she raised an eyebrow.


    "Not like that. I just don''t like to miss the opportunity to grow stronger."


    She kept ncing at him for a few minutes before sighing. "It''s bad you have only one month before that expedition."


    "I know," he clenched his fists, "but I n not to be a push over there."


    "Being a pushover means death," she said before refraining from saying more. He gave her a short nce while knowing what she wanted to say but didn''t.


    "I''ll go and train then," he said.


    "I might leave in a couple of minutes," she stretched out her arms, "My role here is over for now. As no one ising to take the test, then we can work with what we have."


    Jim nced over his team while she moved to say goodbye to her thrilled friend. Mera didn''t leave with her as she decided to stay the night with the four girls and keep giving them some valuable lessons in game and life.


    ________________


    In a remote ce than the academy and the lively life there, a long stretch of ruins took ce hundreds of miles away.


    These were known as the hells of doom, a ce that was so rich in scary legends and many horror fairy tales.


    Yet in thiste hour of the night a shadow walked among the fallen buildings and crumbled rocks and ores with extreme calmness like he or she was walking inside his or her own ying ground.


    The ce ushered under weird silence, the type that would push your hair to no end without the need to face anything else.


    That person moved, covering his entire body with such a thick cloak that could resist any spying abilities or scouting spells.


    For others watching this ce, no one was even walking there right now.


    "From all ces you selected this damned ce to meet!"


    Just as the shadow went inside a deep hole, this voice weed him even before his shape would be clear to who is inside.


    "It''s safer here," a deep tone came under a change of voice spell. "It''s always safer to move in ces just right under their noses."


    "Sigh, what are you calling me here for then?"


    The ce was once a great hall but now it only resided under ruin and destruction.


    Aside from those two standing tens of meters afar, there was no other sign of life. Not a single flower or nt grew here for millenia at least.


    "Something happened in the academy," the neer said before adding, "something that will make you quite interested."


    "Oh," three eyes shone from under the thick cover of the cloak, "y''know nothing can entice me this easily."


    "This one I bet it will do," the neerughed before adding, "it''s rted to you know who."


    "Them?" the three eyed one said in disappointment, "nothing rted to them can entice me at all. I only despise them."


    "But it''s not about them, it''s only rted to them," the neer vaguely said before adding, "a new pantheon was reborn alive this year."