“Hmph, this tournament has just become a giant advertisement for Donnyton,” Liam’s mouth twisted in dissatisfaction. The group around him didn’t respond overtly to his obvious emotional state, having learned that it was best to just leave him to his rants. Helio Undunes stood at the stove, continuing to make minute adjustments to the temperature to achieve the ideal level of crispiness in his breakfast hash. It was, unfortunately, an action that was so natural for him that it provided no distraction at all. “You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing was rigged.”

Cleary displayed her trademark sneer and leaned forward. “Really? All rigged? Well, which amongst the top 16 do you think you would have stood a chance against? These people could all wipe the floor with you-”

“Those Huangs didn’t seem so tough,” Liam glowered across the table at Cleary. Although he felt like it was somewhat of a betrayal to his pursuit of cooking perfection, Helio began to hurry the completion of the food; the four gamblers were always more touchy before they had eaten.

It was the day after the semi-final matches, the first of a two-day break before the final between Paolo and Kayle and Alana and Wivanya. Generally, no one dared directly find fault like Liam with the Order Ducis for how things turned out, but there was some general dissatisfaction that both duos were originally from Donnyton.

As for Helio, he found the result rather natural. Donnyton had created a competitive fighting ladder that had persisted successfully for several years. From what he understood, Donnyton had taken upon itself the role of clearing out Raid Bosses before the Orders were officially founded. Of course, that experience would mean its warriors were stronger.

They might not have had much of an advantage when it came to images, but their foundation was much stronger than any other area.

But aside from that small emotional hiccup, the mood for the tournament was still high. Everyone crowded into the bars and restaurants, announcing boldly to anyone who would listen that they had been inspired by watching someone else fight. Soon their image would be powerful enough to have made it farther in the tournament, finally proving their natural talent. Helio glanced sideways at the foursome of Liam, Cleary, Evater, and Ning sitting in his restaurant as he began to cut off large slices of his hash to serve.

...unfortunately, Evater was one of those ‘inspired’ people.

“Listen,” Evater said with a confident smile as he spread his hands out placatingly toward both Liam and Cleary. “Let’s not forget that the audience has been the true winners here, right? And also, didn’t we all bet on these two making the final when the bracket was released? Significant amounts. So none of us are wanting for money. Can’t we just accept this as a victory?”

“The outcome was obvious,” Cleary mumbled. Liam nodded in agreement, although the look on his face remained sour. The two didn’t look at each other. Before anyone could speak again and break the fragile peace, Helio was there, laying a plate in front of each of them. Without comment, they began to eat.

Helio returned to the grill and began to scrape off grease. He had obtained the Cleanse Skill in his early days but had never bothered to use it on cooking implements. It simply felt more natural to do it manually.

For about five minutes, the peace in the shop was maintained. But of course, it was a short-lived peace. Evater quickly had cleared his plate and rubbed his large hands together as he considered his companions. “Have y’all heard about Zone 1? Apparently, it is trying very hard to recruit the unaffiliated duos that got farther in the tournament. They already have their eyes set on the next prize.”

“Will there be another tournament?” Cleary asked in confusion.

Liam snorted and folded his arms. Still holding a grudge, he wouldn’t miss this chance to mock her. “Can you imagine how much money the Orchard must be making from hosting this? Not just as a city, but so many different groups came to trade their wares… I’m sure the economic benefits will keep the Orchard booming for at least a year. Plus, everyone wants to spot and poach talent. So I’m sure the Zones will push for it.”

“But… I think I remember reading something about how the hosts of big tournaments like this usually lose money,” Cleary frowned.

To everyone’s surprise, Ning spoke up. “That’s different.”

“Why is it different?” Cleary asked as her face creased even further in confusion. Ning simply lifted her lemonade to her mouth and took a long sip, draining the cup dry. Evater and Liam exchanged a glance. Helio moved out from behind the grill with a pitcher of lemonade for Ning.

Seeing that the waspish Cleary was becoming agitated at the lack of answer, Helio hesitated and then decided to speak while he was refilling Ning’s drink. “...the difference between our current situation and something like the Olympics, which is what you probably read about, is twofold. One, the price of construction, both labor and quality materials, is probably only a tenth of what it was in pre-System days. Projects can be finished quickly. The shorter duration of construction means delays won’t cascade into larger problems that end up being the hidden costs of hosting a large tournament. And the second reason is that New Earth has so much space; a lot of the old costs were related to updating existing infrastructure while also accommodating the several million high populations that were already present. Here, you can move a mile or two in most directions and find open land to construct a stadium.”

