(Meanwhile Leo)
Leo too logged into the livestream watching it progress from his boss room as he was particularly fascinated by the performance of his father.
Although Leo didn’t care much for the old man, he couldn’t help but acknowledge his undeniable skill as a player.
Unlike the common players, who only saw the undead surrendering and Jacob dispatching them with ease, Leo’s keen eye picked up on the finer details.
There was an art to the way the old man moved, a grace and precision that others seemed to overlook. Where others saw simple, repetitive decapitations, Leo saw calculated strikes executed with near-perfect timing.
“The old man’s improved a lot,” Leo muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing as he observed Jacob’s speed and agility.
It wasn’t just about killing undead—it was how he did it. Each of Jacob’s movements flowed seamlessly into the next, his blade flashing in deadly arcs, always aimed at the exact same critical point: the neck joint.
To the untrained eye, it looked almost too easy, as if the undead were barely worth the effort. But Leo knew better. Jacob’s strikes were actually flawlessly executed, every blow landing with mechanical precision.
“Yeah, the old man’s on the West Path,” Leo mused, his smile widening ever so slightly as a thought crossed his mind. “This should be interesting… He’ll have to face big brother if he makes it all the way to the guardian room.”
Leo’s heart raced at the mere thought of it. His father was talented, no doubt, but his brother—he was something else entirely.
More talented, more ruthless, just the idea of watching Jacob face his brother in combat made Leo’s blood pump with excitement.
He could already imagine the brutal exchange that might occur, imagining his brother’s signature suplex hold, repeatedly slamming Jacob’s head into the ground, crushing him without mercy.
It wasn’t the battle of skill that thrilled Leo—it was the thought of his brother’s dominance, his raw strength overpowering the old man that did.
But for now, Jacob still had a long way to go before he reached that point. The West Path was no easy journey, and the challenges would only get harder from here.
“I hope you make it to the end, old man—” Leo said, leaning back in his seat, as his gaze never left the screen, he felt eager to see just how far the old man could go, and just how much he could really perform.
*********
(Meanwhile PinkLotus)
Like Leo, PinkLotus too tuned into the livestream, as with nothing else to do, she watched the rankers moving towards her on the East Path and tried to discern their particular strengths and weaknesses.
However, although she was primarily focused on the rankers moving towards her, subconsciously she kept comparing them to ‘TheBoss’.
Leo’s last statement saying that he did not care how the other four guardians performed and that he alone could take down the 10,000 rankers coming towards him, without even needing the extra HP and boosts that this event gave them as rankers made PinkLotus question her whole worldview.
She had never seen anyone as domineering as ‘TheBoss’, and although she was an isolated player that did not mix with the world, at times she wondered just how big the gap was between herself and the true top players, like ‘TheBoss’ and the other guardians.
“Hmm…. Although I might not be able to beat them all by myself, there’s not a single ranker on the West Path that can beat me in a one versus one. Their skills are good but they don’t threaten me one bit…” she muttered, as although she watched the stream, seeing hundreds of different rankers belonging to different classes perform, she did not feel an immediate threat from any of them.
However, as she compared them to ‘TheBoss’, she couldn’t help but tremble slightly.
Back in the treasure room she did not dare bring it up, however, TheBoss’s aura felt too suppressive to her.
She did not know for sure if it were the effect of an artifact, or because he was a ‘master’, however, she felt weak in her knees in his presence.
It was almost like he was an overlord while she was a mere subject, as for the first time in her life PinkLotus felt fearful of a man who did not even have any bad intentions towards her.
‘Can I beat him in a fight?’ she wondered, however, looking back at how ‘TheBoss’ claimed to be able to take on all 10,000 rankers by himself, she felt like perhaps she was nowhere close to his skill.
She did not have faith that she could take down 500 rankers on her own despite the extreme buffs she had received for this event, much less the 10,000 that ‘TheBoss’ claimed to be able to face.
“Maybe I can beat DarkEmperor and SkyLion though….” PinkLotus muttered, as unlike ‘TheBoss’, she did not feel afraid in their presence.
Of Course without actually facing them in battle this was all a mere speculation in her mind, however, having seen them battle in previous videos and having met them in person, she felt confident in her own abilities to best them in a fight, however, she was too shy to ask for a spar.
On one hand she was a battle maniac who loved to fight strong opponents, but on the other she was an extreme introvert who hated public contact.
” *Sigh*, why couldn’t more guardians be women…. I’d battle them joyfully” PinkLotus said as she shook her head and resigned herself to her sad fate.
She did not have the courage to ask for a spar as of now, but someday she wanted to test her mettle against ‘TheBoss’ ‘DarkEmperor’ and ‘SkyLion’, just to see how she fared for real.
———
/// A/N – Special shoutout to patron ElGuap0 for the 5000 coin magic castle!
ThankYou so so much for your support!
The corresponding bonus for it will be given on Monday! ///