Whatever happened with Rey, only Liam, Mia, and Alex were party to it, so the other players from the guild looked at the tall blonde woman mouthing in front of them in confusion. What was she talking about?
Rey's expression also changed. There was a subtle change in his playful casual face which he always wore. Others might have missed this but Anya did not.
She silently sent a friend request to him with a wink.
"Let's go and this time I am not repeating my words." Kouske cleared his throat sternly.
"Tch. You are such a kill joy." Madan clicked his tongue and followed behind him like a obedient lap dog. Anya as well scoffed and left.
"Hmmmm? Who do these people think they are? We are the top guild in this Kingdom right now and we are also the top players, why are these idiots acting so arrogantly?" Alex glared at the bunch.
"Liam, aren't we all just waiting for the next round? How about you tell us about them now?"
Mia also nodded. Even though they had somewhat of a solid foundation now and their strength was formidable, she could still feel that it would be a mistake to underestimate these people.
Along with the two girls, the others also looked at Liam for an explanation.
The guy had been suspiciously quiet since after the fight. He did not say anything about anything even when the blonde woman was critizing him openly.
"What are you thinking about?" Alex urged him again.
"I think…" Liam mumbled absent-mindedly, "what if these guys really did not send that thief?"
"Hmm? So what? If its not these players, then its some other guild. We are now a proper organization. We are bound to have enemies." Alex shrugged.
Liam, however, did not look convinced.
"It doesn't matter. See! The second battleground is about to start and did you notice? The number of players in the tournament is now 90. The 10 who lost were already eliminated."
"So, by the time the five battlegrounds are completed only 50 players will remain. I don't think there is going to be more 10 vs 10 matches. So we don't have to include any more new players into our team."
What Alex pointed out wasn't wrong but Liam still felt a little uneasy for some reason. At this stage, an expert thief player like this suddenly popping out? Where was he all this time?
As for the other thing, Liam did not forget about that also. " I think you guys should talk to Rey again. I hope there are no hard feelings."
The three of them turned to see Rey who was just like always laughing and chatting. He seemed to be asking Derek for tips on how to become beefed up like him.
"He is… ummm… he is fine. See." Alex shook her head helplessly. "This guy… I am just letting him take it easy because he just recovered."
"It's fine. Let him be." Liam sighed. "And about those people." He briefly explained to Mia and Alex about his interactions with the four players.
"My guess is that… they have a very powerful player in their team. I haven't met this player personally yet so I cannot verify this theory but if I am correct, then this person is able to locate treasures."
"WHAT?" Alex was shocked. From what Liam explained, this seemed to be the logical conclusion and yet it was difficult to imagine that someone could have such an overpowered ability.
"The emerald crown Mei Mei is currently wearing belongs to that blonde. I stole it from her." Liam added. The proof was right in front of them so they couldn't ignore it.
"Do you think that it is just limited to treasures though?" Mia asked.
"No." Liam shook his head. "Maybe like an oracle, a special class like the one Shen Yue has. But until I see this guy with my own eyes, I don't want to make the wrong assumptions."
His eyes then scanned the crowd that was gathered in the tournament floor. Suddenly, Mia and Alex realized something at the same time.
"You think he is here?" Mia's cold gaze also checked out the other players in the auditorium.
That was right. This tournament was huge. The prizes were enough to boost a guild's strength astronomically so no player worth his salt would want to miss such a thing. Keeping it low profile was not worth it when the stakes were this high.
However, Liam sighed and shook his head. "I also thought the same thing at first, but now I think that the chances of him showing up are 50-50."
"Just because he can see the future or spot treasures, it does not mean he is personally strong. Maybe he is a support type player."
"So probably not best suited for this tournament. Let's see. Maybe there will be a surprise for us."
Liam was not too positive about this. The guy that took so much efforts to remain in the shadows is probably there for some good reason.
As the three of them discussed about this, the gong rang loudly and it was time for the next battleground of the tournament to begin.
Two groups of ten players walked over to the stage and the next instant they were all teleported to their battleground.
This time the battleground was completely different than the previous one. It was on a deserted temple ruins and the players were not the only ones the groups had to watch out for. There were all sorts of spiders, centipedes, snakes and other beasts.
Just like the first battle, this one as well had its own advantages and challenges and it looked like the victor would be determined by the way the players handled and took advantage of the terrain.
However, right off the bat, one of the two teams came out with a clear advantage. One side's abilities completely overshadowed the other and the players were dying quickly.