Helio returned to the grill and resumed his cleaning. Liam blinked. “Damnit, Helio, you are truly wasted here. Well, actually, nevermind; your food is life-changing. So yea, the Zones will push for tournaments in the future. Maybe the defunct World Council can finally do something useful… but aside from that, did you hear Kharon’s announcement? They will be visiting Ifrenne at the end of the month, and the ogre city at the base of the Nordawn Mountains in two months. They finally aren’t just wandering around anymore.”

“A good choice,” Ning announced. Then she took another long drink of her lemonade. Helio paused briefly with the grease brush, waiting to see if she made the slurping sound that indicated she wanted a refill. Thankfully, she didn’t finish the drink all in one go. He resumed his determined scrubbing.

“People will go to those cities around those times, just because Kharon is there.” Evater looked down at his hands with an intense expression. Then he clenched his hands and spoke with a confidence that made him sound like a fool. “Heh, people are naturally drawn to strength. And at the head of Kharon is Randidly Ghosthound, the most powerful image user on Earth.”

“How can Kharon visit Ifrenne?” Cleary asked. She pushed a few remnants of her hash around the plate with a fork and then looked around at the group. “It has legs right? But the sea is pretty deep… won’t it sink?”

The table considered that. Even Helio couldn’t help but picture Kharon slowly sinking into the sea as the ocean floor dropped away beneath it. Somehow, he doubted that it would end up being a problem.

“...well anyway, I think Cleary raises another good point,” Liam announced. “Is Randidly Ghosthound really that much stronger than we have seen? All the people in the top 8 were Legends. And Alana clearly demonstrated that she might be in another tier of strength above that; how much stronger can the Ghosthound really be? He’s just been sitting around while these people are fighting.”

“And if I can have this much insight just from watching…” Evater muttered mysteriously as he looked down at his own clenched fist. Helio wondered if the man was developing some sort of delusion about himself. He hoped someone else would notice and say something. “...I can only imagine the gains that the fighters have made. Engaging in such struggles would fuel quite a bit of growth.”

“...shouldn’t the winner just challenge him?” Cleary asked the group. Everyone hummed to themselves, considering this.

*****

Commissioner Arrietti felt his breath wheezing out through his swollen and bloody lips. Helen stood above him in the training arena, shaking her head. “You are quick. That first movement you can take is explosive and almost absolute. But you need to capitalize on that opportunity! Don’t you have any attacking Skills worth a damn?”

Licking his lips, Arrietti considered the question. Due to Helen’s relaxed posture, he considered it acceptable for him to push himself out of the small crater that currently served as his resting place. His body creaked as he straightened. His muscles were bruised and sore. “Ah… I mean, I do… but compared to your Skills…”

Helen patted Arietti’s shoulder. “Yes well, I suppose you had the unfortunate handicap of being born on this Earth. Aside from Randidly… well, the rest of you don’t seem to have much of a desire to strike with deadly intent. It makes your attacks flimsy.”

Commissioner Arrietti felt his heart bubbling with helpless despair, but then the door to the training arena opened. His expression immediately brightened. Although it wouldn’t solve his current emotional desolation, it would certainly make him feel better to watch another person struggle underneath Helen’s brutal standards. “I’ll reflect on this. But it looks like someone else-”

“Oh! Helen, this is where you were,” Mrs. Hamilton said, walking forward with a smile on her face. She gestured to the two people following behind her. “Have you met the Huangs? Li has been struggling to recapture the feeling of his image, and I was hoping you would help by applying some pressure to him. Don’t bother to pull your punches; normal methods haven’t been working.”

Huang Li bowed. “Miss Helen, I have heard much about you. I hope you can please give me some guidance in regard to image. And this…? Oh, Commissioner Arrietti. I apologize for interrupting your training.”

Seeing that the goals of these new arrivals coincided with his own, Arrietti released a relieved smile. Finally, something was going his way. “Oh, we were just finishing up-”

“Actually, this is good,” Helen announced. She clapped Arrietti again on the shoulder, sending a painful jolt through his torso. “Arrietti here is working on upgrading a Skill to be more deadly. Your Sky-Slaying Slash will serve as a good example. Why don’t the two of you fight me together?”

Mrs. Hamilton and Huang Shou produced two seats and a table and began to set out a Go board between them. Arrieti’s throat was dry as Huang Li walked over with a bright expression. “Truly? It is my honor to fight by the side of the man in charge of safety for Kharon. Please take care of me.”